Sailors of Mercy: Kyameran's Story
Chapter Three: The Highest Highs, The Lowest Lows
Legal Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters involved in this chapter, aside from Yuya and Shota. I do, however, maintain that my use of them is covered under Fair Use, as this story exists both as a way to show appreciation for the original work, and to make a commentary on it. Sailor Moon was a wonderful show full of positive messages about the power of love, friendship, forgiveness, and solidarity, as well as tons of PSA-style messages that helped me immensely growing up. But one thing I felt it never adequately explored was the implications of the various types of Monster of the Week being living, feeling beings, who sometimes showed signs of being redeemable. I wanted to explore what would happen if that changed.
Kyameran rushed to the door upon hearing a knock. Checking the peephole, she saw what she expected: her boyfriend Yuya. She opened the door, and he pounced, clutching the back of her neck and the small of her back in his hands and bringing her in for a passionate kiss. She returned his fervor, shutting the door sightlessly with one hand, before picking him up and pressing him against the wall, lips never once parting. She gently bit his bottom lip, and he responded by breaking the kiss and beginning to kiss her neck. She moaned gently, as his feet returned to the floor and he pressed her to the couch. She sat down and threw her head back, as he gently began to kiss further down, settling on her collarbones. He wordlessly removed her shirt, and began to remove her bra with one hand, while sliding up her skirt with the other. As the garment fell to the floor, his mouth found her left nipple as his fingers found her labia. He gently parted the lips of her labia and began to lightly stroke her clitoris as his left hand clutched her right breast, squeezing gently. She let out an aroused gasp and clutched his buttocks with both hands.
In response, he began to stroke her clitoris more vigorously and deliberately. She cried out in pleasure, before lifting his chin with a free hand and bringing him to her lips for another kiss. Their mouths widened and became one as he deftly fingered her to a wobbly, powerful orgasm. Her whole body tensed, and then relaxed.
"I love you," she moaned breathlessly.
"Not as much as you're about to," he smiled, guiding her to her feet and walking her to her futon mattress, playfully pushing her into bed with one hand, and catching her just before impact with the other. He joined her on the mattress, gently removed her skirt, then her underwear, and lifted one of her legs, kissing from the top of her foot slowly up her leg, until he reached her inner thigh, at which point he centred his face evenly between both legs, and lowered his head slowly. Kyameran's heart raced as Yuya's tongue eagerly searched for, and then found, her clitoris. He licked it rhythmically, lingering just long enough to savour the taste of his love. She threw her head back again and looked up at the ceiling as a strong, pulsating orgasm rippled through her entire body and forced her to cry out silently, arching her back and lifting her pelvis off the mattress before every muscle in her body relaxed at the same time and she was sent tumbling back into the sheets. His tongue remained unwavering, and she clutched the back of his head as he diligently and enthusiastically brought her to a second orgasm. When it was over, she could barely form a thought.
"Are you ready?" Yuya asked her, bringing her back to reality.
"Yes!" Kyameran replied enthusiastically, before being hit with a pang of conscience, "Wait… before we do, I think there's something I need to tell you."
"Anything, love," he replied.
"I'm…" Kyameran began, struggling to find the words, painfully aware that there was no easy way to say what she was about to say. After pausing for what felt to her like hours, she finally opted for blunt. "I'm a Youma."
"A what?" Yuya asked, confused.
"Okay, you know those monsters the Sailor Scouts are always fighting in the news?" Kyameran began.
"I… guess so?" Yuya responded, beginning to put the pieces together in his head.
"I'm one of those monsters," Kyameran explained, "Except for the fighting the Sailor Scouts part. We're actually allies."
"So that cult you left—" Yuya started.
"Yes," Kyameran acknowledged, "The Dark Kingdom. The target who flipped me is Sailor Moon."
"That… actually explains a lot," Yuya responded, furrowing his brow.
"How do you feel about all of this?" Kyameran asked.
"Well," Yuya answered, "I kind of knew there had to be more to your story than you were letting on, but I always figured you'd tell me when you felt ready. It's not like you lied to me."
"I don't think I could if I wanted to," Kyameran responded.
"So this… this is a disguise?" Yuya asked.
"Kind of," Kyameran responded, "We all have the ability to take human form. It's not that different from what I actually look like, except, you know, human."
"Show me what you really look like," Yuya insisted.
Kyameran obliged, discarding her human form and laying on the bed in front of him, fully herself for the first time in front of any human other than the Sailor Scouts. Her self-consciousness was so intense that it almost burned her muscles. She could feel his eyes, tracing over her purple skin, hovering over the eyeball protruding from her right hand, finding its way to her disjointed shoulders, resolving in points, and leaving her arms disconnected from her sides. She had never felt more monstrous. She had never felt more different, more alien than she did right now. She both eagerly anticipated and horribly feared the moment when Yuya would speak.
"Babe," he began, "I don't know if this is the right thing to say in a moment like this… but I think you're even hotter like this."
The anxiety left Kyameran's body in an instant, and she threw her arms around him, pulling him in tightly as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear, "Thank you for accepting me as I am."
"I love you more than anything," Yuya responded, "It'll take more than purple skin to change that."
"I love you too!" Kyameran cried.
"This… is the whole story, right?" Yuya asked.
"No more surprises," Kyameran promised.
"Now where were we?" Yuya asked.
Yuya kissed her once more on the mouth, then slowly worked his way down her cheek, down her neck, to her breasts, becoming once again erect in the process. As he sucked on her nipple, he slowly guided his penis with one hand into her vagina while holding himself up with the other. Kyameran let out a gasp of both surprise and pleasure, soaking in the fact that this was her first time, and it could not be more perfect. Yuya propped himself up with his hands, placed on either side of her head, and began to thrust. Kyameran sank into the sensation, wrapping her arms around his waist and closing her eyes. Propping himself up using his core, Yuya clutched her breasts with both hands, squeezing them before beginning to play with her nipples using his fingertips. She quickly found herself on the receiving end of another orgasm. As he felt her relax, he slowed his rhythm a bit and placed his hands on her sides, sitting up more, and thrusting, pulling her in closer with each thrust and sliding her back down with each retreat. A few minutes of this was enough to bring her to orgasm yet again.
Yuya lay across Kyameran once more, and sped up to his original speed until they both climaxed. Yuya collapsed into Kyameran's chest, and she held his head and stroked his hair.
"That was amazing," she told him.
"That was better than amazing," Yuya responded, "That was phenomenal."
"Was I okay?" Kyameran asked.
"That's putting it mildly," Yuya answered.
"I love you so much," Kyameran gushed.
"I love you too," Yuya sighed contentedly, "So… I guess our height difference is even worse than I thought."
"I like being taller than you," Kyameran laughed, "It makes me feel like an Amazon."
"So… does this explain why you like hanging out at a Western bar?" Yuya asked.
"I guess it does," Kyameran replied, "It wasn't, like, a conscious thing, but I'm not really any more Japanese than I am from any other country, so the music there probably reflects my taste better than most places in the area."
"My little Youma," Yuya cooed.
"I love you, Yuya," Kyameran gushed.
"I love you too," Yuya responded, kissing her gently on the forehead.
Yuya turned off the light and lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling before closing his eyes. Kyameran wrapped her entire body around his and drifted off to sleep, enraptured in the glow of full and complete acceptance. This was the feeling she'd been chasing ever since she left the Kingdom. She finally felt as though she'd fully exhaled. These thoughts warmed her soul as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
When Kyameran woke, Yuya had already left for work. She got up, slowly made her way over to the shower, and got ready for another day at work. As she was leaving her building, she noticed someone walking up to her. It took her a moment to realize who it was, but when she did, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" she asked accusatorily.
"I promise I come in peace," Nephrite responded.
"I'm sure you believe that," Kyameran retorted, "Here to do your good cop routine? Take me back for my own good? Lead me straight into a good couple days in the red room with the DD Girls?"
"That hurts," Nephrite replied angrily, "You know I always tried to be someone you could trust."
"Yeah, that's kind of my point," Kyameran continued, narrowing her eyes, "Play like you're my friend and then pass on all my dirty confessions to Queen Beryl and the other Shitennou."
"I never—" Nephrite began in anger, before pausing, taking a deep breath, and continuing, "I absolutely understand why you would get that impression. I promise I was always genuine with you, but that genuineness doesn't count for much when I'm still part of such a depraved system. But that's what I want to talk to you about. I want out. Like you."
"That's the most convincing lie you could come up with?" Kyameran laughed.
"I'm serious!" Nephrite insisted, "I've fallen in love. She makes me want to be better. And I can't run from the fact that the only way to do that is to leave the Dark Kingdom."
"Really?" Kyameran responded skeptically, "You expect me to believe you've decided to leave your entire life behind for a crush?"
"Okay, that and I'm, like, ninety percent sure Queen Beryl is planning to kill me soon," Nephrite confessed.
"That's been true, like, nine times before," Kyameran pointed out, "What makes this time different?"
"You do," Nephrite insisted.
"How do I… oh god, don't tell me I'm the—" Kyameran gasped incredulously.
"No, no!" Nephrite backpedalled, "Her name's Naru. But you leaving changed everything. You don't know what it's been like at the Dark Kingdom since you left, especially after you took Castor and Pollux with you. We almost didn't think about the possibility that that even could happen. Now everyone's either on extra high alert about the possibility of someone else leaving, thinking about leaving themselves, or both."
Kyameran mulled this over for a second. She had considered the possibility that this would happen. Maybe his story was starting to make sense. "Look," she said, "I still don't believe you or trust you farther than I can throw you. Actually, scratch that, I could probably throw you a pretty far distance. I don't trust you farther than something else that's a really small distance. But just on the off-chance that you're being straight with me, I need to think on this for a bit."
"For sure," Nephrite responded, "Look, take my number. Even Queen Beryl doesn't know I have a cell phone." He scrawled his number hastily on a piece of paper.
"I'll be in touch," Kyameran replied.
All day at work, all she could think of was Nephrite and what he had told her. She couldn't dismiss it outright. For as much as all of this smelled like a classic Dark Kingdom deception, she also couldn't think of a time when she could prove Nephrite had betrayed her trust. Maybe he really had always been one of the good ones. If she was willing to give all of her friends the benefit of the doubt, why not him? He was always the one Shitennou willing to hang out with the Youma, ask them about their day, cheer them up if they were nervous about a mission. She owed him at least a chance. If for no other reason, because he could prove helpful.
Being lost in these thoughts proved disastrous, professionally. Kyameran got called out five separate times by the photographer for not paying attention, each time more angry than the time before. She was surprised and relieved that she made it to the end of the day.
"You're lucky I know your work," the photographer chided her when the shoot was over, "I absolutely would have fired most people."
"I'm so sorry," she responded sheepishly, "I just have a lot on my mind today."
As Kyameran left the studio, she knew what she had to do. She went straight home and dialed a familiar number. "Hello, is Usagi there?"
"One second," replied a man's voice.
"Hello?" came Usagi's voice on the other end.
"Usagi, it's Kyameran," Kyameran began to explain, "Look, something kind of big happened this morning."
"What happened?" Usagi asked.
"It's Nephrite," Kyameran answered, "He came to me this morning and said he wanted to defect."
"And you believed him?" Usagi replied loudly.
"No," Kyameran insisted, "But I don't disbelieve him either. There's always been… something different about him. You probably never saw it with all the trying to kill each other and everything, but if anyone else in the Kingdom was going to turn out to be alright, it would be him."
"Sounds like you're being pretty level-headed about this, so what do you want to do?" Usagi asked.
"Well, that's sort of why I'm calling," Kyameran responded, "I figure I should defer to you on this."
"You're the one who knows him better than any of us," Usagi pointed out, "You decide."
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," Kyameran confessed.
"I trust you," Usagi promised.
"What if we just met with him once?" Kyameran proposed, "All together. Then you could get a better feel for it. I might have known him the longest, but that doesn't mean I'm impartial here."
"That sounds good," Usagi agreed, before adding, "Bring Castor and Pollux. They deserve to have as much of a say in this as anyone."
"I'm really glad you guys are getting along," Kyameran smiled.
"Anyway, I'm going to call the others," Usagi informed.
"I'll call Castor and Pollux," Kyameran responded.
They hung up, and Kyameran immediately started dialing her best friends.
"Hello?" came Castor's voice.
"Hey, it's me," Kyameran responded, "I have something I need to talk over with you guys."
"Sure thing, let me just untie Shota and we'll be right over," Castor said.
"That still going on?" Kyameran asked.
"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Castor asked.
"No reason," Kyameran replied, "Just… hope you're having fun."
"Kay, see you in a second!" Castor said, hanging up the phone.
A matter of seconds later, Kyameran heard a knock on the door, and opened to find Castor and Pollux standing there.
"How's life on the fifth?" she asked.
"So good," Pollux replied, "You wouldn't believe how strong that man's stamina is."
"The layers upon layers of things I didn't need to know in that sentence," Kyameran retorted.
"So what did you want to talk to us about?" Castor asked.
"It's… Nephrite," Kyameran answered, "He approached me this morning and said that he wanted to defect and join our team."
"Yay, Nephrite!" Castor and Pollux said in unison.
"Yeah, I'm just not sure I believe him," Kyameran disclosed.
"Nephrite wouldn't lie to us!" Castor insisted.
"Yeah, he's one of the good ones!" Pollux supported.
"I'm not so sure," Kyameran replied, "My heart wants to say you're right, but… I'm just a little too used to keeping things from him, just like the rest of them, and I have to believe it was at least somewhat for a good reason."
"I guess you are better at reading people," Castor admitted.
"I'm not saying you're wrong, either," Kyameran clarified, "I just… I don't know. I really don't."
"We trust your judgment, Kyameran," Castor assured her.
"Yeah, you're our team leader!" Pollux added.
"What I'm thinking is, we meet with him once. Just you guys, me, and the Scouts."
"Yay, seeing Nephrite again!" Castor cheered.
"I hope he brings his Pictionary set!" Pollux proposed.
"We're… we're pretty definitely not going to play Pictionary at this meeting," Kyameran noted.
"Why not?" Castor asked.
"Because—You know what? I hope we do play Pictionary," Kyameran sighed, before picking up her phone, "I'm going to call him now."
"Sanjouin Masato," came the voice at the other end.
"Hello, Nephrite," Kyameran replied coolly.
"My queen?" Nephrite's voice blurted out, "I swear, I was going to tell you I got—"
"You shitass!" Kyameran sighed incredulously, "All this time, you still can't recognize my voice on the phone?"
"Kyameran?" Nephrite asked.
"No shit!" Kyameran responded, "Look, here's how it's going to be. You want to defect? I've set up a meeting, you, me, the Sailor Scouts, Castor, and Pollux. You want even the slightest chance of this working out, you have to convince all of us that you're not bullshitting us."
"I think I can do that," Nephrite agreed.
"Club Harmony, one hour," Kyameran demanded.
"Y—yes," Nephrite conceded.
An hour later, Kyameran, Castor, Pollux, and all three Sailor Scouts were at the front door of Club Harmony. "I need to use your back room," she told the bouncer at the front, "The six of us, plus one Sanjouin Masato. He'll be looking for us. Oh, and yes, these are the real Sailor Scouts, mark their hands with Xs, technically they're underage."
"What is your life like?" the bouncer asked.
"This is maybe half of it," Kyameran answered.
The bouncer led the six of them through the dance floor to a quiet room in the back with a table, and pulled in seven chairs, before quietly departing.
"And now, we wait," Kyameran proposed, "But one thing first."
Two minutes later, she returned with three Asahi Super Dry and three iced teas. She sat at the table and began tapping her fingers on her chair.
"Nervous?" Sailor Mercury asked.
"No, why would I be?" Kyameran responded.
"It's alright to be nervous," Sailor Mercury assured her, "We all are."
"Yeah, I want Nephrite back!" Castor shouted excitedly.
"Did I hear my name?" came Nephrite's voice from the door.
"Nephrite!" gasped Castor and Pollox in unison.
"There are my two favourite party girls!" Nephrite laughed joyously, walking in and giving them both a big hug. The Sailor Scouts and Kyameran squirmed with anxiety in their chairs, hyper-analyzing every inch of this interaction. Was he really just happy to see them, or was he trying too hard? Or were they just going to project their own feelings onto anything they saw? All of these possibilities were top of mind as they watched what was, by all appearances, a perfectly normal hug. Nephrite sat down and nodded at the Scouts.
"Ladies, always a pleasure," he smiled, "Glad I can admit it now."
"Get to the point," Sailor Mars responded flatly.
"I will, I promise," Nephrite said, "But first, Kyameran, Castor, Pollux, I have something I want to say to you. Kyameran, I should have said this when I first approached you this morning."
"Go on," said Kyameran.
"I need to apologize to the three of you," he continued, "I've always tried to be the kind of guy who doesn't treat you guys as disposable, but I absolutely betrayed that conviction when I sent the three of you into battle, and there's nothing I can do but say I'm sorry."
"Thank you," Kyameran replied, "It means a lot."
"Kyameran, I know it won't change what I've done, but I brought you something," Nephrite revealed, "Or technically someone."
"Lord Fuzzball!" Kyameran exclaimed excitedly as Nephrite opened his jacket pocket to reveal her furry companion. The bat squeaked in delight upon seeing his old guardian.
"Oh my god, he's even cuter in person!" Sailor Moon squealed.
"Can I see?" asked Sailor Mercury.
"How did you get him out?" Kyameran asked.
"It was actually pretty easy," Nephrite answered, "They don't check me when I leave."
"Thank you so much, this is the best thing that's happened to me in… well actually less than twenty-four hours, but it's a high bar," Kyameran gushed.
"Do you accept my apology?" Nephrite asked.
"Apology accepted!" Pollux excitedly replied.
"All is forgiven!" Castor yelled.
"I accept your apology," Kyameran answered, "But we're a long way from all being forgiven. And I still don't trust you. But thanks for bringing back Lord Fuzzball, it means a lot."
"Now can we please get to the point?" Sailor Mars asked angrily.
"Right, how I got here," Nephrite responded, "I guess it all started when Kyameran left. Queen Beryl and the other Shitennou were quick to brand her a traitor who was never one of us, but I couldn't shake this feeling of guilt. I know Kyameran, and she wouldn't just up and leave for the sake of switching allegiances. I knew we'd failed her in some way. And the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't shake this feeling that we'd exploited her. When Castor and Pollux left, I knew this was on us. Castor, Pollux, you may have a reputation for enjoying a good time maybe a bit more than you should, but the two of you are the most loyal, trustworthy people I've ever met. And when you abandoned the Dark Kingdom, it made me realize how much we were driving you away by using you. Which brought me to what really turned the tables. I fell in love."
"In love?" asked Sailor Moon.
"Her name is Naru," Nephrite answered, as Sailor Moon tried her hardest not to visibly flinch, "At first I was just pursuing her to prey on her love energy, also I briefly thought she might be Sailor Moon, turns out no, obviously. But once I realized how badly we were exploiting the Youma, it occurred to me that I was kind of exploiting a lot of people, especially those outside the Dark Kingdom, especially this girl who I had made fall in love with me just for the sake of draining her energy. And when I realized that, I also realized, out of all the people I had hurt and exploited, she was the one I felt the most guilty for, and I realized that I think I'm in love with her too."
"Have you talked to her about it?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Oh, god no," Nephrite answered, "I don't think I can until I'm sure I've made a full break from the Dark Kingdom. Anything else would just be continuing to use her, no matter how much I try not to."
"That makes a lot of sense," commented Sailor Mercury.
"But I can't pretend my intentions are entirely noble," Nephrite continued, "Ever since Kyameran left, and especially since Castor and Pollux went with her, it has become absolutely unbearable at the Dark Kingdom. Everyone's so afraid of someone else leaving, or of being suspected as the next defector, that absolute fanaticism is being demanded above all else. I can't get away with shit. The guy who used to cut someone a break if I knew they were having a bad day? Now I'm afraid that, if I let myself be that guy, it'll be seen as disloyal or subversive. It's a goddamn nightmare! As if I didn't have enough to feel guilty about before, the person they're making me be has way more to feel guilty about on a daily basis."
"And so you want out," Kyameran commented.
"Yes! You understand, right? You made the same choice yourself," Nephrite pointed out.
"Your story does make a lot of sense," Kyameran admitted, "But still… I don't know. I just don't know."
"I get it," Nephrite acknowledged, "I wouldn't trust me if I was in your position either."
"It's not that," Kyameran revealed, "You've given me lots of reasons to trust you over the years. You're the only one who never struck me during training, and you had my back and got me out of a tight spot more times than I can count. But… I still don't trust you. I just don't. And I can't figure out if that's because you've given me reason not to trust you or if it's actually the rest of the Dark Kingdom that encouraged me not to trust anyone, including you."
"I guess I don't really have a good answer for that," admitted Nephrite.
"Well, for what it's worth, if Kyameran says your story makes sense, I believe you," Sailor Mercury interjected.
"If Mercury believes you, then so do I," Sailor Moon added.
"I don't quite know yet," Sailor Mars admitted, "But, I mean, Kyameran's slowly earning my trust, so who's to say you can't?"
"Oh man, that's the nicest thing you've ever said about me, and it was in reference to someone else," Kyameran sighed jokingly.
"You're pretty cool," Sailor Mars responded.
"You too, red fury," Kyameran shot back.
"So that's four yesses," Sailor Moon counted, "Right? I'm assuming Castor and Pollux are a yes."
"Yes!" Castor and Pollux shouted excitedly.
"Four yesses," Sailor Moon continued, "One undecided. Look, we don't go forward with this if there's even one no. Kyameran, final vote is yours."
"I… I don't know," Kyameran admitted, "But that's not a no. So if we're going by vote, that's it."
"Are you sure?" asked Sailor Moon.
"One condition," Kyameran added, "He stays with me. Nephrite, if you're going to screw us, I want to be there when it happens, because I absolutely will kill you."
"Understood," responded Nephrite.
"Meeting over?" Kyameran asked rhetorically.
"I'd say meeting over," Sailor Mars agreed.
"I'll walk you girls out," Kyameran proposed, "Nephrite, you have one last test to pass. You want to prove you're one of us? Drink me under the table, or die trying."
"Challenge accepted," Nephrite smiled.
The seven of them stood up and headed for the exit. Once outside, they exchanged goodbyes. Kyameran gave each of the Scouts a hug, while Nephrite opted for a more straightforward handshake. No sooner had he exchanged a handshake with Sailor Mercury than a loud, angry scream came from the nearby alley.
"I knew it!" yelled a voice, "You betrayed the Dark Kingdom!"
"Yasha?" Nephrite responded, bewildered, "Get out of here, this doesn't concern you."
"Traitors are absolutely my concern!" Yasha responded angrily, "You will die at my hands!"
"Yasha, get back," Kyameran responded, "I don't want you to get hurt."
"Get fucked," Yasha retorted, before lunging forward and attempting to gore Nephrite with her horns. Nephrite narrowly jumped aside.
"I've had about enough of this!" Kyameran yelled, stepping forward and throwing a spinning back kick at Yasha, who stepped out of the way. Kyameran took the opportunity to dip into the alley and discard her human disguise, re-emerging as a crowd of onlookers was beginning to form.
The Sailor Scouts began to swarm Yasha, who fought them all off with mixed success. Castor and Pollux ran and hid behind trash cans. Kyameran tried to aim her camera beam, but every time she got it locked on Yasha, she moved and Kyameran had to stop herself short of firing the beam and hitting an onlooker.
Yasha broke free of the Scouts and lunged toward Nephrite again, narrowly missing once again. Kyameran stepped forward and swung her fist, but Yasha turned and caught her arm with the tip of her horn. The point dug in and Kyameran howled in pain.
"Kyameran!" Sailor Moon exclaimed, before rage took over and she ran forward, grabbing Yasha around the waist and throwing her over her head. Yasha crashed onto the nearby road and leapt to her feet, charging Sailor Moon, until Kyameran tried a third time and connected a spinning back kick to the side of Yasha's face. Yasha went down and bounced her head off the pavement. She struggled to her feet, but immediately fell down again.
Sailor Mars rushed forward and held back Yasha's arms. Kyameran readied her camera arm and pointed it at Yasha, but when she went to fire, the injury overtook her and she could only wince.
"I… I can't use the camera arm," Kyameran disclosed frantically.
"What do we do now?" Sailor Mercury asked.
Yasha began to squirm, and nearly got free, before Sailor Mars locked in a tighter grip.
"I know one option," Sailor Moon proposed, pulling her tiara off her head.
"Yasha, please let us take you alive!" Kyameran pleaded, "I know we can work this out!"
"I'd rather die!" Yasha spit.
"That's very much on the table," Sailor Moon commented, still holding her tiara.
"Please! This doesn't have to happen!" Kyameran begged.
"Fucking do it!" Yasha hissed at Sailor Moon, "Death before dishonour, you little bitch!"
"Please!" Kyameran urged, tears streaming down her face.
Yasha spat at Kyameran, then made one final attempt to break free, succeeding and turning around to gore Sailor Mars in the side. Mars reacted quickly and turned to direct Yasha's momentum past her, then tripped Yasha and bent her arm behind her head, pinning her to the ground.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" asked Sailor Mercury.
"I think I am," said Sailor Mars, looking down at the wound and finding herself relieved when only blood and a small amount of flesh revealed itself. She had been half expecting to see innards spilling out, but everything was still where it should be.
Sailor Mercury and Nephrite stepped forward and took over holding Nephrite to the ground.
"Please!" Kyameran pleaded, tears streaming down her face, "I am begging you! Let us take you alive! We can figure this out!"
"Fuck off, you stupid whore!" Yasha screamed in response.
Kyameran stood still for a second. Then it was like all of her energy drained from her body at once. "Just… just do it," she sighed weakly.
"Moon Tiara Action!" Sailor Moon yelled, throwing her tiara at Yasha. A blinding flash of light shot out as the headpiece connected with Yasha's body, which immediately began to crumble.
"Death to the traitors!" Yasha screamed as her body turned to dust.
Kyameran stepped back, as if pulled by some invisible force, and crumpled against the wall of the bar. She buried her head in her hands. In that moment, it was as if someone had unplugged her connection to the outside world. The silence in her head was deafening as she felt her filthy hands poison her face. She felt wet, hot tears stream down her face, but she couldn't feel herself cry them. It was as though someone else was pouring them out of her eyes. She felt dirty, she felt guilty, she felt evil, and at the same time, she felt nothing. When feeling did return, all she could do was sob.
Sailor Moon walked over to her. "I'm so sorry," she wept, sitting down beside her and putting an arm around her.
"We… we could have saved her. If I'd just said the right thing we could have saved her," Kyameran muttered aghast.
"There was no saving her," Sailor Moon assured her, "You tried your best."
"We could have saved her, we could have saved her," Kyameran repeated.
"Castor? Pollux? You around?" Sailor Moon asked, only to realize they were behind the garbage bins, sobbing uncontrollably.
"We had to do it, you understand that, right?" Sailor Moon asked all three of them. None of them could answer.
Sailor Moon limply walked back to her fellow Scouts. "We did what we had to, right?" she asked.
"We had no choice," Sailor Mars assured her resolutely.
"I don't think there was any saving her," Sailor Mercury agreed, "Not without putting ourselves, and each other, in grave danger."
"We could have saved her, we could have fucking saved her!" Kyameran continued, "I could have fucking saved her! I did this! I did this! I fucking killed one of my own!"
"You gave her every out you could," Nephrite insisted, "I'm sorry it happened too, I actually kind of liked Yasha, she was a loyal soldier you could always count on during a mission. But she made her choice. And we honoured it."
"Was there nothing we could have done?" Kyameran asked desperately.
"I'm sorry, I really don't think there was," Nephrite answered.
Kyameran thought it over, then collapsed into sobs again. Sailor Moon came up and threw her arms around her, a tear streaming down her cheek.
"I'm so sorry you hurt this badly," Sailor Moon whispered.
"I just wish I could have saved her," Kyameran cried in frustration.
"Was it like this every time?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Almost," Kyameran responded, "But this time I feel responsible."
"You only did what you had to," Sailor Moon assured her.
"Oh Yasha, I'm so sorry!" Kyameran cried out.
"Would… would it help if we held a small ceremony to remember her?" Sailor Mercury asked.
Kyameran stopped to consider for a moment. "I think maybe it would," she answered.
The crowd surrounding them was beginning to disperse. Nephrite picked up the only thing that remained of Yasha: her mask.
"There's a park near here," Sailor Mars suggested softly.
They walked the short distance to the park in silence, only broken up by the occasional sob from Castor or Pollux. When they got to the park, Nephrite lay the mask against a tree. Everyone looked to each other, unsure of where to start. Finally, Kyameran stood in the middle of everyone and began to speak.
"We are gathered here to remember Yasha, a brave and loyal Youma warrior who lost her life getting caught up in a tragic and senseless war," she began, "We remember her strength, her dedication, and her indomitable spirit, unyielding to the very end. We—" Kyameran struggled for words, and struggled to catch her breath in her throat. Everyone else looked around at each other. Sailor Mercury stepped up beside Kyameran.
"We remember her this way not in spite of the fact that we were on opposite sides of this war, but because of it. We remember her this way in recognition of the fact that we now know we must fight this war not only for those fighting for our side, but for those trapped on the other side, whether by force, or by the prisons constructed in their own minds by a tyrant," Mercury spoke.
"We gather here to remember all those lost in the war so far," Sailor Moon continued, "Those lost when maybe we weren't thinking of them as lost. For the enemies who never got a chance, because we weren't able to see them as deserving of one until Kyameran came along."
Nephrite stepped forward. "I choose to remember Yasha as a dedicated soldier who fought alongside me many times. She could always be counted on to give it her all and to keep fighting when things got rough. Regardless of the circumstances in which she died, I'll miss her."
There was another pause. "Do you want to say something?" Sailor Mars whispered to Castor and Pollux.
"Yasha was always there to help during training," Castor sniffed, "Always willing to give advice, always offering words of encouragement."
"She wanted to see us do our best, even when it was hard," Pollux added.
"Yasha, we'll miss you dearly," Kyameran concluded, "Especially those of us who have to live knowing we didn't fully appreciate you when you were alive."
"But we live in your memory nevertheless," Nephrite added.
Nephrite, Kyameran, Castor, and Pollux shared a tight hug, fighting back tears.
"I trust you now," Kyameran whispered to Nephrite.
"I'll make sure you don't regret it," Nephrite responded.
"I think we should go," Sailor Moon suggested, "You four need some time to yourselves."
The Sailor Scouts departed. Kyameran looked at the ground. "You still up for that challenge?"
Two hours and an entire shelf full of drinks later, Kyameran, Nephrite, Castor, and Pollux were doubled over laughing at Club Harmony.
"So there I am with a busted up nose," Kyameran laughed, "Full tilt running away out of the room, when the bitch walks up to me and yells, 'Get your ass back in the ring!' So I put my boxing gloves back on, climb back in there, and fucking throw Murido across the ring. Murido looks over at Zoisite like, 'Are you going to ring the bell?' and Zoisite just looks her dead in the eye and asks, 'Are you going to take that?' So Murido charges me, tackles me back the other way across the ring, all three feet of her, and we just start wailing on each other. Just beating the absolute shit out of each other. And when we're done and neither of us can stand up, Yasha climbs in and yells, 'Top notch, girls!' Oh god, I swear, best day of training ever."
"Oh man," Castor began, "I remember this one time, Pollux and I were arguing over something, I don't remember, and I start yelling about how I never want to see her again and I'm done, and Yasha just comes up and says, 'Follow me.' Next thing I know, we're standing in the middle of the weight room, and she just leans in and whispers, 'No dodging, no asking for mercy, hit each other until you don't want to hit each other any more.' So we take a swing at each other, and then we take a bunch more swings at each other, and finally we're both on the ground, Pollux leans in and asks, 'What were we fighting about again?' and I just blurt out, 'I don't know, I love you!' We didn't fight half as much after that."
"I'm going to miss her," Nephrite commented.
Kyameran tried and failed to suppress a tear rolling down her cheek. "Do you really think there was nothing we could have done?" she asked.
"I don't know if there's nothing we could have done," Nephrite admitted, "But the likely consequences of trying more than we did would have been even worse. What if this was you we were remembering like this, or me? All the good we plan to do, all the people we could save, all gone."
"So we chose our lives over hers then," Kyameran sighed, "Like cowards."
"That's one way to look at it," Nephrite acknowledged, "But another is that we can let it motivate us to make sure we do something good with the life we've been given."
Kyameran perked up slightly at this suggestion. "I think I can accept that."
Kyameran downed her drink and yawned. Taking the cue, Nephrite downed his as well. Castor and Pollux, not wanting to be left out, downed theirs too. "Call it a night?" Nephrite proposed.
"I'm wiped," Kyameran admitted.
"We should probably get back to Shota," Pollux suggested.
"What, is he living with you now?" Kyameran asked.
"Not officially," Castor answered.
"It's been like a week!" Kyameran gawked incredulously.
"Two weeks!" Pollux corrected.
"You better hope you don't meet someone else on the bus this time," Kyameran laughed, "This is how harems get started."
With that, they got up from the bar and stumbled out onto the street, catching the bus just as it was arriving.
"You promise you won't fuck me on this?" Kyameran muttered to Nephrite, inches from his face.
"I promise, everything's legit," Nephrite insisted.
"You promise?" Kyameran asked.
"I promise," Nephrite repeated.
"Good," Kyameran smiled, before sitting back in her seat and feeling the world spin around her.
They got off at their stop and walked through the front door to the elevator, pushing two different buttons. Kyameran and Nephrite got off first.
"Christ, if we keep doing this they'll have to change the name of this place to Youma Heights," Kyameran laughed to herself, "Well, this is the place. Couch is yours, bed is mine. While I try to figure out how to explain to my boyfriend that a strange man is staying with me."
Nephrite tumbled onto the couch and closed his eyes, while Kyameran slowly sank into bed. She turned out the light and closed her eyes as well. Images of what had just happened hours earlier played through her head, and she gave in to her feelings and began to cry again. She curled up in a ball, only to feel Nephrite put an arm around her. "We're going to get through this," he assured her.
"I hope so," Kyameran responded, "You're a really good friend, you know that?"
"You've always been a good friend to me as well," Nephrite smiled, "You know, when we were actually able to connect one on one and we didn't have too many formalities in our way."
"That's all over now," Kyameran sighed contentedly, "I really think you're going to like life outside the Kingdom."
"I already do," Nephrite replied.
"Thanks for bringing back Lord Fuzzball," Kyameran laughed.
"Any time," Nephrite chuckled.
Kyameran closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. Nephrite let go of her, stood up, and returned to the couch, closing his eyes and passing out.