Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion:
Part Four:
Kisho’s eyes narrowed when he saw the Princess exiting the
house, followed closely by Mamoru. She said something and he smiled slightly
and Kisho felt all his anger and pain directed at the Princess surfacing again.
Mamoru had lied. If he truly cared nothing for the past
life then why was he with her? Hina had only been dead a week! She had only
been put to rest two days ago.
“Kisho!” Mamoru had seen him and called his name,
frantically, as Kisho turned away.
“Tamura-san!” her voice only antagonised him further.
Kisho walked hurriedly away, glad that Mamoru had the
sense not to come after him. Since the day of his awakening, Kisho had known
that the Prince would betray him. Deep down, since he found out that the Prince
was his closest friend, Kisho had wanted to be proved wrong.
His first instincts had been proved right. He could not
trust Mamoru. The Prince would definitely betray them again.
“So” Kisho whispered to himself as he leaned back in his chair,
revelling and hating the blissful silence of his apartment at the same time,
“It is the same… even in this world you will betray us… Master…”
Nephrite… Zoisite… The Princess could have killed them
both together with himself and still the Master would have yielded to her. It
was the same as it had been before. Nothing had changed. All Mamoru’s vows were
empty ones and Kisho had been a fool to believe anything different.
The past life was repeating and there was nothing that he
could do to stop it.
“Nii-san!”
“Ayame? I didn’t think you would be back so soon” Kisho
stated in surprise as his sister let herself into the apartment and, ignoring
the usual custom of taking her shoes off on the threshold, she left her bag on
the floor and hurried over to him and took a seat on the sofa.
Ayame was another reason that Kisho had fought so fiercely
to stop the past from repeating. Despite everything else, he loved her deeply
and had promised that she should continue to have a normal life, no matter what
it might take on his behalf to make this so.
“School finishes at 2.00pm” Ayame reminded him gently.
Kisho’s parents had left him a substantial amount of money
and so Ayame went to a private all girls’ school and, because of this, she finished
an hour earlier than most of her friends.
“I thought you had
practice today?”
Ayame shook her head and gestured to the discarded violin
case sitting in the corner of their front room, “It was cancelled because my
Sensei wasn’t feeling well. I did tell you this, this morning,” she added
reproachfully.
Kisho nodded, realising now that she had done, but his
mind had been elsewhere. He was more or less completely focused on the mission
now so more than ever.
“I also asked if you would come for a walk with me” Ayame
continued.
Sharing her brother’s interest and love for nature, meant
that they often took walks together but hadn’t done so in a long time and the
sadness of this was clear to be heard in her voice.
“Where did you want to go?” Kisho asked suddenly grateful
for the distraction and then angry all at the same time. He should go for walks
with his sister because he wanted too and not because he needed a distraction!
“I thought we could walk and see where it takes us” Ayame
smiled brightly, “What do you think?”
Kisho nodded, acknowledging and agreeing to Ayame’s
request. He could deny his sister nothing and, for a few seconds, he began to realise
why this was so with Mamoru and Usagi.
No! Kisho snapped to himself, this was completely
different! Ayame was his sister and shared in his love for this planet. The
Princess was a cold-hearted monster who, like Beryl, only brought destruction
and chaos in her wake. Serenity would lead the Earth to ruin again.
Though they may be the same age, the Princess and Ayame
could not be more opposite and Kisho hated himself for even thinking along
those lines to begin with.
“Is this the burden of the past life? Will she continue to
suffer for it? Even in this world?”
Yes, Master, even in this world, because she is the same
and you have again failed to see it. The Earth will fall and all will perish at
the Princess’s hand…
******
Kisho frowned slightly as they came to a pause outside of
Crown Karaoke. Ayame’s pleased smile faded when she saw the annoyed look on his
face. Kisho had been so absorbed in his concerns regarding the mission that he
had failed to notice exactly where his sister was leading their walk too.
“There was a message on the answer phone this morning” she
said softly, “It was from Mamoru-san. He said that there was a meeting here
this afternoon and that he would like you to be there.”
Kisho nodded. He had heard that message, but had no
intention of going until Mamoru acknowledged the Princess’s true face.
“I didn’t think you would want go, but I hate seeing you
this way, Nii-san. I know how important your friends are to you and I thought
that perhaps this was a chance to patch things up.”
“Ayame. Do not get involved in things that you do not
understand.”
“But I do understand” she whispered, “I saw you fight, but
you can’t defeat this evil alone. Even I can see that.”
She was right, Kisho thought uncomfortably, but that
didn’t mean that he was going to yield so easily.
“Just talk to them,” Ayame pressed, “Please…”
Ayame could be
stubborn, just like her mother, and Kisho decided that, seeing as she had taken
the trouble to bring him here, the best thing to do would be to talk to
Mamoru-tachi. Even if he couldn’t make the Master see sense, then maybe Seiichi
or Taro would listen to him. After all, this affected them, too.
Ayame gave a small cheer when Kisho pushed open the doors
to Crown and stepped inside. She followed close behind him, jumping slightly at
the loud crash followed by cursing.
“Kimi-kun” Motoki berated his cleaner who was sprawled on
the tiled floor, with paper from the wastepaper basket all around him, “You
should really watch where you’re going.”
“I was” Kimura Taro snarled as he leapt to his feet and
grabbed Motoki by his shirt and threw him back into the wall, “You were the one
who left these boxes all over the floor!”
“Taro” Chiba Mamoru called out. Their leader was standing
by the counter, looking increasingly embarrassed by his friend’s behaviour and
was trying to negotiate a truce as quickly as possible, “Let go of Motoki. He
didn’t mean to leave those boxes in the way, did you Motoki?”
“They weren’t in the way” Motoki declared, “Kimi-kun had
moved them earlier!”
“That’s a lie!”
Mamoru sighed and looked away. “I give up,” he said to the
man leaning up against the counter beside him. Komoro Seiichi smiled slightly
as his gaze met Kisho’s own.
“Master” he said softly and then nodded to indicate the
oldest Tennou’s presence.
Master… Kisho sneered to himself. Why
must he continue to worship the ground that Mamoru walked on? Out of all of
them, Seiichi recalled the past life the most but, despite Endymion’s betrayal,
Zoisite’s loyalty was as unquestionable as ever, even now.
“Kisho” Mamoru stated quietly, some hopefulness in his
expression as he greeted him.
Taro let go of Motoki and frowned warily, “What are you
doing here?”
Motoki looked from Kisho to Taro and then to Mamoru,
clearly not understanding the tension that had suddenly built in the air around
him.
“Ah!” Ayame cried, realising Kisho’s desire to speak with
the others without Motoki’s presence, as she pretended to spot the small turtle
tank on the counter, “Kawaii!”
Motoki beamed, happy that someone was taking an interest
in his beloved pet. “Do you like Kamekichie?”
“I do” Ayame declared, “He’s so sweet.”
Taking this chance, Mamoru indicated their usual meeting
room. Kisho, despite himself, hesitated slightly, though this was not because
of his lack of want to talk to Mamoru. This was something different. A sense of
incompleteness, as though there was something missing from this scene.
Struggling to shake off this feeling, Kisho hurried after
Taro and pulled the meeting room door shut behind him.
Mamoru sat at the table and Taro took the seat beside him,
as though this was a silent indication of his support for their leader. Seiichi
stood, waiting for Mamoru to be seated comfortably, before selecting his own
chair round the other side of the table, keeping a respectful distance from his
‘Master’ or so Kisho supposed.
Kisho himself refused to be seated, opting to lean back
against the closed door as his gaze slid passed Taro’s shoulder to the vacant
sofa behind, as though he was expecting to see someone else sitting there.
“So we’re all here” he commented without realising that he
had spoken out loud until Taro replied, somewhat sarcastically:
“Apparently, so.”
“I can see you’re in a good mood” Kisho couldn’t help but
snap back, whilst Mamoru silently shook his head in despair as Taro leapt to
his feet.
“Just admit it was you and I’ll be content,” he snarled,
for some reason slamming his mobile phone down on the table after speaking.
“What was me?” Kisho enquired, casting a wary glance at
Mamoru as he spoke.
“Someone called his phone last night and refused to say
anything when he answered” Seiichi translated, “He’s accusing everyone.”
“How immature” Kisho smirked, “And you think that it was
me?”
“Was it?”
“Didn’t you try ringing the number?”
“I did” Taro suddenly calmed, becoming almost nervous, as
though this had worried him somewhat, “It told me that the number was no longer
in service.”
“Then you must have dialled it wrong, baka.”
“I just pressed redial! And don’t call me an idiot!”
“Why not? One of the three Tennou of the Earth Kingdom
getting scared by a prank call? It’s pathetic!”
“No” Mamoru cut in quietly, “It’s not.”
Kisho sighed, “I am not here to discuss this.”
“You might feel differently once you’ve seen the number.”
Taro snarled, slamming a piece of paper down on the table beside his phone.
Kisho shook his head. It was little wonder that the Earth
hadn’t fallen into ruin a long time ago if this foolishness was going to be the
topic of conversation. Was Mamoru that desperate to avoid the matter of the
Princess? Still, he couldn’t imagine Mamoru being this childish and he certainly
didn’t think that Seiichi would agree to go along with it.
After processing this thought, Kisho looked over at the
quietest member of their group. Even Seiichi seemed a little concerned and
Kisho reluctantly took the piece of paper and stared at the number for several
minutes. It seemed almost familiar and yet completely foreign to him at the
same time.
“We all recognise it” Seiichi explained, “But I have tried
calling it and receive the same message as Taro-san.”
“Coincidence” Kisho dismissed it, “I think we should be
talking about more important matters.”
“Really?” Taro snapped, “Then explain why I was in the
completely wrong district when I received that call?”
“What do you mean?”
“Taro-kun and I went to Seiichi’s concert” Mamoru said, “But
we walked back separately. For some reason Taro ended up in the furthest
district from his house.”
“Don’t forget that creepy harp playing” Taro added.
“A harp?” Kisho repeated, this sounding familiar also, but
he hurriedly dismissed his thoughts. This was ridiculous!
“You find that recognisable, too” Seiichi stated quietly,
“We all do.”
“This is foolishness,” Kisho snapped back as he turned to
exit the room, “And I have no time for such things.”
“Then perhaps you should make time” Taro hissed acidly,
“Instead of dismissing everything that does not concern you or the mission.”
Silence followed this remark and Kisho remained by the
door, torn between defending himself against Taro’s remarks or simply leaving
and letting the matter lie. However, he did neither when he sensed the swift
change in the atmosphere around him. He could feel the negative energy pouring
in through the window, underneath the door and clocking the air in which he
breathed until it smothered all other senses in an array of darkness.
“Youma” he stated quietly, noting that Seiichi and Taro
had also sensed this change and had stood, readying themselves for the battle.
Mamoru then got to his feet, still showing obvious discomfort at being the last
one to realise this.
Taking the lead was natural to Kisho, even with this
hostility between them, and he did so now, being the first to leave the meeting
room and out into Crown’s foyer.
“Nii-san?” Ayame called as he brushed passed, but Kisho
hurriedly put paid to any questions that she may ask with:
“Ayame, stay with Motoki. I will be back for you in a
little while.”
“Hai” she whispered softly and Kisho looked away so as not
to see the troubled look in her eyes.
Outside of Crown, the Youma aura was stronger and Kisho’s
pace quickened as his senses locked onto the location of the being(s). Mamoru
walked beside him as though by doing so it would earn him some redemption in
Kisho’s eyes. It did not and Kisho could only look scornfully on at the man
that had once been proud to call ‘Master’ and it only served to remind him at
how little Mamoru’s senses were in tune to the Dark Kingdom in this world. Even
Taro, who had no recollection of the past life, could identify a Youma aura
now.
Mamoru must have read the look in his eyes and dropped
back slightly so that Kisho was more definitely taking the lead. Strangely,
this felt wrong to him, despite his current dislike for the man. As much as he
hated to admit it, Mamoru was still the leader and always would be.
Still, Kisho pressed on, knowing better than to bring up
their own battles when there was the safety of innocent civilians to consider.
He turned a corner and came to a standstill, the Youma
aura thickening as Metallia’s vassals made themselves known. The main street to
Juuban Middle School, usually so busy with children coming out of school and
working mothers leaving early to collect them, was deserted save for the
unfortunate few who had been caught before they could escape. These, parents
and children alike, lay sprawled on the pavement, their energy drained from
them.
The Youma paused when they sensed the Tennou’s presence.
Surveying the situation, Kisho could see a young girl, no older than Ayame,
surrounded by these Youma. She was still conscious and was terrified. Her eyes
held unshed tears and she was clutching her schoolbag so tightly that her
knuckles had turned white.
She uttered a frightened shriek as one the Youma reached
out to touch her arm and she leapt backwards, only to bump into another one,
dropping the aforementioned bag onto the ground, the contents spilling at her
feet.
Kisho and Mamoru, both having the same idea about being
unable to transform in front of a civilian, raced forward, taking the Youma
completely by surprise by shoving them forcibly aside.
Reaching the girl first, Kisho shouted at her to run.
Thankfully she didn’t need to be told twice and, ducking through the opening between
the Youma that they had created, she fled down the street. No sooner was her
back turned did Kisho transform and draw his sword, slashing at the nearest
Youma and forcing it back from him. Then, swinging it around in an arch,
Kunzite backed up several steps to better observe the battle around him.
Already, Mamoru, Seiichi and Taro had transformed. The two
Tennou fighting in seeming coordination with each other, their attacks striking
each Youma around them in succession in order to stop it simply recovering
after each hit.
Even still, more were pouring into the street as they
fought. For every one that Kunzite killed, two more replaced it. Charging his
sword with blue magics, Kunzite lashed out again and again, barely pausing for
breath, whilst being increasingly aware of the gap forming between Endymion and
his guardians.
Whilst wanting to save the girl first was a noble enough
action, Kunzite was silently cursing this now as already Endymion had placed
himself a considerable distance from Zoisite and Nephrite. Even Kunzite had
moved back and now twenty or so of these creatures stood between him alone and
Endymion.
Endymion was struggling, too, Kunzite noted with some
alarm. Having no magical abilities meant that he had to reply on his sword hand
alone and that, in the past life, had always been weak.
Again, trying to break away from the Youma that had
engaged him in combat and failing, Kunzite glanced wildly at the other two
Tennou. Both had noted Endymion’s predicament and were struggling to reach him,
but more Youma blocked their path, forcing them further away from their Prince.
On hearing the sound of Endymion’s blade clattering loudly
against the concrete, they increased fighting with a renewed ferocity.
Kunzite ducked as one leapt at him and he brought his
blade up as it went crashing passed, cutting the hateful creature in two. No
sooner had he done this did two more take its place, one actually grabbing hold
of his blade and forcing his sword arm down. Reacting swiftly, Kunzite called
up a ball of blue energy in the other and hurled it in the Youma’s direction.
The attack slammed into it and it released its grip on his weapon. Whirling
around, Kunzite again tried to get to Endymion, but still they blocked his
path, shielding all attacks that he sent at the ones looming over his Prince
with their own bodies.
Glancing again at the remaining Tennou, Kunzite saw that
Nephrite was struggling against the Youma that were continually forcing them
both back. Using a combination of magical attacks he had long since discarded
his blade and seemed intent on trying to blast a path through them to Endymion.
Zoisite, too, had discarded his sword, but did so as
Kunzite fought on and made to teleport passed the Youma to the Master’s side.
Sensing what he was about to do, the Youma reacted swiftly. Moving as one, they
lunged forward, taking Nephrite completely by surprise they countered his
newest attack before using the momentum it carried to hurl a counter attack of
dark energies back at him. This slammed into his chest, throwing him back into
Zoisite, and knocking both Tennou to the ground.
Cursing loudly as they went down, Kunzite struggled to cut
a path through the Youma to Endymion, but the creatures kept him at bay,
forcing him to use his blade to defend himself rather than make any progress
towards his Prince.
Kuso… Kunzite whispered to himself as he watched Endymion
being forced back further still away from them. Don’t defend he thought
furiously as he half watched Endymion fight. Did I teach you nothing in the
past life? You have to get on the offensive if you are going to break away from
them!
Then it was over. Endymion’s back hit the wall, his sword
hand being wrenched cruelly round so that he was pointing his own blade at his
stomach.
“Master!”
“Mamoru!”
Again, Zoisite and Nephrite struggled to reach their
Prince but the Youma, sensing victory, had forced them back too far and now
gripped hold of the two Tennou tightly by the arms, rendering them helpless.
Gripped by a wild fear for his friend, Kunzite renewed his
own attack, mercilessly cutting through the Youma before, desperate to reach
Mamoru in time when a new pair of voices rang out.
“Moon tiara… boomerang!”
“Mercury aqua… mist!”
Sailor Moon’s attack struck the Youma holding onto
Endymion’s blade, knocking the sword from its hand and onto the ground.
Mercury’s aqua mist blanketed their surroundings in a greyish-blue fog, thus
enabling Kunzite to break free from the now disorientated Youma and race to
Endymion’s side.
“What was that all about?” he hissed.
Endymion shook his head, too embarrassed to grant Kunzite
with a reply.
“Daijobu?” Nephrite asked quietly as he and Zoisite also
managed to free themselves and hurry to their Prince’s side.
“I’m fine” Endymion snapped.
Zoisite did not say anything and silently knelt down to
retrieve the Master’s sword. Endymion took the offered blade, muttering a thank
you under his breath and sheathing the weapon at his side once more.
As the mist started to clear, Kunzite was frustrated to
find that the Youma had gone. With Metallia’s powers getting stronger he knew
they could not afford to allow Youma to escape.
De-transforming, Tsukino Usagi shyly made her way to
Mamoru’s side, “Are you alright?” she asked, a tint of red blush adorning her
cheeks as she spoke.
“Yes. Thank you” Kisho was annoyed when Mamoru answered
her question with a little more gratitude and kindness than he had when his own
guardians had enquired into his well being.
“The Moon Kingdom will not help him and still this does
not open his eyes. Will the planet fall to ruin before he realises the truth
about our creators. That they do not care for us or for the fate of the Earth.”
“Keep away from him” Kisho snapped, recalling all too well
the power of the Princess and the Ginzuishou.
He stepped between Mamoru and Usagi, ignoring the sadness
in her eyes and the obvious look of anger on Mamoru’s face.
“Usagi-chan” the girl beside her gently placed an arm
around the Princess’s shoulders as though to comfort her somewhat.
Kisho frowned slightly, glancing at his companions. They
both appeared as confused as he was as to her identity.
Mizuno Ami, Sailor Mercury, Kisho suddenly realised, in
the same instant that Seiichi and Taro did, too, and he felt a little foolish.
Of course he should know that. Mamoru had been there when Mizuno Ami awakened
her powers to begin with!
Still, Kisho couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of
unease at this situation.
“This is foolishness,” Kisho snapped back as he turned to
exit the room, “And I have no time for such things.”
“Then perhaps you should make time” Taro hissed acidly,
“Instead of dismissing everything that does not concern you or the mission.”
The conversation of earlier had heightened this unease.
Sailor Mercury… Kisho glared intently at the girl, as though he was struggling
to recall some vital information about her and yet no matter how hard he tried
to concentrate, this information refused to come to the forefront of his mind.
“Tamura-san?” Mizuno-san said softly, peering up at his
through her glasses, a look of hesitancy and some confusion reflecting in her
eyes.
“Kisho?” Mamoru said, the warning in his voice easily
detectable.
Giving his Master a look of disgust, Kisho turned his back
on the group. As long as Mamoru stood up for them… as long as his Prince chose
the Princess over his Guardians, Kisho knew that he would fight alone.
******
After Kisho’s departure, Taro and Ami stayed to help the
civilians who had got caught up in the attacks. Most of them had to be taken to
hospital, but the two of them helped out where they could, anxious and
frustrated that they hadn’t been able to do more to help them.
Tsukino Usagi also stayed, as did Mamoru, whilst Seiichi
thought that, owing to his idol status, it might be better if he made himself
scarce. Glancing over at the two now, Taro saw that they were deep in
conversation which was good as they gave him an excuse to speak with Ami
without arousing suspicions of those around him.
Taro had met Mizuno Ami soon after his awakening and,
despite the fact that they fought for different sides, he had began to care
deeply for the Senshi of Water and, much to his delight, he found that she
appeared to care for him, too. Their relationship was a secret, although Ami
hated hiding things from Usagi, they both knew that their love would be frowned
upon by the other guardians.
“Daijobu?” she asked softly, keeping her gaze fixed on the
ground as they moved away from the ambulances and back towards Crown.
“I’m fine” Taro reassured her, mentally wincing as he
recalled how they had nearly allowed their Prince to be killed at the hands of
the Youma.
“It wasn’t your fault” Ami said gently, “There were too
many.”
Taro shook his head, “That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?” she hesitated slightly before brushing
her hand against his own, “Tell me.”
Taro looked away, almost embarrassed as he said, “All
this… it feels strange… seeing you like this.”
“What do you mean?”
Taking hold of her hand, Taro pulled her around a corner
and out of Mamoru’s line of sight. “I feel as though…” he trailed off and shook
his head, “It is probably nothing.”
“What is? Tell me.”
“Last night we went to see one of Seiichi’s concerts.
Walking back I must have become disorientated or something because I ended up
in completely the wrong district but it felt as though I had been there before”
Taro faulted off when Ami reached up and placed a hand on his cheek whilst
whispering:
“I know how you feel. The mission… the past life… it is
getting too much for you. It gets too much for me sometimes” she confided, “But
you have to focus on what is important.”
Taro nodded, now feeling more than a little foolish. He
must have been thinking so much about the mission that he had lost
concentration and had ended up there. The same with that call… it was nothing
but a prank and he had allowed himself to become rattled by this. To make
matters worse he had bothered the others with this triviality.
“We all recognise it” Seiichi explained, “But I have tried
calling it and receive the same message as Taro-san.”
Then why…
Ami smiled and shook her head, “Please don’t take things
so much to heart.”
“I won’t” Taro assured her, firmly crushing these
thoughts.
Looking back towards Usagi and Mamoru, Taro saw that most
of the ambulances had left now. “Why don’t I walk you home?” he suggested, a
little shyly as there was still a certain degree of awkwardness around them.
Ami hesitated slightly but, when it appeared that Mamoru
was accompanying Usagi, she smiled and accepted Taro’s offer.
As they walked, Taro tried to tell himself that them
walking together appeared innocent enough as they lived in the same
neighbourhood and it was only natural that their paths would cross
occasionally, but he couldn’t help but guide her down an alternative route
towards their homes so that Mamoru-tachi or Usagi would not see them.
All this secrecy angered Taro somewhat. Had Ami been
anyone else he knew that his friends would be happy for him. Kanaye was taking
Michie to Hakone for a summer break and had asked Taro if there was anyone that
he wanted to bring along with him. Taro had, of course, declined and told
Kanaye that he would rather stay here in Tokyo despite the intolerable heat.
Struggling to ignore these feelings of frustration, Taro
instead enquired to know how her studying was going. He knew that Ami wanted to
be a doctor like her mother when she grew up and attended a cram school every
day as well as Juuban Middle School with Usagi.
Ami smiled, obviously glad to move onto a ‘safe’ topic and
started to explain her studies in further detail, adding as well that Ikuko,
Usagi’s mother, had asked Ami to spend Saturday mornings with her daughter to
try and pull Usagi’s grades up from their present D minus.
“Usagi-chan does her best” Ami said fondly, “But she has
no career goals, no serious goals at least. She wants to become an idol, but
that is difficult to accomplish. I just wish she would set herself a realistic
objective that I could help her aim for.”
“I think you’ll make a wonderful doctor” Taro said shyly,
“You’re so gentle and kind. I think--”
Taro drifted in and out of consciousness. Hazed images of
Dark Mercury flashed before his mind’s eye. Sometimes he would imagine that she
was taking care of him… and other times she would simply be watching him
intently, compassionately.
“I suppose you want to put those back on me?”
“Will I have too? Will you try to escape?”
“I can’t say that I won’t try if you leave me alone, but
do you honestly think I can fight like this?”
When he was conscious enough to speak, he found that he
was at a complete loss. A part of her revolted him, but Taro also felt some
gratitude towards the Senshi. He knew, without a doubt, that she had saved his
life.
He stumbled backwards as the intensity of this… this
memory… threatened to overcome him.
“Taro? Daijobu?” Ami cried out, grabbing a hold of his
arm, “What’s wrong?”
Memory? How could that be? He raised his head to stare
into Ami’s eyes. What was that? His capture at the hands of the Dark Kingdom?
Taro, even now, still had terrible nightmares but never before had they plagued
him during the day and never before had they ever featured Sailor Mercury. How
could they have done? She wasn’t a part of the Dark Kingdom. For two days he
had been held as Queen Beryl’s prisoner until Mamoru-tachi had come to rescue
him.
He was also very cold. The icy temperature of the Dark
Kingdom and his own blood loss was slowly killing him. Taro could see his
breath when he breathed out and his entire body shook, even under the several
blankets that Mercury had provided for him.
She remained silent; simply watching him, even when he
attempted to ask questions all he would gain was a shy smile. Mercury would not
grant him the answers he sought.
Taro jerked away from Ami’s touch as this other flashback
tore through his mind.
“What’s wrong?” Ami cried out as Taro placed a shaking
hand to his forehead, squeezing his eyes closed as though this would somehow
make these visions disappear.
“Taro, speak to me!”
“It’s… it’s nothing” he whispered through clenched teeth,
“I-I just need to get home.”
Ami nodded and then, taking him completely by surprise,
wrapped an arm around him, gently guiding him down the road and towards his
house.
Nephrite felt a gloved hand gently probing his burn and he
bit his lip to bite back a cry of agony. He heard her drop the chain and it
clattered loudly upon the stone floor. Then, to Nephrite’s astonishment, she
wrapped an arm around his good shoulder and hauled him up so that he was
leaning against her. Mercury stumbled slightly under the excess weight, but was
able to help him to walk down the corridor.
Ami? What is going on? What is this?
As they reached his house, Taro felt her slip the key from
his pocket and then use it to open the front door. “Are Kanaye-san and
Michie-san home?” Ami asked softly as they hesitated on the threshold.
“No” Taro shook his head and managed to struggle free of
her hold so that he might walk on his own, now that the visions were somewhat
receding.
Ami frowned, a hint of fear entering her voice, “But
listen.”
Taro did as she asked and felt her flinch against him as
they stepped further into the house.
A harp… they it is the same as last night? Still, this
sense of foreboding was slowly creeping over him and Taro suddenly turned, startling
Ami somewhat as he said:
“I’ll be fine now. You should go home.”
Ami shook her head slightly, “I don’t mind. You look pale,
Taro-kun. Would you like me to stay with you for a while?”
“I’ll be fine” Taro repeated, “Kanaye will be back soon.”
“But that sound…” Ami trailed off and took hold of his,
“It sounds familiar and--”
“Kanaye must have left the stereo on that’s all. Please
don’t concern yourself on my account. You have cram school in a while, don’t
you?” he added gently.
Ami nodded and slowly let go of his hand, “I do need to
pick some books up from home” she said hesitantly, “But will you be alright?”
“Hai” Taro said, knowing that to waver now would only
encourage her to stay and, as much as he would love her too, he could sense
that something was wrong and he couldn’t put Ami in danger, too.
“Will I see you tomorrow?” she asked next, still very much
uncertain as Taro walked her back to the front door.
“Of course” with these words he leant forward and pressed
a kiss to her lips. Ami returned this kiss, but, even after they parted, she
still left with some doubts in her mind.
Taro forced himself to ignore this. Whatever was happening
to him… she was better off out of it. He couldn’t bear it if he became the
source of her pain.
Closing the front door, he slipped off his shoes and
hurried back into the front room. As he suspected, the stereo was switched off
and yet the sounds of the harp remained. For a second, Taro thought of leaving
the house, too, but a part of him was curious to know what was going on and why
those visions of the Dark Kingdom had seemed so real to him.
After a swift search of the ground floor, Taro quickly
realised that the music was coming from upstairs. Somewhat apprehensively, he
began to climb the stairs, his heart beating wildly in his chest as the harp
became louder and the notes being played more mournful.
The music continued and with it Taro found himself losing
his fight to keep his eyes open. He felt his wild heart beat slowing, his head
dropping forward onto his chest and all he could hear; all he was consciously
aware of was the sound of the instrument playing out its mournful melody.
It was the same… but this time he felt anything but
relaxed. In fact, as he neared his bedroom door, Taro felt the hairs on the
back of his neck begin to tingle and the tightness in his throat travelled down
to grasp at his lungs and made it difficult for him to breath.
This feeling started to spread and Taro found it almost
impossible for him to move. His hand, still tightly closed around the door
handle, began to shake, as the notes grew louder still.
Whatever this was it had all but paralysed him to the
spot. Taro exhaled deeply, this suddenly intake of air gripping at his lungs
and forcing tears to spring into his eyes for the air was icy cold.
Something was behind him… he could feel foreign breath on
the back of his neck as, without warning, the harp playing suddenly ceased.
“W-who’s there?” Taro whispered, hating the terrified
tenor of his voice as he called out.
He expected to gain nothing in reply so his fear
heightened when the being behind him leaned forward, its lips brushing his ear
as it whispered:
“Everything shall return to how it was meant to be…”
Taro took another deep breath, as the feeling returned to
his arms and legs. Stealing himself for what was to face him, he turned around…
******
Beryl turned away from her crystal as the Princess ran to
the Prince’s side. Overcome by jealousy and hate she was forced to look away
from the end of the battle, clenching her hands so tightly that the ends of her
nails dug deep into the palms of her hands until blood welled up beneath them.
Letting out a small hiss of pain, the only sound to show
that this situation pained her that Beryl would allow.
Was this true? Beryl didn’t know. She no longer believed
that she held infinite power in this world. The Princess’s desire for Endymion
was as strong as her own and the frequent appearance of Metallia’s shadows on
Earth. Beryl felt her hatred deepen as the Princess spoke to Endymion and he
smiled, once, slightly, before he started to walk her home.
“Endymion. Why will you still look only to her? Even after
all that she has done. Do you not remember that it is she who destroyed both
your worlds?”
Such were her infuriated thoughts that Beryl failed to
heed the man standing behind her until he coughed, nervously, to get her
attention. Turning around, Beryl’s mouth curved up into a delighted smile as he
spoke.
“Beryl-sama?” he asked, questionably as though puzzled by
her actions and his own presence in the Kingdom.
The red haired Queen held his gaze for a moment as he
voiced his annoyance at how easily Metallia’s shadows had been forced to flee.
“We must be patient” was her answer, despite her own envy,
Beryl knew that to act upon such emotions would only be foolhardy, “Watch them
for now, Jadeite. We will wait for an opportunity to present itself.”
Jadeite nodded and bowed, showing his submission to her
words. Beryl smiled and once more focused on the Crystal set in front of her
dais. Waving a fine fingered hand across its surface, she conjured yet another
image of Endymion for her to gaze upon.
Soon Endymion would belong to her as he should have done
and the Princess would not interfere again.