"Sailor Angel and Sailor Phosphora: The Fight Against Catastrophe"
Chapter Fourteen
By Angel Sentier and M'Lila Cronk
"Alright, everyone," Artemis was saying to the senshi who had gathered in the main courtyard of Rei's temple. "We'll meet here tomorrow. Luna, Mamoru, and obviously Rei, will stay here with Usagi. Rei, call Usagi's mother in the morning and tell her Usagi got sick, but she's welcome to stay at the temple until she can come home. You can make up the illness, but 'too much studying' never raises any eyebrows. The rest of you, get some sleep, and be on your guard. I'll maintain the search for a weakness in that rift from Central Control."
As everyone said their goodnights, Minako sidled up to Seiya. "Goodnight, Seiya-san," she said with a smile.
"Goodnight, Minako-san."
"Say, Seiya... I think you ought to walk Zara home," she indicated the other girl, who at the moment was saying goodnight to Rei.
"What? Why?"
"She's VERY upset because her friend was kidnapped. I don't think she's totally on her guard and it would be just AWFUL if something happened to her because of it, don't you agree?"
Seiya looked over at Zara, his look softening slightly. "Yeah... Well, I guess I could."
"Great!" she bubbled and gave him a shove in the right direction. "You're a gentleman and a schooner!"
"That's 'scholar,' Minako," said Artemis as he trotted up beside her. "What are you up to?"
"Artemis, I'm surprised at you!" exclaimed Minako, pretending offence. "You always think I'm up to something!"
"Because you usually are."
"I won't discuss this. We're going home." She scooped him up and with his head on her shoulder, he couldn't see the mischievous smile that lit her face.
Seiya walked over to Zara. "Well, let's go."
She raised an eyebrow. "Go where?"
"I'm walking you home."
"Why?"
He looked over to Minako for help, but she'd already left. "Something might happen to you," he said, lamely.
She tossed her hair. "I can take care of myself, thank you." With that, she headed off down the temple steps.
With a sigh, Seiya shoved his hands in his pockets and walked after her.
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Ten minutes later...
"Quit following me!" Zara yelled for the third time.
Seiya, from ten paces behind her, called back, "I'm walking you home, whether you like it or not, you stubborn girl!"
She growled in frustration, her hands clenched at her sides as she continued walking. "This could not possibly get any worse..."
At that moment, the clouds opened and it began to rain.
"AUGH!" she screamed at the sky. "This has absolutely been the worst day of my life!! I hate this baddie, I hate this planet, I hate this! I hate it! I... hate it..." Kneeling in a puddle, she balled her fists at her eyes to try and keep the tears from falling. "No! I will not cry. Not after all this..."
She became aware of the fact that Seiya had caught up to her and was now kneeling in front of her. His hands came up to rest on her shoulders.
"Hey," he said, softly. "It's going to be okay."
"It's not okay," she said. "Why does it have to be this way? Why are there always bad people in the world? Can't they just... stop? I'm tired of bad guys just waltzing into our lives and trying to mess them up. I'm tired of the people I love getting hurt."
"This is the way it is, though," he said, daring to wrap his arms around her in what he hoped was a comforting manner. "Hate always poisons people's hearts. And that's why the universe needs senshi like you and me to protect them. I understand that you're tired of it; we all are, I think. But don't hate it. Hate is what makes people bad in the first place. We have to carry on. Everyone is counting on us."
"It's easy when you have all the answers, isn't it?" she asked, a little bitterly.
"No. It's easy to know the answers, but not so easy to believe them when you're far away from home and hope is rapidly slipping through your fingers." He tilted her face up with two fingers so she would look at him. "I've been where you are now, Zara. And the only thing to do is believe in those around you and keep going until you can't go anymore. You can do it, too. You're strong. I see it in you."
"You do?"
"Of course." He smiled. "You meet my temper head-on, don't you? You're quite the opponent."
She managed to smile back at him. "Thanks."
He helped her to stand up. "Well, now that we're completely soaked, will you let me walk you home?"
"Okay. I'll even lend you a towel. I'm nice like that."
He laughed softly as they began walking again. "I hesitate to suggest it, but do you think we could call a truce?"
"What makes you hesitate?"
"Well, don't you find our sparring matches kind of... fun?"
Suddenly, Zara was pulled back into her earlier conversation with Minako. Had she gotten Seiya's attention in that way? "I... I don't know..." was all she could say to that. She wasn't sure if she liked the possibility or not.
"Do you think it's possible to be friends and still pick on each other once in a while?"
The word 'friends' calmed her down. "Yeah, I pick on Celeste all the time!" The mention of Celeste sobered her somewhat. "Are you saying you want to be friends?"
"I think I'm saying we could give it a try."
"Well..." She considered it. Seiya was being rather considerate to her. And it was nice to know that someone else understood her feelings in this situation. Minako's voice niggled at the back of her head and for a moment, she hesitated, but then shrugged it off. Minako hadn't made a successful match since Usagi and Mamoru. The chance she was right in this situation was like, a million to one. "Okay, why not?"
He gave her a half-grin. "Glad I was able to convince you. Took you long enough to think about it."
She returned it. "Hey, I'm getting to short end of the deal, here."
"Excuse me? Have you forgotten what a fabulous famous singer I am?"
"I'm a fabulous famous singer AND princess of my own galaxy!"
"Well, tons of other girls want to be friends with me. I guess you're just special. All the special schools are after you." He snickered.
"You would know. You dropped out of three and had to take the short bus to school, didn't you?"
"That's an Earth thing."
"Damn! Well, it was still a good burn!"
They laughed together. Zara thought that perhaps being friends with Seiya wouldn't be so bad. Maybe kind of fun. Minako was absolutely wrong. Of course she was.
To be continued...
