You're the center of adrenaline
And I'm beginning to understand
You could be the best thing about me
- The Best Thing: Savage GardenNaru sighed, rolling over under her covers, reaching for her cell phone. It's annoyingly cheerful tune was the last thing she wanted waking her on a Sunday morning. Satchmo (who had been returned to her, much to his relief), began barking, making a chorus of sheer irratation. "Hello?" She answered, groggily.
"Miss Osaka, I'm sorry to call on a Sunday, but a large delivery that was supposed to be made for the Tanaka wedding Monday afternoon won't be able to make it. Our refridgeration units have failed, and the flowers are completely wilted."
Naru was silent a few moments, trying to wrap her head around this news. "Well, the wedding is Wednesday, is there a possibility of getting new arrangements sent out for Tuesday?"
"No, ma'am, I'm sorry. We only had a limited supply of the anthurium flowers, there's no possible way we could get more on such short notice," the harried florist answered.
"Could I get them myself?"
"Got time to travel to Hawaii and back?" The florist responded.
Naru sighed heavily. "Okay, so, that's a bust... Alright, well, thanks for telling me." She snapped her phone shut, grabbing a pillow from behind her and screaming into it. Flipping her cell phone back open, she dialed the bride-to-be.
"Aiko? Hi, it's Naru Osaka. Listen, bad news," Naru related the flower fiasco to the bridezilla, who promptly burst into tears. "Okay, Aiko, okay, listen... Your theme colors are pink and green, those are pretty easy colors to track down, I think we can make this right. I- yes, I know you're at the spa. I know that, Aiko. Okay, okay. Listen, you're paying me for a reason. I will find you new arrangements. It's going to be expensive, but we can do this. Alright? I'll go out right now. Okay. Bye."
Flipping her phone shut with a satisfying click, she ran her hands through her bright red hair. So much for lazy Sunday, she thought wistfully. She patted Satchmo on the head before throwing open her closet, choosing a full white skirt and throwing on a high-necked turquoise cashmere sweater to disguise the still obvious bruising on her neck. She pulled a matching ribbon from her carefully organized ribbon drawer, tying her hair up hastily, slipping on some fashionable white wedge heels on her way out. Pressing the button on the elevator, her cell phone rang. "Hello?" She answered warily.
"Naru." A simple statement of her name, yet it still made her tingle all over.
"Nephrite," she said, happily.
"Would you like to get lunch with me today?" He asked.
She sighed, "I can't, I got an emergency call about some flowers, they're incredibly exotic and painfully expensive, and now they're totally unusable. So I called the bride, that drama queen, and she's just having a melt-down, although I don't even know why because she's at a spa and I'm pretty sure they're paid to keep people from having melt-downs, but that's beside the point; which is that I need to find flowers. Except I have no idea-"
"I'll come with you," he said, cutting her off mid-ramble.
"Y-you will?" She was surprised. Even her employees didn't want to accompany her anywhere on their days off.
"Of course." He answered simply.
The elevator door opened in front of her. "Okay, well, I'll meet you at Fujii Florist in an hour. I'm getting on the elevator, so I gotta go. Bye!"
-
Nephrite closed his cell phone, unable to think of a day that sounded more unappealing than shopping for flowers. However, he hadn't seen Naru since last night, when they left the hospital together. They had briefly stopped by Masato's imposing mansion to collect Naru's dog, then he had dropped her off at her apartment with a deeply passionate goodnight kiss.
This morning, he had woken up early to see to his finances and purchase a few nessecities. To his delight, he discovered that the four youma that he had left in charge of Sanjouin International had done an excellent job in running it, and he had nothing to worry about, at least as far as money went. Knowing that, he hadn't felt too bad about spending a few hundred on new clothes, and another couple hundred on a sleek, top of the line cell phone. After his spending spree, he had called Naru, anxious to see her again. And now, he got to spend hours looking at flora. He rolled his eyes. However, he couldn't feel too upset, as any day spent with Naru, in his eyes, was better than a day spent alone, no matter what they did.
He checked himself out in the full length mirror that was in his bedroom. He didn't like to admit it, but he was a terribly vain person, and he hated going out looking anything less than perfect. He admired his hair, his well-fitting kakhi pants and Italian leather shoes, and a dress shirt by a designer called Burberry, which he had been assured was the height of modern fashion. Finding no fault with his appearance, he headed to the driveway to admire the biggest purchase of the morning.
The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, his new little red sports car. He had called an old friend of Masato's, telling him that he needed new wheels. Well, the car dealer was more than happy to open his doors early for such a wealthy man. Masato was still worth billions, after all. He hopped in, smiling as he heard the V12 engine purr to life. He gripped the steering wheel with one hand, putting the car into gear with the other. He tore out of the driveway, rolling down his window to feel the wind whipping through his hair. He quickly entered 'Fujii Florist' into his navigation system. Within seconds, he was ripping down the road towards downtown.
-
By the time he got there, an impressive fifteen minutes, Naru was deep in coversation with an old, amicable looking man.
"They had pink anthurium, so I'm thinking pink calla lilies," Naru said, selecting a few blossoms from the refridgerator. The old man nodded, mumbling something that Nephrite couldn't hear, but appearantly was a great idea, because Naru beamed, nodding excitedly. Nephrite cleared his throat, and Naru turned, rushing to greet him. He swooped her up in his arms, planting a passionate, firm kiss on her mouth. The old man gave a discrete cough, causing Naru to break the kiss and blush.
"Masato, I'd like you to meet Mr. Fujii, I've been doing business with him for a very long time. Mr. Fujii, this is my-" she glanced up at him casually, unsure of his offical title in her life, "my boyfriend, Masato Sanjouin."
Mr. Fujii smiled. "I see you have found yourself. You were missing for quite awhile."
Naru giggled, pulling Nephrite closer to the florist's counter. She and Mr. Fujii had an in depth conversation about pricing and timing, and Nephrite couldn't help but admire her sharp business sense. The old man was kind, making great allowances for the red-headed wedding planner, and Naru seemed very aware of that fact, but never asked him to do anything extraordinary. At the end of the conversation, Naru pulled the small man into an embrace, thanking him deeply for the amount of work he was about to undertake.
Nephrite and Naru walked, hand in hand, outside. "I was thinking," he began, "that I am desperately late in taking you out for a chocolate parfait."
Naru smiled, a bit sadly, but squeezed his hand. "I'd like that."
-
They had walked in comfortable silence to a small cafe that Naru frequented about a block away. "My office is right there," she pointed to a squat, brown, brick building. In the window were the orantely written words "Osaka Wedding Planning".
She blushed as Nephrite stared thoughtfully. "It's not very original, I know. But it's simple and to the point."
"I like it," he said. "You say what you do, nothing more, nothing less. Very businesslike. Makes sense."
"Below is a dance studio, and a cafeteria. They have terrible food, though," Naru told him. "The whole second floor is mine."
The pair found Naru's favorite cafe soon afterwards, taking a seat outside to enjoy the pleasant evening breeze. "Do you enjoy what you do?" Nephrite asked suddenly, staring at her intensely.
"I-I do." Naru stuttered, surprised at his question. "I do, very much. I wanted to be a nurse for a long time, when I got to University, I started to intern at a hospital. I very quickly found out it wasn't for me," she briefly remembered when the E.R. was overrun by children who had caught the latest stomach virus epidemic, "but I did want to help people. See them happy. I was working at a wedding gown boutique at the time, and it filled me with a great sense of accomplishment to help a bride-to-be find her dream dress. I was introduced to an event planner shortly after that, and that was very rewarding, too. And I guess the rest is history."
"Tell me about the last fourteen years," he asked, leaning back in his chair. So she did. She told him about Umino, and the fact that he dumped her. She talked about her mother, and the OSAP store, and about her bit role as a moving tree in her high school production of The Wizard of Oz. She spoke of everything she'd learned about finances, the first wedding she'd planned, when she personally flew to New York and back to pick up a wedding cake. She omitted the fact that for the first four years after his death, she couldn't recall him at all.
He observed her with an unreadable expression on his face that made her just a little bit nervous. It was almost as if he knew of all the things she wasn't saying. But she couldn't tell him those things. Her desperate lonliness, the long nights she put in just to avoid going home to no one, how she had tried her hardest to get a lead role in that play, only to be outshined by prettier girls who flirted with the director. She couldn't tell him about how many prospective clients had snubbed her because of her working class accent, or even how many couples had vented their anger on her. She couldn't tell him that.
Very slowly, he took her hands in his. He felt how they trembled with all the words she hadn't said, all the stories she hadn't told. "You don't have to be alone now," he said simply. With those words, a barrier inside Naru broke down. She launched out of her chair, narrowly missing the table, and threw her arms around Nephrite's broad shoulders, weeping into his shirt and hair. He rubbed her back awkwardly, unsure of exactly what to do. But she was perfectly content to sob, holding him tightly, completely unaware of curious passer-by.
Naru felt the pain and tension leave her body with every tear she cried. The hurt she had kept tightly coiled inside her was unfurling, leaving a curiously light sensation in it's wake. She cried over everything she hadn't allowed herself to shed tears over, held safe in Nephrite's arms. A few minutes later, she finally resurfaced, her eyes red and puffy but her smile wider and brighter than Nephrite had ever seen it. "Now, I believe you said something about a chocolate parfait?"
-
Naru had never been happier to wake up on a Monday morning. She had a lunch date with Nephrite this afternoon, and each minute she spent awake was another minute closer to seeing him again. She hugged Satchmo tightly, giggling as he licked her face. She felt like she was floating on air as she headed to her closet, choosing a navy blue knit dress that had a flattering square neckline. She tied a cream colored silk scarf around her neck to hide the still very visible brusing on her neck. Deciding on a whim, she left her thick, wavy hair unbound, and it bouced charmingly around her shoulders.
She fed Satchmo, gliding through her apartment on the wings of love.
In her car, she cheerfully chirped along with a song on the radio, an American song that the band had rewritten in Japanese. She was pleasantly surprised that she did not feel a strong craving for her morning cigarette. Even the usual Tokyo traffic did not bother her today.
Oh, kiss me
Awai yamiyo ni lead me
Tsuki wo matteru yo
Hora gora un
Kaze ge utatte hoshi ga odori hajimeata
So, kiss me
She arrived at her office, parking her car. She saw Hiro on the steps with a cigarette, nursing a cup of coffee. She smiled as she ascended the stairs. "It's a great day the plan a wedding, Hiro," she said brightly. "Yeah, whatever, boss-lady," he replied grumpily as he followed her, crushing his smoke out on the stone steps.
"What's got you in such a good mood, huh?" He questioned as she took a seat at her desk. She smiled up at him. Hiro studied his boss, who was more like a sister than an employer. Her smile could light up a room, he decided, and was glad that she seemed to be doing a lot of it this morning.
"Oh, nothing," Naru responded casually. "Except that I've got a date this afternoon!" She giggled, twirling in her office chair. Hiro chuckled. "A date, huh? Who with?"
"An old flame of mine, a certain billionare named Masato Sanjouin." She positively sparkled with radiance. "Hiro, would you mind waxing the floor? Thank you. We've got the Tanakas coming in today, their flower order went down the tubes and I had to do a little improvising. Hopefully that will go well," she was talking to herself more than anyone. Naru still felt proud at the quick thinking she had done during that flower crisis, and she had a feeling that the Tanakas would not be disappointed. She turned on her computer, humming as she filled in her appointment schedule.
The next few hours passed uneventfully, her travel consultant, Megumi, showing up late as usual. Megumi, with her long blonde hair and blue eyes, and her propensity for being tardy, reminded her a lot of her high school best friend, Usagi. Like Hiro, Megumi had her faults, but she was a diligent worker and was amazing at finding the best prices for airfare and hotel accomodations. Ryouta was not far behind. The fashion savant, as he liked to be called, helped Naru greatly when it came to men's formalwear, and even had an eye for killer bridesmaid dresses. Lastly, Katsuro sauntered in. He was an inspired chef, but he preferred to make menus, not prepare them. He and Naru had worked many long nights together, creating the perfect appetizer list, and their work was never gone unrewarded.
"Hey there, girl!" Ryouta said in his lilting, high pitched voice. He walked over to her desk, sitting neatly on the corner. "I heard it through the grapevine that someone has a date this afternoon."
Naru laughed, glancing at Hiro, who was emptying wastebaskets. "Oh? Word travels fast around this place."
"You bet it does, girlfriend. Now spill. I want details!"
Naru noticed Megumi and Katsuro spying conspicuously from their desks, and she chuckled. "Okay, okay, you two might as well get over here and hear this too." The two sheepishly grinned and trotted to Naru's crowded desks, occupying the chairs in front of it. "Well, his name is Masato Sanjouin-"
"Oh, that billionare who up and disappeared awhile ago?" Megumi interrupted excitedly.
"One and the same," Naru answered, "we have... a history. And uh, he came back into town, at the best possible minute," Naru touched her neck unconsiously. Ryouta spied a section of her neck where her scarf had failed to hide a bruise. "Oh wow, a regular knight in shining armour, hm?" He asked.
Naru blushed, feeling like a silly schoolgirl. "Yeah, I guess so." She was immensely glad for a phone ringing, so she wouldn't have to dish on Nephrite like some sort of high school girl anymore. "Osaka Wedding Planning, you're speaking with Naru Osaka. How may I help you today?"
-
Nephrite pulled up to Naru's office building, his Ferrari giving a great roar of power as he revved the engine one last time before turning it off. He could see Naru talking on the phone through her office window, and he couldn't help but smile.
He jogged up the stairs, passing the dance studio from which fast paced Latin jazz blared. He took the stairs to Naru's office, walking confidently inside.
"Masato!" She cried, jumping up from her desk to greet him with a small kiss and a tight embrace. He noticed her office mates staring curiously. She blushed, turning to them and saying "alright, alright. Masato, this is my absolutely indispensable team."
"I'm glad you've finally come to realize our value," a rather flamboyantly dressed man said, running his hands over his purple velvet shirt before walking over to Nephrite and looking him over.
"Masato, this is Ryouta, my go-to guy for everything fashion," Naru said. Ryouta offered him a well manicured hand. He turned to Naru, "he's absolutely studly," and laughed as her face heated and her blush matched her hair. Nephrite put a comforting arm around her shoulders, which she gratefully leaned into.
Another man rose to greet Nephrite, he was tall and well-dressed, with black hair and friendly gray eyes. "This is Katsuro, he's in charge of the catering side of everything," Naru said, and Katsuro shook Nephrite's hand firmly. "It's good to meet you," Katsuro said, offering him a warm smile. Nephrite felt instantly at ease, he could see why people left him in charge of their wedding meals, he radiated an easy self-confidence and good nature.
"And this is Megumi," Naru said, and a petite blonde girl smiled at him. "Hello Mr. Sanjouin, I'm pleased to meet you," the blonde squeaked, her tiny voice matching her tiny frame pefectly.
He heard a surly huff from the other side of the room, and Naru laughed, "and this is Hiro, who keeps everything running while we're all off creating the wedding of the century."
A scuffy, guff looking man shook Nephrite's hand. "So you're Masato Sanjouin, huh? Well, take good care of the boss-lady."
Megumi called Naru over to her desk for a moment, and Hiro took the opportunity to pull Nephrite very close to his face. "Listen, pal, I don't give a shit if you're the emperor of Japan, ya know? If you hurt boss-lady, I'm gonna put your balls in a vice, ya got that, pal?"
Nephrite nodded, and Hiro released him from his strong grip as Naru walked back over to the two of them. "What a charming man," Nephrite said sarcastically as the pair left the building. Naru laughed. "He's a bit rough around the edges, but he's a good guy."
Nephrite did not bother to conceal his doubt, making Naru laugh harder. He pulled her to him, capturing her mouth in a deep kiss. "Let's get out of here."
-
Somewhere, shrouded in deep darkness, a hollow laughter sounded. "So, Nephrite, you've managed to make your way back." The voice said to itself, watching the auburn-haired general and his silly little human companion walk down a city street. The being's anger was palpable. "I'll see that I have you yet."
-
Nephrite and Naru sat inside a quaint little bistro close to Naru's office that had just opened up. They shared sandwiches and sweet nothings, enjoying each other's company.
"Is Nephrite your real name?" Naru suddenly asked.
He furrowed his eyebrows. "No," he responded. "It was changed when I joined Beryl's service. I don't know what it was before that, however."
Naru nodded thoughtfully, then said "well I like it. Very edgy."
Nephrite laughed out loud. Naru loved it when he laughed like that, fully dropping his cool, collected demeanor and letting loose. She sighed contentedly as she watched him, composing himself, running a hand casually through his long auburn hair. He caught her blue eyes with his, gazing at her intensely. Her breath hitched in her throat, it was funny how he always caused her heart to skip a beat.
"You're beautiful," he said.
"Really, now," Naru blushed, self conciously tucking her hair behind her ears.
"I-I don't want to say this prematurely, but..." Nephrite stopped, every ounce of his slightly arrogant persona gone. He seemed at a complete loss for words, for once in his life.
Naru smiled warmly at him, leaning across the table to take his hands in hers. "I love you, too."
He smiled, a slightly lop-sided, toothy grin. He liked it that she could read him like a book, that she seemed to know him better than he knew himself. "I love you," he said, a warm feeling building up in his chest. It was completely new to him, but he found that he liked it.
As they walked back to her office building, hand in hand, Naru couldn't remember a time where she was happier. Nearing the steps, Nephrite took her into his arms, kissing her passionately. "I want to see you tonight," he murmured.
"I promised a friend I would help set up for a party tonight... But I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I brought a date," Naru said cheerfully. "I need to be there by 8."
"I'll pick you up at 7:30."
Naru smiled broadly, pecking him quickly on the lips and practically skipping up the stairs. She turned around, waving. "I'll see you then."
-
A red Ferrari halted at a traffic light, and she tried to catch the driver's attention. There were a lot of luxury cars in this area, but this was the nicest she'd seen in awhile. No luck, it zoomed by her as soon as the light changed. She sighed, it would've been nice to get a rich john like that so early in the day. She continued walking. Her name was Hiroko Sato, but everyone called her Kittie. She found what she was looking for, a dank alleyway a few blocks down. It was the enterance to her apartment, well, it was an abandoned office building, but she didn't think anyone would mind if she took up some space.
Her door was unlocked, it always was. She kept anything nice she owned at the strip club where she worked. A desperately thin man lay sprawled on the bare mattress she had on the floor, a cockroach scuttling across his chest, a syringe still clutched loosely in his hand. She stared at him, pure disgust rising in her throat. He was coming down, hard. She had brought him here last night, promising him the best night of his life. She'd shot him up, stolen his wallet, credit cards, even the shirt off his back, and left him lying there while she spent his money. She couldn't fight the sneer that curled her pretty lips as she nudged him with the toe of her brand new black patent boots.
She growled as she dragged him to her second story window by his digusting, sweaty foot. She hauled him onto her fire escape, then with some effort, lifted him up and threw him over the edge. He landed on the soft piles of rotting garbage in the dumpster below. Closing her window, she went back to her mattress, lying down and staring at nothing. She picked up the dirty syringe and withdrew a small vial from her pocket. She had made ends meet this morning, and was able to get a bunch of junk from her supplier.
She smiled. Today would be a good day.
-
Nephrite sat at the desk in his office, mindlessly filling out inventory reports and shipping orders. All he could think about was Naru, her smile, her sweet voice when she told him she loved him. He felt giddy and lightheaded, like singing. He refrained, though, deciding it just wasn't becoming. But still, he studied the fountain pen in his hand. He hoped that she didn't think this was moving too fast. There was some urgency in his thought process, not forgetting the words that Judgement had uttered just before his life was restored. He planned to get everything right from the very beginning.
"Mr. Sanjouin, sir?" A husky female voice buzzed in on the intercom, "a Mr. Corentin Desmarais for you on line one."
"Thank you," Nephrite said, hesitating to take the call. Corentin Desmarais was notorious amoung all businessmen for fencing stolen merchandise. He had even avoided dealings with the shady character fourteen years ago, during Masato's heydey. Finally, curiousity getting the best of him, Nephrite answered. "Hello?"
A smooth voice responded, heavy with a French accent. "Mr. Sanjouin, how nice of you to take my call. I'm glad to hear you're finally back from your long... absence."
Desmarais's whole demeanor irked Nephrite, and he fought the urge to slam the phone down, hard. "It's good to be back. Although today is my first day at the office. I'd thought there would at least be a few days to renew old contacts before new ones came along."
A throaty laugh. Nephrite's fist clenched. "Well, Mr. Sanjouin, I have offices operating in Tokyo, and your return did make the front page."
Nephrite sighed, looking down at the wastebasket, his own face staring back up at him. His return had been the lead story of Monday's newspaper. "So what can I do for you, Mr. Desmarais?"
"Please, it's Corentin... to my friends." The man went on to explain that he was a leading supplier of luxury import goods at deep discount prices (probably got them for next to nothing, paying petty thieves to hijack them from warehouses, Nephrite thought). Desmarais continued, talking about how he passed savings onto the buyers, so forth and so on. Nephrite was trying to think of a way to decline his inevitable offer without using the word 'criminal'.
"So what do you say?" Desmarais finally concluded.
"Well, Mr. Desmarais," he put extra emphasis on the formality of his words, "that is a very kind offer, but I hope you'll understand that I'm not really in a position to accept."
"I see," all the smoothness was gone from his voice, replaced with an undisguised hostility. "Well, have it your way." The line went dead.
"You didn't accept?" A voice came from the doorway. One of his youma, in human disguise, stood there, a cup of coffee clutched in her bony hand.
"I didn't," he responded, smiling at her gratefully as she put the mug on a coaster next to him.
"He's a bad man. Very bad. His secretaries sometimes go to a martini bar we frequent," she told him, 'we' referring to the other three youma in his employ, "they say he might be involved in human trafficking."
Nephrite shook his head, hoping that the rumor had no weight. He looked up at his youma's retreating form. "I wouldn't have guessed you frequented a bar," he said, smiling a bit.
The youma turned, her grin revealing slightly enlarged canine teeth. "While we may not be entirely human like you, we still like to have some fun."
Nephrite raised his eyebrow at her, but she said no more, shutting his door quietly behind her on the way out.
-
Naru smoothed the front of her cobalt blue cocktail dress, checking herself in the mirror one last time before she deemed herself fit to see Nephrite. It had taken a good three hours to get her hair just right, her bangs swept to the side and firmly hairspray-ed in place, complicated french braids on her scalp that led to a short, simple, side ponytail. She secured it with bobbypins and a cobalt blue ribbon. Applying one last coat of pale pink lipstick, and securing the blue silk scarf around her nice, she walked out to her living room, where her date was sitting.
"You look... gorgeous." Nephrite said softly, gracefully unfolding his tall frame from Naru's slightly cramped couch. She blushed as he gently pulled her closer to him, giving her a kiss on the forehead. He took her hand, leading her to the door, to the elevator, and to his car. Naru marvelled over it briefly before hopping in.
They reached a tall apartment building without incident, arriving at the ninth floor and knocking politely before letting themselves in. "Usagi!" Naru called out. Usagi... why did that name sould so familiar? Nephrite pondered.
A squealing blonde rocket streaked from the kitchen, catching Naru in a full force bear hug. She was almost knocked from her feet, but was giggling and squealing right along with her blonde, pig-tailed friend. "Where's this new boyfriend?" Usagi asked, smiling brightly.
"Oh!" Naru seemed to come back to reality. "Usagi, this is my boyfriend, Masato Sanjouin. Masato, this is my best friend in the world, Usagi Chiba." Naru took a step to the side to allow them to shake hands. However, upon seeing each other, Usagi yelped and grabbed a plastic serving dish from the table, chucking it at Nephrite, who only narrowly avoided the attack. Nephrite, who did not want to hurt Usagi, dove behind her couch while the overly energetic blonde hurled plastic forks in his direction.
"What the HELL?" Came an indignant yell. Nephrite peeked up from the back of the couch, seeing Naru standing firmly in between him and Usagi. Her little body was trembling, and Nephrite suddenly recalled why Usagi's name had been so familar. He stood up, taking Naru in his arms. She sagged against him, staring into his handsome face, searching for answers.
He gave a small bow, bobbing up and down with Naru still clutched against his chest. "It's good to see you again, Sailor Moon."
"Nephrite!" The blonde growled, and she was joined by her dark haired husband, who looked throughly shocked to see the other man standing in the middle of his living room. The three stared at each other, Nephrite never taking his eyes off Usagi, and she would not break the death glare she was giving him. Mamoru's eyes bounced between the two of them, as if watching an invisible tennis match.
"Excuse me?!" Naru's voice cut shrilly through the silence, "would anyone like to fill me in on what's going on here?"
All eyes fell on the obviously angry red head. She cocked her eyebrow, glaring in turn at everyone. Her arms were crossed firmly across her chest, one foot tapping impatiently. Seconds stretched like hours, and finally Usagi relaxed, walking over to the living room and planting herself delicately on a her white couch. Naru looked at her, her eyes dark with turbulance.
"I should've told you this a long time ago, Naru. I'm really sorry," Usagi began. "I'm Sailor Moon."
"Oh?" Naru said, disbelief obvious in her voice.
Usagi nodded, then sighed. She muttered something under her breath, then a bright light caused Naru to squint. When it was gone, and Naru opened her eyes again, Sailor Moon stood where her friend had been. She nodded slowly, chewing her lower lip. "Okay. You're Sailor Moon."
Then she fainted dead away.
-
Her head was killing her. Naru pressed her palm against her eyelids, trying to block the light that filtered through. She needed the call Nephrite, and tell him about the ridiculous dream she just had. Usagi Chiba, Sailor Moon? That was laughable.
"You guys, she's coming around!"
Uh-oh, Naru thought. There was a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach as she opened her eyes. A crowd of worried faces clouded her vision. There was Nephrite, right next to her. She smiled at him, and he brushed her face with his fingertips. "Welcome back," he mumured. Her eyes continued scanning. Minako, the bubbly, blue-eyed blonde was next. The slightly intimidating brunette, Makoto stood nearby, a glass of water in her hand. She offered it to Naru, who gluped it down. Firey Rei was standing in a corner of the apartment, her arms folded. Naru had never much cared for Rei, whom she thought was a bit mean, but her presence was reaffirming. Blue haired Ami arrived on the scene, pressing a cold compress to Naru's forehead. She smiled and thanked the quiet blunette. Everything seemed to be normal, except where was...?
She sat up, scanning the room for Usagi. She smiled when she set eyes on her friend. Usagi's back was turned to her, but she was wearing a very, very short skirt, boots... gloves... "U-Usagi?" Naru called out. The blonde turned, and Naru thought she would faint again. Tears leaked from Sailor Moon's eyes. "I'm really sorry, Naru."
The red head stared, completely stunned. "You really are her."
Usagi nodded. "I've really wanted to tell you, but Luna told me not to tell anyone."
"Luna, as in your cat, Luna?" Naru asked. Usagi nodded. Naru closed her eyes before speaking again, "Luna, you cat, told you not to tell anyone that you're Sailor Moon?"
"It's true, Naru," Usagi said softly, "Luna's also the reason why you couldn't remember Nephrite for four years." Naru cracked her eye open, listening intently. "After we defeated the Dark Kingdom-"
"That evil society that held me," Nephrite interrupted.
"After we defeated them, Luna decided that she would erase our memories so we could be normal girls for awhile. And she erased yours, and everyone's whose lives were touched by the Dark Kingdom. Ten years ago, we defeated our most powerful enemy, and I guess Luna decided that it was time that everyone could remember, because there was no need for us to be Sailor Senshi any longer..."
Naru began to giggle. Then laugh, until her whole body was shaking with gut busting guffaws. Tears streamed down her face, and she turned to face Nephrite. "It's finally happened," she told him. He stared at her, unsure of what to do. "It's finally happened," she repeated, "I've finally got completely batshit insane."
Usagi took a step forward, opening her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by an imperious sounding female voice. "You're not insane, Usagi's telling you the truth."
Naru wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, but Luna, Usagi's small black cat, was talking to her. "You need to pull yourself together." The cat jumped into Naru's lap, and she wasn't exactly sure how she should respond. The voice was so obviously that of an adult female, yet the body was of an adorable feline. It was just strange to have it sitting on her knees, ordering her to calm down.
"And you?" Naru said, steadying her voice and looking to all the girls in the room. "Are you the senshi?"
They nodded. "I'm Mercury," Ami volunteered, and the rest of the girls followed suite, telling the shaken red head their identities. Naru tried to calm herself down, but she couldn't bring herself to look her best friend in the eyes. She was hurt that Usagi hadn't told her, and while the logical side of her mind told her that it wasn't possible, the emotional side was crying in despair, saying that if their friendship was as strong as Naru had thought it was, Usagi would've told her no matter what.
Naru stood, and gazed at each of women in the room. There had always been a slight resentment of the girls on her part, the four beautiful women who had snatched up her best friend. She'd always known that something was going on between them all, something that she could never be a part of. But she hadn't let it get to her, she had been there when Usagi needed her. Now she knew. A desperate feeling of lonliness crushed her, and she managed to choke out the words "I need to be alone right now," before fleeing the apartment.
Nephrite stood still for only a moment before darting after her, the elevator door closing as he reached it. He took the stairs. Her head bobbed out of sight as he reached the lobby, and he followed it, jumping in his car to gain a speed advantage. But she took side streets, cut through parks, and he just could not follow her. He took out his cell phone, dialing for directory assistance. "The number for Mamoru Chiba, please."
-
The air was stony silent in Usagi's apartment. No one had moved since the pair had dashed out, Usagi still standing alone in her Sailor Moon outfit. She jumped as the home phone rang. "Hello?"
"Usagi, it's Nephrite. I can't find her, I don't know where she's gone..."
"I'm on it," Usagi answered. She stared at the others, no words needing to be spoken between them. Mamoru put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, nodding at her. Usagi exited via fire escape, determined to find her best friend.
-
"Feels good, doesn't it?"
Naru whipped her head around, trying to find the source of the voice. It's hissing, serpentine quality made her shiver.
"Anger feels good. Let it out."
"G-go away," Naru stammered, afraid. She was answered with silence, and she felt a little better. She walked down an alleyway, utterly lost. The sky opened up, a hard, cold rain falling on her head, soaking her. She sighed, well, that was one dress completely ruined.
"Looking for a friend?" A velvety smooth voice asked. A woman sat on a window ledge on the second floor of an old apartment building. She held a bottle of whiskey in one hand, a marijuana cigarette in the other.
Naru shook her head, turning to leave the alley. She heard the woman slide down the ladder of the fire escape, and began to walk faster. The woman appeared in front of her, causing Naru to stop dead in her tracks. The woman was obviously drunk, probably high. Her green eyes were bloodshot, pupils dilated. There were crusty rings of dried blood around her nostrils, her bleach blonde hair greasy and unwashed. Naru's pulse quickened, she backed up a few steps.
The woman reached out, grabbing Naru's jaw. She held her face still with her long, sharp, red nails. She observed the red head carefully, tilting her head up and back. She caught Naru's eyes, and the two women stared at each other.
"Hey creep! Let go of my best friend!"
The woman still gazed into Naru's eyes, an unreadable expression on her features. A bright flying disc entered Naru's line of sight, and it hit the strange woman's wrist, causing her to drop Naru's face, cursing. Both women turned in the direction of the disc, seeing Sailor Moon standing there, looking angry and intimidating in the pouring rain.
The drunk woman stumbled away, and Naru crumbled, her knees hitting the pavement. Soft, warm arms enveloped her, and Naru lost herself in her best friend's embrace. Tears ran down both girls' faces, as they silently forgave and forgot.
-
Kittie shrank into the shadows of her tenament apartment, drinking deeply from her bottle. That girl, she thought, that girl was the one she'd been seeing in her hallucinations the past few days. She sank down on the steps, running her hands through her hair. What did it mean?
A hissing voice with a metallic twang reached her ears. "I have the answers."
Kittie looked around. "Who's there?"
"I'm all around, Kittie. I know what you want, I have it."
Kittie narrowed her eyes. "What do I want, then?"
"You want power. You want to be in charge. And I can promise you that. It's like being high all the time. I will give you a permanent fix, Kittie, if you pledge yourself to me."
"I'll think about it," she responded, getting up to leave.
"It's now or never. You either take my offer, or not. It's as simple as that."
Kittie folded her arms.
"Power. I will get you subjects. I will give you the best high of your life. You will be beautiful, and people will grovel at your feet."
A moment passed. Then Kittie nodded. "I want it."
Laughter. "I thought you'd say that." A scream tore from the junkie's lungs as a piercing cold darkness engulfed her.
-
Nephrite was waiting for Naru when she and Usagi walked into Naru's apartment. He strode over to her, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Don't scare me like that," he whispered into her ear. She nodded into his shoulder.
Naru turned to Usagi. "I'll call you later," the blonde promised, and the two woman shared a brief embrace before Usagi walked out the door.
"I'm sorry," Naru said, sighing. "That really wasn't as fun as I planned."
Nephrite smiled. "It's fine, I prefer the company I have now. And possibly some take-out."
Naru laughed, entwining her hand with his and leading him back into the kitchen.
-
Nephrite sat on Naru's couch, with her legs across his lap. Satchmo, whom he'd become very fond of, sat on Naru's knees. They ate kung-pao shrimp out of flimsy cardboard containers and entertained themselves playing "guess the jazz song" from a mix CD that Naru had made some time ago.
A song began to play, soft and smooth. Naru smiled, taking a sip of her red wine. "I've got it. How about you?"
Nephrite listened for a few more seconds. "Coltrane. Body and Soul."
She nodded, bouncing her feet to the tune of the music. Nephrite stood, holding his hand out to Naru. She gently pushed Satchmo off her legs, placing her small hand in his warm one. He pulled her from the couch, placing his free hand securely around her waist. She took ahold of his shoulders with one arm, her fingers curling themselves into his long auburn hair. They danced, slowly and tentatively at first, but soon they found themselves relaxing into one another, not minding the fact that neither one of them was a particularly graceful partner. Naru felt a little silly, she was dressed in her pajamas, terry cloth shorts and a white cotton tank top, and Nephrite still wore the suit he'd had on for the party they ended up ruining. Her socks slid on the linolium floor, but he held her tightly against him.
He looked at her pretty face, her eyes were closed, her mouth open just slightly. He smiled, planting a kiss on the top of her head. He twirled her, pulling her back to him after a few rotations. They moved together like they'd been doing it all their lives. Nephrite recalled Princess Diamond's ball, and how they'd danced there. Guilt overwhelmed him as he remembered what he'd made his little Naru do. He held her closer, overwhelmingly glad for this second chance at life.
The piano gave one last flourish, and Nephrite dipped her low, the ends of her hair hovering an inch over the floor. He kissed her now, carefully, delicately. As he righted her, the kiss became more intense, their tongues engaged in a sort of dance of their own. Naru pulled away, gasping slightly for breath, her cheeks tinged with bright red.
The song changed, something fast paced with a throaty sounding woman singing in French. Nephrite glanced at the clock. "It's pretty late, I better go."
Naru caught his elbow. "Don't. Stay with me tonight."
He stared at her, the high color in her cheeks, the hungry look in her eyes. He nodded, carefully sliding off his suit jacket. She took both his hands in hers, walking backwards, leading him to her bedroom.
-
"Kittie, where the hell were you? You were scheduled tonight and you just didn't show!"
Selenite turned to the outraged man who approached her. She cocked an eyebrow, bewildered by what he was talking about. Perhaps she had been this 'Kittie' he spoke of, at one time, but now she was someone else entirely. Selenite, Queen of the Neo-Dark Kingdom, did not have time to figure out whether or not she knew this strange man who stood in front of her, demanding answers. She answered to no one. A blast of ice shards from her palm sent him flying backwards. He moaned in agony as she placed her hand on his forehead, greedily draining his energy until he had none left.
Selenite could easily had teleported to any point she wanted, but tonight she roamed the streets of Tokyo, searching for her perfect pawns.