Two Hearts Mended

By Bashfulglowfly

Chapter Seven

The four Shitennou walked down the quiet street. They were going to meet the girls who were going to be Serenity's Inner Senshi. Kazuya wanted to meet them and see what they were like before he allowed them to be anywhere near Serenity.

"Tokyo's a lot less crowded." Said Soichiro.

Jun snorted. "That's what happens when a third of the population leaves."

"You can tell that it's affected the city." Said Nobuyuki, noting the garbage that was blowing down the street.

"It's affecting the entire world." Said Kazuya. "One third of the population leaves, jobs become available and there are still people sitting on their asses expecting to be taken care of."

"Do you think that will happen in the Alliance?" asked Jun.

Kazuya grinned like a shark. "No. I slipped something into the Charter saying that if someone wants government assistance to live, they'll have to work it off."

Nobuyuki stared at him then roared with laughter. "And I'm guessing that they'll have to work it off in the most unpleasant places that can be found."

Kazuya's grin grew wider. "And before you ask, Usagi knows about it. And approved of it."

"There it is, the Tsukimine Shrine." Said Jun.

The four men walked up a few steps, under a torii and into a courtyard surrounded by trees. On the steps of the shrine waited four girls: one with pale blonde hair held back with a red headband, one with black hair neatly braided, one with bright red hair in a ponytail and the last had light blue hair that frothed in gentle curls.

Kazuya could feel his younger brothers perk up at the sight of the girls. He knew exactly what would happen and was glad that they were going to be happy. He looked into the eyes of the girl who would be Venus…and felt nothing.

She looked back at him and smiled ruefully. She bowed, "I'm Aika. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The girl with the black hair eyed Jun with appreciation. "I'm Sayuri."

"I'm Akane!" said the redhead with a boisterous laugh.

"My name is Cheiko." Said the last girl in a soft voice. She smiled sweetly as Soichiro walked forward, took her hand in his and gently kissed it.

Kazuya introduced himself and the others. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you as well. Serenity's been telling us about you."

Aika grinned. "Our Queen has been telling us about you as well." She winked at Kunzite. "Well…not everything." All four girls laughed as faint color filled Kazuya's cheeks.

"I'm surprised you didn't teleport yourselves here. It would have been easier for you." Said Sayuri.

"True, but we wanted to get a feel for how things were going here." Said Nobuyuki.

Akane nodded. "It's not good. It's not so bad that people are afraid to go out after dark but…"

"We think that it will get worse when the Inner Planets are awakened by Serenity." Said Cheiko. "But we understand that there's nothing we can do about it."

"What about your families?" asked Soichiro.

"We haven't told them about us." Said Aika. "But each of our parents have discussed things with us and have said that if it turns out we are "aliens" we're going to leave."

"Whether your families are Alliance members or not, they will be most welcome." Said Kazuya.

"Thank you." Aika inclined her head to him. She sighed. "We've been watching the traitors."

"You have?" said Soichiro.

Sayuri nodded then grimaced with distaste. "How any of them became Senshi in the first place I will never know."

Cheiko spoke "Mizuno isn't that bad, she just allowed herself to be led astray."

"Okay, so she isn't so bad but the others are…disgusting." Snapped Akane. "Chiba is having sex with the other three. Hino and Kino don't know about each other and they both think that Aino doesn't know but she does and she encourages Chiba."

"Mizuno turned him down. At least she has some self respect." Said Aika. "But I'm glad that we're not related to any of them in this lifetime."

"You were related to them in the Silver Millennium?" asked Jun, one eyebrow arching in surprise.

Aika laughed. "That's why we're able to be Senshi in this lifetime. Well, almost. We have to go get our Crystals and Cheiko's computer from the traitors. When is Serenity going to come?"

"In two weeks. The official announcement will be made tomorrow." Said Kazuya. "Will you be alright for that long?"

"We'll be fine." Said Aika with calm assurance. "We'll get our things from the traitors the day Serenity arrives."

Nobuyuki looked at her and shook a finger at her. "You want them to think that they'll be able to return to her."

Akane sneered. "They've talked about it. They seem to think that Serenity is the little girl that they bullied and she'll be happy to let them rejoin her."

Kazuya shook his head. "They'll find out that they are quite wrong…not that any of them are going to get anywhere near her."

Aika smiled. "Take care of your fiancée who is our Queen until we arrive, Your Grace."

"I will, from now until the Sun turns cold and dark and beyond." Said Kazuya.

Two weeks later, Serenity stood with the Outer Senshi and the Shitennou in the Transporter Room. She hid it well but Kunzite could tell that she was nervous about returning to Earth. He pulled her close and kissed her deeply. She melted into his arms. Slowly he released her lips. She opened eyes and smiled up at him. "Thank you."

"Are you ready, Your Majesty?" asked the Captain who was Officer of the Day.

Serenity nodded. The Outer Senshi smiled at her, stepped onto the Transporter Platform and disappeared. They waited three minutes then Serenity stepped onto the platform with Kunzite at her side and Nephrite, Jadeite and Zoicite lined up behind them. The next thing they knew they were in front of the Diet building and were deafened by the screams from the crowd surrounding the edges.

Serenity watched as the Inner Senshi, whom she had never met but had only talked to over a shaky bond, came and knelt on one knee before her.

She motioned for them to stand. She smiled and held each of their hands and felt their bond solidify. The hurt that had been caused by the others who had worn those uniforms faded to memory. She smiled at these girls who would help protect her and their worlds and would be her friends until the end of time. "It seems like it's been forever, my sisters."

The four girls laughed. "It's has been forever. We've missed you terribly even though we've only just met." Said Venus.

"Thank you for staying here. I have business to take care of but then we'll be able to go home." The Outers approached at Serenity's signal. "I'm going to revive the Inner Planets now." Said Serenity. "I'll need your help."

Pluto nodded. "We'll help. We don't want a repeat of what happened last time."

Serenity laughed. "Falling unconscious for several days would be rather inconvenient."

Kunzite brushed his hand across her cheek, then moved away with his brothers, the four men watching the crowd as the Senshi surrounded Serenity. Serenity silently called forth her staff and raised it to the skies. "PLANET VENUS AWAKEN! PLANET MARS AWAKEN! PLANET MERCURY AWAKEN! PLANET JUPITER AWAKEN!"

The crowd watched as she glowed brighter and brighter then with a blinding flash, it was over. There was a moment of silence then there were shouts and screams of joy from many members of the crowd. Others fell to their knees weeping with happiness. The ones who discovered that they were not members of the Alliance reacted from grief to rage. The security teams watched everyone in the crowd closely.

Serenity sighed and looked at Kunzite who had returned to her side. "It was much easier this time."

"Good." He gestured to the group of multi-national dignitaries waiting for them. "The sooner we take care of business, the sooner we can go home."

A year later Usagi was attempting to break Kazuya's hand as she labored to bring forth their first child. Dr. Whitmore, despite not being an obstetrician was supervising the birth. With the help of a colleague who was an obstetrician, she gave a calm steady stream of instructions.

A loud cry shattered the air followed by the wail of a baby. Dr. Whitmore smiled broadly as she held up the outraged infant. "It's a girl!"

Usagi leaned back against the pillows, weary but happy. She reached out for her baby. A nurse placed a blanket across her breasts as Dr. Whitmore laid the baby down. Kazuya and Usagi carefully counted all of the tiny fingers and toes before wrapping their child in the blanket. They marveled at the cotton candy fluff of her hair. "She has my mother's hair. It was that same color. Using the Ginzuishou changed her hair like it did mine." Said Usagi.

Kazuya leaned down and kissed her deeply. "I have two beautiful girls in my life now. Thank you for mending my heart."

Usagi looked at him with wide eyes. "But you're the one that mended mine!"

Kazuya smiled. "Two hearts mended. Even better." He said softly.