Disclaimer: I wish i were Haruko Ichikawa; i would love to have come up with Land Of The Lustrous.


This was it. Cinnabar had officially chosen a side. And to choose Sensei over Phos, that wasn't a path they ever expected to take.

But that wasn't Phosphophyllite anymore.

Cinnabar hadn't known Lapis Lazuli well – hadn't been close to any of the other gems, really, for their own sakes. Cinnabar kept their distance from everyone, and only had the measure of those kind and stubborn souls who sought them out anyway, like Rutile, Diamond, and Phos.

Cinnabar didn't know how much of the current Phos came from Lapis. After all, Phos had changed when their legs were replaced, and again when they got new arms. But this was different. Phos with agate legs had avoided Cinnabar, and judging from what Diamond and Rutile said when Cinnabar saw them, they'd avoided other things as well. Diamond in particular thought that Phos had been scared they'd given Cinnabar high expectations of themself that they'd never, ever be able to live up to. Which was just the kind of drivel Diamond usually spouted, although it wasn't like Cinnabar knew anything about Phos in this period that would have contradicted it.

Phos with metal arms had been more thoughtful. They saw problems and tried to figure out how to fix them – not rashly, like the original Phos. This was also the Phos who asked Cinnabar for their thoughts. They may have been suspicious of Sensei, but they were never conniving. As far as Cinnabar could tell, they could only have gotten that from Lapis's head.

Cinnabar still hadn't been sure whether or not they could trust Sensei, but if what Phos had told them was true, it was more sad than anything else. Cinnabar would have to investigate, because while they weren't sure about Sensei yet, they definitely couldn't trust Phos anymore.

They'd wasted too much time deliberating. No matter how much time Cinnabar spent pondering the information they had, they could never have come to a conclusion without more to go on. That was one thing the new Phos was right about. Cinnabar would have to stop waiting.

Cinnabar came to a stop in the sand. They'd gone back to their usual patrol after rejecting Phos, but they hadn't taken in a single detail of their surroundings. A full contingent of Lunarians could have crept up on Cinnabar without the gem ever being the wiser. There really wasn't any point to patrolling anymore, anyway. It had just given them enough time to make up their mind.

The waves lapped at Cinnabar's feet. The tide was coming in. They turned to look up at the moon, hanging low over the point.

"But, you know," they said softly, "if you said it would be just the two of us, i would probably have gone with you."

The moon didn't answer, of course. There was only the sound of waves on the sand.

"That's all i wanted to say." Cinnabar turned their back on the moon and the sea, and, for the first time in decades, started up towards the school.


A/N: This was originally going to be the intro to a longer multichap story, but given the way things are going both in my life and in the manga, i decided it would be best to post it on its own. I do like it.