Crystal Tokyo prepares to celebrate the 30,000th Anniversary of the Golden Kingdom. Everyone in the palace is bright and abuzz with activity and excitement. Everyone except the King Himself. Manga canon, but functionally this can also (mostly) count as Crystal canon too. Post-Stars.
Rated: T - Drama/Angst/Friendship/Hurt/Comfort/Family - Words: 2,504 - Mamoru C./Darien S./Tuxedo Kamen, Setsuna M./Sailor Pluto, Ittou A., King Endymion, Shitennou/Generals, Neo_Queen Serenity, Helios, Sailor Quartet, Michiru K./Sailor Neptune, Usagi T./Serena/Bunny/Sailor Moon, Diana, Jadeite/Jedite, Kunzite/Malachite, Nephrite/Neflite, Zoicite/Zoycite, Haruka T./Sailor Uranus, Queen Beryl, Galaxia, Wiseman, Black Lady/Wicked Lady, Prince Endymion, Inner Senshi/Inner Scouts, Minako A./Mina/Sailor Venus, Ami M./Amy/Sailor Mercury, Rei H./Raye/Sailor Mars, Makoto K./Lita/Sailor Jupiter
The next few hours were not pleasant. Endymion didn't enjoy overseeing arrangements like this at the best of times. They were so boring that he long ago developed a bad habit of lightly running his thumb over the blade of his sword. Serenity had scolded him countless times about it, but with her absent lately, he had been unthinkingly indulging the habit far more frequently; though not out of boredom. Thanks to his dreams, every auric balloon, every sculpture of his old palace, every banner mentioning the Golden Kingdom felt like a proverbial gut punch. The sensation only found some mild relief when he ventured outside to inspect the orchestra. It was there, in front of the palace pavilion, that a melodic voice reached his ears.
"What's the matter, my King?"
Turning away from the stage, Endymion spotted an elegant woman with wavy, turquoise hair practically gliding towards him.
"Michiru? What are you doing here?"
"The Queen arranged for my guard shift to be covered so I could be in charge of the orchestra." Her reply was mechanical, her face having remained fixed in an almost piercing expression of concern.
"Ah, I see. That does make sense. Who else could we trust to deliver the best music in the kingdom?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty… but you did not answer my question."
Endymion was never more grateful for the mask obscuring his eyes. And never more unnerved by Michiru's over-keen senses.
"I was just missing them," he said simply, hoping the half-truth would placate Michiru.
"I can understand that." Apparently he had succeeded. "Although, in my case, my mirror lets me Haruka whenever I like." She vaguely lifted the silver mirror in her hand. "Which also tends to keep her in line, if you know what I mean."
Michiru let out a tiny laugh. For a split second though, Endymion said nothing, his mouth merely forming into a thin line.
"Usa!"
Mamoru's voice resounded throughout the empty park grounds. At once, their heads snapped in his direction, Usa's face as crimson as the blazer worn by the guy who was far too close to her.
"Here comes Prince Charming," the blonde guy said nonchalantly, only then withdrawing his hands from Usagi. Mamoru could practically hear the hot blood pumping in his ears. Or perhaps it was the gurgling of the water fountain behind him; at that moment he was too shocked to tell the difference.
The blonde man took advantage of his hesitation and made like the wind in the opposite direction, Usagi staring after him. Mamoru approached her slowly, but said nothing. Nothing, until he heard her let out a pitious sob.
"... Usa." In an instant he was by her side. He wrapped her in a tight embrace that he hoped would be warm and comforting, even as a chilling thought entered his own mind. "What's wrong? Did he do something to you?"
"No."
A wave of relief broke within him, but only for a moment.
"It's not that… That's not what's bothering me."
As her tears dampened his sleeve, Mamoru couldn't help but wonder if, right now, Usagi might prefer to be comforted by someone else. Someone blonde in a red blazer…
Eventually he did chuckle, partially out of politeness and partially at his own foolishness. A foolishness no doubt born of the bad nights he'd been having of late.
"Haruka will be joining us for the celebrations, I take it?"
"Yes she will, as will Hotaru. The only one missing out is-"
"Setsuna," Endymion cut in.
"Sadly, yes. Even with the new security systems, she is wary of leaving the Space-Time Corridor unguarded, especially when all the other Senshi are off duty, too. It'd probably take a miracle to get her to take a night off."
"Asanuma won't be pleased to hear that."
"Ah, yes. Your spymaster can be a little 'overenthusiastic'."
"You should see him now with all these celebrations in place."
"Well, these celebrations are predominantly in your honour after all. And, from what Small Lady tells me, that man truly cares about you. Not that he is the only one."
Perhaps it was Endymion's imagination, but Michiru seemed to be staring at him a little too pensively. He nodded politely, then, with much discipline, waited about ten seconds.
"You know," he began, "All this talk of Asanuma has reminded me that I need to consult him about his latest reports. I best get to that in case he talks my ear off for hours." He threw in what he hoped was a convincing little chuckle.
"Oh, if you are going to see Asanuma, would you mind giving him this?" To Endymion's surprise, Michiru presented him with her prized mirror. "He mentioned something about using it to monitor potential threats. I'm not sure if it'll work that way for him, but better safe than sorry."
"Good thinking," Endymion said, taking hold of the mirror. "I'll make sure he takes good care of it. See you later."
With that, Endymion departed, relieved to avoid potential further questioning.
"Ah! Good afternoon senpai!" A blonde man clad in a crisp, gray military uniform leapt out of his chair to bow before Endymion. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Endymion resisted the urge to laugh at Michiru's rather accurate assessment of the slightly younger man .
"I was just wondering if I might get an update about the security situation ahead of the celebrations?"
As expected, Asanuma was all too thrilled to share his report, which was mercifully short. "The feedback from our probes tells us there is nothing to worry about. But you didn't need to come all the way out to my office, senpai. I'd have happily delivered the reports to you in person."
Endymion shrugged half-heartedly. "I just thought, with my moving around the palace grounds so much, you might have trouble locating me."
Asanuma gave a slow blink. "Senpai, I've been looking into the paranormal since middle school. Locating the King in his palace wouldn't have been that difficult."
Endymion permitted himself the wryest of smiles. Even if Asanuma wasn't a gifted investigator, he knew the younger man had a knack for finding him specifically; even if he wasn't looking.
"You need to get to the nurse's office."
Reluctantly, Mamoru left the soccer field and headed in the general direction of the school's main building. Once he was far enough away from the other players, though, he took a left turn and ducked around a corner.
Raising his bleeding left arm, he closed his eyes, and focused his energy to his right hand. Gently, he applied fingertips to the crimson scrape, feeling a soft, warm tingle around the wounded area as his flesh knitted back together.
Due to his concentration, he dismissed a soft gasp that barely reached his ears across the Moto-Azabu campus…
As his mind returned to the present, Endymion noted that, unlike himself, Asanuma was not smiling at all.
Sensing he'd made a small faux pas, Endymion decided a dash of honesty was needed just now. "Well, to tell you the truth, I needed a little break from overseeing cakes and floral arrangements." A tiny part of Endymion wondered how wise it was to half-lie to one of the sharpest investigative minds in the Solar System. A larger part of him was banking on Asanuma's old hero worship making him take his word as read.
"Look on the bright side. Someday the Princess will be in charge and stuff like that will be her headache." Apparently his play had worked; Asanuma seemed to have cheered up.
"Knowing her, she'll probably rename everything to the 'Pink Kingdom' to get out of it."
Confusion creased Asanuma's brow. "Um, I'm sorry, senpai, but I don't follow?"
Endymion resisted the urge to cock an eyebrow. Had he caught the royal spymaster unawares? "The 'Golden Kingdom' and the 'Silver Millennium' are so named because I possess the Golden Crystal and the Queen the Mystical Silver Crystal. The Princess, however, has her very own Pink Moon Crystal."
"Ah, of course.I knew about the crystals–how did I never make the historical connection? I don't suppose I'll still be in charge of the kingdom's security by then," he chuckled.
Despite his best efforts, Endymion could tell his old friend was feeling a little embarrassed again. "I don't see why not. You're good at your job now. With even more age and wisdom, you might even make the Senshi redundant. Thanks to you, they already get a lot more time off as it is; even if Mercury mainly uses it to study." Aside from his joke at Ami's expense, Endymion spoke evenly and plainly. Whilst he wanted to make Asanuma feel better, he also meant every word.
"Th-thank you, senpai." Asanuma still looked embarrassed, but his chest also puffed out a little more with obvious pride. "Though, I doubt the Senshi shall ever be redundant. If nothing else, the Royal Family always needs their four guardians, right?"
"…Right," he replied simply. "Well, I'll take those reports now and get back to work. Thank you, Asanuma."
With a smile, the younger man handed over the document and Endymion bid him goodbye, horribly aware of the mirror still concealed beneath his cape.