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Super Sailor Tsui had faced many adversaries before, with little to no thought or fear. Tsui was often too stubborn, or simply too stupid, to know when to fear or back down, and there were times when she was forced to be humbled. This was one of those moments that she wished she could have just charged into the situation, with reckless abandon and the usual bravado that she was normally blessed with. Yet, here she was, sitting on top of the building just above the playground, looking down at the girl that was playing hopscotch and admiring her from a safe distance, just out of her reach. Too damn nervous to jump down there and tell her what she had come to realize...

"Sutai, I know we've only known each other for a little while, but... I feel that we really clicked! Like... glue, really strong glue!" Tsui said to herself, trying to prep herself for the task ahead and not allow her silly fears to get the best of her. She faced harder challenges. Confessing what she felt was love for one of her closest friends? This should have been easy! "Hey, you know how your princess is magnetic? I think it's rubbing off on you, because... I'm attracted to you!"

That one was groanworthy, and she slapped a palm to her forehead at her own failure. "Aurora said this shouldn't be hard. Don't complicate things. Just... go up to her and be straight forward!"

The Dark Mirror Senshi of Romance also told her to not get discouraged if her affections were rejected, and Tsui didn't want to think of that! She'd rather take on an entire score of youma all by herself than dreading the thought of her rejecting her...

Her senses caught whiff of a dark aura drawing close, and this made Tsui stand from her watchtower. "Youma... and pretty strong, by the feel of it. But where?!"

Tsui had faced off against many different kinds of youma before, but she didn't have to make a list of them to know that she hadn't faced one of this magnitude before. She didn't have the TIME to! That monstrosity was going straight for Sutai! In that very moment, all of her inner struggles in fighting the youma was gone; what did she care if that thing was once a human like herself, taken and twisted into this grotesque form that she saw lumbering towards Sutai? It was going to kill her friend! Her love!

"SUTAI!" Tsui shouted, caring nothing for stealth or tact as she leaped from her perch and made her way to the page of Polaris' aid. She lacked the usual finesse and flips of her descents, her years of gymnastic training wasted in that moment. She could have broken her legs from the fall but she was running on pure adrenaline, breaking her landing with a tumble and running straight for the monster as it crushed the swingset and set its gaze on Sutai. Did she hear her over the crunching metal and guttural roars, or was she too terrified of being in such a youma's shadow?

If it was the latter, she didn't blame her. It was big from a distance, but it was MUCH bigger up close, as she tried to flank the youma and charged at its side. She wasted no time- she had to use a Striking Tiger Flurry to throw it away and given Sutai the chance to escape. She screamed her attack as one of its heads turned to her, a flash of white aura and sand she kicked up could be seen. "Striking Tiger Flurry!"

She slammed against its side, fearing that it was simply too strong of a monster to either push back or stun, even for herself. Normally she wouldn't care- she charged a General King, for crying out loud! But she was alone, no one but herself to suffer the consequences if she failed. Sutai was here... she COULDN'T fail!

Normally, Tsui would take the time to gloat her success in taking such a large monster off guard, and perhaps getting at least one of its ugly heads crushed wouldn't have helped in keeping her ego in check. But there was something about Sutai's genuine fear and tears that had a way of cutting right through that attention-seeking pride that Tsui had, and the feel of her friend trembling in her arms was more than enough to convince her that running would have probably have been a good idea.

"It's alright, Sutai! I'm here now... trust me, I'm not going anywhere that you're not..." Tsui said, trying to calm her friend and remaining strong for her sake, despite how part of her wanted to join her friend in her tears. The thought of something happening to her... she shook her head, hearing her words and scoffing at them in a friendly manner. She sounded much braver than she felt, but it was an old habit, reinforced now to give Sutai the anchor, and the hero, she needed. "Don't talk like that, like we're going to die or something! Like hell I'll allow anyone or anything to hurt you!"

But she could tell that her friend was simply too frightened, and that was a great incentive to take Sutai and get her to someplace safe. That, and the way those bright eyes now set on her, as well as the youma's roar and how it moved towards her. Yes, THAT was a good incentive to run.

"Sutai, listen to me- you need to get to someplace safe, someplace high. I don't know if knights can do power jumps like us senshi can, but I have faith in you," Tsui said, pulling Sutai behind her and keeping her eyes on the youma as it lumbered towards them. Yes, it was hungry for her blood, but she could see the one head that laid limp and it gave her some hope that it could be taken down completely. But for now, her top priority was getting Sutai to safety, even if she had to act as bait to do so. The thought of confessing her attraction was put on hold, though part of her screamed to address it, on the off chance that this youma was simply too much for them. What if she never had the chance again? "Find a ladder or something to climb and wait for me there. I don't think this thing can climb or jump, so you should be safe! Do that for me!"

The youma scraped his hoofed leg into the ground and gave a bellow, the only warning before it charged directly at them. Tsui had no time to see if Sutai would listen to her or leave her, and she gave the page another push, hating to be rough but hoping to ram her out of the way of the youma's charge. Tsui prided herself into thinking that she was a very strong Senshi, but the youma was quick to prove to her that there were other things that were far stronger. She had managed to avoid those deadly teeth, but the feel of it ramming into her chest and physically throwing her backwards was its way of retaliating for her strike earlier, except she was certain that she flew much, much farther. Or would have, had she not slammed into the plastic playset with a loud thud. How the hell was she even conscious as she slid to the ground was nothing short of a miracle, but the youma was determined to make sure she would not live for long, as it stalked towards the one that dared strike at it first.

Tsui gave a grunt, looking around for Sutai and hoping she had avoided its charge. "Sutai... where...?"

How the hell did Tsui manage to stay conscious throughout that was a mystery, as she was conscious but she was simply too dazed from the blow. Her head spun and felt as though there was a mist or fog that she was fighting through, and if it wasn't for Sutai's cries, she would have likely slipped into unconsciousness by now. But Sutai was the perfect anchor she needed- she had to stay awake to protect Sutai, she needed to stay alive so that she could tell Sutai what lingered in her heart for so long. Had she lost consciousness or died before getting that off her chest... she couldn't imagine how much regret her soul could hold at the very thought. So, she had to stay conscious... she had to stay alive, for Sutai.

She tried to speak over the grunting of the youma and her friend's cries, but it wasn't until Sutai had managed to pull her to her feet that she was able to get the words out, and she held her ground, despite everything. "I-I'm alright... never better..."

It was a bold-face lie; her back was killing her and she could barely stand straight, and yet, she knew that she was in no condition to run away from this menace. No, even as two of its grotesque heads laid limp, it kept its hungry gaze dead on them, and Tsui risked a glance at the playset she had crashed into behind her. She had no where else to go but forward, and despite her injuries, she began to summon her white aura, likely for the last time ever if she missed. She couldn't miss... she had to kill this thing, before it hurt Sutai, and she knew her friend wouldn't abandon her, even to save herself. That meant there was only one option left... and that was to go down like a hero.

"Sutai... I'm going to do another one of my attacks... if I don't kill it... if it's stunned, you need to run. For me... please..." Tsui said, trying not to allow a single ounce of fear to be heard, though she couldn't deny that the emotion was definitely there. If she was to confess her love... now was the time, yet, why was she afraid to? She was so willing to go down a hero in the face of this ugly monstrosity, yet, she couldn't mutter three simple words? "Sutai... I..."

'Love you... say it, Tsui, before you miss the chance!'

The youma drew closer and closer, weighted down only by its dead heads and the sand, wobbling and barely keeping itself straight but keeping its eyes on the prize.

'Tigers powers... front leg?' Tsui couldn't manage the words, but she looked at the now charging youma and down at its legs, and once Sutai had brought attention to it, it clicked. Twice it had fallen over and crushed its own heads with its own weight... "Sutai... you're a genius!"

As much as she wanted to shower her with praise, now was not the time. Now that she had a strategy, and a very angry and desperate youma charging at her, she had to act fast, and no sooner did all of the white aura gather at her fingertips and arms did the Senshi of Tigers make her gallant charge. Sutai's faith would not be misplaced!

"Striking Tiger Flurry!" Tsui screamed, charging directly at the youma's feet and slamming herself and the white tiger-clawed energy into the rushing legs. Thanks to the ferocity of her attack, she couldn't feel the impact, but she knew she had collided with the beast as it gave a pained roar before toppling forward, exactly as Sutai had predicted it would. Tsui slammed against the ground and rolled, though the fear of an immediate retaliation was cleared from her mind as the sound of a loud snap and the sudden stillness that took the youma's form told the Senshi and the knight that victory was theirs this evening. In a mess of black goo and dust, it gave one last, incoherent garble before death took it with the gentle autumn breeze.

Tsui had managed to pull herself to her feet, looking at Sutai's form through the dissipating dust, and she was able to get out a shaky thumbs up before all strength in her knees gave away and she fell back to the ground with a thump. "Good job... Sutai the Strategist... heh..."

'Crap, crap, crap... don't pass out... not now... I still haven't told her...' Tsui held herself up with one hand, and reached for Sutai with the other, motioning for her to come close. Damn it all, she didn't just survive that ordeal just to pass out before getting her confession out!

Normally, Tsui would have been appalled for anyone to see her at her worst, and she would have tried to wriggle out of that hold and refuse the help. She was Super Sailor Tsui, proud Senshi of Tigers! She didn't need a hospital! She just needed a cup of juice... but there was no way she could hide her wounds now, and had it been anyone else except Sutai, she would have been more content to simply flop on the ground and allow herself to slip into unconsciousness before allowing someone else to hold her. Yet... she was in Sutai's arms, and in truth, she could think of no other place she'd rather be.

Well, except maybe not in pain, but it was worth it to know that Sutai was safe. She could barely make out half of what she was saying, likely due to her brain simply wanting to shut down, but she struggled to remain conscious. She had to tell her the truth, even if she rejected her... she had to know the truth...

"Sutai... got something... need to tell you..." She said, though it seemed that Sutai wasn't paying attention to her. She couldn't blame her- after the ordeal they just been through and in the condition that she was in, she couldn't fault her friend for focusing on saving her life. Had she not done the same thing just moments ago? Wasn't she in this condition because of that very reason? "Sutai... I wanna say..."

Before she could say that words, Sutai had pulled away, just enough for her to place a hand on her chest and transform back into her civilian identity. Tsui tried to stop her, but she couldn't... and she didn't want to. The fact that Sutai was dropping her guard and allowing her to see one of the biggest secrets anyone in this war had to offer told Tsui much. She watched, completely focused on the transformation, and she took in everything about Anandi. So this? This was Sutai, her friend?

She smiled. It was almost as if nothing had changed at all. Looking at Anandi and thinking of Sutai brought the same feeling within her chest, and she tried to reach for her own henshin pen so that she could return the favor. But first, she had to do something... she grabbed the hand that held the cell phone, and before she could pass out or reveal her own civilian identity, she had to say it. "Su... Anandi... I love you. Okay?"