The beginning of part III
I came back to the Time Gate with a heavy heart. My queen was dead, her kingdom dead; everything that I knew is dead. Well, almost everything. They have yet to take away my best and only friend. And thank the Kami for that. If I were to lose her then I would totally go crazy. How could I work knowing that all my hard work wouldn't affect anyone? Oh, hai, it would affect all the people in the realm, but what good would that do for me. I want someone to be grateful. Someone that realizes that I truly am a sacrificing soldier. And that I would not change anything about my life so far for anything.
Honto, I may be happier if I had other friends but I want to keep the one that I have. She is the one that is always there for me. Seishi- chan. The only person that may truly care for me for who I am, not what I can do. She almost has the same powers that I do. Even, she does get migraines if she tries to control the time stream too much. Control over it cannot be learned, so I think that she was born with the power. And if that is true then maybe she was destined to be my friend.
I walk to the Time Gate and see Seishi- chan standing by the pool of water that constitutes the time stream. I can see it swirling from here. I also see the beads of sweat on Seishi- Chan's forehead. She's concentrating. She's probably just now seeing what the queen is doing, if she can see it at all. I look over her shoulder and sure enough, the destruction of the Silver Millennium and the sending of everything to the future to be reborn at a peaceful time. I'm about to put my hand on her shoulder when I notice that she's crying. I begin to wonder why; she never really was close to anyone there. Maybe because it was the only thing that she ever knew besides here or maybe it's because of me. She wouldn't have been able to see that Selenity- Sama didn't send me, that would be too close to her own path. She wouldn't have been able to see that. Is that why? Could it truly be that she cares that much?
I walk up to her and put my hand gently on her shoulder. She's still a little shorter than I am, she's taller than most people are, and I'd say around 5' 5". Her purple hair flies around as she turns to face me. When she sees me her ehai go wild as the relief washes through them. She turns her ehai to look at me, to make sure that I'm really here, and I can see that her red ehai are pink through the shedding of tears. She wraps her arms around me and talks in broken sentences, and sole words. Nothing she's saying makes any sense, but I know what she's trying to verbalize. I hold her as she cries, her sobbing making both our bodies shake.
"I thought that she sent you."
"idiot, how could I leave my best friend all alone. The whole point of you being here is that so the person guarding the Time Gate won't go crazy because of the isolation."
"So you didn't go because of me?"
"hai, I told you, your my best friend, there is no way that I would leave you. If you didn't know that by now you haven't been paying attention."
"Then it's true?"
"Nani?"
"We're alone here. No one knows where we, who we are, nothing about us."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because, if the Silver Millennium doesn't exist, neither do the senshi. If the senshi don't exist you don't."
"Demo, I do exist."
"Not to anyone in the other realm."
"We're all alone?"
"hai, just the two of us until the other senshi are reborn. And we don't know when that will be."
"Well, maybe you don't but maybe I can coax the stream to give a little hint."
"Can you do that?"
"Only one way to find out."
***********************************************************************
POV change, Seishi.
I can't believe that she's actually here. I'm afraid to close my ehai because then she might disappear. I hadn't realized how close we had become until I realized that she might not always be here. Just because we don't age doesn't mean that we can't die. The other senshi proved that. I started crying because I thought that she had left me. I truly thought that she would have left me here. Or maybe not have even realized that I would be left here all alone. It's amazing that she thought more of me than her own happiness.
As she looks to see when the senshi are going to be reborn I look her over. I hadn't noticed so many things about her. I suppose you don't realize how much something means to you until you're about to lose it. How does that saying go, I don't quite remember. Maybe later I'll look for it. Pluto- chan probably knows it.
" I found it, Kami- Sama..."
" Nani yo?"
" In one thousand years."
" Nani? That long? What are we supposed to do here?"
" I don't know. I mean besides guard the gate there is pretty much nothing to do but wait."
***********************************************************************
A little while later.
Pluto- chan is realm side today. She decided that it's best if she keeps updated on how the terrenes are doing. There seems to be no evidence that the Silver Millennium ever existed. I guess it's up to us to keep it in our memories so that beauty never dies.
I decided to look up that line today. Going to the time stream I ask a simple command and it shows me the whole original text. Too bad it's in old lunar. That is like hieroglyphics. That takes me a good long time to translate. And the work is truly appreciated; it's something to do against the otherwise monotonous days.
"Because this is love, and you never fully under stand it until you've lost it... or are about to."
I didn't think that that was the entire case. Okay so maybe you don't understand love until you're about to lose it, but there are other things, ne? I mean simply because I didn't realize that I cared so much about Pluto- chan until I thought that she was dead, doesn't mean a thing. I can just appreciate her company and not fall in love, ne? I mean what if she doesn't feel the same? She is the only person here. And an eternity alone would be hell. no, I don't love her, which would just make my eternity harder to handle...
***********************************************************************
POV change, Pluto.
I'm realm side today. I told Seishi- chan that it would be best to keep an eye on the terrenes. While that is true, that's not the reason that I'm here. I needed to get away from her. Its nice her always being there for me, but I can never forget that she isn't here of her own volition. She was forced to be here, with me. And I have to remind myself that she wasn't crying for anything other than the reason that she thought she would be alone. I would have cried too. And I never cry.
The terrenes remember nothing of the silver millennium. I suppose without the evil energy none of then would remember what they were forced to do. So Seishi- chan and I are the only ones remaining that remember the glory of the Silver Millennium. No one recalls the senshi, so I won't be remembered. Maybe that's all good. Maybe without the responsibility I won't have to stay by the gate all the time. Surely the queen wouldn't expect me to stay there for all of time. And without her to tell me that I can leave I should be able to take my own liberties, you know take a vacation or something.
But that would be leaving Seishi- chan all alone. The queen did order her to always stay by the Time Gate. Unless she said otherwise. And now she's not here. I can leave in times of great necessity, but not her. What constitutes necessity? Is stress a reason? Should I really be thinking of reasons to leave Seishi- chan? hai, idiot. If you don't she'll start to hate you. But if you leave she'll hate you because of that. But if you don't she'll realize that you love her. And if that happens she'll hate you because of that, and then you'll be all alone...
***********************************************************************
POV change, third person. Ten years later, the Time Gate
"This is so boring."
"I know, but it can't be helped."
"But this is the same thing that we always do, can't it be more interesting?"
"And how do you propose that we do that?"
"I don't know, why don't you give some ideas?"
It had been two years and the pair had yet to figure out something to do that would be fun and occupy a lot of their time. They tried to learn different languages, but that only lead to arguments. They couldn't do anything. Pluto interested herself in watching how fashions changed, and varied in all parts of the world, while Seishi preferred to read books. Whenever they spent time together they each tried so hard to make sure that the other was happy that they both ended up miserable.
Most of the time they ended up going to separate parts of the void. Pluto made a few rooms to the void. Now they could actually sleep or rest or have privacy, or any such things that a room allowed. They realized that although being alone would drive either of them crazy, so would always being together. Pluto had a life in the realm, while Seishi just studied. At first she studied history, then she realized that the best thing to do in order to understand history would be to learn why people made the choices that they do. The way to do this would be to study human nature. She took examples of people from all over the world and studied their lives
Doing that took a little more control over the time stream than she had at the time so she enlisted Pluto to help her. And they spent a lot of time together, Pluto teaching Seishi what came as instinct to her. They spent that time just talking. And that in itself was hard. They already knew just about everything about each other.
Soon they came upon a time where nothing would seem interesting. They had done everything there possibly was together. They had hit a rut.
"So what are we going to do tonight?"
"I don't know. Nothing seems fun anymore."
"I know. Ara, there is a game that they played in the palace when I was younger"
"So, Seishi- chan dare desu ka?"
"You may not like it."
"And, if I don't we won't play."
"I'm not sure that I like it."
"Then why'd you mention it?"
"Because it's the only game that I know that we haven't played. Besides the game is kind of childish."
"Just tell me."
"Truth or dare."
"Okay."
"Nani?"
"hai, lets play."
"Honto?"
"hai."
They played for a while, daring each other to do insipid things. And they did do them. Then they started getting to the truths.
"Seishi- chan, you're turn."
"Pluto- chan, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Finally. Okay, um, why did you actually stay? Why didn't you go to be reborn?"
"I told you, I couldn't leave you alone."
"Why?"
"Only one question per turn."
"Why were you crying?"
"Because I thought that you left me."
"Why do I matter that much to you?"
"One question per turn. Now, why?"
"Why what?"
"Don't play stupid. Why didn't you leave? You would have been happy."
"You think so?"
"no I ask, now you answer. Why didn't you leave? Why did you stay for me?"
"Because I couldn't leave you alone. I didn't want to. Because I knew that if I left you when I came back that you would hate me, and I couldn't deal with that. Now why were you crying?"
"Because I thought that you left me."
"That can't be all. What were you trying to say when you saw me?"
"I wanted to say arigato. I knew in my heart that you wouldn't leave except that I wasn't sure. I didn't think that you cared enough about me to put my happiness above your own."
"Who said that I did that? I didn't only come back so that you wouldn't be lonely. I came back because if you hated me then I would never be able to be happy again."
"Why?"
"Because you mean more to me than anything else. I couldn't handle you not talking to me."
"Why?"
"Why do you think?"
"'Because this is love and you never understand it until you've lost it... or are about to.'"
"I've heard that before."
"That's why I was crying. Because I didn't realize that you meant so much to me until I realized that you could die. Or leave or something."
"So you love me?"
"Only if you love me."
"Then it's settled, we love each other. Where does that leave us?"
"Eternity together."
"Sugoi!"
The end of part III
I came back to the Time Gate with a heavy heart. My queen was dead, her kingdom dead; everything that I knew is dead. Well, almost everything. They have yet to take away my best and only friend. And thank the Kami for that. If I were to lose her then I would totally go crazy. How could I work knowing that all my hard work wouldn't affect anyone? Oh, hai, it would affect all the people in the realm, but what good would that do for me. I want someone to be grateful. Someone that realizes that I truly am a sacrificing soldier. And that I would not change anything about my life so far for anything.
Honto, I may be happier if I had other friends but I want to keep the one that I have. She is the one that is always there for me. Seishi- chan. The only person that may truly care for me for who I am, not what I can do. She almost has the same powers that I do. Even, she does get migraines if she tries to control the time stream too much. Control over it cannot be learned, so I think that she was born with the power. And if that is true then maybe she was destined to be my friend.
I walk to the Time Gate and see Seishi- chan standing by the pool of water that constitutes the time stream. I can see it swirling from here. I also see the beads of sweat on Seishi- Chan's forehead. She's concentrating. She's probably just now seeing what the queen is doing, if she can see it at all. I look over her shoulder and sure enough, the destruction of the Silver Millennium and the sending of everything to the future to be reborn at a peaceful time. I'm about to put my hand on her shoulder when I notice that she's crying. I begin to wonder why; she never really was close to anyone there. Maybe because it was the only thing that she ever knew besides here or maybe it's because of me. She wouldn't have been able to see that Selenity- Sama didn't send me, that would be too close to her own path. She wouldn't have been able to see that. Is that why? Could it truly be that she cares that much?
I walk up to her and put my hand gently on her shoulder. She's still a little shorter than I am, she's taller than most people are, and I'd say around 5' 5". Her purple hair flies around as she turns to face me. When she sees me her ehai go wild as the relief washes through them. She turns her ehai to look at me, to make sure that I'm really here, and I can see that her red ehai are pink through the shedding of tears. She wraps her arms around me and talks in broken sentences, and sole words. Nothing she's saying makes any sense, but I know what she's trying to verbalize. I hold her as she cries, her sobbing making both our bodies shake.
"I thought that she sent you."
"idiot, how could I leave my best friend all alone. The whole point of you being here is that so the person guarding the Time Gate won't go crazy because of the isolation."
"So you didn't go because of me?"
"hai, I told you, your my best friend, there is no way that I would leave you. If you didn't know that by now you haven't been paying attention."
"Then it's true?"
"Nani?"
"We're alone here. No one knows where we, who we are, nothing about us."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because, if the Silver Millennium doesn't exist, neither do the senshi. If the senshi don't exist you don't."
"Demo, I do exist."
"Not to anyone in the other realm."
"We're all alone?"
"hai, just the two of us until the other senshi are reborn. And we don't know when that will be."
"Well, maybe you don't but maybe I can coax the stream to give a little hint."
"Can you do that?"
"Only one way to find out."
***********************************************************************
POV change, Seishi.
I can't believe that she's actually here. I'm afraid to close my ehai because then she might disappear. I hadn't realized how close we had become until I realized that she might not always be here. Just because we don't age doesn't mean that we can't die. The other senshi proved that. I started crying because I thought that she had left me. I truly thought that she would have left me here. Or maybe not have even realized that I would be left here all alone. It's amazing that she thought more of me than her own happiness.
As she looks to see when the senshi are going to be reborn I look her over. I hadn't noticed so many things about her. I suppose you don't realize how much something means to you until you're about to lose it. How does that saying go, I don't quite remember. Maybe later I'll look for it. Pluto- chan probably knows it.
" I found it, Kami- Sama..."
" Nani yo?"
" In one thousand years."
" Nani? That long? What are we supposed to do here?"
" I don't know. I mean besides guard the gate there is pretty much nothing to do but wait."
***********************************************************************
A little while later.
Pluto- chan is realm side today. She decided that it's best if she keeps updated on how the terrenes are doing. There seems to be no evidence that the Silver Millennium ever existed. I guess it's up to us to keep it in our memories so that beauty never dies.
I decided to look up that line today. Going to the time stream I ask a simple command and it shows me the whole original text. Too bad it's in old lunar. That is like hieroglyphics. That takes me a good long time to translate. And the work is truly appreciated; it's something to do against the otherwise monotonous days.
"Because this is love, and you never fully under stand it until you've lost it... or are about to."
I didn't think that that was the entire case. Okay so maybe you don't understand love until you're about to lose it, but there are other things, ne? I mean simply because I didn't realize that I cared so much about Pluto- chan until I thought that she was dead, doesn't mean a thing. I can just appreciate her company and not fall in love, ne? I mean what if she doesn't feel the same? She is the only person here. And an eternity alone would be hell. no, I don't love her, which would just make my eternity harder to handle...
***********************************************************************
POV change, Pluto.
I'm realm side today. I told Seishi- chan that it would be best to keep an eye on the terrenes. While that is true, that's not the reason that I'm here. I needed to get away from her. Its nice her always being there for me, but I can never forget that she isn't here of her own volition. She was forced to be here, with me. And I have to remind myself that she wasn't crying for anything other than the reason that she thought she would be alone. I would have cried too. And I never cry.
The terrenes remember nothing of the silver millennium. I suppose without the evil energy none of then would remember what they were forced to do. So Seishi- chan and I are the only ones remaining that remember the glory of the Silver Millennium. No one recalls the senshi, so I won't be remembered. Maybe that's all good. Maybe without the responsibility I won't have to stay by the gate all the time. Surely the queen wouldn't expect me to stay there for all of time. And without her to tell me that I can leave I should be able to take my own liberties, you know take a vacation or something.
But that would be leaving Seishi- chan all alone. The queen did order her to always stay by the Time Gate. Unless she said otherwise. And now she's not here. I can leave in times of great necessity, but not her. What constitutes necessity? Is stress a reason? Should I really be thinking of reasons to leave Seishi- chan? hai, idiot. If you don't she'll start to hate you. But if you leave she'll hate you because of that. But if you don't she'll realize that you love her. And if that happens she'll hate you because of that, and then you'll be all alone...
***********************************************************************
POV change, third person. Ten years later, the Time Gate
"This is so boring."
"I know, but it can't be helped."
"But this is the same thing that we always do, can't it be more interesting?"
"And how do you propose that we do that?"
"I don't know, why don't you give some ideas?"
It had been two years and the pair had yet to figure out something to do that would be fun and occupy a lot of their time. They tried to learn different languages, but that only lead to arguments. They couldn't do anything. Pluto interested herself in watching how fashions changed, and varied in all parts of the world, while Seishi preferred to read books. Whenever they spent time together they each tried so hard to make sure that the other was happy that they both ended up miserable.
Most of the time they ended up going to separate parts of the void. Pluto made a few rooms to the void. Now they could actually sleep or rest or have privacy, or any such things that a room allowed. They realized that although being alone would drive either of them crazy, so would always being together. Pluto had a life in the realm, while Seishi just studied. At first she studied history, then she realized that the best thing to do in order to understand history would be to learn why people made the choices that they do. The way to do this would be to study human nature. She took examples of people from all over the world and studied their lives
Doing that took a little more control over the time stream than she had at the time so she enlisted Pluto to help her. And they spent a lot of time together, Pluto teaching Seishi what came as instinct to her. They spent that time just talking. And that in itself was hard. They already knew just about everything about each other.
Soon they came upon a time where nothing would seem interesting. They had done everything there possibly was together. They had hit a rut.
"So what are we going to do tonight?"
"I don't know. Nothing seems fun anymore."
"I know. Ara, there is a game that they played in the palace when I was younger"
"So, Seishi- chan dare desu ka?"
"You may not like it."
"And, if I don't we won't play."
"I'm not sure that I like it."
"Then why'd you mention it?"
"Because it's the only game that I know that we haven't played. Besides the game is kind of childish."
"Just tell me."
"Truth or dare."
"Okay."
"Nani?"
"hai, lets play."
"Honto?"
"hai."
They played for a while, daring each other to do insipid things. And they did do them. Then they started getting to the truths.
"Seishi- chan, you're turn."
"Pluto- chan, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Finally. Okay, um, why did you actually stay? Why didn't you go to be reborn?"
"I told you, I couldn't leave you alone."
"Why?"
"Only one question per turn."
"Why were you crying?"
"Because I thought that you left me."
"Why do I matter that much to you?"
"One question per turn. Now, why?"
"Why what?"
"Don't play stupid. Why didn't you leave? You would have been happy."
"You think so?"
"no I ask, now you answer. Why didn't you leave? Why did you stay for me?"
"Because I couldn't leave you alone. I didn't want to. Because I knew that if I left you when I came back that you would hate me, and I couldn't deal with that. Now why were you crying?"
"Because I thought that you left me."
"That can't be all. What were you trying to say when you saw me?"
"I wanted to say arigato. I knew in my heart that you wouldn't leave except that I wasn't sure. I didn't think that you cared enough about me to put my happiness above your own."
"Who said that I did that? I didn't only come back so that you wouldn't be lonely. I came back because if you hated me then I would never be able to be happy again."
"Why?"
"Because you mean more to me than anything else. I couldn't handle you not talking to me."
"Why?"
"Why do you think?"
"'Because this is love and you never understand it until you've lost it... or are about to.'"
"I've heard that before."
"That's why I was crying. Because I didn't realize that you meant so much to me until I realized that you could die. Or leave or something."
"So you love me?"
"Only if you love me."
"Then it's settled, we love each other. Where does that leave us?"
"Eternity together."
"Sugoi!"
The end of part III