Daydream Believer – Chapter Seven

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for sexual situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

Author's note: Well, if you were wondering about why Nephrite and Naru were married, look no further. Also, a certain someone finally gets to shine…

If you have any CC, please share and I'll listen. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 05-27-14

Long before Crystal Tokyo came to be, Usagi Tsukino's best friend had been Naru Osaka. The kind girl had once fallen in love with one of the corrupted Four Heavenly Kings, and upon his death, she'd begun dating their classmate, Gurio Umino.

Not long before Crystal Tokyo came to be, when Usagi didn't have much time to spend on things not related to being Sailor Moon and thus had drifted apart from her old friend, Umino died in an attack, leaving Naru alone and terribly lonely.

A hundred years ago, the Four Heavenly Kings, residing in the stones that bore their name for centuries, were able to take form in the world of the living once more. Upon being cleansed of the last traces of Beryl's corruption, they once again became Endymion's guardians. It hadn't taken long at all after that for Nephrite to seek out Naru. Nor for them to be wed.

Now, Neo Queen Serenity was very pleased to know that such a kind and loyal friend throughout her life was living in her palace. It was especially refreshing because though Naru had known, even when they were in middle school, that strange things kept happening around her, Naru had no special powers of her own. When Serenity wanted advice from a "normal" person, Naru was certainly the one to go to.

She was also one of the few people who still called her Usagi.

"Naru, may I speak with you?" Despite it being her palace, Serenity hated going into people's private rooms without permission. She might have been queen, but she could certainly remember how much she'd disliked Shingo or her mother barging in without knocking.

"Of course, come in," Naru's voice came through the door, her accent still present despite all the years she'd lived. It was comforting to have such a simple reminder of the past.

Serenity opened the door and walked inside, shutting it behind her. Naru, being the wife of one of the highest ranking men in the palace, had a very luxurious room. She thought back to when they were fourteen, hanging out in each other's bedrooms and listening to music while they talked about boys. Naru had always liked older men; would she ever have dreamed she would live in a palace while being married to her childhood love?

She'd thought, more than once, about the look on Naru's face if she went back in time and told her, "Guess what Naru? In the future, I become a queen, Nephrite comes back to life and marries you, and we both live in my palace! Isn't that cool?" Setsuna would kill her, but it might be worth it just to see how a younger Naru would react…

She shook the foolish thoughts from her mind and smiled at her friend, who put down the jewels she'd been stringing. Naru had spent her youth surrounded by jewelry, so it made sense to Serenity that she still liked creating it to this day, even if she was fully capable of buying any expensive trinket she could find in a fancy boutique.

"Good afternoon," Naru greeted with a kind smile. "Is everything calming down?"

Oh, she wished. Princess Kozue's extremely unprofessional and public dismissal of the Starlights had only ended up being the start of it. Yaten refused to leave her room, she'd had to listen to her own guardians chastise Kunzite and Zoisite's sudden engagement—despite Small Lady insisting that she didn't mind in the slightest—and to top it all off, an official invitation had arrived from the Prince of Nemesis, declaring that he wished to speak of peace.

The attack in the past from the Black Moon Clan had been the beginning of Naru really knowing something was wrong, and Serenity knew that now. Naru didn't, however, know the details, nor had she ever asked. Serenity was glad, because what had happened in the past hadn't happened in the present. Serenity hadn't spared Death Phantom this time, and thus the rebels who left for Nemesis upon Crystal Tokyo's birth hadn't gotten as powerful or corrupt as they had long ago. In fact, the Prince Demand that existed now seemed far less bitter—and thankfully not in love with her—than the one she'd dealt with before. He wanted to talk… So she would talk with him.

But none of that mattered at the present moment. Right now, she had a question to ask Naru, and it had to do with a woman that Serenity still hadn't had time to talk to personally.

"Well, things could be better I suppose." She struggled with the question she wanted to ask, knowing it was very personal. But she needed some outside perspective… "Naru… What would you have done if Umino had lived to see Crystal Tokyo?"

"Oh Usagi," Naru seemed taken aback by the question at first, but after a few long moments of silence, she sighed. "I did love Gurio, but… I love Nephrite more. If Gurio and I had stayed together, I know that I wouldn't have been happy after I knew Nephrite was alive again, and I would have had to choose… And I would have chosen Nephrite."

It made sense, Serenity thought. Naru had loved Nephrite first, and that love had redeemed him before death. Hundreds of years later, she still loved him. And honestly, the very idea that Nephrite and Umino would have been able to share Naru was laughable at best.

"…But I'm not you," Naru continued, giving Serenity a knowing look, "and I'm not in your situation. I would have to choose, but from what I've heard of the situation, it sounds like you won't. Honestly, I think you are the biggest obstacle right now."

"Seiya only likes women." It was what she kept coming back to. No matter how many people insisted that Endymion and Seiya could share, she just couldn't let go that it didn't seem fair somehow. Her daughter was lucky that both of her partners also loved each other. They could all be together, but even if she had both her husband and the woman she loved… Wouldn't one eventually feel left out? She couldn't bear to break their hearts.

"Even so, aren't you just hurting everyone by keeping her away?" Serenity shot her a confused look, causing Naru to smile and roll her eyes playfully. "You aren't happy, especially now that you know she's staying here for good. King Endymion isn't happy because you aren't happy. And Miss Seiya isn't happy because she's been in love with you forever. Don't you think that maybe some of that unhappiness would immediately leave if you just let her in?"

It was those words that Serenity had in her head when she left, unfortunately needing to go write her response to Prince Demand before the day was over, lest he get impatient. She'd never dealt with this version of him before—time travel was so complicated!—but she didn't want to risk offending him by not responding in an orderly fashion. She'd prevented an attack on the past from happening so far, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Hey dumpling."

The words froze Serenity in her tracks.

"S-Seiya…" She couldn't move, but she didn't have to. Seiya walked closer, not stopping until she was standing in front of Serenity. She was… She was gorgeous, and that friendly, self-assured smirk made her heartbeat quicken even more than her revealing Sailor Starlight uniform did. "I… We haven't gotten to speak alone…"

Her voice was apologetic, but Seiya laughed easily and waved off her concern. Oh heaven above, she wanted nothing more than to take Seiya into her arms right there and beg her to let her have another chance, to make up for lost time. But she couldn't find the words, nor the courage to say what was in her heart.

"Don't worry, dumpling. You're a queen, and you have a lot going on right now. You've got, what, two weddings on the way? Plus a peace talk? And now you have to figure out what to do with us…"

She had spoken very briefly to Seiya and Taiki after Princess Kozue's departure, assuring them that they were very welcome to stay and serve her, or they were free to leave and live on Earth as they pleased. They had both insisted they would stay under her care, and that Yaten would as well.

Yaten… Serenity hadn't even seen her since the Starlights arrived. The woman was refusing to leave her guestroom, and from what Serenity heard, not even the promise of a much nicer, permanent room in the same hall of the other female guardians had gotten her to come out. It was very worrying, and Serenity's compassion overrode her fear of speaking with Seiya.

"Is Yaten alright? I know she likes to be alone, but this seems much too far…" Upon seeing Seiya's expression, she knew that no, Yaten wasn't alright.

"…I asked Taiki if she knew what happened, but she didn't want to say anything. But…" She sighed, obviously debating whether to tell something that was most likely a secret. Serenity wouldn't pry, but she wanted to help if she could… "I think it has to do with that pink-haired guy that came with your daughter's boyfriends."

Serenity clearly remembered the way Hawk's Eye and Yaten had been glaring at each other, but it certainly hadn't seemed like anything that would make Yaten withdraw from everyone. When she voiced this opinion, Seiya shook her head slowly.

"No, you don't understand… But I guess you wouldn't. Things on Kinmoku are different than Earth, after all." Serenity waited patiently for Seiya to explain further, but it never came. Seiya merely smiled sadly at her; it obviously wasn't her secret to tell after all.

"Just tell me…" She paused, a pang of sympathy for the hurting woman washing over her. "Will she be all right?"

"I hope so."

Serenity could have talked to Seiya all day, but knowledge that she had a reply to send and that she wasn't in any condition to admit her feelings at the moment caused her to give her farewells to Seiya, promising that they would soon determine what the Starlights would do in Crystal Tokyo. Seiya had agreed that it was a good idea, and upon saying goodnight, she'd gathered Serenity into a hug.

Serenity had a hard time letting go and an even harder time walking away.

"You still haven't told her."

"No."

"Why?"

"…I don't know."

She heard Endymion sigh before he pulled her closer. They were lying in bed, but Serenity wasn't tired. Well, she was, but she couldn't sleep. She just kept thinking of everything that was going on, and it all ended up coming back to Seiya. She was amazed that her husband was putting up with her acting that way.

"You need to tell her. You'll feel much better."

Even he was telling her to confess to Seiya, and she still couldn't. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she hoped she would be able to get over it soon. She didn't know how much longer she could take living that way…