"Sailor Angel and Sailor Phosphora: The Fight Against Catastrophe"
Chapter Twenty-One
By Angel Sentier and M'Lila Cronk
Everyone sat back, stunned, at the end of Yuki's story. Most shocked of all, probably, was Zara. Her face had gone white as a sheet.
"I... I didn't know," she stammered. "I fought in that battle and I hadn't known. I was her best friend and I hadn't even known!" She fisted her hands in her hair. "How could I have been so stupid?"
"Hey," said Seiya, grabbing her hands and helping them to relax, "it's not your fault."
"Celeste blames herself for this entire situation," said Yuki. "When all she did was make one mistake."
"One stupid mistake!" said Rei, angrily. "She's put the entire universe in danger!"
"Rei, how can you say that?" asked Usagi. "If it had been Mamo-chan in that situation, I know I would have done the same thing."
"If you'll remember, Usagi," Rei said, turning on her. "Your love for Mamoru-san already destroyed an entire kingdom. I suppose it was time for a new set of contenders to try and ruin this century."
Usagi began to cry, so Mamoru, with a glare at Rei, took her out of the room. Minako thwacked Rei upside the head.
"That was mean, Rei!"
"It's not my fault that love makes you do stupid things!"
"Oh, no, you did NOT just diss my power as the senshi of love!"
The other senshi were beginning to have similar debates as Minako and Rei continued.
"I know I wouldn't have compromised a battle," Haruka was saying on the other side of the room.
"Are you saying you'd kill me if you had to?" asked Michiru.
"Well..."
The field seemed pretty much divided evenly between thinking Celeste did what any person would have, and thinking that her mistake was the death warrant for the entire universe.
Zara glanced next to her at Seiya. "What do you think?"
He looked at her for a long moment. "I think love makes you do crazy things. You know I've been there." He smiled. "What about you?"
"She's my best friend. I'm allowed to think she's stupid while still supporting her." She glanced at the chaos around them. "I'm going to go home. I'm too tired to try and break up all these fights."
"I'll walk you."
No one noticed Seiya and Zara leave the room.
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Zara was trying to cook herself an egg in the microwave later that night when there was a knock at the door. Throwing the wasted egg effort in the garbage, she went to see who it was.
She opened the door to find Seiya standing there. He'd only left her about two hours ago, so in her surprise, she forgot to say hello.
"Hey," he said finally.
"Hey... Did you... forget something?" she asked, still somewhat confused by his appearance. "Is something the matter?"
"Yeah," he said, shifting his weight to the other foot. "Yaten is driving me up the wall and Taiki is no help. Can I hang out here for a while?"
She stepped back for him to enter. "Okay, I guess."
He made a slight face as he took off his shoes and placed them by the entryway. "What were you cooking in here?"
With a groan, she closed the door behind him. "I was trying to cook an egg. Celeste usually handled all the food, since cooking isn't exactly my strong point, and we ran out of cereal, but I thought I could handle a microwave..."
He laughed. "How about I cook you dinner, in exchange for the peace of mind you're granting me?"
"Great!" She flopped on the couch. "I never mind being waited on."
He made her a courtly bow and resisted the urge to snicker. "As you wish, princess."
As he went into the kitchen, she called after him. "Would you please not call me that?"
He continued to talk from the other room. "Why? Most girls think it's cute."
"I'm not most girls."
"Don't I know it."
"And it makes me think of home... I'd rather concentrate on worrying about one galaxy at a time."
There was a pause. "Zara..." Another pause, as he tested saying her name. "Do you know, we've actually met before?"
She blinked. "We have?"
"Uh-huh. At your cousin Kakyuu's coronation. I was really little at the time, but I could never forget... You must have been about three years old. All of the kids who had been brought to the event were being watched by some old nurse in a room that was well out of the way of the coronation. I was the only one who saw you sneak out of the room, so I followed you."
"No way! I don't even remember this!"
He came out into the living room then, holding a plate of scrambled eggs and cheese. "It's true. Your hair was so bright orange, it looked like your head was on fire." He sat down next to her and handed her the plate. "I caught up to you halfway down the hall and asked what you were doing. You said you were bored and insisted that you were going to see your cousin."
"Did we?" she asked between mouthfuls.
He nodded. "Yep. We stood in the back of the throne room and watched the whole ceremony. But you gave us away when she was crowned and you shouted 'yay!'" He laughed softly. "Someone came running up saying, 'Princess Zara! You shouldn't be out here!' They took you away and I was led back to the babysitter, but it had been fun... and it was a nice memory to think about when I wanted to smile."
"I wish I could remember it," she said, wistfully. She put the plate on the coffee table in front of the couch and turned, curling one leg beneath her, to give Seiya her full attention.
"Even if you can't, I think we're having some memorable times together now, aren't we?"
She sighed. "I'd rather they were happier..."
His look softened slightly. "We should make them happier."
"How?"
"Well... We'll wake up Celeste soon. With twenty-two senshi, Mamoru-san and Yuki-san, I don't really see how we could fail defeating Catastrophe. You've made a lot more friends, right? And..." He leaned forward and kissed her.
In shock, she reflexively pushed him away and backed against the arm of the couch. "What are you doing?!"
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I have a confession to make, Zara... I didn't just come here to get away from Yaten and Taiki." He looked her square in the eyes. "When Artemis told us to prepare for the worst, it really put it in perspective for me. Last time I prepared for the worst, I barely got to tell the woman I loved how I felt. And while, usually, I take forever to think about how I feel for someone, I'm not waiting this time. I like you. How much, I don't know yet, but I like you, Zara. And I wanted to show you before it was too late."
"So you just go and kiss me? You absolute jerk!" She could appreciate his reasoning, but the way he approached it hadn't been fair to her. "We're supposed to be friends!"
He shrugged, unrepentant. "Whatever. I wasn't going to risk death without getting a kiss from the girl I like."
"That's a pretty cheap way to snake a kiss!"
"Are you saying I had a chance of getting one if I had asked?"
She sputtered. "I-- Well-- You-- I hate you!"
"No, you don't."
"Oh, yes, I do!"
"Well, I like you."
"Fine! You like all you want! But I hate you!"
He just smiled at her. "You're beautiful when you're angry."
"Augh!"
He leaned forward again, and she squeezed her eyes shut, defensively putting her hands up. When he laughed softly and nothing happened, she squinted her eyes open. He wasn't doing anything, just leaning very close to her. So close, she could feel the heat from his body radiating onto hers.
"If we live through this battle, I want you to promise me you'll kiss me back."
"I'll kick your ass, is what I'll do."
He leaned closer, his lips were scant inches from hers now. "Promise me."
She resisted the urge to pull away, since she knew that was what he was trying to make her do. "Fine, I promise." Anything to make him get away from her.
He laughed again and for the first time, something caught her attention. Her eyes shot fully open.
"Have you been drinking?"
He quickly leaned back. "No."
It was her turn to lean forward and she sniffed the air around him. "Yes, you have!"
He gave her a grin, tracing a random pattern on the couch with one finger. "Just a little sake that Mamoru-san had... I probably would have chickened out if I hadn't drunk it."
"MAMORU-SAN knows you're here?!"
"Kind of."
"GET OUT!" she bellowed.
"I would, but..." He swayed slightly. "I don't think I can walk..."
She covered her face with her hands in exasperation. "I'd kill you, but it wouldn't be fair if you're already passed out." She left the room for a minute and came back with a pillow and a blanket which she threw at him. "You can sleep on the couch. Don't expect me to sympathize with your hangover tomorrow. And I'm locking my door, so don't even think about crawling into bed with me!"
He just smiled blearily at her as he emerged from under the blanket. "You're so nice. I knew there was a reason I liked you."
"SHUT UP!"
She stomped into her room and locked the door behind her. She stood listening for a minute, but didn't hear anything that sounded like Seiya getting up to go after her.
'Thank God...' she thought.
Sitting on her bed, she mulled things over, still stunned. Minako had been right. Granted, Seiya was drunk, but if anything, drunks usually get MORE truthful rather than less.
"Damn it!" she whispered so he wouldn't hear her.
She mostly was angry because, now that Seiya had told her this, she had to admit that she was at least attracted to him. And if she was attracted to him, she was only a few steps away from liking him, too. That was the bad part, because liking someone who was supposed to be your friend complicated things. Celeste's example had more than shown her that. And not only were they in the middle of a very dangerous situation, but they would also eventually have to part ways. No good could come of this, any way you looked at it.
She sighed in frustration. Suddenly, sleep seemed like a very good idea. This would all go away in the morning. When Seiya was sober, he'd take back what he said and everything would be normal again. At least, she hoped so. She dreaded having to give Minako the right to say 'I told you so.'
To be continued...
