Author's note: Now you know what happened to Minako on Venus. Enjoy this update - please leave me some reviews! Update coming soon!
The purple hyacinth denotes faith and the cyclamen is used to say goodbye.

Chapter 37

"No Nephrite again?" Jadeite said, stepping aside to let Rei slide into the booth before he followed suit.

"No," Makoto replied, "he's with Minako-chan."

Six pairs of eyes shot up to stare at the brunette, sipping on her rose tea. She pointedly ignored the stares, knowing that they would question why those two would be hanging out. Then she felt a sharp kick collide with her leg and she winced, knowing instinctively that it was from Rei. She glared at the violet eyes of the Shinto.

"What are they doing?" Jadeite asked impatiently.

Makoto sighed. "If you must know, they're visiting… him," she faltered.

Usagi and Mamoru looked at each other and glanced at the rest of the group. "W-why?" Mamoru stammered.

"Because they have some things to work through," Makoto said flatly. "I know it's like a voodoo topic between us but since Minako-chan came back, Nephrite's been struggling with his grief." She flashed her eyes at Jadeite. "He didn't want to bring it up. It was just easier to run away from it. Pretty much like we'd been doing."

A silence reigned over the group.

Minako walked wordlessly next to Nephrite. They hadn't said much to each other. She'd been surprised when she answered her door to find him on the other side, inviting her to join him for a walk. Something inside of her told her that this wasn't a random request, so she'd agreed. She noticed immediately upon considering him that he was dressed head to foot in black. She'd asked him to give her a moment and she'd retreated to her room and changed into a simple, black skater dress and a pair of lace dolly shoes. She put a discreet black headband on her head, keeping her short curls back from her face. Then she joined him at her door and he made no comment on her change of appearance.

Some time had passed by now and she peered up at him. His face was sad, no other word came as easily to her mind to describe it. She looked around at their surroundings and wondered where he was taking her as she was too afraid to ask. She'd never been down this part of Juban before, so she felt clueless. She once again gazed up at him, only to find him looking at her.

"We're almost there," he informed her.

"Where is 'there'?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

He sighed. "It's probably time you saw this," he said, "none of us come here." He frowned. "I guess it's too hard."

She was about to open her mouth to reply but what she saw as they stepped through a cast iron gate made her promptly clamp her mouth shut. Her eyebrows raised slightly as she realised that they'd entered a secluded graveyard. This land was tucked away behind foliage that wouldn't make passers-by look twice. In the middle of this patch of land was a single grave. Minako felt the breath hitch in her throat. Nephrite put his hand at the middle of her shoulder blades and gently guided her forward until they stood before Kunzite's grave. It had been a little over six months since Nephrite had been here and he could still see Makoto on her knees at the foot of his grave.

Usagi, Mamoru, Ami, Zoicite, Rei, Jadeite, Makoto and Nephrite stood in the middle of this desolate piece of land, hidden away from the eyes of anyone passing by. They all silently agreed that this would be Kunzite's place of rest… somewhere peaceful, somewhere he couldn't be disturbed again. Makoto had waved her hand over the land they stood on, bringing greenery to life and making a six feet deep hole. That had torn into each of them. Collectively, they'd sighed, feeling their grief as they looked down at the coffin made of pure crystal.

Lying inside was Kunzite, the fallen heavenly king. He was wearing his uniform signifying his place in the Shitennou. Mamoru had placed his sword on his chest, Kunzite's hand clasped around the hilt. His face was peaceful, framed by his long, silver hair resting at his shoulders. It was such a waste. Nephrite had crouched at his fallen friend's side and closed the lid of the coffin, his form visible through the crystal casket. Usagi raised her hand and pure moonlight engulfed Kunzite's form, sealing him inside, for no one to disturb, not even the essence of evil.

Jadeite had come forward unsteadily, Mamoru supporting him under the elbow on his good side, as he smiled gratefully. Once he had his balance, he raised his arm and lifted the coffin gently in the air and lowered him slowly into the depths of the grave. Once he'd laid Kunzite to rest, Makoto kneeled at the foot of the grave and used her powers to fill in the grave with the earth, allowing grass to grow over the dirt that signified someone lay beneath. She grew a variety of purple flowers to adorn his resting place across the land they stood in, the purple hyacinth sat at the foot of his headstone and cyclamens of a variety of shades of purple situated over his grave.

"Is this where…" Minako trailed off, her question failing her.

"Yes," he nodded, "this is where we laid Kunzite to rest."

"Why did you bring me here?" she demanded, her question dying in her throat.

"Makoto actually," he revealed. "I couldn't be around you. You reminded me of Kunzite and the memory just… kills me." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Surely this is worse?" she wondered, unwilling to look at the grave at her feet.

"None of us grieved, not really," he continued. "Makoto insisted that I speak with you again. You loved him, too."

She nodded silently, feeling like something had lodged itself in her throat.

"You don't know how to move on either," she whispered.

He looked down at her, surprised. "So, you get it," he stated. "There is no moving on."

Minako sniffed. "No," she said.

"When you left, you made the hole in our group seem… huge," he informed her, staring at Kunzite's grave. "It hurt that you left without a word. I know that we've never been particularly close, but it hurt all of us. We needed to grieve our friend and you left him."

Minako's bright blue eyes were full of tears but she didn't allow them to fall. She looked into his face, shame gracing her features. "I'm so sorry," she apologised.

"That doesn't help us now," he said bluntly. "He was my best friend and there's this hole that won't be filled in. I can't fill it in. I don't know how he died and I'm not sure I want to know because that could make this suck so much more." Minako shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "I was always aware of the hole in our group when Kunzite died during the battle, but when you came back, it just made it all the more pronounced." He looked at her, grimacing. "I couldn't help but hate you for how you made me feel." He bit his lip. "I want to apologise for that."

"That's okay," she murmured, turning for the first time to look at Kunzite's death bed. "I would hate me, too. Sometimes I still do."

Nephrite frowned, brushing his long dark mane back from his face as the wind blew over them. "Why do you say that?"

"I was the goddess of love and I didn't love any of you very well after we needed love the most," Minako declared. She peered up at him, squinting slightly under the glare of the sun. "I am sorry for the pain you're in. Believe me, I know how it feels." She smiled weakly.

"Is that your whole empathy thing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," she shook her head. "It's a 'we're in the same boat' thing."

Silence settled between them as they each allowed themselves a little time to grieve, somewhat comforted by the others presence.

"I like what you did here," she complimented, looking around at the secluded land.

"The things you can do with powers," he nodded. "Thank you – we hoped it would do him justice."

"It does," she agreed quickly. "He deserved a place of peace."

They settled again into silence for a few more moments.

"What did you mean?" he piped up. She looked at him questioningly. "You were the goddess of love?"

"So, how is the shoulder doing?" Rei asked, as she neared the Hikawa Shrine with Jadeite in tow.

"Better," he smiled.

"Still cursing that?" she nodded to the sling around his neck.

"Ah, I still hate it but being with you helps me to forget it," he said offhandedly.

Rei blinked at him.

"I still maintain you're an idiot," she said, rolling her eyes, turning towards the stairs that led up to the shrine.

"Why?" he said, eyes widening, rushing up the stairs with her.

"If you'd have let me take the hit meant for me, I could have done all of this physiotherapy you're doing with half the amount of moaning you do," she replied. "Plus, you're more Lois Lane and less Superman," she smirked.

"Excuse me but I think you'll find I'm Thor. Who wants to be Superman?" he snorted. "If I'd have let you take that hit, then I would have been your on-call butler 24 hours, 7 days a week and you would have loved it," he nudged her. "Like I would have let you get hurt." He rolled his eyes.

"Okay, Thor," she snickered, then stopped as she felt his hand grasp hers. She turned around and saw a familiar softness grace his face.

"I would never play the superhero," he told her firmly. "They have an obligation. You are so much more than that."

She gasped quietly, failing to realise that they'd become closer during their little interchange. His lips ghosted over hers.

"Guys! Thank God we caught you! Everyone's coming over!" Usagi hollered as she raced up the stairs towards them, her face focused on the potential trip hazards.

They broke apart abruptly.

"Why?" Rei frowned, narrowing her eyes at the oncoming blonde.

"Minako-chan," she said vaguely, racing past Rei towards the shrine. Rei rolled her eyes, following suit with Jadeite not far behind.

Minako looked around the room where everyone sat, eyes fixated on her.

"When I stood at Kunzite's grave, I realised that I owed it to him to tell you the circumstances of his death," she announced, "to all of you."

"Oh, Minako-chan," Usagi objected.

Minako held up her hand. "Please, Usagi-chan, I need to get this out," she said, shaking her hands in front of her. She shifted slightly. "I'm assuming through your aid," she nodded towards Ami, "that Kunzite knew where Danburite's base was and he followed us there. Danburite captured him before he'd made it out of the desert but unbeknownst to me, not before ripping his heart out." She cleared her throat. Everyone shifted in their seats uncomfortably.

"A dark magic we've seen before," Rei murmured.

"I never talked about my time as Sailor V before I met you all, but Danburite was one of the first I met affiliated with the Dark Kingdom and he was my first significant kill when I was in England." She sighed. "Before he died, he placed a curse on me that my love would be doomed for all of eternity. I suppose in some twisted way, Danburite thought he was doing me a favour because he figured that if I was no longer focused on love for myself, I could stay on my path as a sailor senshi. But when Danburite learned that I found love with Kunzite again in our reincarnated lives, he wanted to teach me a lesson: the curse will always hold."

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Usagi asked, leaning forwards.

"It wouldn't have made a difference," Minako shrugged. "You are first and foremost my duty and a princess of the Moon has no sway over the magics of Venus. Just as none of us have any sway over any other planet but our own."

"What do you mean by Danburite wanted to teach you a lesson?" Nephrite asked. "What did he do?"

"He ordered Kunzite to kill me," she replied simply. Rei looked down at her feet, which didn't go unnoticed by Minako. "You know, don't you?" she asked Rei softly.

Everyone turned to look at Rei. Rei looked round the room at everyone helplessly.

"Rei-chan," Usagi coaxed, "you knew what happened between Kunzite, Minako and Danburite?"

"I didn't just know," Rei said, shaking her head. "I felt it all. When we first stepped into that room, I had a vision like no other. The energy… it was powerful. It almost knocked me on my ass." She glanced at her audience. "I'm sorry. It wasn't my story to tell."

"You should have told us," Nephrite argued.

"No," Minako disagreed. "I should have." Nephrite frowned at her. "Kunzite couldn't fight an enchantment of the heart because our hearts are the strongest thing we hold. He didn't want to fight me but before Danburite gave his orders, Kunzite told me to transform as he knew I needed to protect myself. And I did, but still, it wasn't enough for Danburite. I'd summoned the sword of the silver crystal because I knew I needed to protect our sovereigns at whatever cost. Kunzite was under the thrall of evil again and I couldn't let him suffer that again." She paused, taking an unsteady breath. "So, I killed him."

Nephrite sat up straighter as everyone else's mouths dropped, looking equally gobsmacked.

"That's why I couldn't save him," Usagi murmured. "The sword of the silver crystal has but one purpose: to protect the princess of the Moon."

Nephrite had shot to his feet and everyone felt his energy prickle through the air. "You are the reason my best friend is dead," he growled.

"No, Nephrite," Makoto argued, putting her hand on his arm. "The influence of the Dark Kingdom is."

Usagi stood. "And we don't use our powers, Nephrite and we do not harm our own."

"She harmed one of ours!" he accused, pointing his finger at Minako.

"To save him from himself," Usagi said, shaking her head. "You know, Kunzite. He never would want to be under the influence of evil again. Would you?"

Nephrite swallowed, fighting back his memories of his own experience in the Dark Kingdom. He sat down, shaking his head minutely. Minako was silent throughout this interchange, then she looked at Usagi.

"You don't use your powers anymore?"

Usagi shook her head. "After we gave Kunzite a proper burial, we haven't used them. It's just easier this way. We remember what it was like before all of this happened, and it was peaceful, easy."

"I left for Venus after you healed Danburite and gave him a new life," Minako continued. "When I was there, I could feel the life of my people before the devastation of the Dark Kingdom's attacks. It was weird. It was like… whispers. They knew I was devastated but they were angry with me."

"Why?" Ami wondered.

"I did my duty as a senshi of the inner solar system: I protected my princess, but I put shame on them." Minako looked at Usagi. "You gave him a second chance at life, as I asked. There were a number of ways I could have healed his heart, but I was full of grief and anger towards him for what happened to Kunzite, so I used his own dark magic to rip his heart out to see the damage in it. Ripping out a heart is painful and unloving. A Venusian should never resort to such methods. I healed his heart, yes, but for a moment, I wanted to crush it to dust and my people knew that." She bit her lip. "After some time with them, I made amends, came to terms with yet another heart break and I left Venus."

"And that's when you went to England," Mamoru stated.

"I always stopped them. Always won." Minako sat down, her elbows on her knees. "I sacrificed Kunzite to save the world. I loved him so much. But I knew, what was right. I don't have that anymore. I don't understand. I don't know how to live in this world, if these are the choices. If everything just gets stripped away. I don't see the point. I just wish that… I just wish she was here." Minako paused, getting up, letting the tears in her eyes be pushed back. "He told me that my love would be doomed for all eternity because she would always choose duty over love. I guess that means the soldier of love really is just a warrior after all."

"She? You mean…" Rei trailed off.

"Sailor Venus," Minako nodded. "When I came back to Earth, I couldn't face any of you, not yet. I realised that I couldn't transform anymore or use any of my powers. I don't know whether it was a punishment or reward for either saving everyone in the manner I did it or losing hope in my guardian."

Everyone gawked at her, for the first time in a long while, feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders and knowing exactly how Minako felt.