Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act Forty Five Recap:
(Mamoru’s POV)
Mamoru sighed and ran a hand
through his hair, “Not really” he admitted, “I take it the Youma was there?”
“It was” Kisho confirmed, “It is
strong. We had to run.”
“You ran?”
“Don’t sound too surprised”
Kisho said haughtily, “It was a strategic retreat.”
The Metallia Youma continues to steal energy from
civilians in Tokyo and there is nothing we can do to stop it. Kisho and Taro
tried and were almost killed by it.
“Seiichi” Endymion continued,
“You’re Seiichi, not Zoisite.”
Seiichi shook his head as he
answered, almost bitterly, “You see me as Seiichi, Master. I see… I don’t know.
I just don’t know anymore.”
How could I have asked Seiichi to fight knowing how
confused he was about everything? That wouldn’t have been fair. Seiichi just
needed a bit of time to think things through and, despite all that is
happening, I knew that I had to allow him this. What kind of leader would I be
otherwise?
“So you defeated it? A pity
really but not surprising. It was only my second creation after all.”
Mamoru glanced between Taro and
Kisho before turning around. The stunned looks on their faces confirming his
own sense of disbelief when he stared at the man leaning casually against the
doorframe.
“Masaki-kun…”
Masaki is alive but the Dark Kingdom has turned him
against us.
“Where the hell were you when I needed my ‘friends’? You
were too obsessed with yourselves or the mission to give a damn about me! Who
saved me from that psycho-bitch, Sailor Moon? Not you. Not my friends, but the
enemy! The Dark Kingdom--”
His words were true. Just because Masaki was quiet and
tended to keep his feelings hidden didn’t meant that we could ignore anything
that was going wrong in his own life. I can only blame myself for this.
I don’t want to fight against my friend, but this is so
different from the times that we’ve fought among ourselves. Masaki has to
understand who the true enemy is and quickly. As the Dark Kingdom grows
stronger and the final battle is now looming. If it comes down to a choice
between my friend and the fate of the planet then… I just don’t know…
******
Act Forty-Six:
Kuroki Mio stood before the Queen of the Dark Kingdom,
keeping her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she awaited the reason
behind Beryl’s summons.
The furrowed frown upon the Queen’s face gave Mio some
cause for concern. Did she suspect? But she couldn’t… could she?
As Mio dared to raise her head to meet Beryl’s gaze the
red haired demon spoke. Her voice was hoarse and held underlying tones of
suspicion and fury.
“There is a traitor among us.”
Mio balked slightly, her hands now trembling so much that
she held them behind her back, lest this action be spotted by her Queen. Her
own mouth was dry and she forced herself to answer:
“A traitor? Who?”
“I don’t know” Beryl admitted, her voice now echoing her
fear, “But I can sense it. Someone is going to betray us.”
As Masaki grew stronger, more hateful, Mio knew that the
day fast approached when she would be forced to hand him over to Beryl for them
to achieve their ultimate goal. This meant that she had to work quickly to
destroy the opposition, both outside and inside of the Dark Kingdom. Yet, as
that day approached, Beryl grew more fearful of betrayals. That Metallia might
somehow guess her own treachery.
“Then let us see” Mio said carefully, as Beryl continued
to stare down at her. She had to appear strong. If Beryl realised the truth
then Mio knew she would die here. There had to be a way to save herself, but,
for the moment, Mio knew she had to buy herself some more time.
“Then let us see,” she repeated.
Beryl nodded, softly commanding her crystal to project a
viewing onto the wall of the throne room. As the viewing shimmered and then
became visible, Mio saw Dark Jupiter standing alone in her quarters. The jovan
Senshi’s brows were furrowed in concentration and Mio would have given anything
to know just what the brown haired girl was thinking but this was not possible.
Viewings only penetrated the privacy of the subject and not their thoughts or
feelings. As they watched, Jupiter cursed slightly under her breath and left
the room. They did not follow her. There was no need. There was no sign of
betrayal there.
The scene changed again this time, to Mio’s shock, to a
house on Earth. For a moment, Mio thought that Beryl’s crystal was wrong, but
she bit her tongue to stop her voicing such doubts. To do so would anger the
Queen and, in her already agitated state, who knew what a combination of her
anger and fear were capable of?
A door slamming indicated that the occupant was home and,
again to Mio’s disbelief, she saw Kimura Taro/Nephrite enter the front room.
“What is this?” Beryl snapped impatiently, but a movement
further in the room caught Mio’s attention and she couldn’t help but snap:
“Matte” as the Queen prepared to close the viewing.
Slowly, Dark Mercury made herself known, stepping forward
and calling Kimura-san’s name. At first thoughts, Mio made the assumption that
Mercury had taken it upon herself to try and win back Beryl’s favour by killing
one of the remaining Tennou. However, when Mercury silently embraced him, Mio
realised how wrong she was.
“Unforgivable” Beryl seethed, the viewing closing as
Kimura-san leaned down to kiss Mercury on the lips, “Such treason shall not go
unpunished…”
“That is true” Mio said, trying not to allow her own
relief to enter her voice as she spoke. “But why kill her straight away? We can
use her relationship with Nephrite to our advantage.”
Beryl looked up, a shadow of doubt flickering across her
face as she answered, “What do you have in mind?”
“Leave it to me” Mio answered, turning to leave the throne
room without waiting for the proper dismissal, knowing that Beryl would grant
her this request and the Queen did so with a nod and a quiet:
“Do as you wish.”
Mercury and her foolish feelings had unknowingly saved
Mio’s own treachery from discovery.
Mercury had always been the kindest of the Dark Senshi and
that kindness would be her downfall…
******
“He is a traitor? It can’t be!
What the hell have they done to him?”
“Seiichi’s right. He’s no longer
our friend.”
“And I suppose you want to kill him?”
“Taro-kun, matte!” Kisho shouted, finally catching up with
his friend. He grabbed Taro’s arm, much to the fury of the younger man who
pulled violently away and shouted back:
“Just get the hell off of me!”
Kisho backed off, casting a wary eye down the streets of
Juuban and, when he saw that they were pretty much deserted, he continued,
“Calm down. I know you’re upset but--”
“But what?” Taro snarled balling his hands into fists at
his side, “You heard him back there, Kisho? He’s been turned against us. He’s a
traitor!”
“I know” Kisho soothed, struggling to contain his own
dismay and pain at this latest turn of events. A part of him was overjoyed that
Masaki was alive but an even bigger part of him was filled with horror at what
his friend had become. If Masaki could only hear himself… death, Kisho was
sure, would have been preferable.
“No” Taro shook his head, “You don’t know. That morning
before I left for Crown. I now know Masaki was trying to tell me something and
I didn’t realise it at the time. I failed him and now… and now we’ll have to
kill him, but how can we do that? He’s our friend!”
“I’m not asking you to kill him and nor is Mamoru.”
Taro whirled around to face Kisho, “You don’t have to ask.
He’s been turned against us. He’s no longer our friend. We have to kill him.”
Deep down, Kisho feared that Taro’s words were true but
how could he expect any of them to kill one of the Tennou? How could he expect
any of them to kill a friend?
“No” Kisho said at length, “We don’t have to kill him.”
“We do. There is no other way.”
Kisho paused for a moment before answering:
“Go home, Taro” not wanting to voice his own thoughts on
the matter just yet. If they could get to Masaki… perhaps they could help him?
If the Dark Kingdom only had him brainwashed then there might be a way to free
him? Of course, Kisho knew he could not let on to Taro about this possibility.
He did not believe in giving anyone false hopes, especially not the people he
cared for the most.
“You’re upset” Kisho added in an attempt to assuage his
friend’s temper, “Go home and calm down. I’ll give you a call tomorrow, okay?”
Taro shrugged, but obviously saw the sense in Kisho’s
words and now felt a little bad about his outburst, not to mention foolish.
Still, keeping his feelings to himself, Taro started to
walk away, back in the direction of his home.
“You can’t order me about. Not
anymore. I answer to Queen Beryl now. She is my Master in this world. Now FIGHT
ME!”
“No--”
“You will stop this foolishness
right now. Chiba-san is not to blame for any of this.”
“No? Then who is?”
“I am.”
Such a mess, Kisho mused to himself as he, too, started to
walk in the direction of his home. At least Seiichi was starting to see the
importance of them fighting together as a team, but this was little comfort
now. Without Jadeite they were simply not the Shitennou and Kisho secretly
feared this and what Masaki’s absence might entail.
******
“We don’t have to kill him.”
“We do. There is no other way.”
Taro slammed the door to his brother’s home with a
particularly loud crash, the sound actually darkening his mood further and not
making it better as it usually did.
He felt embarrassed at shouting at Kisho like that, but
Taro remained convinced that his words were true. They would have to kill
Masaki. Kisho had never been in the Dark Kingdom. Taro knew all too well how it
could corrupt. The entire time he was there he had been constantly fighting
against the darkness that threatened to take his soul. He had been strong only
because he had too. To give in would mean that his friends and Prince would
have died. Giving into them would have cost him everything.
“No, you are not my
friends. You betrayed me.”
We betrayed him? Taro thought bitterly, thinking of that
morning when Masaki had tried to talk to him, but he had been too blind to see
this. He had been too blind to realise the extent of Masaki’s problems at home.
They had failed him, Taro thought miserably. They failed him and now the Dark
Kingdom was using him.
How could Mamoru and the others be so calm about this?
Taro sighed and came to a pause in the front room. First Kanaye and Michie and
now one of his own friends.
Mamoru lost someone, too.
“Perhaps we do have to remain strong?” Taro murmured to
himself, feeling his anger dissipating and leaving him with a feeling of utter
helplessness and guilt, which he hated.
“Taro?” he looked up as he heard his name being called and
Mercury appeared before him. She smiled slightly and, as though sensing his
pain, she reached out and embraced him.
Taro returned her affections, staring down at the blue
head nestled against his chest. Reaching up he ran his hand through some
strands of her hair and said softly:
“Did you know about Masaki?”
“No” the look she gave him was pained, as though she
expected him not to believe her, to hate her. Did he hate her? No, Taro knew he
could never hate the woman in his arms. She had lied to him before, but not
now; not about this.
“I’m sorry” Mercury added, as she pulled away, a troubled
look in her eyes, “If I could help him…” she bit her lip and looked away, “I’m
sorry” she repeated.
“I’ve never felt so helpless” Taro confided in her, the
pain evident in his voice, but he was past caring. When he was with Mercury,
Taro felt as though he could tell her anything. He spoke of things that he
hadn’t even dared voice to Mamoru and the others. Mercury listened and offered
him advice without judging his actions, regardless of whether or not she agreed
with them.
“I failed him. He was my friend and I failed him.” Taro
whispered as he explained about Haru and the fact that he hadn’t listened to
what Masaki had been almost trying to tell him.
Taro sank down on the sofa when he had finished, as though
even speaking of the situation drained him. Mercury sat down at his side and
placed a hand on his knee as a gesture of comfort.
“I know how you feel. I failed, too. I failed Venus and
Mars. Had we been strong from the beginning then perhaps I would have been able
to save them. Our friendship wasn’t strong enough to stop Beryl from turning us
against each other.”
“Nor is ours” Taro answered bitterly.
“She took advantage of his pain” Mercury replied to this,
“In the Dark Kingdom negative feelings are twisted and turned into something
far greater than they actually are. There are very few who can withstand this.
It’s not your fault and it’s not his fault. No one except Beryl can be blamed
for what happened.”
“What about Usagi?”
“The Princess is the one who will destroy the planet. You
should remember that.”
Taro frowned; not quite understanding the cryptic message
that he felt was hidden in her words. Mercury had been one of the Princess’s
guardians. How could she say such things? Despite Mamoru’s mistakes regarding Tsukino
Usagi, Taro would never have let on to anyone else that he was anything but
loyal. Then again it was always different for the Senshi, he reminded himself.
They had been turned against the Princess long ago.
“Would you like me to stay?” Mercury broke into his
thoughts by asking.
“What?”
She smiled and leaned against him as she murmured quietly,
“You being alone like this… I don’t like it…”
Taro nodded, thinking again of this big empty house and
his own pain over what had happened to his brother deepened. After all that had
happened, he did not want to be alone.
******
After they had finished cleaning up the mess at Crown,
Mamoru and Seiichi made their separate ways home. Owing to the events of today,
Mamoru was feeling too disheartened to be quite as pleased as he knew he should
be about Seiichi changing his mind concerning the mission.
Seiichi had not commented when Mamoru had declined the
offer of a lift home and decided to walk instead. The streets of Tokyo at night
held some sort of allure for him and, before he even realised where he was
heading, Mamoru found himself standing outside of the Tsukino residents. Of
course he had deemed, earlier that day, that he would talk to her. Now that
they knew Masaki was alive… it didn’t mean that what she had done was any the
less terrible, but Mamoru loved her. Even if they couldn’t be together, he felt
he had to tell her, to explain about his own feelings and what had happened to
his friend.
A part of Mamoru also knew that he had to tell Usagi
because he feared of what Masaki might do to her. If Masaki was half as angry
at her as he was them then Mamoru knew that Usagi had to be told so that she
could defend herself.
Still, it took Mamoru several minutes to summon up the
nerve to knock on her door. Part of his reluctance was the fact that one of her
parents might answer. What would he say then? Mamoru wasn’t sure, but luckily
this was something he did not have to worry about.
Usagi, and her friend Naru, answered. Usagi was wearing bunny
pyjamas and both girls were giggling as they answered. Of course, her smile
soon faded when she saw who it was. A part of Mamoru was angry that she could
even begin to start to lead a normal life again after what she did, but another
part of him was glad that, at least for now, she would have a chance to try to
forget about the horrors of the past few days. Horrors that, at her age, she
should never have been subjected too.
“Mamoru?” Usagi whispered, her voice strained and wavering
as she spoke.
Naru frowned, looking between them and then asking Usagi
if she was all right. The pigtailed girl nodded and requested that Naru give
them a moment. Her friend didn’t seem that keen on leaving them alone, but
reluctantly agreed and disappeared back inside.
“You’re going to catch a cold standing here like that”
Mamoru commented, making his concern clear.
Usagi shrugged, “I won’t be here for long” she said, her
manner a little off hand, but this was to be expected, as Mamoru could tell
that she was trying to be strong.
This resolve broken down, however, when he reached out and
pulled her into his arms. This action was compulsive yet Usagi threw her arms
around him and let out a choked sob as she cried, “I’m sorry.”
“I know” Mamoru assured her, “I know. Daijobu.”
“No” Usagi shook her head and pulled away; despite her
obvious want that they stayed like that forever, “It’s not okay. I killed him.”
“Masaki’s alive”
“What?”
“He’s alive” Mamoru repeated, “I’ve seen him.”
“Alive” Usagi exhaled loudly and leaned against the
doorframe for support as tears of relief ran down her face.
Mamoru reached up and wiped one away. He hated to see her
like this… how could he tell her the truth about his friend? If she were this
guilt-ridden now then the truth would… but she had to know. Masaki might try to
harm her.
“He’s been brainwashed” Mamoru said at last, holding her
tearful gaze as he did so, “He’s no longer our friend. He fights for the Dark
Kingdom.”
“Brainwashed” Usagi repeated softly, “Like the Senshi?”
“You can’t order me about.
Not anymore. I answer to Queen Beryl now. She is my Master in this world. Now
FIGHT ME!”
Mamoru nodded but, all of a sudden, he began to doubt his
own words. Was Masaki really brainwashed? He had to be, didn’t he? But the
anger… Mamoru shivered slightly as he recalled the lambent fury in his friend’s
eyes. His uncertainty was making him anxious and Mamoru firmly crushed his
doubts by telling himself that Masaki was, most probably, injured by Princess Sailor
Moon and then the Dark Kingdom used his helplessness to their advantage. It was
the only explanation that he truly wanted to contemplate.
“Like the Senshi” Mamoru confirmed at length, “He blames
us for what happened to him. I thought you should know. Just in case he comes
looking for you.”
Usagi nodded and again uttered how sorry she was for the
whole situation.
“Does this make any difference to you?” Mamoru asked
quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“Will you fight?”
Usagi hung her head in shame, “Just because he is alive
doesn’t make things any better.”
“That’s right” Mamoru couldn’t help but snap, “It doesn’t
but feeling sorry for yourself and pretending that everything is normal won’t
help either.”
He was asking for her help really. Mamoru knew that they
couldn’t defeat that Youma alone, but, perhaps, Sailor Moon’s added power could
help them. If only she would fight…
“I have to go” Usagi mumbled quietly, “Naru-chan will
wonder what’s wrong. Mama and Papa went out to a restaurant and Naru was
keeping Shingo and me company,” she added as unnecessary information.
“Usagi--”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do this. I’m afraid… I don’t want
anyone to die…”
She went, practically slamming the door and Mamoru just
didn’t have the heart to argue with her.
He turned, slowly walking back down the garden path
wishing sorely that he hadn’t bothered to come.
******
For once, when Seiichi got to the apartment he found it
deserted. Unlocking the door and stepping inside he had expected to be greeted
by an anxious Tetsuya, but he had to admit, he was glad for the time alone.
A part of him felt a little foolish that Tetsuya had seen
him so weak and near tears, and, for a strange reason, it had always been this
way, it had always been Tetsuya who he had confided in, though more so when he
was growing up than now. He could recall the school concert when he was
thirteen. He had to provide the music for ‘Silent Night’ and had been terrified
as, up until then, he had kept his piano playing in private and had never
performed before an audience of any size at all.
Zinan had been too enthusiastic to see how nervous his son
was. This wasn’t because Zinan didn’t care about Seiichi, but simply because he
got caught up in the excitement and his over zealous personality meant that he
missed the apprehensive look on his son’s face as they drove to the school. It
had been Tetsuya who had spoken to him before hand, explaining that it was okay
to be nervous when Seiichi had admitted how apprehensive he was.
Now, even though he was 21 years old, stepping into a
silent apartment after all that had happened as of late, took him aback
slightly, until he heard the message on the answer phone.
As he thought it was Tetsuya to say that he had cancelled
the rest of his commitments for the next two weeks and that whatever he decided
was okay. Seiichi was glad of this as it gave him more time to concentrate on
the mission, but Tetsuya was forever cancelling things at the slightest sign
that he wasn’t well. It was a wonder that he managed to get this far in his
career to start with!
Still, Seiichi was glad as it meant that he could
concentrate on his mission. No, their mission, he corrected himself.
That in itself felt strange, he thought as he walked through to the front room.
For so long it had been his mission and now the burden was shared. Masaki had
been right all along.
I suppose you are to
blame, Seiichi-kun, but why admit it now? You’ve been stringing us all along
with your lies from the start. You could have killed me!
“Not anymore” Seiichi said out loud, “Chiba-san was right.
All the lying and hiding things just made matters worse. Had I realised this
sooner then Masaki wouldn’t have…”
He trailed off, silently vowing that the Dark Kingdom
would be made to pay for what they had done to his friend. Seiichi knew that
they were all scared of what they might have to do if they couldn’t free
Masaki; that they might have to kill him. Before, Seiichi wouldn’t have
hesitated, but now… he swallowed hard. Now one of them might very well have to,
to save Mamoru from having to do it.
Seiichi sat down on the sofa. He felt too restless to
sleep, but too drained to do anything else. Glancing at the coffee table in
front of him he noted the photo-frame set atop of it. It was the same photo
that he had smashed a day before. Smiling, Seiichi leaned forward to pick it
up, knowing that it was Tetsuya who had replaced the frame. As he did this, he
felt a sharp burst of pain in his palm.
Setting the frame back down, Seiichi peeled back the
bandage around his hand and winced at the deep gash, whilst wondering if he
needed stitches.
“Baka” he whispered softly. Had he been paying more attention
to what he was doing at Crown instead of thinking about the current situation
then he wouldn’t have cut himself on glass to start with. He had said as much
to Chiba-san. Still, his friend had been concerned over how pale he looked.
Glancing down at his hand now, Seiichi supposed he was a little white, but his
skin colour was easily a shade or two lighter than Chiba-san’s, or any of the
others, so he couldn’t really be sure of this.
Again he berated his line of thought. There were more
important things to consider. Now that he had decided that the present was what
mattered, Seiichi knew that they had to find a way to save the planet and heal
their friend.
Despite Taro’s words, Seiichi knew that none of them could
kill Masaki, but he also knew that it might well come to that. Taro understood
this too. Before, Seiichi would have been the first of them to try and remain
strong; to do whatever had to be done to save the Earth, but killing his
friend… Seiichi drew a sharp breath. He doubted that he would be able to go
through with it. If he didn’t then who would? Taro certainly wouldn’t. Kisho
was strong, but Seiichi had a feeling that the oldest of them would refuse to
resort to killing one of their own. That only left Chiba-san. Could they expect
their Prince to do it? Seiichi shook his head, recalling the look of hurt in
Chiba-san’s eyes when it had become clear that Masaki had turned against them.
As the Shitennou, it was their duty to protect Chiba-san.
This wasn’t the mission or his past self talking, when Seiichi thought of this.
It was his want to protect his friend.
******
Mercury left Taro’s home the following morning when her
lover explained that he wanted to go and see Kanaye and Michie at the hospital.
She had been reluctant to leave him, especially seeing as he was so distressed
by this latest turn of events, but Taro had insisted that he felt better and
wanted to see them alone. Mercury frowned slightly at this. She had meant what
she had said last night; she truly hated it when he was alone.
So, instead, she returned to the Dark Kingdom. Mercury had
stayed awake for the most of the night, trying to think of something that she
could do to help the situation. Perhaps she could talk to Ueda-san for them?
Perhaps she could try to get him to see that he was wrong, that the remaining
Tennou weren’t his enemy? It was a scant hope, but if there was even the
slightest chance that he would listen to her…
Hence her reasoning behind walking towards Kuroki Mio’s
quarters now.
As she drew closer, Mercury could hear voices and pulled back against the wall
of the tunnel, biting her lip against the cold. It was strange that, after the
warmth of Taro’s house, the cold affected her so much whereas before she had
never seemed to notice it. The fear, too, was stronger. The fear of Beryl’s
wrath, the fear that something might happen to her and the fear that the Dark
Kingdom might harm Taro. This fear was the strongest and one that brought tears
to her eyes. If she lost Taro… Mercury shuddered, not even wanting to think
about it, it was that painful to her.
Rather than think these dark thoughts, she struggled to
concentrate on the conversation being held.
“I don’t understand why we can’t attack them together”
Masaki’s voice grit out. The man was obviously agitated by something, probably
Kuroki Mio, and seemed more on edge than usual.
“Have I taught you nothing?” Mio’s bored sounding voice
countered in a mock pout, “If we attack them all at once then the same thing
will happen as last time.”
“I haven’t done very well against them alone so far
anyway” Masaki sniped back.
Mio giggled slightly at this, “That’s because he confused
you, but don’t worry. We know how to make him pay for that.”
Masaki was silent for a moment and then said, “When?”
“Soon enough” Mio assured him, “But for now you must
concentrate on the facts. Tamura Kisho, Kunzite, is the strongest of the
remaining Tennou. If we kill him first then they will have no chance at
defeating Metallia.”
“I thought we wanted them to come here? I thought we
wanted to make them pay!”
“We do” it was Mio’s turn to get agitated now, “Once
Kunzite is dead they will come here knowing that they will have to take the
fight to the Dark Kingdom rather than wait for us to pick them off one by one.”
“I don’t like it.”
“You shouldn’t have too. Those are our orders.”
“Very well. Kisho teaches a karate class today at the
community centre. I’ll attack him on his way there.”
Mercury didn’t need to hear anymore. With a small cry she
teleported once more from the Dark Kingdom. She had, once before, refrained
from telling Taro when one of his friend’s were in trouble and that was one
mistake that she did not intend to repeat.
But Taro was at the hospital… he had said not to contact
him there and, in any case, Mercury didn’t want him to be involved. If he were
hurt because of her then she knew that she could never forgive herself.
Instead she focused her teleport elsewhere; Tamura Kisho’s
home.
******
Kuroki Mio smiled to herself as Mercury disappeared. It
was just as she had suspected. The blue haired Senshi was a traitor. Her
feelings for Kimura Taro would be her undoing. She would scream in the lower
depths of the Dark Kingdom by the end of the day, but not before Mio realised
her greatest fear.
Leaning forward to kiss Masaki once on the lips, Mio
murmured to him that he must act quickly. With the other Tennou and Mamoru
distracted it would be easy for Jadeite to intercept Taro at the hospital and kill
him.
******
“Ayame! You’re going to be late!” Kisho called, somewhat
irritably, as he glanced into the bathroom and saw his sister once again
checking her appearance in the mirror. She was becoming a proper teenager,
Kisho mused with a half smile. He quickly hid this, as always annoyed that
Ayame could cause him to forget his annoyance so easily.
“In a minute!” Ayame answered in reply to this and Kisho
sighed. Shaking his head he hurried back into the front room and glanced again
at the clock on the wall. Ayame really was going to be late for school if she
didn’t hurry up.
Sitting down on the sofa, Kisho couldn’t quite shake off
his feeling of tension. He had felt this way ever since Masaki had attacked
them in Crown. He knew that part of his feelings were concern and worry for
what his friend had become but he was also frightened for Ayame’s safety and
had considered sending her away until the battle was over. Masaki hated them
and could come here at any time. Kisho did not want to have to choose between
his family and his friend. He did not want to have to kill Masaki so that Ayame
might be spared, but if it came to down to it then he would do just that. Kisho
loved Ayame more than anything and would not allow her to be hurt again, not
after last time.
As soon as he processed this thought, Kisho felt the aura
of the room change. He felt it become darker and, as he glanced up, the shimmer
of a teleport signature appearing in the corner of the room.
Bolting up from the sofa, Kisho crossed the room in an
instant, slamming the bathroom door on a stunned Ayame.
“Nii-san? What are you doing?” she demanded indignantly as
he held the door closed, despite her struggling to open it again.
The teleport became clearer and Dark Mercury stepped
towards him, even as Kisho yelled, “Ayame! Don’t come out until I tell you.”
He then let go of the door, intent on summoning his own
transformation. Kisho could only hope that Ayame heeded his request.
“Matte!” Mercury pleaded, as though guessing his
intention, “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Kisho paused. There was something in her voice, a
gentleness that made him want to believe her, but she was still the enemy and
the Tennou part of him would not allow Kisho to forget this.
Yet he held off his transformation into Kunzite, but
signalled for her to stay where she was. Mercury did so and for a moment
neither party spoke until Kisho grew sick of the silence and snapped:
“What do you want?”
“To warn you.”
“Warn me?”
“Jadeite intends to kill you.”
Her words hurt, as Kisho knew that there was a good chance
that they could be true. Of course he did not let on to Mercury and instead
enquired to know how she knew this.
“I overheard him and Kuroki Mio talking. He will attack
you on your way to the community centre.”
Kisho frowned, not sure what to believe. Why would Mercury
lie to him? But there was no reason that she would tell him the truth either.
We all failed him, Kisho thought uncomfortably and an
opportunity to put things right may well have presented itself. If they could
somehow get to Masaki, capture him and make him see that what he was doing was
wrong then perhaps this nightmare could be over.
“Why are you telling me this?” Kisho demanded, turning his
thoughts back to the Senshi standing before him. The Senshi could not be
trusted… could they?
“Kuroki Mio killed Venus” Mercury answered to his
question, “For this I wish to see her fall.”
Kisho nodded, “I will consider your words” he answered her
but, in truth, he had already made up his mind. Even though there was a risk
involved he would take any chance to save his friend.
“I would do more than consider them,” Mercury advised as
she invoked a teleport once more.
Once he was sure that she had left, Kisho hurried to the
bathroom door and pulled it open again. Ayame gave him a reproachful glare but,
upon seeing the worry on his face, enquired to know what was wrong instead.
“Nothing” he replied, glancing at his watch. He had about
ten minutes before he was due at the community centre. If they wanted to take
this opportunity, Kisho knew that they would have to act now.
“Ayame, go to school” he said softly as he reached for his
phone.
“Nii-san--”
“Ayame, please just go to school.” He repeated.
His sister stared at him for a few seconds and Kisho
braced himself for an argument when she nodded slightly, whispering for him to
take care as she left.
He felt terrible about this, but quickly forced down any
such feelings. There would be time to make amends with his sister later. For
now Kisho had to concentrate on the task at hand; getting their friend back.
******
For Mamoru to say that he was on edge as he walked slowly
down the street, keeping a very discreet distance from Kisho, was an
understatement. Inwardly he felt sick. His stomach was churning and had knotted
painfully into a mass of tangled nerves, despite what he hoped was a calm
outward appearance.
Seiichi didn’t appear to be fairing much better, although
Mamoru had decided that his friend’s concern stemmed from the fact that it only
took one person to realise whom exactly was walking down the street and their
plan would be ruined.
Mamoru didn’t like the plan. He thought it was too risky,
despite his want to rescue his misguided friend.
Still, when Kisho had called literally five minutes ago to
say that Dark Mercury had warned him of Masaki’s plan to attack him on his way
to the community centre and that Kisho wanted to use this as an opportunity to
try and get their friend back, how could Mamoru refuse? He was as desperate as
the others to resolve this without having to resort to drastic measures and
this appeared to be the best chance that any of them would have.
Their own plan was simple. Kisho would walk to the
community centre as planned and Mamoru and Seiichi would follow him at a
distance until Masaki appeared. Then the three of them would try to capture
him. Of course the plan all hinged on a) Masaki not noticing them and turning
up and b) Seiichi not being recognised. The pianist had been very conscious of
the latter factor and had dressed extremely casually, brushed his hair down
from its usual style and had worn a pair of glasses. As ridiculous and simple
as this disguise seemed, it appeared to have worked and, had Mamoru not known
better, he too would have just walked right passed his friend.
In fact, Mamoru would have felt a whole lot better if Taro
was with them. Taro’s phone had been switched off when Mamoru tried to ring and
he had tried again twice since then and still got nothing.
“He’s probably at the hospital, Chiba-san” Seiichi pointed
out quietly when Mamoru expressed his growing concern. Taro had reacted very
badly to Masaki’s betrayal and Mamoru was secretly afraid that he might do
something foolish.
“Probably” Mamoru said in response to Seiichi’s reply,
though he knew how unconvinced his own voice sounded.
Seiichi smiled slightly at this and Mamoru enquired to
know why.
“Your concern. I know that the past life is not as
important now, but you are the same as you were back then, and you cannot see
that.”
“Taro’s my friend. Of course I am concerned” Mamoru
allowed quietly, recognising that Seiichi was still finding it a little
difficult to adjust and he knew he would just have to be patient. Seiichi had
lived as Zoisite for over a year now, so it was only natural that his pat
nature would revert itself occasionally, even if he did not intend it too.
“He’s my friend, too” Seiichi answered, almost shocking
Mamoru into stopping completely with this sentence, but he wasn’t given time to
respond as they had now reached the community centre.
Mamoru pulled back round a corner, and Seiichi follow
suit, but the confusion on his face was clear. Kisho had said that Masaki was
going to attack him on his way to the centre and now they were here. Kisho
himself was milling around outside, unsure of what to do or how to react to
this. Mamoru considered going to him, but Seiichi silently shook his head. If
Mamoru revealed their presence now then they would lose this chance.
Kisho, too, seemed to guess this line of thought, but was
becoming increasingly agitated. To simply stand around and await an attack
would indicate to Masaki that they knew of his plan, but if he left this place
then the plan would fail. He glanced up, looking at Mamoru for, what could have
only been, about 30 seconds before looking away again. Yet the look that he
gave his friend was clear.
Mamoru hesitated slightly, also at a complete loss. Kisho
had been adamant that he felt that Mercury was telling the truth, but, as the
minutes ticked by, it was becoming clear that she had lied to them… but for
what purpose?
“What should we do?” Mamoru asked, turning to Seiichi for
advice. This action seemed natural to him and Seiichi didn’t seem any the taken
aback by it. For a second Mamoru considered asking him if he had ever sought
his advice before, in the past life, but he quickly dismissed this. He felt
uncomfortable even talking about the Silver Millennium when Seiichi had just
accepted the present. Mamoru had been the one telling Seiichi to forget about
the past life and for him to keep on questioning him on the subject would be
unfair.
“He’s not coming” Seiichi answered, “Mercury was not
telling the truth.”
“Shouldn’t we wait a little longer?” Mamoru asked softly,
“He could be late.”
“No” Seiichi shook his head, becoming increasingly
agitated as he spoke, “There was a reason behind this.”
“A reason?” Kisho asked as he joined them, “Did they want
to get us all together so that they could kill us all at once? Is that why they
haven’t attacked? Because Taro isn’t here, too?”
“It was a distraction!” a new voice, one that Mamoru did
not recognise rang out across the street. He turned, in time to see a white
plushie cat race across the road towards them to skid to a halt at Masaki’s
feet.
“Distraction?” Masaki repeated doubtfully, “Who are you?”
“How do you know who we are?” Kisho added, already tensing
as though expecting a fight.
“There is no time to explain that” the plushie cried, “You
must come with me unless you want the Dark Kingdom to capture the Prince.”
“What?” Mamoru demanded, feeling a chill at the cat’s
words, though he couldn’t understand why.
“The illusionary Youma were a distraction. The Dark Senshi
are attacking him as we speak.”
“Taro!” Mamoru reached the conclusion that the other two
did at exactly the same time and he felt his blood run cold. Taro… he wasn’t
answering the phone… had they killed him already?
“Come on” Kisho said, already transforming as he spoke. “I
know we said that we wouldn’t harm him, but if Masaki’s killed Taro then…” he
left the sentence unfinished as he did not need to spell it out to them.
Seiichi cast Mamoru a pained glance, before following
Kunzite’s lead. Mamoru willed his own transformation, but inside he was furious
with his stupidity, his blindness… what sort of leader was he? If Taro was
dead…
He jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder,
“Chib--Mamoru” Zoisite said, hesitantly using his first name, “This isn’t your
fault.”
He shook his friend off of him, his concern too great to
care for this step forward as he replied, “Yes, it is because I’m the leader.”
******
Taro was disappointed when Mercury left that morning
though he had tried to hide it. He had, had a restless night and had been only
able to sleep for about an hour. Taro just couldn’t keep himself from thinking
about Masaki and the state that the mission was in. The girl curled up asleep
beside him had also heightened his desire to find a way to destroy the Dark
Kingdom without having her killed as well. Tsukino Usagi could not save the
remaining Senshi, Taro now knew. It was up to him to save Mercury, though how
he would do this alone, Taro did not know.
Five times, before leaving for the hospital, he had
debated calling Mamoru and confessing his relationship with the blue haired
Senshi, but each time Taro had decided against it and in the end he had turned
his phone off. Taro couldn’t think that Mamoru would be angry. In fact, he knew
that Mamoru would probably support him. The others, however, Taro couldn’t be
sure of.
Mamoru being angry wasn’t the reason for his reluctance.
The real reason was much more simple than that. When Taro had woken up and saw
her asleep beside him, he had revelled in the fact that no one else knew about
them. That she was his alone and when they were together it was just the two of
them, that there was no thought for anyone else. If Mamoru-tachi knew about
Taro’s relationship then he felt that, somehow, it would all lead to ruin as
had Mamoru’s own relationship with Usagi.
Thus he had left for the hospital without calling his
friend. Without checking in with them and not turning his phone on. Taro just
wanted to see his brother, to be alone for a while.
He turned a corner, choosing to take a back way to the
hospital rather than attempt to walk down Tokyo’s main streets at the morning
rush hour. It was funny how it only occurred to Taro how dangerous this was
when a figure stepped out onto the path in front of him.
Taro paused, taking a step back in surprise. Although he
was well over the average height, he knew form experience just how foolhardy it
was to walk alone and berated himself for being so stupid a second time around.
Baka, what the hell were
you thinking of? Just turn around, turn around and walk back the way you came…
Taro turned to do just that when the person stopped him
with:
“Taro-kun?”
“Masaki?”
His friend took a step nearer, hesitating slightly when he
saw the suspicion in Taro’s eyes. The taller man still felt tense and he almost
transformed, though he held this in check just in time.
“Taro-kun, wait” Masaki said, his voice low and almost
humble. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“You didn’t startle me,” Taro snapped, hating the coldness
in his voice, “What do you want?”
“Your help” Masaki answered quietly.
“My help?”
He nodded, “I didn’t want to turn against you, but the
Dark Kingdom gave me no choice.”
“There is always a choice”
He shook his head, “I was a coward… I wasn’t as strong as
you. I---” Masaki suddenly broke off, gasping loudly, he doubled over in pain,
clutching at his chest.
Without thinking, Taro ran to his side, letting his guard
down completely, “Daijobu?” he shouted, reaching out to place a hand on his
friend’s shoulder.
Masaki raised his head, a feral smile on his lips as he
transformed. Taro reeled backwards, realising his error too late. Jadeite
conjured a ball of blue energy in his palm and hurled it straight at him. It
slammed into Taro’s chest, hurling him back against the concrete. His head
struck the pavement and stars danced before his dazed vision. The only thing he
was able to make out was Jadeite walking slowly towards him, and then kneeling
down beside him as he conjured an ice blade and raised it above Taro’s chest…
“Boom tiara… boomerang!”
Jadeite yelled in pain as the magical weapon connected
with his hand. Blood welled up beneath his glove as it tore across the back of
his hand, forcing him to drop his blade. It clattered to the ground beside Taro
and shattered. The sound of it doing so was enough to force him from his daze.
Shakily he stood, pressing one hand to his forehead, even
as Sailor Moon called out, “Daijobu?”
“I’m fine” he grit out, partly humiliated and partly
relieved. First he had allowed Masaki to trick him and then he had to be
rescued by that damn Moon Princess. What the hell was wrong with him?
It’s compassion… you
didn’t ever used to feel like this… until you met Mercury.
“Princess” Jadeite scowled, turning on the fuku clad
figure standing at the end of the alleyway, “Die!”
Sailor Moon shrieked as he hurled a bolt of purple energy
at her. She hit the dirt, the Moon Wand falling from her hand and out of reach.
In two strides, Jadeite reached her, taking the Princess
completely by surprise, he hauled her up by her ridiculous pigtails and then
kicked her in the jaw, sending her sprawling to the ground once more.
“Usagi!” Taro shouted as Jadeite threw a third attack at
her. It struck the Princess just as she was struggling to right herself once
more. She fell onto her knees, the front ribbon on her fuku all but burnt away
by the force of the attack.
Taro transformed. He didn’t want to fight Jadeite. He
didn’t want to fight his friend, but unless he did something then Usagi would
be killed and Usagi had saved his life.
“Jadeite!” he shouted, drawing his own blade as the blonde
turned to the Princess once more… and took a step back in shock.
Nephrite also paused when he saw that Sailor Moon was
still on her knees, one hand clutching at her locket as the Ginzuishou started
to glow.
“There was a battle. The Princess…”
“What did she do? What did you do?”
“I… the Princess… she…”
“She what? Tell me!”
“She killed him”
“Usagi!” Nephrite yelled, “Get a hold of yourself!”
She ignored him, a t