AN: Wow, this really shouldn't have taken so long. I had about half of it done for the longest time but couldn't seem to get it put together properly. So this is Zoisite's chapter regarding how he arrived in Elysian and became part of the Shitennou. Since I didn't mention this earlier, this story will most likely go longer than four chapters and may well include the meetings of Senshi and Shitennou.
Disclaimer: Still don't own anything except my own ideas.
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"Your childhood sucked," Jadeite said plainly.
Kunzite shot him a cold look and he quickly shut up. Endymion, already curious about the others, ignored them both. "What about you, Zoisite?"
The youngest general looked away. "I do not have much of a past before this; you know as much, prince."
"What have I told you about using titles?" Endymion asked with a sigh. "You're only a year younger than I am. So what did you find here?"
"You already know my answer to that."
"Tell me anyway."
Zoisite frowned, closing his eyes. "I found a family."
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Once Kunzite had mastered the bare basics of magic, he and his tutor were sent in search of the missing boys. Their first few forays proved fruitless, but he knew something was different as soon as they set foot in Switzerland. Kainess, the town that housed the European transport pad, had a different feel to it than the other cities and towns they'd searched. He turned one way and the other, trying to pinpoint the source of the feeling.
"Kunzite?" the Lunarian tutor, Hyperion, asked. Not only a teacher, Hyperion had been sent to safeguard the children from their own powers and whatever threat might be posed to them. Their magic was too valuable to waste in such a powerless world. "Is anything wrong?"
"I think one of the others might be somewhere near here. I feel something; I do not know what yet."
"You would know better than I," the older man said. "Can you follow it?"
"Yes, I believe so."
The only reason the king had let Kunzite go with Hyperion was because as a Lunarian he had no natural draw to sources of Earth magic. Kunzite on the other hand would sense it and be able to follow it. Endymion hadn't liked seeing him go, but he'd finally agreed when Kunzite told him they were looking for more friends.
Once outside the small castle in the center of the town, the young lord stood on the steps and tried to focus, deliberately clearing his mind so the soft gold magic would be easier to find. In the meantime, Hyperion drifted a short ways away and began asking the villagers if they knew of a young boy with strange powers. No one seemed to, but they promised to spread the word as they hurried on with their work.
Finally, he was able to get a lock on the power. It was somewhere in town and moving, but not with much speed. It also felt very new and delicate, barely revealing itself to the world. He hurried after the feeling, knowing his tutor would be close behind. When it turned his direction, he ground to a stop.
"You looking for a magical lad?" a gruff farming woman asked as she elbowed through the crowd.
"Yes, madam," he answered politely.
Without any further explanation, she pushed the rest of the way through, dropped a small child in his arms, and sped off again. He tried to follow, bursting with questions, but she was gone and he had to stop before he upset the boy in his arms. Hyperion reached them a moment later, took one look at the sleeping child, and ushered him back the way they'd came.
"Hyperion, his mother – his family –"
"Not every mother takes as kindly to power as yours did, lad. If she was going to give him up so easily, we would do well to take him away before some nasty fate befalls him."
"We do not even know his name."
That made the older man stop, and he turned to take them both in. "Then you'll name him. For better or for worse, he's yours now. I'll have the teaching of him, but you'll be the one raising the lad. You'll be the family he needs."
"I have no idea how to raise a child. I barely know what to do with Prince Endymion, and I think he is older than this boy."
"Yes, most likely. This little one only has about two years, I'd guess. Nonetheless, he was given to you. No matter how unsure you may be, you'd be a great bear if anything were to happen to him now. He'll have a nurse in Elysion, but you'll be the one he'll answer to."
Kunzite shifted his burden awkwardly, waiting as the little body relaxed against his, one small fist curling into his hair. Hyperion led the way to Kainess Castle and the portal that would take the little boy to his new home.
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The boy was named Zoisite after he seized a piece of that crystal from a set on Kunzite's desk and refused to relinquish it. Endymion had found it hilarious, but the younger child had only studied him with big green eyes. He grew up in court and never questioned how he came to be there, though the others had told him from early on that he was from Switzerland. Instead, he assumed he was an orphan.
When he was four, they discovered he could teleport. It wasn't as easy for him as it was for Kunzite, who had come into the same power at thirteen, but it was nonetheless impressive for a child his age. At five, he started asking about his birth family. Kunzite sat down with him and patiently explained he only knew that when he had been found he'd been with a woman, but it did nothing to settle the younger boy's thoughts. Was that woman his mother? Had he been abandoned? Did she hate or fear him for his powers? It was a hard time for him, but eventually Kunzite, Endymion and Hyperion managed to draw his attention to other pursuits.
His powers continued to grow, and within three months of his conversation with Kunzite he realized he could go to people he knew instead of just places. The eldest of the boys had gone to Europe to continue his search for the others, and Zoisite was delighted to have a chance to surprise his far too serious 'brother'. He closed his eyes and focused on a mental image of Kunzite as best he could, then opened them again as cold touched his skin. The skies were grey as it snowed, and for a moment he was only a little boy in the silence of a snowfall. Loud voices cut through his thoughts before he could begin to enjoy it.
"Since you took the boy years ago, I fail to see how it matters," an older woman said with no little disdain.
Zoisite bristled, not liking how she was talking to someone he loved, but before he could send a snowball flying at her Kunzite responded. "He is your son, madam, and he is asking questions about his family that I have no answers to."
"I have no son."
"The day you put him in my arms suggests otherwise. If he were not your son, why was he with you?"
"He was an accident," she said angrily, knocking flour off her apron. "A mistake before his father left and got himself killed. You took him and that was the end of that."
"Even so, you raised him for two years. He must mean something to you. Do you even want to know what we named him? Will you tell me what he was called before?"
"He never had a name," the woman said coldly.
Kunzite's fisted hands made it obvious he was getting angry, but he kept his voice from betraying him. "I will not tell a five-year-old boy that his own mother did not care enough to give him a name and has not thought of him in the three years since she gave him to me."
"I don't care what you tell him. He made things difficult in my marriage, and we had too many mouths to feed already. He was always strange, too, never crying or raising a fuss like a normal babe. Good riddance, I say."
The woman – his mother, Zoisite realized in horror – stormed back into her cottage and slammed the door. He fell to his knees in the snow, and the gentle crunching was enough to draw Kunzite's attention. He whipped around, horror marking his normally calm features.
"Zoisite."
"I wanted to surprise you," he said shakily. "I can find people now."
"How much of that did you hear?"
"Kunz, is that my mother who just said all those horrible things?"
The older boy swallowed hard before nodding. "Yes, I think she is."
"Why did she want to get rid of me?!"
"I wish I knew."
That was all it took for Zoisite to burst into tears, making Kunzite wince. With a quick hug, the young man lifted him and held him close.
"Just close your eyes," he said quietly. "We are going home."
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It took a few weeks for Zoisite to feel somewhat normal again – no child liked hearing how little his parents cared for him. Being around the family that had raised him helped, but all they could do was be kind and pretend nothing had happened. Once he was doing better, he rejoined Kunzite and Endymion for sword training with the master at arms in the castle courtyard. Before they could begin, a page hurried up.
"Lord Kunzite, a man is at the gates demanding to speak with you about Master Zoisite. What shall I do?"
Kunzite frowned, lowering his blunted practice sword and glancing at Zoisite. "Send him in, but alert the king or queen. I cannot think of any men who would know Zoisite."
The page bowed and ran off again, returning a minute later with an unfamiliar man in worn traveling garb. His dark, weathered face made Kunzite think he was either a farmer or sailor who spent a lot of time in the sun.
"You being the Lord Kun-something?" the stranger asked.
"I am Kunzite, yes. How may I help you?"
The older man studied him with a coldly appraising eye, and Kunzite straightened automatically under the scrutiny. He was just fifteen, but the newcomer was only a scant few centimeters taller. He had an advantage in breadth from a hard life's work, though again the difference was fairly small. Kunzite knew he could win if it came to a fight.
"I'm lookin' for repayment for taking care of that," he said, gesturing at Zoisite. The little boy flinched and took a step back. "He's here being a lord or some such now, so I figure my wife and I should be compensated. We be losing years of labor by leaving him with you lot."
"Zoisite was given over to the crown freely," Kunzite said, struggling to keep his voice level. "No payment was expected."
"Now it is."
"Then I suggest you speak to the king or queen, but I do not think they will give you what you seek. As I understand it, you are not Zoisite's father, so you have no claim and his mother expected nothing."
The stranger scowled fiercely. "And you think you be so mighty as to tell me what to do, do you? I have half a mind to take the boy back." He took a threatening step toward his stepson.
"I suggest you move away from the child. You are frightening him."
His response was to grab Zoisite's arm and twist it, pulling him from his companions. "You be going home now, laddie. They clearly don't care enough ta pay for you."
Endymion lunged for his friend, little face twisted with anger, but the man backhanded the young prince and sent him sprawling.
Kunzite saw red. The next thing he knew, Endymion and Zoisite were clinging to his front in tears as two of the guards pulled him back. The older man was writhing in pain on the ground, his nose very clearly shattered and his left shoulder dislocated. It was the arm he'd grabbed Zoisite with, and the teen had to bite back a snarl. It took all of his concentration to hold still at first, but a moment later he realized Endymion's face was bruising. Zoisite's stepfather had hit him on the other side.
Realization struck like lightning. "Oh no. Prince Endymion, did I do that?"
The little boy winced but smiled. "I'm not mad, Kunz. I know you didn't mean to hit me. I just wanted you to stop."
"I told you to never get in the way when bigger people fight," he said, horrified.
"I thought you were going to kill him for hurting us. I didn't want that. You would have felt bad later."
Kunzite pulled the boys closer as the soldiers released him, giving them a hug. "I am so sorry you two had to see that. I would never have let him in if I knew you were going to be in danger. Zoisite, are you alright?"
"I'm okay."
"Endymion?"
He nodded. "It's just a flesh wound."
He almost choked on a laugh he shouldn't have been capable of. "Spoken like a true warrior."
Queen Rose strode into view, flanked by several guardsmen. "What happened here?"
Endymion hurried to his mother's side. "Mama, that bad man tried to hurt Zoi."
"Lord Kunzite, report."
Kunzite immediately knelt. "My lady queen, I am deeply sorry for my actions and would more than understand if you no longer felt I was worthy of guarding your son. I had no right losing control like that in front of him or Master Zoisite."
"What do you mean?"
Zoisite's voice piped up instead. "It's my fault, not Kunz's. That bad man was here for me and I was too scared to fight, so Kunz had to protect me."
The queen blinked, looking at the two little boys. "I see. Hyperion, take the boys to the nursery. Kunzite, come with me. We will discuss this privately."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
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Queen Rose listened quietly as Kunzite detailed everything he knew of the confrontation. After a long pause, she got to her feet and began to pace the floor of her study. The young lord remained kneeling on the floor. She noticed a second later.
"At least take a chair, Kunzite. That cannot be comfortable."
"It is no more than I deserve."
"I will be the judge of that. As I understand it, you obeyed your orders and stood between my sons and an outside threat. Yes, I consider Zoisite mine as much as Endymion is. He needs a mother, and I have no trouble providing that for him. While I am worried at your loss of control, you are young still. We can be lenient this time, and I am sure you will learn to contain such outbursts so they do not hurt my child again."
"I struck the prince. That is an act of treason."
"I know you would never deliberately hurt my son. He also was able to calm you, so clearly you were still connected enough to sense to recognize him before you did to him what you did to the man who tried to take Zoisite."
"Are you sure you are comfortable with this?"
"You were so enraged by that man trying to hurt one of your charges that you were willing to take him apart with your bare hands to defend them. I think there are very few men who would go to such lengths against an opponent they knew nothing about. He could have been armed, and still your first thought was to help the boys. No, Kunzite. I am more comfortable having you on my son's side than I would be if you were anywhere else."
"So I am not to be punished for hurting Zoisite's stepfather?"
"He deserved every bit of it, but I am sure my husband will claim he will have you disciplined to avoid trouble. Rest assured it will be nothing more than a scolding. Now, I am sure my sons are worried sick about you. I suggest you let them know that you are fine."
"Of course, my queen."
He rose and bowed, hurrying from the study toward the nursery. The boys leapt at him as soon as he was through the door, hanging around his neck and babbling at the same time. It took a few moments for him to quiet them.
"You're not leaving us, are you?" Endymion asked.
"No. Your mother says she wants me on your side."
"I'm sorry, Kunz," Zoisite said quietly. "It's my fault. That bad man was here because of me. I didn't want you to get in trouble."
Setting the boys down, he crouched in front of them. "Never think even for a minute that I regret protecting you. We are a family, and that is what family does."
"But, Kunz, I thought that man was my family."
"Family is more than blood, Zoisite. It is friendship and love. I know you worried about not having a family that loved you, but that is absolutely not true. We are your family because we love you, not because of anything like blood, which is an accident of nature."
"Do you have a family?"
"Yes. You two are my family."
The littler boy blinked twice before smiling. "Okay. Family."
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AN: As always, your opinions are greatly appreciated, and I hope you liked the chapter. Please let me know what you thought. Till next time!