My Shitennou, an AU First Season Fic
Chapter 9
Revelations and Reunions
Tokyo, Japan
Monday, April 26, 1993
Hino Rei had just finished getting dressed as the first rays of sunlight drifted in through her window. That particular morning found her mind on the two boys sleeping across the hall, if they were, in fact, sleeping. There were some mornings Akiyama actually managed to awaken early enough to beat her to her favored place of meditation in front of the Sacred Fire. His familiarity with the rules of the Sacred Fire Room was obvious and thus his added presence didn't really affect her own ability to meditate before it. Ironically, it was Akiyama in particular whom she desired the question the fire about that very morning… him and Kanechi. Things had been relatively quiet ever since Akiyama had returned from his brief attempt at running off, quiet enough that it seemed almost unnatural for two boys to act that way, especially these two boys.
Kanechi spent nearly all of his time since he had arrived shut up in his room, sitting out on the porch, or sitting in the Sacred Fire Room somewhere behind Akiyama. He stared off towards the sky with that distant gaze in his eyes, mind gone off God only knew where. He only seemed to really come out of it at Akiyama's prompting, but lately Akiyama had stopped prompting. He avoided Rei's sight as much as possible, so she almost only saw him when he was sitting before the fire. Although he had not acted out again, the way he had in her bedroom that night, the way she would occasionally catch him giving her that hard, disgusted stare only to turn away or leave the room completely when he realized she was looking his way, made it clear he was still sore at her.
Most of all, however, she simply could not shake the memory of the boy standing there in her doorway, that strange symbol burning red as a flame upon his set brow. The familiar fiery aura it gave off was unusual mostly in the fact that it did not feel 'entirely' unusual, though it was not precisely a match for her own. Reaching for her doorknob, intent upon getting some breakfast and heading off to meditate in front of the Sacred Fire, she heard a cry from down the hall. Jerking the door open, she made her way down towards the boys' room. The door was cracked open just enough for her to peek in through it, and see Akiyama crawl out of the bed. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and the front of his chest as he crossed over to Kanechi's bed, leaned over and gave him a good, hard pinch upon the arm.
"He-ey! What gives?!" Protesting his annoyance, Kanechi opened his chocolate-brown eyes to give his younger friend an irritated glare. "What the heck was that for?!"
"Sorry…" Akiyama mumbled, a small flush tinting his cheeks, "I just had to make sure you hadn't disappeared yet. You don't feel strange or anything do you? Like you're gonna blow away?"
Groaning, Kanechi shook his head in a negative. "I feel fine, except my arm smarts where you went and pinched it. I am still here. Let me alone. I am trying to use the stars to locate Nephrite, before the Sailor Senshi meet him again. He's supposed to die 'cause of them, you know."
Akiyama nodded; he knew well enough. If he felt Rei transform into Mars, it probably meant that it was about time for the Senshi to kill off Nephrite and, because time somehow worked that way, his best friend as well. Kanechi's methods of trying to locate the Shitennou didn't seem to be helping much, but then… they did not really know what else to do… except just wait. And the waiting was just about to drive him completely batty. Deciding to see if Grandpa was up to give him some breakfast and maybe a few laughs, Akiyama headed for the door. The raven-haired child opened the door only to run directly into Rei, still standing in the hall.
"Rei…" Akiyama blinked in surprise, starring up into the teenager's own shocked face. Rei was, of course, still reeling from the knowledge that these boys were searching for the man the Senshi were now fighting against. Akiyama frowned, looking back down at his feet. "I decided last night… I am not mad at you no more." Looking up, he stared into her dark eyes with an aura of uncertainty about him. Takeshi had told him not to say too much but he had not been very specific, and he had not been around for a very long few days. And Akiyama sure wished he could have simply asked her not to let the other Senshi try to kill Nephrite and Kanechi.
"Akiyama," Rei tried as she finally managed to find her voice again. "Don't you think it is time we talked about some of this?" The raven-haired beauty looked down, reading the worry behind the silence the boy offered her as answer. "Perhaps, you feel like talking to me about Nephrite? And why the two of you are in danger?" She watched the young man's eyes widen, the fear in the back of his gaze spilling out over his face. "I cannot help if you do not talk to me."
"But if I talk to you about it, you will be in danger too."
Leading him down the hall, Rei commented cynically, "I will not be in anymore danger than I already am in… without any additional assistance from two small boys."
"How about five?"
"Hmm?" Rei stopped to look at the young man again, but he only grinned wryly in response. "Akiyama," she prompted seriously. "I need you to tell me who is putting you in danger. Is it Nephrite? The Dark Kingdom that is after you?"
"No. I do not think they know we are here at all; they are not supposed to know," Akiyama offered, shoving his hands down into his pockets to keep himself from fidgeting with them, in the same way Ryuu often did. "But… Nephrite-sama… we have to save him, before… before Kanechi disappears, like…like I did, when you hurt Jadeite-sama."
Rei stopped again in the hall, turning to stare down at the eight-year-old. She had not known for certain until right then; he already knew she was a Sailor Soldier. In fact, he seemed to know more about everything that was going on than Luna and the other Senshi did. She wondered… just how much she could convince him to tell her. This was the first time he had actually been willing to share any real information with her. Placing a hand on his back, she directed him into the Sacred Fire Room, where she knew he was most comfortable. "Why would you disappear, Aki-kun?" she questioned, taking a seat down near the fire.
"Cause… if you kill Jadeite… I have to die to; that's how it works. Only, we… the Shitennou saved him in time, so, we both get to keep living. But, now the Senshi are fighting with Nephrite-sama." The child was sounding desperate by this point, speaking more quickly, wanting someone to tell him it was all going to turn out alright… that everything would go back the way it was supposed to be and he could go home with his parents and his siblings and his friends. "And if Nephrite-sama dies, Kanechi will go away too. And, I don't want him to die. And, I don't like you guys fighting like that! You are supposed to fight on the same side... the Senshi… and the Shitennou… only those dark people went and spirited them off and made them forget it all. And now you are going to go and kill all my friends!" Akiyama finally trailed off, wet moisture pressing at the edges of his eyes. "Why do you have to do that? I don't like it."
"Akiyama. Why didn't you tell me any of this sooner? The Senshi could have helped you."
"Nuh uh. 'Cause you didn't even know about the Senshi. You didn't know how to use your fire like you are supposed to do," Akiyama pointed out. "And then I was mad at you. And then, I was told you would be in danger if I told you too much. So… I can't tell you too much."
"Well, I can control my attack just fine now," Rei assured him, staring out into the fire. Every day that she practiced with the other Senshi, she felt more and more in control of it all. Every day it felt more and more natural, like something she already knew and simply needed to remember again. Ami, Mercury, was improving quickly as well. The only one not improving quickly was Sailor Moon; she was completely new to the whole matter. Even fighting with her felt different than it did with Mercury. With Mercury she felt the familiarity and trust of fighting someone she almost remembered fighting with many-a-time before. With Sailor Moon, she mostly felt the need to protect her and seeing her fighting on the battlefield seemed counterproductive to that. There was part of her that didn't even think Sailor Moon belonged on that battlefield at all. But that was not right. She shouldn't feel like she had to protect the Senshi who was supposed to be acting as their leader the way she did, should she? Sailor Moon simply needed to get her act together!
Rei had made up her mind, though. She would speak to the other Senshi the next time they were to get together for a 'meeting.' Ami, at least, seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. She and Luna might actually have some good ideas especially since Luna too quite obviously remembered things she was not willing to share either. She looked to the boy who was still watching her hopefully. Shitennou or no, he was not evil. She felt no evil from him or his friend and hadn't since they arrived here. "Let me talk to the other Senshi. I am sure we can help."
"Alright!" Akiyama cheered joyfully. If Takeshi wasn't going to come down here and do something, then he sure somewhere between asking help of his father, Jadeite, and of his mother, Mars, he would be able to find someone who could make sure the rest of his friends survived as well. "I am hungry," he declared suddenly, skipping off towards the door and sliding it open, just in time to see a familiar figure appear at the top of the steps. "Ryuu-sama!" He looked back into the room with Rei. "Ryuu is here! He came back again!" Rushing out, Akiyama slipped under the porch railing and hurried off to skid to a stop before the blonde-headed teenager. "Hi, Ryuu!"
Rising to her feet, Rei came out to the doorway to look out. Kanedai Ryuu. He had showed up just a couple of days after she first awoke as Sailor Mars, after the fight with Jadeite. What was it Akiyama had told her about him? "He was captured. Some bad people took him away… like a year ago." But his parents claimed he had just woken from a year-long coma. The whole puzzle begged further investigation, but she was fairly certain she had gotten as much out of Akiyama as she was likely too, at least for the moment. Although she had learned some things while dancing with Ryuu the night prior. Ryuu had questions; and she needed answers. When she thought it over, perhaps, getting to know 'Ryuu' a bit better would not be such an entirely bad idea...
Ryuu, for his part, had barely made it up the long hike of stairs before Akiyama rushed out to greet him. Though he wasn't sure exactly what he had done to elicit this sort of response, the kid's enthusiasm at his appearance was rather infectious. "Hey, kid. I heard you were waiting for a ride on my bike. Right?" he offered, grinning as Akiyama's face lit up with an enthusiastic nod. "Where are your parents at? I'm supposed to get permission before dragging you off."
"My… parents?" Aki blanked a little at this, his violet gaze shifting from Ryuu standing there in the courtyard to Rei standing in the doorway of the Sacred Fire Room and back again. "Um… well…" He grinned a little unabashedly before finally settling for. "Rei's awake. She'll let me go! Right?" he prompted, looking back at her hopefully.
Coming out of the doorway and down the porch steps, Rei found herself starring once again into a set of grey-blue eyes that she knew she had seen somewhere before. The de ja vu feeling had hit her the first time 'Kanedai Ryuu' had ascended the steps to her temple and it hit her again now. The first time she had been inclined to write it off as having seen the man during Akiyama's vision, but his eyes had been closed in that vision, hadn't they? And yet, she was quite sure she had seen those eyes before. It was not something one could easily forget, not when those eyes made your heart race the way hers did when she looked into his. But why?
"Hino-san." Ryuu greeted the temple maiden with a casual, half-cocky grin before dipping into a slight bow of greeting. Something about her – her fiery aura, the passion in her eyes – just called to something inside him. Even under Beryl's influence, he had felt it… in those brief few moments before the other Sailor Senshi had come and interrupted him, putting his mind back on the battle at hand. Licking his lips lightly, the honey-blonde decided to test his luck here. "I enjoyed our dance last night. Hope you and your friends got out of that battle alright?" Not really caring to set off any major alarms with Senshi of Fire just yet, Ryuu pressed on. "My parents got caught right in the middle of it; whole thing nearly scared my mother half to death."
His remark had sent off an alarm for the Fire Senshi; it showed in her violet eyes as they narrowed ever so slightly. She relaxed minutely, however, as Ryuu continued speaking. "The battle. Right. Everyone was unconscious through most of it, I think," Rei answered back with a bit of caution. "But we all got through it alright."
"Good." Staying on this particular topic too long was dangerous to his position. While he may no longer be working with their primary enemy and was certain he felt some attraction to the lovely maiden, Jadeite did not trust these women quite enough to come clean yet. Better to locate Endymion first; see where he stood with them in this new lifetime. Feeling Akiyama tugging on his pants leg impatiently, Ryuu grinned and remarked, "We ought to… talk again sometime, when you are not getting ready for school." He nodded towards the school uniform she was currently dressed in. "Do the boys not have school today?" he asked, also noting Akiyama's lack of uniform for the day. "I was hoping to keep my promise and take them out on the motorcycle."
Rei turned her attention to Akiyama's pleading gaze. For as little time as he and Kanechi had been staying with her, she was already beginning to feel rather protective of the young man. "No, they don't have school today. I do not suppose Grandfather will care." She seriously contemplated just ignoring what he had said before that – she did not have a very high trust in men – but she needed another chance to talk to him. Of course, the priestess told herself she was merely investigating the things Akiyama had told her … the things that didn't quite add up. "Yes, we should." After all, it was not so strange to feel her heart rate increase the way it did whenever he looked at her with those stormy grey-blue eyes. It didn't mean anything. Not really. Right?
"Really?" Ryuu blinked and the question slipped out before he even realized he was about to say it. Honestly, he had kind of half-expected to be turned down outright. Ryuu grinned over his unexpected good fortune. "Then…perhaps, next time, I can invite you to go for a ride." His stormy gaze looked down then to the young man still tugging on his pants, trying to nudge him towards the stairs. "Alright, Aki-kun, let's go."
"What about me?" Having slipped out onto the porch quietly at some point during the conversation, 9-almost-10-year-old Kanechi leaned against the railing with a small frown marring his features. He ought to be happy for his friend; he really ought to. Staying up here at the temple was well and good, especially when he had been concerned over Akiyama's imminent death, but seeing him there… betwixt his parents of the past… It made the young man long all the more for his own family. And now, Akiyama was going out to enjoy time with his dad, and all there was to do up at the temple was sit and wait and worry and hope the stars would give him something.
Ryuu considered for a moment. "Sorry, but I only have one extra helmet."
Seeing his best friend's disappointment, Akiyama thought as well. "Oh! I have one of my own! Hold on." Scurrying back into the temple, the young man disappeared into his bedroom. With a grin, he reached into his hidden space, the same place his weapon rested when he was not transformed, and pulled out a small helmet just his size. He always kept it handy in case his dad should invite him for a ride, and his mother refused to let him ride without it. Just as quickly as he had entered, he rushed back out again. "See? I ride with my dad all the time!"
"Eh," Ryuu looked the older boy over. Although he was not yet ten, Kanechi had taken his height from both sides of his genetics. As such, he could almost pass for eleven or a small twelve. Training with the Shitennou also meant he lacked the 'long, lanky' look most kids with unusual height were prone to wind up with. "I suppose you might be big enough to ride in back." The corner of Ryuu's mouth twitched upwards as Kanechi promptly quit slouching over the railing and stood up straight, squaring his shoulders off to show off how grown he really was. Ryuu laughed, "Sure, why not? Come along for the ride, kid."
Kanechi was happy to oblige and quickly hopped the railing and rushed after Akiyama, as the pair of them descended the high flight of steps two at a time. Ryuu followed after them at a less rushed pace, glancing back over his shoulder at Rei once more at the top of the steps. He gave her a large grin before continuing on down to catch up with the two boys. Ryuu climbed over onto his bike, helping Akiyama up behind him and strapping him in with the harness, much against his protests that he no longer needed it. Kanechi climbed up in the very back and held on, and the three started off, to where exactly, well, Ryuu hadn't really thought that far ahead.
Ryuu made it right into the heart of Juuban District, grimacing as he realized he was about to get caught up in the morning school and work traffic. He was just debating where to pull over and deal with the boys' complaints of "being hungry," scanning the little shops and such on the side of the road. When he looked up ahead, his stormy grey eyes widened hugely as a petite blonde teenager walked right out into the street, right out in front of him! He was not entirely sure he could stop in time, and he did not particularly care to be rear-ended by a car either. Nevertheless, he slammed on the breaks. Suddenly, he was glad his father had insisted on his using that silly harness thing with the smaller kid directly behind him.
Ryuu swerved to the side, bringing the motorcycle to a stop on the very left edge of the road, directly next to the sidewalk. The driver of the car that had been directly behind him let out a string of curses as he continued on his way. His stormy gaze searched to verify the girl in question had managed to get out of the way safely. He spotted the blonde in the arms of a tall girl with auburn hair and a powerful look about her. She was just planting the girl back down safely upon the sidewalk when Ryuu released Akiyama from the harness and climbed off the bike. "Kuso! I am sorry. I did not see you step into the street. Are you both all right?" he asked.
Behind him, Kanechi was still kind of half-sitting, half-standing near the motorcycle. The young man starred up at the older girl with wide eyes. He knew her. He would know her stars anywhere. Kino Makoto. Mom. You are here. Unfortunately, the older girl was too focused on the queen and Jadeite to really take much notice of the two kids lingering behind.
"We are alright," Makoto reassured him, apparently seeing no reason to chastise the man for nearly hitting them. After all, he had not been the one to walk out into the middle of traffic. Her attention returning to the odango-haired girl in front of her, she gave a friendly smile. "You better pay attention!" she chided lightly to the smaller girl, before continuing on her way.
"I… will," Usagi assured her, her attention captured by the tall, beautiful girl that had saved her. As with the other girls she had met recently, something about this girl in particular drew her attention. Her still-startled gaze found the rose earrings in the girl's ears. Why exactly had those drawn her attention? Well, they were pretty. And that scent. What a sweet scent… Soft and sweet, like rose petals. Why was that scent so familiar?
Ryuu watched the girl until she had finally continued on her way towards the school, in the company of a small, black cat. What kind of a cat followed its owner around like that? It was curious for sure, yet he turned his focus back to the two boys he was presently in charge of. "You both okay?" he asked, receiving a distracted nod from Kanechi and an "Uh, huh," from Akiyama. He was just about to suggest they continue their search for a decent breakfast on foot when another man caught his attention.
From across the street, Mamoru had passed by just in time to see the whole ordeal unfold. Odango. While she might have a few annoying points, he was glad to see she had not been injured by the incident. Of course, she had faced much worse than oncoming traffic in her time as Sailor Moon. That's right. Mamoru had known the girl's identity for a little while now. The idea of her being harmed in any way twisted his insides. In the moment he was finally able to get safely across the busy street, however, his mind was on someone else. There was someone else whose identity he was aware of, for he had helped him only the night before. "Hey…"
Ryuu turned at the sound of the voice. There was something familiar about that voice. His questioning gaze found Mamoru, standing there watching him. Did he know him? He was not entirely certain at first, at least not until the man spoke again, quieter this time.
"Jadeite."
Ryuu's eyes widened at the man's knowledge of his secret identity. Before Ryuu could come up with a justifiable response, however, Akiyama was the first to blurt out.
"Mamoru-sama!" Akiyama grinned brightly, hurrying over to him. "You were right. I did find him after all! See?!" Grabbing Ryuu's hand, Akiyama pulled him over a step closer. Mamoru placed a hand on the young man's head lightly in acknowledgement but continued watching Ryuu's reaction.
"En-dymion-sama?" Ryuu questioned as the realization finally hit him.
Mamoru grinned knowingly. "We need to talk."
