-Celeste

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Part Seven: Storms in the Dark Kingdom

Karl stared sightlessly out the window, trying to make sense of what he was feeling. He had always liked his pretty young student from the second he had met her, but really…she was young, and forbidden to him.

He loved her, though. That much was obvious, even to his denying mind. But how could he tell her…he knew that his numerous rebuttals had hurt her. Every time he saw her, he saw the desperate need in her verdant eyes. Only if he could find a way to say…

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Zoya moved softly over the silk sheets, to run her fingers over the face of Mamoru, as he slept as a peaceful child. "Good morning, my love…"

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Minako watched the man pull away, leaving her to sneak back into her house in the early hours of Friday morning. A look of pure adoration adorned her fresh young features…

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Phenakite threw the crystal in fury, and sighed as it shattered on the concrete ground. Energy was so hard to find these days…like decent help, for that matter. She spat on the dismembered corpse of her latest youma victim, and glided off to find some more animated amusement…

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Masato replaced the phone in its cradle, wondering if he really should be calling fifteen year olds at four o’clock in the morning…and thinking why he had just become so interested in astronomy…

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The morning was bright and clear, and though someone who shall remain nameless was late, there were members of some strange grouping that had been up for hours already. The mysteries were continuing to haunt them, and Usagi felt a twinge of unease when she noticed Naru was absent this morning. It couldn’t be right…the Saturday meeting of Masato and Naru hadn’t resulted in anything as per yet, though Minako had become uncomfortably fascinated with Jonathan. And Mamo-chan had seemed so distant yesterday afternoon…things changed. Too fast for the kawaii little Senshi.

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Zoya groaned as the doorbell rang, and reluctantly, Mamoru let his arm fall from its protective grip around her waist, and she pulled on a white robe. She stumbled to the door, and drew in a sharp breath.

He chuckled in amusement at her dishevelled appearance. "Not planning on coming to class today, little seito?"

She scowled unexpectedly, and he was slightly taken aback. But he had come to speak the truth, and no matter what transpired, he would leave her until he had said all he had meant to say when he had first laid eyes on her in Kyoto. Though it felt as if he had seen her somewhere before…

"Can I help you, Rutherford-sensei?" she asked, glancing inside temporarily. To her relief, Mamoru hadn’t come investigating. Not yet, at any rate.

He was startled at her use of his proper title, he being her teacher and all. Neither had ever bothered with protocol, however. Something had changed in her eyes…they were no longer welcoming, friendly. In fact, they were downright hostile.

She snorted, bringing him out of his thoughts that he hadn’t realised he was so deep in. "Obviously not. I’m not coming to class today, so maybe I’ll see you tomorrow, Rutherford-sensei. Try to have a lovely day, won’t you." She spun on one bare heel, making to close the door.

A strong hand shot out and grabbed the edge of the door, and Karl yanked it open again. "Wait."

She turned on him, eyes blazing. "What?"

He bit his lip, but not quite hard enough to draw blood. "I want to talk to you."

"I’m busy," she snapped maliciously, and tossed her hair in a manner that seemed fuzzily familiar to him.

Karl ran a hand through his peroxide-blonde hair, as if the movement would push his thoughts into some kind of logical order. "As you’re obviously busy now, seito, how…how about I meet you somewhere this afternoon?"

"Why should I?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Then talk."

Her blunt, dark tones made her husky voice slightly evil-sounding, a tone that Karl found he didn’t appreciate. For some reason he didn’t understand, he began to pray that Zoya wouldn’t start laughing.

He glanced around, half expecting to find some nightmarish creature observing their conversation from the relative safety of the shadows in the hallway. "I…I have noticed your brother’s extreme interest in Minako," he said faintly, while mentally kicking himself.

She chuckled without mirth. "Cradle robber, that’s my brother Jonathan. But why would you care, Karl? I doubt you care about anyone but yourself."

He took the insult like a blow to the stomach – indeed, he felt as if all the wind had been knocked from him. "Nan…nanii?"

Gracefully, she ran her eyes over the length of him, a faint, amused smile on her taunt features. He had never felt so small. "Not without some reason, I guess."

He felt a blush stain his cheeks, and to his surprise, hot tears stung his eyelids. "Zoya, I do care about these people. I do not understand why, but…"

"You don’t understand the meaning of friendship," she said with surprising bitterness. "Or love. I wonder if you have ever been in love."

With that disturbing thought for Karl to mull over, Zoya slammed the door, and there was an audible click as she locked it behind her.

"Who was that?" asked Mamoru, stumbling out of the bedroom. She let the anger slip from her features, and put on her dreamy eyed romantic look as easy as a mask. Yet she was sincere.

"No one," she murmured, sliding her hands around his neck, planting a delicate kiss on his lips. "All you need to know is this…I love you, Mamoru-sama. From now, until forever…"

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The building towered above him, yet it did not intimidate him. It felt some how relaxing, actually. Like a place he could call home.

The receptionist at the large reception area in the grand foyer of the Sanjouin Memorial Building, the heart of Sanjouin Enterprises, looked at the tall man curiously through her thick glasses, admiring him. He had an unusual aura about his slender form, dressed entirely in black as he was. Regal he almost was, with his aristocratic features set in a mask of calm decorum. "I would like to see Masato Sanjouin."

She almost choked. "Mr. Sanjouin has a heavy schedule, Mr..?"

"Doctor Rutherford," he corrected, absently feeling a gathering of energy at the back of his mind.

She looked at the young man, perplexed. Either he was older than his youthful features implied, or he was that prodigy they sometimes mentioned on the news. The name sounded familiar…

"He is always busy, Doctor, I’m sorry. You’ll need to make an appointment."

"I don’t really need an appointment, do I?"

Her head snapped up, her eyes suddenly blank. "Need an appointment…"

"You will allow me to see the esteemed Sanjouin Masato." "I let you go to him." He voice was monotonous, hypnotised by his words that seemed to wrap themselves around the very fabric of her being.

He glanced around, relieved to note no one was close enough to witness this transgression. "You will not remember how I bent your will to my own. You will only know that I had an appointment…"

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Masato looked amazed when Karl stepped into the room, and he stood to shake his hand warmly. "Karl! How on earth did you get in here, my friend? I thought I had improved my security systems!"

He winced at the memory. He had not understood how he had spoken, and done so much to the poor woman downstairs without thinking. She had then moved through the appropriate channels like a zombie, and half an hour later, he was at Masato’s office on the forty-fourth floor, not aware of the magic burning at his mind.

"I have ways," he said, and Masato roared with laughter.

"I’m sure you do, Karl. It doesn’t matter anyway, I wasn’t busy. I was talking to Owen, before he so rudely disappeared half an hour early. So, I decided to have myself a "coffee" break."

Karl observed the crystalline glass in the young man’s hand and snorted. "Nice coffee, my friend."

"Hardly," he snorted, with a smile lighting up his sapphire eyes. "Do you want some?"

Sighing, he sat down in a chair in front of Masato’s desk, admiring the décor of the spacious office. He particularly liked the floor to ceiling window that overlooked Tokyo, framed by ornate carvings. The office was filled with such knick-knacks as one might expect to find in a museum, and Karl found he felt entirely relaxed in the presence of the auburn-haired man. "No – I just came to talk. About Jonathan, actually. It’s strange, this obsession he has with Minako."

Masato looked up, eyes dark. "Have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

He put the glass down on the edge of his oak desk, and moved to look over the city with lines of worry creasing his forehead. It was some time before he addressed the doctor again.

"He gave Minako a ring last night." He looked at his own hand reflectively for a moment, before a hand stole to his neck. On a delicate silver chain was a carving, a Maori carving made from greenstone…jade. Nephrite jade, to be precise. Karl had obtained it for him from his country of origin some years before. Masato and Karl had known each other for all their lives, their parents had been friends since before they were born.

"So?" Karl looked to the vase of pink roses sitting on Masato’s desk, wondering why on earth they sent such a spasm of pain through his heart. "What’s a ring going to do?"

"It’s not just any ring," he replied, eyes troubled as he met Karl’s. "It was…an engagement ring."

"NANII?!" shrieked Karl in shock, neatly falling from his chair. He then scrambled to his feet, and grabbed Masato’s shoulder. "You’re serious?"

"I hope you don’t mind me interrupting, Mr Sanjouin," came a monotonous voice from the door, with little feeling in its tone. The man stepped through the large doors stiffly, dressed in a navy suit, with neat blonde hair done neatly about his head. He wore wire-rimmed spectacles, that didn’t mask the brightness of his cerulean blue eyes in the slightest. He wore a slightly bored expression.

"Oh, no, don’t worry – I’m just glad you came back." Masato turned to Karl, and nodded at the tall, silent man. "Karl, this is Owen Burnett, an assistant to a colleague in New York. He’s just helping me out temporarily. Owen, this is an old friend, Doctor Karl Rutherford."

"Delighted," said Owen briefly, shaking his hand. "Forgive the rudeness of my interruption, but Mr Sanjouin, there is a woman who wants to see you. A Miss Morgan Shepherd."

"Morgan?" Karl’s brow furrowed deeply.

Masato looked shocked. "You’re kidding, aren’t you? Please tell me you’re joking."

Karl’s eyes clouded. "An engagement ring?!"

Owen sighed, looking at his watch. "Fox is going to be pissed…not to mention the big guy…" He looked up. "My time is limited, gentlemen, I must go. I’ll send Miss Shepherd in, shall I?"

He ran a hand through his auburn hair, like Karl had done in Zoya’s presence, and glanced sidelong out the window. "Yeah…send her in. And tell David that I’ll be in New York probably next week. Have a good trip, Owen."

"Of course, Mr Sanjouin." He moved from the room, and swiftly, Morgan strolled in.

"Hey guys – how’s it shaking?"

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Jonathan and Minako sat in the café, Minako having abandoned school for the day. She had switched her school uniform for a pair of black jeans and a green jacket. She wore her silky pale blonde hair loose from its usual red ribbon, but it wasn’t the girl’s beauty that caught anyone’s attention.

It was the sparkling of the diamond adorning her left wedding finger, as it refracted light at every slight movement.

She smiled sweetly at her fiancé, gazing at him with a perfect pair of loving eyes. "I love you, Jonathan. You do know that, don’t you?"

"How could I not, my sweet?" he murmured, taking one of her slender hands, and clasping it between his own. "And I love you…always. My love for you will never die…even if I do."

"How morbidly poetic," snickered Minako gently. She moved to switch sides, so she could snuggle closer to the man she had known for such a short time, and yet loved with every each of her soul.

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Makoto leaned against the tree, regarding Luna, Usagi and Ami with worried eyes. Rei snorted from the screen of the communicator, still at her own school during the lunch break. "Yeah right, odango atama. When did this happen?"

"Last night," she said soberly, not reacting to the much-despised nickname. Luna nodded grimly.

"Artemis told me that Minako hadn’t been home all night, and then…she came early in the morning, like a runaway star. She wore his ring on her finger…"

"This is nuts!" cried Makoto, slamming a fist into the tree. "You guys are nuts! I knew something like this would happen! But you guys said not to worry!"

"Don’t start," warned Luna quietly, looking at Ami, who had remained silent and pale throughout the conversation. She wondered at the Senshi’s silence.

What she didn’t know was that Ami had gone to Mamoru and Zoya’s apartment earlier that morning, before school. She had wanted to talk to Zoya for a moment, get some readings on her computer…and there was something deeper, that she couldn’t quite place. Something that drew her to the female king look-alike, something she didn’t understand.

She had been walking down the street, towards the building, when she had seen them.

Walking, hand in hand, they seemed immersed only in one another as they laughed at some hidden joke, and Zoya gazed meaningfully into his welcoming sapphire gaze.

She had ducked behind a handy tree in the pavement, and watched as the pair walked past – then halted. Mamoru had the wrapped his strong arms around Zoya, and pulled her closer to him. "So, dearheart, how do you react when you are confronted by your greatest fear?"

"My fear?" she chuckled. "My fear is that you will not love me as I love you…to confront it, I shall take my heart and pour it into yours."

She had kissed him then, full of a passion that Ami had never encountered before, and she had only watched, filled with…jealousy?

"Ami-chan, are you all right?" asked Usagi, concerned. Ami shrugged, and went back to tapping away on her computer. How could she tell Usagi what she had seen…

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The halls were dark, as dark as the shrouds of night. The only light came from the slight figure striding purposely down the corridor, trailed by several expendable youma. Her uniform was now a drab grey, lined in white, consisting of a blazer and knee length skirt, a pair of high-heeled ankle boots on her tiny feet. Her brown eyes blazed in fury, she had to talk to the queen.

"My queen," she spat. "How dare they…I am not ruled over by anyone!" She stomped into the chambers of her "masters," and knelt sullenly before the red headed woman who sat slumped in a throne, head clasped in her hands. "Beryl!" snapped Phenakite, and looked up angrily. "Your servant has done it again!"

"What do you mean?" asked Beryl slowly, raising her aching head. "Phenakite, what have you done now?"

"It wasn’t me, your majesties," she spat out sarcastically, as she stood, and began to pace the floor. "Your servant, Jadeite, has disobeyed your direct orders! All he was to do was to awaken the four lost kings. And he hasn’t done it – in fact, all he has done is fall in love with Aphrodite, I mean, the reincarnated princess of Venus…Aino Minako!"

Beryl looked more perplexed than angry. "How is that? Wasn’t Aphrodite involved with Adonis…"

"New lives, new loves," snarled Phenakite, apparently not likely the reference the former lovers. "But he is…falling out of our command, my queens. I think you should summon him back to the Dark Kingdom."

"Why haven’t you already?" asked Beryl, playing idly with her crystal ball.

Snorting, Phenakite tossed her insolent head. "And you seriously believe he would listen to me?"

Beryl sighed, and pulled her energies to the fore. "I shall summon him."

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Karl had left, and the two wondered at his disappearance that had been so sudden. Masato had the feeling that he was going to try to find Jonathan. Masato was beginning to worry about the strange young doctor.

The young woman he hadn’t seen in some years was reclining in a chair, eyeing him with those stunningly violet eyes, a smile playing at her lips.

She had changed – the last time they had seen each other, she had been happy, free…this snake-like smile had been a pinball smile, one that lit up her whole face. Now, she looked cruel, bored.

"Masa-kun, dear, how have you been? Have you been to England and not paid me a visit?"

"I tend to keep my business affairs in America and Japan these days," he said stiffly, trying not to look at the woman with admiration. Despite the cruel overtones to her once demure, sweet beauty, she was still exceptionally attractive.

She snickered, and looked at his notepad beside his phone. "Preying on young girls, are we?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"This," she smiled, pulling off a yellow sheet. "Osaka Naru, of Osa-p…my cousin, you dork. Have your tastes changed then? And I thought I was your one and only."

"That’s all in the past," he growled, snatching the offending piece of pare from her unresisting hand. "You betrayed me, Morgan. I don’t appreciate being lied to."

To his shock, she suddenly moved ver close to him, pressing her body against his as she draped her hands around his neck. "But you still love me, don’t you Neffy? You never stopped loving me."

"Morgan, I…you…"

"I always loved you, you baka," she chuckled in her dulcet tones.

He looked at her, shocked. "Why didn’t you ever tell me? Before I left you?"

"You never asked," she shrugged, not turning away from him. It echoed in his words.

"Never again will I turn away from you," he murmured, and leant down to give the tall woman a kiss that he had desired to give her ever since that stormy night in Paris. Three years ago…a tempest of pain. Yet, he knew in his heart he did not love her. Not now. And why had she called him Neffy…

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Karl wandered in downtown Tokyo, no particular destination in mind. He needed to talk to Jonathan…about Minako. But most of all, he desired to speak with Zoya. The woman he thought he loved.

"Doctor Rutherford," said a familiar voice, and turned in surprise, to find Owen Burnett standing behind him, eyes bright. "I think you know what’s going on."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, you can sense the feelings of a millennium past, and it’s beginning to have an affect on you. Only Zoya doesn’t understand – for she was the only one who truly desired absolution to its full extent. You just wanted to get away from the influence…but keep the power."

"What…who are you? How do you know Zoya?"

"Oh, I think you’d be surprised, Doctor Rutherford, you really would. But that is hardly the point. What I am saying in this…I’m sorry."

"Sorry?" He wrinkled his face in confusion. "For what?"

"What has happened in my absence," he said with a saddened look in his blue eyes. "This is my fault, you know. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t been such an idiot…I thought it was all just a game."

He looked at Karl intensely, guilt in his eyes. "Look, okay. Zoya, you love her. That is obvious. That love could be the only thing that saves you, or it could be your downfall. She is in her bliss now, but it will be shattered. My friend, my princess, is calling back her servant. You must find him first – maybe you can save him before she gets her hands on him. If you’re lucky. In the meantime…I must go home." He grimaced, looking pale. "I don’t want to leave…but the choice isn’t mine to be made. I must obey…but I will talk to Morgan. She will recover."

And with that, the strange man climbed into his black Buick, and pulled out with a screech to hurt even the ears of the deaf.

He hadn’t understood the man’s ramblings, but some part of him had insisted that he go and find Jonathan. Quickly.

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Two hours had passed since the prophesies of Owen Burnett, and Minako stood alone in the airport, tears staining her pale young cheeks as she ran a lonely hand over the glass window. She had seen the plane leave, but she had yet to accept that Jonathan was gone.

He had received an unusual phone call, and told her he had to leave the country – he was to go home. To Greece. He had claimed business problems relating to the law firm he had worked with in Iraklion, in the nearby island of Crete.

She played with the ring as if she could speak to Jonathan through it…and she felt alone. So horribly alone. Knowing there would be no comfort from her friends, who couldn’t possibly understand her love for the strange man, she walked slowly towards her own home. To the solitude of her darkened room.

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Jonathan glanced around, and then moved into the bathroom of the plane. He opened a gateway, and looked longingly at a single photograph of Minako, taken that very afternoon. She was laughing, holding a purple rose, and her ring had caught a beam of light, giving the ring an ethereal glow.

He let a tear slip unnoticed down his cheek, before abandoning the photograph on the sink. And he stepped into the darkness.

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The girl, dressed in a long, cotton skirt and white cashmere sweater, stepped out of the huge glass doors leading into the foyer of the Sanjouin building, and looked at the darkening sky. "How cliché," she sighed, and glanced at the silver watch adorning her wrist.

"Storms are, aren’t they? Too overdone."

She spun to face the man who had guided her to Masato, the strange Owen Burnett. "I thought you were leaving the country, Mr Burnett."

"I never said I was leaving – Mr Sanjouin simply made an incorrect assumption. That is not why I am here, though. I didn’t come to talk to Mr Sanjouin."

"Then who?"

"You, Miss Shepherd. Only you." His eyes were bright, searching as they found the violet of hers. "You are the only one I am allowed to help, though I can hardly help it if this means I get involved in Phenakite’s affairs indirectly."

Morgan winced as a fat drop of rain hit her on the head, and Owen smiled. "What are you talking about?"

"Your past, your future…and of course, your present. I am going to show you the truth."

Morgan stepped quickly away, feeling weird…vibes emanating from the man. His face fell as she moved away, and panic entered his shouted words.

"Morgan, come back! Morgan…wait! I can’t…I don’t have any time to waste! Éowyn!"

She stilled suddenly, and turned.

Owen was gone.

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