The Guardian, Part 9
Reunion
By Taerir

All Sailor Moon references are the property of their respective owners. Any concepts, characters, world names, plotlines, and so on not found in the Sailormoon television series or manga are the sole property of the author, Taerir, copyright 1999. No duplication is permitted without written permission from the author.

Still at the mall, Kensaku stood slowly and turned to face the five remaining senshi. He looked the other way, embarrassed. Even in the last life, he hadn't known the senshi as Rhanwyn had.

Sailor Mars stepped forward. "So you're Keelan, huh?" She frowned and pointed sharply, in the direction Asami had run. "Your girlfriend went that way."

"You should go after her," Sailor Moon offered, more gently. "She's really missed you."

Kensaku eyed the senshi warily. "If she misses me so much, why did she run away? She didn't exactly act happy to see me. God, I wish I could talk to her..."

"She's afraid, that's all," Mercury told him shyly. "She thought you were dead, and now she sees that you've been right there all along." She flushed. "At least, judging from how well you two seemed to know each other, even now."

Kensaku frowned. He could leave Asami to her grief, letting her figure things out on her own, or he could try to talk to her. After a long pause, he decided that he had to at least try to help. After that, well... He could wait as long as needed for Rhanwyn to come back to him.

He nodded to the senshi. "Thank you... I have to at least try. For her." Without another word, he set off in the direction of the apartment building, where he knew Asami would be. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

"Wyna," he called. "I know you're in there... Please, we need to talk."

On the other side of the door, Asami considered for a moment. She needed to figure out how she felt without Kensaku right there; everything had changed so suddenly that she didn't know what to do anymore.

"Please," she called back, her voice sounding pathetic even to her own ears. "Just go away..."

She heard the door to his own apartment slam shut and sighed with relief. A thread of guilt wove its way through her, for doing such a thing to him, but she knew she couldn't face him at the moment. And there was more than just that. In the past, Keelan had been dead before Kado had kidnapped her. Willingly or not, she had betrayed the others, and then had gotten herself killed early, on top of it all... What if Kensaku hated her for that?

Standing, Asami watched the door for a moment, as if it would open any second, and then slumped down on the couch. It was still early, and she was still completely exausted. Suddenly lonely, she turned on the television and settled down to sort through her feelings.

Next door, Kensaku slumped down on his own couch as well, but opted to stare at the wall. Brooding, he tried to stop the memories of his past with Rhanwyn from running through his head, but it was no use. The minute he stopped thinking about the past was the same moment he began to think about the present, and the pain he had heard in Asami's voice. It was ripping him apart to see her so upset, but there was nothing he could do from here.

Still lost in his thoughts, he continued to wait.

A while later, Asami rose from her seat on the couch and decided that she had better go see Kensaku. As confused and afraid as she was, she couldn't let him suffer.

She knocked on his door, and before he could answer it, the tears started to slide down her cheeks again. By the time he opened the door, she was pale again, and feeling very small and lonely.

"I'm sorry..." she said simply, her voice weak. He opened his arms to embrace her, but she waved him away. "There are things I have to tell you...You might not want me anymore after I'm done. Can I come in?"

He moved aside, and she sat down on the couch. She told him everything: how Kado had kidnapped her and read her memories, her death due to a careless move on the moon. He listened silently.

"I betrayed them, in more ways that one, Keelan," she said softly, the pain almost too much for her. "I haven't told them yet, because I'm scared of how they might react. So there it is. If you don't want me anymore, I'll understand..."

Kensaku felt a gut-wrenching pain as he gazed at Asami. She had obviously lived with her grief for too long.

"Wyna," he told her quietly. "It's not your fault, and I don't blame you...Gods, how could I blame you, when you died because you were upset that I was gone?"

He sat down on the couch and silently took her into her arms, letting her cry. Finally, her tears subsided, and she looked up at him.

She's so beautiful... he thought. He frowned as Asami chuckled despite her still-drying tears.

"What was that for?" he asked, secretly relieved that she was feeling better about the recent developments.

"I heard that! You can't anything from a telepath, especially one who is bonded with you, you know," Asami smiled, even though the pain in her eyes had not completely dissipated yet.

He grinned sheepishly. "You know, I forgot about that. The memories take a while to complete themselves."

Asami's eyes turned serious. "Keelan, I've got to ask you something..." She looked up at Kensaku, her face troubled. "Why me, Keelan? And I don't mean just now, before you got your memories back...I mean, back on Taerir, too. There were so many girls who deserved you more...more beautiful, smarter...all I had going for me was that my father was king. Why did you pick me?"

Kensaku chuckled gently. "You never did believe in your own virtues. You WERE the smartest, most beautiful woman on Taerir, Wyna. How can you be so unsure of yourself? Your father prided himself in his one daughter, your older brother adored you, as did your other brothers... Do you ask why they loved you? How could I NOT fall in love with you?"

Asami smiled tiredly and held on to him more tightly. "I just can't see what they all see...I don't think I ever will. Gods, you always know how to make me feel better, though. I think I need to get my mind off of all this."

Kensaku held her closer. "Well then, come on. We're going out."

Asami paled. "But..." she protested, flushing. "I need to study..."

He grabbed her hand more firmly, standing and pulling her up with him. "Studying can wait." Grinning, he pulled her out the door with him, despite her halfhearted complaints.