Author's Notes:
If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi.
Crystal Hearts
When The War EndsChapter 13: Long Time of Nothing
Zoisite tied his hair back with his usual green band and knocked on Nephrite's door. There was no answer. Annoyed, he called out, "Nephrite? Come out, it's time to get up."
Again there was silence so Zoisite opened the door. There was no one there. The bed looked like it might have been sat on at one point, but not slept in, a telescope was pointed outside his window and toward the sky, and there was a notepad on a small table next to it with a few scribblings written on the yellow page.
Zoisite, alarmed, ran to Kunzite's bedroom and banged on the door. Kunzite opened the door at once, his eyes drooping, wearing white pajamas, and a sword in his hand.
"Zoisite, what is the fuss about?"
"Nephrite's gone! It looks like he never slept last night."
Kunzite's sword fell with a clank on the ground and both hurried to Jadeite's room to see if he had any idea where Nephrite might be.
Jadeite looked startled to see his two friends barging in through his door and barely made out the words 'Nephrite' and 'missing'. Jadeite jumped from his bed, grabbed a robe, and pelted from his room at top speed, just behind his fellow Shitennou.
"We need to tell Endymion about this," he panted. "Where is he?"
"Every Sunday the Senshi, Endymion, and Serenity always have breakfast together in the kitchen," Zoisite answered. "So, I'll bet my life that that's where he is."
They burst into the kitchen, out of breath, and Endymion looked up in surprise. "What's wrong?" he asked, not overly alarmed.
"Nephrite is missing. Zoisite said it didn't look like he went to sleep last night," Kunzite told him grimly.
To their amazement, Endymion smiled and chuckled. "Sit down. As is usual with her, Sere went out last night for a midnight snack. She was about to enter the kitchen when the sounds of voices stopped her. She immediately recognized one as that of one of her most trusted friends and perfect cook, Makoto. The other took a bit longer to recognize, but eventually she puzzled out Nephrite's. She happened to get a glance before hastening away, but she did see them kissing in the kitchen and her last report was of them walking away, incidentally going in the direction of Makoto's bedroom. I don't think it was his bedroom he was sleeping in last night."
Kunzite and Jadeite glared in annoyance at Zoisite, who looked thunderstruck and sheepish. The two Kings sat down in a huff at the table and turned back to Endymion.
"Where is Serenity now?" asked Jadeite.
"She's going to wake the other Inners, Minako, Rei, and Ami, to let them know not to expect Makoto to be cooking this morning."
"I have a splendid substitute," Kunzite said as the objects of Endymion's explanation arrived. "Since Zoisite made us beat feet and got us upset for no reason, he can cook this morning."
Zoisite paled. "Kunzite, you can't—"
"Oh, yes I can."
"What's going on?" questioned Ami, who wore a light blue nightgown with a dark blue robe over top of it.
"Zoisite is going to be cooking this morning," Jadeite said, slightly maliciously.
"Oh."
"Why?" asked Minako, who wore an orange set of pajamas edged with yellow.
"It's a long story," said Kunzite dryly. Minako fought off a blush as he looked at her and glanced away from him.
Rei plopped down in a chair next to Kunzite. He smiled at her and she blushed. He gave her a small kiss and turned back Endymion. The Soldier of War's face turned as bright a red as her nightgown in pleasure.
Minako glowered for a moment, a fact that Serenity did not miss, and sat down next to Ami. Serenity kissed Endymion in greeting, her white nightgown trailing on the floor.
Zoisite took a deep breath and stared with trepidation at the kitchen accoutrements in front of him. While muted conversation and happy laughter sounded behind him, he did fairly well on making pancakes. Unfortunately, as he was trying to put the third pancake on the plate, he lost control of the pan and it began to fall to the floor.
"Zoisite!" roared Jadeite and Rei at the same time.
Ami dived, since she was closest to him, and caught the pancake. Breathing heavy, she stood up and put it on the plate. She smiled at him and he returned it happily. She blushed with pleasure and sat down again.
"That was a close one," commented a voice from the doorway.
They looked and saw Makoto, who had spoken. Nephrite stood just behind her. He wore a comfortable pair of black pants and a loose white shirt that was slightly rumpled.
"Why is Zoisite cooking?" asked Nephrite in confusion.
No one said anything and after a moment, Makoto blushed. Minako stood and offered her a chair. She shook her head in amusement and replaced Zoisite at the stove, while listening to the circumstances. He relinquished it with a thankful smile. Nephrite claimed the empty seat and all went well for a few moments until...
"Where is Chibiusa?" asked Endymion in surprise. His daughter was almost a carbon copy of her mother when it came to food and Serenity would never miss a Sunday breakfast.
"Ahahah," Minako hedged, standing near the counter as Kunzite took his plate to the sink and offered his chair to her.
"What is it, Minako?" Endymion questioned sharply.
To Kunzite's surprise, she grabbed arms and turned him sharply around to face the waiting eyes and hid behind him. He blinked and looked down at her.
"Why are you hiding behind me?"
"You'll see," she muttered before speaking up. "She's down in the gardens."
"You saw her there?"
"Well, not exactly saw, but rather sensed her down there with—" She cut herself off.
"With WHO, Minako?"
"Helios," she squeaked.
It was apparent why Minako had wanted Kunzite as a shield. Endymion jumped to his feet, only to be restrained by Nephrite, Jadeite, and Zoisite. It took all of them to force him back in his seat.
"WHAT! She's too young to be out there with a guy by herself!"
"Endy," Serenity said pleadingly. "Calm down, you remind me forcibly of Kenji-papa when we were dating at times like this."
He stopped struggling to get up and stared at his wife. To everyone's relief, he chuckled. "I guess I do at that."
Kunzite looked down at Minako in amusement, but she immediately looked away. He stifled a sad sigh. She must really hate him.
The breakfast group broke up and went their separate ways, Minako immediately heading for her bedroom. When she closed the door and looked around, she saw Aphrodite sitting calmly on the bed. Tears pooled in her eyes and she threw herself down at the woman's feet, burying her head in her mother's lap.
"I-I can't st-stand to be ar-ar-ou-nd him any-anymore! It-it's too pain-painful!" she sobbed.
Aphrodite stroked her head lovingly. "Why do you deny him? He thinks you hate him."
"I don't blame him for thinking that."
"Then why do you deny him? You love him, but you won't give him a chance."
Minako looked up at Aphrodite. "Mother, you don't understand! Look what I forced myself to do! I killed him getting the stone to Serenity! If I can force myself to kill my soulmate, what stops an enemy from using something against me to force me to do anything to anyone? Serenity shouldn't even trust me! If I can force myself to kill my true love, then there's no telling what else I can force myself to do! What if an enemy put leverage against me and I forced myself to kill her!"
Her mother laughed gently. "I know you and you would rather die than kill her or harm her. You couldn't force yourself to do that; you and I both know you better than that. Speaking of killing your true love, you killed but an ugly facet of him that was made by evil."
"But you were telling me not to kill him!"
Aphrodite looked away. "Well, I have a few reasons behind that. I told you that so when he came back you would be more receptive to the Shitennou and be able to save the Earth with the star circle. I did not mean what I said to rule your judgment entirely. I simply wanted to see how strong you were."
Minako pulled away and sat forlornly on the floor. "What do I do mother? It's too painful to be around him, especially with him being with Rei-chan and all."
Aphrodite knelt on her knees in front of her. "Venus, why don't you take a chance and tell him how you feel? You cannot go on like this; it is tearing you apart and your friends are more than worried about you."
"But if I tell him and he breaks up with Rei-chan, then she'll hate me. She really likes him."
"By now I would think you would trust in your friendship more than that. If Mars is anything like her father, if it would make you happy, she would give him up. Ares would do that for one of us, but only for one of his friends. Trust in the bond you have formed with her and the rest."
Minako nodded and Aphrodite raised a hand to wipe away the tears on her daughter's face. She smiled. "Now go. You are my daughter and you've faced many more dangerous foes and threats; this should be easy as the daughter of Love and a Senshi combined."
Minako stood up and left the room under her mother's encouraging smile. She knew where she was going, but she took a circuitous route to get to the King's room. It gave her time to compose herself.
A "Come in" answered her tentative knock.
Kunzite's face flashed in surprise upon seeing her, but his usual mask of unimpaired calm descended swiftly. Minako gave him points for being quick.
"I was thinking of visiting one of my favorite coffee shops; would you like to accompany me?"
This time he couldn't conceal his surprise. "I would gladly."
"You might want to change into something very warm. It just started to snow lightly again. You can borrow something from Endymion's closet if you like. I'll go get ready."
Minako positively ran from the room at high speed. Now all she had to do was get ready herself. She opened her closet door and pulled things out a random until she caught herself. She shook her head and studied the clothes in front of her. She wanted to look good; like the daughter of a goddess of Love should.
She grabbed a pair of light blue jeans and a dark yellow sweater with bits of orange here and there in the design. She made sure her hair shined and her bow was in place. Last, she found a pair of white tennis shoes that she hadn't worn in years and pulled them on. It was amazing they still fit after all these years. She put on very little make-up and spritzed a little perfume on her neck. Grabbing a white purse, she left the room.
Kunzite was already waiting for her at the entrance to the palace. His eyes widened at her appearance. "You look beautiful," he told her, fighting the hard thumps his heart was doing.
Minako blushed. "You do as well."
He wore a gray, cable-knit sweater, one she recognized that she had given Endymion on his 30th birthday. It looked better on Kunzite than it did on him. His hands were resting in the pockets of his warm black pants. A black pair of shoes completed his ensemble.
"Follow me," she told him and opened the door. Or tried to. Kunzite had to lend his shoulder to it as well since the snow had nearly trapped them in the palace.
On the way, Minako saw many people she recognized from over the years. She waved to Umino who sat with his girlfriend outside a store on a bench. Umino had turned out to be very handsome after high school, getting contacts and brushing his hair down.
Naru walked up to them and greeted them. When Minako introduced Kunzite she spared him but a glance. Turning back to the blonde, she asked, "Have you seen Nephrite? I was wondering when I could see him again? No one's come out of the palace lately."
Minako sighed and took Naru's arm. "Would you excuse us for a moment, Kunzite?"
He nodded.
Her and Naru walked a little ways off from everyone. But when Minako looked into Naru's confused eyes, she couldn't tell her. This was up to Nephrite to deal with. Yet she couldn't say it was nothing since it was her that had dragged the woman over here in the first place.
"I just wanted to tell you that we're nearly snowed in over there at the palace and that Serenity misses you," she said lamely.
Naru's face cleared. "Oh, thanks for letting me know. I gotta run, see you!"
Minako rejoined Kunzite, who thankfully said nothing. It was very hard being someone who could sense love. Naru was completely in love with Nephrite, but Nephrite and Makoto were soulmates. How could one understand what that meant exactly if one never felt what it was like to be soulmates to someone?
Minako shivered with cold and Kunzite wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Are we close to the coffee shop you wanted to go to yet?"
She nodded and opened a shop door on the right side of the street. The room was dim inside, but warm and welcoming. It was a small restaurant that depended on its regulars to supply its business.
The staff immediately recognized Minako and led her to her table. They gave Kunzite a few surprised looks since she usually came in alone, but didn't comment. She ordered her customary tea and her companion ordered a coffee for himself.
They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the low jazz music in the background. Minako sighed and stared out the window onto the street. Many people waved to her, but she couldn't bring herself to wave back, being too engrossed with thoughts of sadness and nervousness. Was Aphrodite right when she said that Rei would understand? Rei, fiery, stubborn, Pyro, Rei understand?
Kunzite cleared his throat gently and she started. She had almost forgotten he was there.
"No offense, Minako, but why did you ask me here? You usually avoid me. What have I done to make you so angry?"
She blushed. "You haven't done anything. Listen Kunzite, I have to tell you the reason why I haven't been around you all that much." Minako took a deep breath. "You have been told our quests for the stones, right?" He nodded. "You were also told that we each fought an evil Shitennou, right? Well, I met with my mother, Aphrodite, and she told me that I was going to kill my soulmate. I ignored her, even though I knew she was right, and did it anyway. When you came back, I became all confused. I love you, Kunzite, but you're dating Rei-chan and I wasn't sure that I could have a relationship with you after what I had done when getting the stone."
Minako kept her eyes firmly on a place that was anywhere but on Kunzite. There was silence for such a long time that she risked a glance at his face and couldn't look away. There was shock there, but also compassion, understanding, and love.
"I love you as well, Minako, my Venus."
She smiled as he hoped she would. They leaned forward over the table and kissed softly. The snow stopped falling and the two headed back to the palace, arm in arm.
Rei, standing just behind them, smiled. So now she knew what had been wrong with Minako. Going to the original Shinto shrine had proved a good idea after all. Though she was sad to let Kunzite go, Minako's happiness meant more to her than any man could ever hope to.
Minako stared up at the palace in front of her and felt a surge of elation. After such a long time of nothing, now she had everything.
End Chapter 13