Quicksilver's Quill Offers
My Pure Heart For You
A Sailor Moon/The Cherry Project Xover
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
standard disclaimers:
Author's Notes: This is the fic I promised long ago when "Silver
Strings" by Antigone was released- I hope you find the stories
different enough to be interesting in their own ways- I'll never be able
to compare to the feeling she brings with her writing, but I have some
nice action here and there.....
Spoilers: Entire TCP manga, Sailor Moon Episode 110 or
thereabouts.
Dedicated to Antigone, of course! A more wonderful person I have
yet to meet.... keep up your spirit, your hope, and your love- you
inspire me.
Hey- I didn't relize there was a demand for TCP fics... but since there
is, I guess I should post this, ne?
The paper was fresh, no signs of water damage, which
Usagi noted with delight. Reaching out, she yanked it down from
the lamppost it was tacked to with a gleeful smile.
Figure skating was always something she had wanted to
do. She had tried to take lessons once before, but that hadn't worked
out- if she recalled properly, it had come during a time when Mamoru
had been a prisoner of the Dark Kingdom, and Kunzite had used the
two professional skaters as youma. This time, though, she wasn't
about to let anything short of the end of the world stop her. Luna
had said she had been able to stake as Princess Serenity, and she didn't
see what things should have changed.
With a dreamy smile, she started towards her home, only
to feel someone tug cheerfully on her left ponytail. "Hey, Usagi,"
Makoto said. "You almost walked into that traffic," she said. "What
has your head up in the clouds?"
Usagi smiled up at her tall friend. "Asuka Chieri and
Tsuzuki Masanori are offering free lessons!" she said.
Makoto looked excited for a second, then her rich emerald
eyes darkened with concern. "Do you remember what happened the
LAST time we went to free lessons? Maybe this is a trap by the
Deathbusters," she said grimly pushing onwards.
"If it is, we should go. Besides, not EVERYTHING is a
trap- if it was, we'd NEVER be able to have fun! It would be fun to
learn how to skate. If you don't want to go, I would understand, but
it would be more fun if we all went as a group. Besides, maybe you
would be able to help the rest of us- you're the best skater, after all."
It took a stronger person then Makoto to resist Usagi
when she really wanted something. The senshi of Jupiter sighed and
nodded after a second. "I guess I can go... but do you think the
others will? Ice skating rinks aren't their favorite places since the...
incident."
"For Tsuzuki Masanori? Even Ami-chan will get her
head out of her books!" Usagi giggled.
***
Tsuzuki stepped onto the ice, relishing the feel of it
beneath his skates. Closing his eyes slightly, he traced a figure eight,
then started to skate forward to pick up speed. With an
expressionless face, he did a triple lutz, landing it easily. A slight smile
decorated his face as he turned to see his petite
girlfriend clapping.
Chieri went onto the ice with characteristic energy, doing
a handspring and landing playfully beside him. "Wanna skate?" she
asked, doing a quick spin.
He loved watching her, loved being with her. She was
the embodiment of joy, and anything she did made him feel like he was
truly ALIVE. She was wearing a cute leotard with an attached skirt,
and he reflected that she was so tiny that he could pick her up with
one hand. He had, in fact, while skating. "Skate with you? Always,"
he said, and moved towards her, wrapping his arms around her
slender waist and dropping a kiss on her forehead.
She laughed and teasingly started to stake backwards.
"Catch me!" she begged.
They loved this time alone together. Free time was so
rare that they cherished every moment alone. No coaches, no friends,
no crowd.
Laughing, he followed her easily, pacing himself. Chieri
was like greased lightning, but his longer legs gave him an advantage.
He could catch her easily, but to do so would ruin the fun.
Her beautiful blue eyes sparkled as she launched into a
complex series of steps, pirouetting to a halt just before crashing into a
wall. He laughed and mimicked her, grabbing her around the waist
and lifting her in a throw jump, sending her spinning away. With
natural grace, she landed with her arms outstretched towards him.
"Tsuzuki," she called.
Staking forwards, he wrapped his arms around her, then
took her hand and she leaned backwards into a death spiral, conveying
her absolute trust. They rotated a couple times, and she laughed as he
pulled her back upright.
Then it was time for the jumps. Chieri loved to jump- it
was liked flying. Together, in unspoken accord, then launched into
triple axels, the most difficult of jumps. Landing next to each
other, spaced as far apart as they had started, Chieri looked back at
him and grinned. "Now it's our time!" she said, and he started to get
that feeling that she was going to do something downright
devilish.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"We're going to have a little contest!" she teased.
"What?" he asked.
"Let's see who can keep a camel spin going for the
longest!" she challenged him.
He smiled indulgently at her. "You're so childish at
times," he said.
She shrugged her shoulders and yanked on one of her
looped braids. "I'm a festive type B!" she said lightly.
He laughed, and leaned towards her. "Fine, fine- I'll play
along.... but YOU get to explain to Coach Mori why we're too dizzy
to practice!"
"That won't be a problem," said a sweet alto, and the pair
spun to see their afore mentioned coach enter the rink, smiling slightly.
"You have to prepare for your students."
Tsuzuki's expression darkened at the mention of their
plans for the day. He had thought it was a bad idea from the
beginning. "I still don't like this. We need ever moment for
practicing- we want to win the next Olympics," he said. "Why should
we begin to teach beginners? Much less beginners who will never
actually skate competitively?"
Chieri put a finger on his lips to hush him. "It's a publicity
thing. We need to make sure people love us for our personalities, not
just your good looks," she said. "Besides, it'll be fun. Canty and
Wataru will be coming as well! We haven't seen them in SUCH a long
time!"
She didn't even notice the frown that found its way onto
her boyfriend's face at the mention of his former rival for her
affections. She was turning towards the rink door to welcome Canty,
who skated in wearing a green suit that complimented her golden hair.
The girls skated around each other, and Canty finally broke the
silence. "How have you been, Chieri?"
"Pretty good. Really busy practicing. You?"
"About the same." The silence hung for a few more
minutes before they burst out laughing.
Tsuzuki watched it all with a slightly perplexed
expression. "Is there something going on?" he asked Coach Mori.
"Not that you would understand," she assured him. "It's
a female thing."
Half an hour past, and Wataru arrived. "There's a crowd
of girls out there," he said, trying to straighten his hair, which looked
extremely tousled. From the look on his face, it was obvious he had
just walked through the crowd, and hadn't enjoyed the experience.
"Almost a hundred- you only had this advertised for a day?" he
demanded of Coach Mori.
She smiled at him wickedly. "We wanted to keep this
manageable- I think that each of you can supervise about twenty,
twenty-five."
Wataru sighed and skated around a little, getting
accustomed to the ice. "I don't like this rink," he sighed, then glided
over when Coach Mori blew her whistle.
The older woman raised a slightly mocking eyebrow.
"Okay, this is a five hour session- we're having a break at noon. Be
friendly, and be patient. We'll divide the students up into four groups,
and rotate them. Tsuzuki, Wataru- they're going to be all over you,
but just be calm and don't devote too much time to any particular
girl."
They all nodded, and Coach Mori went to open the doors.
***
Eudial was learning to hate the telephone. Professor
Tomoe was one of those people with the instinctive ability to call at
the worst possible time. Every time it rang, she gritted her teeth and
answered as cheerfully as possible, seeing as how she had been having
horrible luck trying to find the Talismans.
The professor had decided on yet another plan- this time,
he wanted to go after an Olympic hopeful. "A heart full of hope
surely must be pure," he had told her. The said skater was offering
free lessons that day, which was the perfect excuse to enter the
building that normally would have had very tight security.
She looked at the daimon the professor had created, trying
not to scowl too deeply. "This is very not fair," she muttered. "This
is Mimete's kind of thing. I have no time to chase around after idols."
Still, when the Professor wanted something done, she had
learned to do so without complaint. His ideas were bizarre, but he
was a brilliant man. If he thought the skater might have the Talisman,
she would go. Still, that was no reason to make her wear the skimpy
skating outfit Mimete had loaned her.
Carefully keeping her displeasure to herself, she hosted
the gym bag she had secreted the daimon in, and joined the crowd of
eager girls outside the door to the rink. If she was lucky, she could
be in and out before the Sailor Senshi pushed their meddling noses
into her business.
***
Tsukino Usagi always got what she wanted- well, when it
mattered. She got her prince, she got to save the world (twice) and
she got all of her friends to agree to come with her to skating rink-
well, the third might not have been AS important, but to Usagi, who
was very much a "now" person, it seemed like it.
Makoto was wearing her green skating outfit, her eyes
darting around, looking for something. Ami had her noise in a book
about G & G, while Rei and Usagi were arguing. Minako was having
what Artemis would have called one of her "good" days, and was
acting as the rational part of the quintet, checking her watch every few
minutes as the crowd around them grew.
"I'm so excited!" Makoto burst out as the doors started to
swing inwards, and a twenty-something year old woman stood there,
smiling at them.
"Hello," the older woman said. "I'm Mori, and I coach
Asuka Chieri and Tsuzuki Masanori. If you will follow me, I'll show
you to the locker room where you can change and get into your
skates."
Usagi and Rei forgot about there fight and followed the
coach eagerly, slipping each other eager smiles. This time they
WOULD learn to skate. Certainly Makato would dance circles
around them, but they would learn from some of the best skaters in
the world! Surely Tsuzuki and Asuka would be able to help even the
clumsy Usagi.
The girls went to the locker room and left their bags,
putting their skates on, giggling nervously. Each of them wore an
outfit related to their usual colors, except for Minako, who had gone
with the traditional white skating outfit.
The crowd finally went out to the rink, and gasped
slightly. Four skaters were already on the rink, gracefully spiraling
around. Makoto began to whisper to her friends. "Wow! Not only
Tsuzuki and Asuka, but Akiyama Canty and Wataru Kikuchi as well!"
she whispered. "They weren't on that poster you showed us, Usagi!"
Piped music began to play a melody, one that Ami
recognized. "They're playing Carmen," she told the others. "It's a
really famous bit from an opera; lots of skating routines have been
done to it."
The skaters on the ice circled, and when the music started
to climax, each of them did a jump. Tsuzuki and Asuka skated
towards the center, meeting each other. He lifted her off the ice,
making it look like she weighed no more then a feather. Akiyama did
her trademark quadruple jump, and Wataru did a back sit spin to
layback, followed almost immediately by an amazing sequence of
footwork.
The music finally ran out, and the skaters went to the
edges of the rink. Mori had arranged the girls into groups of 22,
smiling as Usagi and her friends clung to each other. The group the
Senshi was in was assigned to Asuka Chieri. Minako tried to hide her
disappointment- she'd really wanted to be in Tsuzuki's group.
The tiny blonde skated over to them, the personification
of the word grace. She gave them a cheerful smile. "Konnichi wa!"
she said energetically. "I'm Asuka Chieri! I'm going to be teaching
you a bit about skating today. Each group will rotate, so you'll see
each of us for about an hour- lunch break at noon, followed by quick
routines from each of us."
The girls grinned at each other. This was going to be a
wonderful day.
Asuka clapped her hands together with cheerful energy.
"Let's see where everyone is! Can anyone skate backwards?" she
asked, demonstrating as she spoke. A few of the group, including
Makoto, raised their hands. "Good! You can help me assist the
others!" she giggled.
Her laughter was infectious. One by one she helped each
girl move backwards, encouraging them. When she reached Usagi,
she started to demonstrate. "Now, skating backwards really isn't that
hard," she began, repeating the lecture she had just given eight times
before.
"It might help if you taught her how to skate forward
first!" Rei said before Ami and Minako shut her up by covering her
mouth.
Asuka gave her a sympathetic look. "Well, let's start
there, then!" She held her hands out and Usagi took them. "Skate
with me," she offered.
Usagi took her hands, and a smile lighting her small face.
Then she started to fall after less then two movements forward.
Asuka caught her with surprising strength. "Don't try so hard," the
figure skater advised. "Take it slow- speed will come later."
Usagi nodded and started again, managing to go ten feet
before stumbling.
"See?" Asuka said encouragingly. "That's progress!"
Usagi beamed happily, and Asuka helped her back to the
main group. The other senshi followed, though none had as hard a
time as their sometime leader. Ami, in particular, seemed to catch on
quickly. But as the Senshi of Ice, perhaps it was a natural thing.
Then Asuka began showing other tricks to the more
advanced skaters in the group. When Asuka came to Makato, she
looked her over. "You know how to skate," she said.
Makoto nodded. "How can you tell?" she wanted to
know.
"It's how you hold yourself. What would you like to
learn?"
"Something different, but not too dangerous."
Asuka grinned impishly. "I know just the thing."
***
Tsuzuki was developing a world-class headache. He
hated how the girls were staring at him with hearts in their eyes. He
already had the girl he wanted, thank you, and he didn't need this
adoration. It was annoying. Of his group, only five of them seemed
interested in actually learning from him. The rest just wanted to
drool.
Every now and then he stole glances at Chieri, who was
happily demonstrating her knowledge and offering advice. When she
came to a tall brunette, the instincts he had that told him about his
Cherry said that something was up. He showed a slender redhead
how to trace a figure eight, watching her. Her expression was
thoroughly bored. She was wearing an amazingly tight costume (he
wondered how she could breath) that was red decorated with black
stars. Her body was amazingly well proportioned, but he was turned
off by a sly look in her eye. She wasn't after him, thank god, but his
nerves were telling him she wanted something that may be even more
dangerous.
Chieri bounced cheerfully around, and he saw her back her
group towards a wall, creating a lot of room. Then she took a
running start and did one of her handsprings, landing lightly. Turning,
she explained to the other girl.
The brunette nodded, and waved a hand, obviously asking
a question. He could see Chieri answer, and then the brunette smiled.
She raced forward and copied the trick Chieri had just done, managing
a credible job.
Tsuzuki was impressed in spite of himself. The girl
lacked Chieri's grace, but the sheer power she had brought to the
movement was noteworthy. He looked forward to seeing her in his
group- it might not be a waste of time showing her a modified version
of that trick.
Coach Mori blew her whistle. "Group change!"
Tsuzuki watched as the group he had just taught moved
over to Chieri. His eyes remained on the redhead, watching
nervously.
END PART ONE
Quicksilver's Quill Offers
My Pure Heart For You
A Sailor Moon/The Cherry Project Xover
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
standard disclaimers:
Author's Notes: This is the fic I promised long ago when "Silver
Strings" by Antigone was released- I hope you find the stories
different enough to be interesting in their own ways- I'll never be able
to compare to the feeling she brings with her writing, but I have some
nice action here and there.....
Spoilers: Entire TCP manga, Sailor Moon Episode 110 or
thereabouts.
Dedicated to Antigone, of course! A more wonderful person I have
yet to meet.... keep up your spirit, your hope, and your love- you
inspire me.
Akiyama Canty was known as the Princess, and the Senshi
could see why. It was in her every gesture, an inborn knowledge that
she was special. She wasn't deliberately being cold, but there was an
aura about her that made her distant. She reminded Usagi of Kaiou
Michiru, actually. Breeding and grace combined to create a human as
near to perfect as possible.
Akiyama went about instructing their group in a precise
manner, her words clipped, yet not unfriendly. "I'm going to teach
you the very basics of jumping. Actually, jumping is my favorite
element. This is a double axel," Akiyama said, skating back so she
could work up the momentum she needed. She was just about to take
off when one of the girls in the group screamed. Akiyama managed to
control herself, swinging around to a stop.
By now the attention of the entire rink was focused on the
daimon that was barreling towards the rink. The daimon had on its
own figure skating outfit, complete with skates. It was yelling,
"Figure EIGHT!"
People began to scatter, and the senshi followed them,
hoping to find someplace to transform. "I am going to GET that
daimon!" Makoto growled, truly pissed off. She had been thoroughly
enjoying the lesson, and having it trashed did not make her happy.
Eudial wasn't happy, either. Figure Eight had been late in
its emergence, and she had been forced to endure a tedious hour of
instruction. And the fact that she was no longer in her target's group
made things just a touch more difficult. All in all, it was not a what
she would have called a good omen. "Figure Eight, clear the ring of
anyone else!" she commanded, racing to the side where she had hidden
her bazooka. Shouldering it, she went back onto the ice, cursing as
her thin blades made it hard for her to brace herself. If she wasn't
careful, the recoil from when she shot would force her into a wall.
The Senshi nodded at each other, finally finding an empty
area. "Henshin yo!" Minako said.
One light display later, they raced back.
"I am the pretty Sailor Soldier, Sailor Moon! And on
behalf of the moon, we'll punish you!" Usagi said, waving her arms in
her usual bizarre series of gestures.
"And we'll punish you, too!" the others chorused, striking
poses.
The daimon wasn't paying attention; it had problems of its
own to deal with, namely one extremely anger Akiyama Canty. The
delicate singles skater, instead of fleeing with her students, had
decided to go right up into the creature's face. "What do you think
you're doing in my rink!" she demanded angrily.
Behind her the other three professionals watched, puzzled
expressions on their faces. They had heard about the legendary
monster attacks of Juuban, but, like many people, had assumed they
were fictional tales. Asuka skated over to Tsuzuki and hugged him
tightly, her blue eyes wide. "Canty! Get out of there!" she yelled.
Wataru raced towards the other skater, determined to pull
Canty out of danger's way. Eudial, seeing all this, grinned. Her
target was alone, and now would be the perfect time to strike.
Whipping her gun around and focusing on her target, she
took aim at Tsuzuki's back. "Boom!" she yelled gleefully as she let
loose a burst of energy. She went backwards, marring the ice as she
dragged her toe pick to stop.
Mars was the nearest senshi to the witch. "That's
Eudial!" she said. "Burning Mandala!" she called, throwing out an
attack.
The fire witch dodged, and the attacked only melted the
ice where she had been standing.
"Tsuzuki!" Chieri called at the same time, spinning him
around so her back took the attack. She gave a yell of agony as her
pure heart was torn from her.
"Cherry?" Tsuzuki whispered, catching his partner's
suddenly limp form. Her face was dreadfully white and she lacked the
animation that was so much a part of her. "Why?" he demanded
angrily.
"I love you," she said simply, and her breathing started to
grow fainter.
"Dammit, you CAN'T die!" he yelled.
The other senshi, save Mars, were battling Figure Eight.
Sailor Moon was hamper by the ice, and this time her boots didn't
transform into skates. Jupiter faired better, but her electricity-based
attacks were ineffective. Venus was throwing Crescent beams like
they were going out of style while Mercury analyzed the daimon,
trying to find a weakness. The daimon retaliated by throwing blades
at them. Unlike some of their opponents, this daimon was dangerous.
If one of the attacks hit, it could very well kill one of the senshi.
Mars was busy trying to get Akiyama and Wataru out of
there. After speaking her mind, it dawned on Canty exactly what the
situation she was in was. She froze up like a statue, and Wataru had
skated to her, picking up terrified girl. Mars was covering their
escape. "Get out of here! We'll handle this!"
Wataru took her at her word, heading for the locker
rooms.
"I... missed?" Eudial said in disbelief as she finally saw
what her first shot had done. "Drat. Well, here's number two!" she
hollered, firing another blast at Tsuzuki. He looked at it, like a deer
in the headlights of a car. He barely moaned when his crystal heart
was taken. He fell backwards, still cradling Chieri. Above them their
crystallized hearts orbited each other, like two moons.
"I suppose we should lend a hand," a husky female voice
said. "Enchanted by a New age, I am Sailor Uranus, acting
gorgeously!"
"And Sailor Neptune, acting gracefully!"
The two Outer Senshi stood on the edge of the rink, a
wind from no was blowing out of season cherry petals around them.
Uranus looked at Eudial. "You again?" she said with slight
exasperation. "Well, WORLD SHAKING!"
Uranus raised her gloved fist and punched the ground,
sending out her attack just as Sailor Moon completed her Moon Spiral
Heart Attack.
"Lovely!" Figure Eight screamed, changing into an ice
skate.
Eudial, seeing her daimon defeated, was barely able to get
out of the way of the attack. That meant the energy blast headed for
the fallen pair.
"Stop!" Uranus called in anguish, but she had no power to
recall her attack. It struck one of the heart crystals.
Eudial took the opportunity to escape, for she could care
less- after all, neither of the skaters had had a Talisman.
The senshi all were free to watch the crystal shatter.
It was like the world had stopped for a moment.
Asuka Chieri, the upcoming star of pairs skating, shrieked
in anguish, then her breathing stopped.
Tsuzuki, miraculously, hadn't passed out and witnessed
the whole thing. Hearing her cry, he leaned his gray face forward,
managed to gasp out, "Chieri! What's wrong!"
The senshi all raced towards her. Uranus collapsed to her
knees, her face white with shock. "Oh, sweet Serenity, what have I
done?" she whispered, looking at her gloved hands.
Neptune, for once, ignored her partner and raced forward
to get a closer look at the damage. Sailors Moon and Mercury
arrived just before her. Moon gently wrapped her arms around
Chieri, raising concerned eyes at Mercury. "What can we do?" she
asked.
Neptune looked like she was on the verge of weeping, yet
was firmly holding it in. "We can't do anything. She's going to die-
no one can live without their heart."
"Then give her mine!" Tsuzuki said, grabbing the heart
crystal and weakly attempting to force it into Chieri's chest.
"That won't work," Neptune whispered, gently pushing
towards him. "Everyone's heart is unique to them- no one can steal
another person's heart."
"I'm giving it to her," he whispered stubbornly. "Without
her, I have no heart." He reached up again, and to everyone's
amazement, the heart crystal went into the girl.
"That's impossible!" Neptune said. She looked at the boy
who had just given away his heart to his beloved.
"Never underestimate love," Sailor Moon said in a gentle
voice. "But what can we do for Tsuzuki?" she asked.
Neptune glanced back at Uranus, who looked like she was
suffering from the effects of a concussion. "I- don't know."
"Mercury, Venus?" Moon asked desperately. Time was
running out. Tsuzuki Masanori wasn't breathing, and there was
nothing except the shards of Asuka's left.
Venus looked. "I… I don't know…" she said.
Mercury was typing frantically at the computer, and Mars
and Jupiter looked over her should while Neptune, Venus and Moon
tried to make the skaters comfortable. "I don't know, I can't find
anything!" Mercury said frantically. "For all practical purposes, he's
dead!"
Asuka Chieri's eyes had been fluttering as she made a
rapid recovery. She opened them just in time to hear Mercury's last
statement. She looked at Tsuzuki, and went to her knees beside him.
"Tsuzuki," she whispered, looking at his still chest. "What
happened?"
Venus looked at her. "One of the heart crystals was
destroyed and he gave you the remaining one. But without it…."
Chieri wasn't sure what a heart crystal was, but she saw
the results of not having one. "My God- he gave me his, didn't he?"
she whispered. "What can we do for him?"
Mercury was still pounding away. At this point, Uranus
had regained enough of her senses to stagger over. "Nothing.
Absolutely nothing," she said in a sorrowful voice. "I'm so sorry, but
he's dead."
Neptune reached out and caught Uranus' gloved hand,
squeezing it gently. "We knew something like this might happen."
The two Outer Senshi rose to their feet, looking elegant even in their
sorrow.
"Well, if it's broken, we fix it!" Chieri said. She smiled
slightly crazily and started to pick up the shards of the crystal.
Neptune looked at Sailor Moon, her eyes pleading. She
didn't want to have to explain this. "Asuka-san, that won't work,"
Neptune said gently. "A person's heart, once shattered, can not
easily be fixed. A heart is something wonderful, something complex.
If all it took to fix a heart was some glue, then a broken one wouldn't
be such a tragic and traumatizing thing."
"But they can be mended," Moon said. She started to
wrack her brain, even though she knew that if Mercury was having
problems, there would be little chance of her fixing this quandary.
Chieri wasn't listening to the senshi anymore. "Tsuzuki,
don't you dare die on me! I need you!" she said. Her tiny hands tried
futilely to piece the shards together. "You can't leave me!"
The Senshi continued to try to figure out what to do.
Finally Sailor Moon shut her eyes and cupped her hands in front of her
broached. The other Senshi had seen this gesture before, and gasped.
"No, Sailor Moon! You'll die, too!" Mars said.
END PART 2
Quicksilver's Quill Offers
My Pure Heart for You
A Sailor Moon/The Cherry Project Xover
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
standard disclaimers
Notes: Still for my beloved Antigone- IM me sometime, ne? We
haven't talked in simply AGES. Sorry this took so long, minna-san,
but I got caught up in other projects. Anyway, here's a story that's
actually been COMPLETED!
March 16, 2001 (QS)
Sailor Moon smiled reassuringly at Mars, resting a gentle
hand on her closest friend's. "Daijoubu," she said. "When love's
involved, everything will work out."
Mars didn't share her princess' confidence, but the petite
skater who knelt beside her looked on with wide blue eyes, suddenly
enlivened with renewed hope.
The ginzuishou floated out of her broach, and Moon arched
her back, her blue eyes suddenly gaining a depth that made the ocean
look shallow. The jewel spun in her hands slowly, its facets throwing
off more light then any of them had believed was possible.
The pieces of the shattered heart crystal Chieri had gathered
started to flare with new light, and they lifted out of her tiny hands.
The ginzuishou's pure silver light embraced the fragments with its
warmth, and they slowly began to fit themselves back into one piece.
All of the Senshi watched in awe, well aware that they were
witnessing a miracle. Chieri, now that her hands were free, clutched
Tsuzuki desperately to her chest, hoping that the amazing girl before
her could somehow work one more wondrous feat. Surely it wasn't
that much to ask, she prayed.
Sweat beaded Sailor Moon's face pretty face, and her lips
were pulled back into a determined line. She stared resolutely
forward, unwillingly to yield. If she gave up, a young man would die.
"It's too much!" Venus protested.
"Then we'll help her!" Jupiter said, always Sailor Moon's
main pillar of support. She shut her eyes, and the emerald on her tiara
sparked. "Jupiter star power!" she called, releasing her energy to her
princess.
Sailor Moon smiled gratefully, then refocused as the other
Inner Senshi added their power.
Sailor Neptune looked at Uranus. "You know, since your
power caused this, perhaps it can help fix it," she said in her
reasonable voice.
That seemed to finally penetrate the haze of self-
recrimination that had enveloped the Soldier of the Heavens. "But
we said that we would make any sacrifice…." she whispered softly.
"But why make a sacrifice where one is clearly not needed?"
Neptune asked. She offered her hand to her partner, and Uranus
accepted. Together they called on their power, and for the first time,
worked with the Inner Senshi, sending out a burst of light to the
princess.
Sailor Moon smiled slightly as the unexpected wave of power
joined hers. Her fuku exploded into her long princess gown, and
Serenity came forth, shining and noble, standing for everything that
was good and pure and true.
The princess looked at Asuka Chieri. "Think of him, of why
you love him. Love is the strongest magic of all," she whispered.
Asuka nodded and stared down at Tsuzuki, remembering all
the times that had had together, whether it was skating, laughing,
doing homework, or just enjoying each other's company. "I love you,
Tsuzuki Masanori. You are my other half, my partner and soul mate,
my reason for waking up in the morning."
Princess Serenity gathered the magic the Senshi offered, then
turned to Asuka. Using her right hand, she brought the other girl's
hand up and placed it on the ginzuishou. "Let love heal the wounds
hatred has made," she murmured softly.
The silver light grew until it was almost blinding in its
intensity. The fragments of the heart crystal began to move faster and
faster into their place, and final it was reconstructed. With a last flair
of power, it fused together.
Everyone involved in the effort slumped, and Serenity's gown
faded back into the uniform of the Senshi of the Moon, the Star of
Mystery, Sailor Moon. Still, Sailor Moon had enough presence of
mind to slip the jewel back into Tsuzuki, who gasped for breath as
color returned to his face.
Chieri smiled and wrapped her arms around her partner, who
was taking deep, desperately gulps of air into his deprived body.
"Tsuzuki," she whispered, tears of relief and joy in her eyes.
His long lashes fluttered open, and he smiled up at her, a
smile that was sweet in its sheer joy. "Chieri," he whispered, "I can
see your wings."
Sailor Jupiter leaned over and hoisted Moon up into a
piggyback. "We'd better leave," she said.
Moon's eyelashes fluttered and she smiled. "Yes, let's," she
said softly. "Thank you, Neptune, Uranus."
The two Outer Senshi seemed disconcerted, but nodded.
"No, thank you, Sailor Moon," Uranus whispered. Then they leapt
up into the rafters, and were away.
The figure skaters watched as the legendary Senshi all
disappeared as unexpectedly as they had appeared.
"I didn't even get to say thank you…" Chieri said sadly.
***
The Inner Senshi let go of their transformations and returned
to the rink. Asuka and Tsuzuki were kneeling in the center of the
ring, staring into the other's eyes with love and renewed discovery.
"That's so sweet! I want a boyfriend just like that!" Minako said
dreamily.
"But the lesson won't continue," Makoto said, feeling
disheartened. "The rink's ruined."
It was true. Part of the rink had been melted by Mars'
attacks, Mercury had flooded it, and the skates the monster had
thrown were imbedded in the wall.
Sailor Mars had done the most damage, and Rei knew it. A
hot flush spread over her face. "It's not my fault!" she exclaimed.
"Uh-huh…" Minako and Makoto said in unison, crossing
their arms over their chests.
"Really!" Rei protested.
"This is very nice, but perhaps we should be checking on
Asuka and Tsuzuki?" Ami said shyly.
Usagi nodded, and managed to worked her way over the
pitfalls of ice. "Are you two ok?" she said. "We saw the Senshi
leaving, so we figured it was safe to come back."
Her words fell upon ears that were momentarily deaf.
Finally Tsuzuki hugged Chieri tightly and looked up at the other
concerned girls. "We're fine…" he reassured them.
"I'm glad," Usagi said with a smile. Then the happiness on
her face faded slightly. "But the lesson's done for today," she sighed.
The two skaters blinked, and looked around at their
surroundings. "I guess it is," Asuka said, looking at the melted rink.
"I hope everyone got out okay," she said.
"They're fine," Ami said. "Your coach was organizing
people as they ran away, and Wataru grabbed Akiyama. So they all
should be ok. I bet Coach Mori called the police. They'll probably
be here in a minute."
Tsuzuki's eyes narrowed, but he kept his suspicions to
himself.
"I think we should leave," Rei said. "I don't want to get in
anyone's way," she said.
"You mean you don't want to let the police hassle you,"
Minako teased.
"That, too," Rei admitted.
"We're glad you're ok," Makoto said, smiling at the skaters.
"How about we head to the Crown and get a sundae to calm down?"
"Hai!" the other girls chorused, saying farewell to Tsuzuki
and Asuka.
Tsuzuki watched them leave. "Isn't it interesting? I thought
we were the only ones still in the rink to see Wataru get Canty out of
here."
Chieri blinked, trying to get what he was saying.
"Tsuzuki…"
"Isn't it odd there were five girls who returned almost
immediately after the Sailor Senshi left?"
"You don't think-" Chieri began, her eyes widening to the
size of saucers.
Tsuzuki shrugged. "I don't know. But it really doesn't
matter- not as long as you're safe."
She rested her hand on his chest, reassured by the steady
beating of his heart. "I guess you can say you really possess my heart
now," she said.
"And you, mine," he said. "But you already had it- it wasn't
like I was giving you anything you didn't have," he said, bending his
head so he could catch Chieri's lips in a sweet, sweet kiss.
***
It was later that evening that Usagi went over to Mamoru's
apartment. She knew that one of the Senshi had most likely told him
of the day's events already, and if they hadn't- well, their link made him
able to feel when she was using the ginzuishou. He would want some
answers, and she knew she had some explaining to do. He hated it
when she risked her life.
She knocked on the door, and it swung inwards almost
immediately. Mamoru grabbed her, dragged her in, and proceeded to
kiss her until she was dizzy. Then he gripped her shoulders quite
firmly, and began to talk to her, punctuating each of his words by a
firm shake. "What-" shake "the-" shake "hell- " shake "were-" shake
"you-" shake "DOING?"
Usagi smiled up at him and his rage melted away, replaced by
very real concern. "I did what needed to be done," she said.
"But you could have died," he whispered.
"Yes," Usagi said, "but if I hadn't, I would have died for
sure- the part of me that's what you love. If I hadn't fought to save
Tsuzuki and Asuka with the ginzuishou, then I wouldn't be me,
Mamo-chan."
He hugged her tightly to his chest. "I know that," he sighed.
"But I love you so much… it scares me to think that I might lose you.
You and Chibi-Usa are all I have."
She pressed a slender finger to his lips to quiet him. "You
won't lose me. Trust me," she said.
"I do."
They went over to the sofa together, and he spooned her
slender body against his. "It's weird," Usagi mused. "Neptune said
that everyone's heart crystal is unique to them, and she's right. Yet
Tsuzuki managed to give his to Asuka when hers shattered. How is
that possible?" she wondered.
Mamoru was quiet as he thought for a second. "From what
Rei told me, Asuka and Tsuzuki are very much in love. They say that
people like that become of one mind and heart. Perhaps there's some
truth to that. We aren't the only lovers who are destined by fate to be
together."
She nodded, then turned her head so she could look into his
blue eyes. "Do you think we could do that? Are our hearts that
closely linked?"
He hugged her tightly. "I'm sure of it, but it isn't a theory I'd
want to test out!" he teased.
She snuggled down happily into his arms, and listened to the
wind blow outside. They may have been in the middle of a war with
an enemy who cruelly sought out the brightest and most loving of the
human race, but Usagi was confident that things would work out.
After all, they had each other, and there were people like Asuka and
Tsuzuki in the world- surely the light of love would protect them all.
With a sleepy smile, Usagi relaxed, falling asleep in the arms
of her prince.
END
My Pure Heart For You
A Sailor Moon/The Cherry Project Xover
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
standard disclaimers:
Author's Notes: This is the fic I promised long ago when "Silver
Strings" by Antigone was released- I hope you find the stories
different enough to be interesting in their own ways- I'll never be able
to compare to the feeling she brings with her writing, but I have some
nice action here and there.....
Spoilers: Entire TCP manga, Sailor Moon Episode 110 or
thereabouts.
Dedicated to Antigone, of course! A more wonderful person I have
yet to meet.... keep up your spirit, your hope, and your love- you
inspire me.
Hey- I didn't relize there was a demand for TCP fics... but since there
is, I guess I should post this, ne?
The paper was fresh, no signs of water damage, which
Usagi noted with delight. Reaching out, she yanked it down from
the lamppost it was tacked to with a gleeful smile.
Figure skating was always something she had wanted to
do. She had tried to take lessons once before, but that hadn't worked
out- if she recalled properly, it had come during a time when Mamoru
had been a prisoner of the Dark Kingdom, and Kunzite had used the
two professional skaters as youma. This time, though, she wasn't
about to let anything short of the end of the world stop her. Luna
had said she had been able to stake as Princess Serenity, and she didn't
see what things should have changed.
With a dreamy smile, she started towards her home, only
to feel someone tug cheerfully on her left ponytail. "Hey, Usagi,"
Makoto said. "You almost walked into that traffic," she said. "What
has your head up in the clouds?"
Usagi smiled up at her tall friend. "Asuka Chieri and
Tsuzuki Masanori are offering free lessons!" she said.
Makoto looked excited for a second, then her rich emerald
eyes darkened with concern. "Do you remember what happened the
LAST time we went to free lessons? Maybe this is a trap by the
Deathbusters," she said grimly pushing onwards.
"If it is, we should go. Besides, not EVERYTHING is a
trap- if it was, we'd NEVER be able to have fun! It would be fun to
learn how to skate. If you don't want to go, I would understand, but
it would be more fun if we all went as a group. Besides, maybe you
would be able to help the rest of us- you're the best skater, after all."
It took a stronger person then Makoto to resist Usagi
when she really wanted something. The senshi of Jupiter sighed and
nodded after a second. "I guess I can go... but do you think the
others will? Ice skating rinks aren't their favorite places since the...
incident."
"For Tsuzuki Masanori? Even Ami-chan will get her
head out of her books!" Usagi giggled.
***
Tsuzuki stepped onto the ice, relishing the feel of it
beneath his skates. Closing his eyes slightly, he traced a figure eight,
then started to skate forward to pick up speed. With an
expressionless face, he did a triple lutz, landing it easily. A slight smile
decorated his face as he turned to see his petite
girlfriend clapping.
Chieri went onto the ice with characteristic energy, doing
a handspring and landing playfully beside him. "Wanna skate?" she
asked, doing a quick spin.
He loved watching her, loved being with her. She was
the embodiment of joy, and anything she did made him feel like he was
truly ALIVE. She was wearing a cute leotard with an attached skirt,
and he reflected that she was so tiny that he could pick her up with
one hand. He had, in fact, while skating. "Skate with you? Always,"
he said, and moved towards her, wrapping his arms around her
slender waist and dropping a kiss on her forehead.
She laughed and teasingly started to stake backwards.
"Catch me!" she begged.
They loved this time alone together. Free time was so
rare that they cherished every moment alone. No coaches, no friends,
no crowd.
Laughing, he followed her easily, pacing himself. Chieri
was like greased lightning, but his longer legs gave him an advantage.
He could catch her easily, but to do so would ruin the fun.
Her beautiful blue eyes sparkled as she launched into a
complex series of steps, pirouetting to a halt just before crashing into a
wall. He laughed and mimicked her, grabbing her around the waist
and lifting her in a throw jump, sending her spinning away. With
natural grace, she landed with her arms outstretched towards him.
"Tsuzuki," she called.
Staking forwards, he wrapped his arms around her, then
took her hand and she leaned backwards into a death spiral, conveying
her absolute trust. They rotated a couple times, and she laughed as he
pulled her back upright.
Then it was time for the jumps. Chieri loved to jump- it
was liked flying. Together, in unspoken accord, then launched into
triple axels, the most difficult of jumps. Landing next to each
other, spaced as far apart as they had started, Chieri looked back at
him and grinned. "Now it's our time!" she said, and he started to get
that feeling that she was going to do something downright
devilish.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"We're going to have a little contest!" she teased.
"What?" he asked.
"Let's see who can keep a camel spin going for the
longest!" she challenged him.
He smiled indulgently at her. "You're so childish at
times," he said.
She shrugged her shoulders and yanked on one of her
looped braids. "I'm a festive type B!" she said lightly.
He laughed, and leaned towards her. "Fine, fine- I'll play
along.... but YOU get to explain to Coach Mori why we're too dizzy
to practice!"
"That won't be a problem," said a sweet alto, and the pair
spun to see their afore mentioned coach enter the rink, smiling slightly.
"You have to prepare for your students."
Tsuzuki's expression darkened at the mention of their
plans for the day. He had thought it was a bad idea from the
beginning. "I still don't like this. We need ever moment for
practicing- we want to win the next Olympics," he said. "Why should
we begin to teach beginners? Much less beginners who will never
actually skate competitively?"
Chieri put a finger on his lips to hush him. "It's a publicity
thing. We need to make sure people love us for our personalities, not
just your good looks," she said. "Besides, it'll be fun. Canty and
Wataru will be coming as well! We haven't seen them in SUCH a long
time!"
She didn't even notice the frown that found its way onto
her boyfriend's face at the mention of his former rival for her
affections. She was turning towards the rink door to welcome Canty,
who skated in wearing a green suit that complimented her golden hair.
The girls skated around each other, and Canty finally broke the
silence. "How have you been, Chieri?"
"Pretty good. Really busy practicing. You?"
"About the same." The silence hung for a few more
minutes before they burst out laughing.
Tsuzuki watched it all with a slightly perplexed
expression. "Is there something going on?" he asked Coach Mori.
"Not that you would understand," she assured him. "It's
a female thing."
Half an hour past, and Wataru arrived. "There's a crowd
of girls out there," he said, trying to straighten his hair, which looked
extremely tousled. From the look on his face, it was obvious he had
just walked through the crowd, and hadn't enjoyed the experience.
"Almost a hundred- you only had this advertised for a day?" he
demanded of Coach Mori.
She smiled at him wickedly. "We wanted to keep this
manageable- I think that each of you can supervise about twenty,
twenty-five."
Wataru sighed and skated around a little, getting
accustomed to the ice. "I don't like this rink," he sighed, then glided
over when Coach Mori blew her whistle.
The older woman raised a slightly mocking eyebrow.
"Okay, this is a five hour session- we're having a break at noon. Be
friendly, and be patient. We'll divide the students up into four groups,
and rotate them. Tsuzuki, Wataru- they're going to be all over you,
but just be calm and don't devote too much time to any particular
girl."
They all nodded, and Coach Mori went to open the doors.
***
Eudial was learning to hate the telephone. Professor
Tomoe was one of those people with the instinctive ability to call at
the worst possible time. Every time it rang, she gritted her teeth and
answered as cheerfully as possible, seeing as how she had been having
horrible luck trying to find the Talismans.
The professor had decided on yet another plan- this time,
he wanted to go after an Olympic hopeful. "A heart full of hope
surely must be pure," he had told her. The said skater was offering
free lessons that day, which was the perfect excuse to enter the
building that normally would have had very tight security.
She looked at the daimon the professor had created, trying
not to scowl too deeply. "This is very not fair," she muttered. "This
is Mimete's kind of thing. I have no time to chase around after idols."
Still, when the Professor wanted something done, she had
learned to do so without complaint. His ideas were bizarre, but he
was a brilliant man. If he thought the skater might have the Talisman,
she would go. Still, that was no reason to make her wear the skimpy
skating outfit Mimete had loaned her.
Carefully keeping her displeasure to herself, she hosted
the gym bag she had secreted the daimon in, and joined the crowd of
eager girls outside the door to the rink. If she was lucky, she could
be in and out before the Sailor Senshi pushed their meddling noses
into her business.
***
Tsukino Usagi always got what she wanted- well, when it
mattered. She got her prince, she got to save the world (twice) and
she got all of her friends to agree to come with her to skating rink-
well, the third might not have been AS important, but to Usagi, who
was very much a "now" person, it seemed like it.
Makoto was wearing her green skating outfit, her eyes
darting around, looking for something. Ami had her noise in a book
about G & G, while Rei and Usagi were arguing. Minako was having
what Artemis would have called one of her "good" days, and was
acting as the rational part of the quintet, checking her watch every few
minutes as the crowd around them grew.
"I'm so excited!" Makoto burst out as the doors started to
swing inwards, and a twenty-something year old woman stood there,
smiling at them.
"Hello," the older woman said. "I'm Mori, and I coach
Asuka Chieri and Tsuzuki Masanori. If you will follow me, I'll show
you to the locker room where you can change and get into your
skates."
Usagi and Rei forgot about there fight and followed the
coach eagerly, slipping each other eager smiles. This time they
WOULD learn to skate. Certainly Makato would dance circles
around them, but they would learn from some of the best skaters in
the world! Surely Tsuzuki and Asuka would be able to help even the
clumsy Usagi.
The girls went to the locker room and left their bags,
putting their skates on, giggling nervously. Each of them wore an
outfit related to their usual colors, except for Minako, who had gone
with the traditional white skating outfit.
The crowd finally went out to the rink, and gasped
slightly. Four skaters were already on the rink, gracefully spiraling
around. Makoto began to whisper to her friends. "Wow! Not only
Tsuzuki and Asuka, but Akiyama Canty and Wataru Kikuchi as well!"
she whispered. "They weren't on that poster you showed us, Usagi!"
Piped music began to play a melody, one that Ami
recognized. "They're playing Carmen," she told the others. "It's a
really famous bit from an opera; lots of skating routines have been
done to it."
The skaters on the ice circled, and when the music started
to climax, each of them did a jump. Tsuzuki and Asuka skated
towards the center, meeting each other. He lifted her off the ice,
making it look like she weighed no more then a feather. Akiyama did
her trademark quadruple jump, and Wataru did a back sit spin to
layback, followed almost immediately by an amazing sequence of
footwork.
The music finally ran out, and the skaters went to the
edges of the rink. Mori had arranged the girls into groups of 22,
smiling as Usagi and her friends clung to each other. The group the
Senshi was in was assigned to Asuka Chieri. Minako tried to hide her
disappointment- she'd really wanted to be in Tsuzuki's group.
The tiny blonde skated over to them, the personification
of the word grace. She gave them a cheerful smile. "Konnichi wa!"
she said energetically. "I'm Asuka Chieri! I'm going to be teaching
you a bit about skating today. Each group will rotate, so you'll see
each of us for about an hour- lunch break at noon, followed by quick
routines from each of us."
The girls grinned at each other. This was going to be a
wonderful day.
Asuka clapped her hands together with cheerful energy.
"Let's see where everyone is! Can anyone skate backwards?" she
asked, demonstrating as she spoke. A few of the group, including
Makoto, raised their hands. "Good! You can help me assist the
others!" she giggled.
Her laughter was infectious. One by one she helped each
girl move backwards, encouraging them. When she reached Usagi,
she started to demonstrate. "Now, skating backwards really isn't that
hard," she began, repeating the lecture she had just given eight times
before.
"It might help if you taught her how to skate forward
first!" Rei said before Ami and Minako shut her up by covering her
mouth.
Asuka gave her a sympathetic look. "Well, let's start
there, then!" She held her hands out and Usagi took them. "Skate
with me," she offered.
Usagi took her hands, and a smile lighting her small face.
Then she started to fall after less then two movements forward.
Asuka caught her with surprising strength. "Don't try so hard," the
figure skater advised. "Take it slow- speed will come later."
Usagi nodded and started again, managing to go ten feet
before stumbling.
"See?" Asuka said encouragingly. "That's progress!"
Usagi beamed happily, and Asuka helped her back to the
main group. The other senshi followed, though none had as hard a
time as their sometime leader. Ami, in particular, seemed to catch on
quickly. But as the Senshi of Ice, perhaps it was a natural thing.
Then Asuka began showing other tricks to the more
advanced skaters in the group. When Asuka came to Makato, she
looked her over. "You know how to skate," she said.
Makoto nodded. "How can you tell?" she wanted to
know.
"It's how you hold yourself. What would you like to
learn?"
"Something different, but not too dangerous."
Asuka grinned impishly. "I know just the thing."
***
Tsuzuki was developing a world-class headache. He
hated how the girls were staring at him with hearts in their eyes. He
already had the girl he wanted, thank you, and he didn't need this
adoration. It was annoying. Of his group, only five of them seemed
interested in actually learning from him. The rest just wanted to
drool.
Every now and then he stole glances at Chieri, who was
happily demonstrating her knowledge and offering advice. When she
came to a tall brunette, the instincts he had that told him about his
Cherry said that something was up. He showed a slender redhead
how to trace a figure eight, watching her. Her expression was
thoroughly bored. She was wearing an amazingly tight costume (he
wondered how she could breath) that was red decorated with black
stars. Her body was amazingly well proportioned, but he was turned
off by a sly look in her eye. She wasn't after him, thank god, but his
nerves were telling him she wanted something that may be even more
dangerous.
Chieri bounced cheerfully around, and he saw her back her
group towards a wall, creating a lot of room. Then she took a
running start and did one of her handsprings, landing lightly. Turning,
she explained to the other girl.
The brunette nodded, and waved a hand, obviously asking
a question. He could see Chieri answer, and then the brunette smiled.
She raced forward and copied the trick Chieri had just done, managing
a credible job.
Tsuzuki was impressed in spite of himself. The girl
lacked Chieri's grace, but the sheer power she had brought to the
movement was noteworthy. He looked forward to seeing her in his
group- it might not be a waste of time showing her a modified version
of that trick.
Coach Mori blew her whistle. "Group change!"
Tsuzuki watched as the group he had just taught moved
over to Chieri. His eyes remained on the redhead, watching
nervously.
END PART ONE
Quicksilver's Quill Offers
My Pure Heart For You
A Sailor Moon/The Cherry Project Xover
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
standard disclaimers:
Author's Notes: This is the fic I promised long ago when "Silver
Strings" by Antigone was released- I hope you find the stories
different enough to be interesting in their own ways- I'll never be able
to compare to the feeling she brings with her writing, but I have some
nice action here and there.....
Spoilers: Entire TCP manga, Sailor Moon Episode 110 or
thereabouts.
Dedicated to Antigone, of course! A more wonderful person I have
yet to meet.... keep up your spirit, your hope, and your love- you
inspire me.
Akiyama Canty was known as the Princess, and the Senshi
could see why. It was in her every gesture, an inborn knowledge that
she was special. She wasn't deliberately being cold, but there was an
aura about her that made her distant. She reminded Usagi of Kaiou
Michiru, actually. Breeding and grace combined to create a human as
near to perfect as possible.
Akiyama went about instructing their group in a precise
manner, her words clipped, yet not unfriendly. "I'm going to teach
you the very basics of jumping. Actually, jumping is my favorite
element. This is a double axel," Akiyama said, skating back so she
could work up the momentum she needed. She was just about to take
off when one of the girls in the group screamed. Akiyama managed to
control herself, swinging around to a stop.
By now the attention of the entire rink was focused on the
daimon that was barreling towards the rink. The daimon had on its
own figure skating outfit, complete with skates. It was yelling,
"Figure EIGHT!"
People began to scatter, and the senshi followed them,
hoping to find someplace to transform. "I am going to GET that
daimon!" Makoto growled, truly pissed off. She had been thoroughly
enjoying the lesson, and having it trashed did not make her happy.
Eudial wasn't happy, either. Figure Eight had been late in
its emergence, and she had been forced to endure a tedious hour of
instruction. And the fact that she was no longer in her target's group
made things just a touch more difficult. All in all, it was not a what
she would have called a good omen. "Figure Eight, clear the ring of
anyone else!" she commanded, racing to the side where she had hidden
her bazooka. Shouldering it, she went back onto the ice, cursing as
her thin blades made it hard for her to brace herself. If she wasn't
careful, the recoil from when she shot would force her into a wall.
The Senshi nodded at each other, finally finding an empty
area. "Henshin yo!" Minako said.
One light display later, they raced back.
"I am the pretty Sailor Soldier, Sailor Moon! And on
behalf of the moon, we'll punish you!" Usagi said, waving her arms in
her usual bizarre series of gestures.
"And we'll punish you, too!" the others chorused, striking
poses.
The daimon wasn't paying attention; it had problems of its
own to deal with, namely one extremely anger Akiyama Canty. The
delicate singles skater, instead of fleeing with her students, had
decided to go right up into the creature's face. "What do you think
you're doing in my rink!" she demanded angrily.
Behind her the other three professionals watched, puzzled
expressions on their faces. They had heard about the legendary
monster attacks of Juuban, but, like many people, had assumed they
were fictional tales. Asuka skated over to Tsuzuki and hugged him
tightly, her blue eyes wide. "Canty! Get out of there!" she yelled.
Wataru raced towards the other skater, determined to pull
Canty out of danger's way. Eudial, seeing all this, grinned. Her
target was alone, and now would be the perfect time to strike.
Whipping her gun around and focusing on her target, she
took aim at Tsuzuki's back. "Boom!" she yelled gleefully as she let
loose a burst of energy. She went backwards, marring the ice as she
dragged her toe pick to stop.
Mars was the nearest senshi to the witch. "That's
Eudial!" she said. "Burning Mandala!" she called, throwing out an
attack.
The fire witch dodged, and the attacked only melted the
ice where she had been standing.
"Tsuzuki!" Chieri called at the same time, spinning him
around so her back took the attack. She gave a yell of agony as her
pure heart was torn from her.
"Cherry?" Tsuzuki whispered, catching his partner's
suddenly limp form. Her face was dreadfully white and she lacked the
animation that was so much a part of her. "Why?" he demanded
angrily.
"I love you," she said simply, and her breathing started to
grow fainter.
"Dammit, you CAN'T die!" he yelled.
The other senshi, save Mars, were battling Figure Eight.
Sailor Moon was hamper by the ice, and this time her boots didn't
transform into skates. Jupiter faired better, but her electricity-based
attacks were ineffective. Venus was throwing Crescent beams like
they were going out of style while Mercury analyzed the daimon,
trying to find a weakness. The daimon retaliated by throwing blades
at them. Unlike some of their opponents, this daimon was dangerous.
If one of the attacks hit, it could very well kill one of the senshi.
Mars was busy trying to get Akiyama and Wataru out of
there. After speaking her mind, it dawned on Canty exactly what the
situation she was in was. She froze up like a statue, and Wataru had
skated to her, picking up terrified girl. Mars was covering their
escape. "Get out of here! We'll handle this!"
Wataru took her at her word, heading for the locker
rooms.
"I... missed?" Eudial said in disbelief as she finally saw
what her first shot had done. "Drat. Well, here's number two!" she
hollered, firing another blast at Tsuzuki. He looked at it, like a deer
in the headlights of a car. He barely moaned when his crystal heart
was taken. He fell backwards, still cradling Chieri. Above them their
crystallized hearts orbited each other, like two moons.
"I suppose we should lend a hand," a husky female voice
said. "Enchanted by a New age, I am Sailor Uranus, acting
gorgeously!"
"And Sailor Neptune, acting gracefully!"
The two Outer Senshi stood on the edge of the rink, a
wind from no was blowing out of season cherry petals around them.
Uranus looked at Eudial. "You again?" she said with slight
exasperation. "Well, WORLD SHAKING!"
Uranus raised her gloved fist and punched the ground,
sending out her attack just as Sailor Moon completed her Moon Spiral
Heart Attack.
"Lovely!" Figure Eight screamed, changing into an ice
skate.
Eudial, seeing her daimon defeated, was barely able to get
out of the way of the attack. That meant the energy blast headed for
the fallen pair.
"Stop!" Uranus called in anguish, but she had no power to
recall her attack. It struck one of the heart crystals.
Eudial took the opportunity to escape, for she could care
less- after all, neither of the skaters had had a Talisman.
The senshi all were free to watch the crystal shatter.
It was like the world had stopped for a moment.
Asuka Chieri, the upcoming star of pairs skating, shrieked
in anguish, then her breathing stopped.
Tsuzuki, miraculously, hadn't passed out and witnessed
the whole thing. Hearing her cry, he leaned his gray face forward,
managed to gasp out, "Chieri! What's wrong!"
The senshi all raced towards her. Uranus collapsed to her
knees, her face white with shock. "Oh, sweet Serenity, what have I
done?" she whispered, looking at her gloved hands.
Neptune, for once, ignored her partner and raced forward
to get a closer look at the damage. Sailors Moon and Mercury
arrived just before her. Moon gently wrapped her arms around
Chieri, raising concerned eyes at Mercury. "What can we do?" she
asked.
Neptune looked like she was on the verge of weeping, yet
was firmly holding it in. "We can't do anything. She's going to die-
no one can live without their heart."
"Then give her mine!" Tsuzuki said, grabbing the heart
crystal and weakly attempting to force it into Chieri's chest.
"That won't work," Neptune whispered, gently pushing
towards him. "Everyone's heart is unique to them- no one can steal
another person's heart."
"I'm giving it to her," he whispered stubbornly. "Without
her, I have no heart." He reached up again, and to everyone's
amazement, the heart crystal went into the girl.
"That's impossible!" Neptune said. She looked at the boy
who had just given away his heart to his beloved.
"Never underestimate love," Sailor Moon said in a gentle
voice. "But what can we do for Tsuzuki?" she asked.
Neptune glanced back at Uranus, who looked like she was
suffering from the effects of a concussion. "I- don't know."
"Mercury, Venus?" Moon asked desperately. Time was
running out. Tsuzuki Masanori wasn't breathing, and there was
nothing except the shards of Asuka's left.
Venus looked. "I… I don't know…" she said.
Mercury was typing frantically at the computer, and Mars
and Jupiter looked over her should while Neptune, Venus and Moon
tried to make the skaters comfortable. "I don't know, I can't find
anything!" Mercury said frantically. "For all practical purposes, he's
dead!"
Asuka Chieri's eyes had been fluttering as she made a
rapid recovery. She opened them just in time to hear Mercury's last
statement. She looked at Tsuzuki, and went to her knees beside him.
"Tsuzuki," she whispered, looking at his still chest. "What
happened?"
Venus looked at her. "One of the heart crystals was
destroyed and he gave you the remaining one. But without it…."
Chieri wasn't sure what a heart crystal was, but she saw
the results of not having one. "My God- he gave me his, didn't he?"
she whispered. "What can we do for him?"
Mercury was still pounding away. At this point, Uranus
had regained enough of her senses to stagger over. "Nothing.
Absolutely nothing," she said in a sorrowful voice. "I'm so sorry, but
he's dead."
Neptune reached out and caught Uranus' gloved hand,
squeezing it gently. "We knew something like this might happen."
The two Outer Senshi rose to their feet, looking elegant even in their
sorrow.
"Well, if it's broken, we fix it!" Chieri said. She smiled
slightly crazily and started to pick up the shards of the crystal.
Neptune looked at Sailor Moon, her eyes pleading. She
didn't want to have to explain this. "Asuka-san, that won't work,"
Neptune said gently. "A person's heart, once shattered, can not
easily be fixed. A heart is something wonderful, something complex.
If all it took to fix a heart was some glue, then a broken one wouldn't
be such a tragic and traumatizing thing."
"But they can be mended," Moon said. She started to
wrack her brain, even though she knew that if Mercury was having
problems, there would be little chance of her fixing this quandary.
Chieri wasn't listening to the senshi anymore. "Tsuzuki,
don't you dare die on me! I need you!" she said. Her tiny hands tried
futilely to piece the shards together. "You can't leave me!"
The Senshi continued to try to figure out what to do.
Finally Sailor Moon shut her eyes and cupped her hands in front of her
broached. The other Senshi had seen this gesture before, and gasped.
"No, Sailor Moon! You'll die, too!" Mars said.
END PART 2
Quicksilver's Quill Offers
My Pure Heart for You
A Sailor Moon/The Cherry Project Xover
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
standard disclaimers
Notes: Still for my beloved Antigone- IM me sometime, ne? We
haven't talked in simply AGES. Sorry this took so long, minna-san,
but I got caught up in other projects. Anyway, here's a story that's
actually been COMPLETED!
March 16, 2001 (QS)
Sailor Moon smiled reassuringly at Mars, resting a gentle
hand on her closest friend's. "Daijoubu," she said. "When love's
involved, everything will work out."
Mars didn't share her princess' confidence, but the petite
skater who knelt beside her looked on with wide blue eyes, suddenly
enlivened with renewed hope.
The ginzuishou floated out of her broach, and Moon arched
her back, her blue eyes suddenly gaining a depth that made the ocean
look shallow. The jewel spun in her hands slowly, its facets throwing
off more light then any of them had believed was possible.
The pieces of the shattered heart crystal Chieri had gathered
started to flare with new light, and they lifted out of her tiny hands.
The ginzuishou's pure silver light embraced the fragments with its
warmth, and they slowly began to fit themselves back into one piece.
All of the Senshi watched in awe, well aware that they were
witnessing a miracle. Chieri, now that her hands were free, clutched
Tsuzuki desperately to her chest, hoping that the amazing girl before
her could somehow work one more wondrous feat. Surely it wasn't
that much to ask, she prayed.
Sweat beaded Sailor Moon's face pretty face, and her lips
were pulled back into a determined line. She stared resolutely
forward, unwillingly to yield. If she gave up, a young man would die.
"It's too much!" Venus protested.
"Then we'll help her!" Jupiter said, always Sailor Moon's
main pillar of support. She shut her eyes, and the emerald on her tiara
sparked. "Jupiter star power!" she called, releasing her energy to her
princess.
Sailor Moon smiled gratefully, then refocused as the other
Inner Senshi added their power.
Sailor Neptune looked at Uranus. "You know, since your
power caused this, perhaps it can help fix it," she said in her
reasonable voice.
That seemed to finally penetrate the haze of self-
recrimination that had enveloped the Soldier of the Heavens. "But
we said that we would make any sacrifice…." she whispered softly.
"But why make a sacrifice where one is clearly not needed?"
Neptune asked. She offered her hand to her partner, and Uranus
accepted. Together they called on their power, and for the first time,
worked with the Inner Senshi, sending out a burst of light to the
princess.
Sailor Moon smiled slightly as the unexpected wave of power
joined hers. Her fuku exploded into her long princess gown, and
Serenity came forth, shining and noble, standing for everything that
was good and pure and true.
The princess looked at Asuka Chieri. "Think of him, of why
you love him. Love is the strongest magic of all," she whispered.
Asuka nodded and stared down at Tsuzuki, remembering all
the times that had had together, whether it was skating, laughing,
doing homework, or just enjoying each other's company. "I love you,
Tsuzuki Masanori. You are my other half, my partner and soul mate,
my reason for waking up in the morning."
Princess Serenity gathered the magic the Senshi offered, then
turned to Asuka. Using her right hand, she brought the other girl's
hand up and placed it on the ginzuishou. "Let love heal the wounds
hatred has made," she murmured softly.
The silver light grew until it was almost blinding in its
intensity. The fragments of the heart crystal began to move faster and
faster into their place, and final it was reconstructed. With a last flair
of power, it fused together.
Everyone involved in the effort slumped, and Serenity's gown
faded back into the uniform of the Senshi of the Moon, the Star of
Mystery, Sailor Moon. Still, Sailor Moon had enough presence of
mind to slip the jewel back into Tsuzuki, who gasped for breath as
color returned to his face.
Chieri smiled and wrapped her arms around her partner, who
was taking deep, desperately gulps of air into his deprived body.
"Tsuzuki," she whispered, tears of relief and joy in her eyes.
His long lashes fluttered open, and he smiled up at her, a
smile that was sweet in its sheer joy. "Chieri," he whispered, "I can
see your wings."
Sailor Jupiter leaned over and hoisted Moon up into a
piggyback. "We'd better leave," she said.
Moon's eyelashes fluttered and she smiled. "Yes, let's," she
said softly. "Thank you, Neptune, Uranus."
The two Outer Senshi seemed disconcerted, but nodded.
"No, thank you, Sailor Moon," Uranus whispered. Then they leapt
up into the rafters, and were away.
The figure skaters watched as the legendary Senshi all
disappeared as unexpectedly as they had appeared.
"I didn't even get to say thank you…" Chieri said sadly.
***
The Inner Senshi let go of their transformations and returned
to the rink. Asuka and Tsuzuki were kneeling in the center of the
ring, staring into the other's eyes with love and renewed discovery.
"That's so sweet! I want a boyfriend just like that!" Minako said
dreamily.
"But the lesson won't continue," Makoto said, feeling
disheartened. "The rink's ruined."
It was true. Part of the rink had been melted by Mars'
attacks, Mercury had flooded it, and the skates the monster had
thrown were imbedded in the wall.
Sailor Mars had done the most damage, and Rei knew it. A
hot flush spread over her face. "It's not my fault!" she exclaimed.
"Uh-huh…" Minako and Makoto said in unison, crossing
their arms over their chests.
"Really!" Rei protested.
"This is very nice, but perhaps we should be checking on
Asuka and Tsuzuki?" Ami said shyly.
Usagi nodded, and managed to worked her way over the
pitfalls of ice. "Are you two ok?" she said. "We saw the Senshi
leaving, so we figured it was safe to come back."
Her words fell upon ears that were momentarily deaf.
Finally Tsuzuki hugged Chieri tightly and looked up at the other
concerned girls. "We're fine…" he reassured them.
"I'm glad," Usagi said with a smile. Then the happiness on
her face faded slightly. "But the lesson's done for today," she sighed.
The two skaters blinked, and looked around at their
surroundings. "I guess it is," Asuka said, looking at the melted rink.
"I hope everyone got out okay," she said.
"They're fine," Ami said. "Your coach was organizing
people as they ran away, and Wataru grabbed Akiyama. So they all
should be ok. I bet Coach Mori called the police. They'll probably
be here in a minute."
Tsuzuki's eyes narrowed, but he kept his suspicions to
himself.
"I think we should leave," Rei said. "I don't want to get in
anyone's way," she said.
"You mean you don't want to let the police hassle you,"
Minako teased.
"That, too," Rei admitted.
"We're glad you're ok," Makoto said, smiling at the skaters.
"How about we head to the Crown and get a sundae to calm down?"
"Hai!" the other girls chorused, saying farewell to Tsuzuki
and Asuka.
Tsuzuki watched them leave. "Isn't it interesting? I thought
we were the only ones still in the rink to see Wataru get Canty out of
here."
Chieri blinked, trying to get what he was saying.
"Tsuzuki…"
"Isn't it odd there were five girls who returned almost
immediately after the Sailor Senshi left?"
"You don't think-" Chieri began, her eyes widening to the
size of saucers.
Tsuzuki shrugged. "I don't know. But it really doesn't
matter- not as long as you're safe."
She rested her hand on his chest, reassured by the steady
beating of his heart. "I guess you can say you really possess my heart
now," she said.
"And you, mine," he said. "But you already had it- it wasn't
like I was giving you anything you didn't have," he said, bending his
head so he could catch Chieri's lips in a sweet, sweet kiss.
***
It was later that evening that Usagi went over to Mamoru's
apartment. She knew that one of the Senshi had most likely told him
of the day's events already, and if they hadn't- well, their link made him
able to feel when she was using the ginzuishou. He would want some
answers, and she knew she had some explaining to do. He hated it
when she risked her life.
She knocked on the door, and it swung inwards almost
immediately. Mamoru grabbed her, dragged her in, and proceeded to
kiss her until she was dizzy. Then he gripped her shoulders quite
firmly, and began to talk to her, punctuating each of his words by a
firm shake. "What-" shake "the-" shake "hell- " shake "were-" shake
"you-" shake "DOING?"
Usagi smiled up at him and his rage melted away, replaced by
very real concern. "I did what needed to be done," she said.
"But you could have died," he whispered.
"Yes," Usagi said, "but if I hadn't, I would have died for
sure- the part of me that's what you love. If I hadn't fought to save
Tsuzuki and Asuka with the ginzuishou, then I wouldn't be me,
Mamo-chan."
He hugged her tightly to his chest. "I know that," he sighed.
"But I love you so much… it scares me to think that I might lose you.
You and Chibi-Usa are all I have."
She pressed a slender finger to his lips to quiet him. "You
won't lose me. Trust me," she said.
"I do."
They went over to the sofa together, and he spooned her
slender body against his. "It's weird," Usagi mused. "Neptune said
that everyone's heart crystal is unique to them, and she's right. Yet
Tsuzuki managed to give his to Asuka when hers shattered. How is
that possible?" she wondered.
Mamoru was quiet as he thought for a second. "From what
Rei told me, Asuka and Tsuzuki are very much in love. They say that
people like that become of one mind and heart. Perhaps there's some
truth to that. We aren't the only lovers who are destined by fate to be
together."
She nodded, then turned her head so she could look into his
blue eyes. "Do you think we could do that? Are our hearts that
closely linked?"
He hugged her tightly. "I'm sure of it, but it isn't a theory I'd
want to test out!" he teased.
She snuggled down happily into his arms, and listened to the
wind blow outside. They may have been in the middle of a war with
an enemy who cruelly sought out the brightest and most loving of the
human race, but Usagi was confident that things would work out.
After all, they had each other, and there were people like Asuka and
Tsuzuki in the world- surely the light of love would protect them all.
With a sleepy smile, Usagi relaxed, falling asleep in the arms
of her prince.
END