"Dame! If you loved her so much, you should cherish her memory. She lives on in your heart. It could never be better if you died or you forgot her. Then who would love her?!"
"It seems strange to hear you advocating her existence. She really did hate you, you know."
"No, I don't." Neko lowered her eyes. "But she was important to you, so she must have had some good qualities. You should make those live on. If you won't do it for yourself, Jasper-san, do it for her!"
"As you wish." She really was quite like the Amethyst he had originally fallen in love with, Jasper mused. The one that had finally gotten him to leave his planet for Amber's sake. The girl that had come down to mourn the passing of his planet. He had never thought about that before. But now he couldn't ignore it. Neither had been able to just stand by and watch him die. Somehow, they both had charmed him out of it. "Neko-sama, onegai. Could you call me Jasper-kun? You did once, and it really meant something to me."
"If you call me Neko-chan. That's one less honorific I have to keep track of. And I really don't care if I'm supposed to be your future princess or anything."
"Agreed."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Tenshi-kun?" Neko inquired softly, as they continued up the mountain side.
They were about halfway up, and the sun was beginning to set. Tenshi was beginning to worry that they hadn't met any challenges yet. She was bringing up the rear, so she could watch for attacks from behind. Neko had slowed down, apparently so that she could talk with her.
"Hai, Koneko."
"Am I a good person?"
"Of course!" Tenshi insisted, stunned by the question. She took Neko by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Koneko, you shouldn't even have to ask that."
But those eyes that had been filled with such innocence before seemed so heartbreakingly sad now. "Mi-chan said I killed someone, and Jasper-kun that he thought that I was going to kill him. He thought it would be better if I didn't have my memories of him. And the girl he loved hated me. And it sounds like I'm always getting you in trouble. Mi-chan's really protective of me, but I thought you might tell me if I was a horrible person."
"Oh, Koneko," Tenshi couldn't think of anything more important that comforting Neko right now. Had she spent the whole afternoon thinking about such a tragic assortment of thoughts? Tenshi hugged her and promised, "You are a good person. As Sailor Senshi we sometimes have to kill our enemies in self-defense or when it is clear they will never stop attacking the Moon Kingdom, but we try to help them whenever we can. You chose to give Jasper-san a chance even after he had sworn vengeance on you, me, and Mi-chan. That is why I believe he is willing to help you, but it's also why he might think you'd like him better without your memories intact. He hasn't spent enough time with you to realize that you're so compassionate, you'd like him anyway."
Tenshi suddenly became aware that she was beginning to feel a little too comfortable with this tight embrace with her fianc�e who didn't know her. She released her and lifted Neko's chin up. "Koneko, you are the sweetest, kindest person I've ever known. You are the one person I know who should never worry about the possibility of being a horrible person. Do you understand?"
Neko nodded.
"Good. We should continue walking," she whispered, her eyes still hooked on Neko's face. She found herself having trouble following her own suggestion.
Finally, Tenshi broke free of her enchantment. "Yeah," she reinforced her proposal self-consciously, "up the mountain, before Mi-chan gets worried that we're so far behind. �Or before she kills Jasper-san."
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