| "So, Ami, is there anything you'd like to tell me about?" Dr. Mizuno remarked casually after they settled Jadeite in the guest bedroom. She followed her daughter into the kitchen. Ami puttered with a couple of mugs and some instant cocoa mix. "Jadeite isn't from Latvia, and Kunzite isn't from Estonia," she began hesitantly. "So I had gathered," her mother remarked. Ami chuckled, running water through the tap as she waited for it to turn hot. "Jadeite and Kunzite are from the Negaverse." "Negaverse?" Dr. Mizuno asked. "Yes, well, it's a long story. Do you remember when I first became friends with Usagi?" Ami asked. Her mother nodded as she accepted a mug of hot cocoa. "Usagi is Sailor Moon, and when I became friends with her was when I became Sailor Mercury." Much to her credit, the good doctor barely blinked. "You're Sailor Mercury." She took a seat at the kitchen table. Ami sat across from her. "I am Sailor Mercury," she affirmed quietly. "My mission is to serve and protect the princess of the Moon, and to fight the Negaverse which threatens to destroy the Universe." "Who's the princess of the Moon?" Ami smiled. "Usagi--It came as a shock to all of us, but lately she's begun to act more like herself than she used to. She leads the Sailor Scouts, both as Sailor Moon and as Princess Serenity." "The Sailor Scouts? Who are they?" Dr. Mizuno pressed. "I was the first to be revealed as Sailor Mercury. Then Rei became Sailor Mars, and Makoto became Sailor Jupiter, and lastly Minako--Sailor Venus--joined us." Ami sipped her hot cocoa. "A very long time ago, there as an era of peace called the Silver Millennium, when the Moon Kingdom governed the galaxy. Queen Serenity ruled the Moon Kingdom, and Princess Serenity was her daughter, who loved a prince of Earth, Endymion. The four of us, Rei, Makoto, Minako, and I, were the princesses of our planets and members of the princess's court. However, a wave of darkness and evil arose and destroyed our world--The Negaverse. Queen Serenity used the power of the Silver Imperium Crystal to save us and send us into the future, where we would have a chance to live happier lives. But the Negaverse came again, and we were reawakened to our true selves so that we could fight evil again." "Didn't you say that Jadeite was from the Negaverse?" her mother, confused, asked. "He is, or was... The leader of the Negaverse was Queen Beryl, and she had four generals to do her bidding. Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite. Jadeite failed in his missions to collect energy for Metallia, and she sealed him in a crystal in an eternal sleep. Nephrite was killed by Zoisite while he protected Naru, and Queen Beryl killed Zoisite for attempting to kill Tuxedo Mask. We all thought we had killed Kunzite in battle." Ami grinned. "We went to the Negaverse a few weeks back, in order to make sure that there was nothing of harm left after Beryl died. While we were there, I accidentally freed Jadeite from his eternal sleep, and Makoto found Kunzite lurking in the shadows. Jadeite has sworn undying loyalty to the Sailor Scouts, and Kunzite... just keeps showing up to help us instead of hurting us. Makoto has an incredible crush on him, but, unfortunately, he's not that kind of guy--He and Zoisite had a real thing going for a while, or so Mamoru tells us." "What does Mamoru have to do with all of this?" Dr. Mizuno, mildly confused, asked. "Mamoru is the reincarnation of Prince Endymion, and he becomes Tuxedo Mask in order to protect Sailor Moon," Ami explained. "Queen Beryl lusted after Prince Endymion, and had Kunzite kidnap him for herself. She tried to brainwash him into becoming a servant of evil, but Usagi's love for him won through and Beryl failed." Her mother seemed willing to accept all this. but still seemed confused. "So, Beryl--the bad lady--is dead?" she ventured cautiously. Ami nodded. "And your former enemies are now your friends?" Ami nodded again. "Then what happened this afternoon?" "There's a new set of Negacreeps," Ami sighed. "They say they're from the Dark Moon, and we have no clue where that is or why they're here--They say they're out to capture Chibu Usa, and we don't know why. This afternoon, we fought five droids, Prizma, and Rubeus--I doubt we could have won if Jadeite and Kunzite hadn't helped us. That's how they got to be injured--not because of an Estonian-Latvian feud." Dr. Mizuno laughed. "I really don't know how you managed to put that one past me, Ami." "You were sleep-deprived. If it helps, I felt really bad about doing it. It was just that I needed to keep Jadeite out of trouble for a little while, since he was kind of my responsibility." "Apology accepted... Now, run this Moon Kingdom bit past me one more time..." ~*~ With no small difficulty, Rei eventually persuaded her grandfather that he needed to rest and recuperate from the strenuous activities to which he was unaccustomed (banishing evil demons can be hot, thirsty work). Somewhat reluctantly, he allowed her to fetch water and a tray of nourishing delicacies for him to eat as he lay propped up among the plump pillows of his bed. All the while Rei chattered about her role as Sailor Mars, deeply relieved in a way to be able to finally unburden herself of her great secret. Grandpa Hino listened to his granddaughter proudly, deeply impressed by her accomplishments. "There's just one thing I don't understand, Grandpa," Rei confessed, sitting on the side of his bed. "Yuichirou knew that I'm Sailor Mars... I can understand why you would attack one of those droids, but he knew that I could take care of myself. Why did he attack it anyway?" Grandpa Hino smiled, his old eyes full of understanding. "Perhaps you should ask him, Rei." "I guess you're right... I need to check on him anyway," Rei agreed. "Will you be all right if I leave you alone for a little while?" "Go on, go on... He's hurt worse than me," her grandfather grumbled. "You should be fussing over him, not me." Guilt flashed across Rei's face; she couldn't deny that Yuichirou did need to be seen to, since he had had a nasty run-in with Prizma's death droid. "You're right," she said humbly. "I'll go take care of him right now." Grandpa Hino smiled secretly as she went. ~*~ That hangover from Los Angeles had been bad--the damn thing had lasted for a week, or so it had felt like--but this was worse. Much worse, and Yuichirou couldn't even explain why. Lying on his bed where he had flopped down after staggering inside, Yuichirou sighed wearily. He ought to be sweeping, or mopping, or dusting... or something, but somehow he couldn't quite muster to willpower to even sit up. /Dude, they could have asked if I was all right,/ he thought mournfully, unconsciously expressing the reason for much of his pain. /I mean, I did help them beat those monsters... Even if the master did do most of the work.../ A soft rapping on the door interrupted his gloomy thoughts. "Hello? Yuichirou?" "Oh, Rei, is that you?" he called back. "Yeah... Is it okay if I come in?" "Sure. Make yourself at home." Yuichirou began the struggle of trying to sit up as Rei came into the room. "Sorry it's such a mess. I've been meaning to clean up in here." Rei barely noticed the piles of dirty laundry and dirtier dishes. "Are you all right?" she asked instead, seeing the expression of pain on his face. "Here, lie back down, you don't look like you need to be up." She gently forced Yuichirou back down. Yuichirou grinned up at her. "I'll be okay," he told her, only too glad to let her stroke his hair back from his face. "I'm just a little sore and have a headache." Rei frowned at him, able to feel the lump on the side of his head. He winced at even her delicate touch. "Only a little sore?" she said skeptically. "I might be able to believe a lot sore, but not a little sore. You really took a beating, Yuichirou." "Aw, it was nothing," he said modestly, turning slightly pink. "Actually, it was something," Rei contradicted. "Attacking one of the Negaverse's monsters is a pretty awesome thing, Yuichirou. It took a lot of courage to do what you and Grandpa did today. I'm a seasoned Sailor Scout, and even I sometimes would much rather not fight those things." Yuichirou turned a darker red at her praise. "I didn't do that much," he argued. Rei smiled at him, slightly sad. "If you hadn't done what you did, we might not have won today," she told him. "You may have helped save the Universe today." Abashed, Yuichirou turned his face away so that she wouldn't see his acute embarrassment. "I hit a monster with a broom," he said quietly. "It wasn't that big a deal..." "Why did you do it, Yuichirou?" Rei asked quietly. "You knew I was Sailor Mars--dealing with the Negaverse is what I do for fun, so why did you rush in like that?" He was silent for such a long time that Rei wondered if he had gone to sleep. "I couldn't help it, Rei," he said at last, so softly that she could barely hear his voice. "I saw that you were in danger, and I knew I had to do something to help. I didn't stop to think about it, I just did it. What happened to me didn't matter any more." Rei gently picked up his hand, cradling it in her left hand and gently stroking it with her right. "You threw yourself into that fight without even thinking about what might happen to you?" "Only you mattered... Don't you know that you're all that really matters to me, Rei?" Yuichirou asked, his voice husky as he turned his head back to look at her. "Sailor Scout or not, every time you're in danger, I'll throw everything I have into defending you, whether you need me or not." Yuichirou took a deep breath and plunged on, determined to finish what he had to say, now that there was no turning back. "I know you don't see me as anything more than an empty-headed errand boy and a nuisance, Rei, but the truth is I care for you a lot. I've been over my stage fright for the longest time now, but I don't want to leave this place because you're here, and I'll stay just to be near you as long as I'm able." Rei stared at him, her only coherent thought running through her head repeatedly. /Grandpa did say I should ask him about his reasons./ She found her voice eventually as Yuichirou looked at her with vulnerable eyes. "Yuichirou, I don't know what to say..." "It's just the truth, Rei." Yuichirou tentatively squeezed her hand. "And I can't tell you how much it means to me that you haven't slapped me yet, or told me to get lost, or anything like that." "I..." "You never seemed to warm up to me after I came here." Yuichirou's voice wasn't accusing; he merely stated a fact. "I just assumed that you didn't like me." "That's not true, Yuichirou," Rei said, her eyes stinging with tears of shame. "I never meant--I mean, sometimes I can be--" "It's all right, Rei, you don't need to make up a story just to make me feel better," Yuichirou said placidly. He smiled at her. "But, if it's not too much to ask, could you just stay and talk to me for a while?" "Oh, Yuichirou..." Rei's voice trailed off helplessly. She stared at him, not knowing how to say what was in her heart to tell him. She loved him, yes, but not like that! Yet she felt so horribly guilty for what he had tried to do for her sake... And there were all the many times she had behaved terribly to him, treating him as little more than a slave... She really owed it to him to try to be nice to him. /Maybe, if I try hard enough,/ she though weakly, /this can work.../ "I know I've treated you badly, Yuichirou, but--I do care about you, really--I just--" The smile on his face was like the sun coming up. ~*~ Emerald flicked her fan, lifted her tiny nose a little higher, and sniffed. "Rubeus was inept. I say that it's to our advantage that he saved us the trouble of removing him from his commission by getting himself killed. I, for one, will not miss him--I never did like him, anyway." She smiled at Prince Diamond, hoping that he would favor her declaration. Prince Diamond swirled his wine glass reflectively, hardly noticing that Emerald had spoken. "Rubeus's failure was spectacular," he commented in his velvet voice. "Not only did he allow the Sailor Scouts to destroy him, he also permitted the four sisters to die, and expended a great deal of wasted energy on useless droids. In his dying effort to please us, he certainly spared no expense. One hardly knows whether to be amused or outraged." He smiled faintly, pleased by his wit. "However, I fear that I shall not miss his presence as much as I should. A pity, I'm sure." "Indeed, Your Highness, the inept Rubeus did nothing to further your glorious plan to conquer the earth," Wise Man added unctuously. Standing a little apart from Emerald, Wise Man, and his brother's throne, Sapphire frowned. He had not been overly fond of the brash, overbearing Rubeus, but it felt wrong to deride him so harshly. After all, for all his faults, the man had been a loyal servant of the Negamoon family, and he had truly tried to fulfill his mission. That the twentieth-century Sailor Scouts were unexpectedly powerful--and that they had previously unknown allies--was not his fault. "However, Rubeus has left a dilemma for us to remember him by," Diamond continued. "Small Lady and the Silver Imperium Crystal continue to elude us, and we do not possess a single Crystal Point." "Your Highness, please, allow me to succeed where poor, poor Rubeus was utterly helpless," Emerald purred. "Sapphire has made Dark Crystal Wedges that I can use to corrupt the Crystal Points--I will make that my primary mission, because the Sailor Scouts will almost certainly show up to stop me, and Small Lady is never far from the Sailor Scouts. I will defeat them and capture Small Lady, and I will make her take me to the Silver Imperium Crystal." "What will you do when the two warriors show up to aid the Scouts?" Sapphire inquired sarcastically. "The two warriors were badly injured in battle with Rubeus," Emerald sneered. "I will attack before they can recover--They can't harm me if they're decommissioned by their wounds." "Go, then, Emerald, and see to it that you do not fail me as Rubeus did," Diamond ordered, sounding slightly bored. Emerald bowed, smiling triumphantly, and vanished. "Soon, Your Highness, the earth will be yours," Wise Man crooned, stroking his crystal ball lovingly. "Soon the Dark Moon shall have its revenge..." "Yes, Wise Man, I know," Diamond said gravely. "Now, I would like to have a word with my brother." Understanding the dismissal, the Wise Man disappeared. "You have been very quiet, Sapphire," Diamond observed. "Is something wrong?" "It's nothing, Diamond," Sapphire answered, hoping that the lie was not too obvious. Diamond let it pass, knowing that his little brother would talk eventually. "Do you believe that Emerald will be more competent than Rubeus?" Sapphire frowned. "Only if she strikes quickly and does not let vanity stand in her way." Diamond nodded. "I agree. That monstrous ego of hers is her most crippling flaw. I believe, though, that her desire to please me will outweigh all other considerations in her mind." Sapphire ordered himself to ignore this facet of his brother's personality--the side of Diamond that allowed him to ruthlessly exploit anything or anyone while in pursuit of his goals. Diamond hadn't always been like that, or so Sapphire liked to tell himself, and it would only be for a little longer... "Revenge will be ours," he said quietly. Diamond smiled. "Yes... Soon it will be ours. Leave me, brother. I wish to reflect upon the coming glory." Sapphire bowed briefly and departed. When certain that he was alone, Diamond activated the projected image of Neo-Queen Serenity. "Revenge will be ours," he whispered, "and we will have all we ever desired..." ~*~ Where was that damnable light coming from? What fool had left the power on? Kunzite groaned and rolled over, trying to escape the annoyingly persistent light that hammered through his tightly-shut eyes. Trying to escape the light only led to worse difficulties as he fell off the narrow, though soft, surface on which he had been reclining. The fall was brief, culminating in a less-than-gentle landing on the floor. Kunzite cursed and begrudgingly opened his eyes, wondering how he could possibly fallen out of bed. The answer was immediately obvious; he had not been sleeping in his own bed. He had actually been sleeping on a couch, which also explained the unusual levels of light flooding the room. Kunzite blinked and rubbed his forehead, trying to soothe the dull ache that the blinding morning sun only exacerbated. /Where the hell am I, and how in the name of Beryl the Mad did I get here?/ A soft snore to his left distracted him from his own puzzles. Glancing over, Kunzite saw Mamoru, soundly asleep on the floor, apparently undisturbed by Kunzite's rude awakening. More details about the room became familiar, and Kunzite shook his head, wondering why he had been sleeping on Mamoru's couch. Trying to sit up provided an annoying reminder as every sore muscle in his body protested violently against the action. "Oh, hell," Kunzite grunted, remembering why he should hurt so much--the battle with Rubeus--and remembering also his almost giddy behavior afterwards. Mamoru, a lighter sleeper than Kunzite would have believed, jerked awake, sitting up. "Huh? What?" /He even covered me with a blanket,/ Kunzite thought grumpily. /He's definitely too damn noble for his own good./ "Go back to sleep, Mamoru." Mamoru rubbed his eyes. "Oh, it's you." "You needn't sound so thrilled," Kunzite remarked, trying to disentangle himself from his blanket. "Sorry, it didn't come out quite right," Mamoru apologized. "For some reason, I had thought that there was a problem. Didn't mean to offend you." /Is he trying to be nice to me?/ Kunzite wondered, slightly taken aback. "It's okay," he mumbled. "Feeling better?" Mamoru asked, trying to be a good host. Kunzite shrugged. "I think I've felt worse... Don't know for sure, things are a touch blurry." "*You* were a touch blurry," Mamoru chuckled. "By the way, welcome to my place." "What am I doing here?" Kunzite, out of respect for Mamoru's attempt to be civil, tried to avoid sounding confrontational. "You were out cold, and you needed a place to bunk for the night," Mamoru said casually. "Thus, you got my couch." "And you took the floor, which leads me to wonder why you don't have a bed," Kunzite pressed. "Mamoru, why am I at your apartment?" asked a confused female voice. "She had the bed for the night," Mamoru said quietly. "Sorry, Makoto, you fell asleep in my car, and I couldn't wake you up so that you could tell me how to find your apartment." Makoto ventured further into the room, her hair tousled charmingly and her eyes still sleepy. "Oh, all right," she muttered. "I personally believe that Mamoru just has aspirations of becoming a kidnapper, and he's practicing with us," Kunzite observed, wondering silently what twist of fate had placed Makoto in the same place, and cursing it. Makoto's eyes went wide, and she stopped short, staring at the man who was still trying to figure out how he had gotten so tangled in his blanket. ~*~ /Thank goodness that it's a weekend and I don't have to go to school,/ Ami thought, glancing up from her homework to check on Jadeite. /It would be very difficult to catch up on my schoolwork if I missed any of my classes./ Seeing that he was still asleep, Ami went back to her physics. /At least he looks much better than he did before./ He was nearly four hours short of having slept a whole day. Her mother had been slightly worried about that, since the shot she had administered should have worn off long since. Still, there was nothing they could do but let him sleep. Ami looked up from her textbook again to watch Jadeite sleep. His face was so relaxed and peaceful that it made her smile to see him. Seeing him like that made it difficult to remember that he had ever been a servant of the Negaverse, or that he had tired at various points to destroy the Sailor Scouts. It also contrasted sharply with the other time that she had watched him asleep, in Beryl's eternal sleep... Jadeite stirred and stretched, opening his eyes. "I'm still alive. What an amazing thing." Ami giggled, which startled him. "Congratulations, I guess--You kind of had us all worried." "Ami?" Jadeite asked. "What are you doing here?" She smiled at him. "I live here, and I'm doing my homework." "You study too much, has anyone ever told you that? I mean, here I am, possibly on my deathbed, and there you are, studying..." He peered closer. "Physics." Ami smiled. "I hear that a lot." "What, that you're always studying while somebody is dying?" "No, that I study too much." Ami shrugged. "I have to really work, though, if I want to keep my grades as high as they are. Besides, if you're able to make smart comments like that, I can be pretty sure that you aren't dying. When you turn serious, *then* I'll get worried." Jadeite looked indignant. "I can be serious! I just don't like it. Too boring. Reminds me of Kunzite." He looked nervous. "He isn't here, is he?" "No, he's at Mamoru's apartment." "Poor Mamoru," Jadeite observed, deciding to attempt sitting up. "I can't imagine that Kunzite would be the world's most cheerful houseguest." Ami giggled. "Well, add Makoto to the mix." Jadeite made a face as he gingerly pushed himself up. "Something about that entire situation strikes me as being wrong. Kunzite just isn't that kind of guy--" He gulped and looked at Ami cautiously. "Um, you did know about that, didn't you?" She nodded. "We all know. It's no big surprise or anything, especially to Makoto." Relief crossed Jadeite's face. "That's good... I'd hate to have to break that to her; I mean, really, how to tell someone about that sort of thing?" Ami pursed her lips in thought. "Write a note," she suggested. "Write a note and run away. Being around Makoto when she's upset isn't always healthy." Jadeite laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. But, are you telling me that Makoto knows and doesn't care?" "Hope springs eternal, I guess." Ami looked sad. "She has a real problem with unrequited love." /She isn't the only one,/ Jadeite mused. He covered his own personal problems smoothly, though, and eyed the physics text. "So, is that stuff really interesting?" "If you like science, then it's fascinating." Ami looked at him hopefully. "I guess you aren't into science, though." Jadeite shrugged. "I don't know. I've never looked into it. Tell me about it." Ami stared at him, amazed. No one not of the intellectual elite had ever asked about her studies and seemed so sincere about it. "You really want to listen to me talk about physics?" "Sure, I'd like to hear about physics," Jadeite told her. "Go ahead, knock me out." /Wow, this is too... what does Usagi call it? Wicked cool.../ Home Previous Next |