Chapter 32

The park was only a short walk from the restaurant, located across a busy thoroughfare. Unlike most Japanese parks, it was not integrated with its surroundings in the slightest. Rather, iy was surrounded by a row of dense hedges, specifically designed to block out unwanted noise and intrusions.

Upon entering, one was confronted by a fairly typical Japanese park with neatly trimmed plants and aesthetically pleasing placements of water and bridges.

Yet there was an otherworldly aspect to this place. Here one could feel truly secluded from the outside world, shut off from the lights and perpetual hustle and bustle of Tokyo. It was a place for honest reflection and good conversations, away from life itself.

The two walked slowly, soaking up each other's presence as well as they could. Each of them felt the urgency of the moment, knew that it was their last night together, and were content with it all the same. Through a concerted effort on both sides, they had recaptured the essence of friendship that had eluded them so.

"Minako-chan, I have a question."

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Minako froze for an instant, then forced herself to calm down. He wasn't the sort to go through all the trouble of becoming her friend again to screw it up. "Yes, Bin-kun?"

Kevin betrayed a silly grin. "How did we ever manage to screw this up, Minako-chan? We had such a good thing going."

She leaned on his shoulder and said, "Keep talking."

"I mean, the ball that night. A bunch of trivial things happened. And let's face it, neither of us acted particularly mature about it, you know? We're still not really acting all that mature about it."

She let out a sigh, then complemented it with a wry smile. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm acting very mature."

"Fine, you're the exception." Kevin forced out a chuckle. "It's just that I don't want anything to screw us up more than we are already."

She breathed out gently. "So what are you saying?"

"So, would it be a bad thing if we were friends again? I mean...I'd like to be your friend again."

Minako crossed in front of him and enfolded him in a gigantic hug. "Whatever made you think that you had stopped, you big silly?"

He sputtered, "Well, I thought...the ignoring each other--"

"Sometimes friends don't quite understand each other as much as they should. That being said, I am and always have been your friend and I'm going to really miss you when you leave."

Kevin lolled his head back and let out a relieved guffaw. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that. I mean, hearing all that just puts me at ease."

"Hey, what are friends for?"

He continued, giggling nervously, "I mean, imagine what it would be like if we actually liked each other. That would really just screw things up...wouldn't it?"

Minako half smiled to herself and hugged him closer. "I wouldn't go quite that far."

"Hmm?" Kevin's body tensed suddenly as if steeling himself for something. She was about to tease him about his jumpy nerves, but that train of thought was broken by the sharp crack of metal on concrete.

Minako drifted away from Kevin slowly to get a better view. Three well dressed men obstructed the pathway to the exit. Each of them held a samurai sword in their hands and, in the pale moonlight, Minako could make out that one of them was missing the tip of his pinky.

A dark chill wormed its way into Minako's gut as the word yakuza reverberated through her mind. Instinctively, she shied behind Kevin.

The leader of the trio called out. "Such a touching moment. I hate to break it up."

Kevin replied in a cool and clear voice. "All will be forgiven if you would let us finish it in peace."

The yakuza member favored Kevin with a ghastly smile. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

The American took a step back. His voice turned hard. "Oh? Then to what do we owe this pleasure?"

"I believe I have to relieve you of certain items of value."

The night suddenly felt cold. "And what are those items, pray tell?"

The criminal grinned again, a darkly frightening look. "Your wallet and the girl will do."

Kevin pushed Minako even further behind him and responded smoothly but with a clear undertone of cold fury. "I'm afraid that's not possible. The wallet I can part with...but the girl has a will of her own."

Devilishly, "I am sure you can persuade her to give us an hour or so of her time. Otherwise, she'll have to mourn over your body and that would just ruin the moment."

Minako uttered softly, "Kevin..."

In a low voice. "Minako-chan, I want you to run."

"But--"

Kevin turned his head and yelled, "Do it!"

She was jolted out of her lethargy and began to sprint away as fast as her legs would take her.

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"A pity." The leader took a purposeful step towards Kevin. "It's a wasted effort you know. There's only one exit from this park and we control it. I'm not sure what you were trying to accomplish. No matter."

The yakuza motioned to his compatriots. The silvery gleam of three swords betrayed themselves in the dark, giving Kevin a frame a reference from which to spot them. He began to move back slowly, trying to keep all of them in his peripheral vision.

The modern Japanese yakuza finds its roots back the Meiji period of Japan, when a newly formed central government had disbanded the samurai caste. The samurai, unable to support themselves without the feudal structure of the earlier Edo period, began to band together into organized crime groups specializing in extortion, prostitution, and shadow business operations. Their long history conferred a semi-legal status upon the yakuza, allowing them to operate with formal offices, websites, and business cards. It was an unusually civilized crime organization that usually did not deal in theft or murder.

That knowledge was not particularly comforting. The first came, sword raised high to bisect him from head to toe. It was the sign of an inexperienced swordsman and Kevin gladly obliged him. Stepping into the man's swing, he slammed his palm into the attacker's solar plexus. The yakuza member jumped back a step, nearly collapsing from the blow.

Kevin half smiled then turned to the other two. As they fearlessly charged at him, the Retainer dipped his hand into his pocket and lifted a silver wand high into the air.

"Lunar Mage Power...Make Up!"

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"Damn him and his goddamned male ego!"

Minako hadn't run far, only enough to get out of view before doubling back. She passed behind a dense clump of trees and then crouched down to get a better view of the action.

She didn't know what sort of stupid self-sacrificing notions he was entertaining, but she simply wouldn't have it. Not when she could save him.

Kevin gracefully beat back the first opponent, sending him reeling to the ground with a well placed blow. Minako hadn't known that he had had that sort of gumption in him, but it was increasingly clear that he couldn't hold it up forever.

'Hold on Kevin.' She rummaged quickly through her purse, searching for her henshin stick. Ten seconds later, she lifted it triumphantly in the air.

"Venus..." Her voice trailed off abruptly as Kevin lifted his own hand in the air, holding some glittering silver object. He screamed an unfamiliar phrase and then the world exploded around him.

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The blade came down swiftly, slicing through the air like a laser through warm butter. The Retainer simply stepped out of the way, dancing back three steps into relative safety.

His three antagonists stared at him with utter disbelief. One of them turned sheet white, as though he had seen a ghost. The Retainer never gave them as chance to recover.

As Kevin, he was fast and reasonably strong for his size. A third degree brown belt in Shaolin Kenpo gave him a decent mastery of hand-to-hand combat. In sparring matches, his opponents had often marveled at his ability to evade and dodge menacing attacks. Kevin had gained a lot of weight since the last time he had fought someone, competitively or otherwise, but still was a competent fighter when called upon. Against three swords though, he was woefully outmatched.

As the Retainer, he had taken those skills to another level. He was faster, harder, and leaner than he had ever been before. He smiled. "You've had your fun. It's my turn now."

The Retainer moved like quicksilver to the one who had attacked him first. The man clumsily tried to dodge the soldier by jumping to the side.

The Retainer didn't miss a beat as he grabbed hold of the man's with his psionic powers and tossed him casually at stout oak twenty feet away. The yakuza flailed pitifully for a moment, before smashing into the rock-hard tree at seventy miles per hour. At such a speed, his bones liquefied underneath the pressure of the blow. He bounced off the bark and rolled onto his back.

The next one charged at him, wielding the sword like a spear. The yakuza let loose a wild battle cry, struggling to confuse and bewilder his opponent long enough to gut him with the weapon. Against a human, the ruse might have worked.

But the Retainer did not consider himself a man any longer. He sidestepped the blade and trapped it between his open palms, stopping the yakuza's pell-mell charge. With a slight twist of the hips, the Retainer snapped the blade like he might a twig, then pivoted to slash viciously at his attacker's neck. The yakuza fell to the ground a spray of blood issuing forth with every heartbeat.

The Retainer closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. It was a long ten seconds before his eyes flicked open. As they focused on the final yakuza, the leader of the bunch, a spark of malevolence ran through the Retainer's eyes.

The leader shivered perceptibly and accidentally dropped his sword on the ground. He moved as though he were about to pick it up, but then caught a glance of the Retainer's eyes. The yakuza slowly backed away and then began sprinting for the exit. He almost made it.

The Retainer flipped the shard of bloodstained sword he carried in his hand and then hurled it with all his might at the fleeing man. It blasted through the retreating criminal's back with terrible accuracy and out the front of his chest, tearing a hole in the man's right lung. The criminal died a terrible gurgling death, pink froth issuing from his mouth with every breath.

The Retainer grinned fiercely and turned his head up to sky in a bloodthirsty glare. The full moon bathed his face in clean, white light. With each panting breath, his lungs burned and the adrenaline that had hijacked his system bled away. He blinked then unsteadily leaned against a nearby post. His hands trembled as the ill begotten energy fled his body. Every ache and pain was magnified one hundred fold, completing his descent from more than a man to less than one. His eyes darted to the moon, seeking to draw from its energy and strength, but this time the light was accusatory. His entire body shuddered and he fell to one knee.

'My God, my God. What have I done?'

He had barely time to process that thought when he heard a single voice call out to him softly. "Bin-kun?"

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Who was this demon? Her eyes flicked to the three mutilated bodies strewn across the park, a deep guttural horror chilling her heart. Minako stared at them for a long second before her mind stiffened into dark resolve.

Her hand slipped instinctively into her purse, grasping for the henshin stick. The Retainer was even more powerful than she had anticipated. But, Sailor Venus had bested him before and would do so again. His telekinetic powers would make her job a little more difficult, but she doubted he could stand up to the full force of a senshi attack. Minako thrust the wand in the air, preparing to do battle.

She stopped. The Retainer wove unsteadily, each breath sounding like a drowning man's last gasp for air. She hadn't noticed it before, but he was suffering terribly from his act. There were no warning bells of threat emanating from him, just a sense of vulnerability. Her mouth curved into an unpleasant grimace and her heart of ice cracked just a bit.

He had shown her mercy when she had displayed vulnerability to him. She owed him the same courtesy.

Minako crossed the distance between them, squinting at him through the darkness. The similarity was subtle, but extraordinary. She shook her head slightly, then stared harder trying to penetrate the disguise magic that molded her friend's features.

She reached out hesitantly to touch his face, feeling the contours with the tips of her fingers. "So it is you."

In that instant, the Retainer stopped being a hero and once again became the Kevin she knew and loved. The moment self-doubt injected itself into the Retainer's imperturbable features, her suspicions were confirmed. The transformation magic slowly began to undo itself around him.

His hands were trembling uncontrollably, but his voice was clear if weary. "How did you know?"

Her heart melted. "I saw you transform." Minako reached out to take his hands. They were ice cold, as if the blood had suddenly rushed out of them. She whispered softly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't." Kevin shook his head, on the verge of slipping into delirium. "I still can't. I don't want to do this anymore."

She rubbed her hands against his, trying to impart some warmth into them. "Don't do what? Keep speaking to me Kevin."

He unsteadily stood up before weaving away from her like a drunk. He mumbled something unintelligible before screaming out to some unseen antagonist. "I don't want to do this anymore, you son of a bitch!"

Minako ran over to him and wrapped him in her arms. He sobbed uncontrollably and whispered into her hair. "I don't want to. Not anymore."

A voice came from next to them. "But you must continue on, Retainer."

The girl turned her head to see Artemis standing next to them. "Artemis!"

The cat ignored her gasp of surprise. Kevin's eyes blearily tried to focus on him. Drunkenly, "I quit Artemis. I can't do this anymore."

"If it were within my power to release you, Retainer, I would. I would grant you your freedom. It's unfair to ask you or anyone else to assume the burden you have taken."

Artemis's voice became stronger. "But you were chosen because you are the only one with the strength and fortitude to hold on."

Kevin shook his head tiredly. "Why me...why now?"

"Could you have truly accepted your responsibility before? Could I have told you what was required without you seeing it for yourself?"

The American screamed at him, "I killed them!"

Artemis nearly shouted back, "You did your job! Your duty is to the people of this world, from the people that you meet on the street to the princess who holds you in her arms!"

Minako said warningly, "Artemis--"

He cut her off neatly, "No, Minako-chan, it is time we came clean. Kevin, the woman who holds you tonight is Sailor Venus, the senshi of love. Your lover and soul mate of a thousand generations ago."

Minako recoiled suddenly. "What?"

"Don't tell me you haven't seen it, Minako-chan. He is the first one you've ever been able to get close to, the one who would return your affection with a joyful heart.

"And now he has saved you from the clutches of those who would have harmed you. You are joined by the bonds of love, something that cannot be cut...not by a thousand swords or a thousand years' separation or even death itself.

"Look into his eyes, Minako-chan, and tell me that you do not feel that way."

She stared at the cat for a moment, struggling to understand what he was saying then searching her soul for the feelings she held for Kevin. She rubbed her arm nervously, and slowly uncovered a tiny knot of attraction for the America. Minako smiled and, for the first time, allowed it to work its way to the front of her consciousness. She had always known that she was attracted to him, but had never let it develop much more than that. She wondered if that was even possible...if she could allow herself to try and be with him.

And within her, the answer was a tiny yes. A deep blush worked its way to the surface as she contemplated that thought with a timid smile. There really wasn't any doubt about it. They were...always had been attracted to each other. Artemis was right...the news simply confirmed it. Minako turned to confess her feelings to him and to gauge his reaction to the news.

For the first time that conversation, Kevin's eyes were lucid, anger threading through them for all to see.

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Kevin hissed venomously, "Liar!"

Artemis recoiled suddenly. "What did you say? How can you say that?"

The American laughed derisively. "All too easily, my friend."

The cat gathered up a great deal of self-possession. "This is preposterous! Everything I have said is nothing but the truth! You were the consort of Lady Venus. It is to her that you owe your allegiance. I kept this knowledge from you because I was afraid that it might interfere with your mission for Earth. I should know, I remember."

Kevin shook his head. "It is a wonderful story, Artemis. I wish I could believe it."

"And why shouldn't you?"

He replied with poisonous clarity, "Because of what I remember."

Artemis waved a paw dismissively. "No, I'm sure your memories are incomplete."

With a deadly softness, "Be silent and let me finish."

Surprisingly, Artemis shut up. Kevin began to pace in vigorous circles, as if trying to get a handle on the thoughts in his mind. "I can't believe I didn't see it all before. Everything makes so much sense."

His voice got a little softer. "You see, Artemis, I too remember the Silver Millenium--"

"Then you will know that it is exactly as I say--"

"No, Artemis." The man's voice grew hard. "We were never soul mates. There was no love to be shared between us. I know...I have seen that that is the truth."

Artemis began to sound almost whiny. "It is exactly as I say. You two were meant to be together."

Kevin roared, "Don't peddle your lies to me, Artemis! I know the truth now!" He let a pregnant pause fill the air and shuddered ungracefully. "There is nothing for me here. There never was."

And with that parting thought, he turned and left.