Epilogue

Nine years later

To her eyes, the Hikawa Jinja never changed, simply reveling in the majesty it had acquired when it was first built. The torii gates were still as red as they had always been, maintained by a judiciously applied coat of paint every summer. The gardens were perpetually lovely, no matter the season, because of tender care from the many priestesses who maintained them. It was a place frozen in time.

It was strangely empty. Even Rei was nowhere to be seen and just as well. Minako didn't much feel like talking to anyone, even her close friend.

She entered the garden, slowly retracing steps she had taken many years ago. The trees were still as delicately manicured as ever.

Minako had been surrounded with friends at the time, discussing the various merits of maintaining a constant watch over Tokyo a year after the defeat of Galaxia. It had ended unanimously against it, allowing the senshi to continue their lives in relative peace.

It had been that fateful moment, their collective willingness to put aside their senshi duties for a real life, that had changed her forever. She sighed.

In the weeks after he had left, she had held some lingering hope that it was all an elaborate practical joke. Kevin had always possessed a somewhat quirky sense of humor with regards to life, letting her sweat out the world's little inconsistencies with a ready smile and steady hand. When that hope evaporated, Minako had held onto the idea that he might call or send an email or something to keep in touch. She understood that he had a life to lead in America and that would entail some sacrifice on her part. But the girl had been completely willing to wait for him, to talk things out. Even with the falsity of Artemis's revelations revealed, Minako felt an attachment to the subdued American. They were kindred spirits, not the sort of thing you come across every day. And so she had waited. A silent year passed before she finally sacrificed the last of her hope.

High school passed, as did college at the University of Tokyo. Upon graduating, she had entered her father's profession and became the star analyst of her investment banking group. In three years time, she was promoted from analyst to associate, marking her ascent within the financial world.

The pay was tremendous, the work hours obscene, and the social life non-existent. But, the job challenged her daily to solve problems and address the needs of businesses across the world. Minako supposed that she had chosen the job because it would allow her the opportunity to avoid relationships as much as possible.

She hated him, missed him with all her heart. At times, in bed or at idle periods at work, she wondered how he was doing, then punished herself for even thinking that. It wasn't productive to pine over a man who had disappeared.

Minako rounded the last bend, to look at rear of the shrine itself. Still, every fall, she visited this place, holding onto the last feelings of romance she still held in her heart.

She was surprised to see a worshiper already there, bowing before the Shinto Gods within the inviolate shrine. She moved and knelt next to him silently. Bowing her head the requisite number of times, she closed her eyes and wished that the kami would grant her a productive and profitable work year and that it would continue to hold her family and friends in good health.

It was a long moment before she silently added another request of the kami, before rising to a sitting position.

The man beside her rose up slowly, weariness evident in his slow and pained movements. He had been there a long time and his joints had started to stiffen up on him. He turned his head in profile and for the first time, Minako got a glimpse of his face.

She gasped.

He was older, much older than nine years would have indicated. His face, before unique in its cherubic roundness, had grown more angular and haunted. Permanent stress lines had etched themselves into his forehead and near his eyes, giving him the faintest look of a madman. He was paler and thinner than she remembered, a sign that he had not spent the past couple of years healthily.

If he was surprised to see her, he managed to hide it behind his legendary poker face. His mouth twitched into a characteristic Kevin smile. "Minako-chan...I thought I might find you here."

Immediately, Minako threw up a disinterested facade. "Kevin-san. How have you been?"

It was neither a welcome nor an angry exclamation for him to go home. The coldness took him off guard, but he responded softly. "I have been doing well. How have you been?"

"Tolerable." Minako was at a loss for continued conversation. "Well, it's been nice catching up with you, Kevin. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around--"

He seemed to shrink into himself. "Okay. Perhaps dinner sometime?"

"Sometime." She gave him a superficial smile and got up to leave. As she turned her back to him, Kevin's hand snaked out and grabbed hold of her wrist.

He said in a quaking voice. "How stupid would I be if I let you leave me the same way I left you?"

Minako tugged at her arm, distress in her voice. "Let me go. I have a lunch appointment I simply can't miss."

"Stay, if only for a moment. Please, Minako-chan."

"Let go of me!" she shrieked and swung a fist at his head. He dodged it easily, but released her as he did. She leaped at him, trying to batter him with her fists. He was more agile than she remembered, picking off her blows with consummate ease.

He blocked one of her blows, catching her hand with his and then pulling her around in a stylized move. When Minako swung the other fist, she found both of her hands trapped against his body and herself helpless.

She sank to the grounf, sobbing uncontrollably. Gently, he released her arms and wrapped her in one of the warm hugs that she had so desperately desired for the past nine years.

It was a long time before they talked again. "Why did you leave me, Bin-kun?"

"It was time for me to go home, Minako-chan. You know that."

She almost smiled. "And the real reason?"

He chuckled into her ear. "Do you remember that night, Minako-chan?"

Wryly, "It was probably the worst night of my life. I may have an inkling."

"What was going through your mind when you found out who I was?"

Minako leaned back and nestled into his arms. "I remember thinking that it was just so obvious after the fact. And I thought that it would be neat to finally have someone...a guy who could understand the difficulty of having the powers that we are endowed with."

Kevin's voice grew hard. "I was thinking just about how I killed those three men. The looks on their faces when they died and just how good it felt to hold them in my hands and crush them.

"I was scared, Minako-chan. Scared of myself and what I was capable of. When Artemis came to the airport the next day, I knew that I had to cut off the source of temptation."

A hint of anger flooded her voice. "But you never called, never sent an email...a letter, not a goddamned thing!"

His voice was pained. "Minako-chan, it was an addiction for me. Whenever I transformed, I felt an amazing power rush through my veins. I needed to cut it off at the source."

"And that's why you didn't talk to me? For something that I didn't even do!" Her anger peaked.

Kevin replied in a placating voice. "Every time I saw your face or heard you speak, I would have been reminded of weakness of this form...of the perfection that I could become. How can anything that feels so good and so right be healthy?"

Minako stroked his arm absentmindedly. "That's what friends are for, Bin-kun. We could have helped you through it. We...I understand what you've gone through." She paused for a moment. "One thing I don't get though ...if I am such a temptation to you, why did you come back?"

"Because I couldn't live with my cowardice any longer, Minako-chan. Because I missed you terribly...and just wanted the chance to start over and be with you."

Coldly, "And what makes you think I'd wait nine years for you?"

Kevin replied in a slightly annoyed voice. "I meant, I just want to be your friend again. Is that too much to ask?"

Minako shook her head then let a full smile cross her face. "I'd like that."

The American rose slowly and helped her up along with him. On an impulse, Minako stuck her hand in his face. "Hi! I'm Minako Aino!"

Kevin chuckled and took it firmly. "Kevin. Kevin Zhi."

With an idiotic humor, "So what are you doing in Japan, Bin-kun? May I call you Bin-kun? Such a cute nickname!"

"That it is. I'm actually working as a vice president of marketing over at NTT DoCoMo. This is a long-term station, so I expect to be here for a while. Pray tell, Minako Aino, what do you do?"

"Investment banking. Working with capital markets and stuff."

Kevin made a sour face. "Dreadful profession. I did that right after college...not much fun at all."

The blonde smiled impishly. "Girl's gotta make a living, right?"

"I suppose. What are you doing this evening, Minako Aino? Perhaps I could take you out to dinner?"

Her face fell. "No, I have to meet a client for dinner tonight." Minako's face brightened. "But I have time for a long lunch if you're up to that."

Kevin sounded betrayed. "You said you had a meeting!"

"I lied. Get used to it. We do it all the time."

The American laughed heartily and extended his elbow. "Thanks for the warning."

Minako threaded her arm through his, then let it slide down and hold his hand. She gave him a warm smile. "So do you know anywhere good to eat around here?"

"It's been a long time since I've been in Tokyo or the Juuban district...but I seem to remember a small cafe and arcade a short while away from here. Called the Crown Arcade I think. Ever heard of it?"

She giggled. "Once or twice. Let's go exploring!"

The last vestiges of morning light were eradicated as the noon sun began to rise over the cityscape of Tokyo. The light flooded through the multicolored trees unevenly, shedding a thousand shades of red and yellow and orange over the pair. A bunch of leaves detached themselves from a sudden gust of wind and pinwheeled their way through the temple grounds.

They engulfed the pair, blinding them temporarily with a dazzling rainbow of colors. The blonde laughed merrily and charged headlong into them, calling back for her friend to follow and leaving the fresh smell of fall in her wake

The man did so ruefully, chasing her as best he could, unable to see past his own fingertips.

All was right with the world.