Rating: R eventually.
Warnings: Language. Some sex-related thoughts and talk. OOCness…but this is alternate reality, after all.
Credit Where Credit is Due: Bejiin edited this fic for me. Arigato Bej-chan! Hikari provided a more accuarate translation of the song 'Knife of Romance" that Bejiin orginally translated. A thank you goes to Kayla as well for coming up with the name for Zoicite's bar and to Amai-chan for prereading thefic. ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. Satisfied now?
Other notes: Italics denotes thought.
And now the fic!
Knife of Romance
Chapter 2
By Ekaterinn Ciel Duval
Yarusenai mayonaka o kuchizuke de hikisaitekure
Come shatter the forlorn stillness of the midnight hour with your kiss.
-Angel Sanctuary, OAV, "Knife of Romance"
***********************************************************
Kunzite stood outside the club and soundly cursed
both himself and Usagi. Himself, for losing control, for showing
vulnerability, and Usagi for not taking his warning seriously enough.
He cursed again as a light drizzle began dripping down from the few clouds
in the midnight blue sky. Well, if Usagi doesn't care enough about
her own life to heed Jadeite's warning, I'll just have to do her caring
for her he sighed as he trudged through the rain to Jadeite's place
in the middle of town. Suddenly, he felt very tired.
Fine protector
I'll be in this state, he thought bitterly to himself
I doubt I
would even be able to conjure a handfire if I'm feeling this amount of
fatigue. Kunzite sighed again as he took the turn onto Jadeite's
street. I'll just ask Jadeite to look into that guy Mamoru and
then I'll go home and- A voice in his head interrupted him
And what?
it asked mockingly Sleep? What about Zoicite? You
speak of caring for Usa but about Zoi? Your lover?
Kunzite groaned "The last thing I need right now
are lectures from my conscience..." he said out loud, eliciting a giggle
from a young girl lingering with a boy on the way back home. Kunzite
glared at the young couple until they hurried out of his sight, muttering
about how mages could act so bizarrely. He grimaced at that last
comment, but determinedly walked on. Finally, Kunzite reached the
entrance to Jadeite's place. Forcing a smile, he reached up to grab
the grinning metal knocker and knocked on the heavy wooden door.
After a moment, the door creaked open and a boy
with dirty blond hair popped his head out. "Yes?" he asked.
"I'm Kunzite and I need to see Jadeite right now."
Kunzite informed him.
The boy's eyes widened. "Oh. Master Kunzite,
yes of course. Come right this way." Smirking slightly, Kunzite
followed the boy to Jadeite's study.
*************************************************************
"Master Kunzite to se you, sir"
Jadeite, surprised by the call at the late hour,
looked up from the papers he had been studying. He nodded when he
saw Kunzite standing in the doorway to his famous green study. Waving
a dismissal to the young man to had brought Kunzite there, Jadeite grinned
up at his friend. "Well, come, come, sit, sit." he told Kunzite
invitingly, motioning to a cushy brown chair across his eronomous desk.
The chair squeaked as Kunzite obeyed. Jadeite flipped his short blond
hair back "Welladay, what brings you back here?" He winked at Kunzite.
"Get lonely for my company?"
Kunzite sighed. He didn't feel in the mood
for Jadeite's antics tonight. "Enough of flirting, alright?
Save it for that young man back there."
Jadeite looked askance at him. "You mean Motoki?
Oh, c'mon Kunz...he's just working for me. There's absolutely
nothing
going on between him and me." He paused. "Yet."
"Yet" Kunzite echoed involuntarily and then scowled.
Damn that Jadeite anyway! It was no wonder that his friend was so
good at spywork; he could be so damn distracting. He cleared
his throat, determined to keep to his resolution to just ask his favor
and go home. "Anyway, I came to ask you about something to
do with the warning you gave me to give to Usagi."
Jadeite didn't exactly turn to all business, but
his grin faded a bit and Kunzite could see tension settling into his shoulders.
Jadeite, after all, was a good friend of Usagi too. They all were,
having grown up and made their own ways together. Which, Kunzite
figured, was part of the problem, though exactly what problem he
was referring to, Kunzite didn't care to delve into..."Yes?" Jadeite asked
quietly, bringing Kunzite back to reality.
"I want you to look into a stranger called Mamoru.
Black hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. Wearing a black cloak.
He was hanging around Usagi all night." Kunzite explained tersely.
The grin came back in full force as Jadeite laughed
"Jealous, Kunz?" he asking teasingly and then raised his arms in self-defense.
"Oh, don't glare at me like that. Zoi's right, you are too serious."
"You know why I'm asking you this, Spymaster..."
"Yeah, I don't want Usagi to get killed by any dark
strangers either." Jadeite agreed, flashing Kunzite another full
force grin. "I'll do my best."
Kunzite gave him a relieved smile, his first real
smile of the day. "Thank you."
"Hey, no problem, Kunz. What are friends for?
C'mon, I'll walk you to the door." Jadeite chattered on as he escorted
Kunzite out of the study. Kunzite sighed and smiled again.
He supposed he couldn't fault his friend for acting the way he did.
Jadeite had grown even more wild after coming back from the capital a few
years ago, but he still did excellent work, and it was his life, after
all.
*************************************************************
Jadeite shouted a goodnight to the retreating mage
and shut the door. Walking back to his study, he told Motoki to go
to bed and get some sleep. He watched as the young man went to go
just that and then turned to his desk. Glaring at the papers piled
high upon that piece of glorified rosewood, he heaved a dramatic sigh.
"Well, best see what I can find out tonight." he told himself cheerfully,
but made no move towards the desk and the work that awaited him.
Instead Jadeite sighed a real sigh and slumped against
the centerpiece of his study. His habitual humor slipped from his
demeanor completely and the powerful Spymaster changed into a tired young
man not much older than Motoki. Jadeite ran a weary hand through
his golden hair. He had left out of his warning that he believed
that the family Chaos was involved somehow. And he didn't feel like
going into it tonight. Like Kunzite would say, I have personal
reasons.
His face darkened, and just for a moment the perpetually laughing and smiling
Jadeite looked like a blond version of Kunzite in one of his best Brooding
Mage moods. "Beryl..." he muttered.
*************************************************************
Nephlyte groaned in frustration. One moment,
he had been watching Usagi and Mamoru. He had looked down to concentrate
on the admittedly excellent beef pie. The next moment, he had looked
up and they were gone. And I have no way of finding out where
they went right now. You're doing wonderfully tonight, Nephlyte
he chided himself. So now what? He was jarred out of
his reverie by the same denfintely-not-that-cute waitress appearing
at his table once more. "Are you finished yet, sir?"
"Wha- oh yeah, I am, thank you" he replied
inelegantly as Naru moved to clear the dishes from his table. However,
instead of going with the dishes and leaving him with his dilemma once
more, Naru just stood there for a moment, looking at him. "Yes?"
he asked gruffly.
"I was wondering if you could walk me home"
she said tentatively, seeing his skeptical look "Because, well it's almost
midnight and it's dark and the barmaster Zoicite usually does it but he's
real busy right now and real concerned about Master Kunzite who's off on
some fool errand and Fortune knows when he'll be home but
I don't want to walk home alone even though it's not far." she finished
in a rush, looking down at her feet. And as if on cue, the midnight
bells tolled then.
Nephlyte was a little taken back, to say the least.
He opened his mouth to say no and then closed it again. You have
a duty to fulfill, Nephlyte. This is no time to be taken in by a
pretty face. he told himself. But it was too late. He had
already nodded his acceptance. And as Naru went to collect her things
and put the dishes away, he found himself smiling.
*************************************************************
Naru smiled excitedly as she walked out of The Scarlet
Dragon with Nephlyte by her side. He had introduced himself when
they had stood up to go and proving to be an amiable companion. It
had stopped raining, so they walked on the cobblestone street with relative
comfort up to her small home. As she had promised, it was not far
from Zoicite's tavern. She blushed as she accidentally brushed against
him to open her door, but managed to smile up at him and say "Well, this
is it. Thank you for walking me home."
She blushed again as he pushed his dark brown hair out
of his face, revealing his deep green eyes. "No problem."
Naru couldn't help it, it just slipped out.
"Do you want to come in?' She blushed yet again. Fortune, but
she was doing a lot of blushing tonight! "Just for a few minutes,
I mean. It's the least I can do, after you walked me home." she added
hurriedly.
"Sure" Nephlyte seemed as surprised as she
was at his reply. Obviously, he had been intending to say something
else. But he smiled and followed her in anyway.
He ended up staying the night.
*************************************************************
Haruka and Michiru had packed up their instruments
and retired to the room in the inn across from The Scarlet Dragon they
were staying when the midnight bells rung. Now, they were getting
settled in for the night. Well, Michiru was getting settled in for
the night. Haruka, on the other hand, was pacing up and down the
length of the all-too-small room.
"Please, love, why don't you come to bed?"
Michiru suggested. But the idea of a round of flirting or even something
more than flirting could not make the restless Haruka pause.
"I'm sorry, Michiru, but I have to get out for a
little while." she replied, grabbing her sword and other gear.
Michiru sighed. "You're not going to find
out anything tonight, you know."
"I know." Haruka grinned down at her.
"Just let me get this out of my system, alright?" she said and disappeared.
*************************************************************
Kunzite yawned as he finally reached the doors of
The Scarlet Dragon. The midnight bells are tolled a while ago and
he knew that Zoicite would be closing up the tavern soon. Indeed,
when Kunzite walked into the room, all the patrons were gone, the waitresses
had disappeared, and the entertainers had vanished. But that was
normal for this time of nights and so he wasn't surprised to find Zoicite
all alone in the barroom. What he wasn't prepared for was the look
of anger and concern on his partner's face
"Kunzite! Where have you've been?" Zoicite
said, exasperated "You'd never told me where you were going
or how long you would be!" The pale mage moved across the light where
Zoicite could see him more clearly and the barmaster sighed. "You're
exhausted." he said flatly.
Kunzite nodded and yawned again "Yeah, I really
need to rest."
Zoicite snapped. "Yeah, well that's because
you get too damn caught up in your magery and then go and try to protect
someone's who's perfectly capable of protecting herself!" He stopped
suddenly, aghast at what was doing, but almost too angry to care.
But by this time, Kunzite had reached his irate
lover. He reached down and squeezed Zoicite's shoulder reassuringly.
'I just went to give the warning to Usagi and to see Jadeite again.
I wouldn't be able to sleep if i hadn't done that." Kunzite smiled soothingly
at him. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get some rest." he
continued as he headed up the stairs to the apartment that he and Zoi shared.
Zoicite stared at the empty space beside him.
"I guess we're both tired and need some sleep." he told it unconvincingly
"But do you really still love her that much?"
*************************************************************
Far away in the distant capital of Tokai, a woman
snorted in disgust as she left the Wizard's office. Bloody hell,
he's really gone off his rocker this time. She grimaced.
Bad enough that..that..that outsider had set himself up as the leader
of family Chaos, worse that he had convinced most of them to go ahead with
an open rebellion against the queen instead of continuing with quiet, deadly
subtlety as was their wont, but worse of all, he had refused to listen
to her. Well, Diamond may trust him, but I certainly do
not. The comment about her only being good for her seductive
qualities had really stung. And he's not half as knowledgeable
as he thinks he is. I mean, with this latest craziness of sending
only one assassin after Usagi no Tsuki and not even one that is
bound to us under the pain of loyalty. He's thinks she's only a threat
because she's a Death-Runner. She snorted again. He
doesn't know the half of it. I'm certain that she has powers.
But since he won't listen to me...I'll have to go to Sachi myself to make
sure this little Rabbit is truly killed. The woman twisted her
normally attractive features into a scowl. I hate doing
dirty work.
Beryl was royally pissed off.
*************************************************************
Inside Starfall, the orchestra was still
going strong even through it was well past midnight. Indeed, similarly
hidden singers had joined it some time ago and the club was doing a lively
business. Usagi's heart felt like she could go on dancing with Mamoru
all night. Her feet, however, had other ideas. So when the
last refrains of Toki Ni Ai Wa trailed off, she motioned her dancing partner
off the floor.
"Had enough?" he asked, a smile playing along his
lips.
She smiled back up at him as she pushed her golden
hair back behind her face. "What? Don't tell me that your feet
aren't killing you too.
Mamoru's smile broadened into a grin. "Not
at all." He swayed slightly and his grin slipped a bit. 'Though I
think I would like to sit down for a bit."
She couldn't help it, she giggled.
He looked affronted. "What are you laughing
at?" he asked suspiciously
"Nothing." she replied, stifling the last of her
giggles. "There's a place to sit over there." Usagi pointed to a
bench that laid under the elaborate second floor balcony that Starfall
boasted. "Why don't we both go and sit down?" He nodded and
they both limped over to the bench. She found herself leaning against
him, her golden head lying comfortably amongst the folds of his black cloak.
And then Usagi felt his hand gently stroke her hair, sending a shiver up
her back He's so warm. She could feel every beat of
his heart and gradually she became aware that her heartbeats were
matching his, pound for pound and quiver for quiver.
And then he asked "Do you wish to go back to my
place and dance some more? I don't have any music, but..."
The spell was broken. Usagi froze in his arms.
"No."
Her response was so devoid of emotion that he started
and let his arms let go of her and fall to his sides. She sat up
and cursed herself for her reaction. "I would..I was going to..but
I got out of a relationship not too long ago..." she said quickly, thinking
confusedly Why I am explaining? I never explain.
I didn't explain to - to Kunzite. "..and I think having sex too
soon might have been part of it." she finished frankly.
Mamoru seemed taken back by this, but only for a
moment. "Well, that's perfectly understandable." He faked a
yawn. "So, in that case, why don't I just walk you home then?"
She smiled at him gratefully as she stood up.
"Actually, why don't I walk you home instead? You're new to this
area, but nobody will mess with the Rabbit of the Moon around here." Usagi
winked at him "Especially if she's in protective mode."
He smiled a little half-smile then and she felt
her insides go all tingly again. "I'll like that." They walked back
in the darkness, hand in hand.
*************************************************************
Back at the rooms
he had rented for himself, Mamoru sighed. Tonight had been a truly
outstanding and unexpected night. Except for his sore feet, Mamoru
didn't feel tired at all. And so, despite Usagi's warnings, he decided
to go for a walk to clear his head. His feet wouldn't thank him,
but he might be able to get to sleep after some more fresh air. He
was Chiba Mamoru, after all. He could take care of himself.
So he walked down the stairs and strolled onto the
gray street, not really paying attention , not really thinking of what
he came to Saichi to do like he knew he should be, but instead entranced
by a phantom vision of blue eyes and golden hair.
He didn't really wake up from that dream of soft
skin and sweet smiles until he felt the sharp point of a sword press against
his bare neck and a harsh voice ask "Who are you? And what do you
want with Usagi?"
*evil grin* CLIFFIE!
To be continued...