Chapter Four - Pain


Later that evening, Jikan is standing outside of Tokyo on a mountain ledge, peering out over the city. His eyes seem sad as a cold wind blows his hair out of his face. He stands there motionlessly, holding his naginata out in front of him.
"Jikan?" a familiar voice says out of the woods behind him. He whips around spinning his naginata and points it at the source of the voice. He sees Sailor Pluto step out of the woods and relaxes slightly.
"It is you, ai." he says and sets the bottom end of his naginata down in the dirt. She nods and steps out completely onto the ledge, placing her staff out in front of her. The two look at each other for a long time, neither knowing exactly what to say.
"Why have you come back now, Jikan? Why are you attacking the people of Earth?" she asks. He closes his eyes and looks away slightly.
"I have been sent here to retrieve the Sailor of Destruction, Sailor Saturn." he says. She gasps and steps back a little hurt.
"Who....who wants her?" she asks.
He opens his eyes and looks at her coldly, "My masters, the Nisai." he says.
She is taken aback, "Your masters? What happened? You always said you serve nobody." she says.   He looks down almost ashamed, "I have no choice, ai. I have to do as they ask." he says.
"Why?! How is it the Nisai have this control over you?" she says as her voice raises a bit. He turns away and looks out over the city silently. She steps towards him, "Jikan, why did you leave me? How did you get involved with the Nisai?" she asks softly.
He closes his eyes, "It happened when the war between Beryl and the Moon Kingdom had just heated up into the attack on the palace. I had left my position in the time lanes to aid the ailing Moon Kingdom. Before I could reach them, however, I was ambushed by the Nisai. Although I was able to defend myself easily, the Nisai Masters came to me with a warning. They told me if I were to help the Moon Kingdom, then they would put a contract out....on you." he says. She gasps and holds her staff close to her chest.
"A contract on me?" she asks.
He nods, "Yes, it seems the Nisai had strong alliances with Beryl and they wanted the Moon Kingdom to fall. Knowing I would be a major ally to Queen Serenity, they found it in their best interest to keep me from the war. I am fully aware of the danger a contract on your life from the Nisai would be so....I agreed. I sat by and watched as the Negaforce and Beryl destroy the Moon Kingdom. After that, I could not bear to show my face to you again, so I left." he says and turns his head back towards her.
She looks down and tears almost come to her eyes, "You did not have to leave. I love you no matter what you have done." she says.
He looks away once again, "I could not bear the thought you might lose that love for me. I found a place in time where you could not find me. I needed time to ponder on what I had done." he says.
She steps closer to him again, "Jikan, how did you begin to work for the Nisai?" she asks.
"After a while, the Nisai got greedy and knew through you, they could control me. They approached me with a deal. If I did not come and become a servant of the Nisai, the contract on you would be put out. I knew even you and I together with the help of the time lanes could not protect you forever, so I agreed once again." he says.
She closes her eyes as tears start to run down her cheeks, "You are doing this to protect me?" she asks.
He turns around and looks at her crying, "Yes, I would do anything for you. I have been serving the Nisai for a long time, doing odd jobs for them. I never would have believed I would meet you here though. I have always stayed away from the time lanes so I would not see you again, in case you found out what I am doing." he says.
She looks up at him with tear filled eyes, "I cannot let you take Saturn, Jikan." she says.
His eyes go cold once again, "Please, don't try to stop me. They want her power and I must obey them. I do not want to fight you, suki." he says. She looks at him with deep pain in her eyes, and slowly raises her staff out. He closes his eyes and shakes his head, "Please, you know you cannot beat me. I can't fight you." he says and his voice shakes a tiny bit.
"The only way you can take Saturn is to defeat me." she says. Before he can open his eyes, she lunges at him and spins her staff quickly. She slashes down with it but a loud clang echoes through the forest as his naginata stops it ten centimeters from his head. He stares into her eyes emotionlessly and sees the amount of pain in them. They struggle against each other for a while, not actually wanting to attack all out. She lets out a sob and jumps back, using her Dead Scream attack on him. He takes the attack straight on but uses his naginata to absorb some of it. He groans a little and drops to one knee, holding his naginata close. She barely keeps herself from running over and helping him and holds her staff out.
"Please Jikan, I don't want to do this." she says with tears still running down her cheeks. He slowly stands up and looks at her coldly again.
"I never thought you would use that attack on me." he says. She just looks at him with tears and begins to use her orb again.
"Dead...." she begins when suddenly he thrusts his naginata into the ground and the orb on his staff sends out a shockwave of energy. She screams and is thrown back, her staff being tossed away from her as she hits the ground. Jikan doesn't waste anytime, he flips around skillfully and spins his naginata around his back. He does a one-handed cartwheel and as he lands, he brings the naginata to a spinning stop pointed at Pluto's chest. She opens her eyes weakly and looks at him, pleading into his eyes. He stands there with his naginata at her body and breathing heavily. She closes her eyes and waits for him to attack and his hand starts shaking.
"No" he says and tossed his naginata aside as it lands with a thud. She opens her eyes and looks at him as he looks down at her. "I will not destroy the one thing I am trying to protect above all else." he says. Her eyes fill up with tears as he walks back to ledge and looks out over the city. "I will not do as the Nisai bid this time. I will not give them Sailor Saturn." he says as she stands up slowly.
"Does that mean, you will not fight the Sailor senshi anymore?" she asks and places her hands in front of her chest. He slowly turns around to her and for the first time in many years, he smiles.
"No, I will not fight any of you. All I want to do right now, is be with you, ai." he says and pulls his hair back out of his face.
"Jikan!" she yells and with tears of joy, she runs to him. He opens his arms and she slides her arms around him, leaning her head into his chest and crying.
He wraps his arms around her and smiles, "I missed you so much." he says. She looks up at him smiling with utter joy.
"I missed you too." she says. They look into each others eyes as the sun slowly sets on the horizon. He slowly leans down and their lips meet in a kiss that would stop the very flow of time itself. As the sun dips down out of sight, the last remaining rays illuminate the Owari naginata and the Garnet orb staff laying crossed over one another.

       End <Chapter Four>