hey, people. so, maybe you've noticed. I'm not using the typical suzaku-seiryu-byako-genbu names for the four generals. i'm actually using a group of spiritual beings referred to in japanese buddhism as the devas or shitenno for their names. i did my best to match them with suitable names. i did it this way because i thought if i was going to use the commonly accepted true names idea, i needed ones for Serenity and Endymion, and obviously only those two should know each other's true names. the devas/shitenno idea provided an easy name for Endymion and for Serenity i could use Selene. so if you were a bit confused, hopefully you aren't now.

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Makoto finally dragged herself into her bedroom after she'd decided the kitchen couldn't be any cleaner. She'd watered all her plants, put together a new casserole for the happily married couple--she paused momentarily to frown at that thought--why couldn't she find a guy as great as Mamoru?--and dusted every available surface. She'd considered vacuuming, but at midnight, she was fairly certain her neighbors wouldn't be happy. So here she stood, in her pajamas, clutching a pillow and staring apprehensively at her bed.

Bed. Bed meant sleep. Sleep meant dreams. Dreams meant memories. Possibly unhappy memories--from what Ami said. Not good. Makoto sighed. This was no way for a sailor senshi to behave. Angrily, she glared at her bed, stomped over to it, and flopped down on her stripy comforter. In what she knew was a foolish act of defiance, she put her head down by the footboard and casually traced the mint, pink, baby blue, and ivory lines. This wasn't fair. The idea of having intact memories was enticing, thrilling almost, but Ami had implied that the memories themselves didn't fix anything. Stupid memories. Why'd they have to interrupt her usually happy and nonsensical dreams? After all, what was more fun than dreaming about cooking a meal for the prince of France in a kitchen made of...

Seeing the wispy white mists, the senshi of protection cursed. She'd fallen asleep, and from experience, she knew she'd remain that way until the memory was through playing. The realization melted quickly into the first memory.

Princess Serenity was meeting Prince Endymion for the first time. She remembered flanking Mars as the sailor senshi protected their princess against the possible hostile and barbaric Terrans. Queen Serenity had promised that the Terrans were absolute gentlemen, their Prince included. The senshi took her advice but insisted upon escorting their beloved friend in senshi garb. Endymion and his men painted quite a different picture than they'd all been expecting. Endymion, as Serenity later described him, was dashing and charming in his black tunic and cloak with a smile that could charm the moon from the skies. Demeter agreed: he was handsome but not nearly so handsome as that devilishly gorgeous guard two to his left. Sailor Jupiter allowed herself a small gasp. He was taller than her! Kami-sama be blessed--he was taller than her! That was no small feat. And then that face--an aristocrat surely--what with those beautiful auburn waves framing that chiseled face. If it weren't for the senshi of war standing before her, Demeter might have considered breaking protocol and jumping him. Before she could hear his name, she was whisked away.

Her next meeting with the handsome man was in her personal gardens; Serenity had one commissioned for each of her precious senshi. She was sitting underneath her favorite oak tree, transplanted straight from her home, napping, when he appeared.

"Ah, Princess. Is there a particular reason you're sitting on the ground rather than the bench?" he questioned, pointing to the stone bench not two feet from where she rested. She didn't like his tone.

"Does my lord have a problem with my choice of seating?" she snapped back, irritated at having been forced to open her eyes. Venus had been drilling them endlessly since the Terrans had arrived. The one time they'd all met on the courts, Endymion's men had proved to be worthy opponents. Needless to say, the Venusian was concerned. Her Jovian friend had similar sentiments. That didn't mean she thought Venus should work them into the ground.

"No, I simply thought it peculiar that the Jovian Princess should chose to sit on the dirty ground when such a bench was provided. I'm certain you weren't taught to sit as you are," he sniped back. How did he manage to turn his nose up at her while looking down scornfully at the same time?! Oh how that man infuriated her!

"I'm in no mood to speak with you, Terran. Just who let you in anyhow? I'll give them a tongue lashing to be certain!" she growled, looking away from him and toward the entrance hoping for a wayward servant to unleash her anger on.

"I let myself in," he replied calmly. Ooh, the nerve! He was so full of himself.

"For your information, Lord Nephrite, these are my private gardens and I'd appreciate it if you'd at least pretend to request permission before barging in so rudely," she huffed, delicately pushing herself on the ground. It was moments like these that she regretted that he was so tall. She actually had to lift her head a bit to glare at him!

"You can cease the show of delicacy, Princess. Everyone in this court knows you're an amazon with no real manners or knowledge of etiquette," he insulted her casually. And then he had the chutzpah to stand there as though he'd merely said it was nice weather they were having!

"You...you...you arrogant bastard!" she lowered her voice to just below a shout. "What with the Golden Kingdom trying to forge an alliance with the Silver Millennium, I'd think you'd try a bit harder to be kind to your hosts. Neither the Queen nor the Princess would appreciate knowing you've spoken to me in such a manner," she finished, dusting the specks of dirt off of her flowing grass-hued dress.

"Forgive me if I speak the truth, Princess Jupiter," he retorted.

"I wish you'd never opened your mouth at all, Lord Nephrite. Your cruel tongue is not welcome here. How did such an insensitive man enter the service of one so kind as Prince Endymion? The injustices of the world never cease," she muttered, and curtsying just a bit, excused herself, "If you're not going to leave, I suppose I will. Good-day, my lord."

She was left with liquid lightning in her veins and fists clenched in anger when the next memory came. It was near the same garden; they stood on a balcony overlooking it. There was a pointed effort to ignore the crowds of people not fifty yards behind them, chattering delightedly. Moonlight dusted the oak leaves before them, pooling on the stepping stones and vanishing into the rich, almost-black dirt. The conversation was, she noted, at the very least civil. That was a step in the right direction; if they'd continued to bicker as they had, she was certain she'd have gone mad.

"So, my dear Jovian Princess," he turned to her with a mocking smile. She braced herself for the worst. "You are perhaps the most brash, outspoken, brazen, unconventional women I've ever met." She stumbled back in shock; hadn't they been making progress? Baffled, she turned to him, and the twinkle in his eyes befuddled her even more. "But you are perhaps the most vivacious, witty, passionate, and genuine lady I've ever had the pleasure of encountering." And then, to her dismay, without permission, he leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. Just as she pulled her fist back to break his jaw, he flinched, and somewhere in that flinch, she recognized that he'd meant it as a compliment. At which, her dismay turned to delight and then back to dismay as she realized she was blushing.

Despite all his shortcomings, he was still rather charming, she conceded. And he obviously found something engaging about her conventional Jovian attitude, which, among the Terran people, was obviously unconventional. Perhaps he was worth a little effort and some bruised pride. Just perhaps.

"My lord, I do believe that was meant to be a compliment?" she asked, just a touch of laughter to her tone. He replied with a simple yes, as though too afraid to say much more. "Then perhaps you ought to work on your delivery," she smiled, a bemused chuckle following. To her delight, after a moment he joined her, his rich laughter chasing after hers as the noise tumbled down into the garden below them. This could be the start of something very...good.