Kunzite grimaced as he heard the slow steps beyond his door. Usually he would have been grinning – or trying his best to suppress the grin before she slipped inside the room- but not this time. This time she knocked. It was a light knock, as if the knocker wished no one would hear it. He wasn't sure if it was meant so no one other than him would hear it, or if she didn't want him to answer either.
He considered letting the knock go unanswered, honestly thinking of avoiding his problems. That wasn't a very Kunzite thing to do, now was it? He stood in front of the door and finally pushed himself to pull it open.
His eyes met hers. They were hard, as hard as they had been the first time he had seen them- if not harder.
"You called?" She asked, not stepping into the room, not allowing herself to. She had to stay strong, despite knowing that she would break sooner rather than later. She just had to last till he closed the door again, till she didn't have to look at him anymore.
"I needed to talk to you," he said quietly, "come in." His face was unemotional as always, his eyes distant. He was in another time. She wondered if she would like what he was thinking about. If it was the past, how they had met and grown to care for each other? Or maybe what they could have had if it weren't for everything and everyone needing them to not be together.
She didn't want to step inside. Not into the place where they had spent hours- she stopped thinking abruptly, feeling tears well in her eyes.
"No, thank you" she said softly, looking away from him, "I'm fine where I am."
He shook his head, feeling his body tremor in emotion, "No, you're not," even his damn voice was shaking, "Please, come in"
"What did you want to talk to me about, General?" She asked, the order barely concealing the coldness.
He couldn't do this. He just couldn't. Not to her, not to them. They couldn't end. Not when her very voice could cause him to melt like butter on bread.
"Princess Serenity is no longer welcome on Earth," were the words that left his mouth instead, "Please see to it that she follows this protocol." Inside his mind, he was screaming and begging to be let out.
"I will. The same goes for Prince Endymion and his Generals," her eyes met his, hard once again, "If any mortal from Earth is found on the Moon, they will be put in the barracks. We will not tolerate any concealed attacks"
Why did their planets have to be at war with one another? Why did they have to care so much that they were at war? They'd never again see each other outside of the battlefield; they should have been enjoying what little time they had left together, peacefully.
"Neither will Earth. The other Generals and I have been told to use lethal force on any Lunarian," he couldn't look her in the eyes anymore, afraid of what he would see, "and we will not hesitate to use it."
"Good to know," she said shortly and turned to go.
He felt his heart break. "Aren't you going to say goodbye?"
"Nothing good about it," and without another word she walked away, her heels clipping on the marbled floor of the castle. Despite the darkness that had long ago befallen the night, her glow lit the area surrounding her. He watched her go, gripping the door to keep himself from calling out to her or running after her.
Didn't they say if the person looked back, the choice was made? That they would rather stay and hadn't meant anything they had said. That they would do anything to change the circumstances if they could.
He prayed for her to look back.
The door slammed shut behind her, echoing in the cold, dark corridor. And he fell to his knees as he allowed himself to feel for the first time the severity of what had just happened. To realize that he would never again hold her in his arms and see her smile for something he had said. Never again see her eyes light up with joy.
Blue gazed at him, the softest blue he had ever seen. Even in his war-filled mind, he couldn't help but admire the blue. It was like a calm lake on a bright summer day. And the sounds of the battlefield quieted for a split second as he attempted to recall the peace those eyes had once known.
A loud bang went off a few feet away and pulled him back to the present. He looked away from the eyes of Sailor Venus, who looked at him in shock from across the courtyard.
He sliced the arm off the soldier in front of him and sidestepped him.
Kill the Lunarians, they want to destroy Earth.
Words echoed in his mind and he saw red at the thought of anyone harming his planet and people. He would never allow it.
"NO! KUNZITE!" A young girl that looked like an angel from above called out from a balcony. He gazed up at her, slightly dazed at her beauty.
That is the Princess of the Moon, her beauty is the devil's power. She uses it to lure innocent mortals and then strips them of their sanity. That is what she has done to your Prince. Save him!"
"Kunzite! What are you doing!" Prince Endymion called, terror clear in his voice.
Kunzite didn't answer as he killed another soldier that blocked his way to the steps to the balcony. He had to save his Prince! Before this Princess of the Moon could do him and his planet any more harm.
The blast hit his back, sending him flying forward. She heard him grunt as he landed messily on the stone courtyard. And despite the searing pain that flashed through her heart as he lay there for longer than a second, seeming almost dead, she walked closer, her sword held tightly in her hand to make sure the job was done.
He was up, his body covered in the blood of her people. She didn't know what had happened, but she knew it wasn't him. This wasn't the Kunzite she had once known, and dare she say it, the Kunzite she loved.
"No, Kunzite! Venus!" Princess Serenity called out to them, and she could hear Serenity struggling to get past Endymion to get to the two of them, to make them stop fighting. Endymion wouldn't let her pass, he knew just as well as Venus did that Kunzite would kill Serenity in a millisecond. As much as she disliked Endymion for being the useless Prince of the planet that was currently attacking her planet, she was relieved to have him there, taking care of Serenity while she did her job.
"Sailor Venus!" Kunzite called out to her, his stance rigid telling her that he would attack at any second, "I would think you would attack honorably! But then again, you are a Lunarian! Barbaric people you all are!"
"Where have you gone, Kunz?" She whispered to herself as he launched himself at her, bringing up her sword to fight him to the death, knowing one of them would die before they would let the other continue on. She turned off her mind, not allowing herself to think of who would win, of the horrible repercussions that would follow if he defeated her.
Sailor Venus must die. She will destroy Earth and all those we hold dear.
He fought with everything he had, bent on killing the leader of the Sailor Senshi. If she died, the Lunarian army would be crippled-
Blue eyes looked at him, joy shining from deep within. Light laughter floated around, happiness ringing in it.
He shook his head, trying to clear it of images that hit him from nowhere. He saw Sailor Venus, the very Senshi he was currently fighting, grinning at him in a memory he could no longer recollect. He held her in his arms, trailing light kisses along the soft skin of her neck-
WITCH! KILL THE WITCH! SHE IS INFECTING YOU! KILL HER!
He faltered, stepping away from Sailor Venus, his sword lowering.
"Kunzite, come back to me," she implored, he could hear the desire in her voice, "Please, don't do this"
Her hand stretched out to him and all he could do was stare.
There was a shift behind her and before he could say or do anything, it was too late.
A cry ripped from him, resounding in his ears as she looked at him, pain in her eyes.
Oh lord, there was so much pain in those blue eyes.
"Kunz?"
He watched her look down at the sword that extended from her ribcage, and again, she said a name, "Kunz?"
"No, not Kunzite," A cold voice from behind Sailor Venus said, "Queen Beryl"
And then she was gone, teleporting away, leaving him and a dying Venus all alone. Maybe they weren't alone, because on the edge of his mind he could hear faint sounds of cries of a Princess. But everything else was quiet.
"Kunz?"
Again she called to him, as she swayed and tilted over. He launched himself forward and caught her. She smiled and sighed, "Kunz…"
He didn't know what to do. For the first time ever, it was all quiet- but not really, the inside of him raged and warred with something. Leaving him a shell, unknowing of what to do to comfort the dying Senshi who somehow had been the cause of his internal breakdown.
"I love you," she whispered as he held her, her eyes looked at him dazedly and he knew she was seeing someone else, someone much better than him, someone who had deserved her love.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, not quite sure what he was apologizing for.
For some reason, the apology made her smile, "I am too"
Life began slipping from her eyes, dulling them. Tears fell from his eyes as he held on to her, whispering words that he couldn't even hear, hoping that they were some comfort as regret and terror and so many emotions filled him.
"Don't go," he heard himself say, clearly and strongly, the words slipping from his mouth from somewhere he didn't know.
"Oh Kunz, it's too late for that," she whispered so quietly that he barely heard her, "All that's left to say now is goodbye."
And with one last word, her eyes closed, "Goodbye"