Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, but I can wish!
Thanks muchly for your support, everyone! ^_^ This fic is loads of fun to write, though
sometimes it gets depressing. (Which is why I've got to take breaks from this and "Angel
Wings", which is also angsty, to work on "Walk A Mile"....) Onegai, minna! Please don't hate
me for things I may do to characters in "Umbroso Estrella"! I say that now because it may get
ugly later on....
"Seiya."
"Hm...."
"Seiya-"
"Hm...."
"Seiya!"
"Hm? What?" Seiya cracked his eyes open and found himself the object of Taiki's disapproving stare. "....Taiki? Wha-?" He broke off when he realized he was still tangled up in Usagi's arms, the girl sprawled across his chest. She was still sleeping peacefully. "Um...." moving carefully so as not to disturb her, he managed to climb to his feet under Taiki's watchful gaze. "Jeez, I didn't mean to fall asleep-"
"You know," Taiki crossed his arms, "this is exactly what Yaten and I warned you against."
"Taiki-"
"It's dangerous to-"
"Listen, you don't-"
"-damn it, Seiya!" Taiki snapped, then quickly regained his normal composure. He tapped one finger against his other arm and sighed. "What do you think you're doing? You're just going to get hurt again."
Seiya stared angrily at the taller boy, but instead of losing his temper as he normally would have, he simply whispered; "you don't understand."
"Don't I?" Casting a quick glance through the door, which had been left open a crack, his eyes landed on Ami. The blue-haired girl was seated with the others, discussing something in hushed tones. "Don't presume to tell me what I do and don't understand, Seiya."
A sigh. "Gomen, but-" he looked down at Usagi, "....I just can't...."
Taiki raised an eyebrow speculatively, then nodded carefully. "I may not completely agree....but right now we all- Usagi especially- need all the friends we can get." A pause, then; "believe it or not, I do trust you Seiya. However," he continued, "Yaten and I- though he would never say so- are concerned that things could end badly for you."
"Don't worry about me." Seiya attempted to shrug off Taiki's concern with the wave of a hand and managed a half-decent grin on top of it. Again he looked down at Usagi, smiling slightly when she mumbled something incoherent in her sleep. "I'll be fine, Taiki." And when the brown-haired boy looked at him doubtfully; "honestly, I'll be fine."
"If you say so."
"Trust me."
Taiki's lips quirked into an almost-smile; "do you know what Yaten would say if he heard that sentence out of your mouth?"
"I don't want to think about it." Seiya rolled his eyes. "Ne, Taiki, why did you come in here anyway?"
"Haruka has some things she wants to discuss with us- ALL of us, and you still need to hear the explanation of the Tsumetai and their theft of Seno." Taiki started back to the other room, "it's relatively simple, really."
"So you tell me."
"Hm? No. Ami-chan explains it best."
Ami-chan? Seiya had to smile at Taiki's retreating back. Not Mizuno-san, but Ami-chan....
In front of him, the door closed; Taiki's ever thoughtful mind had prompted him to give Seiya another moment alone with Usagi before the 'briefing'. Seiya thanked his brother mentally before turning to look at the blonde girl who was laying on the couch. For a moment, he considered waking her, but then thought the better of it.
She needs the sleep, and the whole Tsumetai thing is something she already knows about, anyway. Bending down, he brushed a lock of hair from her face and then planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. Besides, she looks so cute when she's asleep....oi, I never knew I could love someone so much....
"Ne, Seiya!" Yaten called from the other room, muffled by the closed door. "Hurry your slow ass up already!"
He seems to be recuperating. That's good....I think....
He could still hear the pain in the silver-haired boy's voice, though.
And it still worried him.
But the chances of getting Yaten to talk about it are less-than-zip.
"Seiya!"
"Yeah, yeah." Seiya waved his hand in the direction of the door, rolling his eyes skyward as Yaten raised his voice to be heard from the other room. With another glance at Usagi, he sighed. "You know," he said, looking toward Yaten as he stepped through the door and closed it behind himself; "you'd think that shouting would be the last thing we should be doing right now."
Yaten's eyes narrowed. "Bite me."
A chuckle and Seiya leaned against the wall.
"Ne, Seiya-san?" Hotaru asked, "how's Usagi?"
"Odango? She's....fine."
Haruka eyed him suspiciously and he quickly looked away. Turning his head, however, put his eyes directly on Taiki, who was looking at him in much the same way as Haruka. But Taiki's stare wasn't malicious, and Haruka's....he doubted, even though she had given him permission to go and speak with her Princess, that she would be pleased if she knew what had transpired while they were alone.
There was still an obvious lack of trust, not that he blamed her.
We were pretty big pains-in-the-ass when we were here before.
"So...." he drawled, stretching the tiny word and looking around; Haruka continued to almost-glare at him, Taiki matching her in a much less obvious way. Hotaru was hiding a smile; she could clearly see Haruka's glare, and seemed to somehow know- or at least partially know- what had happened while he and Usagi were alone. Ami stood next to Taiki, her eyes sad and her hands held together in front of her. Taiki was again resting a hand on her shoulder in a simple gesture of comfort. Yaten was seated where he had been, head still propped up on his palm, his expression unreadable. Luna sat, surprisingly, in his lap. "Well?" Seiya crossed his arms, continuing to lean against the brick wall, and his eyes landed Ami. "Tell me about the Tsumetai and this whole 'stealing Seno' thing."
Ami bit her lip.
"Go ahead Ami."
She glanced up when Taiki squeezed her shoulder lightly, "hai...."
Amused, Seiya raised an eyebrow.
"The Tsumetai...." the blue-haired girl's brows furrowed. "It's what those who have been turned by the Oscuridad call themselves. As far as we can tell, the closest thing to compare them with would be vampires."
Seiya blinked. He hadn't expected that one. "Vampires?"
"Hm." Ami nodded, "they seem to be drawn to blood-" she glanced toward Yaten, who reached up to absently rub his bandages again. "-as you found out. They also tend to be more active at night. Not because sunlight is harmful to them, though. They just have an....aversion to it. We haven't quite figured out why." A pause, then; "....what we HAVE managed to figure out....by losing friends....is what Seno is, and why the Tsumetai are to fixated on it. The heart of a person who had been turned to the darkness- their Seno- is corrupted, blackened and destroyed. Their questing for Seno is their way to compensate for this; they struggle to kill and steal Seno because they themselves have none."
"Seno would be another word for Heart?"
"Hai."
"But-"
Ami pursed her lips. "When we say they kill and steal Seno, we mean just that. They attack their target- the target that the Oscuridad chooses- with the goal of taking their heart. They don't mean to steal energy as most of our enemies have. Instead they attack to kill....in the bloodiest possible way."
Seiya's voice escaped him and he could only stare blankly. Kami-sama, no....
"Each Tsumetai, when turned into one to begin with, must kill at least once. If they don't, they don't survive; once they've managed to take another person's Seno, they've secured their own existence."
"....."
"So," Ami sighed tiredly. "Most of the current Tsumetai have managed to take a life. Mamoru was first- he attempted to take Usagi-chan's Seno, but when that failed he went to Rei. Rei, in turn, went to Makoto. Makoto managed to take Michiru's Seno, and Michiru took Setsuna's. They replaced their own lost heart with those of their victims. Each of them will survive....until the Osuridad no longer needs them."
That explains Usagi's wound.... Seiya's thoughts were racing. What Ami was saying was unbelievable. The senshi killing each other? Literally? Killing them to cut out their hearts. To preserve their own lives. Mamoru must have been trying for that when-
"What about Minako?"
Yaten's voice once again jerked him back to reality.
Minako-chan....
"Minako has yet to take a Seno," Hotaru told them sadly. "Though she tried." A glance at Yaten, "-she would have killed you for your heart, Yaten-san."
Yaten said nothing.
Privately, Seiya couldn't help thinking that she had already taken his heart. Not in the way that Hotaru was meaning, but in another.
"If she hasn't taken a Seno-"
Ami nodded grimly. "She will hunt us down. If she doesn't she'll die."
"Beautiful."
Luna looked over at Seiya from Yaten's lap. "Seiya...." and then she glanced at Taiki before glancing up at Yaten. "Taiki....Yaten....I think...." her voice trailed off and red eyes welled with tears. "I think you should go before you CAN'T."
"W-what?" The black-haired Star Senshi demanded, "you want us to LEAVE? But-"
"Leave Earth." Luna repeated, blinking harshly. Tears fell down her feline cheeks. "Before....before she darkness takes you, too."
"N-no!" Seiya exclaimed. "We're not....I'M NOT....I'm not leaving you guys here on your own like this! You want us to....we can't-!"
"Luna's right." Ami said sadly. "We're not worth losing your lives-"
"Of course you are." Taiki stated firmly, looking down into Ami's surprised eyes. "You saved our lives in the battle against Galaxia....you SACRIFICED your OWN lives for ours. You are our friends, and we don't leave our friends behind."
Seiya threw his hands into the air; "exactly!"
A half-smile from Taiki. "It seems that Seiya and I are staying." He turned to the last of the Starlights. "Yaten?"
"Hn." Yaten snorted. "Like I have a choice? Man, I'd never hear the end of it if I ditched you guys here."
"I guess that settles it."
"You have a death wish?" Haruka's voice was level and her eyes were hard. "Just go before it's too late."
Seiya waved a finger at her good-naturedly. Even through the seriousness of their situation, his high spirit managed to shine through. "Now, now, Haruka," a laugh; "you're not getting rid of us that easily. Besides, I made a promise, ne? I don't break my promises, even if I made them to someone like YOU."
"What promise?" The blonde's frown deepened.
Suddenly serious, Seiya met Haruka's steely gaze. "-'please, in our place, protect Usagi'....that's what Makoto- Jupiter- said before she died, her Star Seed taken by Galaxia. You weren't there for that, but...." a long pause and then; "-'you want to protect her now, Fighter,'....YOU said that to me. It was the LAST thing you said before you and Michiru-"
"Shimatta!" Haruka snapped, hands clenching tightly, "I didn't make you promise!"
"No," Seiya agreed, "you didn't. But I did anyway. I promised myself- I promised Usagi....Haruka, I may not like you and you may not like me- hell, you may even HATE me. That's your own choice. That doesn't mean I want to see you die again, and I would do anything....ANYTHING to protect Odango. You KNOW that."
"Seiya-" Taiki began in warning, noting the flash in Haruka's eyes.
But he was interrupted.
"Well, well," a familiar voice laughed, "how sweet is this? Dear Seiya-san is willing to lay his own life on the line for Princess Crybaby and her Tomboy Defender." Another laugh and then; "what about the rest of you? Do you share Seiya's sentiments? Would you be able to fight against us?"
Everyone whirled and Yaten practically exploded from his seat. His chair clattered to the ground and Luna barely jumped out of his lap before being dumped on the ground. The blonde-haired girl who was standing in the doorway giggled (with only a touch of insanity) and winked at him lightly.
"Minako!" Yaten's voice- though not free of pain- was venomous.
"Now, now," Minako raised an eyebrow; "I wouldn't get too excited. My comrades outside are just LOOKING for a reason to slaughter the lot of you. By the way, Haruka-SAN, that hit with the Space Sword was a cheap shot. I wasn't even transformed-"
"Comrades-?"
Impatiently. "The other Tsumetai, of course."
A long silence, during which Minako simply leaned against the doorframe nonchalantly and studied her fingernails. Everyone else was as tense as possible, ready to jump into action at the slightest sign of trouble. Yaten was shaking with barely-controlled rage....or WAS it rage-?
"Seiya," Taiki whispered to the other boy, keeping his voice low; "go and get Usagi."
"But-"
"Go." Haruka ordered harshly, not leaving room for argument. "Now."
"Oh," Minako called brightly, her eyes lighting on Seiya when he began to edge backward toward the other door. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. The others would PROBABLY take that as a move against them and- well, I couldn't be responsible for what they might do."
Seiya froze. Shimatta! We're trapped in this damned place!
"It really would be easier if you would just surrender."
"Not likely."
"Hm. I thought as much. Oh well." The girl smiled and looked toward Yaten; "I really just came for my henshin pen."
"And if I give it to you?" Yaten asked in a snarl.
"Oh, you'll still be killed. But-" Minako tilted her head to the side; "if you give it to me without a fight, I PROMISE to be gentle when I steal your Seno. Ne, Yaten, I REALLY think you'd like being with me like this-"
The silver-haired boy absently reached into his pocket and clutched the Venus wand.
"Really," a pause and Minako's eyes half-closed as she regarded Yaten. "It's not a bad thing, Yaten....you and I could be together, and I know you want that-"
"Shut up! I would never!"
"Oh, now you've hurt my feelings." A pout, "I guess it's the hard way, then."
"....you want your henshin pen?" Yaten pulled it from his pocket and held it up to the light. "This is what you came for? You really want it?" His other hand slowly went into another pocket to feel for his Star Yell. He wanted to make sure it was in the pocket he thought it was in....he would need it.... "if you want it-"
Seiya suddenly noticed the motion....Yaten's hand going for his own transformation device....and he knew what the other boy intended to do. He cursed mentally, in as many different languages as he could think of. He's going to get himself killed!
"-if you want it-" Yaten repeated.
"Yes?" Minako prompted.
"-try to take it!"
And with that he took a running step and- ignoring the shouts from his fellow Starlights
and the as-of-yet unturned Earth Senshi- dove at Minako, knocking her out of the safe house and
onto the subway track beyond....
_______________
Me: Oooo....Yaten's gotta' go up against Minako! I already have the next chapter pretty much planned, I just have to write it so....until then! Ja!