Sailor Moon Expanded : The S Files
by Mark Latus 



      Nogami Kasumi's opinion of her new assignment wasn't exactly bolstered  
by the sight of the basement office.  Not only was the space filled with 
overflowing cardboard boxes stacked on every surface compounded by monolithic 
filing cabinets placed randomly around the room but the few power sockets 
looked dangerously overloaded running the myriad cables connected to the 
ancient PCS and the multiple fans that stirred the thick air.  One small
mini fridge hummed away unevenly as Kasumi contemplated her new coworkers,
the overflowing room's two occupants didn't exactly inspire confidence.    
Neither was the type to inspire public confidence in the police force.
     The overweight unshaven man who looked more like a yakuza thug than a 
detective didn't even look up from his magazine as she entered.  The nature of 
the publication and the several that rested on the desk by his feet made her
lip curl in disgust.  The thin man with the spectacles also seemed engrossed
in a printout longer than himself but did at least register her presence after 
a few moments.
     "Detective Nogami?"  She acknowledged her identity and introduced 
herself.  The thin man identified himself as Shimizu Ryo and the other as
Nakajima Yusake.  This brought a grunt from the second man but no other sign
of life apart from the turning of the occasional page.  Ryo didn't seem too 
surprised by this and kept talking.
     "Welcome to the 'Tokyo Office for the Investigation of Paranormal 
Phenomena'.  Not quite what you were expecting?"  That was an understatement.
It was her first day but Kasumi was still rather frustrated by the abrupt
sidetracking of her potentially fast track career so she forgot the normal 
rules of etiquette and answered honestly.
     "Not in the slightest.  When I was assigned here everyone kept telling
me it was a great opportunity.  I was expecting a major operation with full
support from all civil and military agencies.  Instead ..."
     "Instead what you see is what you get."  Ryo shrugged, "Frankly upstairs
is kind of embarrassed we even need this department.  Actually need is the
wrong word, more like there was enough public pressure that they had to create
this unit.  It lets people breathe easier.  Three detectives is all we're 
budgeted for and you wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for poor old Goto's
heart attack.  That's his old desk so it's yours now."  Kasumi stared at it
and Ryo cleared his throat.  "I'll clean it off."  So saying he began hauling
the piles of paper off the top and stacking them on an empty patch of floor.
     Gritting her teeth Kasumi lent a hand uncovering the battered surface and
shook her head.  Ryo realized he wasn't making the best impression.  "So did
they tell you just what we do here?"
     "Look into all the weird incidents that are supposed to happen around
the city."   Ryo's mind fastened on the words, "supposed to".
     "I take it you don't believe in the supernatural origin of these events?"
     "Stresses from the pressures of modern living combined with bombardment
by the mass media seems to be causing a form of mass psychosis.  Typically one
or more infrequently several people claim to be attacked by monsters which 
are driven off by the so called Sailor Senshi.  In all cases there's no 
evidence anything happened apart from the witness's story, the odd bit of
property damage which could have a dozen causes and the occasional blurry 
photo."  Ryo nodded.
     "That's the conventional wisdom certainly."  Kasumi managed not to roll
her eyes.
     "I take it you're a believer?"
     "Yes.  You're about to say something about the absolute lack of forensic
evidence?"  Kasumi was a little taken aback at being read so easily but didn't
show it.
     "It's certainly a major stumbling block to the Senshi theory."  
     Ryo nodded.  "It is and here's another one."  With that he pulled 
something out of a drawer in his own desk and tossed them before her.  Kasumi 
blinked in confusion.
     "UFO catcher dolls?"
     "Sailor Senshi UFO catcher dolls.  Just one of the dozens of ways toy 
companies are cashing in on them as though they're just the latest craze.  Who
can take anyone investigating them seriously when they're being merchandised
left right and centre?"  He sounded very bitter.
     Cautiously she ventured, "Well doesn't that make it more likely that it's 
just the brainstorm of some ad agency.  After all without proof ..."
     "Proof?  We've had proof!  Ever hear of the black crystal tower that grew
in Juban?"
     "Yes but wasn't that ..."
     "Just a hoax by a certain doomsday cult?  A massive balloon inflated and 
placed there in an effort to prove their apocalyptic theories?"  She nodded
and he snarled, "I saw it close up.  It was no balloon but that was the
official story.  A nine day wonder forgotten almost as soon as that 
spaceship!"
     "But wasn't that ...?"
     "I know, I know!  A group calling themselves the New Merry Pranksters 
announced they were responsible and gave full details on how they called in
the eyewitness reports and rigged the video of the sighting.  Hah!"
     Startled she asked, "I don't understand ..."
     "Let's just say it was very convenient that they showed up when everyone 
was screaming for answers."  Ryo sighed and continued in a more reasonable 
voice.  "We're called the Office for the Investigation of Paranormal Phenomena
but we aren't really that generalized.  In practise we specialize in 
investigating sightings of the Sailor Senshi.  After all whenever something 
weird happens witnesses place them in the vicinity.  So I call the whole 
department the S Files."  Kasumi blinked in confusion and somewhat abashed Ryo 
told her, "That's sort of a pun.  There's this American TV show ... well never 
mind.  Generally we get a report of a Senshi sighting, go check the site for
evidence and interview any witnesses we can find."  He glanced to the side and 
checked Nakajima was still paying no attention.  He dropped his voice before 
adding, "I'm here because I wanted the assignment but Nakajima got dumped here 
because he's got too many relatives in high places to fire him.  They figured 
he'd be harmless in this department and they're mainly right.  But if you're 
ever on fieldwork with him under no circumstances allow him to check female 
witnesses for alien implants."  Kasumi glanced at him again and shuddered.
     "I don't even want to think about that."
     "Believe me you do not want to see his probe collection.  The nasal one
is bad enough."  Seeing her disgusted look Ryo lifted a stack of file folders 
from his own desk and dropped them in front of Kasumi.  "Yes, well ... I 
assembled these earlier, it'll be a good introduction for you to start by
looking through these.  That'll give you an idea what we do here."  Ryo went
back to his printout which seemed to be about Norse mythology and was soon as
engrossed as Nakajima.  Kasumi looked at the stack and sighed, "Why me?"  
Who could she possibly have annoyed enough to dump her in this dead end?
After silently cursing fate and a few superiors who couldn't keep their hands
to themselves and expected to get away with it she reached for the top folder 
and began to read.  She was stuck here for the time being but maybe, unlikely
as it seemed, she could clear up some of these outstanding cases and impress
the higher-ups enough to move her to a real investigative unit.  A faint hope  
but the only one she had.
     The top folder was also the thickest and dated 1992.  Three years ago. 
A swift glance showed a bewildering mix of dates from the past few years.  She
took several and glanced at the summaries of their contents.  There seemed to
be no connection between them apart from the fact all described supposed
paranormal events and remained unsolved though unofficially closed as no one
was pursuing investigations except this office.  Ryo had apparently given her
a mix of material to give her a sense of how the S files worked.  Or else he 
had just randomly grabbed a bunch of cases he couldn't solved and dumped them
on the newcomer.  Well whichever it was she was stuck with it.  She opened the
thick folder and began to read Ryo's summary.
     "Case 12 : The Love Boat."  Kasumi wondered just how serious this was
going to be.  She resumed reading.
     "One of the more puzzling cases affecting the largest number of people
to date.  Billed as a romantic harbour cruise the ship was appropriately
enough named "Romantic Cruise" in English.  The ship carried 600 passengers 
and a currently undetermined number of crew.  The company that owned the
ship and sponsored the advertising has been impossible to locate and maritime
authorities are unable to explain why they have no records of the ship, its
planned course, its complete lack of permits and their failure to notice
this state and block the voyage.   
     To briefly summarize the passengers had gathered in the reception hall at 
the captain's request for what they assumed would be a cabaret or something 
similar.  In all cases this is the last thing any of them remember about being 
aboard the "Romantic Cruise" (see attached transcripts).  When they woke up 
they found they had been transferred to a rusting hulk and the cruise ship was 
gone.  Harbour authorities became aware of the hulk in the shipping lanes, 
investigated and began off loading the confused passengers.  The whereabouts of 
the "Romantic Cruise" and how it departed without notice remain unknown.  
Suggestions that the hulk was the "Romantic Cruise" somehow spruced up with 
false fronts have been rejected as the hulk possessed no engines and could not 
have reached its position without being towed.  Nor could this have remained
unnoticed by the passengers or spectators when the ship left port.  The 
whereabouts and identity of the tug or tugs that towed the hulk into position
are also unknown.
     The purpose of this whole episode are also unknown.  The passengers had
not been robbed and in any case the costs of arranging this event would far
outweigh any financial gains that the sponsors could possibly accrue even 
with the added income from ticket sales.  Cursory medical examination revealed 
no evidence of molestation and those who permitted a more detailed examination 
showed no evidence of surgical procedure which discredited the 'organlegger' 
theory.  Follow-up interviews with the victims showed no ill effects or 
lingering trauma but no further leads either.  The case remains open and will 
be forwarded to the new investigative unit Detective Shimizu Ryo has been 
championing."
     Kasumi stopped reading and looked at Ryo.  Great!  He'd probably made 
such a fuss that they'd created this office so they could get him out of their
hair while giving them a dumping ground for the stuff they didn't want.
     Yet even as she thought this Kasumi frowned.  This was pretty major,
600 people abducted (for lack of a better word) and no answers.  In fact now
she thought about it she could recall hearing about this case on the news. 
Funny, she had forgotten all about it until she read this file. Looking back 
she now remembered that there had been a lot of mass disappearances a few 
years back, vanishing buses and something about an amusement park maybe?  
Strange how all that had just faded out of the news and nobody talked about
them anymore.  Almost as if everyone had forgotten they had ever happened.
Actually that wasn't quite right.  She remembered, it had just slipped her 
mind so she rarely wondered about it anymore.  Well like everyone else she had
her own concerns but it was funny the mystery hadn't been exploited by the
media a lot more.  Odd really.
     She glanced through the transcripts and found them very repetitive.  They  
could all be reduced to, "Everything went black and then I woke up on this 
other ship!" though everyone had their own theory about what had happened.
Aliens, demons, international jewel thieves, conspirators of varying origins
... none of which had any more proof than any other.  She could understand
the investigators frustration and willingness to dump it on someone else.
Anyway she couldn't see any way to proceed with this case, all reasonable
avenues had been exhausted at the time.  She opened the next folder which
was dated several months later.
     "Case 43 : The Jubanland 6 - Summary version.  In response to a call by
security at the Jubanland amusement park police and ambulance personnel 
arrived to find five people (names appended) reported missing over the 
previous week.  A pet cat that had also been listed as missing was also found 
on the scene.  Four of the five told the same story, a Man in Black (see 
files) wearing armour rather than the usual suit had approached and shown 
them an object whose nature they were unable to recall.  Immediately upon this 
happening they had blacked out and could not remember anything between the 
time of their disappearances and awakening in the amusement park.  Most
interestingly the same four reported an earlier encounter with one of the Men 
in Mauve (see files) and claimed to have been struck be a "black light" after 
which they had lost consciousness.  One of them, Yamamoto Joe was extremely 
vocal in blaming this encounter for the loss of his alleged telekinetic 
ability.  While he adequately demonstrated his lack of TK he was unable to 
offer any proof he had ever possessed paranormal abilities.  His alleged 
former skill with crane games was not considered sufficient and would have been
a trivial waste of such a skill if he had been blessed with such a gift.  It
should be noted that many alleged alien abductees also claim multiple 
abduction experiences.  Interviews with all four victims about their initial
encounter are attached."  
     "The sole exception to this pattern was the youngest member of the group,
Urawa Ryo.  He consistently claimed no prior encounter with any type of Men in
Colour and claims to have no memory of the armoured Man in Black or how he 
found himself in Jubanland along with the others.  However a young man of
his description caused a stir on a nearby street by claiming a passerby was a
molester then running off in the resulting confusion.  Neither the young man
nor the alleged stalker were identified and the incident would have been
lost if not logged by a constable who noticed the dissipating crowd and 
investigated.  Ryo Urawa claims no knowledge of this incident and gives no
obvious sign of dissembling but it remains a minor mystery.  However a greater
one has yet to be explained."
     "The most puzzling aspect of this case concerns Nishimura Reika. Unlike 
the others who were all located within the Tokyo metropolitan area at the
time of their disappearance she was out of the country.  To be more specific
she was at an archaeological dig in Africa as part of a expedition funded by
her university.  
      While she is doing a masters in entomology she is minoring in 
archaeology as part of a thesis based on certain African cultural adaptions 
that occurred because of human interaction with insect life cycles.  Or so I 
believe as it was a very convoluted topic and I didn't quite follow her
explanation.  Perhaps inevitable with academic theses as all the simple ones 
have long since been written.  At any rate while not a graduate student in 
archaeology she was recruited for the expedition to do basic grunt work along 
with several other students in similar circumstances.  The belief evidently 
being that they weren't too caught up in the academic discipline to object to
doing the dirty work while knowing enough not to damage any artifacts they 
found.  This may indicate a certain prejudice amongst the expedition's 
organizers to hiring native casual workers or may simply be economic.  It 
could well be cheaper to stick a student in a discounted seat and gain an 
unpaid worker for the price of airfare to Africa.  At any rate while most of 
her fellows were taking a once in a lifetime chance to see Africa Ms. 
Nishimura was planning to use her free time to study the indigenous insects 
under natural conditions. 
     Thus she had every reason to stay on site and according to her coworkers 
showed less sign of discontent than any of the other volunteers.  Her presence 
at the dig site the day previous to the Jubanland incident has been confirmed 
by her colleagues (interviews attached) as has the absence of any known direct
or connecting flights that could have returned her to Tokyo during the period
of her disappearance.  How and why she was removed from Africa and smuggled 
into Japan remains unknown as of this writing."
     The file hadn't been updated in the years since then.  Kasumi made a note 
to ask Shimizu if there had ever been any progress in finding how the girl 
got from one country to another so quickly and without anyone noticing.  It
also might make sense to do a follow-up interview, see if Nishimura had 
recalled anything since then.
     One other thing about all this intrigued her despite her lack of patience 
with UFO mythology.  She'd heard of Men in Black but who the hell were the Men 
in Mauve?  She was about to ask her colleague when a filing cabinet caught her 
eye.  It was labelled "Men in Colour - Various".  She nodded and crossed the 
room to open it and see for herself what it was all about.
     The drawer was crammed with folders and divided into sections.  The first
one, "Men in Black" was subdivided into "Traditional", "Armour", "Trenchcoats 
and "Tuxedos".  The last one was the largest single section.  Just behind this
was the section labelled "Men in Mauve".  Files were arranged according to 
date and covered the years 1991 to 1993.  Lacking any idea where to begin she 
picked up one of the latest files in the section and began to read.
     "Shibakouen Junior High School incident.  Shortly after the dismissal 
bell 29 students and one teacher collapsed with a severe attack of 'Juban 
Syndrome' (medical reports attached).  Despite very contradictory eyewitness 
reports those closest to the victims claim to have seen one of the Men in 
Mauve hovering over them.  He made a short statement though there was 
considerable disagreements over what he said (transcript attached) then 
disappeared.  The MiM in question was identified as the one seen via 
projection over Juban claiming he would destroy Tokyo if Sailor Moon didn't 
face him at Haneda airport.  It is worth noting that while the airport was 
closed and traffic diverted supposedly nothing out of the ordinary happened 
according to police on duty that night.  The threat was judged a hoax and the 
police teams withdrawn. However when the airport was reopened the following 
day ground crews reported several 747s had been moved though there was no sign 
of tampering with the controls nor unauthorized engine usage.  This has never 
been explained.  Nor have I heard a satisfactory explanation for the projected 
image despite several proposals proporting to solve this.  Still my superiors 
obviously do not share my skepticism and have advised me to consider the 
matter resolved."
     "This MiM has not reappeared since the Shibakouen Junior High School 
incident nor to date have any of the other MiMs been sighted since their 
individual appearances in the following week.  Their origins and purpose 
remain a mystery."
     Idly Kasumi flipped through the eyewitness transcripts.  What they had
heard the MiM claim varied wildly from grandiose threat to enigmatic parable.
She noticed a post-it note with Shimizu's signature stuck to one of them.  
That had been prompted with his interview with a British national by the name 
of Titania Hobbes.  He had noted that the girl referred to the individual as a 
general and asked why only to be told the MiM seemed to have been wearing a 
uniform.  The note detailed Shimizu's brief speculations on the possibility of 
hierarchies of rank within supernatural armies.  Kasumi shook her head,   
replaced the file and closed the drawer.  She was about to return to the desk
when she noticed the label on the next two drawers.  The first read "Little
Green Men" while the one above was "Big Green Men."
     The division was a little puzzling as she had thought the former was a 
catchall term for aliens.  Besides if you were going to divide up UFO reports 
by type of ET why just the two drawers?  Thanks to the mass media and the 
public's fascination with (or desire to laugh at) flying saucer reports and
their believers she knew enough saucer lore to know green was passe. 
Contemporary aliens were generally supposed to be skinny, big eyed fellows
with pale grey or white skin.  Kasumi thought about it a moment then shrugged, 
might as well have a look.  She was supposed to be familiarizing herself with
the work done here.  Besides it wasn't as if she had anything better to do. 
     The top drawer was crammed full of sundry UFO reports without any 
apparent organization.  The files lacked the well thumbed look of the ones she   
had been reading, as though they had just been stuffed in as soon as compiled. 
For whatever reason these seemed to have held no interest to the men of the 
department.  Curious she pulled a few out and skimmed their contents.
     It didn't take long to form a hypothesis, these all seemed to be 
unverifiable saucer sightings with a sprinkling of alien abduction accounts.
Not one word about the Sailor Senshi in any of them.  From the odd "yeah, 
right!" comment scrawled on them it seemed Shimizu didn't put any more 
credence in them than she did.  Kasumi found this a little heartening, at 
least he didn't blindly accept everything.  Maybe she wasn't working with a 
complete flake after all.  She put the files back and opened the more 
enigmatically labelled "Big Green Men" drawer.  It occupied a lot less space 
but the files were neatly arranged in chronological order and showed signs 
of repeated examination.  Perhaps significantly all the files were dated
within a three month period, spring to summer of 1993.  A closed case?  
Picking up the first file labelled simply, "Overview" she began to read.  As
she did her heart sank again, Ryo might not believe in flying saucers but he
was a true believer if the Sailor Senshi were involved.
     "January to March of 1993 is peculiar as it remains the quietest period 
recorded since the first appearance of Sailor V.  After a year of frequent
sightings the first quarter of the following year was remarkably quiet.
However the quiet didn't last as Sailor Senshi sightings resumed in the spring
though with one significant change in the established pattern.  While
eyewitnesses again reporting attacks by monsters that induced weakness then 
were defeated by the Senshi the aftermath changed.  While Men in Mauve (see 
Men in Colour files) would occasionally appear after the creature's defeat and
indicate responsibility for its deployment the demise of the new generation
of monsters was frequently (though briefly) attended by a pair of green hued
youths with features somewhat resembling elves as depicted in fantasy manga. 
Descriptions of the pair vary due to their habit of hovering some distance 
from the battleground but witnesses agree that the duo was composed of a male
and a female humanoid.  Their origins remain unknown though some witnesses
claim they made statements indicating extraterrestrial origin.  However this 
is impossible to verify due to the wide variations of content amongst these 
claims and it cannot be denied that the witnesses who were usually recovering  
consciousness imagined this part.  Thus I have labelled these beings Big Green
Men and avoided jumping to conclusions about their origins."
     Kasumi shook her head, why hadn't he drawn the more obvious conclusion
that the witnesses whole experience was imagined?  A side effect of that nasty 
Juban flu that caused fainting spells and was particularly virulent in the 
early nineties.  It was still endemic around the Juban area and occasional 
outbreaks throughout Tokyo weren't uncommon.  She sighed and resumed reading
thinking that at least Shimizu's labelling of the drawers showed a bit of a 
sense of the absurd about the whole thing.  Thankfully he wasn't some fanatic 
without a trace of a humour about his grand passion.
     "There have been no sightings of these two since the summer of 1993 
leading me to conclude that the Senshi took the fight from the servant 
entities to their masters.  There is no conclusive evidence of such a battle 
but the mysterious destruction wrought on the [Ali & Ann's building] apartment 
tower, supposedly by a giant plant or tree which vanished without a trace, 
was more extreme that any other property damage inflicted in this period.  
While not on a par with the equally unexplained collapse of the Starlight 
Tower the previous year it had the air of a showdown.  Of course I may simply 
have watched too much anime and the BGMs are merely in hiding, biding their 
time until they return."
     Kasumi snorted and muttered, "Now that last bit definitely reeks of a
kid's show.  Villains in hiding planning a comeback."  After taking a quick 
glance at her coworkers and noting both were too engrossed in their reading 
to have heard her editorializing she returned the file to the drawer.  She was
about to close it when the incident name on one of the files caught her eye.
Furikan High School?  That was heard old alma mata.  Intrigued despite
herself she pulled the file free and flipped it open.
     "Furikan High School is a peculiar one, the eccentricity exhibited by 
both staff and students seems more appropriate for a comedy manga series than 
a supposed sober institute of Japanese education.  Indeed there are rumours in 
the surrounding neighbourhood that incognito manga artists and writers visit 
frequently looking for inspiration.  Strangely the majority of those in the
neighbourhood look upon this institution and the behaviour it inspires as a 
source of pride and amusement rather than embarrassment.  I can only conclude
there is something about this area that, by chance or design, draws the
nonconformists of Tokyo together to raise very nonstereotypical families.
All this combines to give the area a certain eccentric charm."
     Eccentric charm!  Kasumi looked up from the folder to glare at the 
oblivious Ryo.  What was this, a police report or a tourist brochure?  
Muttering under her breath she turned back to the report before she could be
accused of insubordination.  Her own opinion of her old neighbourhood was 
nowhere near so favourable.  She had hated the place had wouldn't live there 
again if it had the only available apartments in Tokyo.
     With hindsight, given a choice she would never have lived there.  But
she'd been ten years old and no-one had ever asked her opinion.  Her father
had been transferred to another branch office and they'd had to move in.  Come
to think of it her parents had never fit into the neighbourhood either.  All
these years later they still didn't but they'd learned to live with it.  Her 
father was just an average salaryman, her mother a typical housewife.  Just
a normal middle-class Japanese family.  Except that in Furikan that made them 
the exception rather than the rule.  Kasumi grit her teeth as she thought 
about the school.  Weird clubs, boys whose hormones drove them to a degree of 
lechery almost unimaginable while others fainted if a girl even said good
morning to them.  As for the girls her classmates had been either maneaters,
boy haters or cute and brain dead.  Normal enough behaviour but everyone took
it to such extremes.  If that wasn't enough dozens of students attended the
cluster of weird dojos in the area, all of which seemed to be intent on 
filling the school with slightly mad martial artists.  It did no good to
complain as the teachers were all graduates of Furikan High and all demented
in their own way.  Good grief even the principal was crazy, he'd had some sort 
of hair fetish.  Getting sent to his office guaranteed coming back with a 
buzzcut or some other style that would need weeks to grow back. 
     Unconsciously patting her hair Kasumi prepared to resume reading the 
file.  Hoping to learn that something terrible had befallen her old alma mata. 
Or at least its senior administrators.
     Yes, she remembered Furikan High all too well.  Furikan Elementary and
Junior High hadn't been much better though the weirdness quotient seemed to
increase with age.  It had instilled her with a burning desire to see law and 
order imposed.  A desire that had lead to her fascination with police work and 
her eventual entry to the metropolitan police academy.  With hindsight it 
occurred to her that the local constables must have been well aware of the 
things going on around them and chose not to intervene.  Or perhaps chose not 
to notice the customary chaos.  Pity she hadn't realized that earlier.  If she 
had she might have picked another career and wouldn't be stuck in this damned 
basement with a true believer and a porn addict.
     The file continued with a brief overview of the school's more unique 
aspects noting it had the first occult studies club Shimizu had ever heard
of which operated with full approval of the school authorities.  There was a 
footnote that he wished he had attended this school.  Kasumi darkly muttered 
that she would gladly have switched places with him and read the incident
report.  The usual nonsense, some plant creature had attacked several of the
students and been destroyed or driven off by the Sailor Senshi.  There was a
note that instead of Tuxedo Mask the Senshi had been aided by two young men.  
One dressed in white Arabian robes and another in a grey ninja style costume.
There was a reference to files on "Moonlight Knight" and "Starhunter" along
a note both had subsequently disappeared and been replaced by the return of
the better known Tuxedo Mask.  As always no evidence that anything had 
happened existed apart from the alleged recollections of several high school 
kids who had been interviewed by Detective Shimizu.  The transcripts were 
included and Kasumi noted the topmost one was extensively highlighted.  
Curious, especially as the family name matched that damned principal's, she 
studied the summary.
     "Endo Yoshiki is an interesting young man with the heart of a samurai and
a somewhat dubious grip on reality.  It seems his family still hasn't quite
accepted the Meiji restoration as historically irreversible and wants to be
ready just in case.  Unlike the others who have no idea what attacked them he 
readily attributes his experience to either evil spirits or demons without a
qualm.  Interestingly when questioned about why he was so accepting he cited 
family legends concerning an earlier encounter of his family with dark forces.
In response to further questioning he recounted the tale which concerned his
great-grandfather Endo Takeaki.  In 1923 Takeaki's fianc‚ Saeko, who would
subsequently become Yoshiki's great-grandmother, was kidnapped by a cult who 
had the power to summon demons to be sacrificed in a satanic ritual.  Takeaki 
joined forces with an enemy of the cult, a gaijin sorcerer who from the story 
sounds like he could have been an actual werewolf.  In the company of the 
creature Takeaki called the maho'okami Yoshiki's ancestor rescued his fiancee 
and defeated his enemies."  
     "This was a suitably heroic and appropriate moment where the story could 
be expected to stop but there was another detail that made the story a tragedy. 
While the leader of the cult's ritual was disrupted it didn't end with a  
whimper.  According to Endo family tradition this was the cause of the Great
Kanto Quake.  During the ensuing chaos the magic wolf perished and Takeaki
barely escaped.  While less destructive and long lasting than a powerful 
demon's manifestation it convinced Takeaki to foreswear magic and do his best 
to discourage its practise.  A charge passed down to his descendants.  Yoshiki 
mentioned beating up the Occult Studies class whenever they seemed to be 
getting somewhere.  When asked why his father (the school principal) even 
permitted the club's existence he stated his father's strategy was to draw all
the wizard wannabe's together so they could be kept under observation.  Either
that or his father had forgotten their sacred charge having become increasing 
unstable and uninterested in anything that didn't involve hair.  On reflection
it might have been as well that I did not attend this school."
     Kasumi smiled at that, the first evidence that Shimizu Ryo wasn't totally
without judgement.  She skimmed the transcripts then dropped the folder back 
into its place and slid the drawer home.  Once more she looked around the 
room and sighed.  No shortage of paperwork but was it all mangled eyewitness
accounts?  Wasn't there anything tangible here?  She searched the room and at 
last was rewarded by spotting a smallish file cabinet marked simply, 
"Evidence".  Clearing a space to stand in front of it she slid the top drawer 
open to see another row of file folders.  No evidence bags.  For a moment she  
felt her spirits drop but rallied herself.  Doubtless any artifacts were in 
the central evidence store and the thin files held the descriptions and 
storage codes of the items.  She picked out the first files, noting the 
location and date, and decided on her course of action.  First, study the
nature of the evidence and pull the relevant case file looking for what it
supposed proved.  Then re-examine the physical evidence looking for 
discrepancies that would provide more reasonable explanations and set about
solving and closing the case.  It might sound overly ambitious when Shimizu 
had failed to clear up so much over the past few years but she had an 
advantage.  She wasn't handicapped by wanting to believe.  Not being 
shackled by a superstitious mind was a definite plus in a situation like this.
Kasumi nodded to herself, she had found her ticket out.  Feeling a rush of
adrenaline she started leafing through the folders.
     Almost immediately several words began leaping out at her.  "Missing" was
the most common one though there were plenty of "Whereabouts unknown" and
"Initial report in error" labels as well.  Frantically she grabbed the next 
batch of files and began tearing through them looking for something that 
wasn't a hoax, discarded by accident, lost or had never existed in the first 
place.  As she read on her stomach felt like it was on an elevator to the 
centre of the earth and sinking fast.  If anyone had been watching her they 
would surely have commented on the nervous tic she was displaying.
     The first Ryo knew that something was wrong was when a hand slammed onto
his desk with a loud bang.  Startled from his Fortran Times he looked into
the grim face of his new co-worker and felt a sudden stab of anxiety.  He 
tried to lighten the mood.
     "So how do you like your first day on the job?"
     From the way she looked that remark hadn't helped.  She glared at him
without speaking a moment longer then waved an arm at the mounds of paper
surrounding them.
     "Detective Shimizu in all the years you have been running this department
have you ever actually seen a Sailor Senshi or found one piece of evidence 
that justifies it's existence?"
     Ryo coughed, "Well I've seen some pretty weird things ... but no, I can't
actually prove there was anything supernatural about them.  You're right, 
gathering evidence has been a problem.  Every time I find something promising 
it either turns out to be a hoax or vanishes.  The latter isn't so surprising
given that all the monsters spotted also disappear when defeated."
     There was a pause as Kasumi just looked at him in disbelief before 
shaking her head and trying again.  "How much fieldwork do you do?"
     "Ah, well that's a problem.  When there's a crime the other departments
get called.  By the time we get called in it's already been dismissed as a
criminal matter which limits what we can do.  I mean if people decline to be
interviewed I can't really force them to talk to me without evidence of 
wrongdoing.  Likewise we get the lowest priority when it comes to laboratory
testing.  My finds get put aside until there's a lull in ongoing cases.  That 
delay could be critical, magic leaching away in the interim but all my efforts
to increase out priority have met with stiff resistance.  So you'd better get
used to this office as you'll be spending a lot of time here.
     Kasumi glared a moment longer then slumped into a chair, not even 
noticing the pile of printouts she was perched on top of.  When she spoke 
again her voice was bleak.
    "So basically what we do here is sit here and wait for a report of 
something out of the ordinary, talk to any witnesses, look for any evidence
... all of which I note disappears, gets lost or turns into something 
ordinary before it can be examined and write up an S File?" 
    Ryo coughed, "Well ... that's more or less it, yes."  He tried making a 
joke, "Actually just two of us sit here Yusake often prefers reading his 
magazines in the toilet."  He nodded towards the vacant desk but it was pretty 
obvious Kasumi wasn't amused.  "Uhm ... well when Goto was here we'd swap 
theories about what was going on.  It helped break up the monotony ... uh, not 
that it's ever really boring though it can get a little frustrating ... I mean 
well ..."  He trailed off and looked embarrassed
    Kasumi sighed.  This was going to be a very long winter.
    Well nothing to do but make the best of this farce.  If she was going to
be the skeptic of the team she had better start practising.  "It's peculiarly
convenient that the Senshi suddenly appear at exactly the same time as their 
adversaries.  Supposedly we're suddenly under attack by monsters and magical
girls pop up to stop them."
    Ryo nodded, "You're not the first to make that observation.  Actually Goto
had this theory that both the Senshi and the monsters are on the same side.
Both have supernatural powers and we never find any proof anything has died.
His idea was the battles are staged and when a monster loses it just sneaks 
away.  Meanwhile the Senshi get reputations as heroines and media idols they
can manipulate for their own ends once people trust them.  A bit paranoid for
my taste but he was getting more and more serious about it.  Said we should
track down the Senshi and expose them to the world before it was too late.
I've sometimes wondered getting himself all worked up like that is what got
his blood pressure too high.  Poor old Goto, stress induced heart attack."
    Kasumi stifled a groan.  This assignment got less attractive with every
passing minute.  One thing she resolved, it wasn't going to be the death of 
her.  She'd quit first.  In the meantime she had a lot of this crap left to 
wade through.  She picked up the next file wondering what new nonsense she
was about to read.  Her only consolation was that being at the bottom things 
could only get better.  
     Six months later she had another opinion.  While things hadn't really 
gotten any worse she couldn't think of any way in which she was better off.  
However though she didn't know it yet she had been mistaken about life not 
being able to get any worse.  That was just around the corner.
     As she stalked through the merciless July heat Kasumi felt as though she
was reaching her own personal boiling point.  Every frustrating event of the
half year she had wasted seemed to insist on rattling around her skull as 
though agitated to life by the heat.  From freezing in the fruitless search 
of the ruins of Mugen Gakuen to the current nonsense of interviewing people 
claiming attacks by what sounded like supernatural circus performers it had 
been one dead end after another.  Ryo seemed spurred on by rather than 
discouraged by this lack of evidence, a victim of his own conspiracy theories.  
All she could think of was that she was wasting her time talking to sadly 
deluded people driven to hallucinate by either urban stress or their bland and 
tedious lives.  If that wasn't enough she had some idiotic Lothario hitting on 
her today.  That clown didn't seem to comprehend the words "Go away!" or that 
he wasn't god's gift to womankind.  If he showed up again and didn't take the 
hint when she produced her badge and told him to leave she was going to clamp 
cuffs on him and drag him off to the nearest police box on whatever charge she 
could think of.  Pity detectives didn't carry truncheons as whacking him 
across the temple would do the job a lot quicker.
     She was aware the last thought showed her temper was near the edge but
she didn't care anymore.  Everyone has their limits and she had just reached 
hers.  Maybe, if there had been just a scrap of evidence that Ryo's belief
was justified, she could have stood it longer.  But what did they have to show
for all these months?  Not a damned thing.
     Not for the first time that day it occurred to her she might be in a 
better mood if police regulations allowed detectives to dress casually.  But
policy was to look smart and authoritarian so she was sweltering in her once
smart suit jacket which she couldn't remove without exposing the shoulder
holster.  Probably just as well as it felt like her blouse was sweat soaked 
to the point of translucency.  A miniskirt would have been cooler than her
outfit's kneelength hem and it felt like her pantyhose was melting to her 
skin.  Before too long she'd be ready to sell her soul for air conditioning.
     It was a lousy day for fieldwork but Ryo headed the department so when
he got one of his brainstorms she had to go along with it.  She suspected if
she had made enough of an issue of it he would have dropped the idea but being
insubordinate was anathema to her belief in order.  It would take more than
broiling to turn on her well meaning superior.  Besides at least getting out
of the office got her out from under Nakajima's gaze.  Months of familiarity
had only increased her contempt for the layabout and sometimes the way he 
looked at her made Kasumi's flesh crawl.  She had absolutely no desire to find
out what part she played in his fantasies.   If there was anyone in Tokyo who 
needed a close encounter with a monster it was him.  
     By contrast she had come to tolerate Ryo over the past few months, even 
regard him with a certain affection born of pity.  He was just so boyishly 
earnest about his self imposed quest to justify the department's existence 
that it couldn't help but touch her heart.  So much futile effort was somehow 
endearing.  Probably it set off some sort of latent maternal instinct to 
straighten him out as she absolutely had no other feelings for him.  The 
occasional daydream could be chalked up to much time on her hands.
     Still for all that she wished Ryo had picked a cooler day to troll the 
parks.  According to statistics Ryo had compiled most reported attacks   
happened in open spaces with few or no witnesses.  Parks tended to pop up
more frequently than would be expected since in her experience they were
generally crowded.  But there were definitely periods when you could find
deserted patches.  Like right now when most people were finding shady spots
and sticking to them instead of wandering around.  Or simply staying in
air conditioned buildings until quitting time.  Ryo was somewhere nearby 
listening closely for screams or weird lights.  She was supposed to be doing
the same but, while keeping an eye out for any wrongdoing she just couldn't
take it seriously.  All was quiet.  Come to think of it she hadn't seen anyone 
else in awhile apart from that amateur pickup artist.    
     Speak of the devil!  The clown with the spiky brown hair and the well
tailored, expensive suit was heading her way.  His arrogance annoyed her,
seemed to think clothes made the man and she'd fall for him just because he
dressed sharp.
     "A hot day to be wandering this park seeking diversion.  Perhaps you 
would care to tour my office.  It's very close and much cooler.  My staff
won't particularly care for me bringing in an outsider but as their boss I
don't have to care what they think."
     "No thank you."  While polite enough the coldness of her reply should 
have got the message home.  Should have.
     "Yes, quite right.  Who cares about boring offices?  I'm sure a cool 
drink would go down well.  I know a nice secluded bar just a few minutes walk 
from here ..."
     Kasumi interrupted, "I'm really not interested.  Why don't you go pick up
one of your secretaries."  The presumed executive snorted.
     "Pah, girls barely out of high school.  Who could get interested in 
children like that.  A mature woman is always more interesting.  Time brings
experience."
     Kasumi twitched.  "Mature?"  Being still in her twenties she didn't 
consider herself in anyway old.  If this joker was implying she looked older 
than she should he had just gone from annoying to downright insulting.  Time 
to get rid of him before she did something she'd regret later in front of the
internal affairs panel.  She flashed her badge.
      "Police business.  I'm working so I have no time for foolishness."
      He studied the badge then shrugged.  "Ah well, so much for the easy
draw-away-and-process technique."  He glanced around and smiled.  "Well since
we appear to have the place to ourselves ..."  From nowhere a blind appeared
above his head and swiftly unrolled to hang before him.  Kasumi gaped in
astonishment, the rod was just hanging in the air unsupported!  The colourful
blind snapped back to reveal he had somehow changed his clothing with 
impossible speed.  He was now clad in a blue outfit somewhat reminiscent of a  
trapeze artist's costume.  But circus performers were rarely seen with such
malevolent expressions.  All of this suddenly seemed very familiar from the  
reports she'd heard over and over again.  As though he hadn't noticed his
change the mystery man continued, "... we might as well get on with it.  One
..."
     Kasumi's reflexes were good.  She didn't stop to question the absurdity
of all this or deny its reality, she simply acted.  She felt something slap  
against her back but ignored it as she tore her pistol from the holster and
thumbed the safety off.  "Two ..."  She felt something cold slide around her 
ankles but her upper body was leaning forward and free to move.  "Th ..."
The mystery man's voice trailed off as he abruptly realised that not only were
Kasumi's arms free but she was holding a weapon in a two handed grip aimed
steadily at his skull.  Her firearms instructor at the academy would have been
proud of her.  Without a hint of hesitancy Kasumi told the freak, "Say one
more word and I'll blow your head off!"  From the corner of her eye she 
glimpsed a board behind her that had sprung from concealment on the ground 
behind her.  Ignoring how she could possibly have missed seeing it earlier she 
tried to come to a quick decision.  Should she call for Ryo or order whoever 
she was holding at gunpoint to retract this thing?  Maybe she could pull her 
feet free or slip the bonds but she didn't dare take her attention off the 
quick change artist long enough to look down.  She made a snap decision, 
secure the criminal then call her partner.  Ignoring the little voice that 
told her she'd be better to shoot first and deal with the consequences later 
she got to business.
     "Very slowly put your hands on your head then sit down.  Do anything to
spook me and you find out just how good a shot I am."
     For a moment the shocked amazone stood frozen.  Then he shrugged and
an insolent smile reappeared.  He began slowly raising his hands from his
sides displaying empty palms.  Suddenly as they reached chin level his right
hand was holding a blazing torch, the fiery end close enough to burn his lips.
Kasumi made her first mistake, she gawked in disbelief instead of taking 
Hawkeye's head off.  The amazone's breath puffed out blasting a long trail  
fire towards the semi pinioned woman.  Kasumi reacted instinctively, throwing 
her arms up to shield her face and Hawkeye moved with supernatural speed.
     Kasumi felt something strike her gun hand, tearing the pistol free.  
There was the sound of it striking the pavement and an echoing gunshot almost 
simultaneously.  She was lowering her hands and opening her eyes when she felt 
her forearms seized and pushed down to her sides.  There was a click and the 
feeling of something wrapped around her wrists.  She stared down to see them   
manacled to the board by something metallic the same as her ankles.  Twisting
furiously she looked up to see her tormentor standing before her chuckling.
He met her gaze and his smile broadened.
     "My, my!  If looks could kill Tigereye and Fisheye would be part of the
Amazone Duo."  He glanced down and prodded Kasumi's gun with a blue clad toe.  
"Ugly thing."
      "That's my line."
      The amazone's smile slipped momentarily.  "You've got spirit, usually
I have nowhere near this much trouble.  Yes, lots of spirit, maybe enough to
house the Pegasus."  The name meant nothing to Kasumi but right now her main 
concern was keeping this clown distracted until Ryo showed up.  He had to have
heard the random shot.  Come on Ryo, I need help and this guy is the sort of  
thing you've been looking for!  After she got out of this she could work out a 
rational explanation.  Right now she could use a rescue.  Except before she 
could say anything more her captor said, "Let's get back on track, now where
were we?"  He took a few steps back, "Ah yes, Three!"
     Horror struck Kasumi saw her chest glow with unearthly light.  She 
remembered seeing "Alien" and immediately wished she hadn't.  Before she could
scream something emerged, thankfully not a blood soaked snakelike monstrosity.
Instead what slid out was both painless and impossible.
     Kasumi found herself looking at the back of a wooden picture frame that 
was somehow hovering in the air before her.  She had heard this recounted at
least a dozen times before but never been able to picture it.  A wooden frame
emerging from someone's chest?  How could she imagine such a ridiculous thing?
Now she didn't have to but she would rather have remained ignorant.  What was
worse that if this part happened then it was about to get a lot worse.  
Remembering the details from earlier interviews she tried to steel herself 
for what would follow. 
     From the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of motion among the 
trees.  Ryo!  She had to hold this guy's attention until her partner had the
drop on him.  Play dumb!
     "What ... what is this thing?  Who are you?!"  She was a bit disgusted
with herself as she realized the quaver in her voice wasn't intentional.
     "This is your dream mirror, gateway to your beautiful dreams and I am
Hawkeye the magnificent."  Distracted by his vainglorious gloating Hawkeye
didn't notice they had company.
     From the corner of her eye Kasumi saw Ryo get closer.  She didn't dare 
do anything to make Hawkeye notice him or distract Ryo from taking this 
guy down.  Inside she was close to screaming as she glimpsed Ryo take a 
sheltered position in a nearby grove and draw.  Then her heart plummeted as 
she realized what he was aiming was a video camera with a zoom lens.  While 
she didn't believe in telepathy Kasumi began mentally yelling at Ryo to drop 
the damned camera and put a bullet in this bastard.  She was so caught up in 
the exercise that she didn't realize Hawkeye had seized both sides of the 
dream mirror and lowered his head to look directly into it.
      "Enough gloating, let's do what I came here for."  Hawkeye plunged his 
face into the mirror and Kasumi screamed aloud.  
      The pain was both physical and mental, it felt like someone was tearing 
her open on both levels.  Ambitions, hopes and longing flickered through her
mind as an alien consciousness ripped into her mind.  Even braced for the pain
she barely retained consciousness and hung limply from the restraints.  
Everything seemed to be happening at a distance, as though there was a wall of
glass between her and the world.  She heard Hawkeye say, "You could use a bit
more imagination but overall not a bad dream" and dimly wondered if he was 
some sort of mind critic.  But she couldn't focus well enough to feel any fear
when he added, "No sign of the Pegasus and I don't know if he'd take refuge
it there anyhow.  Still best to take no chances and close this particular
gateway."
     "Hold it!"
     Dispassionately Kasumi noted the interruption had come from neither Ryo 
nor herself.  She managed to turn enough to see a girl posing nearby who had 
to be Sailor Moon.  Or at any rate a Sailor Moon there being some question if 
she was one girl who kept changing costumes or if there had been several 
successive Sailor Moon's each with their own distinctive costumes.  This one 
seemed to be accompanied by a miniature version of herself with a slightly 
less ridiculous version of the rabbit ears hairstyle.  Groggily Kasumi 
whispered, "What's up doc?" but nobody noticed.  All eyes and ears were on 
Sailor Moon as she went into a speech skirting the edge of ranting.  The 
upshot seemed to be that it was too hot today for this sort of thing and how 
dare Hawkeye make her fight on a day that would guarantee winding up 
overheated and sweaty.  Also it wasn't nice of him to pick on that lady and in 
the name of the Moon she (and Sailor Chibi-Moon) would punish him.
     Hawkeye didn't seem particularly worried or impressed by all this.  In
response his shadow lengthened and grew darker as things stirred within the
blackness.  
     "Come on out my lemures, Harpozeppo."
     There was the glow of a symbol within and a bulge within the darkness
as something began to emerge.  Vague nightmarish visions gave way to a giggle
as the shape revealed itself to be a nothing more exotic than a seal sitting 
on a multicoloured podium.  The seal had been made up to look cartoony, a 
frizzy wig of curly blond hair had been glued to its head and was topped with
a battered straw hat.  Its cheeks were rouged and obviously false lips had
been attached to its mouth.  Before the (female?) seal an array of horns with 
airbladders affixed arose from the darkness.  The seal honked a couple of the
horns experimentally then clapped its flippers together and made an "urh urh" 
noise.  Both Sailor Moons got bigeyed and went "Kawaii!"  
     Hawkeye muttered, "I am really scrapping the bottom of the barrel" and 
pulled a dead fish out of nowhere.  He tossed it to the seal which caught  
and balanced it on its nose, again making both Sailor Moons applaud.  Hawkeye 
announced, "Harpozeppo finish up here then return to the circus ..."  Very 
quietly so only Kasumi heard him he cynically mumbled, "Yeah, right.  Like 
I'll ever see him again."  With that he did a backflip and vanished into a
flaming hole that had opened in the air then disappeared a heartbeat later.  
The seal flipped the fish into the air and opened its mouth to catch it as it 
plummeted downwards.  Swallowing it in one gulp it belched in satisfaction
and beeped the furthest horn on the right.  Not surprisingly there was a loud 
honk, the surprise was what else happened.
     Directly before the horn the ground was shredded in a straight line, 
earth and concrete torn into chunks as an invisible shockwave tore outwards.
Both Sailors dived frantically out of the way and just barely dodged the 
seal's impossible attack.  Harpozeppo's head darted left and beeped a horn on 
the opposite side of the array driving both Senshi back the way they had come.  
Kasumi fuzzily realized they were now directly in the line of fire of the 
central group of horns.  Sure enough the seal's neck flashed as it wove among 
the horns playing a merry tune.  A solid wave of destruction tore towards both 
Sailors.  Somehow despite all the racket Kasumi could hear them panicking.
     There was a flare and a wall of fire met the wavefront in an explosion. 
The seal stopped playing in confusion while Kasumi blinked her eyes from the
glare.  Her vision returned and she saw four more Sailor Senshi standing in
front of the other two as a shield, the one in red in the front with her hands
raised.  The one in green said something about oak and lighting erupted
towards the seal.  Which immediately beeped a horn blocking the electrical
attack as effective as they had blocked it.  The others joined in with their
own attacks, all of which seemed to involve yelling and extensive vogueing.
Kasumi supposed it would be hard to take this all seriously once she had her
wits back but right now it was hard to care about anything.
     "Psst Kasumi ..."  Kasumi looked down to see Ryo had moved closer and
was crouched by the board filming away merrily.  He didn't look up at her and 
didn't seem in any hurry to get her down.  She was probably lucky he had 
remembered to talk to her.  Oblivious to her mental note to throttle him when 
she felt better he continued, "... are you all right?"  Kasumi wished she had 
the strength to make a really sarcastic reply.  
     Untroubled by her lack of response Ryo said, "Everyone we interviewed
recovered fully so you'll be okay.  Look at them Kasumi, we're privileged to
witness this.  Isn't it magnificent?"  That wasn't quite how she would have 
described it.  Kasumi wondered if there was a word meaning silly, scary and
dangerous.  The landscape was really getting torn up but there appeared to be 
a stalemate.  The seal was blocking the Senshi's counterattack but they were 
agile enough to avoid its blasts though it was keeping them hopping.
     As if things couldn't get any weirder suddenly a single rose zipped by
the seal's cheek and it stopped honking the horns in confusion.  Standing
atop a lamppost that had miraculously survived was a man wearing a tuxedo and
a mask.  That had to be the very unimaginatively named "Tuxedo Mask".  He 
made a short speech about noise pollution which made the seal scratch its
head with a flipper.  Then said simply, "Do it now, Sailor Moon".  The younger
Moon immediately rang a bell and knelt as though praying.  A magnificent  
winged horse materialized in response and the older Sailor Moon produced a 
sceptre from somewhere.  The attack that followed went through the seal's 
defensive blasts as if they weren't even there.  Kasumi wondered why she 
hadn't done that in the first place but couldn't muster the energy to say 
anything.  She slumped bonelessly as the board and shackles winked out.
     Ryo had been expecting something like this and caught her before she 
could hit the ground.  She made a weak noise then gave up the struggle to 
remain conscious.  Suddenly shaded he looked up from the colleague lying in
his lap to see a small forest of bare legs.  The Sailor Senshi had come over 
see how she was doing.  The one who had to be Sailor Mercury told him, "She'll
recover fully very shortly."  Ryo nodded but he had almost forgotten Kasumi as
he gazed awestruck at the Senshi.  His scrutiny seemed to disturb Sailor Moon
and she stepped back trying to pull her skirt lower.
     Dreamily Ryo began, "You are real, I haven't been chasing shadows.  This 
is incredible!  There's so much I want to ask you ..."
     Sailor Moon suddenly got over her shyness, "Oh, you're a reporter.  Well
as the leader and cutest of the Sailor Senshi ..."
     Sailor Mars interrupted.  "Cutest?  Since when?"
     Sailor Venus nodded, "Right, everyone knows that's me."
     Mars and Moon both glared at her momentarily until Sailor Jupiter broke 
in with, "Girls, we've all agreed I'm the most talented Senshi!"  The other 
three glared at her and a four way squabble broke out.  Tuxedo Mask and Sailors
Mercury and Chibi-Moon all sighed.  
     Showing a maturity beyond her years the smallest Senshi suggested it 
would be a good idea to get out of this couple's way and settle this somewhere
over an icecream somewhere.  That seemed to be agreeable to everyone and with
a swift farewell they were gone in a blur of motion.
     Ryo stared in the direction they had departed for several minutes then
remembered his colleague.  "Kasumi ...?"  A hand reached up, grabbed his 
jacket by the collar and hauled him down face to face.  Kasumi hissed, "Why 
... didn't ... you ... shoot ... that ... Hawkeye ...bastard ...?" 
     "Uhm, I didn't bring my gun along.  It's back at the car in the glove 
compartment."  Kasumi closed her eyes and muttered something unintelligible.  
Hesitantly Ryo added, "I'm not too fond of guns so I don't carry it as a rule 
..." 
     "START!"
     "Uh, right."  It finally dawned on Ryo that Kasumi didn't share his sense
of discovery.  In fact she'd been through who knows what while he'd been 
filming the whole thing.  "Ah, are you okay ... sorry, stupid question.
Obviously not.  Uhh ... all the other victims were fine after a while ..."
She released his jacket and just lay on his lap shivering in response.  Ryo 
glanced around the shattered ground trying to think of what to say then saw
the wink of sunlight on metal.  He gently eased himself from under her 
lowering her to the ground.  She pulled into a fetal ball as he headed for 
the prize.  
     "Kasumi?"  She opened her eyes to see him holding a twisted piece of  
scrap iron before her face.  "I found your gun."  She closed her eyes again 
and tried to pull herself in into a tighter huddle.  Ryo had no idea what to
do, he'd always been a bit uncomfortable when things got over emotional.  But
this was his partner and she was suffering from a traumatic experience.  He
had to do something.  Hesitantly he asked, "Would you like me to hold you?"
     There was a brief silence then a muffled, "Yes!".  Ryo eased down to a
sitting position and wrapped his arms around her.  She was shaking like a 
leaf, tears leaking through closed eyelids.  He held her close and realized 
he had no idea what she was going through and belatedly felt very ashamed.  He 
began telling her it was all right, everything would be fine.  She clung to 
him and began to weep in earnest.  Gradually the tears slowed and she ceased
quivering like a bowstring.  But she didn't let go.
     Kasumi had never felt this vulnerable before.  She had been pinned like a 
specimen and mentally raped but bad as that been it paled next to terrible
realization.  She had been wrong and Ryo had been right, magic was real.  To
him that was wonderful but she saw only terror.  Her whole worldview had been
shattered, now she wasn't sure of anything anymore.  If the supernatural was
real then what lurked below the calm, sane surface.  Ghosties, ghoulies,
things that went bump in the night maybe they were all real.  She would have
given anything to have her old world back.  Ryo whispered something to her 
that cut through the shock.  Maybe Ryo wasn't totally ignorant of what she was 
feeling.  She clung to the words like a lifeline.  
     "Nothing's changed, this is the same world we woke up in this morning.
It's just now we know a few more things about it.  But we also know most of 
the time things are as mundane as we always believed.  Most of the time the 
world makes sense."  She clung to him for what felt like hours until she felt
strong enough to face the world again.
     Thankfully it was several hours before Ryo could get an appointment with
his immediate superior.  Usually he rankled at the low priority he received
but today it was a blessing in disguise.  Kasumi had needed the time to 
recover further.  She wasn't back to normal, she doubted he would ever be the
same.  But at least he wasn't scared she was going to suffer a nervous 
collapse. 
     Immediately after returning to the office Ryo had thrown the startled 
Yusake out and locked the door.  They had talked for ages in the sudden 
privacy, each learning more about the other in those few hours than they had
in the past six months.  At last the time for the appointment had come and  
they had headed for Captain Tanaka's office, Ryo clutching the videotape he
had shot like a talisman.  He had to be careful, he had been so busy tending
Kasumi he had forgotten to copy this.  Running into someone carrying coffee 
could be disastrous. 
     Despite Ryo's sudden outbreak of paranoia they reached the captain's
office without incident and were ushered inside.  Tanaka motioned them to 
sit and asked, "So what's so urgent, Shimizu?"
     "The Sailor Senshi!  I've finally seen them and so has Kasumi ... 
Detective Nogami."  Kasumi repressed a shiver and nodded.  "And I've got the
proof right here!"  Reverently Ryo laid the videotape on the Captain's desk.
Tanaka made no move to pick it up.  Instead he said simply, "Explain."
     Ryo looked to Kasumi then began recounting the tale himself, letting her
correct him when he erred and agree that was how it had happened when he got
it right.  The captain simply listened, showing no signs of disbelief or
acceptance,  When Ryo was done he gingerly picked up the tape in one hand and
inquired, "This is the only copy?"  Ryo nodded and the captain's free hand
dipped into a drawer to emerge with some type of machine.  In the moments it 
took him to recognise the electromagnetic bulk eraser for what it was the 
videotape had already been blanked.  The typecase cracked as the captain's
grip tightened and before Ryo could form a coherent protest he had already
dropped the shattered cassette into his trash can.  
     "Was there anything else, Detective Shimizu?"
     Ryo struggled to ask for an explanation without violating protocol.  Then
gave up.  "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"  Kasumi put a hand on
his shoulder before he could surge up and grab the captain by his tie.
     Unperturbed by the disrespect Ryo had just shown Tanaka answered simply,
"My job."
     "THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING YOU SON OF A BITCH!"  Kasumi clamped a hand over 
his mouth and tried to get this back to a civilized level before things got
out of hand.  
     "Captain Tanaka-dono destroying the tape doesn't alter the fact that the
Sailor Senshi and the creatures they fight are all too real.  We can't keep
pretending otherwise."
     The Captain looked surprised for the first time.  "Real?  Of course 
they're real.  We've always known that."
     "We?"
     "My superiors and the government of course."
     Kasumi stared at him then slumped back in her chair trying to digest 
this.  She had expected to be dismissed as crazy but this wholehearted 
acceptance was more than she could take.  If they knew then they'd let her go
into the field blithely unaware of the peril she faced.  What the hell were
they playing at?
     Kasumi's grip loosened and Ryo was free to speak.  Tanaka's revelation
had taken a toll on him as well.  No longer shouting he asked, "But if the  
higher ups already knew that then why is my office treated like a joke?  
What's the point of having a paranormal investigations department if you're 
going to withhold vital information from it?"  Captain Tanaka sighed wearily
     "Do you know what the real job of your department is?"
     Uncertainly Ryo answered, "To prove the existence of the Sailor Senshi?"
     "Wrong!  To find any evidence of them and any other paranormal phenomena
you can so we can bury it forever!"
     "But ..."
     "But nothing!  You've seen them, you know they exist.  What you haven't
thought through are the implications!  There are powers in this universe we
can't begin to fathom and for some reason they've picked Tokyo as their 
battleground.  This is a city of ten million people, the heart of Japan 
itself!  How would they react if they found out every childhood nightmare, 
every folktale and every horror story they ever heard is real?  How long could
this city function if they knew things stalk the night and prey on humans
and there's not a damned thing we can do to protect them?"
     Kasumi just stared at the Captain and it was almost a minute before Ryo 
could find his voice.  "But ... but whether they know or not it's real and 
it's happening!"
     "I know and now so do you.  But as long as the majority don't know it and
those who survive believe the Sailor Senshi are there to save everyone then 
everything keeps running smoothly.  There's been little hard evidence and 
we've been able to bury that.  You've been most efficient in finding what we
miss so we can finish cleaning up after them.   All that's left is people 
telling stories and no one really believes them except the others who have had
close encounters.  Instead it becomes the basis for an urban mythology which 
nobody really takes seriously and toy companies mine for inspiration.  Which
helps hid the truth behind a wall of merchandising."  From the stricken look 
on the detectives faces this was about the last thing they had expected to 
hear when they came here.  Rejected as mad maybe but told they were right and 
already part of the coverup was something else.
     He looked at the two stunned detectives and reflected on the advantages
of cynicism.  It made discovering how the world worked a lot less surprising.
Even so it was with a certain measure of compassion he told them, "I 
realize this is a lot to take in all at once but I'm sure you can see the 
wisdom of it.  No one wants to cause a mass panic do they?  Anyway you've both 
been through a lot so why not take a few days leave.  I'm sure you'll come to 
realize the wisdom of our choice."
     Realizing they were dismissed the two detectives rose and made their
goodbyes.  Captain Tanaka noticed Nogami leaning on Shimizu heavily, obviously
far more shaken by her ordeal than she would admit.  For his part Shimizu 
seemed more than professionally concerned about his partners wellbeing and 
carefully escorted her out.  
    Ryo paused at the threshold, trying to think of some parting remark.  
Before he could speak Tanaka told him, "Detective Shimizu, no one denies you 
were right, the Sailor Senshi do exist.  But you'll have to be content to know 
that we know that.  Our job is to serve and protect and we do that in more 
ways than people think."  Ryo hesitated a moment longer then nodded and walked 
out.  Tanaka nodded with relief, Ryo had accepted his story and would help 
keep things under wraps.  Considering the implications and his duty to the 
public had brought him around.  Nogami was a lot less likely to go to the 
media, particularly without evidence so he could count on her silence.  The 
S Files would continue to stay quietly buried while they discreetly 
investigated and quietly added new cases.  It was still all secure.  There 
would be no need for excessive measures.  
     Excellent, he was not a violent man and disliked when necessity forced 
it upon him.  Tanaka sighed and shook his head.  If only Goto had listened.  
Then shrugged.  Ah well, can't make okonomiyaki without breaking eggs.  What 
was done was done.  Anyway it was time to make a special phone call.  Once he 
had taken a few precautions.
     After checking for electronic surveillance he removed an amulet from
inside his shirt and chanted certain words.  Nothing happened so he unlocked
his briefcase and removed several devices which he attached to his phone.
After entering a code sequence and reciting another spell he tapped in the
long distance number.  It rang twice then someone answered in British accented
English.  "Yes?"
     Switching to the same language Captain Tanaka identified himself before 
telling the listener, "Master Abaddon the situation I mentioned earlier has 
been resolved.  The S Files operatives have learned their quarry exists but 
they will not go public with that knowledge.  Instead they will cooperate in 
hiding all traces of both the Sailor Senshi and their enemies' existence."    
He paused a moment then added, "It might have been wiser to bring them in from 
the beginning."  A curt voice answered.
     "Too risky.  We have few other operatives within the Tokyo Police 
Department and you are almost indispensable.  It is better that you give the 
orders and they obey without realizing they are covering anything up." 
Tanaka nodded unconsciously, it was amazingly easy to accomplish.  Evidence 
was lost when repairs were allowed too early.  Word would come from above that 
forensic testing revealed an accidental gas main explosion or a collapsing
sewer line caused the damage and the cops on the beat accepted that and spread 
the word.  Physical evidence was stored forever under the wrong references or 
removed and examined by those who knew what to look for.  If valueless but 
potentially exposable it was destroyed, if useful it was quietly exported.
In both cases powerless replicas replaced the items to provide a dead end if
anyone else investigated.  
     The beauty of it all was just how easy it was to tweak the strings 
without anyone catching on.  That combined with the fact most people wanted 
things to remain as they thought they always had.  No unpleasant surprises to 
spoil their worldview.  If magic was real then all manner of things would have 
be rethought and the majority didn't want to be bothered thinking, that would 
interfere with their lives.  All they really wanted was for today to be much 
the same as yesterday.  
     Those inclined to believe in the paranormal were even easier to fool.
Too gullible to be taken seriously by the majority it was easy to misdirect
them into foolishness.  They'd accept the lamest hoax as easily as they'd 
witness a true miracle.  Easier as hoaxes could be engineered to conform to 
their belief systems.  In many ways the self proclaimed mystics were more   
conservative than the secular majority they sneered at.  Manoeuvring them into
dead ends and nonsense dogmas and away from true power was simple for the 
Order.  As it should be after centuries of practise in keeping true magic 
from being rediscovered and the true history of the world dead and buried.
Despite the best efforts of that accursed clan and their guardian monstrosity
who sought its resurrection.  Soon they would cease to be a problem, all the
portents indicated the new age of magic was dawning.  And when it did those 
practised in the hidden arts would at least achieve the power and mastery they 
deserved.
     Takana's momentary introspection was broken as the voice on the other end 
of the line continued,  "Keep up the good work and you will continue to be 
rewarded.  It remains in the Order's best interests that the knowledge magic 
exists remains confined to the chosen few.  Last thing we need is others 
draining the scant mana available that we have spent centuries learning to 
use.  Sooner than you think our grand day will come and the whole world will 
tremble before us as our enemies try in vain to flee our vengeance!"  The
momentary outburst of megalomanical ranting was gone as quickly as it had 
surfaced.  Sounding much more composed though with a tinge of amusement the 
master added, "The Warwolf's head will make a fine trophy.  Its pelt should 
make an equally fine rug."  Takana nodded again,it was pleasant to think of 
wiping your feet upon the legendary terror's back after all the childhood 
nightmares the tales had given him and the others raised within the 
Brotherhood.
     Returning to a businesslike tone his master told him, "The equipment you 
salvaged from Mugen Gakuen should be most useful in the great design."  He 
felt a surge of pride at his leader's praise, he would be rewarded well for 
his efforts.  Meanwhile his master concluded, "But until that glorious day
we must continue to keep a low profile.  Though unlike any of my predecessors
I can say without hesitation that the world will change beyond recognition in
our lifetimes."
     "I understand Master Abaddon."   Bidding his leader farewell Captain 
Tanaka hung up his phone before disassembled the scrambler.  As he packed it 
away he gazed through the window at the night sky.  It was unusually clear,
the stars visible despite the city lights and unimpeded by the haze of 
pollution.  The vast infinity of creation spread before him.  An expanse that 
could hold literally anything.  Thoughtfully he stage whispered, "The truth is 
out there ..."  Then he chuckled.
     "And I am going to see that it stays out there instead of showing up 
around here to complicate things."  
     It was meant as a vow, the reaffirmation of his life's work.  A vow he 
would keep the rest of his days.  Until it served the Order for the truth to 
be known.  He raised a water glass in a toast then got back to work.  Denying
everything.

End.

Afterword:
Ryo and Kasumi will be back, if not in a second S Files story then they'll be 
popping up in some of the 20th century/Great Darkness stories I have planned.

Credit where credit is due department; most obviously Chris Carter's "X Files" 
was a major source of both inspiration and the title.  Yoshiki Endo first 
appeared in Ben Harrison's "Hunter's Moon" which as you just read wound up as
one of Ryo's S Files.  Yoshiki might seem a little familiar characterwise,
probably because he was among several cast members in "Hunter's Moon" based 
upon Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2.  Which isn't so much a discrepency as part 
of our background.  We decided some time back SME manga writers and artists 
probably seek real life inspiration for their tales (remember the Falcon 
lookalike in Trenchcoat Mask?).  After all the SME Takeuchi-sama based her 
Sailor V comic on bits and pieces she heard about Minako's solo career.
Getting back to Yoshiki the story he told about his ancestor Takeaki is a
somewhat distorted account of events that form the background to E.M. 
Lurker's, "Legend of the Demon's Tomb".  A story which will also reveal the 
truth about Adabbon and the mysterious organization known as the Ancient 
Cryptic Recondite Order of Necromantic Ysian Mystery.  More colloquially 
called ACRONYM.  But don't hold your breath as he's got to get through, "An 
American Wizard in Queen Beryl's Court" first.  Though from what I've seen 
it'll be worth the wait.  Almost forgot, I included a reference to my first
DKR story, "Refugees".

As always SME owes a great debt and its very existence to the animated version
of Naoka Takeuchi's "Sailor Moon".  Events mentioned in several individual  
S Files were drawn from episodes 12, 13 and 43 of the SM TV series along with
more general references to SMR and SMS.  Hawkeye and the Amazones Trio can be 
found in the SMSS series.

That's all folks

Mark Latus
August 11 1998





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