+++++ Akagi-Ikari Apartment, Hiro-o, Japan. (Friday + 6)

Despite his having argued against being served, Ritsuko used her superior social skills to corner him regarding manners and instructed Shinji to sit down and find something for them to watch. He made an effort to, though was wholly unprepared to peruse through a library of enormous platters that looked like oversized DVDs but were branded 'Laserdiscs'. What on Earth are these things? He couldn't recognize any of the foreign titles, and the front covers were frequently of little help. The images of people posing with various objects randomly while backed by neon-colored wire graphs and random geometric shapes told him nothing about what the movies were about. For background noise, and to stop himself from dwelling on other problems while he was supposed to be working on the one before him, he'd turned the television to the national news. Thus, the anchor of the moment wound up causing exactly the reaction he'd hoped to avoid.

"…the number of recent unexplained fatalities in the Greater Tokyo Region has spiked over the last week. Officials say that they are investigating the string of homicides and accidents but have few clues to work with. This has led to higher incidents of anxiety from the citizens in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, as many feel that the Diet is hiding something of importance regarding potential disaffected Soviet sympathizers. We have reached out to the Public Security Intelligence Agency for comment and will report what we learn as we are able to."

The statistics listed on the left side of the screen forced him to freeze in place. Miwa's spell attempted valiantly to stifle the growing rage, but ultimately proved insufficient to the task. Shinji set down the disc he'd been holding, gently, and moved away from everything to stand near the sliding glass door leading to the balcony outside. Three hundred dead, because of me. There was nothing he could do. Nothing he could punch that wouldn't be obliterated. He was helpless, unable to save anyone. Staring out at a city full of stories, full of life, all waiting for the next shoe to drop. Usagi's family. Makoto. Hygieia. Dead. The people at the café. The people on the bus. People behind where the Fifth Angel shot both Hygieia and me. Everywhere I go, people die.

"Not really wanting to watch daytime news, myself. But…if…." Ritsuko's voice trailed off, her approach from the kitchen area to the living area slowing as well. "Shinji?"

She's going to die. I'm going to be responsible. I can't stay here. Turning towards the door, and intending to head towards Reliqui to ask for help finding a place away from people, he heard two ceramic bowls slam down on the table and the sound of footsteps moving to cut him off. When Ritsuko grabbed him, he didn't make an effort to abate his momentum and demonstrated how great the power disparity truly was.

"Would you stop reacting and start thinking?!" Once more, she jumped up on his back and latched on as tightly as she could. "If you treat life like it's just one big trauma, then that's what it is going to be!"

He couldn't leave with her, that would defeat the entire purpose of his leaving. He also couldn't remove her right then, because he knew he was far too enraged and would likely harm her trying to save her, again serving as antithetical to his intentions. Those frustrations mounted atop the pre-existing frustrations, and finally overwhelmed what little reserve he had left to claim.

The windows of the room itself shook with his roar of pained turmoil. A lifetime of pain, two worlds now ruined because he was too weak, too stupid, too pathetic to save anyone, all of what he saw as unforgivable sins flowed forth in a tidal wave of sound. Giving up and sinking to his knees, he slumped down, defeated.

Soft, feminine, smells floated around his head. Delicate sounds, and reassuring words. From her position, still astride his back, Ritsuko Akagi proved that she was a far different woman in this reality. One hand stroked his hair, her fingers combing through and lightly massaging his scalp. "It's ok. It will be ok. People say that dying is the hardest thing, and they forget that surviving can be even harder. How many have died around you, and all you've been given is more weight to hold instead of a hand to hold. That's why I want to help you. I may seem like I'm just keeping you around to learn, but I'm not. I promise. I see, in you, a strength that few people possess. Everything the Denmother told me, everything Maria told me, and your first thought is always about protecting others. You are a good man, Shinji. A strong man. But even good men can feel bad, even strong men can feel weak. There's no shame in that! Now is when you need to talk to me, or to someone that you trust. Now is when you need to use your strength and reach out for help. I promise, I'll do anything to help. We can help each other, we can grow together, and no matter what life throws at us we'll always be stronger for having one another."

"The Professor is not wrong, you know." All three of the Vixen Triplets made themselves visible in the room, their fox forms glowing with green fire. Speaking over and around one another, they carefully moved to sit before Shinji at a non-threatening distance. "People always tell us that we should make our own way. That we should push ourselves to be strong on our own. We think they're stupid." Rubbing their heads against one another, they yipped a laugh of happiness. "We're a team. The reason we're so strong is because we can trust one another fully. You'll never get that if you keep running away. Let us work for you, let us hunt these monsters down. We'll find them, and we'll show you where they are. We'll help you kill them, and that will save many people."

Ritsuko, again, was surprised at how grateful she was for three young women randomly appearing before her. She felt Shinji wince at the word 'stupid' and tense up at the thought of the Triplets being in danger. "You can't carry the world alone. No one can." Taking a risk, she slid off his back and moved to sit next to him, holding his hand in both of hers. "I keep telling you, we can't live our lives afraid of what might happen. We prepare for it, we take precautions that make sense, and we live the type of lives that we want."

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, "You're all going to die. It's going to be my fault." Two heartbeats later, his eyebrows knitted together, confused at how he managed to speak aloud.

"This is your Den," the trio shuffled closer, Misa jumping into Ritsuko's lap, and Miwa and Mika lying down in front of and beside Shinji, "that means you can speak here. In your heart, you feel like this should be home. You want this to be home. Don't run away from home."

"Over three hundred people are dead…because I wanted this to be my home." His voice was coarse and weak from disuse and abuse. "Because I'm too selfish to try harder to go home. Makoto…Usagi's family…Hygieia…. The people at the café, every single one of these three hundred are dead because I didn't make a better effort in my own world. Because I ran away from my responsibilities as the pilot of Unit-01. Because I spent time pretending I had friends." He saw his tears drip down onto Mika's fur, dampening the forest camouflage pattern in places. "You're all going to die, and all I'll be able to do is kill whoever did it."

Possible plans raced through the brilliant mind of Doctor Akagi. A shadow moving across one of her walls, caused by a cloud lazily drifting across the mid-autumn sun, drew her eyes to the cello she kept from her youth. He was eyeing that earlier. I saw him looking. Do any of you know if he plays the cello?

Her hopes that the kitsune could hear her thoughts were rewarded. He does. He has a true gift.

"Why don't you take my cello outside onto the balcony for a while?" Leaning to the side enough that she was in his field of vision, she smiled encouragingly. "I saw you looking at it earlier, you play, right?" Another frown of consternation crossed his face. "Playing music helps the mind calm. It orders your thoughts, allows you to decrease your level of anxiety. I have sheet music, and you need calm."

Shinji's head turned sluggishly to the corner, considering the offer. He knew that the four women present were smarter than him. He also knew that hasty decisions led to worse outcomes. "If you want." Carefully moving away from the living beings he was more than capable of harming, he easily picked up the cello, bow, and stool, carrying them over and out to the balcony, closing the door behind him. It wasn't long before he was seated and tuning the instrument by ear, and a short time after, the mournful strains of Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 2 began to waft through the closed door to those inside, played by memory alone.

Ritsuko's heart hurt at the sound. Covering the entire composition was a grief that had yet to be released, that had never been given a chance to express itself. "I'm surprised he didn't end up covered by the machine." She kept her mind from veering towards the maudlin, needing more information to help the man showcasing a talent for beauty despite only ever being asked to display his ability at creating death. "Were you three watching us? Did you have something to do with that?"

"No." Misa alone spoke, the other two swaying their tails in time with the piece. "We felt his anger and came here to stop potential tragedy. We are bound to him, after a fashion." Her eyes shifted to bore into Ritsuko's. "But we are no thieves. We spoke rather harshly to mother for what she did. If he desires our affections, he will let us know. If he desires your affections, instead…." Her gaze turned back to Shinji, her head swaying along with her sister's tails. "At least we know he'll be in good hands for several decades."

+++++ Akagi-Ikari Apartment, Hiro-o, Japan. (Friday + 6)

Time floated past, dark thoughts surrendering to the serenity of music. Shinji's breathing had steadied out, his emotions calming back down. He was unaware of exactly how long he had been playing, his eyes only opening when he heard a violin join perfectly in with the song he'd since transitioned to. The apartment complex's top floor was built so that the northern half and southern half each mirrored the design of the other. The opposite of the wrap-around balcony he played upon now held another beautiful woman, smiling in appreciation that he hadn't stopped playing as she joined in.

With teal hair flowing in the light wind, seeming to be waves in the ocean of her mind, and deep blue eyes that were a match for his own, the pale young woman carried herself with nothing but the utmost grace. Her makeup was flawless, light accents making her features stand out as she wished them to. Her clothing had to be of a similar quality to his own, a soft strawberry red blouse and a subtle watermelon green skirt-dress.

He was fascinated, his worries and fears draining even further now that someone shared the universality of song with him. Carrying through with the rest of the composition, he marveled at how his 'partner' managed to sync up with him perfectly without a conductor. It was a rare talent to be able to play with another without sheet music and some form of metronome, and it was certainly not one he himself had any experience with.

A few minutes later, another young woman came out onto the balcony from that side. Curiosity, and then amusement, flitted across her face. She was nearly eighteen centimeters taller than the violinist, with almost white blonde hair and eyes that were a match for both he himself and the other woman. Were it not for the tank top she was wearing lightly accentuating her bust, he could easily have mistaken her for a man based on her haircut and mannerisms. Perching herself atop the mid-thigh-high dividing fence, she tapped her foot in rhythm with the duet and winked saucily at Shinji.

Eventually, as all things must, the song came to a close. Standing up and bowing with respect for the violinist, his heart beat steady and true. When she returned the gesture, a tiny spark of memory burst forth. The pain that memory brought causing him to topple towards the barrier separating him from a nine-story drop to the ground.

Strong hands gripped his arm and side, and a powerful voice sounded out over the vision of the two women fighting against impossible odds as a team, dressed similarly to Usagi and her allies, "Steady there, friend. You don't look like the woman who lives in this apartment, but I'm guessing she's worked you hard and left you a little unsteady."

"Haruka, you be nice." The violinist's voice was the polar opposite of the rough-spoken woman bracing him, her grace and femininity nearly painful to hear. "Are you all right, dear sir? I'd be heartbroken if I encouraged you to play on while you were already exhausted."

"Oh, come on Michiru," 'Haruka' laughed out, "he's built like a brick shithouse. Couldn't tell from looking at him, but this is all muscle. Has to be, he weighs a ton."

"Tenou-san, Kaiou-san," Ritsuko's voice followed the glass door opening, "thank you for making sure he didn't hurt himself. I'm sorry if his playing bothered you."

"Oh, far from it, Akagi-san." When Shinji's eyes opened, Michiru was standing on the same side of the balcony as the rest of them, somehow having managed to climb over without ruffling her clothes in the slightest. "I've not enjoyed myself so much in ages. Please, though, my manners have failed me. Would you be so kind as to introduce us to your friend?"

Shinji was steadier on his feet, the pain subdued to a dull roar, and he managed to stand on his own. With a nod of thanks to Haruka, he tested his voice to see if the balcony counted as 'home'. When nothing came out, frustration replaced contentment for a brief second before Ritsuko took charge.

"I would love to, but why don't we move inside and introduce everyone." Stepping clear of the doorway, she urged everyone inside. "Tenou-san, would you mind terribly carrying the cello? I was on my way over to help him when I saw you catch him, I had been talking to some…colleagues, and I'd really rather not lose a friend just after making one."

"Sure thing, Doc." Easily picking up the instrument, Haruka carefully maneuvered it into the apartment.

Michiru, on the other hand, twirled her violin around so that she could tuck it under one arm, and apologized as she took Shinji's arm with the other, "Please, dear sir, do not be afraid to lean on me. I may not look it, but I'm tougher than I appear."

He would have complained, but his knees proved to not be as stable as he'd thought. It wasn't long before Haruka came back from placing the cello down to take his other side and help move him to the couch. As he was now in the threshold, he was able to voice not only his gratitude but his shame for the need of it. "I apologize," his voice was even worse off than before, and it led to him wincing, "I'm not sure what came over me just then."

"Perhaps some tea, to help his throat?" Michiru, after seating Shinji, placed her violin next to the couch and sat on his right, her hands calmly folded with immaculate poise. "We can wait a bit more on introductions to see to his health."

"Sure," Ritsuko nodded and moved towards the kitchen, "still prefer ginger?"

"Can't get her to try anything else," Haruka laughed with easy humor, seating herself on his left, "you've still got a solid memory." After Ritsuko was out of hearing, the blonde leaned over slightly and whispered, "Does she know? About the whole…not quite human thing?"

Shinji nodded, not shocked that they were able to tell his secret by touch and proximity. "She knows."

"That's good. You seem nice, for a guy. I'd hate to have had to kick your ass." Patting him roughly on the thigh, she squeezed twice on the well-corded muscle. "Huh. You really aren't the stick you seem to be, are you?"

Not his finest moment, with lingering echoes of his anger rippling through his mind, but he couldn't get past the fact that Haruka seemed a little too eager to needle him. "You should see my work clothes. Kind of the opposite of the fuku you two wear, really."

Michiru cut over whatever retort her partner was about to issue, "Stop. He is not an enemy, and he is not a bad person. I can feel the younger ladies in his spirit, and not in an unbecoming manner."

"I'm teasing, Michi-chan." Haruka sighed out frustration. "I have eyes. This guy needs someone to push him from time to time, get him to let off some steam. He's walking around like a ball of anger half the time, or I'm a midget." Balling her hand up into a fist, she thumped the flat of it against Shinji's leg. "Akagi's good people. Whatever it is you're worried about, let us help you with it. We'd rather not get some snooty overly religious fool moving in and ruining what we have going here."

It was an effort to swallow the rest of his anger, but no trouble at all for him to nod in agreement. Two warriors, clearly of the same cloth as Usagi and her allies, could only be a benefit if someone tried to hurt Ritsuko to get to him. "Thank you."

"Shh, shh, shh," Michiru rubbed his back, urging him towards silence and keeping her own tone low, "whatever you've done to your voice, you mustn't aggravate it further. Combat requires communication, and if you can't speak to us we'll find it that much harder to defend our friend."

"Can't. Need to warn you." It felt wonderful to be flanked by two women who clearly made it their mission to protect life. The fact that, somehow, they weren't radiating the pain the others did along with the comfort made it even harder to do what he had to. Standing up and moving away as the tea was brought out, he included Ritsuko in the statement. "I am a terrible liar, I mean, I can't lie to save my life. Bad at it."

"He really is." Ritsuko set the tea service down on the table and poured the first cup for everyone. "It's written all over his face every time he tries to even hide something. Kind of adorable."

"What I know about you two would come out eventually. So I am sorry for being…blunt." He was surprised into silence when Haruka raised her eyebrow and shrugged, and Michiru laughed delicately.

"If you know Moon and the others, I have to assume you have told Ritsuko-san." The shorter of the two accepted her cup of tea with a smile of gratitude. "Which means she already knows that we exist. Her learning about a few more will make no great difference, considering she's a rather trustworthy woman."

Ritsuko paused in the act of handing Haruka her tea. "Wait, you two…."

"Yes dear, we're lesbians," Haruka sniggered as she retrieved her own tea. "I'm afraid we've been too subtle about it, and it's terribly important that you know."

"I swear, I'm in love with a clown," Michiru sighed out. "We are like Usagi Tsukino and her friends: Princesses of our own domains, warriors intended to fight against evils. We haven't quite made contact with them yet, as they've had some maturing to do. A pair of adults stepping into their sphere would only hinder their social development. Though, of late, it might be something of a null point." A demure sip later, she set her cup and tea plate down on her lap. "Still an excellent brand. Now, good sir, you said you had a warning for us?"

"I see." Ritsuko nodded, having pieced together the issue. "Shinji here is staying with me because something about his presence has caused an imbalance in Tsukino-san and her friends. That imbalance allowed something to…commandeer Kino-san, forcing her to murder a young woman, which led to Hino-san killing her to save everyone else. I believe his concern is that you two might also be at risk."

Haruka and Michiru looked at one another for a long second, then towards Shinji, then back to one another. It was Haruka who spoke first, "Didn't feel a thing. You?"

Michiru nodded slightly. "A slight tingle, perhaps. He is rather feminine for how he carries himself. A protector, a warrior, but at heart someone who worries about the dishes piling up and the happiness of those around him. I'm not ashamed to say he's attractive. Perhaps that's the problem? I could see them falling all over each other to flirt with him, for how attentive to others he seems."

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I think he's a treat," her laugh was poorly hidden behind her teacup as she winked again at Shinji, "but I'm just not into masculine biology. He might be worth a kiss now and then, but I doubt I'd find myself in bed with him."

Shinji's face was flamingly bright, embarrassment at being so indelicately discussed causing him to cringe in on himself. Ritsuko took note of that, clapping her hands together several times to redirect the train of discussion back onto track. "I'll agree that several of them are smitten with him. He, however, has been nothing short of a perfect gentleman in deferring on their enticements. He did not, and does not, want to live here. He's terrified that he's putting me at risk. His concern for both of you is that whatever infected the others might be able to infect you. Lesbian or not, if this is something dealing with biological processes, you're still similar enough to them for worry."

"Which is a more than fair concern, and we are grateful that you demonstrated eagerness to notify us." With an open hand, Michiru offered Shinji a seat next to her once more. "Please, sit. I could feel your mind calming, it was why I chose to sit next to you rather than next to my ladylove. I promise, Haru-chan and I will watch each other very carefully for signs of inappropriate thoughts. If we must cut off ties, we will do so, but not until it becomes necessary."

Haruka, in turn, slapped the cushion between them on the couch. "C'mon, Shinji-kun. Let's all drink some tea and set the table for what's coming at us. It sounds like we need to play catch-up, and you need to know what we can offer you and Ritsuko-san."

Ritsuko gently pushed Shinji towards the two women. "It's ok. They're both graduates of some rather prestigious universities, it's where we found common ground for a friendship. They're smart enough to know when to take risks."

After Shinji carefully sat back down, Haruka wrapped an arm around his shoulders and leaned over to look him in the eyes. "Life is fun and games, ok? Even during the worst of times, we've got to live like we have something to live for. You stay here with her," she tipped her head towards Ritsuko, "we help keep her safe. We're close enough by to gain some info on what's hurting the little ones, you're close enough by to put a smile on my girl's face from time to time. I know you felt better playing the cello, and when Michi-chan walked into the apartment she was ready to chew steel and spit nails. She heard you and lit up, and then raced to get her violin. You're doing a good thing, so let us help you help our future allies, yeah?"

Michiru had picked up Shinji's tea, and now carefully offered it to him, leaning over in a more feminine manner to soothe a man she had a haunting sense of familiarity with. "Haru-chan doesn't like most guys. If she's this excited about you, I'd say you're worth fighting for. Let's put our heads together, lay out our dilemmas, and cooperate on solutions."

The way that Shinji's mannerisms calmed under the attentions of her two neighbors gave Ritsuko more data that she'd needed desperately. She knew he enjoyed positive attention, like any other human, but now she knew that it was how that attention was delivered that mattered the most. One of the women was bonding with him in a more 'rough and tumble' way, and the other was bonding with him over shared interests. It all added up to giving her more of a battleplan going forward. He wasn't 'delicate', or 'fragile', he was timid. She could be more tactile without hurting him, and she could try and appeal to him with who she was inside.

+++++ Akagi-Ikari Apartment, Hiro-o, Japan. (Friday + 6)

Haruka stood with Ritsuko by a large pad of paper attached to an easel, the two discussing several tactical points regarding the timing of various events. The discussion had gone far better than Shinji could have ever hoped for, with three geniuses taking everything he offered and dissecting it with an eye towards utilizing it best. Somehow, despite being overwhelmed, he felt safe. With Michiru holding his hand and leaning against his shoulder, his natural trembles had calmed entirely. Whatever it was he felt for her, he now understood why the Sailor for Pluto told him to trust them both. "Do you know a Setsuna Meiou?" Despite several cups of tea, his voice was still molding gravel in a wet leather bag. "Or-"

"Pluto." Michiru nodded, taking his meaning. "We're burgeoning friends. We were actually just out of town with her, trying to find out more about these pillars you mentioned. When we investigated the dome, and couldn't get inside of it, we were able to track down reports of another odd pillar showing up in Seoul. Why do you ask?"

"She…knows me." He wasn't certain how much to say, and it showed on his face.

"Time travel. It causes a great many problems, for everyone involved." Rubbing his arm with her other hand, she soothed his anxiety. "She mentioned that at some point in the future we might come across a strange ally. She said she couldn't say more without making a mess of everything, but she clearly meant you."

Shinji's eyes trailed down to his lap. "Strange is a good word for me."

"It's a good word for us all, my friend."

"I…uhm…I don't know how she knows me." It felt good to talk to someone that might know something, even if it turned out that all she could do was think on it. "I've never met her, not before today. But she…." He trailed off, once more uncertain of how much to say.

Michiru proved that Ritsuko wasn't wrong about her insight, "She's rightly cautious in limiting what she says about the future. You are rightly cautious in limiting what you share with someone she hasn't shared with herself. However, I believe that whatever she's shared with you, you are free to share with others you think you can trust. You're an honest man, painfully so. I doubt she'd give you something that would harm her, without telling you that it would. Had she, I know you would guard it with your life."

"…She kissed me. It, uhm…." He blushed, remembering the kiss well. "I-it helped me…remember things? Things that…that haven't happened." Shaking his head, he tried to put to words a sensation that was completely foreign to him. "You and Tenou-san fighting…ivory madness. But, it's not the only time I've seen things." His memories of the few days he'd spent with Makoto caused him genuine agony now. "I…I had a dream, only it happened when I was awake. I heard a voice, it said…terrible things, but I couldn't understand why they were terrible. It was like five voices all speaking at once, some yelling, some whispering, but I heard them all the same. Then, when Makoto…y-yesterday…."

She shifted her body so that she was sheltered under his arm, giving him the sensation that he was protecting her while at the same time comforting him more fully. "A terrible business. She seemed to be a dedicated warrior, and a loyal friend. It must be terribly confusing for you, to have found comradery with someone so quickly…only to have that stolen from you." It was evident from her tone that she wasn't merely saying kind words, she genuinely felt his pain and shared it.

"I t-told you that I knocked Usagi out of the way."

"You did."

"…I…." It sounded mad. He wasn't 'special'. He didn't have 'powers'. But he had no way of explaining what he'd seen and felt any other way. "I s-saw the world, two worlds…one, where half of the world died. There was no rhyme or reason, only…chaos." He missed her stiffen at the word, so caught up in the memory of a night he could never forget and never wished to remember. "The other world…the people who lived there were happy. They didn't know why their lives were comfortable, never knew the darkness done to keep them safe. They never saw the blood and bone their world was built upon. Never heard the cries of the few who toiled in pain and…and…."

Recalling herself, Michiru tried to dispel what she believed to be the thoughts of a mind too accustomed to misery, "Dark thoughts, indeed, but nothing more. The future isn't so simply set in stone that any one person might know the entirety of it."

"I made a choice." He knew it. He knew, like he knew that the sun would rise in the east, that what he dropped would fall towards the ground. This wasn't an 'if', it was. "I had no time to think…and…and I chose to save her." Bile grew at the base of his throat. "I sacrificed half of the world so that Usagi Tsukino could keep the rest alive…and ignorant."

"We're real sorry to interrupt, but we kind of need to stop him from collapsing in on himself." The Triplets appeared from thin air, choosing to be visible to everyone present. "Really sorry, Professor, but we could only hide and tolerate this so long." Misa and Mika hopped up quickly on Shinji's lap and began to sing their song, working to bring Shinji back from the brink. Miwa, abstaining, transformed into her human form to speak with everyone else. "He's not mistaken. We asked a few of the Tenko, and while they could not see the results of it…he made a Choice."

Haruka scowled at the trio of kitsune, then focused on the rapid shift in Shinji's emotional state. "Why are you messing around in his mind?"

"We are not messing around in his mind!" The concept itself caused Miwa to sprout her tails, her words coming out as a growl. "We are steadying his emotions. He is an Elder. Emotions give him power, lack of control over those emotions leads to a lack of control over his power. If he panics and his emotions go wild, only losing Edo would be considered a miracle."

Shinji was entranced by the song, the delicate glow emanating from the two foxes on his lap. With tears flowing freely down his cheeks, he slowly lost all of the tension in his muscles and relaxed back against the couch itself. For him, there was nothing but the song now. No death, no loss, just a simple peace that begged him to seek out hope instead of descending into misery.

"Not that I'm ungrateful," Ritsuko made the effort to bring the rest of the room's temperature back down along with Shinji, "but why isn't he pulling that party trick he has?"

Miwa gave a final glare to Haruka, then dismissed her with a huff. "Because the other two spirits tied within him prevented it."

"Wait, he has other spirits inside of him?" Michiru was disgusted. "That's terrible!"

"We agree," the kitsune assured her, "but there's little that can be done right now. If we tried to exorcise them, he might go wild and tear apart the planet. If we anger them, they might cause him to do the same thing. We only know who one of them is, and Granny made it very clear that his mother wasn't in the mood to talk."

"His mother?!" Haruka was just as aghast as her lover. "What shithole did he come from?!"

"One that had nothing but pain, darkness, and misery." Miwa refused to look at the woman who irritated her, but wouldn't pass up the chance to remind everyone that there was a reason they were present. "The woman who bore him apparently wants him sent back there. She said that she gave him life, and she is the one who gets to decide how that's spent."

Ritsuko saw Haruka's face go dark. There was no longer a tomboyish joker, there was only a physical avatar of determination. Before she could try and further defuse the situation, she saw the tall blonde cross over to stand in front of Miwa where the fox had no choice but to look at her.

"You are going to tell us what we need to do to get that bitch out of him. We are going to do whatever is necessary, up to and including going in there ourselves and tearing her head off, to ensure he doesn't have to live like that anymore. This man put his ass on the line to save the world, we're going to make sure he's celebrated for that." Haruka's glare could have melted iron, and did a rather effective job of tempering Miwa's anger.

"We…have our best spiritualists working on it." Miwa's tails vanished, but her jaw remained lifted in defiance. "We are not in the habit of ignoring heroes ourselves."

"Why don't all of us remember that we have a young man present who has lived through this tragedy, and take care in moderating our anger so that we don't further traumatize him." Both women turned to see Michiru glaring coldly at them equally. "The kitsune are here to help, Haruka. I would not have been so sanguine about this had I not had the information I did. My efforts at calming him were insufficient, my experience with him is insufficient. He blames himself for the actions of a man carrying the world on his shoulders, confusing as many do the difference between responsibility and culpability. I do, however, agree." Her gaze focused on Miwa. "We will be kept informed as to what we might do to ease his suffering. Whatever we might do. Kindly inform your matriarchs that nothing remains beneath us. Nothing, no matter how distasteful." Lifting Shinji's knuckles to her lips, she kissed them gently. She knew that the fugue caused his non-reaction, though it still pained her to see him that way. Placing that hand so that it cupped Mika, she stood and looked to her partner. "You and I need to go have a chat with Tsukino-san. We'll come back soon to check up on everything here."

Ritsuko noted that Haruka moved without questioning Michiru's proclamation, and walked them both to the door. Providing what she could by way of farewell, she offered her gratitude as well, "Thank you, both of you, for your help today. He probably would have survived the fall, but I'd have to explain why to the onlookers."

"One day, Akagi-san, he will be forced to act again on the choices he's made." Michiru's eyes grew distant, pained. "When he does…kindly do not make it harder on him than you must. Please, have a good evening."

Nothing more was stated as the two women left the apartment, and Ritsuko could only wonder at what had been said between the man she lived with and the woman she lived across from.

+++++ Hiro-o, Japan. (Friday + 6)

"I'm guessing you're waiting for a more convenient time to share something with me?" Haruka had rarely seen this side of her lover, and only ever when breakable things were in danger. Breakable things such as nations, continents, or moons.

Michiru kept a hard pace along the busy thoroughfares, easy for both of the women to hold, towards their new destination. "I remember him. A little."

That worried her. "Can you give me a little more to go on here?"

"Setsuna-chan was right. He makes an extraordinarily strong impression." Their progress was stopped by a traffic light, and so she looked up to Haruka with a sad smile. "I saw him jump in front of a blast that would have killed you. You asked him why while cradling him and trying to staunch the wound as he bled out onto the ground around you while I eliminated the enemy. His answer was that he couldn't sit back and let a beautiful love be extinguished." The light changed, and she resumed their march. "It was probably the first time in my life that there was no jealousy in my heart when I saw you kiss someone else."

Blowing out her cheeks and glaring at a guy who admired Michiru a little too much, she tried once again to see or feel anything regarding the young man they spoke of. "What happened afterwards?"

"I couldn't tell you. I don't remember." The irritation in her voice was directed inwards.

"Fair enough." Shoulder checking another man who wolf-whistled at her partner, her pace never faltered. "So, what're we going to say to them? 'Hi, we realize we might have been able to help save Makoto Kino, but we had obligations elsewhere' just seems like it's going to start a fight."

"Simple, 'we' are not going to say anything. 'I' am going to be the one talking. Princess to Princess." Her lip twitched with the growing anger in her heart. "She owes me an explanation."

+++++ Akagi-Ikari Apartment, Hiro-o, Japan. (Friday + 6)

It was another ten minutes of song before Shinji finally collapsed into true unconsciousness. After helping place him in his bed and making certain everything was set comfortably in reach should he wake up and be confused, Ritsuko ushered the trio of vixens back out into the dining room to garner a few explanations of her own. Sweetening the deal with ice cream, she set a bowl down before each at the table before sitting down herself and cutting through any other pleasantries. "Who?"

"The ladies we lost last night." The triplets did not prevaricate or hesitate in answering. "Somehow, both spirits have combined into…something different. Where his matriarch seeks to cause him suffering, they have begun to defy her whims." Taking turns speaking and eating, they demonstrated that they themselves were in a foul mood. "This makes it both simpler and more difficult to resolve the main issue: our intent to free him of…excess baggage."

She could already feel the headache coming on from having to calm Shinji down when he learned this information himself. "Difficult how?"

"The lightning today?" They waited for her impatient nod. "It managed to explain a great deal to mother. The appearance of the armor is tied to his matriarch. It comes out to protect him from potential danger, to separate him from potential companionship. The sudden awareness of a mathematical formulation that he couldn't possibly know? Again, his matriarch. Now, he has access to magicks without knowledge of their use. The power isn't inborn, instead it has been gifted. An Elder with the capacity to summon lightning…his emotional swings are only going to get worse."

"And Hygieia-san?"

That brought out a darker frown than anything else. No words were spoken aloud, all three kitsune stabbing at their frozen treat with their spoons as if they could somehow dig the Elysian from his spirit with the act alone.

+++++ Lunar Command Center. (Friday + 6)

The inner chamber of the Sailor Senshi hideout was silent, save for the light hum of equipment. Haruka and Michiru descended slowly, the dim light giving both of them pause. They had more than enough memories of the place, but none of those memories lacked for light or sound. Their footsteps seemed far too loud, their hearts audible in their ears. Whatever it was they approached, they would not approach without extreme caution.

"Did they get invaded?" Haruka's voice was pitched as low as she could manage. "This feels like the aftermath of a war."

Michiru simply shook her head to indicate she had no answers either, and kept her nerves steeled. The long, spiraling, staircase had never felt so empty. The walls never so fragile. This was a place she knew as full of life, full of love…full of hope. Without crying out the spell to ease the transition between woman and warrior, she summoned her armaments and girded herself for a fight, pleased as her love followed her lead without question.

Neither woman was ready for what they saw when the main chamber came into view. Princess Serenity stood regally, patiently waiting by the computer terminals that ran the interdimensional space they had invaded. Though not the Princess they knew. Not the Princess who had fought to the last to save her kingdom. Not the Princess who'd tried her utmost to bring a laugh and a smile to her cohort. Not the Princess that gifted light, life, and love to the universe itself.

The towering rage in Usagi's eyes did not infect her voice, nor her choice of words, "Due caution is wise." Her long dress the color of mourning, with intricate lace and delicate stitching, she might have been processing grief. "I do not owe either of you anything, Neptune. We were betrayed. We were outgunned. We have paid in blood to give the world another day orbiting the center. You would ask me why I claim him?" Power crackled around her tiara, along her gloves, and in her eyes as she laid out her challenge, "Because he is the answer to it all. We either return him to his world, and seal it apart for all time, or we damn this universe to eternal suffering."

"That's a rather fancy way of saying that he doesn't belong to himself, Bunny." Haruka set the tip of her sword against the ground, seeming to lean idly on it. "Kinda sounds to me like you're saying he doesn't have a choice but to accept you in his life."

"If he wants nothing to do with me after he and I return to his world, then that will be the choice I accept." Her eyes never left Michiru. "If he wishes to take me to his bed, then that will be the choice I accept. My love is his, period."

"That does not strike me as love, Your Highness." Michiru glanced at the hand-mirror that was her finest weapon, and witnessed a truth far more terrifying than the one before them. "It…it sounds far too much like obsession."

"Go home." Usagi's power was now actively coursing around her frame. "Guard him. Care for him. Keep him safe. When it comes time for us to leave, you will know that I am right." Her eyes finally shifted to Haruka. "Or challenge the impossible, and face eternity. Love is not always kind, Uranus. It is not always gentle, or light. Both of you are powerful, I have never doubted that. You will not win, and you will weaken him further by dying in the attempt."

"You'd kill us?!" Haruka scoffed, unable to believe her own eyes. "For what? Daring to think that we could still win? Thinking that it doesn't have to just be your way? That he deserves to choose his own destiny?"

"I would kill you both to stop what he will bring this world," there was a cold finality to her statement, a punctuation on a certainty more absolute than any before it. "I will not allow him to be abused anymore. Go home."

Michiru stopped her lover from stepping forward by placing the back of her hand against Haruka's stomach. "If we see you near him…we will stop you."

"I expect no less." Usagi finally turned her back, dismissing them from her presence.

The shorter Neptune hurried the taller Uranus out of the Command Center, far too aware of the consequences of standing their ground at that moment. When the pair reached the street, once more clad in civilian clothing, she allowed her grip to be thrown off. "We-"

"I cannot believe you would back down like that!" Haruka was incensed, and gaining steam as she glared at her partner. "You spend the entire helicopter flight home chewing on everything around you about how you couldn't believe that those twits allowed the world to be seeded with those damn things, and when we confront her you let a little light show distr-"

"Would you shut up for a second?!" Gone was the demure reserve, the diplomatic tongue. In its place rode an anger far darker than the one that had drove them to visit this place. "Look." Shoving her hand-mirror towards Haruka, she replayed the scene that had given her pause.

Haruka herself scowled, annoyed at being interrupted. What she saw, at first, was the same young woman they'd both seen standing there: a puffed-up, self-important, self-centered little bitch in serious need of a spanking. Then, slowly, she began to take note of the things that didn't quite add up. The crescent moon that was her sigil, backwards. The hint of white that was her pupils, where only black should have been. The pale glow limning her frame, not borne of her silvery aura…but of something else entirely. Her anger drained away, her tone going numb, "What…is that?"

"Do you remember our lessons regarding baryogenesis? Do you remember what the professor said when I asked what would happen if the process reversed?"

"…Shit."

"Whatever it is that followed dear Shinji through space and time, it has begun to infect her." Michiru tucked her mirror back into her purse and slung the bag over her shoulder. "She is holding it back, by will alone. I don't know exactly what will happen if she loses control, but I can't imagine it being anything good." Without waiting for Haruka, she started the walk back home. "We need to guard Shinji with our lives, Haru-chan."

The pale-blonde Sailor for Uranus looked up at the darkened sky with irritation. "Nothing is ever easy around here." Shaking it off and jogging to catch up, she slowed her pace to match Michiru's. "If he sleeps in our bed, it's on the other side from you, deal?"

+++++ Lunar Command Center. (Friday + 6)

"I don't like you talking to your friends that way, Usagi-chan." Luna sat upon the tank containing Artemis, her tail twitching violently. "I don't like you thinking that way."

Usagi's eyes contained the pain of the entire universe as she looked back upon the sole remaining person she considered truly family. "I have no choice. He needs people to protect him, and we need to stay away from him. If the voices in my head win, they'll be his only chance at stopping me. If the voices in his head win…."

"We'll figure out a way. That's what we do." Clamping down on her worries, she stood on all fours and trotted closer to her little sister. "We've already lost so much, I'm not going to let them take you too."

She couldn't speak the truth, and so she took a woman's advice she'd long aspired to be and said nothing at all. Crouching down and accepting a hug, Usagi began to weep for a future that had no good ends, and a past that had never had a chance.

+++++ Akagi-Ikari Apartment, Hiro-o, Japan. (Saturday + 7)

"…often what we wish it would be." Shinji's mind began to arrange the sounds he was hearing into rational words, though it still could not fully pull him from sleep. A familiar female voice was quietly cautioning another person, all the while her hand lingeringly stroked his bare chest. "We have few choices, and none where he is not amenable to our position."

Another female voice that Shinji could recognize replied with a hint of irritation, "This is not how 'we' do these things, 'Maria'. I give you a great deal of latitude out of mutual respect, should the 'mutual' part of that begin to deteriorate, you will not find many as willing to entertain your…peculiarities."

Anger at not knowing why there were people in his room began to float to the surface. Yet again, he woke up and wasn't alone. Yet again, people entered his room without gaining permission. Yet again, people were deciding things for him. With his eyes still closed, and his tone dulled by fatigue, he ground out an objection, "Unless you want to lose that hand, I'd suggest removing it from my chest." Forcing his eyes to open, he saw a hint of a smile on Toyouke's face, and a scowl of disapproval on Maria's. The sky was dark, and his room without a clock to tell the time by. It felt like he hadn't slept for long enough, though that wasn't helpful as he couldn't remember falling asleep at all. Shifting up to a seated position, he scrubbed his fingers through his hair and rubbed his left eye with the heel of his hand. "What?"

Maria was not pleased. "What do you mean, 'what'?"

"I mean 'what do you want'." His right eye shifted over to glower at her with just as much force as she did him.

"Before we descend too much further into emotional display," Toyouke cut between the two to offer Shinji a pair of oddly shaped objects, "I would appreciate it if you would do me the favor of wearing these, Silent One. In return, I promise to explain fully my presence in your Den."

The overtly polite request struck Shinji in a weak point. A powerful woman was asking, not demanding, that he do something. She offered something in return and asked seemingly very little. However, anger still held its ground. "What…are they?"

"A focus. In your particular circumstances, I believe that a pair of them will provide far better stability than a single." Carefully setting one of the two down on the bed next to his leg, she ran her finger across each part as she explained the whole. "Each of the three strands here go between your fingers. This one," she tapped an offset chain, "goes around your hand the other direction. Each is connected, as you see, to this central disc."

There was a calmness wafting from the Denmother that soothed his temper even further. When he asked his next question, it was as between equals instead of enemies, "Is that…gold?"

"And silver," Toyouke nodded her agreement, "representing the sun and the moon respectively. I see a great deal of influence in you by dueling forces, my friend. That is why I went to such troubles as to find these two specifically." She set the other, a mirror image of the first, down beside its mate. "Typically, a young Elder would be given one of these. Certainly, never one as powerful as either of these here. Of course," she smiled with a shrug, "a typical Elder wouldn't carry quite the weight you do and would have a family to help guide them."

Curiosity won out over irritation, and he gently picked up the first she'd touched. It was cool, almost cold, despite any warmth from his bed, the air, or Toyouke's hands. There was, within the very metal itself, a hint of longing and need. The jewelry yearned to be worn, to be needed, to be used. "It feels…uhm…it feels alive."

"It is not," she stated firmly. "Because it is tied to emotions, it seems to possess life. I assure you, with all sincerity I can muster, they are inanimate."

Maria was still irked, and it showed in her tone, "They're reflecting your emotions. Whatever you feel from them, is what you yourself feel."

Reading the spike in anger from the young man for what it was, Toyouke stamped on Maria's toes and leaned down to help Shinji put the piece on. "Here, allow me to help." Her smile, her choice of words, even the small flirtatious lilt that she used all served to aid her in steering Shinji away from an explosion. "This can be a little tricky, if you don't know how. I had to read the instruction manual about ten times before I realized that I had it on backwards." Laughing musically with self-deprecation, she used a light touch to maneuver Shinji's hand into place. "You see, I'm used to the central piece being on the back of the hand. With this, it goes upon your palm."

Shinji couldn't find a reason to be angry with the Denmother. Whatever force it was that caused his ire with Maria, it didn't have enough to work with for the other woman. "How am I supposed to grab things if…." The thought trailed off and died as the focus cinched itself in place around his hand. The vacuous gap between the moment it attached itself and his next cohesive impression of the world around him caused a physical recoil in his body. Jumping back, the world having changed dramatically in a fraction of an instant that lasted an eternity, he lost subconscious control over his weight and shattered the bed's frame.

"Shh, shh, shh," Maria was quickly astride him, her anger vanished in his fright, "it's ok. It's ok, Pet. I promise, I promise it's ok."

He felt numb, hollow, and confused beyond reason. This was all made worse by the unexpected happening, as the second focus moved of its own volition to latch onto his other hand and seal itself to him. The visceral click of a superconductive power line entering service thrummed in his mind, his vision whiting out and driving him from consciousness.

+++++ ? (Saturday + 7)

"-up." The sensation of firm, but gentle, slaps against Shinji's cheek brought enough awareness to allow him to hear. "Please, you've got to wake up. She's getting closer!"

The sound of desperation, more than the jostling, roused him enough to flutter his eyes open and try to determine who was speaking to him. …Hygieia…n-no. The environment he was lying prone within consisted of whatever dim light radiated from him and the woman holding him, and the howling void beyond. There was no ceiling, no floor, nothing to differentiate one direction from the other save for the vague pull in the direction of his back.

"Kind of," the woman smiled sadly as she did her level best to get him to his feet, "kind of not. It's a really long story that you don't have time for right now." With curly waves of brunette hair, forest green eyes, and a healthy Mediterranean tan, she cut a striking figure. "You need to stand your ground, Shinji-kun. Remember, you're in control. This is your life, you're in-" Whatever else she might have said was interrupted by a forceful wave of power launching her off into the distance and out of sight.

"What are you doing?" A voice he couldn't recognize spoke with exasperation, drawing his attention back in the other direction, "Why are you not searching for a way back? Hmm?"

There was an evocative familiarity surrounding the woman approaching Shinji. With layered, shoulder-length, brown hair that barely missed her shoulders and a piercing gaze that spoke of a daunting intellect, his first guess proved not to be as wild as he thought it might be, …M-mom?

"There are still six more Angels that we need to defeat!" Stamping to a halt directly before him, staring challengingly up at him, Yui Ikari was in no mood for reunions. "Are you content to just sit here and let everyone back home die? Are you really that big of a coward?"

The lack of a happy reunion gave rise to doubt, which in turn gave rise to irritation. You're not my mother. Who are you? Why are you pretending to be her?

"Who do you think you were synchronizing with each time you piloted Unit-01? Hmm?" Yui jabbed him with a finger in the stomach, causing him to wince. "Who do you think Soryu-chan was synchronizing with? You're the product of two brilliant minds, Shinji, you should have figured this out a long time ago. Certainly before those animals painted it all in for you." Jabbing him again, she drove him back a pace. "Why weren't you fighting harder? Why weren't you studying harder? You slacked off back home, and now you're slacking off here! Dallying around with harlots and sluts, you-"

Don't call them that! He would accept being berated, he would accept being called to account for his own sins, but he would be dead in the ground before he allowed anyone to slander the Sailors or the youkai. None of them have ever even had a boyfriend, let alone…that. Looming once again over the woman that he did not believe was actually the woman who bore him, he growled with sincere menace as he carried onwards. One of them gave their lives because of what I brought here. Now others are infected with it. If you think I'm not looking for a way to return home, you're sorely mistaken. Now answer me, before I rip your head off, who are you?

Yui lifted her chin and declared the truth once again, "I am your mother, Shinji. I was stuck in Unit-01 after the initial contact experiment, and when you came over to this…place, you absorbed both Unit-01 and me into your soul. If you don't believe me, ask me something only I would know. You spent enough time synchronizing with me, you should know that I'm aware of everything you were thinking of at the time. Or you would know if you'd bothered studying."

…What do I think of Misato Katsuragi? It was probably the one question he could ask that would be the most well-guarded truth in all of his mind.

Yui rolled her eyes and stated blandly, "The same thing as any other man with a pulse, you wanted to fuc-"

The right cross Shinji directed squarely between her eyes came without any of the usual tells such a punch would create. His body moved without hesitation, his right foot turning on its pad to drive his right knee and right hip through the motion, his spine and shoulder carrying that momentum through his bicep, elbow, and wrist. When his fist met her skull, every ounce of power he'd summoned flowed outwards with killing intent.

The problem for him came when instead of a phantom of Yui Ikari, his target had become Unit-01. The counterblow, a rabbit punch to his short ribs, took the wind from his lungs and staggered him back a step. Next, a kick to the outside of his left knee dropped him down, offering up his neck for a chokehold that prevented him from regaining any leverage in the fight. "I will tell you again," her voice was distorted, as if coming through a microphone instead of a mouth, "I am Yui Ikari, your mother, and the woman who is intensely disappointed in her only child at the moment."

Black spots and bright flashes of light began to occlude his vision, the arteries to his head being expertly clamped shut by a machine that he'd never fully trusted. Worry flooded him, anxiety screamed out for him to do anything but what he was doing, and a terrible realization that it was entirely possible the woman he'd long wished had remained a fixture in his life was…not who he thought she would be.

Relief arrived at the last possible moment, sweeping Unit-01's base out from under it and smashing a double axhandle blow to its back, freeing Shinji and evening out the odds for long enough to shout, "Get out! Go!" Kicking with all the force she could muster, the woman who seemed like Hygieia but not drove the purple beast away from the man she desired to protect. "Wake up and remember you're in charge!"

Who are- A whorl of jade flowers exploded up from around his feet, Toyouke landing before him and latching onto him before departing his soulspace with him in tow.

+++++ Author's Notes:

RE: Guyver.

You never know, really, what I might work into my stories or reference tangentially. My first thought was to have Ritsuko reference Iron Man, due to the fact that September 1992 (the year Shinji went back to) was the first appearance of James Rhodes as "War Machine" in the Iron Man series of comics. Of course, I doubt that Ritsuko would read US Marvel comics instead of Japanese Manga, and had to switch the reference to something that would be less "Americanized". Of course, the criminally underviewed Guyver series (including the American movie starring one Mark Hamill) was a good fallback for me. Bioorganic weapon suit would absolutely be up Ritsuko's alley.

RE: Adam and Shinji.

Technically, Adam is this universe's Adam. At least...he is now.