Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.
A/N: Well, this is it. The penultimate chapter! Only one left... -sniffle-. Ah well. It was fun! Thank you so much to TheBlackSister, anokas2757, serenity11287, empty-spaces, Jingy5, mae-E, mlkoolc86, merangelgal, Double G, Reader, Chrystal, XTrick-, PriestessHelene, Usagi of Feudal Moon Era, Bronze Wolf, and Kitkino86. Thanks for your gratious feedback!
Note: I've had more reviews over my decision to place this under Seiya/Usagi. Read my explanation in a previous chapter.
Learning To Let Go
Part 7: "Timely Advice"
Seiya couldn't help the flabbergasted open mouth that ensared his countenance upon catching sight of the olive-haired warrior. He pulled himself up slowly and took a few trepid steps toward Sailor Pluto.
"It's you! You're Sailor Pluto," he whispered, then internally cursed himself (stupid, stupid, stupid!) upon realizing that he was in civilian form and that the woman had no clue that Fighter and Seiya were one and the same... or did she? An omniscient shadow lay over her maroon orbs, and when she spoke next, her words breathed of knowledge unbeknownst to the world.
"Yes, I am. And I recognize you as well, Seiya Kou."
Seiya thought back to their last encounter. It was around the time Odango introduced him to her little sister, Chibi Chibi. If he recalled correctly, he'd also been volunteered the Juban police chief for a day- oh, the direful rigors and duties of stardom! But he was digressing.
Time for a little test. "Yes... but do you know me? I've... never met you before."
If Pluto was fazed, she didn't display it.
Pluto smirked coyly, then replied in a tactful, condescending tone, "And yet, you know my name. How interesting."
And that was all she said on the subject, which just irritated Seiya more. How could he talk frankly and openly if he still was unsure whether she knew his alias or not? There were already too many awkward queries as it were. He surmised she did, and hoped he was not making the biggest mistake of his life by revealing that which he had made an oath to never disclose.
"Well, maybe you know, maybe you don't... but I'm Sailor Star Fighter. Seiya Kou is just a pseudonym."
He waited, ornery growing by each quiescent moment. Why did she have to just stand there, so frustratingly serene! Did anything evoke her surprise? Was she just a cold brick wall!? Finally, the warrior shouted, "Well, say something!"
"You didn't have to inform me. I already knew."
"Knew?" Seiya repeated in a lightly sarcastic baritone. "How could you know? No one but a select few are privy to that knowledge, and you just... knew." He huffed.
"One cannot hide the truth from the Guardian of Time. I know all and see all."
Seiya let out an unbelieving breath, feeling the irrational fury whish from him in that instant as well. "No way." He shook his head. "This is... hard to take in. So you're like, precognizant?"
"If you wish to term it that way, yes. I guard this dimension and protect the timeline from intruders like you. Although... I suppose I shouldn't call you an intruder," Pluto mused, placing a gloved fingertip to her lips. "No, more like a 'visitor'. Intruders are unannounced and unwelcome. Nasty connotation. No- you, Seiya-san, were a passing visitor."
"You say it as if you were expecting me- ah, right, well maybe you would know, wouldn't you?" Seiya rambled aloud, rolling his eyes to the non-existent heaven above him. "Jeez, this is awkward. You seem to know every minute facet of my life and yet I know nothing about you. Wonderful conversation crasher."
"My name is Sailor Pluto, and that is all you need to hear about me. But you... aren't you the least bit nonplussed about your little adventure, and why I of all people even allowed it? I do have a reputation for acting first, then asking questions later, you know." She sounded humorously ticked off about his lack of concern, and Seiya had to give her a toothy grin.
"Er... I was getting there. Of course I'm wondering where the hell I am or how I've been able to jump through time periods. I kinda thought though that you'd be a little more helpful and just give me the answer all on one silver platter."
Pluto snorted. "You thought wrong, then. This is your lesson to be learnt. I would have thought it would be clear to you by now, but it seems I underestimated your... ah... feelings." At this, her visage shifted icily, and a spark of anger filled her orbs. She suppressed it skillfully and proceeded to give Seiya an expectant look. The Starlight realized she was waiting for an inquiry on his part. Apparently, there wasn't going to be any silver platters here.
"Well, first of all, how am I here? And what is 'here'?"
Pluto replied in a pragmatic tone. It sounded almost as if she were reading from a boring textbook. "You are in a space between space; a sort of existing impossibility. In slightly more comprehendable terms, this is a dimension inbetween the eras of time, in which one could conceivably be granted access to any period through means of the Time Door you became well-aquainted with. That course is watched and nurtured by me, the impartial sentinel. I am here to make sure the best possible future progresses as it should, but I am also bound by my duties as a Senshi to protect more than just the timeline."
"What else do you protect?"
"Like you, I too am dutifully twined with the fate of a Princess. She is our Light and our future."
Seiya wanted to ask who that Princess was, but refrained when catching wind of another of Pluto's strange mood swings. She was now staring very stonily at him, as if he had done something to her precious charge; this... unknown Princess. But that was just stupid. How could he do something to someone he had never even met?
A change of subject was probably in order, or Seiya felt her glare would burn him at the spot in a way the key failed to do. "So how did I get here? You still haven't answered that question yet."
Instead of immediately responding, Pluto shook her viridian head and chuckled. In a barely audible mutter she crooned, "Oh Small Lady, you are an adorable child, but do learn some responsibility... or at least caution!"
Seiya began to fear for this woman's sanity. "Ah... sorry, but who is 'Small Lady' and what the heck does she have to do with anything?"
"Absolutely everything and absolutely nothing." There she went again, going all cryptic and inscrutable. It made the ebony-haired star want to throttle something- preferably her.
"Elaboration, please?" he sighed, exasperated.
"That Time Key in your pocket is her spare. Evidently, she forgot she had it and left it haphazardly at the Tsukino residence. But I suppose it all worked out in the end... No harm done..."
"This 'Small Lady'... why does she need a Time Key and why was she at the Tsukino's?" And why hadn't Usagi mentioned a 'Small Lady' to him ever before?
"Nosy, aren't we?" Pluto jibed, and Seiya blushed.
"Are you going to answer me?" He gave the Time deity a direct and penetrating glare.
"Do I need to?" she asked nonchalantly, fluttering her eyelashes mockingly. Seiya grumbled in retaliation, but knew she was right. Her meaning was clear- any tiny detail she bestowed to him was a gift. She could just send him home with nothing but a pat on the head and the assurance that none of his journey had ever happened; that it was all one big dream. As it was, Seiya was (albeit slowly) learning verity.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," Pluto smirked promptly.
"I said 'no', but-"
"Then good," the tan heroine cut in, no nonsense-like. "Because there are some things that you are just not meant to know, and you must accept this right now, before I disclose any more information to you. Got that?"
"Yes," Seiya mumbled disgruntedly, thinking that it most likely wouldn't be prudent to tack on a witty "Yes, m'am" at the end, even though he sorely desired to. He felt like a reprimanded schoolboy!
Pluto seemed satisfied. "Now, where were we? Ah yes. Your entrance. As I was going to say, before being rudely shunted off-topic, was that Small Lady's key sent you here. I was wary of allowing you access to the time stream upon your arrival. I lingered off to the side, out of sight, and consulted the timeline. I found no fault in letting you through; no danger to the future. In fact, I was informed that it would be a pivotal aspect to your lesson. So I let you in, monitoring your status, observing your encounters and ready to bring you back at any given moment should you let anything slip..."
Seiya blushed again. He remembered his embarrassing banter and obsessive antics. Had it really been that bad? She must think me a fool. For this reason, he was surprised at what she said next.
"You should be very proud at how vigilantly guarded you were, Seiya-san. You were right in assuming that your actions could prove detrimental to the future."
"Um, thank you?"
Pluto rolled her eyes. "You're welcome."
"So why did you return me here, then? Surmising that little burning experience was your welcoming back party," Seiya said sardonically.
"I brought you back because I thought that it was an opportune time for you to reflect on what you learned."
"What I learned? What, leave mysterious objects alone from now on?" Seiya grinned, but Pluto frowned.
"I would have thought you'd ponder a little deeper than that. Why did you meet the people you met? Why were you in the places you were? The circumstances you stumbled upon? Those were not mere coincidences, nor expressions of the Key wielder's will. I fashioned the visits in mimic of your wish, so you could see only what you needed to."
The Starlight tried to take it all in; fit the puzzle together so it would make some semblance of sense. The task was difficult. "Does my lesson have anything to do with Usagi?"
Pluto looked ready to bash her head against her garnet rod and Seiya realized it had been a dumb inference. "Getting warmer."
"Usagi and... Mamoru-san (the name sent shivers down Seiya's spine)?"
"Wow, bingo. You did it." Pluto cracked. "I thought the strain would kill you there."
Seiya wished he could haul off and punch her... er, in the shoulder... playfully, of course. Because it wasn't like she was dead annoying and conniving and exasperating or anything, right? Best keep his thoughts of homicide to a minimum in her presence. Who knew if she was telepathic as well?
"So what has your excursion taught you?" she repeated, trying to exude patience. Which certainly isn't treating her kindly, Seiya thought wryly.
He grimaced. "Usagi loves Mamoru-san. The feeling is mutual. Nothing will break them up. Yadda yadda yadda."
Pluto praised him with lethargic grin. "Wow, spot on. Too bad the implication means absolutely nothing to you." A trace of something Seiya couldn't place lurked behind her words. Displeasure, maybe?
"How can it? I love her. I am the better man. I know it. You know it."
"I know a lot more than you do," was all the emerald head said mystifyingly. But Seiya wasn't about to let her slip through the proverbial crevice of allusion again.
"What exactly do you know, then?" he challenged. "Show me. Make me understand."
"You want to see what you would be taking away from her if you continue down this path of obsession, Seiya Kou? Fine. Let me show you what you would be stealing." And with that sobering final promise, Pluto waved her garnet rod in a swishing motion and stamped it once upon the ground. A cluster of gray cloud condensed on Seiya's left, and he swiveled to observe the strange colors within, undulating like snakes. Slowly, they began to morph into distinguishable people. Seiya gasped and looked with shock to Pluto. She gazed at him head-on, a stiff purse to her lips.
"Is that... her future?"
"What it will be, if a certain someone decides to grow up and face reality."
Seiya turned back, visage constricted and pained. He stared imploringly into the face of his dreams, so joyous in a way that he had never once seen when she was in his presence. The glowing smile crowned her countenance and gave it an undeniable aura of beauty. Usagi was older, wiser... her body was clothed in a maginificent white gown, and Seiya wondered if it was her wedding dress. But the design did not fit; it was too regal for that. He narrowed his eyes and appraised a blurred object perched upon her golden head. It was small and distorted by the wispy clouds; perchance a hat?
Her strange outfit did not keep the star's attention for long. How could it? He was more interested in the child on her lap and the man standing steadfast behind woman Usagi, arms encompassing her shoulders. Mamoru Chiba. And a little girl... their little girl. Young and sweet-faced and a total miniature of her mother. She must have been three or four, with an adorable school uniform and a precocious smile widening her cherub features. She reached up and patted the hand of her father, which rested close by her pink odangoed head. Mamoru looked down at her, beaming, before pecking his obvious wife on the cheek. Usagi blushed in a way that made Seiya despise his rival even more. Why couldn't she blush like that with him? Wistful yearning welled up in Seiya. He squeezed his eyes shut.
"Take it away. Please. I get it."
Pluto took mercy on the Starlight. He felt her soft fingers touch the folds of his sleeve; not quite holding his hand but in propinquity of the act. Tenderness filled her tone for the first time.
"Do you see now what you would be stealing from Usagi Tsukino if you were to pursue her heart? Have you realized, as I'm sure you have, that her heart has already been bound? That is her happiness. Are you willing- are you selfish enough- to take away that happiness?
"Love- true love- is not about conceit or obsession or selfishness. Its very essence is pure; its first thought is to put the other person first. What you think you have with Usagi Tsukino... it is a simple crush, magnified by your desire to be with her. It is not real love. To show her real love will hurt, Seiya-san. Because if you really love her, you will do what she has always asked, all along. To let her go. To say goodbye, without saying goodbye to your friendship. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Seiya whispered. The truth dawned upon his dolorous countenance, but still, a tear dribbled from his unwilling eye.
The hand holding his sleeve slipped down into his. She squeezed tightly; sympathizingly. "I know it will be hard, but I believe in you. You are strong- you are a Fighter. You can do this. I know you will do the right thing."
And then a weight lifted from his pocket, and the hand holding his faded away, and everything went dark.
A/N: Wow, what a hard chapter to write! Do you realize that that was all dialogue, and there was no action whatsoever? And how friggin' hard that is to capture in prose!? Well, that's my rant. The more who review, the faster I'll update! Next chapter's the last!
P.S. Word to the wise- if you're going to write degrading comments, it is cowardly to scribe under a non-repliable alias. You know who you are.
AngelMoon Girl