Rating: This is PG13 because of some....eh you'll find out.
By: Wyvern! Me! *^-^*
Kon'wa minna! Lookit me, rearing my ugly little head after sooooooo long. Thanks so much to Liz and to Usa-chan, who sent me the e-mails that spurred me into writing all of this! Plus thanks to Sailor Chibi Crow, DQBunny (read their stuff, it kicks mighty bum!) and to Jessica, for all being such sweeties!
***********Insert Standard Disclaimer here. All of these characters are copyright Noako Tekuchi and Kondasha Comics Industries. ...... What?! You expected some crazy little thing in here? Humph. I'm not in the mood. So there. ;p****************************
Enjoy! *^-^* Pwease?
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The lights. The street lights reflecting in the wet window as they left him. He would watch one as it came into view, then pass him by not to be seen again. They were almost like tall spirits standing vigil over the cars on the road. Hunched over as if they were there to protect the people. Protect or hurt.
To think, that with one wrong move, one misstep, a protector could become the assailant. Or perhaps worse, become completely useless altogether. Become a burden upon the protectors. Like he was now.
"Mamoru-san," Mamoru pulled out of his thoughts, jerked away from him by Minako's voice. "We're almost there."
Blond hair. Blue eyes. Bright face. He had to look away from the girl in the shot-gun seat ahead of him before his eyes began to sting any worse. Swallowing, he nodded and said, "Arigato" in a voice that sounded husky even to him.
She cast him one more worried glance before turning back around to face the front. Her father stiffened in the driver's seat. The leather beneath him gave away his posture so obviously that Minako could even tell he wasn't very happy. 'About having to drop off a burden,' Mamoru thought sourly.
He hated this. He hated having to be helped with feeding himself, getting his clothes on, getting to his own home even. He hadn't needed help for most of his life, and now was not a time when he wanted to start.
He thought to the wheel-chair and crutches in the trunk and almost physically winced. Thankfully the wheel-chair was just there as a back-up. The crutches were what he mainly used now. Soon though, soon he wouldn't need either. With every night's sleep he felt closer to his old independence, but it was still just at arm's reach.
An odd analogy came to him from an old memory. In the orphanage, one of the adults had come back with a jar full of candy meant for children on their birthdays. He and another friend had managed to evade getting caught until they reached the kitchen where the prize stood on the top of one of the highest cupboards. Being one of the tallest and lightest there, Mamoru was chosen to stand on the top of the ladder made of he and his friend to bring the treats down for them both. On wobbly legs, he slowly stood up and reached out for the jar. Biting his lip, he could remember trying to WILL his fingers to grow longer, but they were still just shy of the jar. He tried so many times to at least touch it, but always it was too far away.
An analogy fitting for the present situation. Now, he could reach up with one hand just by himself and reach the ceiling of that kitchen, he was sure, but not then. Then, like his present condition, meant he had to be patient until he grew to the right height, or until the right state of health. It would come. And when it did....Mamoru tightened his hands into fists on his lap..... 'No longer will I be a burden.'
~*~*~
At Mamoru's strained reply, Rei changed her gaze from outside the car to inside, directly at him. He seemed completely unaware of her observing him, not two feet away. Mamoru 'felt' different. In the way that she could 'feel' people, something about him was very out of balance. It was almost frightening.
She didn't favour the word 'aura', but in many ways it was the best word. With some people, it took getting to know them, learning about them, seeing what made them tick. But with Mamoru, he immediately gave off such a powerful feeling it was staggering to one who was not looking for it. She did know how to describe it. The first time she had seen him, she had almost fallen off her train car. (AN: Member that time in the theme park when they're all on the kiddie train? I think that was the first time Rei ever met Mamoru. *crosses fingers* I hope!) It...the best way she had ever thought to explain him, was a deep red. Not of anger, nor of lust or passion, as red usually represented because none of those feelings were laced in him. It was just a deep red.
Now though, it was no longer so rich a colour. Lighter, fainter and...almost with a sad tinge to it. Her heart went out to him, and not only in a reflection of her past feeling for him. Such suffering wasn't fair. When you got right down to it, it just wasn't FAIR.
But what could she do about it? Until this Hematite creature reappeared she didn't think there was any way of getting to her. 'NO! There HAS GOT to be a way!' a new reserve of strength suddenly yelled at her. 'Ami can find something....we can get to the Dark Kingdom and destroy Beryl and all of their kind once and for all!'
Rei rose her eyes from the back of Minako's seat and locked her violet ones with blue. Minako had turned and was staring straight at the raven-haired Senshi. She nodded slowly, an expression so serious that it contrasted with everything Rei had thought about her. Her yellow 'aura', was tinged with red. She was out for justice.
~*~*~
"So we've set up the communicator right..." Minako swiveled on her feet and pointed to the stereo, "here. Behind your stereo and stuff." She turned back around and gave a blinding smile, "Kay?"
Rei stepped in and set a more serious mood. "One of us will always be listening, Mamoru-san, so if anything should happen, she can alert the others and we'll be right over."
Mamoru nodded from his position on the couch. Both girls could tell he was exhausted, so they decided to each take their leave. Rei coughed. "Well, we'll be seeing you later, okay?"
He lifted his head and blinked slowly, then nodded again. "Hai. Arigato."
The girls blushed and hurriedly left the room, Minako shouted a "Ja ne!" as she closed the door.
He watched the girls leave, and with the click of the door let out a heavy sigh. Finally, he was alone. Alone with his thoughts, his demons. He closed his eyes tight, trying to shut them out.
Something brushed his cheek. So soft. With a gasp he opened his eyes to look around, but there was nothing there. He could have sworn... Suddenly the phone rang, shattering the silence.
Mamoru turned and eyed the crutches leaning against the post of the couch. The answering machine switched on after the third ring. "Hi, I'm not in right now, but if you leave a message, I'll get back to you as soon as possible." -Beep-
"Oi, Mamoru-san! It's Motoki calling! Just wanted to see if you were around!" Mamoru rolled his eyes and pushed himself off of the couch with a grunt. "So...are you there? Come on...you must be home by now! I mean, I found out from Makoto. Why would she know before me?! HellloooOOOooo....pick up Mam"-click.
"I'm here, baka."
"Oi! How are you doing big guy?"
"Can't complain. A little sore, but y'know."
"Yeah, right," Motoki replied sympathetically. "Sure is crazy about how this all happened." Mamoru started, a question catching in his throat. "Something like that makes you wonder about going out at night."
"N-nani?" he choked out. How could he have known about the fight?
"Oh gimme a break! The stabber! Y'know, EE EE EE EE!" Mamoru jerked his ear away from the receiver. He could just *see* Motoki waving his hand in the air.
'Dumb American movies.' He sighed. "Right...well. Yup, crazy I guess."
"Insane. That reminds me, it sure has been nuts around Crowns without you lately. All of these girls moping about, asking me every twenty minutes if I knew where you'd gone. Yeesh, Mamoru-san! At least book these little incidents ahead of time with me so that I can properly manage your legions of fans."
Mamoru chuckled. "Gomen."
"Yeah, well. Don't worry about it. Ne, you're not the only reason things have been different about here either. Usagi and her little group have been missing too! I mean, Makoto stopped by earlier and I pried what had happened to you out of her, but as for the others they've been totally absent. You wouldn't know anything about this, would you? I only ask since Makoto knew about *you*. Mamoru-san? Eh...hello?"
He swallowed hard. Shaking his head, Mamoru cleared his throat and said, "Um...no Motoki-san. Can't say that I do. Gomen, demo..I have to get going. I'm really tired so-"<>br "Oh yeah! No problem! Pop by the arcade when you're feeling better and I'll treat to something chocolate."
"Arigato. Ja."
"Ja!" -click-
With a groan of exhaustion, he set the receiver down and trudged towards his room. He hadn't been lying when he'd told Motoki he was tired. At this point he could barely keep his eyes open. Finally reaching it, he fell down onto the bed and closed his eyes. It felt like someone brushed his face with a hand, rather like he had always imagined a mother might. Feeling comforted, he succumbed to a dream-less sleep.
The Prince was not going to suffer tonight. Selenity promised.
~*~*~
Luna awoke to the sound of her mistress in distress. Blinking her red eyes, she lifted her head from her arms. Turning her head around, there indeed was Hematite, crying in her sleep. She tossed her head about, tears streaming down her cheeks. Every so often a light moan would pass through her lips, or a high scream.
Quickly uncurling from her position at the foot of the large bed, Luna moved around to the side. "Hema-chan...wake up.." With that didn't work, she placed her hands on her shoulders and gave them a light shake. "Hema---CHAN!" The girl suddenly snapped her eyes open, taking in a breath of air so deep that it sounded painful.
Shaking, Hematite slowly looked up into Luna's concerned face. To the cat's surprise, she was violently pushed away to fall to the floor. "Don't touch me," Hematite said. Bringing her knees up underneath her chin, still trembling fingers were buried in sweaty bangs.
"Demo...Hema-chan-"
"GO AWAY!!" Luna winced at the loud scream, recoiling even in her position on the floor. She got up, still dwindling for a moment, watching with wary eyes. Hematite wiped away the tears, smearing them across her face.
"Murderers, all of them," she mumbled. It was barely coherent, and the rest of the words that came streaming from her mouth weren't. Stepping out to the door of Hematite's room, Luna looked back one more time and went through the portal.
She had to do something. But what? What could possibly help her mistress enough? This was getting out of hand. In the past few days that she had been with Hematite, her condition was obviously much different then the one she put on for the Sailors. She cried when she thought she was alone. Any time that she tried to sleep was flamed by the witnessing of her past lover's murder. Even those times that she had confided in her new pet, the therapeutic venting only lasted for a few hours at most before she was back to her torment.
Luna rest her back on one of the walls to think. 'Wait a minute!' She smiled and clapped her hands. 'Queen Beryl! Surely she will want to aid Hema-chan! Of course!' Teleporting away from the room, she brought herself down in the throne room, and found herself surrounded by youma. 'Rats. My aim still sucks.' Wrinkling her nose, she pushed bodies away from her, her goal set on the lit throne at the front.
Bursting out from the crowd, Luna sniffed and smoothed down the wrinkles in her dress. Facing the throne, she dipped into a deep curtsy. "Queen Beryl-sama, I have come wit-" She wasn't there. "Shimata!" Luna swore, kicking at the ground. "Where did the Queen go?"
-Metallia-
-Queen Metallia-
-Queen-
-Metallia-sama-
-Queen-sama-
The slimy whispers of the youma behind her caused Luna to pulled a memory from what Hematite had given her. She remembered sitting in this throne room. Youma buzzed whispers and ramblings, but such things were always ignored. Luna smiled. 'Well I guess this time they actually know what their rambling about.'
Luna tried to teleport to Metallia's chamber, but found she couldn't. It was blocked by a power that drowned her own, which meant there was no way in the Dark Kingdom for her to reach Beryl until she returned. But....another of Hema-chan's memories told her that Queen Beryl often spent *days* with Metallia. She couldn't wait that long!
So....what else was there? Hematite is upset because she has lost somebody. Which means...she's lonely. But she has me! Mmmmm...probably lonely for a guy. Luna figured it probably wouldn't work to just pick some guy off of the street and present him to her, since Hematite wasn't going for sex. She missed love. Luna shrugged. 'Whatever. Oh! Wait! Mamoru!' This came from one of her *own* memories. The young stud Chiba Mamoru, a.k.a. Tuxedo Kamen, a.k.a. Prince...em....Luna stopped for a moment. Now, she KNEW that she knew this. She was there when it happened. He was Prince of Earth..Endymion! That's it! Oddly, something tugged at the back of her mind about him. About him and Hematite. But it escaped her before she could explore it.
He doubted that he would be any good to them anyway. What was he good for, anyway? Luna was gone. Their Princess was gone and brainwashed. He should have been able to do something about this.
And so, he moped. Well, that's what Luna would have called it. He would call it mourning, or pining, but she would have chided him for being so lazy and mopey, instead of going out there and doing something about all of this.
'Or she would have, before Usagi was taken.' It struck him as rather ironic, that he had been trying to bring Luna out of much of the same behaviour he was displaying only a few weeks ago. Now he was in the exact same spot that she had been, only with two burdens upon his back instead of just one. Both hurt so much that his entire body felt sore, but each for their own reasons. One tugged at his soul, the other, his heart.
With a sigh, Artemis tucked his head a little deeper beneath his arms and the blankets. Perhaps, if he buried himself deep enough, the hurting would stop.
He could almost feel her rough tongue caressing his head. She'd only ever done that once, when he'd been sick, but he loved it. It was comforting. In fact...he *could* feel it! Raising his head, he found himself staring into dark red eyes. "Luna?" he asked incredulously.
"Artemis," she purred, then suddenly tucked her head underneath his chin. He choked, not sure how to react. Her soft purring lulled him into comfort, and he closed his eyes to her touch. "I missed you," she said.
"I missed you too," he murmured. They stayed like that, just close to each other, for a few more moments. Artemis stopped. Just stopped in that moment. Nothing else was around him, except for her. All he could feel was his heart swelling in his chest, his eyes watering from relief. She was back. She was back.
"Artemis?"
"Hmmm?"
"How is Mamoru-san doing?"
"Mmmmfine."
"Could we go visit him?"
"Prrrrwhy?"
"I would like to know whe--how he's doing." She pulled her head away from beneath his and looked into his lazy eyes. Giving his nose a quick lick, she bat her thick eyelashes and asked again. "Where is Mamoru-san staying?"
The cloud lifted from Artemis' mind, and he backed slightly away from her warmth. "Doushite?" he asked warily.
"I'm just curious," she replied with a pout that screamed of innocence. But she'd lost ground, and now Artemis was on to her. He stood up and backed away, both ears laid back on his head. It was now that he noticed the small black ribbon tied around her neck. 'I'm so stupid,' he scolded himself. "Iie. Leave now, Luna." She blinked, cocking her head with wide eyes.
"Doushite?"
"You're on their side now. Get out."
Narrowing her eyes, she sniffed and turned around, then jumped off the bed. Artemis stayed on his claws, still waiting for her to reappear. And that she did, suddenly exploding up from the side of the bed into her human self. He hissed, his tail rigid in the air.
"Oh come on now, Artemis!" she said, in a...friendly manner? His tail went lax, but with teeth still bared Artemis growled. "Come on," she stooped down at the waist and outstretched a hand, "be with me."
A head-ache slammed into Artemis, grabbing onto his mind like a clawed hand. It blew him back mentally, sending the world around him reeling. In fact, he fell off the bed. Muttering, he rubbed his head with a hand.
~*~*~
Well this was getting tedious. After all of that petting and purring, still this little kitty wasn't talking. Luna had been very frustrated when she had remembered that although she was able to connect the man in the hospital to Mamoru, she had no clue where to find him. He couldn't be at the Arcade, since he wouldn't be healed enough to be out and about, and after a quick trip to the hospital, and one freaking out of another patient, she confirmed that he had been checked out.
So? What better place to go then the one guy that would know, and wouldn't blast her with something or at least put up much of a fight? She just thanked her lucky stars that she had run by Sailor V's home once before that whole 'Starlight Tower' thing began. (AN: I know, I shouldn't use 'Starlight Tower' since I'm trying to do all this in the Japanese way. But I REALLY don't know what they called it! Gomen! *^-^* If you do, just let me know and I'll change it, okay? Arigato!) Otherwise she would have REALLY been stuck.
'Okay, Plan A was a flop,' she thought, then grew to her other form. 'Time for Plan B.' Greeted with a hissing kitty, she met him with a much more pleasant demeanour. "Oh come on now, Artemis!" she said playfully, pleased to see that he calmed down slightly from confusion. Preparing the spell in her left hand, she crouched over and reached it out to him. "Be with me."
The spell launched from her palm and smacked right into him, then soaked in. His white head ducked, eye squint shut from it's first affects. The small body began to stretch and grow. White fur became pale skin, some lengthening into a long head of hair. With the size change, he became too big for his spot on the bed and actually fell backwards off the other side. She had to hold in a giggle when she heard the 'bonk' of his head and the mild cursing that followed.
That was soon interrupted by a startled yelp, and he jumped up on his legs to stand before her. 'My...that *was* a good change.' He stared blue-silver eyes into hers, a handsome face blank with shock. As she had first seen, there was a river of white hair divided in front and behind his shoulders, falling down to his lower back. A rather interesting outfit was also apparently part of his transformation, all white of course.
When she sized him up, his own sight flew down to his new form. Staring at his hands, he looked back up at her and asked, "What...what have you done?"
Luna gave one of her cutest smiles and shrugged. "Would you believe, not much." She rose onto the bed, and crawled over on just her knees to his side, saying as she travelled, "all I did was wake up the same transformation in you that Hematite did in me. We *are* humans, Artemis," she reached the edge and climbed down, slowly rising to stare at him in the eyes, "but we've just been trapped in the bodies of cats. So you know what that means..." she rose her lips to his ear, brushing away a few strands of hair with a soft gesture, and whispered, "don't you?"
He gulped heavily. But to her surprise, he actually moved away from her. Stumbling slightly around the bed, he backed over to the far side of the room. "L-Luna...you need to--you must leave." He was standing with a bit more confidence now, displaying that he actually was quite tall.
Now her patience was thinning. With a snarl she pulled him over her with a force, then threw him down on the bed. Using a bit of magic, she pinned him to it. Moving atop him, she crawled up to his face until they were practically nose-to-nose. He tried to get up, struggling beneath her. "No use," she said softly, brushing a some of his bangs away from his eyes. "Now, will you let me finish what I was going to say?" He stayed silent. "Think about it Artemis. If we're both human, that means that we're subject to the same thing that they are. Which includes......what?"
Meeting her gaze with anger, he bit out, "Pain?"
Luna laughed. "Well....yes. But that wasn't what I was thinking of. I had a different word in mind Artemis." She lowered her head and lay a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Pleasure."
"We can experience them together Artemis, you and I. You do want that, don't you?" No reply. Just wide eyes. She smiled and inhaled, pressing herself more against him. "And I only need one thing from you. Where, is Mamoru, staying?"
She searched his eyes. Uncertainty flickered through them. She could tell this wasn't easy for him. "Leave, Luna. I won't tell you." His eyes had hardened, a match for the tone of voice now used.
Her last thread of patience gone, instead of replying she pressed her lips to his in a powerful kiss. 'He's actually not bad,' she mused. When the spell was set, she broke off the contact and checked his eyes. Able to see herself in the black orbs, she knew that it had worked. "Artemis, where is Mamoru staying?" she asked.
"At his apartment."
Rolling her eyes, she asked a more specific form of the question. "Where is Mamoru's apartment?"
"B-building 26 on the Lakeshore, apar--" he blinked, fighting the magic. Brushing her lips with his again, the hesitation stopped. "Apartment number 1008 on Floor 11."
YES! Success! 'And about ruddy time, too.' "Thanks handsome!" she said happily. She kissed him once more, taking the spell back and letting him down in a deep sleep. Getting off him, Luna was dismayed to find that she was slightly light-headed. "All of that magic-use is tiring," she mumbled. So she teleported out of the room, and back to the Dark Kingdom. Of course, she had forgotten something.
Artemis turned over on his side and continued to sleep soundly, his feet hanging off the end of Minako's bed. Below him the door slammed, and a cheery voice called up the stairs. "Hey minna! I'm home!"
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Dun dun dun!! Wow. Can you believe I actually got this chapter out? I can't! Yaaay! *^-^* This sure was a long one, huh. Well compared to the others I mean.
I'm not gonna reiterate all of the JP words I used here, but since I used a couple newbies:
Yamaro = Stop it.
Oi = Hey
If you've gone through this and are frustrated out of your mind because there are words that just don't make sense, go back to my other chapters and read the long lists there. They should make more sense! *^-^*
Oh, one more thing. I also had to make up where Mamoru's apartment is. I *think* I remember it being near water, that's why I used 'Lakeshore.' Again, if you know, please just e-mail me and let me know! I'm a sucker for e-mail, and I'd just LOVE to hear from you! Plus, I NEED feed-back! Opinions, constructive criticisms, whatever! Please!
'Till next time!
Suki da yo!
Ja ne,
Wyvern