Important AN: I know that you guys want Nakago to meet Usagi again, but please be patient. They will meet in two or three chapters from now. So keep on reviewing, the more you review, the faster the chapters are going to come out. To Aidenn Legacy and Jade Nova, I can't do that to poor Furball! It's bad enough that she has to be near him, but having to touch him… *shudders*. I agree with you guys, that Endymion doesn't deserve to live, but without him, the story won't be able to go on *oops, shouldn't have done that! Oh well, you'll have a little clue as to what's going to happen*. Read the AN at the end, or else you might be a little confused. My parents are mad at me because instead of studying for my driver's permit test, I use up all of my spare time writing, that includes the time that I'm suppose to work.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except my bills, so if you don't mind sparing some extra cash, by all means, sue me.
Chapter 2B
*Kutou*
How ironic. I've been given the command over the very army that killed my family and tribe. And now, I'm going to do the same to the Yang tribe. Nakago thought to himself as he inspected his men. "Tomorrow, we are going to attack the traitors. You have all been given your orders before. Do not hurt the women and children. If I see anyone who disobeys my orders, the punishment will be death. Is that clear?" Nakago directed his cold stare at the soldiers, who all shivered at the look from the man who was rumoured to be the best warrior in all of the four empires. No one dared to question his word. As if to make sure that his orders will be followed, the white tiger by his heels roared at the men, who all cowered in fear. The mysterious cat had appeared out of nowhere the day of the campaign. Most of the soldiers thought that this was a sure sign of victory, but were all to afraid to approach it, since it seemed to only like the general.
Tomorrow is also going to be the engagement party, isn't it Usa-chan? Be brave. We'll be together somehow, I promise you. Don't let me down. He thought to himself as he walked to his tent with Furball at his side, without giving a second look at the army. The snow tiger had made it clear to everyone, that she was to stay by the general's side at all times. No one was to approach Nakago with out going through her inspection. It seemed to him that she had given herself the mission of keeping him safe while her mistress wasn't here.
As he got ready for bed, his thoughts led him once again to his itooshi. Nakago let himself think back to the kiss that he shared with her. It was the first time that he had kiss anyone on his own free will, and it was a moment that he would treasure for the rest of his life. Just before he went asleep, a shadow of darkness fell across him, making him shiver. Usa-chan, be careful. Why do I have the feeling that something horrible is going to happen tomorrow? Falling back to the hard army cot, he fell into an uneasy sleep. Furball, as if sensing his uneasiness, paced around the tent, looking out for any intrusion.
*Silver Millennium, the engagement party*
Princess Serenity stood alone on the balcony, staring at the stars and enjoying her privacy, which was rudely interrupted when a sweaty hand grabbed her arm and pulled her into the ballroom.
"Now my beautiful princess, don't you think that it's not nice, leaving your fianc
Around the room, the scouts looked at the princess, and glared at Endymion with hatred for touching her against her will. They could already see the bruise that was starting to form on her arm where he had grabbed her earlier.
"I can't take this anymore!" Uranus said to Neptune. "They aren't even engaged yet, and he's already starting to treat her like a piece of crap. I don't see why the Queen is giving Koneko-chan to that worthless son of a bitch!"
Neptune immediately covered Saturn's ears with her hands. "Haruka, watch you language."
Uranus rolled her eyes before she walked up to the dancing couple, and tapped Endymion on the shoulder. "I'm sorry your Majesty, but would you mind if I cut in?" Uranus asked, stressing the Majesty part. Endymion looked annoyed, but did as she asked. The princess looked up gratefully to the senshi of sky.
"Arigato, Haruka-chan. I would have gone crazy if you hadn't shown up."
"Princess, It's okay. Did he hurt you? Why did you agree to this marriage anyway?"
"I didn't. Okaa-san forced me," the princess replied as the music ended, and Endymion came to lead her away.
Uranus walked back to Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn, but not before giving the prince a death glare.
"Come on, Haruka. We have to go. There's nothing that we could do here. All we could do is wait," Pluto said as she led the outer senshis away to the space port.
Back to Endymion and Princess Serenity, they walked up to the front of the ballroom to have their engagement announced by the queen. "Smile, my dear Princess. After all, you can only be engaged once. I have a surprise for you later, and I promise that it'll be something you'll never be able to forget," Endymion whispered.
"Oh really? I can hardly wait to see what it is," Princess Serenity whispered back sarcastically. She forced a smile on her face, all the while trying hard not to kill the crowd of people who were all talking about what a perfect couple they would make.
Suddenly, the calm atmosphere was shattered when a guard ran into the palace. His back was badly burnt, and blood covered his face. "We are under attack! The Dark Kingdom is here!" Before he finished the sentence, a bolt of dark lightening hit him. A female's coarse voice laughed. "Oops, did I interrupt anything?" Everyone looked in shock at the woman dressed in a revealing purple dress. "Beryl," The princess hissed at the figure.
The inner scouts immediately transformed in the midst of chaos as the nobles fought to escape the cramped room. Soon only the scouts, Endymion, the Queen and Princess were left in the glittering room.
"Mercury bubbles blast!"
"Venus crescent beam smash!"
"Mars Fire Ignite!"
"Jupiter thunder crash!"
The four attacks barely did any damage as they disappeared against the shield Beryl created. "How pathetic!" The evil queen waved her hand in the air, and dark energy sent the scouts flying into the walls. Princess Serenity ran to their sides as Beryl laughed manically. The princess was so concerned with her friends that she didn't notice Endymion sneaking up on her until it was too late.
Queen Serenity watched in horror as Endymion brought down his sword hard into the princess. "How do you like my surprise, my beautiful princess?" Endymion sneered as he walked over to Beryl, and kissed her hand.
Blood soaked her pure white gown, the princess clutched her necklace, the one that Nakago had given her. "I'm sorry Naka-kun… that I can't keep my promise… Forgive me…Aishiteru" were her last words before her eyes closed for the last time.
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Queen Serenity turned towards Beryl and the traitor Endymion. "I won't let it end like this. Moon Cosmic Power," She cried, bring out the Ginzuishou.
"No, you haven't seen the last of me yet!" Beryl screamed as she, Endymion and the rest of the Dark Kingdom army were covered in a blinding white light.
Luna and Artemis ran up in time to see the Queen collapse to the ground. "Your Majesty!" they cried together.
"Oh, Luna, Artemis! How could I have made such a mistake! I trusted Endymion, and now…" she choked off. "I'm going to send my daughter and her court to the future with my remaining powers. There they will start a new life."
"But, if you do that, you'll die!" the two cats exclaimed together.
"It doesn't matter. All I want is for my daughter to be happy. You two will go with them, and watch over them. If Beryl breaks free again, you will guide them," the queen said as she used the last of her powers to send the moon princess away to earth.
*In Kutou, on the battlefield with Nakago*
Nakago sat on his horse, the morning light reflecting off his armor, striking fear into every one who set eyes upon him. The snow tiger has been given the special place beside him with a gold and silver collar. Looking beneath him to the valley where the Yang tribe is situated, he gave the signal to attack. The men poured into the little village like water. Nakago rode down as well to face off with general of the rebels.
The two generals brought out their sword, and charged at each other. It was no surprise that Nakago seemed to be winning the fight. That was until a cold shiver ran through him. I'm sorry Naka-kun… that I can't keep my promise… Forgive me…Aishiteru Nakago heard in his head. There was no mistake who the message came from. Shock filled his system. It seemed that Furball also sensed the message and its meaning, as she left out a roar towards the sky, lamenting for the passing of her mistress. Forgetting that he was in the middle of a battle, everything froze for Nakago, as he tried to searched within his soul for his missing half. A blue light glowed from his body as the fighting around him ceased. Everyone looked on in amazement as the blond general's eyes became blank, and he fell to his knees on the blood-covered ground. "Usa-chan!!" he screamed to the open battlefield. The Kokoro symbol flaring into life once again, tears began to fall from his eyes the first time since he had been brought into the palace to live. The suppressed energy exploded from his broken heart, burning everything around him, except for the tiger, who was protected by a silver light. "Why Usa-chan? You promised me that you would live no matter what. You lied to me. WHY?!" Nakago demanded, his soul dying inside of him. "I should have known better. How could anyone feeling anything for me?" He started to laugh wildly, mocking himself.
Furball looked on, sympathy shinning from her eyes as she saw Nakago still shaking badly get up and drag his body through the mass of corpses littering the open field. Not caring where he was going, he blindly walked away, not feeling the pain as abandoned weapons cut into his flesh. The tiger followed her master from behind, keeping a careful watch over the man who had lost his other half.
"Don't worry, Furball. I'm not going to attempt suicide, if that's what you're worried about. I'm going to keep my promises to her, even though she broke hers," he said lifelessly, before he continued on…
*In Tokyo*
"WAAAAAAA" the cries of a newborn baby filled the room at the Tokyo General Hospital.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Tsukino. You have a beautiful baby daughter," the nurse said to the woman on the bed. The nurse, who had been working in the hospital for at least thirteen years, had never seen such a pretty baby with a soft layer of blond fuzz covering her head and the brightest blue eyes. Then she noticed something that wasn't quite normal. On the baby's left wrist, there was a thin white scar and around her neck was a beautiful necklace in the shape of a pair of dragons. Deciding not to tell the new mother of the abnormalities right now, the nurse wrapped the baby girl in a pink fleece blanket and handed her to the mother. "What are you going to name her Mrs. Tsukino?"
The new mother looked at the baby before looking at her husband with love in her eyes. With a nod from her husband, the young mother said to the nurse, "Usagi. I would like to name her Usagi. My precious little bunny." In response, the baby cooed in happiness, and clutched her necklace. The happy couple laughed at their first child as she waved around her small fists. Ken looked down at his daughter, and bent to kiss his wife on the forehead. The perfect Kodak moment. The nurse thought as she wiped a tear from her eyes.
The moment was interrupted when the door opened to reveal an old lady. "How do you feel Ikuko?" The old lady asked.
"Okaa-san, meet your first grandchild. Tsukino Usagi," Ikuko said to the old lady.
Suzuno bent down to take the sleeping baby from her only daughter. It's so hard to believe that I'm holding my own granddaughter in my arms. Tatara, I wish that you were here to share this moment with me. She looks so much like you. I can feel both the powers of Byakko and Genbu flowing in you, child. You're a born priestess, with both of the priestesses of Byakko and Genbu as your grandmother, and great-grandmother. You're certainly a lucky baby. Takiko, what part do you think that she'll play in the Shi Jin Tenchi Sho? The old lady thought to herself as she held the baby carefully in her arm. What's this? This looks like something from the Shi Jin Tenchi Sho universe. By the looks of it, its from Kutou, the land that Seiryuu protects! What does this mean? Suzuno thought to herself as she examined the dragon necklace carefully. "Ikuko, where did the necklace come from?"
"What necklace?" the mother asked a little sleepily.
"Never mind. Here," Suzuno handed the baby back to her mother, as she pondered about the possibilities of her granddaughter's connections with the Shi Jin Tenchi Sho universe.
*Kutou, two years after the battle, Nakago's twenty years-old*
*In an Inn*
"Have you heard? They say that there's a little girl at the brothel down the street who have a weird symbol on her thigh. Rumor has it that she could be one of the Seiryuu seven," a big burly man said to his friend over a cup of sake.
"At the brothel you say? Is she any good?" the second guy leered.
"Excuse me," a cold voice cut in before the first guy could answer. "Did you just say that a girl is one of the Seiryuu seven?"
The two men at the table looked at the stranger with blond hair and cold blue eyes. "That's what I just said, foreigner."
"Where is this brothel that she works at?"
"What's in it for me if I tell you?" The first man questioned.
The blond man smiled cruelly before bending down to whisper in his ear. "I'll make a deal with you. If you tell me where she is, I'll let you live for a little longer."
"Who the hell do you think you are?" the man cried out enraged. Right after the words left his mouth, an invisible force squeezed tightly against his neck.
"I'm only going to repeat myself once. Where is the brothel?" The blond asked.
"It's in the east district, it's called the Flower Garden." The man gasped out.
The mysterious blond released him, and walked out the door. Before he stepped out, the two man sneaked up with knives in their hands, planning to catch the blond man by surprise. They didn't expect him to release a blue ki, knocking them through the wall and effectively killing them. "Don't say that I never warn you," Nakago said with a cold sneer before he left.
It didn't take the Shogun that long to reach his destination. The place was pretty easy to find with the laugher and singing, not to mention the men's voices. When he reached the door, a young girl was pushed out. "What do you mean that you won't take any customers?" A crude voice was heard from within.
"That's what I bought you for, you little slut. Now go back in there and get to work." The fat woman, who was the owner of the place, yanked the fourteen years old girl into the building. The red headed girl struggled, and a character: Bo flashed on her left thigh. Nakago's eyes widened. I'm another step closer to fulfilling my promise. The owner moved to slap the girl; however she was stopped when a hand fell on her shoulder.
"How much do you plan to sell the girl for?" the stranger asked.
The owner looked at the handsome blond foreigner with interest. "Why would you want her when you can have someone much more satisfying?" she asked, practically fling herself on him.
Looking at the owner with disgust, Nakago turned away, throwing a bag of gold coins on the ground before he led the girl away. "What's your name, girl?" He asked coldly.
"Haku Kaen, but everyone calls me Soi," she answered, confused by why this stranger was saving her.
"Well Soi, consider yourself lucky. From today, you're going to be one of the Seiryuu Seishi, and you are going to serve the miko when she arrives. But till then, you'll remain in my care." Nakago said as he went back to the palace.
*Tokyo, Usagi's two years old*
"Obaa-san?" A chibi Usagi cried out, running on her chubby legs. Tears began to fall from her round blue eyes.
"Usagi-chan? What's wrong?" Suzuno bent down to pick up the crying child.
"'kaa-san and ' too-san *hiccup* no love Usagi-chan anymore. Don't *hiccup* like Shingo," the little two year old sobbed into Suzuno's chest. Suzuno immediately understood. Ever since Shingo had been born, ken and Ikuko was paying less attention to the petite girl, who was still too young to understand that her parents were sometimes too busy and tired to look after her all the time.
"Usagi-chan don't cry. You're a big girl now. Would you like me to tell you a story?" Suzuno tried to calm the sobbing girl.
"A story? Just for Usagi-chan?" the chibi girl said, still using the third person to refer to her self.
"It's a story about how I met your ojii-san. When I was young, I read a book called the Shi Jin Tenchi Sho.
AN: I'm finished, it might be a little confusing with the Suzuno and Takiko parts. I know that Suzuno and Tatara didn't do anything. But just for this story, pretend that the had a wild night of passion before Suzuno went back to the real world, and she later gave birth to Ikuko. Basically, Suzuno was the Byakko no miko, and Takiko was the Genbu no miko. Usagi is going to the FY world in the next chapter! So be sure to review, or else, you'll never find out what will happen.