ZT: Hey everyone! Again, sorry it took so long for me to update that last chapter.

Kuja: She really hates leaving her readers hanging like that.

ZT: Yep, but now I'm free to do all the typing I please without being called away to teach kindergarteners how to read. So on with the show! I don't own Sailor Moon or FF9. Enjoy!

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Of Silver Crystals and Feathers

Chapter 19

Kuja grunted slightly as he pulled himself up another vine to the ledge above him. He loved the beauty of nature, but having to battle against it to get to his destination was another story. He grit his teeth and grabbed the vine tighter as he felt himself slipping slightly. 'And there are people who do this sort of thing as a hobby? Who in their right mind would consider this fun??' he wondered bitterly as he pulled himself up more.

His answer came sooner than he expected as a blond head poked out from over the ledge. "Need some help?" Serenity called down to him. Unlike himself, the blond looked like she was enjoying the challenges the land was presenting to them, and had climbed the vine like the very monkey his own race had been compared to on so many occasions.

"I'm fine," he answered, pulling himself up some more.

"You're sure?" she asked, "I can pull the vine up some if it will help."

"No, don't worry about it," he replied, despite the fact that his muscles were screaming something completely different.

She shrugged, "Alright, if you say so…" With that, she disappeared behind the ledge again.

Once she was gone, Kuja set to work scolding himself. 'Come on, Serenity made it up the vines within a few seconds! If she can do this, so can I!' he forced himself to move higher up the vines at a slow yet steady pace. As he reached the top, even though he was focusing on climbing, he couldn't help but hear a scuffle up on the ledge above. Obviously a mist monster was up there and Serenity was battling it. This made Kuja force himself up the rest of the way at a faster pace; he didn't want to be stuck on the vines while his blond friend was busy taking care of some ruthless creature. However, once he got to the top finally, he saw that Serenity had already delivered the final blow, and the Ochu was turning back into mist.

Since the monster in the area had been taken care of, the silver haired genome decided to take this time to catch his breath. He sat on the ground and focused on getting his breathing under control, looking over at the blond who had yet to notice him, or if she had, had yet to face him. The sun was dancing through some leaves on a ledge higher up, making various patterns on and around her and making her hair look like it shimmered as it reflected off of the spun gold. It was such a heavy contrast to the dark attire she wore…it made Kuja wonder for a moment what she would look like if she actually dressed as a noble. 'She would have numerous suitors, that is for sure,' he thought as he took his gaze away from her. 'Yes, she would steal the heart of any planet's prince…' He blinked suddenly when the thought crossed his mind. Since when did he talk of princesses and princes? He was the canary/cage metaphor master… 'It must have been because we were talking about moon princesses earlier,' he concluded, turning his attention to Serenity again.

And again, he blinked. For a fraction of a moment, he could have sworn she looked…different. It was too quick for him to make out exact details, but it looked like her hair was in an abnormal hairstyle, parted into two streamers, and she looked like she was wearing a white gown of sorts. However, as soon as the mirage came it was gone as Serenity turned to face him, looking just as she always had.

She walked over to him and kneeled next to him, "You ok?"

'I must have pushed myself harder than I thought I did…' Kuja decided as he looked up at the female thief. "I'll be fine, just a little out of breath is all," he answered, slowly getting to his feet, "Unfortunately I am not as athletic as my younger brother."

"I think that will change after this trip," Serenity replied with a slight grin on her face.

Dusting himself off, the silver haired genome nodded, "For my own sake I hope so; this is exhausting."

Serenity got to her feet as well, "I'm guessing there wasn't much like this on Terra, hm?"

He shook his head, "Not at all. Terra was very…artificial. If anything needed to be climbed, it looked like some sort of ladder or staircase."

'Yep, that sounds about right…' Serenity thought, remembering how Terra was beginning to look the last time she was there. "Really? That's convenient, but would kind of stink at the same time. Where's the challenge then?" she asked.

"There was no challenge other than the monsters," Kuja replied.

"Yeah, but you couldn't just stand up and start beating the crud out of monsters! It takes practice to gain some strength and skill before facing them," she pointed out.

"Hence the reason why those who lived on Terra focused on mastering magic; it takes more mental training and practicing the spells than actual physical work to master it," Kuja said.

"I guess…still, it seems like a waste," she said, the last part almost to herself.

He looked at her curiously, "What's a waste?"

"Well, Genomes were created, right?" Kuja nodded in response, not sure where this was going. "Well, the one who created all of you-Garland I think you said his name was-has you master magic and not focus on physical training at all, yet from what I've seen from you and Zidane, he had made your bodies ideal for physical challenges just so long as you trained your body some," she replied.

Kuja resisted the urge to blush deeply at the thought that she had spent so much time studying them that she could conclude that. Luckily for him Serenity seemed to be thinking this piece of information over a bit so she hadn't noticed his little problem at all. Once he was sure that any color that may have come to his porcelain skin was gone, Kuja broke Serenity away from her thoughts, "Well, if my not being able to do strenuous physical work bothers you so much, why not teach me?"

Kuja had meant this to be a joke, however as he spoke this he found himself looking into two orbs that were practically sparkling with excitement, "What a great idea!"

"I was joking!" he exclaimed half in distress when he realized she was serious.

Serenity had a smile that showed just as much excitement as her eyes did, "Yeah, but I'm not."

"I can see that…" Kuja replied, looking a little depressed, but at the same time amused, "I don't know the first thing about physical fighting other than it hurts when you get hit by it."

"Well that's why you're going to learn," she replied, "Some creatures aren't that affected by magic and considering I met you in Oeilvert, I don't need to tell you that there are some places that magic doesn't work."

"True, but there are some items that can compensate for that," he pointed out.

Serenity sighed in frustration, "You can't always rely on Dark Matter, Kuja. What if you run out? And besides, you have a staff with you; why not use it?"

"I bought the staff as a last resort for Oeilvert. But it can't do much damage even in a trained hand," Kuja pointed out.

"Says who?" the blond asked confused. Staves can't do much…HA! Tell that to all the Youma she'd K.O-ed with one!

"Says common knowledge. Staves are used by mages to help channel spells. They're not built to bring down an enemy as swords are," he replied.

"You're absolutely right, staves can't take down an enemy in the way a sword can. Swords are sharp and are meant to cut things. Staves can break bones and-if you're trained enough and have the strength to do so- impale enemies," she retaliated.

Kuja thought about a comeback, but then saw caught a glimpse of the look in Serenity's eyes. He sighed, "I'm not going to win this one am I?"

Serenity shook her head, "Not on your life. Now let me see it."

Kuja blinked in surprise when he saw her outstretched hand, waiting for him to hand her his staff. Now, since she had been speaking about it and had already made it clear that she was going to teach him how to use it, it was no surprise that she would ask for it…if it was visibly on his body. But he had it hidden by magic, and had not mentioned that to her, so how did she know it was there?

"Come on, I know you have it with you; you're not stupid enough to wander around without it. And since you're a master at magic, hiding a staff would not be too difficult at all," she pressed when he didn't give her the staff fast enough.

The genome looked at her suspiciously at first; something told him that it wasn't just logic telling her that he had the staff hidden. Could she sense his magic? And if that was the case, was she a mage herself? She would have to be a strong one, stronger than any average spell caster to sense his spells… Finally he summoned up the staff and showed it to her.

Serenity took the staff and looked it over. She frowned slightly, "Is this a good one?"

He looked at her incredulously, all his thoughts about her being a strong mage flying out the window. What sort of mage would ask if that staff was good or not? "It's a High Mage Staff!"

Hearing this, her eyes narrowed, this was a High Mage Staff?? No wonder Kuja said that staves couldn't do much; this thing was crap compared to her own! "Well, I guess this will work for now…but I think you should make your own one of these days when you're comfortable enough fighting with a staff," she said, half to herself, and half to Kuja.

"Make my own staff??" he raised an eyebrow. Why would he make a staff when he could get one at a weapons shop?

She nodded, "Yeah, personalized weapons always work much better than the store bought ones because they're made just for you."

"You sound like you're an expert in these fields…" he said. In answer, she drew one of her daggers and showed it off. Sure she hadn't made it herself, and it wasn't exaclty customized for her, but still Kuja didn't know that so it would help get her point across to him. After showing it off, she sheathed it again.

However, she should have waited a few more seconds before she did that. A roar from above caught both of their attentions and they looked up. A Gnoll jumped down from one of the higher ledges, ready to attack. Whether it was because she was holding a staff for the first time in a long time, or because she was caught off guard by the creature, Serenity went into battle mode. The creature hadn't had its feet on the ground for less than a second before she struck. She flipped around and sped forward at top speed, striking it with a mixture of skill and power which she usually reserved for youma. The poor Gnoll didn't know what hit it before it turned to mist.

As Kuja watched this, he stared wide eyed. Well, he had to give this one to Serenity; she was right about staves causing a lot of damage if you know how to use them… However, his thought about that was stopped short when he found himself looking at someone else. 'What on Gaia…?' The image before him looked similar to the one before, but different. The hairstyle was still the same, but now it had red plates on the buns and little white barrettes in front. However, the outfit was much different. For one, it was much, much shorter. The bodice was white with a blue collar, a set of white wings in the front where the collar's ends met. Her sleeves were pink and puffy which reminded him of balls. Connected to the bodice was a multilayered, multi-colored skirt which reached halfway past the upper part of her legs. On her back were a red bow and a pair of white wings. White knee high boots and elbow length gloves, both with red at the end, and a red choker finished off the outfit.

Kuja stared at the person before him, completely frozen. What was going on?? The person turned to him and again was instantly replaced by Serenity. Seeing the look her gave her, she stared back curiously, "What?"

He shook his head, relieving himself of his stupor. "Nothing…so when do you plan to start teaching me how to use that?" he asked, pointing to the staff.

"As soon as we get out of the mountain path," she answered with a grin, beckoning for him to follow as she began moving towards where they presumed the exit was.

Kuja watched her leave for awhile before glancing around. His eyes landed on a bunch of pink flowers which he didn't recognize. "It must be something these things are omitting…" he decided, turning to follow Serenity. After all, why would she be dressed in outfits like that?

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