He had been fighting his nightmares for months, using meditation before bedtime to have more peaceful dreams, but every once in a while one slipped in, either due to inadequate meditation, or just his emotions working their way through to his dreams. This, on the other hand, was a living nightmare! Neko was in trouble, and he was once again running to try and save her. In his nightmares, she always slipped through his fingers, but today he had to make sure that that didn�t happen.
It wasn�t always Neko in his nightmares. Sometimes it was Amethyst. Last night it was Amber. He always was running. Running as fast as he could to reach them before they disappeared or were killed. Jasper took a deep breath, struggling against his burning lungs, a violent reminder that Amber had died by fire last night, and once again he had been unable to do anything to stop it.
But today he had to succeed! This was real life. If he didn�t succeed, Neko was in real danger. No, he was going to succeed!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jian-wa took his place beside Mi-chan at the altar, wishing that he was here as her groom, rather than her best man. But he had no right to complain. This all was his fault. It didn�t matter how long ago he had killed that girl; he was responsible for it. He was the cause of so much pain, all in the name of revenge. Was Neko�s kidnapper as certain of his actions as Jian had been? Had he been misled the same way, or was he justified enough in his vengeance that he didn�t need an excuse like the one the Mizuno twins provided Jian with at all times. �Jian-kun, it�s not your fault! Tanzanite lied to you all your life!� they told him again and again. And while he didn�t think it counted as an excuse, there was no doubting he had been manipulated.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jian-wa kept his eyes steadily towards Tanzen, only looking away for that second when the older boy had called out and ran at them. The boy was insignificant, the least in a line of obstacles keeping him from what was his. Everyone was against him, it seemed. Everyone, except Tanzen.
He had not yet risen to his feet. Jian-wa felt that the position was a symbolic one. Like in a painting of a medieval scene, he envisioned himself a knight, kneeling before his queen as he presented her with a chalice full of the potion that would free her love and the sword that he had used to slay the dragon to get that potion.
Only it wasn�t a dragon he had slain. The girl�s screams for mercy still echoed in his ears, but he knew he�d be able to push it away, to bury it in the back of his mind. He had been trained in martial arts since Tanzen had found him at six, and he hadn�t been learning the mental discipline aspect for nothing.
�It is nearly time,� Tanzen announced, her voice full of rapture. She had been waiting a long time for this � nearly a decade.
She dipped a finger in the chalice, the dark red liquid dripping from it as she brought it to Jian-wa�s face. Jian-wa tried to pay attention as she adorned his forehead, but the power that had seeped into the blood during the ritual seared his flesh, and he soon forgot what he was trying to do.
Although he was no stranger to pain, it now preyed upon the two fears he couldn�t push past. His steadfast gaze dropped to the ground, unable to hold Tanzen�s when he was so wrapped up in his uncertainties like this.
�Does it hurt?� she asked, her voice cold.
�No,� he lied. Tanzen didn�t want to see any weakness from him like that. Then, hesitantly, he asked, �Will it?�
She finished her task. �You won�t feel a thing.�
�You won�t� forget about me, will you?� He knew he�d probably anger her with the question, but the nine-year-old felt the pressing need to ask it anyway. A thousand years was a long time, and he didn�t know how Tanzen would manage to remember him after all that time. He didn�t want to be stuck in �Eternal Sleep,� sleeping eternally.
The long nail of her finger stroked his cheek and lifted his chin up. �My pet, do you think I would leave you imprisoned when so much of my plan hinges on you? No. Soon with Jadeite at my one side and you at the other, we will achieve victory together.� Her voice was so saccharine that he almost got the image of the three of them as a true family. The image was a fleeting one, though. He had never deluded himself that Tanzen was his substitute mother, but more like his commander in a war against those who would deprive him of happiness.
But her words still gave him comfort, and he didn�t speak again as she painted a symbol on Jadeite�s casing.
Standing directly between the two of them, she held out her hands and began to chant. The hair on Jian-wa�s neck stood on end as the �Etenal Sleep� passed from Jadeite through her and to him.
And then he didn�t feel anything at all.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
�Ahem.� Jian-wa was brought out of his memory with a jolt as Mi-chan nudged him. Neo-Queen Serenity now stood in front of Mi-chan, but everyone else�s eyes were aimed towards the back of the hall. He turned to see that the bride was about to walk down the aisle.
Tenshi was a heavenly sight in her wedding gown. She needed only wings to complete the illusion that she truly had descended from the heavens above for this wedding.
Although similar in appearance to Tenshi, Haruka looked completely out of place in Mi-chan�s maid of honor dress. A small murmur went through the crowd, whether it was Hauka�s appearance or Tenshi�s that caused it. Haruka ignored it, taking Tenshi�s arm as Canon in D began, and started to walk her down the aisle.
Abiding Love
