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Forgive Me Not
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II
Reason
*
Tokyo Rabbit
*
Rei had been sweeping in the same sport for over two hours. She had woken with dawn, only sleeping for an hour or so, and began her chores for the day in a zombie-like state. The most she moved from her spot was when Phobos, one of her guardian crows, came swooping down to deliver a letter she had clasped in her beak. The priestess reached up to catch the envelope as it fluttered down to her. Opening it, two crows-one of them having previously delivered the letter their princess held-perched on her shoulders to read along.
Rei, having read it, ignited the paper with a thought. The weight on her shoulders lifted, "So you let her go?"
She turned solemnly to look at the twins that now stood behind her. Her look of absolute misery told them enough.
"You know that the others will question your motivation," Deimos, the second woman, stated.
"And possibly put you on trial for treason," Phobos concluded her sister's statement.
"Yes, I know," Rei replied.
*Caw!*
The priestess turned to see who was ascending the temple steps; she knew that the others were receiving their letters similar ways and that they would probably congregate at the shrine, but so soon?
The site she saw as the figure came into view broke her heart; dark circles under cobalt blue eyes, pale skin, ebony hair flying untamed in every direction, wrinkled pants, an un-tucked shirt that matched nothing they were wearing, and a look of utter desperation. It was Darien's body, but his whole spirit and life seemed to have left him to leave only a walking shell. He stopped in front of her, eyes gazing mournfully at her.
What she heard next was something that she would have rather jumped off a cliff than heard, "Why?"
His voice broke and no sooner than the word was spoken, he sunk to the ground. The Shinto priestess, so cold and proud, fell to her knees as well and cradled the man, unknowing what to say to him. She knew why, but to tell him would mean treason against her princess. Rei had already committed one crime; let her not have another on her conscious, even if it meant betraying her prince and watching him crumble.
~*~
Bunny felt like hell as she stirred awake, a chore in itself. Her red eyes came open with great labor, as she had cried herself to sleep the night before and her body felt like a ton of lead. Wishing nothing more than to fall back asleep and never wake up again, she tried to pinpoint what had caused her to wake in the first place. She inhaled and smelt the most wonderful smell in the whole entire world: breakfast.
Moving her sore limbs, she climbed off of the air mattress in her room and into the kitchen; a very short trip indeed. Sitting at the kitchen table, she squinted through her blurry vision at a woman humming at the stove. She had long coal hair that fell in soft clouds down her back. It was up in a style that mirrored Bunny's in that it had two buns on top but instead of two ponytails, the rest flowed freely. The young woman's hair was only one thing she could truly make out, well, that and her tail that was swinging contently in time with her humming.
"Here, eat." The woman said as she sat a plate in front of Bunny.
"Thanks Luna," the blonde mumbled as she took the fork and knife previously sat out in hand.
A moment when by before Bunny sat bolt upright in her seat, "Luna?!"
The girl smirked at her, hands on hips, "Yes, and?"
"How did you find me?!"
"I'm a cat, give me some credit!" Luna scolded, waving a spatula at her friend, "Unforgivable, Tsukino Bunny! Sneaking out at night like that!"
Returning to the sizzling stove, the woman who normally took the form of a cat resumed her chore in cooking breakfast. Still highly confused as to how her guardian cat found her and why she was in her natural form, Bunny looked down at the tantalizing breakfast and began to eat slowly until another realization sent her sputtering.
Luna walked a mere four steps and pat her princess on the back, "You half way deserve that, leaving all of us behind. Not saying a word-"
"Where did this table come from?!" The blonde shouted. Head snapping up, she saw in her living room a couch, coffee table and television, "Where did all of this stuff come from?!"
Turning the stove off, Luna sat her own plate down across from her friend and stated huffily, "Did you expect me to let you live in a hell hole? For goodness sakes. Thought you knew me better."
Head whirling, Bunny felt her stomach take a sickening lurch, "Oh...."
The brunette woman watched sympathetically as her long-time friend ran to where she suspected the bathroom to be. The first woman returned a few moments later, wiping her mouth off on her sleeve. Sitting down, she gave a curt, "Thanks Luna."
"What are friends for?" She smiled.
At this statement, Bunny broke down and began to sob again while Luna moved from her seat to comfort and hold her friend, "Shh.... Don't worry. I'm here, you're not alone. You don't have to face this alone, Bunny."
It took a little while until the sobbing blonde calmed down enough to resume breakfast, "So how did you find me?"
"I had noticed your strange behavior. I suspected what was wrong, but hearing you one night in the bathroom confirmed my suspicions," Luna paused, maroon eyes surveying the girl before her, "Why didn't you tell any of us you were pregnant?"
"I wanted to!" She began in her defense, "But I just couldn't bring myself to.... Rei found out-I guess the same way you did and when I told her my plan, she agreed to help me."
"Ah yes, your plan to leave behind everyone who will give you nothing but love and support. Were you afraid we would turn you away, Bunny, because you should know better than to think-"
"No! That's not it!" She started again a little quieter, "I knew that there would be nothing but support from everyone, but I just couldn't bare telling Darien...."
Luna had half way expected he didn't know, but hearing it admitted surprised her, "Bunny...! Darien doesn't even know?!"
"No. He's the reason why I left," the expecting mother placed a hand on her stomach while smiling grimly, "It wasn't suppose to happen this way. Rini was supposed to be born while Darien and I ruled Earth, not while we were still trying to define who we are."
"Pluto always told us that the future is uncertain..." Luna paused, "Bunny... you-you aren't regretting your pregnancy are you?"
"No! I want this more than anything and I know that Darien does too, but Luna, he has dreams just like any normal human being, just like I do, but we aren't normal. Giving up his dreams and goals of becoming a doctor would devastate him, I know it. I want him to have that chance before our duty catches up with us, I want him to have that normal as long as possible."
"But why run away without telling him?"
"If I told him, he would throw away everything he's worked so hard for in life without a second glance just to be here for me and our baby. Sacrificing his happiness for something that wasn't suppose to happen yet... he would ruin himself."
"What about the girls? Your family?"
"I've sent them all letters explaining that I've left for a couple of years for personal reasons. Once Darien excepts that as the only reason for my leaving, Rei will fill in everyone else."
"Everyone but Darien...."
"Will know of Rini's birth...." Bunny finished, feeling more depressed than she had her whole life.
Luna was about to scold her friend for being so foolish, that there must have been another way, but resolved to take the path that was chosen, "Fine, but don't blame me if something bad happens. Besides, I'm going to be an aunt!"
That was the first genuine smile Luna had seen on Bunny's face for quite some time. It would be hard, just the two of them, but no matter what, Luna would take care of her princess and the child.
~*~
"Why?!" Haruka pounded her fist into the table.
Currently, every single member of the Sailor Soldiers (besides Rini of course) and Darien were sitting around a large table in the Hiwaka shrine. Rei sipped on her tea. To let Darien know (who was staring off into oblivion, looking like a lost little boy) was to commit a second act of treason, or technically third, the second being against her prince.
"She just said she wanted to find out who she really is, but couldn't she do that here?" Ami sighed, placing her head in her hands.
"I suppose she felt trapped some how," Rei suggested.
"... it's my fault." Darien's horse voice made half the room jump, as it was the first time he had spoken since everyone met up at the shrine with their letters in hand.
"No, it's not," the priestess stated firmly, "She wants to find herself by herself. Bunny loves us all, as we do her. To mope around and put an end to our daily lives would insult her and only trouble her."
"It's not like she's not coming back," Mina said, perking up a little, "She promised to be away only for a little while."
"Yeah, but why only take Luna with her?" Artemis placed a paw under his chin in thought.
"Luna's with her?" Rei asked surprised.
"No one could find her," Lita said, "So we figured Bunny took her along."
"I had no idea...."
"What I don't know about is why none of us knew this was going to happen." Michiru stated, turquoise eyes spanning across everyone.
Rei took a guilty drink of her tea.
"You know how she is, free spirit. No one can tell her no," Haruka sighed.
"But what if she's in trouble? How can we protect her?" Lita asked, concern returning.
"Tokyo is the main focus of Youma attacks due to it's high energy concentration," Ami said, "I doubt she'll run into anything-uh, where is she any ways?"
The whole room looked around clueless, stating that their letters held no such information.
"So we have no means to contact her?" Hotaru asked disbelieving.
"Darien?" Setsuna asked quietly.
"Our connection has been broken...." His weak response came.
"So then she is in trouble!" Haruka's temper flared.
Darien slumped over and placed his tired face in his desperate hands, "Bunny broke it. She doesn't want anyone to find her, including me!"
Rei placed a sympathetic hand on his quavering shoulder. The meeting solemnly trudged on like that for a dreary eternity it seemed. Everyone agreed that it was best just to keep an ear out for Bunny if she tried to contact any of them and hope for the best. Darien looked as if he was about to jump off a bridge, but with some persuasion that she was fine and he wasn't the reasoning behind her leaving, his eyes brightened up only a small degree and told them that he would try his best to understand his lover's reason. Everyone leaving one by one, Michiru and Haruka lingered a little while longer. As Haruka began to desend the temple stairs, Michiru came up behind Rei and said, "You know where she's at."
Rei didn't say anything, as she knew that the Soldier of the Deep Seas would know if the priestess tried to lie to her.
"I hope your judgment will not land her in danger, or I will personally see to it that you're held accountable." And that was it.
Rei watched her walk off to join her sulking lover. Was it a good idea to let Bunny leave? Or was there another way that could not be seen? For now, the Shinto girl resolved, it was the path to be taken.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
TR- Yay! It took me a total of 1-2 hours to write this. Hopefully it will take as quick to get the other chapters out. About the story.... I didn't realize it was a 'run away' story until I began to write this chapter. I always hate reading those stories where Darien and the girls have 'betrayed' Bunny/Serena so she runs away. They're just so 'boo-hoo! Feel sorry for me!' even if they aren't meant to be. So, I guess you could say this one is the opposite, Bunny 'betraying' Darien and the girls. But don't worry, all will turn out in the end.
(unedited)
7-15-03