The Return of Sailor V: Chapter Nine

by Vchanny

All characters are copyright of the talented Naoko Tacheuchi. I own nothing.

~*~V~*~

Aino Minako here! Sworn guardian of love and beauty! And I, by pure luck—but don't tell anyone that part, I have a reputation after all-have just found the fourth, and final, Heavenly King. Not that anyone ever doubted me, right? And just in time, too, to crash a certain prince's birthday bash and live in infamy as the best present giver in the history of gifts given. But first, we need to meet up with the other three, and put out whatever fires present themselves after they are told a few things.

By the time Minako got back in her cell service zone, her voicemail was nearly full. Most were from Jun, irritated she left without saying anything, and even more irritated that he thought she'd turned her phone off. The final two were so slurred from his drinking, she couldn't understand much from them. There was one thoughtful message from Zack, merely asking she return his call. And the last she got to, were from none other than Rei herself. The first few were the usual "where have you been?"s, but apparently, Jun and Nate hadn't been careful concealing their energy signatures, and she was calling to report she had sensed magic somewhere from an unknown source and wanted her to report in immediately.

"Crap."

Her traveling companion looked up from the newspaper he was glancing at. "What's the matter?"

"Well..." she trailed off as she closed the voicemail app on her phone and set it in her lap, hands clasped on top. "Mars is no longer entirely in the dark."

"Oh? Is this troublesome? She was going to figure it all out at some point, wasn't she?"

She leaned over to nudge him with her shoulder. "Well, of course. But, I was hoping to break things gently. Let Mamoru take the lead on things, probably. She'll have to listen to him. She won't scream at him like she would at me."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you not the leader of the Senshi?"

She chuckled. "A good leader knows when to hand over the torch to someone more qualified." With a wink, she leaned into him, and he patted the top of her head before draping his arm across her shoulders. "Are you ready to meet with them?" Their time alone was coming to an end soon, and she thought it might be a good time to discuss the subject. "All the trouble Jun put into this adventure, he might be pissed you knew the whole time."

"That he might," he agreed, pulling her in closer and getting as comfortable as they could on the seat of the train. "But, I am prepared to answer to my actions. I'll make him understand."

"And if he doesn't?"

A brief pause. "I have my ways."

At that, she chuckled. The entirety of her past memories were not all there, but she could recall a few good punishment training sessions he had inflicted a time or two. They rode the rest of the train ride in mostly silent conditions, which normally would have driven Minako mad—she hated the silence. It was oddly comforting and natural to just exist next to this man, though. As if no time had passed, and they'd always been close. She felt at ease, and there was no pressure to fill the air around them with noise. She simply enjoyed the warmth his body radiated, and the feeling of her body pressed up against his as they journeyed.

When she had imagined their reunion, part of her thought it might be a bit steamier. She imagined fireworks and passionate kissing. Hands exploring bodies that hadn't touched in over a thousand years. She vividly remembered some of their past exploits. They were memories that brought flushed cheeks to even her face—poor Ami probably would have had to excuse herself from the room if she ever shared. But now that they were here, she was completely content just being near him. And the rest, she was sure would happen later.

They did speak a bit during their trip back. He had obviously been keeping up with her life, but she was curious what life he had been granted. No surprise to her, he had been born into a wealthy family. How could any of them think they were being punished, she thought to herself. His mother had passed away when he was very young, and he had been raised by his grandmother, as his father was always away on business. He had taken on some of the responsibilities of his father's company when he came of age, but shortly after he'd really gotten a good footing in the company, Beryl had captured him, and his unexplained disappearance had caused his father to remove him from that position. When he reawakened, he had decided to follow a different path, and had his hands in a few different non-profit start ups. He spent most of his time trying to give back to the community and help whoever he could. She supposed it was all due to the guilt he spoke of. She hoped once Mamoru forgave him-because she was sure he would, he'd finally be able to forgive himself. However, she knew from experience that it was easier said than done. Usagi had forgiven her, but there were times she hadn't been so kind to herself.

When they arrived back at the hotel, Minako decided to enter the room first, to announce she'd managed to find him, and allow Kun—Kudret, she corrected herself, to prepare himself. Five years was a long time to prepare, but the way he spoke of things, she didn't think he'd ever planned on actually meeting any of them. At least not any time soon. It made her wonder why he decided to get on the train with her, but she was glad he did, and she'd ask him about it later.

"There you are! Look guys," Jun turned to the other two, who were still watching the movie they'd rented, "Look who showed up finally! We are graced by her divine presence!"

"You're drunk."

"So? She still fucking took off without saying anything. If I did that, you two'd be up my ass."

"But she's not you, Jun."

"Shaddup, Zack."

"You know," Minako set her things down near the door, "I'm tired, Jun. I don't feel like arguing with you right now."

He stood up from his chair and waltzed over to where she was standing. "Well, that's too bad."

"I'm serious, Jun. You don't want to do this right now," came her hushed warning.

"And why's that?" he was so close to her face, that he didn't notice the door crack open.

"Because if you don't back off from her right now on your own accord, I will make you."

"Kunzite!" who said it didn't matter, at this point. All three members were shocked to see their leader. None of them expected Minako to return with him, especially after they'd spent so much time and energy looking for him with no avail.

"I present," Minako started, as she turned and gestured to him, "Kunzite, Knight of purity and affection. Or as he is known in this time, Kudret Onder." She smiled at him briefly before turning back to the group. He had closed the door and made it to her side before she completed her statement.

Still slightly inebriated, Jun quickly went from being angry and frustrated at Minako, to a blubbering idiot, holding onto Kudret's shoulders for support as he cried tears of joy. "I can't believe it's you!"

"Oh for God's sake..." Zack shook his head as he stood up to go greet their leader.

"Contain yourself, for your dignity's sake, brother," Nate said as he too had made his way over and placed a hand on Jun's shoulder.

Minako had shuffled away into the kitchen as the men gathered, to allow them some space. Part of her didn't want to leave Kudret's side, she'd spent all this time longing to be precisely there; but she knew he needed this, and they needed this, too. And as much as she didn't like to admit it, the world did not revolve around her. Artemis would be so proud, she thought.

After introductions, the four men walked back over to the seating area, and Zack promptly muted the movie so they could all talk. "So, now that we know each others names, who wants to tell me how this whole mission started?"

Baffled, Jun looked over to Minako, who was still rummaging through the fridge, "You mean you didn't tell him? What'd you just bump into him outside the hotel or something? Where've you been all day?!"

Minako grinned mischievously as she took her leftovers over to the bar stools to eat, "Wouldn't you like to know?" She winked at Kudret, but the look on his face ended her fun. "To answer your question, Jun, no, I did not tell him. We were busy."

Kudret sighed and shook his head at her. He should have been more surprised, but deep down he knew better. This was Minako he was dealing with. New incarnation, same shenanigans.

"You can't be serious." Jun sighed and ran his hand through his hair, before leaning back into the couch cushions. "Well..." Several moments later, Jun had finished his narrative, and the men shared details of their new lives to their leader.

"Are you all prepared to drop your current obligations to join Endymoin? As you are able, of course. I expect you all will need time to get your affairs in order," Kudret questioned.

Jun nodded. "I've already established roots in Juuban, so I can go immediately."

"I hope you consider renaming your business. No reason to keep that awful name now that it's served it's purpose," Zack chimed in.

"Har har," Jun glared. "Make fun all you want. It worked. You're all sitting here, so I don't want to hear it."

"You're merely fortunate that blondie over there paid you any mind," Nate added.

Minako finished cleaning up her mess and strode over to the group. "But lucky for you, I am a fantastic detective."

Kudret pulled her over and down onto his lap, causing a furious blush to emerge on her cheeks. "Natural instincts, this one."

"Keep this up, and you're going to learn what other natural talents I have," she laughed as she stood back up. "I'm heading to bed. You fellas have a good night." With that, she winked at Kudret once more and left the room, leaving them to further catch up.

~*~V~*~

AN: A little quicker! We are now caught up to all my completed chapters now, though, so pressure on me to stop being lazy. I will say, this chapter tripped me up a few times. At first, I had Jun get into an argument with Kudret when he entered—but it didn't feel right, so I had to scrap it. Then, I had Minako decide not to be playful when Jun was questioning her whereabouts, and it didn't feel right either, so that needed an edit. And, I had imagined she would invite him to her room, but that didn't quite seem right, as well. Tricky chapter, but I feel like these actions and reactions are pretty genuine, and I feel happy with it.

Valkyrie Celes – I'm glad you enjoyed! Good to know my worries were for naught. I still haven't decided how seamless the reunions will go. I want it to be believable, but still hold that feel good fuzzy feeling.

Flareup4Ratchet – I do envision their interactions together as siblings. There will be some more good interaction between the two before the story is up. :)

Isis Aurora Tomoe – Thanks for the review! I love reuniting soul mates, too. I think that's why I enjoy any Shittenou/Senshi story so much.

XSmallLadySerenity13 – Thank you for the review!

James Birdsong – Thank you! And you may be the smart one, reading a few chapters at a time!

Bethany89 – Hey! Yes. And I'm sorry it'll be over so soon. You are correct though: the Sailor V manga was only two books. It was quit condensed, but full of lots of goodies—which I'm hoping to sort of emulate a bit.
I am contemplating extending this last bit another chapter or two to focus on some things, especially after some of your reviews, but we'll see. I am glad you picked up on on my little Sailor V Easter eggs. And, her teasing. Ha. I am sure, by the end, she will be 4:0. This is Minako after all. ;)