�Now, Mi-chan�.� Somehow Jian-wa didn�t think Jasper was involved. Although Jasper had had questionable loyalties in the past, Jian-wa had no doubt that Jasper was completely loyal to Neko these days.
�Don�t �Now, Mi-chan� me! I can�t believe I let this happen. I knew he would ruin this wedding. He still has feelings for her, and he wants her for himself! Kidnapping her�. I expect no less from him! Why did I let him stay? Why didn�t I kill him when I had a chance?!� she bemoaned.
Jian-wa grabbed her by the shoulders. �Honey, chill,� he said firmly.
�Chill?! You must be joking!� Jian-wa noticed she was balling her fists and her posture was all set for a fight. �When I get my hands on him��
�Mi-chan!� he warned her.
�No!� She twisted out of his grasp. �Don�t you understand?! This is Neko�s wedding, and he is not allowed to ruin it! Today of all days�. Nothing is allowed to happen to her! Nothing!� And before he could do anything, she took off.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jasper walked up to the double doors of the ceremony hall cautiously. He never knew who might be around that was still holding a grudge against him. He might have made a friend out of the bride and groom, but plenty of people were here that might find his presence suspicious.
He walked into the hall and was immediately take in by its beauty. The room was made of pure crystal, and it sparkled and shimmered in the sunlight. Bouquets of pink, white, and light blue flowers overflowed the place, and Jasper found himself seeking any sign of a non-pastel. Overhead hung one thousand and one origami cranes, all in different colors and patterns of rice paper, and he smiled as he recognized that as a Japanese tradition. He had heard Neko laugh at how Tenshi�s �traditional� wedding was the most unconventional thing Neko had ever seen, what with a female groom and the mix of Japanese and American traditions. Tenshi did love the American culture and it certainly showed in her wedding. But Neko had had some influence on the wedding as well. He knew she had been absolutely tickled pink when Neo-Queen Serenity had offered to let them use the palace for their wedding and to officiate. It had always been Neko�s dream.
*It all could have been yours* a nagging voice in his head told him. *If fate hadn�t ordained her for Tenshi-kun, you might be the one getting married here today�.*
�Lost?� a cheerful voice asked, interrupting his selfish thoughts.
He directed his gaze to the speaker, a woman appearing to be in her mid-to-late twenties with shoulder length wavy hair that reminded him of the ocean. Almost immediately he recognized her as Kaiou Michiru, the mother of Tenshi and Puroko. He had never met her before, however, he had done abundant research on the Sailor Senshi, old and new, when he had first arrived in this solar system. Besides having seen pictures of her before, he also could have picked her out of a line-up as Puroko�s mother. Their hair was the exact same shade of blue-
green, and they shared many facial features, although Puroko�s eyes were darker and her hair less wavy.
He was so flustered to be spoken to by either of Puroko�s parents (no doubt, Haruka would have slaughtered him on the spot), that he was surprised he had never thought about the probability of meeting up with them here before. He silently cursed himself as he stumbled through a response. �Um, I was just, uh, looking for, um, somewhere to sit?�
Michiru giggled at him, and for a moment he felt more comfortable � obviously, she wasn�t about to kill him � but only a moment, for he rapidly felt his face grow hot with embarrassment.
�Are you a friend of the groom or the bride?�
�Oh, the bride!� he answered quickly. Then he realized his mistake. Disconcerted, he corrected himself, �I mean, the groom� I mean, both, but mostly Neko-chan!�
She giggled again. �I understand,� she told him, with an impish grin. �Here.� She slipped a pink rose through the top button hole in his jacket and directed him to the right side of the hall where Neko�s friends and family were sitting.
�Uh, arigatou gozaimasu,� he said formally and left her to take a seat.
He felt completely awkward as he slipped past people he was certain were better friends that him, wondering why Neko insisted on calling him her �best friend.� Surely, she had made better friends on Earth, or even Mercury� friends with whom she could actual hang out, perhaps even friends who hadn�t threatened her life a couple times. He knew she didn�t consider Jian-wa her best friend anymore, especially not since he allowed Wiseman to turn him against the Sailor Senshi a second time, but she had plenty of other people she could hang out with other than him, Mi-chan, or Tenshi. Not to mention, her sixteen and a half years on Mercury. How could she possibly rate him above� what was her name? Hoshi?
He scanned the crowd, wondering if Hoshi had even come, and thus missed the approach of Mi-chan before she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room, so quickly he hadn�t even gotten a chance to process what was going on.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
