"..." dialogue
/.../ thoughts
//flashbacks//
*...* emphasis
|...| Smartass Inner Voices (tm)
@)~~}~~~~
Soul's Winter
Part One: What Do You Mean, You Knew All Along?!
Naru stared at her best friend, beginning to seriously become worried
about her. "Hey, Usagi, are you feeling all right?" she inquired.
Curious cornflower eyes looked at her innocently. "Of course I feel all
right--why shouldn't I?" Usagi answered.
"It's just that--well, normally by this time you'd be finished with your
lunch and be begging for mine, but..." Naru stared pointedly at Usagi's
lunchbox, which was still mostly full of food. "You've been eating it,
um..."
"Like a normal person?" Usagi asked, grinning slightly. Naru blushed, but
nodded. "Don't worry, Naru, I'm feeling fine. I'm just a little...
distracted, that's all. Worried about some friends."
"Oh, okay." Naru nodded, still looking a little suspicious. Mere
distraction couldn't account for *all* the changes she had noticed in
Usagi lately. She hadn't been late to class in two weeks, and she had
done her homework consistently as well. She hadn't klutzed out lately,
either. All things considered, it was beginning to freak Naru out a
little bit.
"Hey, Naru! Hey, Naru!"
Both girls winced slightly as Umino rushed over to them. "What is it,
Umino?" Naru inquired of her boyfriend, since he seemed to be very excited
about something.
"You'll never guess what I've found out!" he enthused, adjusting his
glasses self--importantly. The two girls, humoring him, looked at him
curiously. "Millionaire Sanjouin Masato has returned to Tokyo, only he's
calling himself Nephrite, and--"
Usagi groaned inwardly. She did *not* need this.
Naru's eyes went very wide. "That's not possible, Umino!" she exclaimed.
"Um... Umino... Why don't you, uh... go check your email? Naru and I need
to have a little heart-to-heart," Usagi said quickly.
"Oh, girl things, huh. Okay." Umino obediently wandered away.
Naru turned to her best friend. "He's dead, Usagi. Nephrite died--in my
arms--how can he be--"
/I'm going to strangle Neph, I swear I am,/ Usagi thought, searching for a
way out of this extremely sticky situation. "Um..." The bell saved her,
ringing to signal the end of lunch. "Why don't you come over after school
today? We can try to figure this out then, okay?"
"Right..." Naru mumbled.
~*~
/Why, damn it? Why in the hell did he do that to me?/ Zoisite demanded,
staring blearily into his coffee.
It didn't have any answers, so he sighed and took a deep swallow.
Nephrite certainly wouldn't approve of the fact that he hadn't dragged
himself out of bed until... Zoisite checked the clock. Two p.m. No,
Neph, *wouldn't* be pleased, but... Screw it. What did he know about
grief, anyway? He was perfectly happy with Makoto, even though they tried
to be discreet about it... Zoisite appreciated their attempt to spare his
raw emotions, at least...
Distantly, a pounding on the door penetrated Zoisite's reverie. "What
the...?" he muttered. "It had damn well better not be another one of
those salesmen..." The thought of the last salesman's fate who had dared
disturb Zoisite brought a faint smirk to the little sakura's lips. Try to
sell him aluminum siding, indeed!
Coffee mug in hand, Zoisite wandered through the empty, echoing halls of
Nephrite's mansion at his own leisurely pace. If it were important
enough, whoever it was at the door would wait for him to get there...
Apparently, it *was* important, because the pounding had not lessened in
the time it took Zoisite to amble to the front door. "All right, all
right, I'm here, I'm here..." he muttered. He opened the door. "Yeah,
what is it?"
A girl, roughly Princess Serenity's--Usagi's--age, stared at him with
wide, shocked eyes. "*You*!" she exclaimed.
Zoisite blinked. "I'm sorry, have we met?" Come to think of it, there was
something familiar about her...
"You--you--you-" She was inarticulate, whether from rage or fear, he
couldn't tell. "You--Nephrite--"
"Oh, shit," Zoisite cursed, recognizing her at last. "You're--um,
Nanako... Nana... Nanami... Damn, what *was* your name, anyway?" He
shrugged. "If you're here for Neph, he's not in right now. If you'd like
to leave your name and number, he'll get back to you as soon as possible,"
he recited.
The girl stared at him and began crying.
Zoisite cursed again. "Damn it, don't cry! The neighbors already think
bad things about us-Oh, shit. Nanako, Nana, Nanami, Nanashi, whoever the
hell you are, you'd better come in..." When she didn't seem inclined to
move, he sighed heavily. "If I don't be nice to you, I know Neph'll kill
me... C'mon already, work with me here..." He herded the crying girl
inside.
~*~
As the minutes of class passed, Naru grew more and more agitated. Was
Nephrite really alive? What was going on? She had to know.
That's how she found herself asking for permission to use the restroom and
then escaping from the school in order to visit Nephrite's mansion...
She was just about to give up on anybody ever answering the door when it
swung open to reveal--a slight man, with messy strawberry blond hair
pulled back in a messier ponytail, dressed in too-large jeans and a sloppy
T-shirt, holding a mug of coffee. "Yeah, what is it?" he asked, peering
at her with bleary emerald eyes.
It was *him*, the man who had *murdered* Nephrite and harassed her on more
than one occasion. "You--you--you--" she sputtered, unable to fully
comprehend what she was seeing. "You--Nephrite--"
He stared back at her, recognition and dismay flickering in his eyes as he
rambled on about a Nanako and a Nanashi and Neph not being home...
The stress of it all caused Naru to go into her best defense mechanism.
She began crying.
Somehow she was brought inside, still crying, and led into what was
obviously a bachelor's kitchen: dirty dishes, empty fast food cartons, and
assorted objects covered most available surfaces. The person who had
killed Nephrite forced her to sit at the kitchen table. "Here," he said,
pushing a box of tissues in her direction as he took the other seat.
Naru took the hint and brought herself under control, making use of the
tissues to wipe her eyes and blow her nose. "Now, for real, what was your
name again?"
"Naru..."
"I *knew* it began with an N!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "I'm
Zoisite."
"I know," Naru told him in a small voice.
"Oh, um... right. Uh, care for some coffee?" Zoisite seemed friendly...
too friendly, as the danger of her situation struck home to Naru.
"No."
"Suit yourself." Zoisite shrugged and took a slug of his own brew.
"Shouldn't you be in school or something? As I recall, you're the same
age as the princess."
"I'm--I'm cutting class," Naru admitted.
"Ah, isn't juvenile delinquency wonderful?" Zoisite asked dramatically.
"So, I suppose you're here to see Neph?" She nodded slightly. "He's not
home. I think he's out trying to resurrect his business or something."
"Oh." Naru couldn't control herself anymore. "What the hell is going on
around here?!"
Zoisite gave her a strange look. "You mean you don't know?"
"All I know is that Nephrite was dead and now he's not!" Naru half-wailed
in anguish.
The guardian winced. "Shit. Sucks to be the innocent bystander."
"You want to tell me about it?" Naru spat. "Do you know how irritating it
is that my best friend won't confide anything really important to me?"
"Huh?" This outburst had lost Zoisite.
"Okay, how obvious is it that Usagi is Sailor Moon?" Naru asked, voice
dripping with sarcasm. "But d'you think she'd come out and *tell* me,
even after all the crap I've gone through?!"
"I'm glad I didn't give you any caffeine," Zoisite remarked. "Don't be
too hard on the princess. She's got a lot to balance. It wouldn't
surprise me if she just wanted to have one normal friendship."
"I guess... Hey, wait a minute. When did *you* start being so friendly
with Sailor Moon?"
He shrugged. "It's kind of a long story--"
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Fine, have it your way." Zoisite fetched another cup of coffee for
himself. "It all goes back to the Silver Millennium..."
~*~
Nephrite sighed in satisfaction as he parked the Ferrari in the garage and
climbed out. It had required an exorbitant amount of smooth talking, but
he was once again a respected member of the business community (even if a
number of his colleagues thought him slightly cracked for insisting on
being addressed as a mineral). /A job well done,/ he congratulated
himself.
He walked into the kitchen cheerfully, his jacket slung carelessly over
his shoulder... "Hey, Zoi, what'd you order for dinner?" he asked, before
he caught sight of the visitor. "Uh... Hi, Naru."
"Hello, Nephrite." Her voice was very low and quiet.
"That would be my cue to run away as fast as I possibly can," Zoisite
announced, standing. "Good luck, Neffy. I do believe you'll need it." He
vanished in his trademark swirl of cherry blossoms, the first time he had
done any such thing in a fortnight. A distant corner of Nephrite's mind
noted that the little sakura must have been feeling somewhat better.
"So... you've been talking to Zoisite, I take it." Nephrite dropped
himself into one of the rickety chairs.
"You're not dead," Naru said slowly.
"No, I'm not. I was, but I'm... I got a second chance." /How does Zoi
phrase it, exactly?... I'm in deep shit.../
"Yes. About two weeks ago, you got a second chance." Naru took a deep
breath. "Did it ever occur to you to let me in on this?"
"Yeah, it did. I just wanted to put it off for a little longer..."
Nephrite gulped.
"How much longer?" Naru asked, her voice still icy calm.
"Um... until... after I was dead again?" he suggested, grimacing slightly.
Naru glared at him. "I liked it better when you lied to me," she stated.
"I'm sorry, Naru." Nephrite took a deep breath. "I've abused you in too
many ways to count, and I've no one to blame but myself."
"I don't know. Zoisite had some eloquent things to say about this Beryl
person," Naru commented.
"He would. How much did he tell you, Naru?" Nephrite inquired, wondering
exactly how to explain the situation to her.
"He tried to explain about the fall of the Silver Millennium and the Moon
Kingdom and Usagi--"
"You know, then?" He relaxed, glad not to have to skirt *that* issue.
"It's not obvious or anything, is it? Anyway, he was trying to explain
the Negaverse and the four of you, but he really got sidetracked when he
started talking about this guy named Kunzite..."
"In his state, that's not surprising," Nephrite muttered. Naru blushed.
"Did he manage to tear his attention away from Kunzite enough to tell you
anything about how we got back?"
"There was a ... Doom Phantom?" Naru looked uncertain.
Nephrite nodded. "There was a huge battle, and Zoi and I were allowed to
come back to help Prince Endymion," Nephrite elucidated. "Zoi's about
three cards short of a full deck right now because Kunzite sacrificed
himself to save him."
"And the other one--Jadeite?" Naru asked.
Nephrite's face creased with profound grief. "He died protecting Sailor
Mercury."
"I'm sorry." Naru sounded sincere.
"You shouldn't feel too bad for me, Naru," Nephrite told her, regretting
what he had to tell her. "Of the group of us, I came out the luckiest
member."
"Why?" Naru asked, suspicious.
"I--Naru." Nephrite shook his head. "We all came back with our memories
of the Silver Millennium, Naru... and most of the Scouts have their
memories, too."
"Spit it out, Nephrite." Naru didn't possess the patience to let him dance
around the issue like he so obviously wished to do.
"In the Silver Millennium, I--and Sailor Jupiter--were to have been
married," Nephrite clarified.
Naru stared at him, stricken. "And?"
He sighed. "And... we both still feel... the same... and, if things go
right, I plan... on asking her to marry me again."
Naru bowed her head. "And where does that put me, Nephrite? Was I ever
really anything to you beyond an amusing diversion and a way to strike at
Sailor Moon? Are you still laughing at me?"
"Naru--Please, just listen to me this once, and I swear I'll never ask you
for anything again," Nephrite pleaded.
"I ought to be going home," Naru stated firmly. But she didn't move to
stand.
"Naru, when I found you, I was lost in the deepest pit of hell, and I had
forgotten that there was light in the universe. You showed me the truth
of how wrong I was, and you helped me free myself from the cycle of hatred
and revenge. I owe you more than I can ever repay you... and all I've
ever done is hurt you. I am truly sorry, Naru, and all I can hope is that
someday, someone finds you who appreciates your worth and treats you as
you deserve. That person just can't be me."
Naru looked up at him, tears streaking down her face. "I'm leaving now.
Please don't ever invade my life again."
"Goodbye, Naru." He watched her get out of her seat.
"Goodbye, Nephrite." Naru fled the room.
~*~
Having abandoned Nephrite to the furies of his old girlfriend, Zoisite
gravely pondered his options. He could continue his explorations of the
local bar life, but alcohol was rapidly losing its effectiveness in the
battle against his pain.
|You can't run forever,| his snotty inner voice remided him. |Sooner or
later, you're going to have to face up to it.|
/No. I don't have to if I don't want to,/ Zoisite replied stubbornly.
|Kunzite is dead. You're going to have to accept it and move on with your
life.|
/I don't want to./ Zoisite frowned like a petulant child.
|Idiot. What happens if Prince Endymion is threatened and you're too busy
wallowing in your own self-pity to protect him as you should?|
That gave the guardian a reason to pause on his absent-minded journey to
the closest bar. /Nothing's going to happen to Endymion./
|You're an idiot if you honestly believe that.|
Zoisite scowled. /Let him take care of himself. Cape Boy is more than
capable.../
|So your sacred oath to defend him with your very life means *nothing* to
you?|
/Dying should negate the contract,/ Zoisite grumbled.
|Don't be obstinate. You're still bonded to him as a guardian, and you
know it. You have a duty to Endymion. What would Kunzite have to say
about such negligence?|
/He'd have my hide tacked to the nearest wall,/ the guardian admitted
ruefully. /Hey, that's cheating, to bring him into this./
|One of these days, you'll have to face him again, y'know.|
/Oh, God.../ He shuddered involuntarily, envisioning the scene with
painful clarity. No, Kunzite would *not* be happy with him, should
Endymion come to any harm while under Zoisite's care. /Damn it, do you
know how much I hate arguing with you?/
|It's because you always lose,| his inner voice replied smugly.
~*~
Motoki glanced up as the door to the shop opened and closed, admitting a
small, slender figure dressed in worn, oversized clothes. At first he was
tempted to classify the blond as a woman, but a closer inspection changed
his mind.
The slight figure plopped himself down at the counter next to Mamoru.
Much to Motoki's surprise, Mamoru greeted the stranger warmly. "Hi,
Zoisite... How're you doing?"
"Only you would ask a question like that," Zoisite replied calmly. "I've
been better."
Mamoru snorted quietly, seemingly not offended by the mild insult.
"You've got that look on your face. What happened, lose another argument
with yourself?"
Zoisite grunted. "Shut up."
Mamoru laughed. "Only person I've ever known who can carry on fluent
arguments with himself and lose every time."
"Hmph. I want a coffee, please." Zoisite took his liege's teasing in good
humor.
Motoki fetched the coffee and then surrendered to his curiosity. "So,
Mamoru, are you going to introduce me or not?"
"Oh, right. Motoki, this is Zoisite; Zoisite, this is Motoki."
"You two known each other long?" Motoki asked.
Zoisite snickered. "Yeah, you might say that."
Mamoru grinned at Motoki. "We knew each other years ago... Zoisite just
moved into town a couple of weeks ago."
"Really? Are you a student?" Motoki inquired politely.
"I am a professional houseguest and part-time moocher," Zoisite replied
gravely. "Until Neph gets sick of me, I'm nothing more than a bum."
Motoki digested this. "Well, at least you're honest about it."
"I try to be." Zoisite shrugged.
"So, what brings you out?" Mamoru asked his guardian casually.
"Neph is dealing with an irate ex-girlfriend." Zoisite couldn't quite
control the smirk in his voice... not that he was really trying.
"What, he and Makoto--" Mamoru began, shocked.
Zoisite shook his head. "No. Naru."
Mamoru nodded wisely and then made a face. "Oh, God."
"What?" Motoki demanded, completely confused. "What's going on? Makoto
has a boyfriend? Did I miss something?"
"Probably." Zoisite grinned at the befuddled human.
Mamoru briefly outlined the situation for Motoki, omitting certain...
unusual details. Motoki appeared suitably stunned to learn that Makoto,
the sweet kid, had finally struck it lucky in love. "So, let me get this
straight. The guy, Nephrite, had a thing with Naru, but dumped her and
started going out with Makoto."
"There's a little more to it than that, but that's the basic idea," Mamoru
agreed cautiously.
Motoki frowned, a little concerned for his younger friend. "But what if
he does the same thing to Makoto? I don't want to see her get hurt."
"That would be the last thing Neph would want to see happen," Zoisite told
him, firmly. "He's head over heels for Makoto, and has been for a *very*
long time. You don't need to worry about Makoto."
Motoki didn't look convinced.
~*~
Darkness stirred, roiling uneasily.
Something was calling to it.
~*~
"Um, hi, Mrs. Osaka, this is Usagi--"
"Oh, Usagi, thank God! Do *you* know what's wrong with Naru?" Mrs.
Osaka's voice sounded frantic over the telephone line. "The school called
me to tell me that she just walked out of class this afternoon, and then
she came home a little while ago, all upset, and she won't talk to me!"
/Oh, no.../ Usagi thought miserably. "I'll be right over, Mrs. Osaka, and
I'll get to the bottom of this." Naru's mother thanked her effusively, and
then hung up the telephone. "I'm going over to Naru's," Usagi yelled as
she hurried out the door.
"Be home before ten, dear!" Mrs. Tsukino yelled after her.
Usagi pounded down the pavement, trying desperately to figure out how to
comfort Naru... /Damn Nephrite, anyway. Why did he have to insist as
taking up his old life right where he left off, anyway? Maybe he could
have saved Naru a little grief.../ The familiar jaunt to Naru's house
passed all too quickly for Usagi's taste.
Mrs. Osaka welcomed her inside. "She's upstairs, in her room. She was
like this once before, you remember, when that Sanjouin Masato fellow
disappeared. Could it have anything to do with him?"
Usagi sighed. "More than either of us want to know about it.
I'll go see if I can get her to talk to me, okay?" At the woman's
tight, worried nod, she headed into her friend's bedroom.
Naru sat in the window, staring up at the sky. "Hi, Naru," Usagi said
softly. "Can I come in?"
"If you want." Naru didn't even turn her head to look at Usagi, who
silently bit her lower lip and closed the door tightly behind her.
"You went to go see him, didn't you?" Usagi sat down on Naru's bed,
nervously crossing her arms.
"Yes." Naru was silent for a long time. "Why does all the really crappy
stuff have to happen to me, Usagi?"
"I don't know, Naru," her friend answered honestly. "You're just always
in the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess... Or maybe it comes from
being around me."
"I guess having Sailor Moon as a friend does have its drawbacks," Naru
agreed.
Usagi inhaled sharply, and then reminded herself that, after all, Naru did
deserve to know. "Did Neph tell you?"
"No, actually, I figured it out on my own, a long time ago. I kept
waiting for you to tell me, but..." Naru shrugged. "I'm just the innocent
bystander, like Zoisite said. I give the bad guys something to play with
until the Sailor Scouts decide to show up to save the day."
"I'm sorry, Naru," Usagi said quietly.
"Yeah, everybody's sorry lately, aren't they?" Naru asked bitterly.
"You're sorry, Zoisite's sorry, Nephrite's sorry... I'm sure Makoto's
sorry, too, but does that change anything for me?"
Usagi flinched. "He broke it all at once, huh?"
"Yeah, he broke it all at once." Naru's voice was hard and unforgiving.
"The Negaverse lord breaks the innocent human girl's heart and then goes
off to live happily ever after with his eternal love. The End."
"Naru-" Usagi tried, but couldn't think of anything to say that would
offer comfort.
"Don't try, Usagi. Nothing can help me right now." Naru continued to
stare out the window, refusing to look at Usagi. "I'll be fine. I just
need time to adjust, that's all."
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Usagi asked.
"I'll be fine. I just need some space... Do me a favor and tell my mom
that I've just been unlucky in love."
Usagi recognized the tone of dismissal in Naru's voice. "Okay... I guess
I'll see you at school tomorrow morning," Usagi said hesitantly.
"Yes. I must be in a load of trouble with Haruna." The distance in Naru's
tone indicated that she didn't particularly care.
"She'll get over it," Usagi replied, doing her best to sound optimistic.
"Goodbye, Usagi."
"Bye, Naru." Usagi reluctantly left, turning to glance back at Naru for a
long time before closing the door behind herself.
Not once during the interview had Naru troubled herself to look in her
friend's direction.
~*~
/That went...better than I had hoped it would,/ Nephrite thought wearily
after Naru walked out. He poured himself a drink. /Better thank Zoisite
later for making it easier.... Damn. Damn damn damn. Beryl, I hope
you're roasting for turning us into monsters who saw innocent girls as
convenient tools.../
/I am a world class jerk,/ he brooded, taking his drink into his
observatory and collapsing into the sole piece of furniture in the room.
Thinking of the heartbreak on the teenager's face, he sighed heavily.
/God, surely I could have handled that better,/ he thought miserably.
/Naru, I'm sorry.../
~*~
Rei watched in silence as the delicate figure stood before the temple
shrine, lost deep in her own thoughts. At last, she clapped twice and
rang the chimes. As she walked away, Rei approached her. "Hi, Ami."
"Rei."
"You want to come in for some tea?" the priestess asked. "Since you're
here anyway?"
"Okay." For Rei's benefit, Ami mustered a small smile.
The two girls went inside, passing Yuichirou and Grandpa Hino. Rei
chatted about meaningless topics (school, the weather, and other such
neutral subjects) as they settled in her room. "So... how're you doing?"
Rei asked finally, after the tea had been brewed and poured.
Ami stared down at her cup. "I'm not the best I've ever been," she
admitted.
"Ami, I know I was hard on Jadeite... but, for what it's worth, I'm
sorry," Rei offered tentatively. "I wish I had the good memories of him
instead of only the fights."
Unbidden, tears sprang to Ami's eyes. "I miss him so much," she
whispered. "I dream about him every night."
Rei nodded encouragingly, hoping that speaking would help Ami through her
grief.
The blue-haired Scout took a deep breath. "He's always waiting for me,
and I'm going to him... and then he starts retreating, and no matter how
fast I run after him, he disappears... I don't sleep very well these
days."
"Poor Ami," Rei said sympathetically.
"He promised me," Ami choked out. "He *promised* me that he'd always be
there."
"Ami--" Rei stopped, not knowing what to say. She scooted around to put
her arms around her sobbing friend. Surprisingly, the other girl pulled
herself together rapidly. "Are you--" Rei hesitated. "--all right?"
Ami swallowed. "I have to be... I have a duty to my princess," she said.
/It's all I really have left.../
~*~
"... And then she told me to go away," Usagi finished the tale. "Oh,
Minako, I feel so awful about all this. What should we do?"
On the other end of the telephone line, Minako was shaking her head.
"She's known the entire time who we are?"
"Yeah... and what she didn't know, one of the guys filled her in on. You
don't think that--" The princess couldn't finish her sentence.
"Probably not. I hope," Minako estimated. "Of course, she's never been
dumped before, either. Since you say she's so upset, there's really no
telling how she'll react... Poor Naru."
"Yeah." Usagi twirled a pigtail, trying to think. "Why did it all have to
get so complicated?"
"I don't know, Princess," Minako replied.
"How are *you*, Minako?" Usagi asked, switching topics abruptly.
"I'm fine, Usagi," Minako replied automatically.
Her friend snorted, a most un-princess-like thing to do. "That's what
you'd say if both of your legs were broken and were being chewed on by
wild dogs. How are you really?"
"I'm surviving, Usagi," Minako told her gently. "I've always known that I
might face a situation like this someday. I've been trained to protect
you, and I'm not going to let my personal life interfere with that." She
faltered a bit, and then pressed on. "Kunzite would do the same for
Endymion."
"I'm sorry, Minako," Usagi said softly. "I never would have wanted it to
be this way."
"I know, Princess. I know."
~*~
"So, do you want to talk about it?" Makoto grinned, amused by Nephrite's
startled reaction to her casual question. Crossing her arms, she leaned
against the doorframe and waited for him to regain his composure.
"You startled me," he scolded, standing and crossing the empty room in a
few quick strides.
"But it was a nice surprise, right?" she asked, leaning into his arms
gladly. /It's amazing just how well we fit together,/ she thought
happily.
"Very nice... much nicer than I deserve." Nephrite's arms tightened around
her. "You heard?"
"I ran into Zoisite and Mamoru. How did she, uh, take it?" Makoto asked
as Nephrite, keeping his arms around her, guided them to a more furnished
portion of the bare building.
"I feel like a bona fide creep." They reached a small sitting room and
arranged themselves on a couch therein.
"Did you--tell her about us?" Makoto pressed.
"Yeah. She deserved to know." Nephrite leaned his cheek against Makoto's
soft, flower-scented hair. "I told her that you and I were engaged in the
Silver Millennium..."
"And?" Makoto prompted, knowing that there had to be more.
Nephrite considered it briefly, and then decided. "Makoto... this wasn't
exactly how I'd meant to bring this up..." Nephrite cleared his throat
carefully. "You are my soul's other half, and I love you more than I have
words to say... I would consider myself the luckiest man in the universe
if you would marry me."
Makoto, leaning against his shoulder, went stiff with shock. "Oh, Neph,"
she whispered, sitting up to look straight into his warm brown eyes.
"I've been waiting for my entire life to hear you say those words to me
again."
"It doesn't matter to you that I'm and ex-Negacreep?" he asked anxiously.
"Why should it? I love you." Makoto smiled broadly and claimed her
fiancé's lips for her own.
~*~
Naru endured the scolding from Haruna stoically, barely allowing the
chastisement to percolate through the haze brought on by a sleepless night
and an aching soul. How could he have done such a thing to her? Didn't
he know how much she loved him? How long she had mourned for him? Had he
even cared at all?
/No, I *know* he cared for me,/ Naru told herself firmly. /Why else would
he have tried so hard to be nice about--about--/ The girl shook her head
over her English lesson, lost in her own private torment and unaware of
the strange looks she was receiving. /And why shouldn't he want M--her?
She's taller than I am, prettier than me, she's a homemaker, and they've
known each other forever... How could I ever measure up? It's probably
better this way./
If only she could persuade herself that this was true.
~*~
At lunchtime, she only shook her head at Usagi as the blonde approached
cautiously. "Not today, Usagi, please," Naru mumbled. "I just need some
time."
"All right, Naru," Usagi said, bright smile drooping noticeably.
"Whenever you want to--"
"I know," Naru cut her off. "I understand. Thank you."
Defeated, Usagi moved away, wretchedly wondering if things would ever be
okay with her friend again.
Umino presented himself next. "Hey, Naru, are you all right?" he asked in
the rushed manner she had always found amusing (if not terribly
endearing).
"Umino, please, I want to be alone," Naru told him tersely.
"But, Naru, you look so upset!" Umino protested. This gloominess in his
goddess could not be borne, and he was quite willing to dedicate himself
to cheering her mood. "What can I do to make you feel better?"
"Go away, Umino," Naru ordered, too soul-sick to maintain the charade of
politeness. "Leave me alone."
Umino recoiled at the arctic tone. "Ah, okay... I'll talk to you later,
then..."
Naru ignored his retreat, concentrating on forcing her tasteless lunch
down her throat.
~*~
"Ami! Hey, Ami!"
The blue-haired Scout paused in her solitary trek home at the sound of her
name. "Hello, Greg," she said, mustering a smile for his sake.
He hurriedly caught up with her. "Do you mind if I walk with you?"
She *did*, but it would have been rude to say as much. "Of course not,
Greg." He fell in at her side and they resumed walking.
For his part, Greg was glad to see that Jadeite wasn't with Ami. "Um, I
wanted to apologize, Ami," he began after a few moments.
"Oh?" Ami tried to think of what he could possibly want to apologize for,
and drew a blank.
"The other day at the temple, I as rattled and said some things that I
shouldn't have," Greg clarified for her. "The Negaverse still rattles me
pretty badly, you know, and I really don't trust Jadeite one little bit,
but I can't stand having you be mad at me like this--Ami, what's wrong?
What did I say?"
At the mention of Jadeite's name, Ami had stopped short, forced to
remember again the agony of believing that Jadeite was dead, compounded
with the reality of it all. She tried to shake her head at Greg and
attempted to speak, to explain. She could utter one word. "Jadeite..."
Greg's expression darkened. "I *knew* it. What has that Negaverse
bastard done to you?" he demanded. "Whatever it is, I'll make him sorry
he ever--"
"Greg, please be quiet," Ami managed to gasp. "I'm fine, really."
He snorted. "You are not. Ami, please, talk to me. What is it?"
/He won't leave me alone until I tell him,/ Ami decided. "Jadeite--"
"I knew it was something that creep did," Greg muttered, with conviction.
Ami gave him a strained, suffering glance, and he shut up. "He's dead,"
she finished.
Greg blinked, confused at first. "Eh?"
"Jadeite died a little over two weeks ago."
Elation showed in Greg's eyes briefly. "*That's* what's been bothering
you?" he asked. "One Negacreep died and--"
"Greg, I can't tell you how much it hurts me to hear you say such cruel
things about Jadeite," Ami interrupted him, in a pained voice.
He sniffed. "A guy would think you loved him, the way you're carrying
on."
Ami gave him a level look. "I do."
He just stared at her for a moment. "You're joking, right?"
"I'd never joke about that."
Greg went white. "It's not possible. He was from the Negaverse-"
"Not originally. Before Beryl captured and twisted him, Jadeite was one
of Prince Endymion's guardians," Ami said proudly.
Greg floundered. "But--what about us?"
She had to look away. "There isn't any us, Greg, you know that. Maybe it
could have been different, if--"
"If Jadeite hadn't shown up and swept you off your feet," Greg said
savagely.
"I'm sorry, Greg," Ami told him, sounding very old and very sad.
"Yeah, me too." He turned on his heel and walked away rapidly, before Ami
could see him cry.
~*~
Nephrite pulled into the garage and hoped that this evening would be a
normal one-not like the nightmare yesterday's homecoming had been. /Of
course, the end of the night more than made up for the beginning,/ he
thought smugly, still elated. He had actually proposed and she had said
yes! Still grinning happily, with thoughts of Makoto and which takeout to
order for dinner the only things on his mind, Nephrite entered the
kitchen.
At least, it *should* have been his kitchen... the layout of the room was
that of a kitchen, and even echoed the one he had left that morning after
his coffee. That was as far as the resemblance went. Gone were the piles
of empty cartons, the dirty, mismatched dishes, and the ugly (but
serviceable) table and its rickety chairs, as well as most of the old
fixtures and appliances. In their places gleamed new countertops and
softly-gleaming cabinets. A new refrigerator hummed softly, matching the
other appliances. A new table, suspiciously resembling solid cherry, was
set for dinner.
"What the hell happened to my kitchen?" Nephrite asked in disbelief. /Not
that it's not a change for the better./
He dropped his jacket on a chair and walked through the
miraculously-changed kitchen into the next room. It had *used* to be
empty. Nephrite stared, disbelieving, at the grand piano and shelves of
books and the large leather wing chairs. /This is a dream. I've fallen
asleep at my desk and this is a dream./
At about that point Zoisite wandered in, dressed for the first time since
Kunzite's death in clothes that fit and were clean. "Ah, I thought I
heard you come in," he said, smiling slightly.
"Zoisite, what the hell did you do to my house?" Nephrite demanded, still
stunned.
The other guardian sniffed disdainfully. "It positively screamed
'Negaverse', Neph... Hardly appropriate for Endymion's guardians, right?"
"Right..." Nephrite agreed automatically, still half-persuaded that none
of this was real, but also wondering if his friend had finally snapped.
"So I woke up this morning, decided that I was sick of living in dank,
dark, gloomy places, and did something about it." Zoisite gave way and
grinned. "Did I do a good job or what?"
"It's very... nice," Nephrite conceded faintly. "*How*?"
Zoisite grinned even more broadly, and pulled out several small cards.
"The stupid people gave me plastic."
Nephrite choked and decided that this was a strategic time to sit down.
The chairs were very comfortable, he noted absently. "You *charged* all
of this?"
"God, no. What I couldn't pay cash for, I charged... Besides, I can
conjure more than ice crystals, you know." Zoisite shrugged modestly.
"Where did you get--no, never mind, I don't want to know." Nephrite shook
his head. "You did all this? In one day? By yourself?"
Zoisite had the grace to look faintly embarrassed. "Well, no. I did have
help...."
~*~
// 'Morning, Rei.'
The girl jumped, startled by Zoisite's sudden appearance at her side as
she walked to school. 'Um, hi,' she responded, uncomfortably.
'I'm calling in our bet,' Zoisite announced without preamble.
'Our what?--Oh, yeah, that,' Rei said unenthusiastically. /Oh, God.../
'What makes you think you won?' Zoisite gave her a pointed look, reminding
her of the circumstances surrounding the Doom Phantom's demise. 'Okay,
fine, you probably *did* win. What do you want? I've got to get to
school.'
He shook his head. 'Not today, you don't. You're coming shopping with
me.'
'No, absolutely not. I am not going to cut school so that I can repay
some stupid bet,' Rei retorted. She paused. 'Why the hell do you want me
to go shopping with you, anyway?'
'Because I have absolutely no idea what stuff I need to be buying,' he
replied patiently. 'I need your help, so I'm coming for it. Besides, you
owe me one favor--anything. You promised, remember?'
Rei groaned. That had been the terms of the bet. 'Unfortunately, I do.
Couldn't this wait until the weekend, Zoisite?'
'No. I want this done, and done right.... Would one day really hurt that
much?' The little sakura's tone turned wheedling. 'C'mon, you know you
don't *really* want to go to school when you could be spend massive
quantities of money instead...'
'If I regret doing this, you're dead meat,' Rei promised him.
He smiled triumphantly. 'You won't regret it, I promise...'
.../Where is he getting all this money?/ Rei wondered incredulously as
Zoisite practically bounced through the clothing store, pulling things off
racks and tossing them at scurrying clerks. /And all this energy?/
In a matter of minutes, he had disappeared into a changing room and
emerged looking like a new man in a button-down green shirt and grey
slacks. 'How do I look?'
Rei was impressed and scrambled to conceal it. 'Not bad, Gay-boy.'
Zoisite made a face at her. 'Thanks, Pyro-slut.' He paid what seemed to
Rei like an enormous sum for a pile of clothes, directing the rest to be
delivered, and it was on to the next store....
...'Let me get this straight. You're sick of Neph's house, so you're
fixing it up for him?' Rei asked. Zoisite nodded. 'And I come into this
how?'
'You're my outside, mostly unbiased opinion. Let's do kitchen wares
first, that sounds like fun...'
...By lunchtime, Zoisite said they had accumulated sufficient amounts of
furniture. Rei, who felt she had seen every piece of furniture in Tokyo,
could only sigh in relief as Zoisite suggested a break. It didn't
surprise her one bit that he gravitated to the most expensive restaurant
in town for his meal... nor that he ordered the priciest items on the menu
for them both.
Rei had to laugh at the expression of bliss on his face as he devoured his
entrée. 'What?' he asked innocently, sipping at his wine.
'I just never figured you for this type of guy,' Rei replied.
'So I enjoy the finer things in life. That's not a crime,' Zoisite
defensively replied.
"Geez, calm down, Gay-boy. That's not what I meant,' Rei soothed him.
He narrowed green eyes at her. "You and I have got to talk about those
epithets of yours, Pyro-slut.'
'Whatever,' Rei said airily. 'So, what are we shopping for next?'
He smiled. 'Why, the accessories, of course...'
...Umino would have goggled at the amounts of electronics Zoisite bough on
a whim when he and Rei passed a computer store. As it was, Rei stared
enviously at the stacks of CDs Zoisite picked up at random. Rock,
classical, folk, operas, regional, international, musicals, pop, if it had
an interesting cover that caught his eye, it went into the cart. At
Zoisite's behest, she pointed out all her favorites. Those went in, too.
The trip through the bookstore was similar. Whatever attracted Zoisite's
attention went into the cart he had found somewhere (Rei dared not ask
about its origins).
By mid-afternoon, Rei was exhausted and Zoisite seemed almost satisfied
with his day's work. As they exited the knick-knack shop, however, he
caught sight of something else.
/Oh, God.../ Rei groaned as he pulled her into a music store. 'Zoisite,
haven't we done enough yet?'
'Nope.' He seated himself at a grand piano and touched few keys with what
Rei was tempted to classify as reverence.
A salesman was moving in their direction as Zoisite played a few
experimental notes. "How may I help--"
Zoisite brought both his hands down in a resound chord, completely
drowning out the salesman. His long, slender fingers danced up and down
the keys, coaxing complex harmonies out of the black and white keys. Rei
stared, dumbfounded, at Zoisite, who played with complete abandon, his
eyes closed and his head nodding time to the melody. Quite a crowd had
gathered by the time he finished playing. They broke into spontaneous
applause.
Zoisite's eyes popped open and he blushed at the admiration. Hadn't he
realized he had an audience? Rei wondered. Surely someone as flamboyant
as Zoisite would have know... This was the first time she'd seen him as
flustered.
Trying to ignore the admiring glances, Zoisite turned to the salesman.
'Yes, you can help me... I'll take it....'
...'You didn't mention that I'd be helping set up the place this morning,'
Rei grumbled later that afternoon.
'It's not killing you,' Zoisite said reasonably. 'I needed to get this
done before Neph gets home.'
Rei put the last book on a shelf. 'That does it, I think.'
'Thanks, Rei. I appreciate it,' Zoisite told her, smiling warmly.
'You're welcome... It was kind of fun, actually. Be sure to tell me how
Neph reacts to it, okay?' Rei picked up her belongings. 'Are we even
now?'
Zoisite nodded. 'Yeah, probably. See you around, Pyro-slut.'
'Yeah, whatever, Gay-boy.' Grinning, Rei waved goodbye and headed home.
Zoisite watched her go, and then shook his head. 'Hmph. Gay-boy.'//
~*~
/Have I done the proper thing?/ the watcher wondered to herself. She
considered the question for a time, then shook her head. Her soft
laughter fell into the stillness and was lost quickly. /Of course not. I
have not done the *proper* thing since this began.../
/But I have done the *right* thing,/ she continued firmly, watching with
pride as the cosmic threads she had discreetly tweaked allowed the two
souls to settle into their new lives. /It is not proper, but it is
right./
Sailor Pluto smiled.
@)~~}~~~~
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