A/N: Kon'wa! Ohisashiburi desu, ne? (It's been a long time, hasn't it?) Jikkan-chan returns triumphant—with a B, of all things. What a relief that was—I'd been scared to death on the final and went completely to pieces… But on to story business. Arashi-chan and Gamlain-kun, our august primary beta, have been terribly supportive and helpful, as always—Arashi-chan is actually responsible for a good chunk of this chapter all by herself, and there was a scene that literally could not continue without Gam-kun's input.
Thanks should also be directed to Jeffrey's Japanese - English Dictionary Server, Jikkan-chan's favourite place. It's easily found by web search, or by going into the Google Directory and finding it under Reference Dictionaries World Languages Japanese.
Aika no Tsuki
A Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon fanstory by Arashinobara Jikkankakyoku
III – Yasumaru
Minako felt her life flashing before her eyes even as she glowed vibrantly golden-orange with the power of her transformation. 'Venus Power, Make-up! Venus Power, Make-up!' her mind shrieked hysterically. Her fuku still coalescing around her, she dove down and snatched her Princess out of the braking car's way. She landed harshly on the sidewalk, both she and her load tumbling to the pavement.
Minako had not recognised Serenity at first, being as her hair was sun-golden as opposed to moonlit silver, but there was no mistaking that hairstyle. Sailorvenus looked up at the crowd of gaping people and flashed her trademark V-sign at them before gathering her princess back into her arms and leaping away.
"Sailorvenus." It wasn't a question, and Venus looked tenderly down at the drawn face, feeling her heart break over and over again as gazes of similar blue met and held. She had waited so long for her reunion with Serenity, and her only regret was the circumstances under which it happened.
"Hai," the senshi replied, knowing it was unnecessary but eager to fill the silence. "Daijoubu, Sailormoon?"
Usagi's smile was faint, but genuine. "Daijoubu, Venus." There was no point in asking how the other knew who they were. Their bond had almost clicked audibly the moment they had touched. Now, it pulsed steadily like a heartbeat, each little eddy a soothing balm to their souls.
Usagi buried her head into Venus' shoulder, the wind's accusing voice now silent as she was whisked from height to height in her sister's embrace. Despite the guilt and pain that lingered, she didn't feel quite so alone.
"Where are we going?" the younger girl asked, tightening her hold on her rescuer.
"You know what? I have no idea," Venus grinned cheerfully, the adrenaline at the scare she'd had finally fading away and leaving in its wake her usual bubbly joy. "Anyplace where there's enough seclusion to dehenshin, I guess. By the way, what are you called in this millennium?"
"Tsukino Usagi, and you?"
"Aino Minako." Venus couldn't resist showing off. "Also known as Sailor V."
As recently as yesterday afternoon, Usagi would have squealed and demanded an autograph—and that would have been at her calmest. Now, she merely smiled and burrowed further into Venus' warmth. "You're my idol, you know," was all she said before exhaustion took her.
Sailor Venus felt her chest inflate as her heart swelled with pride. She looked at Usagi, whose eyes had closed, her rhythmic breathing indicating sleep.
"No, I didn't," she answered. She tightened her hold on her passenger. "But I'm honoured."
Chiba Mamoru feared for his life. Standing in front of him were an Amazon who could, given incentive, put him in hospital; a highly-acclaimed miko who knew more than her fair share of curses, and a super-genius whose mother was a doctor and owned plenty of sharp, pointy instruments as well as needles. That was discounting the rabid cat, which appeared to be frothing at the mouth. All were out for his blood. The clincher? He had no idea why.
"You're going to pay for that, Chiba," Makoto growled, cracking her knuckles.
"Pay for what?" Motoki asked, stunned. "Mamoru didn't do anything –"
"What did you say to her?" quiet little Ami demanded, ignoring the soda jerk. "I can't believe you, Chiba-san! To make a girl cry when she was so obviously devastated already – Sailor – I cannot forgive this!"
"I didn't say anything!" Mamoru protested. "I was trying to tell her that if she needed anyone to talk to –"
"Why would she talk to you!" Rei all but sneered. "You've just hit her while she was down, you bastar –"
Motoki cut in as he saw the confusion in Mamoru's eyes morph into something a lot more ominous. "MATTE!" he bellowed. "Mamoru-kun didn't do anything, alright? Now, what's up with Usagi-chan?"
"What do you mean 'Mamoru-kun didn't do anything'?" Makoto gritted. "We saw her run out of here just now because of something he said to her!"
Rei's eyes widened, and she turned, her long dark mane slapping Mamoru in the face as she made a beeline for the doors, just on the heels of a black streak that might be that rabid cat. "Kuso! Usagi-chan…"
Makoto looked half-disappointed that she would have to wait to hurt 'that Chiba bastard' later, but followed Rei's retreating figure all the same.
It was Ami, though, quiet, demure, meek little Ami, who grabbed Mamoru's collar and stood on her tiptoes to snarl in his ear: "We'll be back."
"She'd have had to go this way –"
"Ami, can you get a reading on her?"
"Attempting now – that doesn't make any sense –"
"What doesn't? Hey, why's there this big crowd here?"
"This one girl went running across the road and almost got herself hit by a car, but a new orange Senshi came outta nowhere and scooped her up!" a boy was telling his girlfriend.
"Sugoi! I didn't know there was another one!"
"I know… how many are there now? Sailormoon, Sailormercury, Sailormars, Sailorjupiter, Sailor V…"
"Iie, Sailor V's not a real senshi."
"How would you know?"
"She's almost a kilometre from here and still going, but she's not henshined," said Ami over the noise of Girl A slapping Boy B.
"Then how –"
"Someone's carrying her."
"Who? Tuxedo Kamen?"
Ami shook her head. "No, that would make sense – and they said an 'orange senshi', not 'some lunatic in a tuxedo'."
"Then – that was Usagi who almost got hit by a car?"
"So I would conjecture – because the Computer identifies the person carrying her as one 'Sailorvenus'."
"Sailorvenus?" chorused two girls and a cat in perfect unison before the cat clapped her paws over her mouth, horrified that she had spoken so loudly before such a crowd.
"That's what it says. Did you know anything about this, Luna?"
Luna shook her head dumbly, eyes wide. "Iie, Venus was always the special outlook of Artemis; I only had equipment for the four of you. That she is here…" Her eyes went wider. "So that's why – Artemis, I don't know whether to hit you or kiss you," she trailed off in a mumble.
For her part, Ami didn't know whether to laugh or not. She settled for a small smile, trading secretive looks with her sisters. They'd get this 'Artemis' out of Luna later as well as all the juicy details.
"Anou… they've just changed directions," the bluenette muttered, beginning to plough unceremoniously through the dispersing crowd. She stopped abruptly, exhaling in irritation and amusement as the computer emitted an obnoxious beep. "They've stopped down at the park."
"Why is it always the park?" Makoto snorted and turned down an alley. "If we're going to catch up with them…" she withdrew her henshin wand. "Jupiter Power…"
"Mars Power…" Rei added, joining her.
"Make-up!" In a rush of electricity and fire, Sailorjupiter and Sailormars looked impatiently as Ami shut her computer and raised her own wand.
"Mercury Power, Make-up!" she called, and Sailormercury scooped Luna up in one hand, her computer in the other.
"Matte!" Luna called, her emotions conflicting wildly. "Mercury, do a scan for Artemis, he's a cat like myself, white."
"Luna-san, we can look up your boyfriend later –"
"He is not my boyfriend, but if we're to find Sailorvenus, we might as well get some answers from Artemis, first. He can't be far from here, as Venus probably left him behind for now."
"Hai, I'll be having a few words with her later," a disgruntled male voice grumbled from behind them. Jupiter whirled around, fist lashing out instinctively only to meet air. "Sailorjupiter, I'm down here," the white cat used a clawed paw to enforce the statement.
"ITAI! Kuso, you bloody neko, I'm going to dismember you –"
"Quiet, Jupiter," Luna said, rubbing briefly up against her boot-clad leg before touching noses in greeting with an amused Artemis. "Kon'wa, Artemis. It's been a long time."
"Indeed," he responded dryly. "And the pri – Sailormoon will be quite safe with Venus."
"Her name's Tsukino Usagi when she's in civilian form," Luna told him.
"How appropriate," he grinned. "Tsukino… of the moon, ne?"
"Hai. Now, what brings you here?" Luna asked. "Central did not inform me of this development… then again, it was you all that time, ne?"
The white cat looked embarrassed. "Hai, and gomen for the deception. As for us being here, Venus received a particularly painful… I suppose you could call it a transmission, really, down the psychic soul bond she shares with Sailormoon."
"Nani? How come we don't have one?" Mars asked sceptically.
"You do; they're simply not awakened yet. Venus has her entire memory of the Silver Millennium intact, as do I, so the bond is active."
"You know who and where the Princess is, then?" Jupiter interjected.
Artemis shifted under all their gazes. "Hai, we do. I'll explain later," he added hastily.
The senshi nodded reluctantly, remembering why they were henshined in the first place. Mars scooped up Luna and Jupiter squeezed Artemis a little harder than necessary. "Payback for the scratch, kitty-cat," she whispered sweetly in his ear. "Just pray I don't drop you mid-leap." Artemis gulped. Mercury was left unburdened, as she wanted both hands for using the Computer.
Typing quickly, she scanned the flickering charts on the small screen. "Anou…they haven't left the park yet, minna-chan!"
"Fine, let's just go already!"
"Jupiter…"
They bounded swiftly over the rooftops, arriving at their destination half a minute later. Mercury consulted her computer again, and pointed them over to a more secluded area of the gardens.
As they rounded a bend, they came face to face with a blonde, orange-clad senshi, a chain of linked golden hearts wrapped around her waist. Azure eyes narrowed angrily as Sailorvenus turned and stalked behind a few trees before powering down, Aino Minako emerging from the glamour.
Minako quivered with barely-suppressed fury before visibly forcing herself to stay calm. She nodded curtly to Artemis and stalked over towards a partially-hidden wooden bench where Usagi lay sleeping.
Feeling his charge's anger, Artemis trotted over to her, twining himself around her legs in a gesture of comfort. "Sailors Mercury, Mars and Jupiter…" he paused for effect. "Meet Sailorvenus, Leader of the Inner Senshi and Serenity's personal guard; Aino Minako in civilian form."
"NANI!" three shocked senshi gasped.
"I was under the impression that Sailormoon was the Leader," Luna frowned. "So much potential…"
"Iie, she isn't. She has a different role, but all the more important," Artemis informed them, a twinge of guilt working its way through his chest. 'They have the right to know…but not now.' He was also more than a little worried about what the other inner senshi would think of Venus. She was, for all they knew, untested and unworthy to lead them. The fact that Minako was currently steamed at the others did not help matters at all. Hopefully she would hold her tongue…
"Ah… domo arigatou for saving Usagi-chan," Sailormercury finally ventured.
Minako's blue eyes snapped onto the ice senshi immediately, and a decidedly feline hiss escaped her mouth.
Artemis' hopes sank. 'Please, Minako…they don't know –'
"She would not have needed saving if you – had – been – there!" Minako seethed. Her accusation had the other senshi's backs up, and Mars opened her mouth to retort. By her ugly expression, it was probably not going to be a very polite one.
'…so much for holding her tongue.' Artemis hung his head before nudging the furious blonde's ankle. "Anou…Mina-chan, they don't know –"
"I DON'T CARE!" she exploded. She opened her mouth to say more, but her shoulder slumped. "Iie… gomen ne. I shouldn't have accused you like that, but… just what is going on here?"
"Don't worry about it," Mercury said with regards to the apology before powering down. Holding her transformation could be seen as condescending, and an idle Sailormercury used more energy than an active one, anyway. "I can see where you're coming from, to be honest."
"Oh?" Minako shot a tight smile at the bluenette. 'Stop dodging the subject!'
"Hai. We should have gone after her immediately instead of…" Ami shook her head as Sailorjupiter and Sailormars reverted to Makoto and Rei. "Let me start from the beginning."
Minako shifted impatiently. "That's always a good idea."
As Ami filled their newest addition in on the events of the last twenty-four hours, Rei and Makoto went to check up on a peacefully sleeping Usagi, Luna having already settled herself at her charge's side. Rei swiped a sleeve across her eyes, smiling sadly. "That's Usagi-chan all right… scare us to death and then go to sleep."
Makoto elbowed the miko none-too-gently. "Rei-chan!" she dropped her voice. "What do you think about Aino-san, then?"
"Venus? She seemed really rude, but since she was worrying about Usagi-chan…"
"I don't know –"
"Give her the benefit of the doubt, you two," Artemis scolded them, leaping onto the bench to curl up next to a startled Luna. "Think about it. Minako's been experiencing flashbacks to the Silver Millennium for a long time, and her memory was already completed for several months before she met me a while ago. She has been very lonely, being the only senshi in England, and has been itching to meet all of you again.
"Her anger is making her unusually rude and curt. Imagine – she would have sacrificed a lot to be back here with you three, protecting and fighting alongside Sailormoon, when early this morning she received an immense shock down their bond. Not since the Silver Millennium has it been used this way; as a simple, agonised call for help. She immediately packed and left England.
"When she got back, she utilised the bond to find Sailormoon, or Usagi, as you call her. Imagine her dismay and shock when she sees her about to be flattened by a car; and the other senshi nowhere in sight. She got a nasty scare, and she is fully aware of the repercussions of antagonising team members, especially those who have never 'met' her."
Rei and Makoto were silent, and Artemis took that as encouraging. "Do you understand now?"
Luna opened her eyes and stretched, nuzzling Usagi tenderly. "I think they get the message, Artemis; let them be."
The white cat smiled softly at the black one. "You haven't changed, Luna."
Expecting one of Luna's acid-tongued responses, Rei and Makoto were surprised to see the black cat bow her head coyly. "Neither have you," she returned with a shy smile.
Something flashed in Artemis' eyes, and he looked away to get a tighter rein on his emotions. 'Do you remember?' he silently questioned, wishing desperately that he could ask the questions simmering inside him to her face. 'Do you remember how I courted and won you?' Feeling a little embarrassed at his decidedly melodramatic line of thought, he laid his head down on his paws.
'It's been a thousand years, and even if you did remember, would you still love me?' His heart twinged wistfully, and he closed his eyes. Could he and Luna just pick up being husband and wife after a thousand years of separation, providing she even remembered him? What if she felt shackled by the commitment that still bound his heart to hers?
'No 'what ifs',' he thought firmly, eyes closing as he took comfort in Serenity – Usagi's warmth. 'We'll just meet it when it comes.'
Motoki sat in the semi-darkness of the 'employees only' lounge, Mamoru opposite him. The dark-haired junior's eyes were closed, index and middle fingers rubbing his temples as if to forestall an oncoming headache. The blonde arcade manager sighed, taking a sip of soda as he waited patiently for his friend to speak.
A few weeks ago, he'd gone to Mamoru's place regarding a book that he'd wanted to borrow. They'd agreed to meet at the arcade after closing, but when half-an-hour had passed, Motoki had figured Mamoru must have forgotten—surely even Perfect Chiba must screw up sometime, right?—and gone to his apartment His increasingly-worried knocks not getting any kind of response, Motoki had let himself in with the spare key to find his best friend sprawled over the floor, unconscious, suffering from a concussion and several deep, sluggishly-bleeding slashes across his chest.
After the terror and panic coursing through his veins had subsided, he cleaned and bandaged the cuts before calling in to Mamoru's school to excuse him from classes the next day. When his dark-haired friend woke up, he had taken one look at Motoki before turning away. His words haunted the blond ceaselessly.
"I'll tell you one day, not when you're ready, but when I am. I just hope that it won't come to me not coming home for you to find out."
Unable to protest, Motoki had accepted. Other friends might have pressed on harder, determined to find out just what had caused Mamoru such injuries, and to put a stop to it if possible. Motoki, however, had long accepted that he would never fully comprehend the dark-haired junior. Mamoru was an enigma, but Motoki knew him well enough that he understood Mamoru would never do anything foolish without a concrete reason. His trust had been unwavering, and now…
Now Motoki would find out just what had caused his friend's injuries, and why those horrible cuts had disappeared the next day along with the bruises and smaller scrapes. Mamoru had signalled that he wished to speak to his friend in private, which brought him back to why they were sitting in the employees' lounge a quarter-hour after the arcade had closed for the night.
Mamoru had been fidgeting for the last five minutes, and Motoki's patience was worn thin by curiosity. The silence was broken suddenly by Mamoru's curt command. "Catch."
Motoki caught the thrown object seconds before it hit his face, and took a good look at it.
"A rose," the blond murmured.
Mamoru's lips twisted into a sardonic grin. "Hai, a rose."
Motoki considered making an 'I didn't know you felt about me that way' joke before shrugging. "What does a rose have to do with what you wanted to tell me?"
Mamoru sighed, eyes closing again. "Everything."
Motoki blinked and then tried to break the tension with a joke. "Oh, I see it now. You're a florist who throws flowers at guys who insult your wares and got attacked by some gang leader because you wouldn't hand over the roses for him to give to his girlfriend…"
His friend chuckled, cutting him off. "Close enough."
Motoki was thrown off guard. "Nani?"
"Make it a superhero florist who prances around in a tuxedo, cape and top hat and that's about it."
For some strange, indefinable reason, Motoki was not as surprised as he thought he would be a few weeks ago. "It figures," he muttered. "You're Tuxedo Kamen?" He didn't need Mamoru's answering nod to know he was right. The injuries, the unscheduled absences that corresponded with youma sightings… even the similar appearances. Build, facial structure (what the mask didn't cover, that is), and the uncommon strength. Mamoru was almost frighteningly strong, something Motoki had always dismissed. "It explains a lot," Motoki sighed.
Mamoru nodded slowly. "I – gomen ne for not telling you sooner. As it is, you could be in terrible danger for just knowing. This, along with the senshi's identities, is the best-kept and most dangerous secret in Tokyo. If something happened –"
"I'm not stupid, Mamoru-kun," Motoki answered easily. "But will you promise me this?" he didn't give his friend a chance to protest. "Promise me that after every battle you will give me a call – no matter how late or early or even if it's in class – and tell me exactly what happens."
Mamoru looked unsure. "What if you're not there, I can't –"
"Then leave a message on the answering machine or my mobile phone. I want to know, Mamoru-kun. Promise me."
The dark-haired young man bowed his head at the older blond, a little surprised by Motoki's vehemence. "I – I promise."
Motoki relaxed. "Good. Now, how did you become Tuxedo Kamen in the first place?"
Mamoru hesitated for another split second before he began his tale. He told his friend of the Princess in his dreams, and his quest to find the Ginzuishou, which led to explaining the seven nijizuishou that, once assembled, would, presumably with the help of some kind of catalyst, become the silver crystal.
He spoke of the strange bond connecting him to Sailormoon, and how that was how Tuxedo Kamen had been born, out of a desire to protect the somewhat hapless senshi. He spoke of the more technical aspects, what it felt like to transform, the subspace pockets, the advanced healing, super strength and psychometry. At Motoki's playful urging, he described the senshi, both in appearances and attitude.
He faltered when he began to tell of the actual battles, and the loss of Ensei Yamu, as well as Sailormoon's grief. He spoke for nearly three quarters of an hour, and it was nearing eleven pm when he finally stopped. They sat together in comfortable silence for another five minutes or so, and this time it was Motoki who broke it. "Do you regret anything?"
Mamoru looked as if he were caught off guard by the question, and then considering as he thought his answer through. He seemed almost surprised when he answered. "Iie, I don't. Someone has to do it, and while I don't enjoy doing it, I don't regret it, either."
Motoki smiled. "Not to be corny or anything, but you know I'm always here to talk to."
Mamoru laughed. "You're right, that is corny. But arigatou, I appreciate it."
When they parted ways, Mamoru was a little startled to realise that the lump of almost abject misery and guilt that had sat like a dead weight in his chest for last night and most of today was significantly smaller, and had been for hours. 'Around the time when Usagi's friends were threatening me?' he blinked, trying to think of something that might have prompted it to stop like that, but decided to welcome the relief. As he walked back to his apartment, he searched the overcast skies for the moon, and found it in the form of a few ethereally silver wisps of cloud.
He shook his head and long fingers produced a rose in a tiny shower of golden sparks before twirling it about. 'I wonder…'
Luna sat guard on a spare pillow, upright, tail wrapped neatly about her ankles, and surveyed the scene before her: two teenage girls, faces so alike as to be nearly identical, asleep on the same bed, golden hair spread in a corona around them. Sailorvenus — Minako — was spooned protectively around the much smaller Usagi, who herself was only prevented from curling into a tiny ball by Mina's comforting arms.
'Praise Selene; praise Aphrodite for her daughter, faithful beyond compare.'
"By the balls of Bacchus," a soft baritone observed from the windowsill. "I think that's the quietest Mina's slept in a year."
Luna repressed the urge to cuff him over the ear, for fear the noise of a scuffle might wake the pair up. "Artemis Andronicus M'sp'ye ap Mau!" she hissed under her breath. "You know how They are about blasphemy!"
Artemis allowed himself a quiet chuckle. "Oh, hush. You know how funny He finds that — I even asked permission." He sobered almost instantly. "Now come on."
Her ears flattened. "You are not serious! Leave them? Now?" They both knew it wasn't Sailorvenus she was worried for.
A single lash of white tail. "Come, now, she isn't going to be attacked in the middle of the night — not this night, anyway."
"Artemis…"
"Luna." He leapt nimbly to the tree branch just outside the window. "You can still see them from here."
She hesitated.
"Please."
Luna relaxed her stance and bent to press her nose to Usagi's forehead. 'I have done this before, I know I have done this before, but something is missing —' She pulled away and shook her head so hard her ears flapped. 'Enough.' She ghosted from the bed and up to the sill, pausing to turn back and look at her charge. "She'll know I'm gone, even this far."
"But you aren't," he returned, moving back to let her land before him. "You've barely left the house."
Luna turned immediately, her eyes returning to the masses of golden hair. "Look at her," she said miserably. "She's twisting in her sleep already." And indeed Usagi was; she began to shift restlessly, whimpering a little—but Minako's arms tightened about her, and she calmed.
Artemis rubbed his side along hers. "That stillness wasn't normal. Aren't you the kitty who complained to Central that your charge could flatten elephants in her sleep?"
"But she was calm."
"You can't savage her nightmares as you would a mouse under your paws."
"I know." Luna's voice broke a little. "You think I don't know that? You aren't saying anything I haven't told myself a thousand times already. But what else can I do?"
"You can trust others to guard her while you take care of yourself. Or at least let someone else look after you. Hold still."
Luna squawked a little as she was pinned to the tree limb by one white paw. "Mrmf—Artemis, what are you doing?"
"Grooming you," Artemis said into the fur between her ears. "You look like you haven't washed since she came home that night."
She didn't answer, but Artemis knew his wife of old; her silence that meant that he was right—she just didn't want to admit it.
But she didn't struggle, either.
"So cooperative? Now I know you're in a state," he teased (slightly muffled) as he paid careful attention to the tuft under her right ear. "So while I've got you pinned down, tell me."
"Mmm…. A little to the left, please," she said, slightly groggily. How did he know all the places she could never get done to her satisfaction herself…? Wait, he'd asked a question. "…what?"
Artemis' voice held a note completely unfamiliar; something she wasn't sure she could interpret through the pleasant fog in her brain. Concern, curiosity, fear… what?
'Love?'
No. Of course not.
He was half-draped over her now, for better access to her ears. She would have savaged any other cat for taking such a liberty, but him —
"Why are you calling Usagi 'kit' to her face?"
The question jolted her out of her warm lassitude. She sobered abruptly. "So you noticed."
"As if you were hiding it? Not all blue-eyed white cats are deaf, hoshizora-neko."
Cat of the starry sky. Selene take it, why was that so familiar?
"…because I think she needs it," she said softly, dragging her thoughts back into order. "Because I need to say it."
"Ah," Artemis said wisely, and began to wash her ears again.
A complete lack of response. Utterly neutral and inoffensive in any way.
So why did she find it so irritating?
"No surprise, Art?" she asked, trying to hide her frustration. He was doing this on purpose. "I've never been a particularly maternal person —"
"Except to Serenity," he interrupted.
She deflated in an instant, all ire gone. He'd done that on purpose, too.
Damn the man for not letting her stay mad at him.
"You look at Usagi the same way," he continued, pausing to worry at a tangle with his teeth. "…but you never told Serenity."
She closed her eyes against half-remembered grief. "How do you tell the princess you've raised — disciplined her and taught her everything you know since she was born — that she's as dear to you as if you birthed her yourself?"
"The same way you tell any other child of body, heart or mind. It starts with 'I' and ends with 'you'."
Luna opened her mouth to speak before shutting it and closing her eyes. "It's not that easy."
"How do you reckon?"
"She had her own mother. Her real mother. I was just her governess, her guardian, and I loved being that, Selene knows I did — but how could I ever compete with Selenity?"
Artemis snorted into her fur. "You make it sound as if Serenity had an excess of parents — or even saw her mother half as much as either of them wanted."
Luna's voice was soft. "Or saw her father at all."
A deep sigh. "Even Selenity only saw him that one time… I asked her, once, and she told me that he was maboroshi no hito."
"A man of illusions….?" Her eyes glazed over momentarily before clearing. "Hai, that he was."
"So you never told Serenity because you would never have dared even the thought of competing with Her Majesty, and loved our liege-lady too much to give even the image of coming between her and the only piece she had of her lover. But why Usagi, who has an actual sibling, and two, real, loving parents?"
"I never told Serenity," Luna whispered, her agony tangible. "I never told her, and then…" her gaze turned inward. "…eyes lifeless, yet triumphant. That Terran's blade through her heart, and blood — blood everywhere." Tears filled her eyes as she recalled the suicide. "And through it all, she never left his side, curse him. They died together."
Artemis' head jerked up and he looked intently at his wife. "You remember?"
Luna tensed under him, and claws far too sharp and strong for any Terran feline splintered the wood under her grip. "That's what angers me most," she choked. "I remember her death, the details of the gold embroidery on her dress, the smell of blood — but Ican't see her face!"
His heart cracked and bled at the agony in her voice. 'To hell with waiting.' "Oh, Luna. Oh, hoshizora-neko, oh, koishii." He burrowed his head under her chin, leaned up to lick at her unshed tears. "Better anything than that blasted half a memory… gently, gently, beloved, don't cry, please don't, you know I can't bear it when you cry…"
"You never could," she mumbled through his half-frantic administrations. "The mighty War-master, rendered a helpless puddle of white fur by a single maiden's tears…." His words sunk in. "…hoshizora…? Koishii? Artemis, since when have I been your beloved?"
He closed his eyes. "Since I first set eyes on you; a thousand years ago; today; just now. 'Since when', 'how long', 'why', what does it matter? I just do, and I don't care who knows — please, I don't expect anything of you, you've long forgotten me — just — just let me be near you…?"
Red and blue paused reading eternity in each other and with an almost audible click, images flooded Luna's mind. She almost fell off the tree limb in shock, little heart hammering wildly. Artemis took an almost panicked step towards her but she raised a paw, garnet eyes closed as she tried to make sense of the memories coursing through her mind.
"Matte," she said curtly, heart turning over at his agonised expression. Just as quickly as the insane slew of garbled conversations, hazy images and thoughts that she knew to be her own ,but could not remember, had come, it left, and in its wake pulsed three glowing, beautiful thoughts.
Artemis loves Luna.
Luna loves Artemis.
Forever and always, beloved husband and wife.
Luna's eyes softened as she looked at the pathetic sight her husband made, tail drooping off the side of the branch, stance disheartened and shoulders hunched. Even his whiskers appeared to be wilting.
"Artemis, I –" the white cat's head jerked up, and in his blue eyes burned hope and love and a thousand and one passionate embraces. Koishii… "I –"
"Just because I said it," Artemis whispered, "doesn't mean you are obligated to feel what I feel. Do not speak for the sake of sparing my feelings. Speak because you feel you must."
Luna felt the fur on her back rise and she snapped without thinking. "Urusai!" she snarled quietly, mindful of Usagi and Minako sleeping not two metres away. "There are no words…" she faltered here before clearing her throat and trying again. "I –"
Her earlier question for him came back to haunt her mind, and she fancied that the breezes reworded it.
"How do you tell the princess you've raised —
How do you tell the only man you've ever loved —
disciplined her and taught her everything you know since she was born —
for whom you sleep just that much earlier so you might dream of him —
that she's as dear to you as if you birthed her yourself?"
that your love for him extends beyond eternity?
Artemis' answer and the subsequent replies whirled around in her mind.
"The same way you tell any other child of body, heart or mind. It starts with 'I' and ends with 'you'."
"It's not that easy."
"How do you reckon?"
Luna realised that with every moment of silence that passed, the hope in Artemis' eyes faltered and dimmed, the spirit she had always seen as indomitable seeming to draw further into him.
"It's not that easy."
"How do you reckon?"
Notthateasynotthateasynotthateasy…
Casting his implacable face yet another glance, her doubts were swept away and she almost choked on the emotion that swamped her every thought.
"I love you," she breathed. "Aishiteru."
The twinkle returned to his eyes and he covered the few steps between them before nuzzling her gently. "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
Luna let out a half-laugh, half-sob before burying her face in the soft fur between his shoulder and neck. "You have no idea just how much," she sighed, not quite sure if she was referring to his rhetorical question or her love for him. Perhaps it was both, but she would worry about it later. For now, she kept watch over her kit as the two of them sat like black and white sentinels in the night, tails twining gently together as they watched the dawn.
Glossary
yasumaru—to be rested; to feel at ease; to repose; to be relieved.
daijoubu—safe; all right; O.K.
matte—a request/command; 'wait'.
kuso—colloquial; 'feces'; 'excrement'; 'shit'; 'bullshit'.
anou—an interjection, rather like 'say'; 'well'; 'er'.
domo arigatou—A semi-formal thank you.
koishii—(1) dear; beloved; darling; (2) yearned for.
urusai—literally, 'noisy'; when yelled is generally inferred as a command (demand?) to shut up.
Andronicus is something Jikkan-chan pulled out of her head at random when casting about for something Luna could full-name Artemis with; a name she vaguely associates with history. Gamlain, in a show of why we so dearly wub him, decided that he liked the name and looked it up. By the literal Greek it's 'master of the men's apartments' or 'male house master'; more accurately (sic) it's 'The Party Guy'. Both seemed appropriate for the militarily-minded advisor of the Moon Kingdom.
M'sp'ye is yet another thing Jikkan-chan pulled out of her head; it sounds like 'miss-peh-yay', all run together and with gutturals in the vowels, and if it means something Artemis has yet to tell her. He's infuriating that way.
ap Mau is a corruption of Welsh surname customs, and in this case is meant to be 'of Mau' rather than 'child of Mau', though taken in a certain light the latter also suits.
hoshizora-neko is 'starry sky' with 'cat' attached as a suffix, which is common practice in the English-speaking anime fan vernacular even if Jikkan-chan has no clue if this has any real basis in Japanese speech. It's a visual reference to Naoko-sama's habit in the manga (at least the first two volumes) of splashing important characters with significant dark sections with stars—i.e., Tuxedo Kamen always has stars in his hair and on his clothes; Sailormoon/Serenity has stars on her skirt, in her hair as the princess, and at one memorable point, caught in her eyelashes; and very occasionally Luna has stars in her fur.
