Allo minna! This fic is kinda Man in the Iron Mask-ish, which you'll see as you go. Oh, and I'm not very educated in life in Crystal Tokyo so I had to make up a few things. Sorry ^^º
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. If anyone's willing to trade, I'll give you this Twix bar for it...
The Unforgotten Son
By: Rei_Firestar
Setsuna, as her Sailor Pluto alter ego, sauntered down the crystaline hallway with a solemn façade. The tip of her staff would hit the marble floor with every other step she took, causing a chiming echo to vibrate throughout the room. She was in the Grand Hallway, on her way to Neo-Queen Serenity's bedroom, where a 9-month pregnant queen awaited. She knew that the only other people who would be in the room would be King Endymion and the royal doctor. Pluto knew what they were expecting, and they were wrong.
Very wrong.
As she got closer to the Royal Bed Chamber, she closed in on a pair of women clad in beautiful dresses. She had seen them around the palace before, princesses of some sort she recalled, but knew they were not of the Imperial Court.
"I heard that the Princess of Mars is pregnant, too. That's kinda funny, isn't it? A woman and her best friend pregnant at the same time? I bet their baby shower was a blast!"
"Yeah! But I heard that Princess Rei, like, disappeared or something."
"She's been locked up in her room for days. No one's seen her."
"Do you think she's having...you know, complications?"
Pluto stopped and gave them death glares.
"Enough! If you are not of Queen Serenity's Imperial Court, then I suggest you leave this area at once."
The two princesses took the hint and scurried away. Pluto watched them until they were out of sight, then continued toward her queen's bedroom. She quietly slipped through the doorway and closed it behind her. No one noticed her arrival, which was to be expected. They were too busy watching the arrival of someone else.
"It's a girl!" the doctor proclaimed. King Endymion smiled widely at his daughter, but realized that his wife was not so happy.
"Usako?" he affectionately questioned her by her old nickname.
"It's not over...," she spoke softly, almost unbelieving. The doctor wrapped the newly born girl in a towel so that only her face showed and handed her to her father, then went to work delivering the next one. Both the king and queen looked utterly shocked. Pluto watched them from her corner of the room. She knew what was about to happen.
A minute later the doctor re-emerged with another baby wrapped in a towel, same as its predecessor, in his arms.
"Congratulations! Twins! A girl," he said nodding to the girl in Endymion's arms. Then, motioning to the one in his, claimed, "and a boy." The two royals looked as if they might faint.
"Two!? I thought we were supposed to just have one! A daughter! I never knew there would be conflict to the throne!"
"Endymion, hush. Can I hold them, doctor?"
The doctor nodded and handed the queen her son. She cooed to him softly. Endymion handed her their daughter, at whom she smiled widely. The fact that they were crying loudly, as do all new borns, did not affect her at all. Pluto slowly walked toward the royals. Her staff hit the floor again as she walked, giving her away. They all looked at her, wondering how she had gotten there, but knew better than to question the senshi. She bowed her head slightly, which basically meant what she had to say was urgent since she didn't fall to one knee like she normally did.
"Congratulations on your healthy children, my queen. Speaking of your children...I noticed that King Endymion realized the problem?"
The king nodded. "There would be an incredible conflict over the throne. The Moonitian law, the law which Serenity governs, states that the first born, regardless of gender, claims the royal title. The Law of Earth, however, states that the first born male receives the throne, and that if no son is produced, it goes to the next closest male kin of the king."
"So although you have a son, who by your ruling should take your place as king one day, your daughter was born first, giving her the birth-right."
"Precisely."
"Then you realize what must be done...?"
The king lowered his head and sighed. "We must get rid of one of them."
"NO!!" Queen Serenity screamed. Endymion was at her side in a single stride.
"Sweetheart, listen to me. This is the only way. There is nothing that can be done."
"Why not!?"
"Because we rule by two different codes and both codes have equal power. Both sets of laws are of equal importance, but they disagree on which of our children should have the throne."
"We can't just KILL our CHILD!!"
"You wouldn't have to," Pluto claimed, speaking up for the first time since their arguement began. "I could take one of them away, give them to someone to raise, and never let them know of their birth-right. You would never see them again, but I could give you the comfort of knowing that they are safe. For while you can never interact with them again, I can keep a steady eye on them if you wished it."
Endymion kneeled next to his wife's bed. "Sailor Pluto has a good idea. It will be better this way. No quarreling and bickering for all their lives. It would be sad for them to never know they had a sibling, but...it's the best thing we can do for them."
Serenity was crying. She looked up from her husband and back to the Gaurdian of Time.
"You'd make sure that-" she hiccuped slightly "-that they'd be placed in good, caring homes? Very well provided?"
Pluto nodded. "The next question will be the hardest. Which child are you going to give up?"
Serenity couldn't answer. Endymion rose to his feet.
"Wait. I want them to both be named. Even if whichever one we choose, if their name is never used, at least we will have given them something."
Serenity nodded and looked to her daughter. "We agreed long ago that our daughter would be named Usagi." She turned to her baby boy. "But what about our son?"
Endymion sighed slightly as he took in the sight before him. His wife was lying on a bed with their son and daughter in her arms, trying to name them both only so that one could be taken from her.
"How about..." he trailed off, then smiled and finished, "Motoki?"
Serenity laughed softly. "You mean after the bartender from the arcade I used to hang out at when I was a teenager?" Endymion smiled and nodded. Serenity looked to her son. "Motoki it is."
There was an awkward silence - even the babies stopped crying in this brief amount of time - before Endymion hesitantly stated, "It's time."
Serenity shook her head. "I can't choose."
Endymion lowered his eyes slightly, not wanting to have to choose either. He then looked to Pluto. "What do you think, Sailor Pluto?"
She appeared to be concentrating for a minute or two, then she finally gave her answer, her eyes downcast.
"The object is not to let anyone know what has occured here. No one can know. Not even the fellow senshi." She stopped and looked to the royal couple. They nodded in depressed understanding. She continued. "Because of her time traveling exploits, the senshi already know of your having a daughter. To have a son would drawn much unwanted suspicion. I believe it would be in the best interests of everyone if you chose your son."
Endymion nodded and looked to his wife. She was still crying. She leaned in and kissed his forehead softly. "Goodbye, Motoki," she choked out in a hoarse whisper. The Time Senshi walked over and gently picked up the boy.
"Everyone must be sworn to secrecy. This cannot be let known to anyone under any circumstance. Is this understood?" Pluto asked.
"You have my word," the king spoke. Serenity could do nothing more than nod her head.
"I will not tell a soul what has taken place here," the royal doctor agreed. Bowing her head slightly, Sailor Pluto turned to leave the room.
"Wait!" Serenity called. Pluto looked back to her. "Remember how you said you would keep us informed about him?" Pluto nodded. "I don't want you to do that, Pluto. I want him to lead a normal life, one that does not include us." The senshi smiled and nodded, then turned and walked away, Motoki bundled up and asleep in her arms.
Once out of the room, Pluto broke into a steady run, holding the newly born Motoki so that her running would hopefully not awaken him. The last thing she needed was a wailing newborn while trying to quickly sneak throughout the palace. She ran a good ways through the overgrown mansion before stopping at a large bedroom door, thankful that no one had seen her. It would've been very hard to explain why she was running around the palace holding a baby.
Pluto didn't have to try the doorknob to know the door was locked. It had been locked for the past few days. She had come prepared, though. She held Motoki in the crook of her arm as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a skeleton key. She slipped it easily through the keyhole and with the paitence of a saint slowly turned the key so the person inside would not hear the door unlock. Once this was accomplished, she turned the doorknob then eased the door open in much the same paitent fashion she has used with the key. She had already closed the door again behind her by the time she was noticed.
The room was very plain looking. It had one grand bed with a nightstand next to it. Upon the nightstand was a lamp, which was not in use, and a candlestick, which was. Sitting upright in the bed with her head bowed was a woman, crying softly. When she heard the door click shut, she raised her head and looked to the intruder. Tearstains shone like painful tattoos on either side of the young woman's face. Sailor Pluto could not help but cringe at the girl's shattered appearance and tattered heart.
"Oh, Rei..."
"Go away, Setsuna," she tried to yell. It came out more along the lines of a quiet, rough croak.
"I have a proposition for you," she stated softly as she walked to her fellow senshi's bed. She handed Rei the bundled up child. Rei took it hesitantly. "Rei," she began quietly, "I know you lost a son two days ago, I saw it, but I'm the only one who knows. I'm giving you another chance. The boy you hold in your arms, his parents are unwilling to take care of him. I cannot tell you more about his parents only because they want him to lead a normal life. They had no idea who I was going to give this child to, so don't think this is about you. Also, I will not inform you of the day on which he was born. His exact age will remain unknown to you. I took care of him for a while myself, so only I shall know his exact age."
'Well, I did take care of him...for about 5 minutes,' Pluto thought to herself as she continued.
"Rei, I want you to take care of this child like he was your own. Don't tell him anything of his past and raise him as if you yourself had given birth to him. Tell everyone that you had him two days ago, and that he has been in here with you all the while. Details will come in time. What do you say, Rei? Will you raise this child?"
Rei looked at the sleeping boy in her arms for a moment in silence, then looked back to Sailor Pluto.
"Yes I will."
Pluto smiled. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope. Although the king and queen did not personally give her this to give to the boy's new parents, she knew they would've wanted it.
"The boy's parents only gave him one thing before I took him away. That one thing is in this envelope. Whenever, or if you ever, think the time is right, give it to him."
Rei took the envelope and set it on her nightstand, then looked back to the woman in front of her.
"Thank you. I think this is the best thing that could've happened to me," Rei claimed with a smile.
Pluto smiled back. "What are you going to name him?"
Rei thought for a second, then said, "what I was going to name my real son - Tohru."
"All right." She kissed both the woman and child on the forehead. "Goodbye Rei, Tohru. Remember Rei, tell no one about this."
Rei nodded and Pluto left the room, giving Rei some time with her new son. Rei got up out of bed and picked up a small blanket that she had received at her baby shower for her original son.
'Stop thinking like that!' Rei scolded herself. 'This IS my original son, my only son.'
She unwrapped the towel from around the baby boy and tossed it aside so that she could have it washed later. Rei smiled when she noticed her baby boy had hair.
Dark, blackish colored hair.
His hair had been covered by the towel earlier, so she hadn't noticed it until then. 'Good,' she thought. It would be easier to convince everyone he was her's if he looked like her.
She wrapped little Tohru in his blanket and lay back down on the bed. He was still asleep after all this time. She was glad - she hadn't slept in two days and was definately ready for a nap. She held the baby close to her chest and closed her eyes, nodding off to sleep soon after.
She never dreamed that while she was rejoicing over her new son, her best friend and secret love of her life was weeping while her husband shushed her quietly because they had just lost their own.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. If anyone's willing to trade, I'll give you this Twix bar for it...
The Unforgotten Son
By: Rei_Firestar
Setsuna, as her Sailor Pluto alter ego, sauntered down the crystaline hallway with a solemn façade. The tip of her staff would hit the marble floor with every other step she took, causing a chiming echo to vibrate throughout the room. She was in the Grand Hallway, on her way to Neo-Queen Serenity's bedroom, where a 9-month pregnant queen awaited. She knew that the only other people who would be in the room would be King Endymion and the royal doctor. Pluto knew what they were expecting, and they were wrong.
Very wrong.
As she got closer to the Royal Bed Chamber, she closed in on a pair of women clad in beautiful dresses. She had seen them around the palace before, princesses of some sort she recalled, but knew they were not of the Imperial Court.
"I heard that the Princess of Mars is pregnant, too. That's kinda funny, isn't it? A woman and her best friend pregnant at the same time? I bet their baby shower was a blast!"
"Yeah! But I heard that Princess Rei, like, disappeared or something."
"She's been locked up in her room for days. No one's seen her."
"Do you think she's having...you know, complications?"
Pluto stopped and gave them death glares.
"Enough! If you are not of Queen Serenity's Imperial Court, then I suggest you leave this area at once."
The two princesses took the hint and scurried away. Pluto watched them until they were out of sight, then continued toward her queen's bedroom. She quietly slipped through the doorway and closed it behind her. No one noticed her arrival, which was to be expected. They were too busy watching the arrival of someone else.
"It's a girl!" the doctor proclaimed. King Endymion smiled widely at his daughter, but realized that his wife was not so happy.
"Usako?" he affectionately questioned her by her old nickname.
"It's not over...," she spoke softly, almost unbelieving. The doctor wrapped the newly born girl in a towel so that only her face showed and handed her to her father, then went to work delivering the next one. Both the king and queen looked utterly shocked. Pluto watched them from her corner of the room. She knew what was about to happen.
A minute later the doctor re-emerged with another baby wrapped in a towel, same as its predecessor, in his arms.
"Congratulations! Twins! A girl," he said nodding to the girl in Endymion's arms. Then, motioning to the one in his, claimed, "and a boy." The two royals looked as if they might faint.
"Two!? I thought we were supposed to just have one! A daughter! I never knew there would be conflict to the throne!"
"Endymion, hush. Can I hold them, doctor?"
The doctor nodded and handed the queen her son. She cooed to him softly. Endymion handed her their daughter, at whom she smiled widely. The fact that they were crying loudly, as do all new borns, did not affect her at all. Pluto slowly walked toward the royals. Her staff hit the floor again as she walked, giving her away. They all looked at her, wondering how she had gotten there, but knew better than to question the senshi. She bowed her head slightly, which basically meant what she had to say was urgent since she didn't fall to one knee like she normally did.
"Congratulations on your healthy children, my queen. Speaking of your children...I noticed that King Endymion realized the problem?"
The king nodded. "There would be an incredible conflict over the throne. The Moonitian law, the law which Serenity governs, states that the first born, regardless of gender, claims the royal title. The Law of Earth, however, states that the first born male receives the throne, and that if no son is produced, it goes to the next closest male kin of the king."
"So although you have a son, who by your ruling should take your place as king one day, your daughter was born first, giving her the birth-right."
"Precisely."
"Then you realize what must be done...?"
The king lowered his head and sighed. "We must get rid of one of them."
"NO!!" Queen Serenity screamed. Endymion was at her side in a single stride.
"Sweetheart, listen to me. This is the only way. There is nothing that can be done."
"Why not!?"
"Because we rule by two different codes and both codes have equal power. Both sets of laws are of equal importance, but they disagree on which of our children should have the throne."
"We can't just KILL our CHILD!!"
"You wouldn't have to," Pluto claimed, speaking up for the first time since their arguement began. "I could take one of them away, give them to someone to raise, and never let them know of their birth-right. You would never see them again, but I could give you the comfort of knowing that they are safe. For while you can never interact with them again, I can keep a steady eye on them if you wished it."
Endymion kneeled next to his wife's bed. "Sailor Pluto has a good idea. It will be better this way. No quarreling and bickering for all their lives. It would be sad for them to never know they had a sibling, but...it's the best thing we can do for them."
Serenity was crying. She looked up from her husband and back to the Gaurdian of Time.
"You'd make sure that-" she hiccuped slightly "-that they'd be placed in good, caring homes? Very well provided?"
Pluto nodded. "The next question will be the hardest. Which child are you going to give up?"
Serenity couldn't answer. Endymion rose to his feet.
"Wait. I want them to both be named. Even if whichever one we choose, if their name is never used, at least we will have given them something."
Serenity nodded and looked to her daughter. "We agreed long ago that our daughter would be named Usagi." She turned to her baby boy. "But what about our son?"
Endymion sighed slightly as he took in the sight before him. His wife was lying on a bed with their son and daughter in her arms, trying to name them both only so that one could be taken from her.
"How about..." he trailed off, then smiled and finished, "Motoki?"
Serenity laughed softly. "You mean after the bartender from the arcade I used to hang out at when I was a teenager?" Endymion smiled and nodded. Serenity looked to her son. "Motoki it is."
There was an awkward silence - even the babies stopped crying in this brief amount of time - before Endymion hesitantly stated, "It's time."
Serenity shook her head. "I can't choose."
Endymion lowered his eyes slightly, not wanting to have to choose either. He then looked to Pluto. "What do you think, Sailor Pluto?"
She appeared to be concentrating for a minute or two, then she finally gave her answer, her eyes downcast.
"The object is not to let anyone know what has occured here. No one can know. Not even the fellow senshi." She stopped and looked to the royal couple. They nodded in depressed understanding. She continued. "Because of her time traveling exploits, the senshi already know of your having a daughter. To have a son would drawn much unwanted suspicion. I believe it would be in the best interests of everyone if you chose your son."
Endymion nodded and looked to his wife. She was still crying. She leaned in and kissed his forehead softly. "Goodbye, Motoki," she choked out in a hoarse whisper. The Time Senshi walked over and gently picked up the boy.
"Everyone must be sworn to secrecy. This cannot be let known to anyone under any circumstance. Is this understood?" Pluto asked.
"You have my word," the king spoke. Serenity could do nothing more than nod her head.
"I will not tell a soul what has taken place here," the royal doctor agreed. Bowing her head slightly, Sailor Pluto turned to leave the room.
"Wait!" Serenity called. Pluto looked back to her. "Remember how you said you would keep us informed about him?" Pluto nodded. "I don't want you to do that, Pluto. I want him to lead a normal life, one that does not include us." The senshi smiled and nodded, then turned and walked away, Motoki bundled up and asleep in her arms.
Once out of the room, Pluto broke into a steady run, holding the newly born Motoki so that her running would hopefully not awaken him. The last thing she needed was a wailing newborn while trying to quickly sneak throughout the palace. She ran a good ways through the overgrown mansion before stopping at a large bedroom door, thankful that no one had seen her. It would've been very hard to explain why she was running around the palace holding a baby.
Pluto didn't have to try the doorknob to know the door was locked. It had been locked for the past few days. She had come prepared, though. She held Motoki in the crook of her arm as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a skeleton key. She slipped it easily through the keyhole and with the paitence of a saint slowly turned the key so the person inside would not hear the door unlock. Once this was accomplished, she turned the doorknob then eased the door open in much the same paitent fashion she has used with the key. She had already closed the door again behind her by the time she was noticed.
The room was very plain looking. It had one grand bed with a nightstand next to it. Upon the nightstand was a lamp, which was not in use, and a candlestick, which was. Sitting upright in the bed with her head bowed was a woman, crying softly. When she heard the door click shut, she raised her head and looked to the intruder. Tearstains shone like painful tattoos on either side of the young woman's face. Sailor Pluto could not help but cringe at the girl's shattered appearance and tattered heart.
"Oh, Rei..."
"Go away, Setsuna," she tried to yell. It came out more along the lines of a quiet, rough croak.
"I have a proposition for you," she stated softly as she walked to her fellow senshi's bed. She handed Rei the bundled up child. Rei took it hesitantly. "Rei," she began quietly, "I know you lost a son two days ago, I saw it, but I'm the only one who knows. I'm giving you another chance. The boy you hold in your arms, his parents are unwilling to take care of him. I cannot tell you more about his parents only because they want him to lead a normal life. They had no idea who I was going to give this child to, so don't think this is about you. Also, I will not inform you of the day on which he was born. His exact age will remain unknown to you. I took care of him for a while myself, so only I shall know his exact age."
'Well, I did take care of him...for about 5 minutes,' Pluto thought to herself as she continued.
"Rei, I want you to take care of this child like he was your own. Don't tell him anything of his past and raise him as if you yourself had given birth to him. Tell everyone that you had him two days ago, and that he has been in here with you all the while. Details will come in time. What do you say, Rei? Will you raise this child?"
Rei looked at the sleeping boy in her arms for a moment in silence, then looked back to Sailor Pluto.
"Yes I will."
Pluto smiled. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope. Although the king and queen did not personally give her this to give to the boy's new parents, she knew they would've wanted it.
"The boy's parents only gave him one thing before I took him away. That one thing is in this envelope. Whenever, or if you ever, think the time is right, give it to him."
Rei took the envelope and set it on her nightstand, then looked back to the woman in front of her.
"Thank you. I think this is the best thing that could've happened to me," Rei claimed with a smile.
Pluto smiled back. "What are you going to name him?"
Rei thought for a second, then said, "what I was going to name my real son - Tohru."
"All right." She kissed both the woman and child on the forehead. "Goodbye Rei, Tohru. Remember Rei, tell no one about this."
Rei nodded and Pluto left the room, giving Rei some time with her new son. Rei got up out of bed and picked up a small blanket that she had received at her baby shower for her original son.
'Stop thinking like that!' Rei scolded herself. 'This IS my original son, my only son.'
She unwrapped the towel from around the baby boy and tossed it aside so that she could have it washed later. Rei smiled when she noticed her baby boy had hair.
Dark, blackish colored hair.
His hair had been covered by the towel earlier, so she hadn't noticed it until then. 'Good,' she thought. It would be easier to convince everyone he was her's if he looked like her.
She wrapped little Tohru in his blanket and lay back down on the bed. He was still asleep after all this time. She was glad - she hadn't slept in two days and was definately ready for a nap. She held the baby close to her chest and closed her eyes, nodding off to sleep soon after.
She never dreamed that while she was rejoicing over her new son, her best friend and secret love of her life was weeping while her husband shushed her quietly because they had just lost their own.