No, I don't own Sailor Moon.  Someone far more creative does.  Author's notes at bottom.  Enjoy!

Tenshi

LaurelRose

"The future is the past returning through another gate."
Arnold H. Glasgow

*beep*

*beep*

I'm standing in my room, putting on my robe and settling in for the night with a cup of green tea when my communicator goes off.  Sliding across the room, I grab it and answer.

Usagi, or should I say, Sailor Moon, is on the other end.  I can't really tell what she's saying because of the static, but I do hear the words Zoisite, nijizuishou, and help.

"Where are you?"

The only clear part is an intersection about six blocks from my penthouse.

"I'll be there, hold on!"

I have to get dressed.  I can't walk outside in my robe and I can't go out transformed.  I throw on jeans, sweatshirt, jacket, socks and shoes. As I put on my socks, I realize they have holes in them.  There's not enough time to change them, so I run out the door, almost forgetting my computer.

I don't remember that it's my turn to carry the nijizouishou.

*beep*

*beep*

I'm sitting on a bus, riding in Tokyo.  I'm on my way to see her again, after visiting with some family here.  I don't have friends here, except for her.  A strange man, about 10 years my senior, is starting a conversation with me; what school do you go to, oh, you're not a student here anymore but visiting friends, how nice.

Then I double over in pain, as if someone had punched me in the stomach.

"Are you okay?"

Yeah, I'm fine.  Missed my shot this morning, I'll need to get off and take it now.

"Need any help?"

No, thanks.

I get off the bus and stop shakily in the doorway of a closed restaurant.  Visions are blasting though my mind.  I can't walk, can't see.  The future is so fluid, but one thing stays the same.  Ami is in danger, and somehow I am the only one who understands how much danger.

How love—or lust—would drive someone to terrible things.

Because I understand how deep his feelings went.

A cold wind blew though the streets of Tokyo as Mizuno Ami clutched her jacket closer to herself.  She needed to find Usagi.  Zoisite was dangerous, and he would be confronting her, instead of using youma.  As she raced to the intersection, she felt a shiver run up her spine.  Ami looked around, and what she saw made her stomach hit the floor.  Zoisite, in all of his self-assured glory, stood on top of a roof, boring holes in Ami's skull.

Isn't he supposed to be with Usagi?

Then, maybe he doesn't know who I am.

Zoisite caught her eye and a sardonic grin spread across his face.

He does, she thought.  I'd better call the others.

Ami ducked into an alley and opened her communicator.  "Hey, anybody there?"

No answer.

"Minna, this is Mercury.  I need some backup, ASAP."

Still, no answer.

"Minna?!?!?"

Nothing.

I guess this is just me.  I'd better lose him, and quick.  Ami started down the alleyway at a jog.  She'd loose him in Shinjoku.  Luckily, she wasn't wearing her school fuku, so she'd be harder to find in the crowd of teens.

As Ami ran down the alleyway, she stopped and cursed her luck.  It was a dead end.  She had seen stairs not too far from where she stopped, so she turned around to find them.  And there he stood.  Grinning.

"You have something of mine, Mizuno Ami, Princess Hermione, or shall I say Sailor Mercury."  He waited, expectantly.

Play stupid.  "Wh—who are you?" she stuttered, attempting to look the part of the silly teenage girl.

"Don't play stupid with me," Zoisite snapped.  "I want the yellow crystal."

"What do you mean?" she answered.

"Give it to me."  He advanced closer.  "You seem hesitant.  Why?  I have something else to offer you."  Zoisite's voice softened, almost pleading with Ami.  "Come with me, and we will rule this planet together.  Why do you fight with the senshi?  It's always been you and me.  Come!"

"No, no…" Ami began shaking.  "Leave me alone…"  She backed up closer to the wall in a futile attempt to escape him.  I can't transform, not with him standing right there.  Fear coursed through her veins like never before, but resolution replaced it, allowing her to stand tall.  The yellow crystal…Ryo-kun nearly died for it.  Zoisite can't have it.  She looked him square in the eye.  "I don't have anything for you."

He stepped closer and grabbed her roughly.  "You have yourself."  He bent and fastened his lips on hers.

No, no, no, this is wrong… she thought.  He's going to steal my energy and take me to the Dark Kingdom!  Ami struggled violently against Zoisite, knowing that if she did not win this battle, there would be no more.  Her struggles grew weaker as she struggled to keep consciousness.  Her logical mind frantically struggled to process the new information Zoisite dropped.  Princess Hermione? she thought.  Is that me?  What does he mean?

So fully was Ami concentrating on resisting Zoisite and solving this new mystery that she did not hear hurried footsteps rushing toward Zoisite and herself.  However, Ami felt herself roughly yanked away from Zoisite, resulting in a break of her train of thought.  The mysterious newcomer threw her unceremoniously to the ground.  Before she passed out, she looked up to see her savior.  Ryo…

Urawa Ryo stood facing Zoisite, blocking the Shittenou's way to Ami.  He knew she was in trouble, knew it as sure as breathing, and hearing Zoisite talking to her did not ease his mind at all.  Having the nijizuishou taken from him had only awakened Ryo's memories of his and other's past lives.  He knew, vaguely, that in a past life, the Shittenou had loved Ami, but now he meant only trouble.  The love Zoisite once had for Ami had been corrupted for Queen Metallia's use.

"Leave her be," Ryo said, attempting to look fierce while struggling to think of a way to save Ami.

"She's mine!" screamed Zoicite.  "Get out of here, Gregory!  She was mine, she is mine, she will be mine for all eternity…won't you?"  The last question was silkily directed to Ami.  "She'll come with me and we'll rule together, and if we don't, well, she can be useful.  In other ways."

Ryo felt his anger growing, and he fought it down desperately.  Anger only clouded judgment.  He had never had this problem before, why had it started now?

One glance at Ami, in a heap on the ground, answered that question.

Zoisite's hands began to glow, as he called up the crackling power that was his signature energy strike.  Ryo knew he would be as good as dead if it hit him.  Ami would not be too far behind him, so his mind raced to find a way to extricate her from this situation.

"Take me.  Wouldn't I be more useful as a youma than she?"

"You don't have the…appeal she does."

A memory hit Ryo, flashing across his eyes for a second, but taking much longer in his mind.

~Here, try against me.

~It's not proper.  I'm an ambassador, not a warrior!

~You need to learn to defend yourself, Rory.  Besides, fencing's like chess.

~Okay, Zoi, I'll try.

~Good.  Mia needs someone else to practice against, and her mother doesn't approve of me.

An idea struck Ryo.  "Let's settle this like gentlemen, Zoisite.  I challenge you to a duel."

"Shielded?"

Another, more experienced self began to take over Ryo.  "Of course.  Mia's in the shield on my side.  I don't want any of your cronies grabbing her while you're busy with me."

Both men began building shields, Zoisite's a crackling black, and Ryo's a piercing white.  They started from the ground and curved upward, covering the combatants until they met in the middle.  Two rapiers appeared, and Zoisite threw one to Ryo.  After a thorough inspection, Ryo approved the blade and got into his ready position.

"If I win," said Zoisite, "I get Mia, and you die."  He glared at the slighter boy across from him, hatred in his eyes.

Ryo nodded curtly.  "If I win, you stay away from her.  Forever.  You die."  Ryo's returning glance was less heated, but just as stony.  Restrained fury was apparent behind his eyes.

Zoisite nodded in return.  "Let us begin."

The duel began with neither man gaining an advantage.  They had differing styles of dueling; Zoisite was more offensive, while Ryo was more defensive.  To the casual observer, the shittenou had the advantage, but a seasoned dueler could see that the boy was calculating quickly, looking for his opening, when the shittenou would let down his guard in a place, allowing him to be pinned.  Steel hit steel, as Zoisite tried to disable Ryo's sword arm.  The former ambassador saw the former general tiring.  For a split second, Ryo wondered why this man with so much extra energy was faltering.

Stupid boy, something said in his mind.  One of you fights for hate and revenge, while the other fights for love and light!

His own mind realized that he needed to finish this battle before his own shield weakened to the point where a youma controlled by Zoisite could steal in and take Ami.  Ryo pushed through to the finishing move taught to him by his father.

One!  Ryo picked up speed, allowing his counters to become more frantic.

Two!  He eyed Zoisite, watching for his opening.

Three!  He found it, and with a rush of strength he didn't know he had, Ryo closed, knocking Zoisite to the ground, with sharp steel pointed at his throat.

"You lost, agreed?" spat Ryo.

"Agreed."

As Ryo began to make his killing blow, someone grabbed his arm.  "Wait!"

It was Ami, weak and disheveled, but she was still there.

"Rory, don't kill him."

"What!  Mia, do you know what that…that bastard was going to do to you?"  A flush appeared on Ryo's cheeks.  "Would you like me to describe it to you in full detail—"

She cut him off.  "I don't want you to become a killer just to be rid of him.  Let his queen handle that."

Ryo eyed Zoisite warily.  "You will swear to me, you will not touch a hair on her head, you will not see her, speak to her, or in any way harm her.  Swear this on your oath to Beryl.  Swear it!"

"I…I swear."

"If you do, if you even breathe the same air as her, I will find you and I will kill you, sentimentalities be damned.  Now go!"

Zoisite took this opportunity to flee, so quickly he didn't leave his sakura blossoms behind him.

When Ryo turned around, he found Ami sitting on the ground, knees drawn up to her chest.  She was shaking, but not from cold.  He looked at her with eyes full of knowledge and sadness, the very same eyes that he had fixed on her the first time she had ever really talked to him.

He sighed.  "Let's go home."

"What happened?  I understand part of it, but some things…"

"Let me get you someplace warm first.  You're going to be suffering from energy loss pretty soon."

"Hai," she whispered.  Ami's eyes were already beginning to droop.  She began to walk toward Ryo, but only got two steps toward him before she began to fall.

Ryo caught her, and she ended up leaning against his chest.  "Easy there," he whispered.  "Why don't I carry you home?"

Ami nodded slowly, and Ryo picked her up, cradling her gently against his chest.  He slowly walked through the streets of Tokyo until he reached a bus stop.  "How many stops until your apartment?" he asked Ami.

"Three."

"Okay."  The bus crowd had thinned out, and Ryo easily found a seat near the driver so he could pay the fare.  The ride did not take very long, but Ryo felt on edge.  Ami shook slightly the entire time; subsequently he did not feel safe until the two of them were in Ami's penthouse, with the door locked and miso on the stove.

As Ryo busied himself in the kitchen, he periodically checked on Ami, who lay on the couch under a warm blanket.  Soon the entire house was clean, and Ami was sipping miso out of a cup.  Ryo carefully sat himself down on the floor next to her.  He did not want to disturb her thoughts.  Ami stared off into space for a while, trying to gather the courage to talk to him.  Her gaze abruptly switched from the window to his face.

"Where did you learn that?"

"What?"

"Fencing," she replied.

"Oh, here and there," he shrugged.

She looked at Ryo, at a loss for words caused by discovering another side to his personality.  After spending the next few minutes in silence, she spoke again.

"I'm confused."  A strange admittance from a girl who was thought to have a 300 IQ.

More silence.  Then, "What were you and Zoisite doing?"

Ryo fidgeted.  He did not want to explain everything to Ami too soon.

"You know something, don't you?  About us.  About the past."

He responded hesitantly.  "Yes…yes, I do."

"Tell me."  Her eyes glittered with the thought of understanding herself better.

"Not everything.  I can't tell you that just yet.  It…it hurts too much."

She looked at him expectantly.

"All right.  We'll start now and I'll add on later.  It's a long, confusing story, and even I don't know all the parts.  Let's just say it started like this…

"Once upon a time, there was a little girl who loved her mother very, very much…"

And he told her how they met.

This is part of a larger universe that will be further explored when I get my notes from home.  (They're currently sitting in my closet.)  If you want to know where this fits in to the canon, it's right between "Kitty Chaos" and "Tuxedo Melvin."  Don't laugh.  I'm using dubbed names (shudder) because they're more recognizable.

Also, I need a beta.  This took a year editing on my own.  I have a feeling someone else would go much faster.  If you'd like to beta (and have my undying thanks) email me at LaurelRose1984@hotmail.com.  Thank you!

LR