The problem with Rubius’s honourable kamikaze plan had been relatively simple – what was the point in blowing oneself up when your victims had left the vicinity?

Rubius, covering his face with his arms against the heat, rolled out of the flames. Still lying on the floor, he muttered a very audible "Damn!"

As this comment was directed more at himself – and the non-existent Senshi – than anybody else, the laughter that pealed out gave him quite a shock. He looked up from the swiftly heating floor to see a familiar form waver into existence just in front of him. He recognised the sharply pointed boots instantly, a look of pitiable relief crossing his face. Looking upwards, he declared in good cheer, "Esmeraude! I'm saved! Please, take me back to the future! This ship is going to blow up in two minutes!"

From the viewpoint of the figure on the floor, all he could see was her liquid brown eyes regarding him over the edge of her silly, frilly red fan. The leaping flames all about him grew warmer; they cast ugly shadows across her narrow face, giving her an insidious look to match her disinterested words. "Oh, is it?"

Rubius was slightly shocked by this pronouncement. In confusion, he tentatively reached out to Esmeraude, as if he expected her to lead him a hand. Angrily, she swiped down with her fan, leaving the red-head clutching his wrist as he looked up at her in incomprehension. It was pitiful; he distinctly reminded her of a three year old being chastised for burning the family dog. "Sailor Moon and the other Senshi still live, the Rabbit survives... aren't you embarrassed?" she asked, in a falsely sweet tone.

Rubius’s only reply was a non-verbal look of complete shock.

Esmeraude took that as an instant invitation to keep talking; Gods, how she loved the sound of her own voice! "Our glorious family doesn't need such an incompetent person as you."

Stunned as he realised the implications of her words, Rubius’s eyes widened further, genuine panic seeping into those sanguine orbs. "Esmeraude..."

"Goodbye, Rubius."

The form of the green-haired woman warped, twisted, then vanished entirely as Rubius lunged forward with desperate hands, clutching at mere air. "Esmeraude, wait, please help me!" The air about the ship held a definite aura of premonition – the damned thing was going to blow to kingdom come any second now, he could feel it! In an utter frenzy, Rubius screamed one last time "Esmeraude! ESMEEERAAAAUDE!"

"Would you quit your deplorable whining, and take my hand already? Look sharp about it; I hardly think my oniisan will be happy if I die because of your incompetence."

Rubius’s shock left him dumbstruck for a second; he was looking up from the floor to see the blue and white form of Saffir re’Adamant gazing at him with barely veiled contempt. "Well? Do you want to live or not, Rubius?"

Without waiting for a reply, Saffir merely took Rubius’s hand, and teleported them both from the ticking time bomb the UFO had become. It was perhaps a nano-second later that it exploded; that annoyed Saffir to no end. Rubius always had loved melodrama, but the Blue Prince of Nemesis was far too practical for such games. The red-haired admiral had almost gotten the both of them killed.

The pair appeared in what Rubius belatedly recognised as being Saffir’s personal study. Rubius had been in here very few times over the years; the men had never been overly fond of one another. Saffir was quite aware of how Rubius regarded him to be "useless," and Rubius was just as aware of how Saffir – whether purposely or accidentally – quietly placed himself above the red-headed admiral.

Rubius almost immediately fell over, but what with the shock of having such a near-death experience, Saffir could hardly blame him for it. However, in the condescending eyes of the prince, Rubius was still an incompetent idiot.

Saffir’s opinion of Rubius was actually quite a strange one – it wasn’t that Saffir didn’t like him as such, it was more…Saffir had no patience for Rubius and his games. Deep inside, actually, Saffir felt honestly sorry for the admiral of Demando’s fleets, but because his exterior was so exasperating, Saffir did not usually attempt to understand his distant cousin and his motivations.

Saffir did not deign to give the man a hand in standing up; he merely took one of the nearest swivel seats, turning it away from facing one of his collection of computer screens. This room actually made Rubius feel uneasy and disoriented as he stood; he had never been as fond of computers and the like as Saffir.

He swayed on his feet slightly; Saffir relented, climbing to his feet to assist Rubius to a place in one of his many chairs. The ao no oji then took a seat opposite the admiral, crossing one elegant ankle over one white clad knee. He leant on his left hand on the computer desk, looking almost bored. "Aren’t you going to thank me?"

That statement, coming from anybody else, would have sounded irked, annoyed at the fact Rubius wasn’t leaping for joy over the fact that they had saved his life. Anybody else would have been incensed that Rubius was not grateful for their show of benevolence and philanthropy.

However, coming from Saffir’s lips, the comment was merely an observation, more a bored question than an accusation. It didn’t surprise Rubius in the least; Saffir was legendarily hard to rile. He knew it for himself; the amount of times he had hassled Saffir about Petz were countless, and he could count the times Saffir had risen to the insults on one hand.

"How do you want me to thank you?" he asked slowly, his voice low and as controlled as he could keep it. "Do you honestly want me to fall on my knees and kiss your feet, declare you to be the most benevolent and wonderful Prince on Nemesis?"

Saffir looked vaguely disgusted; another characteristic of the ao no oji. He never looked terribly emotional; Rubius had been witness to a genuine smile from the prince perhaps once in their lives. "Of course not. I was merely wondering if you would concede to show me some respect now that I’ve risked my life for yours."

Rubius snorted. He didn’t understand why, but he suddenly felt remarkably close to tears.

Saffir continued on, conjuring two wine glasses and a decanter from thin air. Rubius found that strange; Saffir did not typically use his magic. Certainly, he had been the last of them to acquiesce to using the powers of the jakozuishou. Even now, he avoided using the powers of the crystal to amplify his own, and never wore the crystal earrings that were shards of the jakozuishou itself.

No, those particular earrings lay pertaining to a closed midnight-blue box, hidden deep within the personal belongings of this blue prince.

Saffir placed these three items on the desk with only the power of telekinesis. Then, without taking those narrowed dusky blue eyes from the sanguine of the admiral, he proceeded to pour the two drinks without so much as lifting his pinky finger.

Rubius turned away from Saffir’s gaze to watch the progress of the liquid from the decanter to the glass. It was a metallic, light blue liquid, one that shone almost silver under the glaring lights of Saffir’s many monitors. Rubius recognised it instantly as being a rather fine Nemesian wine; however, it was one of Demando’s least favourites, given its sweet, fruity taste and scent.

Saffir took one glass and extended it to Rubius, who accepted it with some apprehension. He watched the prince for a moment longer, as Saffir took the other glass into one gloved hand, sipping it thoughtfully. However, he never once lifted his gaze from constantly examining Rubius’s face.

"I didn’t know you drank," remarked Rubius in slight confusion, looking into the depths of his glass with some suspicion. "After all, you are the one who constantly tells his brother that alcohol dulls one’s judgement."

"Oh, but isn’t this a celebration?" Saffir remarked off-handedly, taking another minute sip of the alcohol. "After all, you have just survived what could have been a very nasty accident, Rubius-sama. You should be celebrating the elongation of your useful life span."

Rubius looked up, his eyes dark. "Sarcasm doesn’t sit well on your shoulders, itoko." With that, he finally took a sip from the glass, finding the wine to be as sweet and dry as he had been expecting.

Saffir shrugged those same shoulders, setting his glass down on the desk again. As he did so, he reached over to flick the screen off, darkening the glare of the monitor somewhat. Rubius instantly wished that he hadn’t; it had been unsettling to have the alabaster-pale face glaring at him, but somehow…seeing Saffir’s face half shrouded in darkness…it was much worse. "I suppose it doesn’t."

Rubius took another sip of the wine, this time a larger one. "Is there a reason why you want me here? Okay, so you want some recognition for your "great selfless act." Thank you, Saffir-sama – may I please go now?"

"Sarcasm seems to suit you much better," Saffir mused, more to himself than the admiral seated before him. Rubius, however, was past being set at unease by Saffir’s weird behaviour.

He smirked, and drained half the glass in one go. "What can I say, I’m good at my job."

"You know, it certainly doesn’t seem that way," Saffir abruptly said in cold tone, almost causing Rubius to spit out his mouthful of wine. "After all, you lost the Rabbit, the Senshi and the ginzuishou…that’s a pretty impressive list of failures, Rubius."

The admiral graced the prince with a blistering glare, his internal fire beginning to burn with even more intensity than usual. "Oh, so you think you could have done better, Useless?"

Ignoring the patronising nickname – it had long been a hobby of both Esmeraude and Rubius to call him thus – Saffir merely chuckled. "Oh, but Rubius," he said in a babying tone, "It never was, and never will be my responsibility, so why should I worry about it?"

"Because even if you wanted to, you couldn’t accomplish half of what I’ve done," Rubius hissed. "During this entire war, you have done nothing but stand at your brother’s side, and occasionally "grace us" with your so-called remarkable intellect." Rubius’s voice turned bitter as he turned blazing eyes on the cold blue prince. "I think your brother is far too indulgent when it comes to annoying little brothers."

Saffir’s eyes were unreadable as he continued to look at his distant cousin. "Be that as it may, Rubius, but I have brought you back here for an entirely different reason."

Rubius drained the rest of his glass before answering that statement. "Oh, should I be worried, Saffir? What are you going to do, beat me to death with a polynomial?"

Saffir didn’t rise to that insult; that hardly surprised the admiral. However, Saffir did lean back in his chair, regarding Rubius in an odd manner, his eyes detached from whatever emotions he felt inside. "Rubius, I actually saved you from your pathetically self-generated fate because I wanted to ask you a question."

Rubius cast him an annoyed look, hating the Savant even more than usual. Saffir didn’t usually employ his imperious attitude on purpose, but even knowing that, it still pissed Rubius off to no end. He had forever placed himself above all others except his brother, and it was really angering Rubius today, even though Saffir had saved his life.

"What is it?" demanded Rubius passionlessly, looking right through the prince as if he were no more than an insignificant ant on the ground.

"I want to know what happened to the Ayakashi Sisters," Saffir replied evenly, his eyes narrowed and serious.

The question was so absurd Rubius almost burst out laughing right then and there. "Oh, Saffir, for all your opaque nature, you can be so incredibly transparent sometimes!"

Saffir did not take this remark badly; he merely stared at Rubius for a moment of silence before speaking. "Yes, Rubius – I want to know what happened to Ayakashi Petz."

"I’m sure your brother would approve of your indulging that little whim," Rubius snorted, idly playing with the now-empty wine glass in his right hand. "As I remember, Prince Demando was never terribly impressed by your trysts with that woman."

"Who’s going to tell him that I asked you about her? For surely, it won’t be you," Saffir remarked indifferently, sipping his wine slowly and methodically.

Somehow, that calm, assured pronouncement ate away at the back of Rubius’s mind. There was a part of him that knew Saffir was genuinely capable of violence…it was just that when he was around a group of people – especially if it included his beloved oniisan – Saffir always appeared quiet, restrained and nothing less than complaisant. However…

He really is a two-faced little snot, Rubius thought coldly. So much for the innocent little mathematician theory…for all his political savvy, Prince Demando is a remarkably bad judge of character.

Saffir leant forward to deftly pluck the wine glass from Rubius’s hand, pouring more of the metallic-looking wine into the crystalline goblet. He paused for perhaps a second over it, before slowly returning the glass to his cousin’s hand. "So – you don’t know anything about Petz’s present whereabouts, do you?"

Rubius snorted, draining the entire glass in less than thirty seconds. The heat in his UFO had left him with a thirst that seemed almost unquenchable. "If I did, Saffir, rest assured that I would have executed each and every one of them for high treason."

The blue prince seemed to nod, it looked as if he understood explicitly that Rubius did not know the whereabouts of the four renegade sisters. He then turned his attention to his hands; he looked up at the silently smirking admiral with surprisingly upset eyes. "You know, Rubius, it is sad to sit in the presence of one who has outlived their usefulness."

That nagging feeling at the back of Rubius’s brain suddenly exploded; as his vision began to grow slightly fuzzy, he stared down in disbelief at his shaking hands. As he watched, the poisoned glass slipped from his fingers, falling to the ground to shatter into thousands of tiny pieces.

Rubius staggered to his feet as he clutched both hands to his temples, a cry of horror and agony escaping from his throat. "Saffir…you twisted little bastard!"

Saffir did not stand; he continued to watch Rubius diffidently from the chair. He almost seemed to waver in his judgement, but it wasn’t until Rubius collapsed onto the floor that he bothered to stand up.

As Rubius curled up into a desperate foetal position on the floor, his entire being feeling as if it were on fire, his blue-haired cousin knelt down beside him, surreptitiously avoiding the broken glass. "Gomen nasai, Rubius…but if my brother found out that I reversed his decision and let you live, I would have been held accountable for your survival. Demando-oniisan ordered your disposal, Esmeraude almost executed it…and I interfered. That is unforgivable in my oniisan’s eyes. Now that I have all the information I wanted out of you, I have to get rid of you." His dusky blue eyes, so filled with the silent fire of twilight academia, looked almost apologetic as he slowly brushed one hand tentatively over Rubius’s beautiful red hair. "Gomen nasai, Rubius, but you are not worth incurring my brother’s wrath."

The red-headed admiral groaned; he honestly felt as if he were frying alive. He was beginning to wish that Saffir had just left him back in that damned UFO; that would have at least been a quick and relatively painless death. "I hate you, Saffir," he gasped out, clenching his eyes tightly against the pain.

Saffir continued to stroke Rubius’s soft red hair and forehead, the heat of his skin almost burning him even through the material of those dark blue gloves. "But I love you, Rubius," he murmured softly, his eyes troubled.

He tried to pull away from the disconcerting serenity of Saffir’s touch. "You love me?" He choked over the words in complete shock; Saffir’s soft tone was incredibly peculiar, almost frightening.

Saffir almost laughed; he looked upset and melancholy. "Of course I love you – you’re a part of my family, Rubius."

The admiral laughed bitterly, all too aware of the burning pain as all his cells corrupted inside his body. "Yeah, and what a screwed up family it is."

Saffir closed his eyes briefly as he drew his hand away from Rubius’s feverish skin. "You know, I have to agree with you there, Rubius…"

As he spoke his name, Rubius closed his eyes, a final sigh emitting from his throat. His agonised breathing died like record on a gramophone wearing down, playing its last song. His breathing slowly grew quieter and quieter until the only sound that remained was the whirring of Saffir’s computers.

G G G

"You’re late, Saffir," Demando stated coldly, his famous violet eyes narrowing slightly in his barely concealed annoyance at being stood up by his younger brother, of all people.

"Gomen nasai, oniisan…I had something to attend to," Saffir replied quietly, not once looking at the green-haired woman on his right. She looked slightly put-out at not getting to see Saffir get a severe reprimand for being late; compared to the chewing out she would have gotten for being late, Saffir was getting off incredibly easily.

"Be that as it may, you should’ve known better than to keep me waiting, Saffir." Even though the tone was obviously angry, those eyes softened slightly as they met the calm, decorous blue belonging to his little brother. Demando may have been able to hold the most incredible grudges – the one against Earth was legendary – but Saffir had always been the only one he could never stay angry with for long.

Saffir bowed his dark head; his next words were emotionless and polite, never once giving away the innuendoes of what he spoke. "Yes, oniisan…I should have known better." And silently in his mind, he added some words to what he said, burying his pain deep inside.

Demando cast him an odd look, noticing that Saffir looked as if he was in a world of his own. "Saffir, what are you thinking about? You seem…troubled."

Saffir looked up, a tiny smile playing at his lips. "I am thinking of nothing, oniisan."

"In my presence?" Demando’s eyes twinkled with sudden playfulness; this abrupt change in mood almost caused Esmeraude to fall over in shock. "Saffir, you…"

"…should’ve known better," Saffir completed the sentence for his oniisan, smiling through his doubts.

After all, what was done, could never be undone, no matter how much it bothered him. Never.

Besides…he should have known better.