A/N: Pigs have flown, badgers are social, and Jikkan-chan has published something on her own again! It's called Clues from a Crime Scene, and is a Detective Conan/Case Closed shortfic, which may be found over at Wren Truesong's profile (which is in our favourites).
And I was only teasing about the flying pigs and social badgers. /winks/ Anyway, we're back, minna-chan! It doesn't matter that Jikkan-neesama's cable went down (as did half of her city's population's) for an entire three days! We still got the 9000 word chapter out in… how many days was it? Four! See, now's just a little before midnight, and I'm going to get up early in the morning to post this thing. /Pats chapter fondly/.
Anyway, Three updates in four days! Those of you who haven't seen Endymion's Heritage: The Golden Crystal please do so: it ties in directly with this story, actually. There'll be a longer version of the tale Artemis told in chapter four, but for now, please review!
Chapter dedication: to Gamlain, who, when Jikkan-chan's cable returned but still couldn't make the temperamental Yahoo messenger work, functioned as a go-between for the two of us. Thankee Gam!
Kakera ni Tsukiakari
A Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon fanstory by Arashinobara Jikkankakyoku
VI – Higure na Soukai ni Saishutsu Suru
Renewal in Twilight Waters
'When she stepped into moonlight, silver pooled in her wounds and she shuddered before steadying; I saw that her hurts had disappeared, and knew Selene had blessed Her daughter.'
– An eyewitness account of the legendary Sailormoon in the Crystal Wars.
Artemis' reappearance had woken memories long-dormant, but she could only watch helplessly, trapped in her feline form, as her husband bustled about the empty house with steady intent. He had located bandages, disinfectant and an ice pack, but his eyes kept darting nervously about; he was obviously itching to return to the battle, and his charge.
Luna felt a stab of jealousy at that, and quashed it viciously. 'Such joy when he returned to me!' she thought, and lowered her cinnabar gaze. 'And yet…' A pair of callused hands lifted her to a hard chest, and she was purring before she could quite register it, rubbing her head into his touch.
"Hoshizora-neko," Artemis whispered, and Luna trembled with longing and anguish as he set her down carefully. "Koishii, can't you try… human? Onegai?"
The black cat's small limbs shook uncontrollably when she tried to do as her beloved asked, but collapsed as a searing pain made itself known in her head. "I cannot, I cannot, I cannot…" it was a mantra; it would keep her from the pain –
"Beloved, do it for me, do it for the Princess, do it for this silent, foreign Trickster." Artemis was in his tomcat guise again, affectionately nuzzling her as their tails entwined and swayed gently. "Mercury needs help – help I cannot provide. You are a healer –"
"Was. Were. It's all in the past, Artemis; I can scarce breathe in this form!" Luna cried. "I used to transform to feel the grace, the beauty, but now…"
"You can do it," he was human again, the general who had fought tooth and claw to get to his loyal army, to warn them of the ambush. The general who had closed his eyes in despair at the consequent slaughter and attempted to escape the guilt by using the cat's more detached emotions to dim the sorrow and loss. The general who had courted and wooed Luna, a stern-eyed matron before her time, and brought the shy maiden hiding in her to the fore with his hot kisses.
Filled with the desire to be able to hold him with her arms, gaze upon him with her eyes, love him with her body, Luna felt the sorceress' power crackle beneath her skin, her fur standing on end as her tail lashed and her mouth parted in an open snarl –
– And then she was human again, gasping and sobbing on the cold floorboards as Artemis held and rocked her, but there was no time for a proper reunion, one of lovers. There hadn't been when she had seen his white form padding up to her, heard his voice for the first time in a thousand years, and there wouldn't be until the immediate battle was over. She had debriefed him quickly on the situation in Tokyo – what he hadn't known since they had last spoken to one another as Central Command and Agent One.
Standing briskly, Luna wiped her tears with brisk efficiency, suppressing the tsunami of emotion she felt as the young woman caught sight of her attire – a yellow and black sundress down to her knees – and remembered that she had worn it even as the Silver Millennium crumbled to dust, and only she, Artemis and Her Royal Majesty had been left.
Seeing Mercury's injuries, she flinched again at witnessing one of Serenity's guard and her most mischievous sister lying so still. Luna felt Artemis squeeze her bare shoulder lightly, and let out a muffled moan as his lips covered hers in a passionate kiss before he turned to go, presumably back to the battle.
Sailormercury let out a scream of denial that froze him in his tracks – "Matte, onegai!" she shrieked, and went into such convulsions that Luna, though stronger than the average Terran man, could not hold her. Artemis wavered, but returned to his wife's side to assist as he could, though at times he merely stared into space, and Luna knew he was trying to see the fight using the faint link he possessed with Sailorvenus, who he had sworn loyalty to before she had allowed herself to trust him, for she had been Sailor V before he had come.
"How fares your ward?" she murmured, wetting a cloth so that she might clean the dirt from the bluenette's face.
"Venus is strong – she has always been." Now that she was human again, her insecurities fled and she felt only contentment; the jealousy was gone, although his tone was inexplicably proud as he spoke of his ward.
"What do they call her in this life?" Luna inquired absently even as she looked about in cupboards for herbs to make a poultice. To her dismay, there were only little cylindrical, metallic objects with no visible seal to break, and she muttered a curse.
Artemis held back a laugh. "Luna-ko, I'm pretty sure pre-cooked chicken-noodle soup will be very helpful if poured in Mercury's wounds. And her civilian guise is named Aino Minako."
"Chicken-noodle?" she muttered. "It sounds disgusting… is it some kind of poultry gut?" Now that her memories of the Silver Millennium were returning, they were scrambling the knowledge she had acquired in the present and she was pretty sure… "As for the name, it's very appropriate."
Suddenly realising she had been searching through the store of canned food in the kitchen, she muttered a curse she had learned from Artemis and sat down next to Mercury's now-tossing form, murmuring nonsensical reassurances as bright chi flowed from her fingers into the bluenette's restless body. The shattered bones were gathered and reassembled meticulously, bruises vanished and scrapes disappeared.
That was when Ami woke up; seeing a foreign woman with dark hair and expressive blue eyes standing over her, she struggled feebly before recognising the healer's touch, and stilled.
"Where's my cat?" Her words were slurred, but surprisingly coherent. Luna checked Mercury's head for signs of a concussion all the same squeezing the ice senshi's gloved hand.
"It's me, Ami-chan – Luna. This is my husband, Artemis… he came with his own charge, Sailorvenus. He's going back to help the other senshi even now…" Brushing a lock of blue hair out of the girl's sweaty forehead, she signalled to Artemis that he could leave now that Ami was awake and aware. Feeling a feather-light kiss on the top of her head, right between two of the four buns on her head, Luna couldn't help but smile widely. "You're no longer alone," she crooned, and Ami would have fallen asleep were it not for a frightening thought.
"Luna-san! Warn…" she felt exhaustion overcome her in waves, but forced her eyes open again. "Sailormoon! Warn her and Tuxedo Kamen… and whoever else! There's a youma in the waves – Mizugameza – Aquarius… pulls you down…" She was already half-asleep, but the last words hissed out through her teeth. "Warn… stay away from the water…"
Luna blinked and glanced at Artemis, who was already sinking into the almost meditative state one needed to induce teleportation. "Artemis?"
"Hai, I got it," he murmured, and disappeared.
Luna gazed at the spot he had disappeared from for a long time. "Stay safe, koishii…"
"We are all tired," Tuxedo Kamen's smooth voice cut through the sudden silence, and he paused in annoyance as the blade at his throat cut deeper. Shooting a baleful stare at Kunzite, he continued: "We are all injured; your comrades are exhausted, as are mine. Why not withdraw and continue this meaningless conflict another day?"
Kunzite was about to reply when pain tore through his head, and only his carefully-cultivated self control prevented him from spitting himself on the blade tickling his chin. As a torrent of negative energy revitalised him, the white-haired general felt a faint itching as the cuts and bruises healed over and vanished, muscle and bone knitting back together. A quick glance showed that his brothers were also well again, and he turned an ironic smirk on Tuxedo Kamen, whose implacable gaze had flickered briefly to show dismay before hastily reasserting itself.
"You were saying?"
Beryl's voice resounded loudly in her generals' heads. I have waited long enough for victory, Shitennou, and I will have it now. Go forth…
Venus' eyes narrowed, and she made as if to move forward when Nephrite's hand yanked her back by the hair and the dangerously-keen point of a dirk was placed to her temple, his strong arm wrapping tightly about her neck and cutting off her air with cold efficiency.
Memories of long ago – training on the moon with her sisters – rose to the surface, and Venus' instincts kicked in. A yowl of fury rent the air as she glowed like a small sun; her entire body shone with the force of her attack – "Crescent Beam!" she snarled, and Nephrite yelped, his grip loosening ever-so-slightly as the light burned him.
Kunzite's nod indicated that Jadeite assist the Star King, and a feline hiss spat unladylike curses as Sailormoon found herself locked in hand-to-hand combat with Zoicite. Her entire forearm was swollen now, the once flawless skin marred by streaks of poison that inched slowly towards her shoulder and blackened her fingers. Zoicite's grip tightened on her injured arm and she let out another string of curses, spitting in his face and clawing with fingernails made harmless by the tattered gloves on her hands.
However, when the code of chivalry is breached, there is always blood to be paid. Tuxedo Kamen, upon seeing Sailormoon in agony and beyond exhaustion within Zoicite's unapologetic grasp, narrowed his eyes coldly. Before Kunzite could properly register the blur of black and red, his opponent had slipped away — though not before leaving a deeper nick in the Space King's chin, and pain blossomed in Kunzite's side and sword hand as three roses found their mark.
Jadeite moved forward to intercept Tuxedo Kamen, mounting a rare and powerful offensive that drove the startled warrior backwards so that they fought in vicious circles as Kamen attempted to return to Sailormoon's side. Jadeite, on the other hand, steered his distracted opponent onto a disused, rickety pier whose brittle supports rocked and bucked under the two fighters' weight.
As the bone-jarring impact of steel upon steel seeped through the air to dry his mouth with dread, Tuxedo Kamen chanced a quick glance over his shorter adversary's shoulder to observe the battle behind him. Alas, the blond general had been awaiting such an opportunity, and now drove the point of his sword into the younger man's thigh, prompting a roar of surprised pain and Tuxedo Kamen's subsequent attempt to flee into the air in the vain hope that he might gather his shattered wits to mount a counter-attack.
Jadeite, however, followed him, and when Kamen attempted to bring his sword up in a shaky block as the black-bladed weapon arced down, a blast of dark fire accompanied the katana's keen as it whistled an eerie melody through the air. Though Tuxedo Kamen managed to block the physical blow – that of the katana's tainted steel – his concentration to remain hovering above the darkening waters was broken as the blaze of dark energy enveloped him. He toppled from his position in the sky, a hoarse cry torn from his throat as he plummeted to land with a large splash in open water.
The entire harbour's occupants froze to watch, Sailormoon darting away from Zoicite with a stumble only to turn a stricken gaze seawards.
The waves churned into an untameable frenzy as he was welcomed by Mizugameza's glowing eyes and cold embrace.
For one long, breathless moment, Tuxedo Kamen's gloved hand clawed desperately at the sky, a fruitless plea to live, before the black waves claimed him. His descent into the ocean was marked by a furious stream of bubbles that gradually ceased before stopping altogether.
Sailormoon collapsed to her knees, staring numbly at the spot where her most stalwart and constant protector had gone under. A hesitant touch on her shoulder by a sympathetic Sailorvenus seemed to break Moon out of her trance, and a sudden scream tore itself from her throat, the blonde shooting to her feet and fighting against Venus's restraining grip.
For a moment, it was not a raging golden-haired warrior in a red and blue seerafuku they held back, but a girl wearing a gossamer gown with crystal tresses and tearful lavender eyes who keened her grief to the distant skies. The name that fell from her lips was foreign yet familiar, and screamed with such intensity that all who heard her grief felt their hearts wilt with sympathetic despair.
"ENDYMION!" she howled, eyes wild and movements increasingly frantic. "Gods, not again!" she said more softly, and the life seemed to fade from her with each tear. "Not again," she repeated numbly. 'Help!' she begged, unsure of exactly whom she was asking but asking all the same. 'Help him; help me… help us… sister senshi, where are you?'
He was too late.
Artemis' eyes widened in an almost-panic and denial, grasping desperately at the boom of a yacht as he watched the horrific events unfold.
NO!
The voice was screaming the voice was screaming the voice was screaming so loudly he could hardly hear his own thoughts, and he recognised the keening wail as Serenity, to whom he was linked through the crescent moon on his forehead and Sailorvenus, her close sister. The senshi of Love's face was contorted with a sort of inner agony as everyone – even the triumphant Shitennou – watched, frozen with disbelief that it was so easy…
Too late.
THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! The fragment of soul that was Grace – that was Serenity – continued to howl, insane with shock and grief, and the shard of Duty – Sailormoon – cried out as her consciousness was stricken from her body.
Tears were running down Venus' face, and Artemis wanted to curl up in his feline form, escape the agony coursing through him as Grace, usually so sweet and compliant, fought Duty and struggled to the surface. 'Father Chaos preserve us, for surely your daughter Gaia shall not if her son, champion and lord has fallen. Mother Cosmos forgive us, for surely your daughter Selene shall not if her grand-daughter perishes with Endymion.' Artemis closed his eyes and began to pray.
Kunzite turned dispassionately from Sailormoon's despair-filled form and his heart gave a weak twinge before he quashed it completely. These were the bitches who had almost robbed him of a brother, after all. "Jadeite, remain here for the time being to harvest some energy – Beryl should at least be appeased by that. We'll pick off the others one by one next time."
"Why don't we just finish them off now?" Zoicite asked, eyes cold. He too, felt the stab of guilt and pity before thrusting it viciously away. "They're weak – their emotions make them so…"
"On the contrary, brother," Nephrite said quietly. "Grieving friends are vengeful ones. We would do well to leave while we can – these senshi are more powerful than we have given them credit for." With that, he shimmered away, followed closely by Zoicite and Kunzite.
Jadeite turned to follow – it would be foolish to take energy from a place full of angry sailor senshi. Concentrating and feeling his feet leave the ground, his attention wavered as the sea in the harbour exploded upwards, ten, twenty, thirty feet in the air. Eyes widening in alarm, he looked to see Kamen's form walk out of the watery pillar.
'Well, he looks a little ticked.' His second attempt to teleport away was halted as two gloved hands wrapped themselves around his neck, and with soft, slender fingers, began to squeeze mercilessly. Now desperate, Jadeite attempted to teleport again, only to be thwarted – he should have been able to leave, and take her with him, but the chit was grounding herself so that he couldn't leave without ripping out a good chunk of the Earth's crust. Any attempts to move his arms or hands were made futile by bands of energy that bound the former to his sides and the latter behind his back.
As his vision filled with dancing white spots, he saw Kamen stop perhaps two paces in front of him. Jadeite's panicked kicks were blocked, and suddenly the taller man's build shimmered and the soaking shirt and slacks melted into black plate armour inlaid with silver over a black uniform tunic and breeches. The mask disappeared, but the cape was still there, fastened by two cloak pins shaped in the likenesses of seven-pointed stars.
"I called for you, but you did not respond," the stranger snarled. Jadeite noted dimly that he wore a crown of braided crystal, the points of tiny swords lost in his untidy black hair. He knew this man. "I summoned you to my side, but you did not come."
Jadeite tried to answer, but the hands around his throat tightened uncomfortably. He choked, drawing the man's attention to his predicament; the golden gaze rose to a point over his shoulder, and the stranger smiled.
"Serenity-koishii, kindly release him. He is mine to deal with as I see fit."
The grip loosened, and Jadeite wasted no time in drawing his katana, but his sword was caught by a strong hand. Cobalt eyes stared into rapidly-darkening sapphire as the hand of the man who had been Tuxedo Kamen wept gold blood, but he forced the blade from Jadeite's hand, and ran him through with his own.
Then Jadeite breathed his last and his body dissolved into silver-grey dust that was blown away in the strong sea breeze; a small, uncut green stone the size of a thumbnail dropped to the floor and Jadeite's executioner caught it with his injured hand. There was a muted flash, and the jadeite disappeared from the bloody hand and reappeared, clean and polished in one of the claw fixtures of his crown.
A moment later, the metallic lustre of Jadeite's katana faded and the weapon became a simple quarterstaff fashioned from oak. Endymion picked it up by its well-oiled black leather grip, and smiled reminiscently. 'Your beloved weapon, Jade… and you have finally returned to my side.' The small green stone in his crown crowed approval, but indicated concern for its brothers. 'I shall cleanse them too, now that I know you are yet my kin and not truly Turned.'
The Terran prince subtly twisted a small mechanism in the grip, and ten-inch blades sprang from the bronze-capped ends of the short staff. The jadeite made an excited clamour in Endymion's mind and he chuckled, dispelling the weapon in a shower of red-gold sparks before returning his attention to the watching senshi.
Endymion turned to Serenity, and he knew it was she because her eyes were the familiar, beloved lavender shade, though her floor-length tresses remained a rich gold. "How fare you, beloved?" he asked softly as Venus and Mercury warily approached them. "Are you well?"
"I am well, my Endymion, though fast fading," Serenity sighed as he cupped her face with his uninjured hand. "I have but seconds left now – and I have summoned my sisters twice. They should wake soon, and perhaps I shall, too…" The seerafuku-clad princess stood on tiptoes to kiss the corner of her prince's mouth, and then she stood back, lavender-blue gaze shuttering as she stood very still.
Venus stepped forward anxiously, but when the smaller blonde opened her eyes, they were again crystal clear and Endymion busied himself with wiping his blade free of blood, dark head bent over his task so that his anguish might be veiled, however thinly.
Jadeite prodded him mentally and, when his prince made no move to hasten the healing of the cuts the dark blade's power had inflicted, took over it himself, scolding his unlistening liege. When Endymion did not even seem to notice, mind obviously on Serenity's brief re-emergence, the green stone's chatter lapsed into childish sulking.
Venus and Artemis, the latter's clothes still stained with dirt and blood where he held Mercury scarce half an hour ago, conversed quietly, almost heatedly as Sailormoon reoriented herself. There had been warmth, and a power so blinding…
Sailormoon shuddered in longing as she remembered it. The presence that had moved with her body and spoke with her voice was familiar in a way that disconcerted her – it fit, somehow. Her eyes closed again, and she made as if to slip away, feeling sleep call to her. "I have somewhere to be," she muttered, and the words were familiar on her tongue – Sailormoon could sense she'd said or thought them many times since her awakening. "I have somewhere to be," she repeated, and Sailorvenus made as if to stop her, but a firm hand – Artemis' – on her shoulder prevented the senshi of Love from following Moon, who vanished quickly over the rooftops, her golden hair a beacon in the setting sun.
Endymion looked blankly after her, feeling the tug of sleep himself. War had conquered Stealth, but there was another facet he had not yet faced. That part of his soul was more powerful in this time than either – Tuxedo Kamen, is it? he asked Stealth, and it responded with a wry nod – or he, Endymion. Drowsiness washed over him in waves, and he felt Tuxedo Kamen pose a polite inquiry. At Endymion's acquiescence, his tunic and armour melted back into the tuxedo – once again flawless and clean – and Kamen took over.
Acknowledging the half-sheepish apology Endymion made for fighting him earlier, he swept the orange senshi a bow and the Mauian warrior received a respectful tilt of the head. "I believe explanations and clarifications seem indicated, if next time," he informed them curtly, and ignored Endymion's snickering at the formality of his tone. "Sarabada, Lady Venus, Milord Artemis," he added the latter name confidently, trusting in Endymion's memories.
As they watched him fade into the shadows, Sailorvenus cast Artemis a half-amused, half-quizzical look. "I get the feeling I'm missing a chunk of this," she murmured, and her guardian gave her an affectionate glance.
"Luna has enlightened me to the events unfolding in Tokyo," he said, giving his charge an affectionate squeeze of the hand. Looking around, they saw that a crowd of civilians had assembled to gawk. "How about we go somewhere a little more private?"
"That would be wise," Venus grinned, and a few moments later, Aino Minako stepped out from within a dank alley, her white tomcat clutched securely in her arms.
There was a dull throbbing all up and down her left arm when Usagi woke. Her vision was hazy, but cleared as she shook her head, though a painful crick in her neck made her whimper; her throat was raw, she had some kind of whiplash and her arm –
She barely bit back a scream when she saw it. It was swollen about twice the size of the other one, and had a shallow gash halfway down her forearm from her elbow that was weeping viscous yellow pus. Her fingertips were deeply bruised, and when she twitched them lightly, flared with a brief pain before going numb.
Usagi drew the sleeve of her black sweater back down over the injury – just remembering it was making her queasy. 'What am I going to do? I can't go to a hospital… how am I going to explain this' she wondered desperately, still standing numbly before the arcade doors. She thought she saw Naru and Motoki conversing heatedly at the counter; just how much time had passed by? The others had probably gone home already… 'Demo… maybe I don't have a choice. Haha and chichi are going to flip… and so is –'
"Mamo-chan! How could I have forgotten?"
She turned abruptly, forgetting that her schoolbag was still in the arcade's 'employees only' back room and ignored the throbbing in her arm, though she tried not to jar her neck too much. Mamo-chan was having the black-outs, too — Mamo-chan had a first-aid kit — Mamo-chan knew everything.
She would find him, and he would fix it — if he was okay, at least — 'Kami, onegai, let him be okay…'
A roar of grief and fury was echoed by the white-knuckled fist slamming into black stone. Zoicite collapsed to the cold floor, wet eyes filled with a rage that was fast burning itself out. "HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO DIE!" the blond general yelled, heedless of the gold-tinged blood trickling down his split knuckles. He swiped at his tears, leaving a bloody smear across his face. "He didn't even say goodbye," the Youngest whispered stupidly. "He didn't even –" he closed his eyes and slumped. "He didn't even –"
Kunzite felt his own eyes grow moist as he watched the Lord of Comets cry like a babe on the floor. He wanted to feel something – distaste for the useless tears; hatred for Jadeite's killers; disgust at the weakness Zoicite was showing… but nothing came. The Empty Heaven King was cold inside; though his tears were hot, they coursed down stony features. "Quiet, Zoicite," his whisper was almost lost in the younger man's sobs, but the effeminate general turned blazing green eyes on his brother and superior.
"Jadeite. Is. Dead." Zoicite grated. "You! You sent him to his doom! You killed our brother!"
Kunzite felt now. It was guilt worming and writhing in the emptiness inside, and for the first time in his life, Kunzite allowed himself to feel self-pity. "Yes," he agreed, and Zoicite fell silent, still glaring. Kunzite cleared his throat and his silver eyes were blank. "Yes," he repeated, but couldn't seem to say anything else. There was an apology on his tongue, but as all the other ones in the past, it never passed his lips.
What was he to say? How could one apologise for having sent his own brother to his death? Hypothetical situations never helped, and Kunzite was usually the first to say so, but how he wished… Jadeite's cheer would fix the gloom in this room, but the gloom was here because Jadeite wasn't and what was he thinking now?
Both fell into an uneasy silence fraught with tension. Kunzite's stony demeanour, upon reasserting itself, refused to be cracked, and Zoicite's sniffs ceased as he recovered his self-control. Eventually, Zoicite looked over to his white-haired elder. "Kunz – I apologise for my blatant subordination –"
"No, I fear your judgement is correct, no matter how wrong you were for making it." Kunzite's tones were clipped and curt again. With the return of his self-control, his eyes brightened, though it was not with joy or happiness. They were almost feverish in intensity, though he gave no indication that his soul was screaming as loudly as Zoicite's was at the loss of their bond-brother. "I should not have listened to – to that bitch." Kunzite turned to leave their chambers, his cloak swirling about his tall frame.
Zoicite moved quickly to stand in front of him, and although his stance was carefully respectful, his eyes were still red from grief and there were dried tear-tracks on his cheeks. "Kunzite – Kunz – Jade is with the Mother now. She will take care of him." The strawberry-blond smiled weakly. "He always did say that life as a stone was much simpler. But… if we ask Her…?"
Kunzite made no reply, but shouldered past the younger general, and the door swung shut behind him with the Eldest's words ringing in the Comet King's ears: "Not even Gaia can break the rules a second time for us."
Nephrite knelt, naked from the waist up, before a small altar in which eleven small, black orbs revolved over symbols etched in the black-veined gold stone. The dark globes had streaks of gold in them in contrast to the altar. Taking a ritual dagger of unpolished nephrite, newly sharpened on a whetstone, Nephrite stretched out his hand and called out to the one directly on the right of the empty space – there had once been twelve of the little capsules.
As it hovered in front of him, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before the blade barely parted the skin on his palm and three drops of glittering blood dropped to the globe. Though he could not see it, each drop of blood drained the light in his eyes, and the summer sky darkened ever-so-faintly…
A haunting tune – one of waves and of ships dashed against rocks, and storms in the ocean – filled the air and a cold-eyed siren coalesced from the dark matter. She had no legs, but rather a tail that swished absently, and she bowed her head. "Master?" she whispered, and her voice was the melody of ages, ancient and mournful of things come and gone.
"Uoza," he greeted politely, his voice imperious although his face was lined with exhaustion. She tilted her head respectfully, blue-green hair shifting to reveal a tattoo on her shoulder.
Pisces has arisen.
: He is tired, poor thing. :
: Hush, let him sleep. :
: He is already waking. :
Mamoru shifted uncomfortably, and wondered dimly who was speaking, and who it was waking up. Poor sod, waking up to all those voices bent over him….
: I need pruning. :
…Voices that wanted him to tend their garden, yet…
: Leave him alone, : the second voice scolded the one with the greenery. : Can't you see; he's injured. :
Ouch, hurt too? Sucked to be him… If he was lucky, he didn't hurt as much as Mamoru did right now… then again, maybe he was the unlucky fellow in question…
: No, no, Gaia heals Her son: the first voice said reassuringly. : See the sparks. :
Was she really? Well that was rather nice of Haha… he really was feeling worlds better, as if warm, gentle electricity danced over his skin…
There was something wrong with that thought, but damned if he could remember what… something about mothers…
: Yes, he's waking. :
Was he?
Hmph, so he was… draped over something metal and pokey and damned uncomfortable, no wonder he was waking up, if he had all these people talking over his head…
"D'appreciate you not talking as if I'm not here," Mamoru mumbled with quiet dignity. "Whoss a whole crowd of people doin' in m'apartment anyway…?"
: You invited us, baka, : the one with the garden said acidly.
: Hush, or I'll tell the aphids you like your stamens pruned: the second voice hissed. : …How do you do, Your Highness. :
"Oh, marvellous, thanks for asking," Mamoru said with a yawn, "always wanted my own Greek chorus. …Anyone have any idea why I'm draped over my balcony railing?"
: Perhaps you have very odd dreams. :"Sounds about right," the boy said idly, heaving himself upright. "M'really starting to wonder what the hell Motoki puts in the milkshakes: rooftop acrobatics, talking rosebushes — next thing you know, I'll be pansying about in a tuxedo fighting monsters…"
: Is he stupid or just very, very oblivious... :
The other voices exploded into an indignant clamour that left Mamoru's ears ringing, and the fuzz in his head began to clear a little, though he had the worst headache… and he wasn't oblivious. He'd just fallen asleep somehow and dreamt of fighting, and then thought about hallucinations induced by Motoki's food, which brought him to the arcade, which brought him to what he was doing earlier…
Mamoru frowned, eyes still a little glazed as he shook his head in a feeble attempt to clear it, only resulting in a larger headache. He stopped that quickly, though a nagging voice in the corner of his mind told him snidely that he wasn't sure where this train of thought was going, but that he was sure to not like it…
To what he was doing earlier, then. He was studying with Motoki at the arcade, and then Usagi had walked out, and then – he had walked out after her?
'It happened again!'
"Tenshiko!" he exclaimed, and began to run inside, but stumbled over a few extra pots so that he crash-landed on the carpet, skidding several feet. Muttering several curses under his breath, he scrabbled to his feet, heedless of the shattered ceramic behind him; if he gave any thought to wearing his shoes in the house, it was brief gratitude that he wouldn't have to pause to don them again. He reached the entry as the bell rang. Already composing an excuse in his mind as to just why he was in such a hurry to go out right now, he flung open the door –
– and was almost knocked over as a sobbing Usagi threw herself into his arms.
His hackles rose immediately; he could feel her almost convulsive trembling as he wrapped his arms around her. Usagi flinched, and warning bells went off in the older boy's head. Mentally reciting another long string of curses, he picked her up and walked back into his apartment, toeing the door shut as he did. She was sniffling now, burying her face in his neck and murmuring things he couldn't really understand, but those subsided as he laid her on his bed and switched on the light.
Mamoru pressed a kiss to her temple, and she quieted, curling into a compact ball that shook and quivered, refusing to look at him. Feeling stung, and now even more concerned, Mamoru stroked her hair, which was matted with sweat and tangled into knots in several places, whispering reassurances.
"Mamo-chan, it happened again," Usagi whispered, and her eyes were strangely blank.
Frowning, Mamoru lay down beside her and took her into his arms, nuzzling at the back of her neck as he inhaled deeply, smelling the fear dissipating and warmth taking its place. He smiled against her hair, but when he shifted, she flinched again.
The expletive that flew from the dark-haired young man's mouth startled Usagi, who turned wide eyes on her best friend. "Ne, Mamo-chan?"
Mamoru's keen gaze didn't miss the way she cradled her left arm with her right. His eyes darkened ominously and he sat up and turned Usagi so that she faced him, grasping the sweater carefully and lifting it gently over her head, taking her hand by the wrist to examine the hideous wound. She refused to meet his eyes, and so did not see them flash a molten gold just before the tinkling of breaking glass was heard. Fresh rose petals fluttered to the floor as the crystal basin holding them simply disintegrated into sparkling dust.
Mamoru stared in disbelief at the mess on his bedroom floor and restrained the urge to throw something, leaving the room abruptly in a near-panic as he washed his hands thoroughly, disinfected them and gathered all the medical resources at hand. At last toeing off his shoes and shrugging off his jacket, he returned to Usagi's side and saw the she was dozing fitfully, though he had only been gone three or four minutes. Her eyes snapped open as he probed the wound with gentle fingers.
"Mamo-chan…?" she whispered. She winced, and he caught her hand with his and kissed each bruised fingertip gently.
"Tenshiko, I don't… you weren't hurt before – how could this have happened?" he muttered in disbelief. 'Squeezing all the pus out might work, but those black streaks… what are they?' Only his concern for her prevented the rage building up inside him from exploding, and rather messily so. "Ah, Tenshiko… how does it feel?" He probed the streaks and tried to hide his dismay. 'There's never been anything… how? If she was poisoned… but no. How could she be? The youma?'
"Mamo-chan?" she repeated blankly. Her voice was slurred now, and he closed his eyes in self-hatred and pain.
"Hai, Tenshiko?"
"Can I sleep? 'm very, very tired…" She was breathing evenly now, and he pressed her good hand to his chest tenderly, vividly aware of just how helpless he was. He should call the hospital – he should let his superiors take care of it –
No.
Maybe he was being foolish, or stubborn, or simply very selfish, but... Something in Mamoru was adamant about not letting her out of his protection, was deathly certain that the moment she was out of his sight, she would come to some kind of harm. "Hai, Tenshiko, just a little longer… demo, before you do, let me take out some of the infection first, ne?"
Mamoru led her to the bathroom, running warm water over the cut and murmuring praises for her courage and fortitude. Bracing himself, he felt his heart sink as her scream echoed faintly against the tiled walls, but continued to squeeze the pus from her arm, the warm water washing the mucus away. Usagi suddenly sagged against his chest, but he didn't stop – she had only fainted, and he had to rid her of as much of the foul yellow-white stuff as he could.
Mamoru only stopped when blood alone flowed from the wound – though he could do little about the strange streaks beneath her skin – and washed it carefully, dabbing at the gash with a piece of gauze and tucking her into bed before phoning her parents and feeding them an excuse about Usagi crashing at his place for the night so that he could help her with her homework. It wasn't the first time he had called for that reason, but this time Mamoru felt that with every word spoken, he was betraying the true reason behind the call.
At last he hung up, sliding down the wall he had been leaning on and burying his face in his hands. Unable to stand the feeling of being enclosed any longer, Mamoru slipped out onto his balcony and grabbed a pair of shears. As he made as if to clip off the end of a broken flower-stem, he froze.
: The Prince is back. :
: How is the girl. :
: Yes, how is the Angel. :
Mamoru's mind blanked again as voices assaulted his mind and he let out a decidedly unmasculine whimper. "Voices in my head," he muttered disbelievingly. "I'm going crackers…"
: 'Hearing voices', he says. Honestly, I don't think there has ever been a more thick-headed human in all of Terra's history. :
: I've had it with you! Respect the Prince or else... :
Mamoru fled back into the relative safety of his apartment, opting to check on Usagi rather than face the arguing phantoms.
There was a silence, and two of the three rose plants rustled agitatedly. The white one broke the silence.
: You don't think we've offended him, do you. :
The unusually thorny dark red one scoffed. : How that could have offended him, I don't know. :
: What do you have against him? : The one with pink-tinted peach blossoms asked angrily.
: Nothing, really… it's just that these bloody aphids are getting on my last leaves! And I still need that pruning. :
The white and peach ones sighed exasperatedly at their sulky sister, and when Mamoru returned to shut the doors, he fancied he saw two sprites rolling their eyes at a third and blinked.
But there were no faeries – only faint giggles and three rose plants swaying gently in the breeze, and he turned to go back indoors.
Ami came rather muzzily to consciousness, and wondered vaguely where she was. It couldn't be her own room at home; the light was coming in at the wrong angle, the ceiling was unfamiliar, and she wasn't sure she recognised that coffee table, at least not with the white cat draped over it…
No, wait, there was one of her mother's prescription pads, poking out from under the somnolent feline (Haha must have been very tried indeed to be so careless; she'd have to put that away once she could stand up)… and this pattern of lumps hitting all the right pressure points at the small of her back could only be their couch — but she didn't think she'd ever seen the living room ceiling from quite this angle before. She was sure she'd have noticed the crack in the ceiling that looked like a rabbit.
"Are you feeling any better, Ami-chan?" Luna asked from somewhere uncomfortably close to her ear; after a moment, she realised that the black cat had curled up on the cushion beside her head.
"Hai, much," Ami said — or tried, anyway, before it was lost in a cough.
"Here," an unfamiliar voice said, holding a straw to her lips. Ami slurped gratefully: oh, marvellous; fresh chrysanthemum tea, at the perfect temperature.
"Arigatou na," she said after a moment, looking up to her helper —
— and froze as she met the amused blue gaze of a complete stranger.
Oh dear Kami there was a girl in their living room and she'd heard Luna talk and Ami was still in her fuku!
Panic was an emotion heretofore completely unknown to the normally-composed bluenette, but she made an excellent first try.
"You're quite welcome," said the unfamiliar girl, smiling brightly. She was beautiful, at least; long blonde hair, those bright blue eyes almost as lovely as Sailormoon's, a perfect figure well-complemented by a ginger-skirted seerafuku…
Wait a moment.
Seerafuku?
"Are… you a bishoujo senshi?" Ami wondered timidly.
The girl grinned down at her. "Aiyoku to hikari no, seerafuku bishojou senshi Sailorvenus," she introduced herself; a crescent moon sparkled on her forehead as Venus made her a little bow. "Douzo yoroshiku."
It's nice to meet you. Please be kind to me.
"Ha…hajimemashite," Ami said dumbly. "Ara, Sailormercury desu…"
Venus looked a little sad at 'hajimemashite', but seemed to shake it away almost immediately. "Hai, hai, I know! I've been wanting to see you and all the others for so long, though it's sad that our first meeting in this life was under such unpleasant circumstances…"
Ami winced. 'Unpleasant'. Yes, she supposed that was a word for it… "What happened after I fainted? Is everyone all right…?"
Venus rocked her hand back and forth. "Well, yes and no… there was a brief moment there when we thought the handsome fellow in the snappy black number might be dead, but —"
"He was what?" Mercury shrieked, almost sitting up but promptly regretting it..
The golden-haired senshi looked alarmed and put a hand on her shoulder. "Maa, maa, Mercury-chan, not so quick or you'll undo all Luna's good work… Hai, we thought he was, but he wasn't, don't worry! He came right back and killed Jadeite to work off his snit…"
Ami felt dizzy, and wasn't sure if it was the blood-loss or the exposition. "Jadeite's dead…?"
The white cat rolled his eyes; the movement brought Ami's attention to the crescent moon that matched Luna's and Venus' on his forehead, and she was thus only dimly surprised to hear him speak in a fondly-irritated baritone voice. "Venus, perhaps you should recount the tale from the beginning before you bewilder poor Mercury's head right off?"
Venus laughed brightly — the sound warmed Ami's insides to hear it. A dim longing woke inside her, to tell such tales and play such tricks as to make that laughter double and redouble until the marble halls rang as if there were a thousand delighted girls and not just four….
Marble halls?
Four?
Ami puzzled at the longing, but put it away until it made more sense.
Venus settled herself on the divan and began to speak. Her first impression was that of a girl almost as genki as Usagi, but once prodded by Artemis into 'business mode', she was clearly as capable a soldier as Light or Passion could have wished, calm and factual in her report —
– but the tale was still so fanciful, so beautiful and tragic and fantastic, that Mizuno Ami didn't think she could ever have credited it without being a Senshi herself.
At some point during the retelling disguises were shed, and snacks fetched; Sailorvenus was revealed to be Aino Minako, and was promptly introduced to Ami herself, who was as glad to meet the one as Mercury had the other.
"…and then they both just vanished:" Minako said at last, adjusting her grip. When Ami had begun to squirm uncomfortably — even the Shiatsu Couch wore thin after prolonged use — the taller girl had promptly insisted that Ami use her chest as a backrest; once the girls were settled, she'd produced a hairbrush from nowhere in particular and began to tidy Ami's hair.
The bluenette had to admit that the regular strokes did feel very good.
"You didn't try to follow them, did you?" Ami wondered sleepily.
She could almost hear the pout in the slightly-accented voice. "No, no; I wanted to, but Artemis wouldn't let me…I wouldn't have followed her to her house or anything, but I did want to be sure she was alright…"
Ami sighed. "I understand, but …I'm just somehow certain that trying to discover them before they tell us who they are would be …bad — as if revealing them would —"
"Would be tempting the light to go out of the world," Minako said softly.
"Yes…" They fell silent, contemplating the rare premonition; for a time, the quiet rasp of the ivory-backed hairbrush was the only sound.
Ami sighed gently and cautiously allowed Minako to bear a little more of her weight; the blonde girl didn't protest, and Ami relaxed a bit more. She wasn't sure she'd ever felt more secure in her life… Sailormoon might manage it, perhaps, or Usagi, but when could such a thing as this ever happen…?
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Minako asked, apropos of nothing, and startling Ami quite out of her wits.
"Eeh?" The question was so surprisingly normal that she couldn't quite comprehend it.
That all the blood that had been in her brain had suddenly rushed to her cheeks had absolutely nothing to do with it, of course.
Minako's voice was sly. "A boyfriend, Ami-chan! A koibito, a significant other, a lover…"
Ami was sure she was glowing like a traffic signal. "N-no, no one like that…" Had anyone ever asked her that question? Darn her allergy to love letters…
"Not even a friend with benefits?" Minako teased, and giggled at Ami's wordless squeak. "Gomen, gomen; you were just so cute… How about a crush or three? Or five?"
"Not nearly so many as that, Minako-chan," the bluenette said shyly. "But… there is this one boy…"
"Quality over quantity, Ami-chan? Say on, say on!"
Ami giggled. "He's a senpai at my high school—the Student Council President, and the Captain of our swim team… Very tall, very handsome — almost bishonen — wild black hair, gorgeous blue eyes, reads physics texts for fun —"
"Ne? Ne?" Minako said eagerly. "He sounds like just the man for you —"
"Except that he's so very obviously taken," Ami said with a wistful smile. "His girlfriend's my new best friend, actually, and they're so sweet together… Or would be, if they didn't go around telling everyone they're best friends."
"Oh, it's that kind of relationship," her new friend said knowingly. "They've known each other since they were babies, right?"
"Since he was eight and she was six, if I recall correctly."
"Babies," Minako reiterated. "Best get your handkerchiefs ready — one or the other will actually look at someone else for more than thirty seconds, and then your best friend will be begging to use your shoulder as a crying towel — until he comes to his senses and finally asks her out."
Ami tilted her head to look upside-down at her backrest. "You think so?"
"Hai, hai, if my instincts tell me true. That's the way these things always go."
The girl genius pursed her lips. "Perhaps when Usagi-chan does require my services, the crying towel should try telling her to ask Mamoru-senpai out herself?"
Minako grinned. "Clever, clever… who knows? It just might work… All right, so there's one unrequited crush down for the boys, much to their credit; any more boys of high enough quality to catch your eye?"
Ami's blush, once faded slightly, returned full-force. "Iie, no boys…"
"That's fine, make 'em work for it," the blonde said cheerfully. "Now, how about girls?"
Mizuno Soumei's daughter took a moment to reflect gratefully that she wasn't drinking anything at the moment; if she had, it would surely have been spread all over the couch by now. "N-nani?"
Minako poked her gently. "Do you just not listen, Ami-chan? Girls! They're just as cute and much smarter."
Ami giggled weakly. "I heard you, Minako-chan, I just didn't believe my ears… It's a little surprising to be asked that, ne? It's not as strange as it was, but people can still get really…"
"Hai, hai," her companion said sadly. "But I am the Goddess of Love, and I see no gender boundaries!" She grinned down at the bluenette. "So spill."
Ami once again went pink. "Well… Usagi-chan is very pretty, and there's just… something about her — she's sweet, and kind, and gentle, and was the vice-captain of the Chess Team, and so… so warm… Mamoru-senpai will be a very lucky man when he finally gets down to it… and then there's… well…"
"Oh, there's a well, is there? This should be good."
The genius took a sudden profound interest in her fingers. "Well — you've met her, actually, though you may not have seen her at her best — so strong and lovely, and so gallant…"
She waited for the laugh, but Minako was silent.
A bit nervously — being the Goddess of Love was one thing, but unknown senshi were quite another — did Sailorvenus not approve? — Ami turned to look at her backrest.
She wasn't sure what sort of expression she had been expecting — laughter, anger, disdain — but it wasn't this.
Not this quiet, gentle smile – was that sympathy…?
"She is, isn't she?" Minako said softly. "All those things, and more…"
Ami's eyes widened. Could she..? "You, too?"
Minako nodded solemnly.
"But, you've only just met…?"
The smile sharpened, becoming a no less beautiful or gentle grimace that nevertheless seemed to tear at the flesh that bore it. "Oh, yes, me too… and we've both known her, my darling girl; we've known her for ever and aye."
"We… we have?" Mizuno Ami asked, bewildered; but something deep in her heart said, Yes.
"We have, and we do, and we will; because herein is the whole and the sum of the thing, our duty, our beloved terror, and our joy. We love her because we were made to love her, and that is why Luna told you, I'm sure, as she once told all of us, that you've no time for boys, that you have a higher calling than that," she said with a fond grin in the direction of the sleeping cats, curled up together in a mound of white and black fur such that it was difficult to tell where one ended and the other began.
"It's both so much more simple and more complicated than that, you see… you're welcome to love, and to dream of nice pectorals and abs —" Minako mock-leered at Ami, who blushed a little more even as she listened, rapt — "Demo, believe me, you won't need to, and you shan't want to. There's a reason the Senshi of Sol are the most unattainable women in the universe…"
Ami tilted her head. "…because we all love the Princess?"
Minako nodded once.
"But — Minako, I don't love the Princess, I've never met the Princess — you said we both have a crush on Sailormoon…?"
Minako laughed gently. "Oh, Ami-chan, I forgot that you don't remember, as I was meant to, and that you weren't there to see her in something closer to her true glory —"
"You saw her? You saw the Princess?"
"Saw her, helped her, love her!" the Goddess of Love said joyfully. "Ami-chan, don't you realise? Our gallant and glorious Sailormoon, the Ai to seigi no bishoujo senshi —
"Ami-chan, my love, she is the Princess."
It was early in the morning when Mamoru woke, and he threw aside his covers, stretching so that several joints popped loudly. Wincing at the noise and checking to make sure it hadn't woken Usagi, he blinked, seeing that the gauze he'd wrapped around Usagi's arm had somehow unravelled. Getting to his knees, he shuffled over towards the edge of the bed before something metallic caught his eye and he inhaled sharply.
There was silver stuff in the cut – silver like the moonlight shining on her hair so that it was more platinum than gold, and her injured hand was an almost muddy colour as opposed to her usual porcelain-pale complexion.
Mamoru got up abruptly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he leaned closer, watching as she gave a drowsy shudder and there was a small flash – and when the sparks cleared from his vision, he saw that the wound was gone.
Hardly daring to believe it, sure he was hallucinating, just like he had imagined those voices, Mamoru brushed a lock of hair from the sleeping face. Sooty lashes fluttered and Usagi's eyes opened languidly. Mamoru recoiled as he saw that there were no pupils, no irises – all of it, even the white sclera, was a blinding, sparking silver.
"Tenshiko?" he asked tentatively, quietly.
And that was when she began to scream.
Glossary
matte — 'Wait!'
chichi — One's own father.
haha — One's own mother.
douzo yoroshiku — 'It's nice to meet you' (Literally, 'Please be kind to me')
hajimemashite — 'How do you do?' (Literally, 'It's our first meeting')
genki — 'Energy; vitality; spirit; pep'. Can also be used as an adjective for people; think Usagi at her most happy and bubbly and you've got the idea.
koibito — 'lover; sweetheart'
bishonen — beautiful boy
A/N: A hundred and sixty-one reviews… /swoons/ Wow! Thank you all so much… but we're hoping that this will boost it to a hundred and ninety, two hundred at best. C'mon, just a line or two… onegai for the Marvellous Mouthful who worked so hard?
PLEASE REVIEW!