LOVE AND OBSESSION
Chapter 10: "Love and Sacrifice"
A Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
Luna and Endymion, with little Setsuko in his lap, turned when they heard Serenity and the senshi entering the room. Luna was about to speak, but stopped when she saw the group was in the middle of a discussion.
"So you just let her go?" Makoto asked. "After everything she's done to turn this city upside down?"
"She said she'd stop," Serenity replied. "I believe her."
"Of course you do," Rei sighed.
"That's fine for the future," Ami observed. "What about her responsibility for everything that has already occurred? Doesn't she have to be accountable for that?"
Serenity looked down. "I'm more concerned with making sure that it doesn't happen again instead of punishing what's already happened," the Queen explained. "I had Morobishi-San's husband and that other man, Tetsunaga, imprisoned because I couldn't depend on them not hurting someone again, not to punish them. I think I can trust Morobishi-San, so I forgive her."
"Well one thing's for certain," Minako chimed in. "With all the arrests the police made of Morobishi and Tetsunaga Clan members, the streets have to be a lot quieter. Though I won't say the same about the prisons. So are the patrols done?"
"There shouldn't be a need for them," Serenity answered.
"Great! That means I can call Kyou for a date tonight! Bye, all. I've got to go get gorgeous-er!" And Minako scooted out of the room.
"'Gorgeous-er' isn't even a word," muttered Ami.
"But you were going to Madam Morobishi's to haul her in," Makoto asked. "What changed your mind?"
"I wasn't going there to arrest her," Serenity said, openly confused.
"But Luna sent us there to haul her in," Makoto said. "We thought it was your idea."
Everyone turned to the black cat.
"I confess," Luna replied, her eyebrow arched and her tone unapologetic. "It was solely my own initiative."
"Luna?" Serenity gaped. "Why?"
"Your Majesty, you were about to make one of the gravest mistakes of your life," Luna explained. "I took it upon myself to do what you should have done. Capitulation may gain you short-term peace, but at the expense of long-term pain, suffering and death. You weren't going to end it, so I was going to end it for you." The cat straightened up proudly. "I realize I exceeded my authority. If you wish it, you may have my resignation."
"Of course not," Serenity replied. "Luna, what would I do without you? I forgive you." She thought a moment. "But only if you stop calling me 'Your Majesty'!"
"I'd just as soon resign," scowled the cat.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" fumed the Queen.
"Your resignation won't be necessary, Luna," Endymion interceded calmly. "But please don't make a habit of this. After all, Serenity is the queen, not you."
"Quite right, Your Majesty," Luna nodded. "I apologize for my actions. You may consider me properly put in my place."
Through this, Ami, Rei and Makoto looked on, mystified by the scene. None of them knew just how close the reign of Queen Serenity had come to ending.
The restaurant was intimate and moderately priced. The cuisine was attractive, though secondary to the company. Minako Aino was dressed in a clinging black dress with a low neckline and a high hemline, black hose and heels. She wore her short cut black wig because she was even more of a celebrity since Serenity's ascension than she was before. Kyou Byakugou wore slacks and a sports jacket, his shirt collar open.
When they first dated, he had apologized for not having anything more formal. By now, she didn't expect to see him in anything more formal. This was Kyou: open, physical, rough around the edges but honest. The look fit him. And Minako had to confess that she was more taken with what was under the clothes than the clothes themselves.
Their conversation had covered his life and hers with one exception: Her life as Sailor Venus. On previous dates the subject had come up, but Minako sensed a discomfort in Kyou when faced with the fact that she was Sailor Venus. He didn't openly object to her other identity or what she did. But she sensed he was uncomfortable with it. As they found they had other interests, she let it drop.
Minako was in the midst of relating her meeting with a film producer when the restaurant duty manager came up and leaned in.
"Byakugou-San?" he asked. Kyou nodded. "There is a telephone call asking for you. If you wish, you may take it in my office."
"I wonder what that could be," Kyou puzzled. "Excuse me, Minako."
"Don't be long," Minako replied. As he walked away, she stole a glance at him. She might not know art, but she knew what she liked.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" a voice came from behind her. Minako didn't have to look to see who it was, but looked anyway.
"What are you doing here, Ace?" she scowled.
"Having dinner," he smiled and pointed to a far table. "I find the food here very good for the price. And these days I'm forced to watch my funds a little more closely."
"Why don't you just steal it?" Minako shot back.
"Because I don't do that anymore," Ace replied with controlled calm. "I gave it up because it offends you." His smile returned. "Even in disguise, you are the most beautiful woman in the universe."
"Could you soft soap me another time?" Minako sighed. "I'm on a date and I'd prefer you didn't ruin it."
"As you wish," Ace said graciously. "Forgive the intrusion, but the pull of your radiance is often more than I can withstand. I assume you are dining with Byakugou-San."
"Yes," Minako hissed. "Now buzz off."
"Of course. I have no wish to make him angry."
But it was too late. Kyou had seen them and hurried over. Minako could see he was upset. She turned, hoping that Ace was leaving. But Ace stood his ground.
"You're that Takeda guy, aren't you?" Kyou rumbled angrily.
"You know me. I'm honored," Ace replied. "I assume Minako has spoken of me?"
"She said she doesn't want anything to do with you, but that you won't leave her alone."
"I merely wished to greet an old," and he glanced at Minako with sly humor, "acquaintance."
"OK, you've said your piece," Kyou said stonily. "Now go."
"Kyou," Minako tried to mediate.
"No need to be upset," Ace replied with confident ease. "She's in your company, not mine. If your relationship is as strong as ours was, you don't really have anything to worry about from me. Do you."
"Move," Kyou seethed, "on."
Ace smiled at him. Suddenly Kyou lashed out, his right fist connecting with Ace's jaw and dropping the man. Dinner patrons gasped. Minako shot out of her chair. Ace lay on the floor, stunned. But it wasn't enough for Kyou. He moved in and savagely kicked Ace in the abdomen. Ace doubled over while still on his side and just lingered on the floor in pain.
"OK, Kyou! You've proved your point!" Minako shouted, kneeling protectively next to Ace. Kyou towered over them, ready to assault Ace again should an opening arise. "Kyou! Enough!"
"Sir!" the manager said, inserting himself between Kyou and Ace. "You're going to have to leave!"
Kyou stared at the manager, some of his rage dissipating. Finally he stepped away and began to head for the door. But he stopped and turned, expecting Minako to join him. Instead, she looked up at him with unexpected contempt. That in turn inspired a look of contempt in him. After a few seconds, Kyou turned and headed for the door. The manager knelt down next to Minako.
"Should I call for an ambulance?" he asked.
"No," Minako said after some hesitation. "Call a taxi. I'll get him home."
Superintendent Sakurada sat at her desk and studied the crime statistics from the previous day. The wave of violence and mayhem that had swept the city recently had abated, hopefully for more than just the night. With a majority of the Morobishi and Tetsunaga Clans in jail, that was to be expected. Couple that with the notice from the palace that Queen Serenity had reached an accord with Shiho Morobishi to end instigation of this violence, and Sakurada was cautiously optimistic the downward trend would last.
Among the statistics was a report from the precinct captain of Minato-Ku. The report outlined a second recent trend, that of several murders committed that didn't fit the pattern of the others. They were significant in two ways: The murder victims were all said by witnesses to be either known criminals or people in the process of committing a crime. And the perpetrators all said the same thing as they committed the murders.
As the suspect descriptions were different in each report, the precinct captain concluded that this was the work of an organized gang or perhaps a vigilante group. Sakurada read the report word for word, then looked over the copies of the incident reports that accompanied the report. When she was done, the woman sat back in her chair, troubled.
Galvanized to action after thinking for a few moments, Sakurada leaned forward and picked up her desk phone. She brought out her rolodex and brought up the phone number of the precinct captain for the Minato-Ku district.
And she hadn't even gotten to the most disappointing report of all.
"What, in your opinion, is the cause of the recent rise in violent crime in Tokyo, Dietman?" the interviewer asked. It was an evening public affairs show that ran on Japanese television.
"Well of course, all sorts of contributing factors go into crime," Dietman Takahashi responded. "But given the rise in violence corresponding to the ascension of King Endymion and Queen Serenity to power, and more importantly their unilateral altering of key government procedures, I think the link isn't too illogical a jump. A disregard of the structure of a democratic government and an attitude that someone is free to ignore any rule or law that is deemed 'inconvenient' filters down from leaders to those being led."
"You make the Japanese people sound like sheep," the interviewer commented.
"Not at all," Takahashi smiled. "But many people take their cues from celebrities in particular or society in general. And I don't think anyone could deny that Queen Serenity is perhaps the most famous person in the country. So when she acts in such a reckless and cavalier manner, it's bound to have an influence on others. Being new to ruling, I imagine this sort of effect is something she never considered when she acted so precipitously."
"Still, the effect has been localized to just the Tokyo Metro area and some of the outlying prefectures," the interviewer challenged. "Why is that, if Queen Serenity's behavior is a contributing factor?"
"A good question," Takahashi replied. "I'm sure there are some other factors involved, such as the rest of the country being less likely to follow the example of Tokyo residents. The point is we've undergone very radical changes in recent months. This instability, fueled by radical departures from the normal way of governing, can't do anything other than create instability in society. And societal instability is a breeding ground for violence and anti-social behavior."
"Could there be a political motive behind this?"
"I haven't heard of any," Takahashi responded, "but at the moment I wouldn't rule anything out. The new monarchy was elected by a narrow margin. Unrest over such a defeat isn't unheard of in our history, though I would hope that the people of Japan would respect the process of government enough to refrain from attempts at violent overthrow. That isn't the way to effect change."
"Artemis, turn that drivel off," Luna scowled. She and Artemis were crouched on a table in front of his laptop, scouring the news and police reports for signs that Shiho Morobishi was living up to her end of her agreement with Serenity. The television played in the background. "Or at the very least change the channel. I am sick to death of listening to Dietman Takahashi lay every negative occurrence in history short of the Hiroshima bombing at the feet of Her Majesty."
"The TV news might hear something before the police. Just trying to cover all the bases," Artemis replied. "So far reports are way down from previous evenings. Of course, the police have jailed about eighty percent of the Morobishi and Tetsunaga Clans. I imagine that's part of it." He glanced over at his partner. "So I hear you got your tail flicked by King Endymion today."
"Nothing that wasn't deserved," Luna answered distantly. "Although I'd do it again under the same circumstances."
"Was Serenity really going to abdicate?"
"QUEEN Serenity, Artemis, if you won't use 'Her Majesty'," Luna corrected. "Our station does not allow for such informality, despite Her Majesty's stubborn views to the contrary." The black cat grew solemn and just a bit sad. "It wasn't an action I'm particularly proud of, going behind the back of Her Majesty and openly defying her wishes. But it was too important. She was about to throw everything away! Somehow, someone must get through to Her Majesty that surrender in the face of intimidation is rarely a better option. I cherish her reverence for life. It's one of the qualities that puts her above us all. But there is merit to the philosophy of 'better to die free than live a slave'."
"Well if anyone can get through to her, you can," Artemis offered. Luna glanced at him tenderly.
"Thank you, Artemis," she said and rubbed her chin against his.
"There have been rumors of some attacks actually being made in the name of Queen Serenity herself," the interviewer continued. "People attacking others and invoking Sailor Moon's old catch phrase. Any comment on that?"
"Random violence is intolerable in a civilized society," Takahashi replied. "So is vigilantism. And if there are people acting as vigilantes, it's a terrible thing and must be stopped. And if they're working at the behest of the monarchy, then it's a chilling turn of events." He paused for effect. "I don't want to believe it, but then Sailor Moon started out as a vigilante herself."
"Did you hear that, Artemis?" gasped Luna.
"I'm searching the police reports now," the white cat told her. "You'd better let King Endymion know about this. If it's true, we've got to put a stop to it."
Bounding off of the table, Luna scampered out the door while Artemis pecked on his laptop intently.
Ace lay in bed, his shirt open. A cold pack was wrapped around his abdomen with a shirt she had found. Minako sat beside the bed, holding a cold compress to his jaw. The man was obviously worse for the wear, but he didn't show any signs of fever or abdominal pain beyond the nasty bruise on his stomach, so she felt safe in concluding that the kick Kyou had delivered hadn't ruptured any internal organs. It probably helped that Ace possessed some nicely maintained abs.
She lightly glided her hand along them. Very nicely maintained. Then she glanced at Ace, saw him smiling and withdrew her hand.
"May I thank you for getting me home," Ace said softly, "and caring for me like this? I know I've done little to deserve your consideration."
"I'd do the same for a dog hit by a car," Minako replied distantly. "Kyou didn't have any right to kick you like that." She met his gaze with a cynical smirk. "I'm not saying you don't deserve it. Only that he didn't have the right to give it to you."
"And how did I deserve it?" Ace asked light-heartedly, enjoying the verbal fencing despite the pain he felt.
"I saw what you were doing," Minako told him, the corners of her mouth turned up. "The non-threatening, conciliatory words counterpointed with the smirk, the twinkle in your eye and the refusal to back off. You were baiting him."
"If so, he snapped very readily," Ace replied. "Byakugou-San seems to have a bit of a violent temper."
"Yeah," Minako said softly. She removed the compress from Ace's jaw and swabbed his forehead. Then she switched gears and looked around. "Not much of a place you've got. Pretty big comedown from your office at the studio."
"It seems much brighter now," Ace offered with that cocky smile of his. Minako returned the expression with a cynical look and pressed the compress over his mouth. Ace gently grasped her wrist and returned the compress to his jaw. "I confess, Minako. I was baiting him."
"Was it worth it?" Minako asked, slightly disappointed.
"It got you to see the side of him that you refused to see. It shattered your rose-colored view of him. Got you to look at him in the harsh light of reality rather than in light filtered through lust." Ace shifted painfully in bed. "I had to open your eyes."
"By getting the crap beaten out of you?" Minako asked in astonishment.
"You made that mistake once," Ace said, this time with none of the cocky pretense that always seemed to color his every word. Minako suddenly flashed back to her last dream about Silver Millennium.
"He's not Kunzite," Minako said with more urgency than she planned.
"He's close enough," Ace replied. His hand reached up and gently caressed the side of Minako's face. "I couldn't let you make that mistake again. I love you too much."
Minako just stared at him, wanting not to believe him and finding herself failing.
"Maybe we will never be together, though I'll never stop trying," Ace continued, his hand coming to rest on the back of her neck. "As long as you're not with him. Manabe-San was 'settling'. This man is a mistake who will hurt you."
"That's why you came back?"
"I came back for you," Ace told her. "Protecting you from him was just another mission I took on."
Her hand came up and covered his forearm. Suddenly, impulsively because she had always been a creature of impulse, Minako bent down and kissed him. A familiar rush swelled in her head. Their mouths parted, the two people lingering within intimate distance. Minako pulled back just enough to register once more that he was Ace, she was Minako and the two of them were experiencing rising pulse rates and a flood of tactile pleasure.
She pressed her lips to his again.
Continued in Chapter 11