A/N: For Celestial_Mess1, Shadowsphere21.
Work Text:
Amidst a blizzard of cherry blossoms two armies waged an almighty war.
"Check."
"Are you so sure?"
Zoisite's eyes, as lush a green as the grass surrounding them, narrowed as they scanned across checkered board. A smirk crossed his lips as he wrapped his finger around a loose strand of hair.
"You are trying to psyche me out, aren't you?"
Across the small table Sailor Mercury gave away nothing save a small, deceptively kind smile. "Perhaps…Perhaps not ." She smiled yet more sweetly.
Zoisite chuckled as a light breeze swept across them, slightly billowing Mercury's blue skirt, Zoisite's white cape, and showering them both with yet more cherry blossoms from the tree they sat beneath.
"I hardly expected such a cheap tactic from you of all people," said Zoisite as his laughter began to subside.
The smile vanished from Mercury's face, replaced by a look of concern and pre-emptive hurt. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well," Zoisite continued, apparently not noticing the change in his opponent's demeanour, "You are a princess, a noble warrior and are the fabled Senshi of wisdom. Trying to psyche me out is rather underhanded isn't it?"
The smile returned to Mercury's face, though there was a flicker of fire behind her usually soft blue eyes. "You call it a cheap trick, I prefer to call it strategy . Something that, I think you would agree, is wise to employ whether I am a princess or a warrior."
Zoisite nodded in concession. "Quite right, but in this case it hasn't worked out for you. I have checked you." Zoisite gestured to the board where his golden Bishop was poised to take Mercury's silver King on his next move.
"You forgot about my Knight," said Mercury simply as she moved the piece onto the square formerly occupied by Zoisite's Bishop.
"Darn," Zoisite said, lightly clicking his tongue.
As the game continued, Zoisite began making better use of his own Knights, aggressively taking each of Mercury's pieces until all she had left were the equine pieces, along with her Queen and a few pawns. Zoisite's strategy changed only when Mercury's Knight got worryingly close to his golden King. He instead moved his King amidst his Knights in such a way that they could serve as a defence for his most precious game piece.
However, he couldn't help but notice that, provided Mercury didn't move her, his Knight could easily take her Queen. He let the thought ebb away. Such a hope was pointless. Mercury wouldn't keep her most powerful piece stagnant nor in harm's way. He was sure Mercury's silver Queen was integral to whatever she was plotting.
As it turned out, he was half right. His jaw half hung open when, a second later, Mercury pulled her Knight back to flank her Queen rather than pursue his King. Her argent Knight was now within striking distance of Zoisite's auric counterpart.
"What're you doing?"
"Protecting my Queen," Mercury replied, not uttering another word.
Zoisite scanned Mercury's features, trying to discern what her plan was. But the effort was fruitless, her face was as still as ice. She was obviously trying to lure out his Knight, but he wasn't about to take the bait.
He very obviously manoeuvred his Rook into position to take the Knight. On his next move either his Rook or his Knight could strike. And if Mercury used her Queen to take whichever piece he'd use, the other could take out the Queen, putting an end to whatever plan she'd cooked up. That was, if she didn't do the obvious thing and shift her Queen to the other side of the board, well away from his Knights, Rook and King.
Mercury did not do the obvious. On the contrary, Zoisite was left utterly baffled when she instead advanced her Pawn a square forwards. Without hesitation, Zoisite pounced, opting to use one of his Knights after all. His eyes bore into Mercury, eager to see what she'd have her Queen do now.
But Mercury did not move her Queen. On the contrary, her hand flew to the lone Pawn and moved it forward again.
Zoisite was once again baffled and advanced his other Knight to flank the Queen. Like before Mercury opted for her Pawn. This time Zoisite struck, removing the Queen from play at last.
"Your Queen has fallen," he said triumphantly.
"Are you so sure?"
"Huh?"
Mercury advanced her Pawn another square. The last square. It had reached the other end of the board.
"When a Pawn reaches the other end of the board it can be promoted to a Bishop, a Rook, a Knight…or…"
Zoisite watched, jaw agape as Mercury swapped the Pawn for the fallen Queen piece. Hastily he tried moving one of his Knights back to protect his King, but it was already too late. Mercury's new Queen glided across the board until it was within position to take the King.
"It's not quite checkmate yet, but it might as well be," she said with a sweet smile.
Zoisite pouted. "You did psyche me out. You made me think you were all about protecting your Queen."
Mercury shrugged. "I just played the way I live."
"Sneakily?" he shot back, eyebrow cocked.
Mercury shook her head. "I live to see someone else become the Queen someday…"
Amidst a blizzard of fire and rubble two armies waged an almighty war.
"Get out of my way!" spat Zoisite.
"No," replied Mercury as calmly as she could muster.
"I don't want to hurt you," growled Zoisite, "But if you don't move you'll force me to do something we'll both regret."
"I will not let you enter the Princess' tower." Mercury spread her arms wide, as if her petite body alone could block the Shitennou's entry to the tower.
As the smell of blood and the sound of screams filled the air, Mercury felt sick and put her focus upon the opponent before her. Specifically, upon the green eyes she had grown so familiar, so fond of.
Except, right now, they weren't familiar. They were filled with the same rage and venom and bile as every other warrior of the invading Earth army. "...Zoisite…" she could not help the pain seeping into her voice "please…"
"Zoi!"
Mercury shrieked as Zoisite's attack collided with her, knocking her back into the alabaster pillar!
Winded, she hastily got to her feet and retaliated. "Shabon Spray!"
As the chilling fog surrounded the immediate area, Mercury ducked just in time to avoid a strike from Zoisite's fist. Managing to channel her momentum into a kick, she sunk the heel of her boot into Zoisite's stomach, causing him to double over.
However, as she attempted to get to her feet she felt a formidable pressure about her ankle, throwing her off balance again. On instinct she looked behind her, to find Zoisite on the ground, his gloved hand in a vice grip around her ankle.
Mercury threw her arm back, aiming it at Zoisite's face. However, despite his lack of breath, the Shitennou was quicker on the draw. Mercury's world erupted in pain and beauty as she was blasted but a second round of cherry blossoms.
When it was over, she knew she was done for. Between the fog and the pain she could hardly see anything, sans the tiny patches of pink floating in the air. Even Zoisite was indistinguishable to her now, his uniform blending too well with the fog she had generated.
"Our vengeance is with the Lunarians, Mercury." rattled Zoisite regaining his breath, his voice was as cold as the chilling fog surrounding them. "There was never a need for you to have gotten hurt."
With all that was left of her strength, Mercury forced out her last words. "I…live…to…see… her …become…Queen…"
"Then more fool you. I shall personally ensure that your precious Princess shall die for bewitching our Pr-"
"General Zoisite!" Mercury did not recognise the voice and deduced it must be one of the Terran soldiers.
"What is it, lieutenant!" spat Zoisite.
"Prince Endymion has been spotted on the West wing of the castle, the Moon Princess along with him."
"What? But the Princess should be…here…" Mercury's vision had grown yet darker, but she was nevertheless certain Zoisite was glaring at her. "You…You…"
Before the world gave way to complete darkness, Mercury managed to summon up a small, satisfied smile.
In whispered notes, a song of life begins,
The cherry blossoms waltz upon the breeze,
A tale of spring's renewal and rebirth,
Four hundred words to capture nature's ease.
Each blossom, like a dream of palest hue,
Adorns the outstretched limbs of trees that sway,
Their beauty, fleeting as a morning's dew,
A memory held fast as seasons play.
"Ami dear, why don't you put that book down and jump in the water?"
Ami looked up from her book of poems to behold the concerned face of her mother. "Are you coming in with me Mama?"
"In a little while," her mother assured her. "I'm just going to the bathroom."
"Alright."
Setting her book down carefully so it wouldn't get wet or damaged, Ami padded over to the shallow end of the pool and climbed into the water. It was then that she saw something rather peculiar. It was a boy sinking below the water. Ami wondered if he was simply playing some kind of game, trying to hold his breath. But the more she looked at him the less she was convinced.
Though the water hadn't felt cold when she'd entered, she suddenly felt a frightening chill enter her chest and desperately looked up to the lifeguard's station. But there was no lifeguard. She instead turned to the deck chairs she and her mother had occupied. But her mother was still in the bathroom. Upon returning her attention to the boy she noted that he'd sunk even deeper. It was then she (for once) stopped thinking.
Taking a deep breath she dived beneath the water, the smell of chlorine assaulting her, and used all her might to breaststroke towards the boy, wrap her arms around his waist, and kick up!
She estimated she'd been beneath the water for less than twenty-five seconds, but it felt like much longer to her. When she finally broke through the water, she moved onto her back trying to position the boy's head on her tiny chest, desperate to get his mouth and nostrils above the waves.
"H-he-helpppp!" she spluttered.
"Ami!"
It was her mother, apparently she'd returned to the deck chairs just in time. Without a second's hesitation, her mother threw a floatable ring towards Ami and the boy before diving in herself. Ami didn't grab onto the ring until her mother had gotten close enough to take hold of the blond boy.
"Ami are you-"
"I'm fine Mama, but the boy he-"
For the briefest of moments, Ami saw hesitation flash through her mother's eyes before it was swiftly replaced by a steely determination. Less than a second later, she was pulling the boy out of the water, clambering out herself, laying the boy on his back, and pumping his chest.
Even as she kicked towards the step-ladder, exited the water herself and padded over to her mother, Ami never once lost sight of the boy's motionless body. He was older than her, she guessed about nine or ten, with curley, dirty blond hair and pale skin. It was only when he began coughing up water that Ami realised she had been holding her own breath.
"Oh my God!"
Ami looked up to see the lifeguard standing near the entrance to the pool, her skin almost as pale as the older boy's.
"Get help!" barked her mother, sending the lifeguard scurrying off. "Useless kid, who on Earth hired her ," she muttered, a scornful look on her face. "Ami, go fetch our towels right now!"
Ami did as she was commanded, her mother grabbing one of the towels immediately and wrapping them around the boy. Imitating her, Ami began wrapping the other towel around him too. It was then that she noted his eyes had opened up slightly.
Although the chlorine had turned them red, she couldn't help but notice how they sparkled bright green.
"You're going to be okay," she whispered, squeezing his hand beneath the towel.
Hours later, after the ambulance came to take the boy and his parents away, Ami realised she had completely forgotten to get the boy's name…
Algebra.
Chemistry.
Poetry.
Again and again Zenitsu found himself trying, and then giving up on each subject, discarding whatever exercise book he'd been working with beneath the counter. On occasion he'd glance up over the counter, just to confirm that, as was usually the case these days, the video rental store was empty. That was bad news for his wallet, but good news for his prospects of passing the High School entrance exams. Or it would be if he could only concentrate.
Silly as it was, in times like this (when his concentration was proving elusive) he tended to blame the weather. Spring was his favourite time of year, with the bloom of the cherry blossoms making the whole world seem brighter and more hopeful. Which was why he found the overcast weather particularly depressing, not least of all because he hadn't brought his umbrella with him today. The news hadn't mentioned rain, but Zenitsu was sure he'd felt a drop or two on his way to the rental store.
He let out an exacerbated sigh and returned to his books, trying to rally himself for another attempt at his studies.
What reaction would be generated when combining Hg with Ca 2 Al 3 ( Si O 4 )(Si 2 O 7 )O(O H )?
Zenitsu groaned and seriously considered if this was supposed to be a trick question. In the end he once more discarded the chemistry book and shifted gears to algebra.
L = Z + (A x M)
Perhaps it was just his exhausted mind but it seemed pure gibberish to him. But then, Zenitsu had to admit, he'd never had much of a mind for the sciences or mathematics. By contrast…
Analyse the following poem?
Flowing streams in all your windings stray,
And fill the bosom of the swelling deep,
There welcome to the home of waters stay,
Where all your murmurs gently sink to sleep.
Thus friendship, sweet resemblance of your course,
In numerous channels the blest union fills;
And as the dew of Hermon gently pours,
It falls on Zion, fairest of the hills.
As before Zenitsu found himself unable to answer the question. However, this time it was not due to it being difficult or confusing. He was simply struck by the beauty of the piece.
He'd always had a complicated relationship when it came to water, no doubt owing to how he nearly drowned as a child in the local swimming pool. He'd been understandably apprehensive about swimming after that, and yet babbling brooks, waterfalls, the lapping of ocean waves, he couldn't deny there was a majesty to them all that stirred something within him.
Rain was the one exception. He'd always been depressed by rain. Whether winter or spring, rain had always seemed to him, as if the Heavens themselves were crying. As if on cue, he felt a deep rumble from above which was slowly, yet inexorably, followed by the steady tattoo of droplets.
Sure enough, Zenitsu felt his mood dip further, though, as he threw a glance to the window, he took some comfort in noticing that he was far from the only person who had neglected to bring an umbrella today. All except one girl, her face obscured by the brim of the blue umbrella canopy. Zenitsu found himself following her as she traversed past the rental store and finally went beyond his sight.
It was only as she disappeared that he realised his mood had grown yet lower, and not even the poem could lift his spirits back up…
The light danced off the glittering skin of the Black Crystal, its malevolent energies emanating outwards.
Zoisite's victim wasn't anyone special. Indeed, that was the whole point. Whilst the crystal had been altered before to reawaken the Seven Great Youma, it had occurred to Queen Beryl that yet another tweak might let it turn any human into a Youma. Zoisite had thus been tasked with testing the crystal by finding the most average person possible.
He had ultimately settled upon a tall, sandy blond young man who had been locking up an arcade of some kind. And, to his delight, the boy had begun to transform just as the Rainbow Crystal carriers had. Indeed, the boy's Youma form rather resembled Gamecen, perhaps due to his association with the arcade.
Satisfied, and wanting to test this newborn Youma's power, Zoisite primed an order on his tongue, but before uttering even the first syllable his vision was suddenly obscured. A bizarre fog had appeared out of the blue, bringing with it a blistering cold. It was so chilling in fact that Zoisite actually began to shiver and reflexively wrapped his arms around himself to warm up. It was then that he felt a pressure about his wrist!
Through the mist he spotted a white gloved hand followed by another, the second hand taking a hold of the Black Crystal. Zoisite immediately unwrapped his other hand from his body and took aim where he hoped his assailant's face might be, cherry blossoms already manifesting in the air as he charged his attack.
"Now Sailor Moon!"
"Right. Moon Healing Escalation! "
It was as if there was a fog within the fog, except this one was composed of glittering light. Momentarily distracted, Zoisite watched in despair as a shadowy patch within the fog, no doubt the Youma, began to writhe and scream.
"Refresh!"
It was only then that Zoisite realised that the glittering 'fog' was still advancing. That it was in fact already upon him!
His body burned . And yet…there was a twinge of something else. Not relief. But the promise of relief. His body began to relax. His free arm slackened, his attack powering down. And, curiously, as his gaze adjusted to the fog, he thought he saw someone familiar through it. Someone who- A new wave of pain hit him like a brick wall, and he was suddenly flying backwards!
He felt the pressure about his wrist release completely, even as a new, even firmer, grip took a hold of his opposite arm.
"We must flee," said a deep baritone voice.
Without hesitation, Zoisite obeyed Kunzite's command.
As the fog cleared, Ami got to her feet, her elbow and knees aching from where she had fallen.
"Are you alright!?" Usagi half yelled as she jogged over, the Moon Stick vanishing as she lowered her transformation. "What happened?"
Reflexively, Ami lowered her own transformation too. "I think it was Kunzite. He must've hit me and Zoisite with some kind of telekinetic push."
"A television what!?" butchered Usagi, her face contorted in confusion.
"Nevermind," said Ami, "the point is he pushed me and Zoisite away from your Moon Healing Escalation."
"Why'd he do that?" queried Usagi, "My technique wouldn't have affected either of you."
"I'm not sure," said Ami, "although…for a moment back there…"
Her mind drifted to mere moments ago when she'd been attempting to wrestle the Black Crystal from Zoisite.
Moments ago, when she'd been staring death straight in the face.
Moments ago, when she had shifted her gaze from Zoisite's hand to his emerald green eyes.
Eyes that, unless she had been mistaken, seemed oddly familiar. Or rather…had carried a trace of recognition.
But that didn't make sense. Zoisite had seen her as Sailor Mercury plenty of times before, and the glamour her transformation afforded her would have prevented him recognising Ami Mizuno.
"Ami?" coaxed Usagi.
Ami lightly shook her head. "Sorry. I just think we should consider that maybe your technique might affect the Shitennou somehow."
"We'll talk to Luna about it later. Right now we need to get you and Motoki some help."
Leaning on Usagi for support, Ami hobbled over to a bench whilst Usagi went to look for someone to help Motoki. As she waited, her eye was drawn to the various cold, wet, yet still bright pink cherry blossoms scattered across the pavement. The sight of them made her dwell again upon that look upon Zoisite's face. More than dwell, she found herself unable to think of anything else. Not until she felt something as cold and wet as the cherry blossoms upon her face.
Slowly, she raised her hand and wiped away tears that she had been weeping for reasons she could not understand…
The sun shone so bright that it was almost blinding. It was one of the few annoyances the denizens of Crystal Tokyo were subjected to. No one could really complain about such a triviality, not on a spring day such as this.
Nevertheless, as his chess pieces danced across the checkered board, Zenitsu was giving each of his challengers something to grumble about. He was sat beneath the shade of a weeping willow tree in Juban park, the trunk of the tree almost as emerald green as its leaves.
It was a few minutes after trouncing his fifth challenger of that afternoon that Zenitsu began gathering up the chess pieces and preparing to leave. That was, until he heard a voice as gentle as a summer rain. "Would you perhaps have time for just one more game?"
Looking around, Zenitsu spotted a woman with short blue hair just beyond the draping branches of the tree. "Alright," he said with an affirmative nod.
The woman entered through the leafy emerald gateway and took a seat opposite Zenitsu who began setting the pieces up again. "I…haven't seen you around here before…" she said tentatively.
Zenitsu shrugged. "I'm new to the area I suppose. Mostly lived in Europe."
"Oh…what brought you to Juban?"
Zenitsu thought it curious that this woman specified Juban rather than Japan, but he didn't bother to dwell upon the matter.
"Would you believe a dream?" he shot a smirk at the woman. Usually he might've internally cringed at the action given that he had just met the woman, but something about her was rather alluring.
"A dream to be the world's best park chess player?" she shot back a gentle smile upon her face.
He chuckled. "No, an actual dream. I'd been considering moving for a long while and was trying to think where to go. Then…one night…" his vision glazed over for a moment, "I dreamed I was fighting someone at a school in Juban…" He saw the dream again in his mind's eye. It was foggy, but he nevertheless couldn't forget it. "...maybe it's silly, but it seemed like a sign. So I decided to move here."
The blunette smiled again. "I'm glad you did…we don't get very many expert chess players around here. It will be nice to have someone to play against every week."
Zenitsu looked up at the woman. Every week? That seemed rather presumptive of her. But, as he caught sight of her bright blue eyes, eyes that somehow carried a spark of recognition to them, he decided…he really wouldn't mind playing chess with this lady every week. Or, perhaps, do other things too…
A/N: Yeah so...I did another fic that combined all the prompts lol.
So, for those who don't know, the last vignette was referencing the Sailor Moon PC-Engine game where it is implied Beryl and the Shitennou will someday be reincarnated. The green tree trunk and willow tree branches acting as a 'emerald gateway' are in reference to the game also as an Emerald Gate and pillars guarded by each Shitennou were pivotal to the climax of that game.
I did this in another fic of mine, but I had 'Zenitsu' work in a video rental store because one of his schemes in the manga involved rental VHS tapes.
The two poems featured in the fic were 'A Symphony of Spring Unfolding' and 'The Meeting of the Waters' respectively.
Also, just to let you know I am involved in a discord called 'Moonlight Legends' which is dedicated to sharing all sorts of Sailor Moon fanworks, including other fanfics. If you would like to join so you can share your own work, get help with your current projects or just