"So, you're really going to see her today?"
If there was ever something big going on in Kunzite's life, Zoisite was always there to make sure all went well. After getting a text at 5 in the morning that read "Met Artemis. Meeting Venus tomorrow" from Kunzite, Zoisite had rushed over to Kunzite's apartment, overly excited for his best friend. Kunzite always appreciated Zoisite's help in situations like these, seeing as Zoisite genuinely loved sappy and romantic moments.
Venus and Zoisite became rather good friends once Kunzite began courting the Princess, and Zoisite often said that if Kunzite ever broke her heart, he'd punch him in the face. When trying to plan special occasions for him and Venus, Kunzite always deferred to Zoisite for advice to make things perfect. Kunzite may have had the drive to romance Venus, but he was never the artistic visionary like Zoisite.
Perhaps that is why the two of them got along so well. Together, with Kunzite's logical, left-brain mentality and Zoisite's creative mind, they meshed together to make the perfect team. Even as Beryl pitted the Shitennou against each other, Kunzite and Zoisite stuck together like glue. They were practically family, and nothing was going to change the strong bonds of their friendship.
"What are you going to do? Serenade her with a band? Lavish her with gifts? Get on your knees and grovel in the form of romantic poetry?" Zoisite was being intentionally facetious. He knew Kunzite wasn't going to do anything flashy or over the top.
"I was thinking a private apology and flowers," replied Kunzite, pouring himself his third cup of coffee for the morning. Another carry over from his Shin, the coffee addiction. It was magic in liquid form.
"I suppose keeping it simple is a good idea since everything is so complicated. Do you think she's going to accept your apology?" asked Zoisite.
"Artemis all but said she would, so I'm assuming so, but I don't want to go in there acting confident, considering the situation."
Zoisite nodded, looking at Kunzite closely. Though his expression seemed completely placid, there was a glint of fear in his eyes, a white-knuckled grip on his coffee. It was endearing to see the hardass general so besotted by admiration for a woman. They had spent many mornings around a table far grander than this talking about the same thing.
"You just go in and sweep her off her feet, okay? If there is Dark Kingdom action about to start, we actually need to work with the Sailor Senshi this time, and if their leader trusts you, we'll all be better off for it. I don't want to be brainwashed again," said Zoisite. "You do your part, and the rest of us will be out seeing if there are any other danburite crystals in the city."
"All of you? It seems meeting Mamoru has given us our drive back. That's good to hear."
"You're telling me! Nephrite dropped by last night and apologized for throwing slurs at me. He was looking really rough around the edges, too. At first I thought his attitude was a holdover from the brainwashing, but I think there's something else there. I guess it's good, though, I was going to have to put him in his place if he didn't cut it out."
"It wouldn't be the first time you dueled someone for being offensive."
"Kunzite, you know I am nothing but an honorable gentleman. If people want to make crude assumptions about me, they will only get what they deserve."
"Right, General Zoisite, you have always been the most honorable," said Kunzite, dripping with sarcasm. It was hard to call Zoisite honorable when he was known for fighting dirty and never playing fair if he could find an advantage in combat.
"Anyway, do you have the piece of danburite with you so I can take a look at it?" asked Zoisite, changing the subject before Kunzite could point out any more of his flaws.
"Yeah, I took it out of the park so it couldn't zap anyone else's energy." Getting up, Kunzite walked over to his kitchen counter and grabbed the small, white crystal gingerly, setting it down in front of Zoisite, whose brow furrowed on sight.
"So you said it only zaps a bit of energy at a time so nobody notices what's going on? I wonder what he's trying to do with these..." looking at it closer, Zoisite gasped when he saw a shadow appear inside the crystal, a silhouette of a monstrous humanoid. "There's a youma inside of this."
"What?" Leaning over Zoisite's shoulder, Kunzite stared down at the danburite, eyes widening as he heard a faint rumble of a growl emanating from it. Zoisite threw it to the ground, stomping on it, trying to smash it. Knowing that wasn't going to work, Kunzite reached for his pendant, transformed, and shot it with a bolt of magic, shattering it into pieces. The spirit dispersed, dissolving into the air as Kunzite let out a heavy sigh.
"I need to call the others. If there are any other crystals out there, we need to find them before they turn into monsters right now." Standing up, Zoisite grabbed his phone and began to put on his jacket, calling Jadeite and Nephrite.
"I'll come with you," said Kunzite, getting up to follow him.
"No," Zoisite looked at Kunzite sternly and shook his head, "You have your day with Venus. We'll take care of it. Also, orchids."
"Orchids?" asked Kunzite, thinking for a second on what that meant. "Yes, I know, she like orchids, and that dandelions aren't fancy enough. I've heard this before. Anything else, oh master romantic?"
Leaning in from outside the door, Zoisite laughed and said, "Don't screw up."
Shaking his head, Kunzite detransformed and walked into the bathroom, turning the shower to nearly as hot as he could get it. Stepping in, he let out a sigh of relief as the water pounded onto his tense shoulders, rolling them to loosen some of the aches. As he poured shampoo into his hand, he began to go over his daily plans. He was meeting Minako at the same park he met Artemis last night, and after he was hoping to take her to dinner, assuming he didn't completely blunder his apology.
Though he trusted his fellow Shitennou, and understood the importance of immediate action, Kunzite wished he was going on the hunt for more pieces of danburite with them. It was becoming more obvious that Ace was concerned with more than just Minako. If he was sending out Youma, he could be trying to continue Beryl's crusade, and he couldn't let that happen.
***
Minako didn't like the looks her friends gave her. It was a look of concern that should only be reserved for Usagi in the most desperate times. She was Sailor Venus for goodness sakes! She could handle this herself, just like last time she went up against Ace as Sailor V. Keeping her head high, she walked down the steps from the Hikawa Shrine, looking forward to a nap. Last night was another miserable night's sleep, dreaming of the night on the Moon where her life was taken by the man she loved. Biting her lip, she tried to push the thoughts from her mind, focusing on the warmth and comfort of her bed that was beckoning her.
It was abnormally cold for this time of year, the normally shining sun obscured by exceedingly dark clouds, clouds that brought negativity only caused by minions of darkness. Shivering, Minako wrapped her arms around herself, regretting the choice of wearing a miniskirt that Artemis was unusually complimentary of this morning.
Speaking of Artemis, the white cat was poised on a concrete wall, waiting for Minako earnestly. Pouncing on her shoulder, Artemis leaned over and said, "I need you to come with me. I found something that could be related to all of this at a park not far from here."
"What did you find?" asked Minako, fumbling for her umbrella as she felt raindrops beginning to fall on her head.
"A piece of danburite that was zapping energy."
"What?"
"A piece of danburite. I think there might be a youma trapped inside of it that needs energy to attack. Are the other girls still at the shrine?" Minako nodded. She had left early when she tired of the pitiful stares. Makoto spilling the beans about her memories of Kunzite made it even worse, and it ended up driving Minako up the wall.
Picking up her pace, she followed Artemis's directions until they reached a small, secluded area of a park. Before Minako could ask where anything was, Artemis lept off her shoulder and ran back the way they came, shouting "You'll want to be alone for this! Trust me!"
"Artemis! Where-?" Minako stopped herself when she realized Artemis was already gone. Sighing, Minako continued down the path, shaking her head, wondering what had gotten into Artemis. In the distance, she could see a gazebo, and Minako decided to go there to get out of the rain until whatever Artemis was planning happened.
"That cat is going crazy," Minako muttered, shaking her head.
There was someone else already there, gazing up at the rain, holding a bouquet of yellow and orange flowers in his hand. Dark skin stood out underneath the silver of his hair, falling down to broad, strong shoulders. When she was able to see his face, she couldn't breathe. Heart stopping, she trembled, dropping the umbrella in her hand, staring unbelievingly at the man who was now walking up to her.
"Minako," he breathed, picking up his pace. As he came closer and closer, Minako began to take steps towards him as well, joy bursting in her heart. Was this possible? Was it really him? He was so close to touching her, so close to embracing her, when a bolt of energy pushed him back, flying into the trees.
"Kunzite!" Minako screamed, horrified at the sight of her long lost love appearing before her eyes just to be attacked. Snapping back to her senses, Minako reached inside her purse, pulling out the Venus crystal, shouting at the top of her lungs "VENUS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE UP!"
"Come out so we can fight, you coward!" Minako yelled, taking in her surroundings, trying to spot the attacker. Up in the trees she could see a dark silhouette, looming down at her.
"But I'm not here to fight you, Venus, I'm only here for him," said the man in the trees, jumping down from the branches. Minako's stomach churned as she looked at him. Gone was the white and the beauty from his attire, instead he was clad in black, mask shed, revealing dark, loveless eyes covered by matted white hair. Any hope that Kaitou Ace was redeemed in this life was shed as she dropped into a fighting stance, prepared to attack. "Strange that you are willing to fight me so easily, but you are so quick to defend him. He hurt you, too, Venus. His betrayal should feel much deeper than mine. I'm here to protect you from getting hurt by him again."
For a second, Minako faltered, staring back at Kunzite, who was forcing himself to stand up, eyes filled with hate as he stared at Ace, panting heavily as he clutched the pendant around his neck.
"If you're just here to protect me, why do you have crystals containing Youma out here?" Venus asked, flexing her fingers, readying her attacks to be deployed at a moment's notice.
"Just in case I couldn't get to you in time," Ace replied, stepping closer to her, reaching out for a lock of her blonde hair.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on her you psychotic little shit."
Kunzite had stepped in front of Venus, knocking Ace's hand away. "If you want to fight me, fight me, but never compare me to you. You sold yourself to Beryl and Metallia out of envy and spite, but my fall was not the same as yours. Beryl tainted me, made me someone I was not. You haven't changed, Adonis. You are no different than that snivelling boy who poisoned your princess just so you could defile her just like you did in your sick little fantasies."
His pendant started to glow, wind whipping around violently as he raised his hand in the air and bellowed "KUNZITE TERRA POWER TRANSFORM." When the light passed, he had transformed, his sword was raised, poised to lash out at Ace at any moment, a violent stare in his eyes that was filled with both passion and hate as they glowed, magic emanating from his other hand.
Knowing that he was in trouble, Ace threw out a crystal, commanding it to attack, but before the youma could even begin its assault, Venus had shot it back with a crescent beam, knocking it down, while Kunzite's magic made it disperse just as easily as it did with the crystal at his apartment. Swearing, Ace lunged towards Kunzite, who barely managed to dodge the swift attack, slicing open his skin, making blood trail down his arm. Kunzite lunged back, thrusting his sword forward, but Ace disappeared, teleporting into thin air.
"Damnit," Kunzite hissed, falling to his knees as he clutched his injury, which was quickly saturating his white coat with blood. "Come back, you coward!" Reversing his transformation, he punched the ground, blood boiling his his veins. Adonis was back to hurt Venus. No. That wasn't allowed to happen. Not again.
Dropping down next to him, Venus changed back into her normal form, looking at his arm. Pulling her red bow out of her hair, she wrapped it around his arm, trying to stem the blood flow.
"You need to get that looked at by a doctor," said Minako, looking at the wound with concern, "It's going to get infected for you'll bleed out or-"
"I'll be fine. Just help me get home and give me some orange juice and I'll be okay."
Minako frowned as she helped him up from the ground, noticing that the blood was already seeping through this shirt, too. "At least call Mamoru to get it properly stitched up, please. He's a medical student and can fix you right up."
He wanted to ignore her demands, but Kunzite couldn't say no to her sad, pleading eyes and said, "I'll call him when we get me home." Wrapping an arm around him for support, Minako began the slow journey down the trail out of the park. For a long while, they limped along in silence, letting themselves get drenched by the pouring rain, and though it was obvious that Kunzite was more than capable of walking along on his own, Minako didn't want to let go.
"So," Minako ventured after Kunzite directed a turn, "You're back. And you're you again. That's good."
"I was hoping today would go better. There are a lot of things I need to apologize for. It was never my intention to betray Endymion, or the Moon Kingdom. When we started losing the war, I was so terrified that your mother would have forbidden me to marry you. I went to Beryl, who I trusted as much as I trusted my brothers-in-arms, and when she put a spell on this-" Kunzite held up the pendant around his neck "-she told me it would help protect my troops and I in battle. I had no idea of what she intended to do with me. If I had known, none of this would have happened."
"I know that, Kunzite. I never doubted your loyalty. If I had remembered who you were when I fought you, I would have tried to free you from Beryl. I'm sorry I didn't try."
"Even if you did remember, you were doing your job. You had to protect the Princess, and you had to put duty before love. You have nothing to be sorry about. I am the only one who has anything to apologize for."
Kunzite was relieved when they reached his building, fortunate to be out of the rain. Walking over to the elevator, they got in together, Kunzite using his good arm to push the button to his floor.
"I just want you to know," Kunzite continued, looking at the numbers ascending as the elevator took them up, "that despite what happened, I still love you, and I know it's unfair to ask the same of you, but that doesn't mean I won't hope that your forgiveness can extend that far."
Minako was having trouble finding the way to respond. The fact that she was just attacked by Ace, fought alongside a very much alive Kunzite, and was now going to his apartment because he was injured was just starting to sink into her. The same Kunzite who loved her, and who killed her. Instead of verbalizing her feelings, she wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him close, not letting go until the elevator door opened.
When they finally made it to his apartment, Minako sat down with Kunzite on the couch. Taking his shirt and her ribbon off his arm, Minako couldn't help but squirm a bit as she looked at the nasty cut. It was incredible that he was acting so calm when there was no possible way he couldn't be in immense pain.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital?" asked Minako, rubbing her own arm out of sympathy pain.
"Just call him," Kunzite hissed, open wound stinging from exposure, "please."
Grabbing her own phone, Minako scrolled down to find the entry for Mamoru, a rarely used contact, but one she always had just in case. It rang a few times before Mamoru picked up, confused, but asking "What's up?"
"Kunzite got attacked by Ace and he's really hurt and he's refusing to go to the hospital so I thought you could come and patch him up, please," Minako said in one breath. There was silence on the other end for a few moments, and Minako could hear Usagi asking what was wrong in the background.
"Tell me how to get there and we'll be there as soon as we can," Mamoru replied. Minako was vaguely able to tell him where Kunzite lived, with confusing but efficient directions pieced together from walking home with him. Assuring her that he'd be there, Mamoru hung up the phone, leaving Minako praying for traffic to be his friend.
"He'll be here soon," Minako assured, setting her phone down. Though the bleeding had begun to subside, the cut still looked nasty, but Minako was unsure of what to do, or if she could do anything else while waiting for Mamoru. Instead of trying to guess and risk irritating the gash, Minako sat back down, trying to gather her feelings about the situation. She always imagined she would be happier to see him in this situation.
"Kunzite," said Minako suddenly, "I've missed you. I've dreamed and pleaded and prayed that you would come back to me every night for months, but now that you're here, I can't help but remember everything that's happened, both good and bad. I love you more than anything, and I trust you, but there are parts of me, parts that are loyal to my princess alone, that can't forgive you just yet."
"I knew this was coming," Kunzite laughed bitterly, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, "but I get it. Were I you, I'd think the same thing. Your words won't spurn me, though, and I'm not going to give up. I've been fully prepared to have to prove my intentions to you, and so I will."
"It's not that you have to prove anything to me," said Minako, "It's just that, well, I guess you have a lot to make up for, and I feel a million different emotions right now and most of them are good, but I need to be cautious, too. You killed me. You tried to kill Serenity. You betrayed all of us, and I know it wasn't you, but at the same time, it was. I'm torn between loyalties, and I'm scared that someone could get to you again, but that doesn't mean I don't love you. I do. I'm just, well, I suppose I'm just hurt. That's all."
"Then I'll make it up to you," turning his head to completely face her, leaning in close, "I'll be your battle companion, your confidant, your lover, whatever you need me to be. I'll do whatever it takes, because I would be a fool not to." It was then he laid his lips upon hers, kissing his goddess tenderly. "I will never do anything to give you up again."
For now, those words would be enough. Butterflies fluttering around in her stomach, Minako kissed him back, fairly certain that she was, at that moment, the luckiest girl in the world.