As the early morning sun cast long shadows across the peaceful suburban streets, Mamoru's feet maintained a steady rhythm as they pounded the pavement. The air was crisp and fresh, carrying with it the scent of blooming flowers and the distant hum of a waking city. Each step was steady, measured, but his thoughts were anything but.
Last night, he'd dreamed of the princess again. Like every night. But everything was more crisp, more abrupt. Like she was drawing closer to him. Perhaps that meant they'd meet soon. But that brought new trouble to his chest. After their destined meeting, what would happen to Sailor Moon and the clumsy girl?
That wasn't the only thing troubling him.
He wasn't sure why, but there was something particular about this route, this peaceful street lined with little trees and neat houses, had drawn him in today. There was this inexplicable pull to this area. Everywhere else felt wrong—oppressive and suffocating. But here, the air was lighter. The tension in his chest eased.
The feeling was almost magnetic, pulling him along without question. Maybe it was just his need to escape his restless thoughts—the princess, Sailor Moon, the girl, and his mission to find the Legendary Silver Crystal.
More and more, he couldn't escape the feeling his life had become a tangle of half-remembered dreams and fractured realities, and the need to untangle them gnawed at him constantly.
Lost in contemplation, Mamoru nearly collided with a blur of golden pigtails as he rounded a corner. His hand shot out instinctively, steadying the girl before him.
"Bunhead, it's you!"
"It's you!" her eyes widened, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "Mamoru Chiba! What are you doing here?"
Before he could respond, a voice called out from the house. "Usagi! Don't forget your lunch!"
A woman emerged with long wavy dark blue hair. She carried a wrapped box. With a quick glance at him, Usagi turned and scurried back to retrieve it, her movements a charming mix of embarrassment and clumsy. He tried to hide the smile pressing against his lips. She really was rather endearing.
Returning, she shuffled her feet. "Since you know where I live, are you going to follow me around more now?"
Mamoru laughed. "Sorry to break it to you, Bunhead, but I have much better things to do than follow you around."
"Oh, really?" She puffed out her chest. "Like what?! I'm the most interesting person you could ever follow! I go to the cake shop, and the arcade, and the park. Oh! And the mall. The mall is really fun. Then there is the café and the ice cream shop. I can't forget the bookstore. They have a great manga collection. See! You'll expand your horizons if you follow me."
"Now you're inviting me to follow you?" he smiled. "We're you just blaming me?"
She rubbed her neck. "Yes! No! Yes? No? Uh, undecided! Yeah, I'm undecided. Ask me later."
Mamoru laughed, enjoying her company more and more. What would it be like to… No, he was entirely devoted, body and soul, to the princess. A torrent of conflicted emotions pulled at his chest. He couldn't betray her. The princess or Usagi or Sailor Moon.
"We've known each other for a while now, and I'm finally learning your name."
"It just didn't come up before." She rubbed her shoe on the sidewalk. "Well, here we go. I'm Usagi Tsukino!"
"Rabbit of the Moon," he murmured, the words slipping from his lips before he could even think about them. Something deep within him stirred, a sensation that was both unsettling and oddly comforting. Almost like a half-forgotten memory brushing against the edges of his consciousness.
It was as if her name carried a hidden weight, a significance he couldn't quite grasp, but it resonated with him on a level he didn't understand.
Blinking, he tried to shake off the sudden, inexplicable feeling. "It suits you."
Usagi beamed up at him, and his heart seemed to skip a beat. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. And with that, his chest constricted. Because he knew that if these encounters continued, he was risking his heart.
"Try to stay out of trouble today, Bunhead. And maybe pay attention to where you're going?"
She spluttered and puffed up. Like a baby bird trying to intimidate a predator. "Hey! You're the one barreling down the sidewalk at the crack of dawn!"
As she took a step towards him, she entered a shaft of light. The morning rays caught her just so, illuminating her in a way that made his breath catch. In that moment, everything clicked into place. The familiar blue eyes, the golden hair, the unmistakable aura of warmth and light.
Sailor Moon. Usagi was Sailor Moon.
The realization hit him like a physical blow, leaving him stunned. He stammered out a hasty goodbye, his mind reeling as he forced himself away from the girl.
"Hey! Where are you going? You can't leave me like that! RUDE!"
His heart thundered in his chest like a caged bird, desperate for freedom as he ran away. He barely registered the bustling streets or the people he passed. Everything blurred, colors melting into a dizzying kaleidoscope as he stumbled forward, barely aware of his surroundings. All he could do was focus on the revelation that had just shattered his carefully constructed reality.
Usagi was Sailor Moon.
He found himself in a nearby park, the morning dew still clinging to blades of grass that sparkled under the strengthening sunlight. Bubbling water sang from the fountain, water droplets reflecting rainbows in the sunlight. A massive clock loomed overhead, throwing a slicing shadow across the space. The sweet scent of new life and vibrant flowers filled the air, providing a tranquil backdrop to his turmoil.
His step faltered, and he collapsed onto a weathered wooden bench, its cool surface grounding him as he struggled to process the revelation. Thankfully, the park was empty, silent, save for the distant rustle of leaves and chirp of birds.
"Usagi is Sailor Moon."
Mamoru buried his hands in his face, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he tried to make sense of it all.
"Sailor Moon is Usagi."
The clumsy, bright-eyed girl who irritated and captivated him in equal measure was the same warrior who fought in the moonlight. Quickly, he glanced up, automatically finding the moon in the pale blue.
"Waxing crescent."
Letting out a breath, he tried to ignore the slight tickle of discomfort that spread across his skin. The moonlight still felt discordant, harsh. Yet, he couldn't ignore the overwhelming sense of relief. The burden on his shoulders felt slightly lighter.
Now, instead of being drawn to three women, it was down to two. He snorted.
"Don't think this changes anything, Mamoru."
The guilt still crushed him. The princess—her ethereal form and pleading eyes still haunted him. His heart was still being torn in two, still torn between the dream and reality.
Mamoru rubbed his face roughly, as if he could physically wipe away the confusion. The surrounding park seemed to mock his turmoil with its serenity—birds chirping merrily, leaves rustling gently, cars, people, all of it so oblivious.
He felt like a storm contained within a glass bottle, surrounded by calm but unable to escape his own chaos.
Each night, the princess came to him, with each new appearance more vivid, more urgent. He could almost feel the warmth of her touch, smell the delicate fragrance of her. But he was no closer to finding the Legendary Silver Crystal, no closer to unraveling the mystery of his past and his connection to her.
"What are you doing, Mamoru?"
Still shaken, he pushed himself up from the bench.
"Nothing. That's the answer. You're doing nothing."
His legs were weak, barely able to support him as he stumbled from the park. The once soothing environment now felt oppressive, the trees looming over him like silent tormentors. The path before him was hazy, the weight of his thoughts making it difficult to focus on anything but the whirlwind of emotions tearing through him.
The city streets passed in a blur, faces of strangers merging into an indistinct mass as he focused solely on putting one foot in front of the other. Finally reaching his apartment, he practically fell inside, collapsing onto the cool leather of his couch. As his eyes fluttered close, exhaustion overtook him. Immediately, a brilliant vision pulled him under.
The princess stood before him, her ethereal form bathed in moonlight that seemed to spill from the heavens just to highlight her. The pale glow was almost blinding, wrapping her in a shimmering veil of brilliance, as if the very stars had descended to encase her in their light.
She was so close, close enough that he could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the delicate flutter of her lashes as she looked at him with eyes filled with infinite sorrow.
All that existed was her, standing there, waiting, as she had for an eternity.
His entire being wanted to hold her, to feel her warmth surge through him like a tidal wave. It had been too long. Ages. Millennia. Eons since he'd last felt the comforting embrace of her presence. Since he'd known the peace that only she could bring.
His hand trembled as he reached out, every fiber of his being straining towards her, desperate to bridge the chasm that had separated them for so long. His fingers brushed through the mist, the air between them charged with an electric tension.
He could almost feel her, the ghost of her touch, the faint promise to chase away the cold that had settled in his soul. To make him whole.
But as he drew closer, she began to fade. The brilliant light that once encased her grew dimmer. The edges of her form blurred as if the mist itself was swallowing her.
Panic clawed at him, his breath catching as he strained further. Willing himself to move faster, pleading to close the distance, to grasp her hand before she vanished completely. Before the fog consumed her.
"Find the Legendary Silver Crystal!"
"No!" he screamed, the word a plea, a desperate cry. His voice cracked with the weight of his anguish, raw, unfiltered, as if his very soul was being torn from his body. "No, please, don't go!"
But she was already slipping away, her form dissolving into the light, her outstretched hand nothing more than a fleeting shadow. And then, just before his fingers brushed the ghostly remnants of her presence, she was gone.
A scream tore from him, a primal sound of loss and despair that echoed through the void, reverberating off the walls of his broken mind. He snatched at the mist where she'd been, as if he could somehow pull her back through sheer force of will.
But there was nothing left—no trace of her, no warmth, no light. Only the cold, unforgiving darkness remained.
Mamoru collapsed, his body trembling with the force of his sobs. The princess was gone, and with her, the last remnants of his hope. He'd failed her. Failed to protect her. Failed to keep her by his side. And now, all that remained was the crushing weight of his guilt and the unbearable ache of her absence.
He woke, wet tears still cascading down his cheeks. Failure still crushing him.
The oppressive darkness of the Dark Kingdom pressed in on Nephrite as he strode through its twisted corridors. The malevolent energy pulsed from the very walls, from the shadows that clung to every surface. Darkness twisted and writhed like a living entity, a constant reminder of the evil that ruled this forsaken place. Even the air was thick with a tainted miasma that clung to everything it touched.
As always, it left a discordant and uncomfortable feeling inside his chest. Almost like a burr, a discontented itch that dug at him.
Entering the throne room, he bowed deeply before Queen Beryl. An icy presence settled on his shoulders, pushing him deeper, further, until his forehead brushed the stone. Knowing that resistance was futile, he didn't defy.
"Rise."
The familiar sense of dread settled in his gut, a sensation he'd long grown accustomed to but could never quite shake.
"You've lost a brother," she said, her fingers swirling over the crystal orb.
"Yes," Nephrite said through gritted teeth. "Jadeite was a chosen one. One of the Four Kings of Heaven, to have eliminated him, must have taken a substantial amount of power."
"Or he was just weak."
Revulsion spiked in his chest. Jadeite was not weak.
That same icy presence bit at him, forcing the discordant thoughts to flee, replacing them with darkness. Nephrite clenched his fists, nails dug into his palms. Somewhere inside his chest, a faint pulse of electricity seemed to ripple around and around.
"Perhaps you'll be the one to find the Legendary Silver Crystal and eliminate the guardians."
Nephrite bowed slightly, that presence ghosting across his skin. "I'll achieve a great victory for the Dark Kingdom."
Beryl snorted. "If only you'd secured Endymion, then we would have already secured a glorious victory."
Nephrite stayed silent. Whoever this Endymion was needed to die. All the queen did was compare them to him.
"I've gathered some information from the humans," Nephrite said.
"Surprise me."
"Soon, in Tokyo, the Kingdom of D will reveal their hidden treasure. It's said to contain immense power, and I believe it may be the Legendary Silver Crystal, or at least be able to lead us to it."
A cruel smile curved across her lips. "Excellent." Her eyes narrowed, flashing in the darkness. "The power of the crystal can revive your fallen comrade."
Jadeite. The name sent a jolt of something through his chest. A pang of something that felt disturbingly like guilt. The thought of him lying in the cold, dark crystal coffin bit at his conscience, something he thought long dead.
But before he could truly consider the emotion, ice spread across him. Anger. Jadeite had failed many times to bring victory to the Dark Kingdom. He deserved nothing but this fate.
Queen Beryl waved a dismissal, and he quickly turned and left the throne room. As he returned to his observatory, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was forgetting something important. Something that lurked just beyond the reach of his mind, calling to him from a past he could no longer recall.
The massive entry doors opened, revealing his haven. A circular room filled with ancient arcane instruments. Celestial maps and charts filled the walls, all focused on the ever-changing positions of the stars. In the center of the room loomed his towering telescope, its lens pointed towards a patch of sky that seemed forever shrouded in darkness.
"Why aren't you speaking to me?"
Here, at least, he felt a semblance of peace. Even if it was fleeting and artificial. He gazed upwards; the stars shifted and swirled, responding to his silent call. But lately, their messages had become muddles, contradictory. Where once they spoke with clarity, now they whispered in riddles.
A face formed in the celestial dance above him—a visage both strange and familiar. Soft brown hair that framed gentle eyes which seemed to look into his soul. His heart clenched with an emotion he had no name for, a longing for something forever out of reach.
"What are you trying to tell me?"
Nephrite rubbed his face roughly, trying to dispel the image. This development worried him. The stars had never led him astray before, but now… now he wasn't sure.
The door to his observatory opened with a soft hiss. His only remaining brothers, Zoisite and Kunzite, entered. Now they were the Three Kings of Heaven. Each wore equally grim faces, the weight of recent events resting in the set of their shoulders.
"Jadeite's loss is troubling," Kunzite stated.
Nephrite turned from them, glancing at the stars. "It should trouble us all. The Sailor Guardians are more powerful than we anticipated."
When silence descended over his brothers, he turned back to them. How could this have happened? What events led to the downfall of a brother? Why didn't the stars warn him?
Zoisite's eyes flashed with a dazzling display of anger. "How could those mere humans possess such great strength? To fell one of the Four Kings of Heaven…"
Nephrite didn't know, couldn't know. All he could sense was change. Something that would please fate and destiny. Something that he had no power to stop.
After a moment, Zoisite spoke again. "Does Sailor Mercury seem familiar to either of you?"
Nephrite and Kunzite exchanged glances.
"Familiar?" Kunzite asked.
"I can't explain it," Zoisite continued. "When I see her, it's like I'm forgetting something important. Almost like there is something I should know. Should do."
Nephrite thought of the face in the stars. That same sense of forgotten knowledge gnawed at him. "The stars have been unclear lately. I have no answers for you."
Kunzite shook his head. "We cannot afford uncertainty. Not now. Whatever these feelings are, Zoisite, push them aside. We have to accomplish our mission for the Dark Kingdom."
Yet, that felt strange to hear. As if it was wrong. But that couldn't be the case. The Dark Kingdom created and nurtured them. It had shared its glorious dark energy to strengthen and imbue them. All they were was because of the Dark Kingdom. All they'd ever be is because of the Dark Kingdom.
But, Nephrite couldn't shake the feeling that they were missing something crucial. The face in the stars, Zoisite's strange familiarity—it all pointed to a mystery that lay just beyond his understanding.
"We will serve the Dark Kingdom until we're transformed to dust, like our brother," Kunzite said.
The three remaining kings nodded. After Zoisite and Kunzite left, Nephrite turned back to the stars, silently pleading for answers. But the lights remained stubbornly silent, leaving him alone with his troubled thoughts and the nagging sense that everything was about to change.
Nephrite clenched his fist. He'd get his revenge against the Sailor Guardians, and he knew the exact time and place. The Kingdom of D's masquerade party.