Memories: Lover of Venus
-------------------------
by Elements of Desire
One can be a soldier without dying, and a lover without sighing.
-Sir Edwin Arnold
(Adzuma)
Mine ear is much enamored of thy note;
So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape;
And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me
On the first view to say, to swear, I love thee.
-William Shakespeare
(A Midsummer Night's Dream)
This can't be love because I feel so well,
No sobs, no sorrow, no sighs;
This can't be love, I get no dizzy spell.
My head is not in the skies,
My heart does not stand still,
Just hear it beat!
This is too sweet to be love.
This can't be love because I feel so well;
But still I love to look in your eyes.
-Lorenz Hart
(This Can't Be Love)
From "The Boys From Syracuse"
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We were soldiers, but not just any soldiers, but soldiers of the
highest command, ones that could over-rule decisions of Kings and Queens
in the state of an emergency, ones with power, ones with the greatest
duty and the greatest loyalties. Some say that we were born for it, not
for love, not for hate, not for peace, but for one sole duty, one sole
purpose, one for the world. We were no better than machines, but of
course, we understood that form the beginning, because we knew that the
people would rather sacrifice those they did not know then their
children, their friends, their lovers and especially, themselves. We
understood that love had no place in our hearts except for the select
few that were apart of this grandiose plan, this sacrifice, but it had
never stopped us, we were fools. We fell in love, we allowed ourselves
to feel, and now there will be the price. The price that we had never
been willing to pay, one that we thought we could avoid, we were fools
indeed, and in the end, who is to blame but ourselves, and our foolish
hearts. But love is love; we are no more than machines then if love had
not made us soldiers.
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Crystal Tokyo, café…
"Where were you last night Minako-chan?" The dark-haired woman
looked agitated and worried, but she waited for her blond-haired
friend's answer.
"I was out." Was all she was willing to let on; her dark-haired
friend frowned at the ambiguous answer.
"It's unlike you to just turn off the communicator like that, I
don't believe you ever done that before… Are you sure there's nothing
that's bothering you Minako-chan?" She asked, cocking her head to one
side and looking at her questioningly, her onyx eyes probing into her
soul for the answers that she was unwilling to give.
"Hai, I am fine Rei-chan." She looked down to her reflection in
the tea, steam gently rising to the ceiling, as outside, the sun shone
brightly. She knew that had it been a thousand or so years ago the very
atmosphere of a sunny day could've perked up her mood, but she was not
that woman, that girl a thousand or so years ago, she had changed.
She had expected her friend to tell her straight faced that she
was a liar, that's what the dark-haired woman usually would've done.
But instead all she heard was an "Oh," and silence, the silence was
unbearable, perhaps this tactic was more affective than anything else
the dark-haired woman could've used. Looking up sharply, she only saw
before her, someone she had rarely seen, someone who has also changed.
"Rei-chan?" She asked, startled, the woman's face was down, hands
clutching to her teacup, but she did not look up.
"Nothing." Was all Rei said, an answer which agitated her more
than anything else.
"Rei-chan, okay, okay, I'll tell!" Her friend didn't respond; now
the blond-haired woman was worried, this was definitely not like Rei.
"I was out, when I…ran into someone." Minako looked down at her own tea
again, and realized with a start that it was getting cold.
"You don't have to tell me Minako-chan." Her friend looked up to
her and smiled, but Minako could see that it was forced, sighing in
frustration the blond gave in and poured out her story.
"I was out looking into the horizon, hoping to see if Kunzite
would show up in a boat or something romantic..."
Crystal Tokyo, the eve of the murder…
Her hair was pulled back in a lose ponytail instead of the usual
red-ribbon that only collected part of her hair today she had let it all
down and swept it back loosely with the a white one instead. Her loose,
white pants bellowed in the breeze as she dangled one leg over the torii
like gates, while the other was comfortably tucked up against her chin,
held within her arms. The silky-black shirt hung around her figure,
also wavering in the breeze; her dark-shades hid her eyes from view as
she looked to the sun, absorbing its last stream of warmth before it
totally disappears into the sea.
"Excuse me miss, are you sure you're supposed to be sitting
there?" She looked down startled; no one had ever spoken to her while
she was up here, not even Artemis who had more privileges than anyone
else, excluding her Queen and Rei. "You might fall."
"Me? Fall?" She still haven't been able to comprehend the whole
situation yet, it was just too uncommon, most men were afraid to speak
to her, thinking her a goddess of some kind.
"Hai, fall. As in no longer standing upright or sitting for that
matter." His eyes were hidden behind shades darker then her own, ones
only large enough to hide his eyes. But his hair was extremely light,
so much so that she thought it looked white or at least a very light
blond. He must be fifty or something! She thought with disgust, but
then noticed that he had no wrinkles and his high-cheek bones and strong
chin suggested otherwise. He was very fit, his expensive suit couldn't
hide it, and it was definitely expansive. Looks like one of Setsuna's
designs, she thought absent-mindedly and her mouth quirked at the idea.
"Gomen nasai, I didn't mean to worry you." She said with a
brilliant smile, but he seemed unaffected by it, which surprised her
even more, being that she was one of the most beautiful women in the
world, one of the oldest at that too, but that's another story. He
frowned instead, it would have threw her into shock but she decided to
ignore it, men weren't hard too catch, no matter how hard they tried.
"My name is Aino Minako, my friends call me Minako-chan, my colleagues
Mina." She freed her leg from her grasps and swung both legs down
before she leapt off.
She was totally startled now, for instead of her feet, she landed
into him, his arms actually. "Baka! Are you crazy?" He asked, looking
annoyed even though she blushed, for other reasons then not landing on
her feet. "Or just trying to get attention?"
Snapping her out of her embarrassment, she struggled to get out of
his arms, surprising and annoying him even more, shrugging he let her go
and she dropped onto the ground with a yelp, before quickly gaining her
senses at the last moment and did a back-flip landing onto her feet.
"Just who do you think you are?" She asked, stomping back to him and
waving a fist in his face, not only embarrassed at having been dropped
and also having him acted like she was nothing more than a child! She
could be his mother, times that by a hundred or so, the least she
deserved was a little respect!
"I am neither your friend nor your colleague, Aino-san." He said
with an amused smile, hiding his surprise at how she flipped out on him,
literally, instead of dropping to the ground in outrage like most woman
would've.
She was taken aback, what did he mean by that? Remembering her
earlier comment she sneered at him. "What makes you think I want you to
be?" She asked, almost hissing like a cat having its space intruded
upon. I'm beginning to sound like Artemis, she thought with distress,
but what is with this jerk. True, he does look like a very rich and
very handsome jerk, but she never cared about money and no one stays
pretty forever, while excluding her and her friends that is.
"You came on to me." He told her comely, and smiled, looking
almost charming, but she wasn't about to let him get to her, not after
what he said and did. "Or do you act like that to all the men?"
She slapped him, while, tried too. In two thousand years,
probably more, no one had ever been able to stop her before, and she was
surprised, but not for the reasons he was probably thinking about. His
strength may be great for a man, but she was a senshi and an angry
senshi at that, who had lost all her patience and cheerfulness. Instead
of struggling like a weak fool as she had before, she punched him in the
stomach, and this time he was the one surprised, at the style of her
fighting and the strength behind it. "I'll have you know that if you
dare act this way again in my presence, I will make sure that you regret
this greatly, much more then you could ever imagine." She said, rubbing
her wrist when he had finally let go of her from surprise and pain.
She stomped off angrily through the gates and back into the city,
fuming at how insolent men are and especially that man! How dare he
handle her like that? She was the leader of the senshi, she saved the
world a thousand times, and what does she get in return for that?
Loneliness and very rude men! Why is it always me? I'm going to hurt
Kunzite for staying away this long, he's the one that's supposed to save
me from jerks like this! Stopping abruptly in her mad rush, she paused
and looked to the sky, darkening to deep-blue as the stars began to
show, one stood out in particular, brightly winking at her. Venus. Her
star. Please, bring me back my love! She thought sadly, wishing on it
as she did in the old days, bring him back to me.
Silver Millennium, the training grounds…
"No, no, no! It's not fair!" Rei stomped her foot angrily on the
marble floor like a child.
"Rei, I won, fair and simple." The blond-haired girl wiped the
sweat from her brow, but kept grinning. "But don't worry, you gave me
quite a workout and you almost won." She smiled again, she was telling
the truth, her friend was improving greatly, and Rei's frustration gave
her more stamina than anyone else on the team, while excluding Makoto
when she gets angry.
"That's not good enough!" Rei sulked, but than decided that
she'll try harder the next time, smiling suddenly at an idea. "Hey,
Minako-chan, how's it going between you and that gorgeous general of
yours?" She asked mischievously, eyes shining in amusement and causing
the other to blush.
"Rei-chan, you know nothing about privacy!" She exclaimed, which
only made the other's grin widen even more.
"Like you do!" Her rouge-haired friend retorted good-naturedly,
"And you better tell, or I'll challenge you until both of us fall to the
ground!" Minako stuck her tongue out at her and hmphed, before giving
in; grinning happily at her rouge-haired friend.
"Kunzi-chan is so cute! He's absolutely charming when he smiles!"
She sighed dreamily, remembering the older man's laughter ringing in her
ears, and his arms around her…
"Well, the good news is that he only smiles when you're around,
the bad new being that, usually, it only happens when you fall." Rei
said with a wicked smirk, Minako looked hurt, well pretended to be at
least.
"Rei-chan! How could you say such a thing?" She asked, but then
she made a mistake. "At least I can make Kunzi-chan laugh, every time
you're around Jadeite-kun, he frowns all over himself." Rei looked
startled, and a range of emotions flashed before her face, before the
lines between her brows ceased and there was but a calm Rei in front of
her, but Minako saw the hurt as one of the emotions that shone through.
"Gomen nasai Rei-chan!" She cried out and ran to give her a hug, but
Rei only shook her head and lifted one hand as if to fend her off.
"Nai Minako," She smiled, somewhat weakly, before it became a full
pledged cold look. "I deserved it, and you are correct Jadeite-san does
not enjoy my company. I have to go now, gomen nasai Minako-chan, I
didn't mean to hurt your feelings, you should know I was only teasing
you; we all know that Kunzite-kun is crazy about you!" She smiled and
left, leaving Minako standing there to ponder out what exactly was going
on.
"Kunzi-chan!" She cried as she fairly flew into his arms, while
he chuckled softly at her smiling radiance, one that light up hallways
and lifted his spirits.
"Hai Minako, how are you fending without me?" He asked with a
joking quirk of a grin, but he wanted to know nonetheless.
"I'm not sure, I don't remember." She said dreamily, her eyes
half closed, giving that of a sultry air. Smiling mysteriously, she
linked one of their hands together and lifted it to the side of her
shoulders and gently played with them, lacing them together and pulling
them apart. "Kunzi-chan," She said softly, widening her eyes till he
was half sure that he was drowning within its blueness, "You wouldn't
mind escorting me to that ball that Queen Serenity is throwing in honor
of you and the rest of the Generals being here would you?" Her eyes
brightened with hope, but there was something else, a hint of fear.
Fear of what he thought, startled at this discovery, fear of rejection?
How could he refuse her though…of anything?
"My Minako, I would love to escort you to the ball, but only if
you promise to be by my side for the night." He said with a smile, as
he felt his heart soften at the sight of her bright and happy smile, the
fear had all but disappeared, a forgotten memory. What would I do to
have this always? He asked. Anything, he would give everything! No,
not everything, not his Prince, but he would give his soul to have her
with him, to have her smile at him in that way, even for a moment in
time, for even then he knew he was not worthy to be within her beauteous
presence, she was his goddess, the love of his life, his soul, and he
loved her.
He had discovered that, perhaps a year ago, when he was leaving
for earth on a trip to make sure that things were running smoothly. And
she was standing there in the teleportation room, about to wave him off,
but decided at the last moment to run into his arms and kiss him.
Leaving him dazed and slightly confused at the pounding of his heart as
he disappeared, her smile, a shy and yet lovely smile was embedded into
his mind for the rest of the trip, making him ache for her smiles.
Sometime later, he discovered that whenever he saw a daisy on the
side of a road he had an urge to pluck it from the ground and sigh,
because she always told him how much she loved daisies. By that point
he was positively scared out of his wits, no woman had ever been able to
affect him, much less attach herself to his every waking thought! And
sometimes in the night he would awake, and find that he was dreaming of
her smile, holding him in her warmth with her arms and her sky-blue
eyes. He would've been terrified, except he felt too good to be
terrified, and he was a general, such feelings did not exist for him.
Forcing himself to face the facts, he finally discovered that he kept
running his conclusions in a direction that he had not dreamed of and
had not wished it; love had crept up on him and tied him to her. He
knew it to be the truth, and being the responsible general he was, he
tried to push it aside. But it would not leave him alone, not until
when he returned to the moon looking haggard and thinner than he had
been when he left.
She had rushed out into his arms, laughing in joy as her eyes
clouded in tears, and when she finally calmed herself down she noticed
how tired and worn he was and begun to immediately worry over him like a
mother or a lover. And he smiled. He couldn't help it, laughing at her
startled and beautiful face, sunning him and pushing him toward
happiness. He was home, and he was very content there.
"Till tonight my love." He said, bending and kissing her gently
on the mouth, before stepping away and bowing, smiling at her one last
time he headed toward the conference room to meet the High Prince and
his fellow generals.
"Till tonight." She whispered, long after he was gone, smiling to
herself softly, she twirled one strand of hair around her fingers and
decided that training would be a little shorter today, she had to get a
new gown!
"Minako!" Startled, she swirled around and nearly rammed herself
into a tall man, white hair flowing and blue eyes glowering at her in
frustration. "I know what you're thinking Minako, and no, you may not
cut any training time for your need to splurge up a new dress!" He
commanded, but she knew he had one weak spot.
"Artemis!" She pouted, and her eyes watered as tears begun to
form, "Why?" She cried, making him cringe back with regret for his
eardrums.
Crystal Tokyo, café…
"But why did you turn off your communicator?" The dark-haired
woman asked; her frown marred her smooth complexion.
"I didn't, I accidentally dropped it when that vile man caught me,
but that's not all, I literally ran into him later on, and he threw the
thing in my face!
"Why does this seem so familiar?" Rei asked, her frowning became
pensive and confused, but a grin dazzled onto her face nonetheless.
Crystal Tokyo, night…
"…And I looked up and there she was, she looked like an angel, but
she certainly didn't act like one." He chuckled, as he casually swept a
hand through his hair. The blond haired man beside him shook his head
and laughed along with him. "Gomen Jade-kun, what's the matter? We've
known each other since graduate school, why are you all of a sudden so
pensive? Being that you were always the loud one of the two of us, well
that and being crazy!" The white-blond laughed, as his friend glared at
him before his expression softened and he laughed too.
"I swear Kunz-kun, I've never seen you in a better mood! Are you
sure that was all she gave you?" The blond man smiled knowingly.
"I-oof!" The blond man looked startled as he glanced to see that
his white-blond friend had fallen onto his back, and a beautiful blond
woman lay sprawled on top of the former.
"Always been the lucky one!" He muttered before his mouth dropped
open as he realized who she was.
"You!" His friend and the woman said in union, one with surprise
and the other with contempt. "Hai, ye goddess, it is I!" His friend
mocked, "So glad to see you descending from among high, to see little
old me, I'm flattered really, but you didn't have to fall on me to get
my attention." Whack! The sound snapped both men out of their wits,
one from total shock and the other from, well, pain, again!
"You jerk!" She said, jumping up and away from him, quite
agilely. "That is it! I've had it up to here with you! From here on
out, buddy, speaking from the general-commander of her Majesty Queen
Serenity, you are to speak not one disrespectful word to any woman! You
dare and you shall be punished!" Her eyes sizzled, annoyance shining
through the normally bright blue eyes.
"Says who?" The white-blond man asked amused.
"Says me!" She stomped her foot in total frustration.
"Why would I care if it came from you?" His eyes lightened in
merriment, as she nearly blew her top; she looks so pretty when she's
angry. He thought with a wicked grin, I wonder if…
"Because I am the commanding-general next to the Queen!"
"Yeah, and I'm the King of Spain." The blond-white haired man
said with a frown. "What makes you think that-"
"Ignore my rude friend Venus-san." The blond haired man
interrupted, bowing, "I apologize for his extremely uncivil behavior."
"Jadeite-kun!" She half jumped in surprise. "What are you doing
here?"