"Hey, Yamiko, what do you think?"
It was a black vinyl tube top with rhinestone trim.
"Tacky and sleazy," Yamiko replied. "Just like everything else you wear."
"Hey, maybe you should try it on, Yamiko," Sayoko said cheerfully. "You like black, right?"
Yamiko turned back toward the dress she had been admiring. It was velour. Black, with long bell sleeves. She liked it, but everyone was wearing this dress. She had seen the goths in Harajuku wearing it before. If you wanted to look original, you had to make your own dress...
"You should wear something blue--to go with your eyes," a man told her as he approached.
Yamiko hated the sort of frivolous girls who were swept off their feet by some nameless, handsome mystery man. They'd be rescued from a speeding train or plane or tricycle, and suddenly--without logic or evaluation of said mystery man--they would be hopelessly in love. Girls like that made Yamiko want to puke.
That said, the person who spoke to her was the most attractive man she had ever seen.
Not that it said anything for his character, but his looks were nearly angelic. Platinum blonde hair. Pale skin. Dark eyes. As if to contrast the naturally cliché, saintly look of his face, he was wearing a dark, heavy trench coat of velvet.
"Who are you?" Yamiko asked skeptically. She dropped the sleeve of the dress, which she had been holding to admire the fabric.
"My name is Kane. I suppose I should have told you that before I made the comment about the dress. But you do have nice eyes, if you want to know."
"Don't flatter me," Yamiko said in annoyance. She began to walk toward Sayoko, who was pawing through some albums on the other side of the room.
"Bright blue eyes are kind of unusual," he said nonchalantly. "I wouldn't call it flattery."
"It doesn't matter what it is," Yamiko snapped. "I don't like it. So stop."
"I like your haircut, too. Very original."
"Go away."
"Why?"
"Because you're bothering me."
"Because I'm complimenting you?" he asked, a little perplexed.
"Because I want you to go away!" she retorted.
"But I think you're kind of interesting...I mean, at least you didn't fall into my arms and shout 'take me now!'"
"Look, if you don't stop, I'll tell the store manager to kick you out. My sister has some old friends who work here."
"What are you going to tell them? 'Excuse me, ma'am, this gentleman had the gall to say that I had nice eyes!'" He shook his head in disbelief. "I mean, it would be one thing if I was a creepy old man, but..."
Sayoko glanced upwards and noticed Yamiko with a really hot guy. She put back the album she had been looking at and walked toward her.
"Wow, Yamiko! Look at the pretty boy you picked up!"
"Sayoko!" Yamiko groaned.
"Are you her sister?" he asked, looking toward her.
"Yeah. Say, do you have any friends?" she replied.
"Not really," he responded. "I was telling your sister how she had nice eyes."
"Doesn't she?"
"Yeah, kind of a rare color. A little mysterious."
"But Yamiko isn't mysterious, you know. She's just very angsty."
"I think she's mysterious. She didn't fall into my arms and exclaim 'take me now!'" he disagreed.
"I'm not sure I would call that mysterious..." Sayoko said a bit doubtfully.
"Sayoko!" Yamiko exclaimed, stepping between her and Kane. "Can we go now? I'm not interested in this...person."
"Kane," he reminded her.
"Oh, Kane, is it?" Sayoko replied. He nodded.
Yamiko just shook her head and walked out.
"Ah, looks like I'm being left behind. Well, see you later, Kane! Tell your friends about me--the beautiful and sexy Sayoko!" Sayoko said, waving as she ran after Yamiko.
The pallid, frail body lay before the king.
"I brought Seisui, as you requested," Sailor Pluto told him. "I would have healed her, but I did not feel it appropriate to ask Chibi-Usa, and I was unable to find Helios."
"Helios has disappeared?" Endymion asked. "Has something happened to Elysion?"
"Not that I know of--but, as it is not part of the underworld, I have no jurisdiction on it. If something were to happen to Elysion, however, I am sure that Helios would let you know immediately."
"Still, it is odd...but thank you for bringing Seisui here."
"Your Majesty...I have a request to make," she said, looking down at Seisui.
"Yes?"
"Please allow Seisui to go free."
Endymion looked a little incredulous. "I realize what Seisui has been through, Setsuna, but still--"
"This has nothing to do with whether I believe Seisui deserves to be punished or not," she told him, observing the scratches around Seisui's closed eyes. "It's because I simply believe that is the only course of action. Now that the enemy has reawakened, Nemesis is no longer safe. Moreover, Seisui could be freed, along with her locket, as many times as we want to put her in prison. Sailor Charon shows no sign of giving up Seisui to us under any conditions.
"I can see what you're saying, but...we should at least have someone watching her. Seisui is dangerous. Even if we had to give up one of our number, I think--"
"Even if we sacrificed one of us to supervise Seisui--an ill-advised move at such a crucial time--it would only give Seisui an opportunity to try and kill whoever was supervising her. And sending multiple people to supervise her would be even more dangerous now that an enemy has appeared. I realize this is a lot to ask of you, your Majesty, but I think that it would be best for everyone. I recommend posting guards around the palace and leaving it at that. We can protect the Queen well enough once we know someone is in the palace."
"You're asking me to put the queen's life in danger, Pluto."
"The danger from the enemy is far greater than the danger from Seisui."
Endymion looked down at Seisui. Despite all of the cuts and gashes across her body, her mind was innocently sleeping. If he could keep that innocence forever...
"There is no hope, I suppose, for purifying Seisui," he said with a sigh.
"As I heard it, that would devastate the feelings of her Majesty."
"Very well, Pluto. I will follow your advice, as much as it pains me to do so. Please take Seisui to Chibi-Usa. She can heal her with the Pink Crystal. I'm sure she would be happy to do so. After that, please return to your post at the gate of time. I am sorry to keep you there so often, but with recent events, I did not feel safe leaving it open to attack."
"I understand, your Majesty," she said. Pluto looked up at him a little sadly. "And thank you."
With that, she gently picked up Seisui and carried her away.
Seisui woke up with a start.
Usako smiled. "You're awake," she said happily. Seisui gasped a little for breath and leaned forward, clutching the comforter on the bed.
"What, are you holding another trial already?" Seisui asked incredulously, standing up quickly and looking for a sharp object. She'd need something to defend herself...
"No...there isn't going to be one. Papa decided to let you go free."
"What, did he feel sorry for me?" Seisui asked, disgusted. Despite her efforts, there wasn't anything in the room which she could use to defend herself with. No matter--evidently, it wasn't necessary. She briefly debated trying to kill Usako--but for the time being, at least, she knew her cause had no hope.
"Unfortunately not...there just wasn't any feasible way to punish you. Not now that a new enemy has appeared."
"What, you mean the queen hasn't already destroyed the next demon spawn your shiny thing attracted?" she said scathingly.
Usako frowned. "I know you hate my mother because she purified your father, and I know you hate Diana because she destroyed your kingdom...but why do you hate me, too? Is the Pink Crystal? Is it because my crystal attracts Chaos?"
"You are yourself," Seisui said. She walked over to Usako's curtains and pulled them open with agonizing slowness. The light pooled on her face and went streaming around her, filling the room with its long-absent presence. "It runs in your blood and flows through your words. It shines in your eyes and burns in your heart. That disgustingness that is you. That disgustingness that is Luna. They make the same mistakes over and over. They can't possibly live up to the perfection they desire. But they keep trying to anyway. They keep trying to be something they aren't."
Seisui turned her face toward Usako, extinguishing the light on her face. "Why do I hate you? I couldn't tell you. I couldn't give you a real reason. I could give you a thousand reasons. But none of them would be quite right. None of them would say exactly how I feel. All I know is this. I look at my father, and all I see is you. That hateful family that floats in the sky and mocks me."
"Seisui...I'm not like the others. I won't do the things that Diana and Mama did!"
"No. You'll do something else. You'll find something else to do that is equally horrible. I've accepted it. I'm waiting for it to come. Someday, you too will do something horrible to me."
Seisui walked out. Usako stood behind and watched her leave.
"Congratulations!"
There was a lot of clapping and cheering as Tokimo's mother set down the cake, the words "You're Free" emblazoned enthusiastically across it in the sloppiest English handwriting imaginable.
Seisui sighed. "I'm free, but I'm back to square one. I wasn't able to get any of the things I wanted to accomplished."
"Sure you did. Now the Queen knows about Purification. There'll be some major reform! And it looks like the Queen is working on a bill for the poverty-stricken, too!" Tokimo's mother said, rubbing Seisui affectionately on the head.
That was good and all, Seisui thought, but it didn't make her father any less purified.
"If you even think about following in your father's footsteps again, Seisui--so help me--I'll lock you in your room for the rest of your life, if I have to!" Seisui's mother admonished her. Even though she said that, Seisui noticed, there was a smile creeping across her face. Both of the families had united together to celebrate the end of Seisui's charges. Even though Yamiko and Fubuki had been an immense help to their cause, Seisui was just as glad they hadn't come.
"This cake is great!" Tokimo's father said, turning toward his wife. "I didn't know you could make cakes so well!"
"I didn't make this cake," she replied happily, "I bought it from the grocery store."
"Well, whatever it is, it's good!" Tokimo's father replied.
"But still...don't you think we ought to home-school Seisui for awhile?" Ana turned toward her mother. "The bullies will be terrible..."
"I'll protect Seisui!" Tokimo cried, shaking her fist in the air. "I might not have been able to stop Sailor Pluto, but if a bully even tries to lay a finger on Seisui..."
"Now Tokimo, calm down a little and eat your cake," her mother told her.
"Seisui...do you want to go back to school right away...?" Ana asked, looking toward her.
"I've missed enough school as it is," Seisui responded. "I don't care if people bully me. I'll cope somehow. Besides, I have more friends at school with Tokimo than I do home alone."
"I suppose you have a point..." her mother replied with a sigh. "Well, I'll let you go. But if things get rough, I'll home school you for a while."
"Okay," Seisui agreed. "Don't worry. I'm sure things will be fine if Tokimo's around."
Kazeko's eyes eased open as the faintest hint of dawn cracked into her window. She got up immediately.
Today, she had to go to school.
Her foster parents had insisted that she start immediately, but Kazeko hated the idea. She had never been to school before. Her brother taught her everything she needed to know in the forest. The things she didn't need to know they taught her at home, so she could pass those tests the government sent out. Her Japanese was heavily accented and always sounded nervous. Everything she said sounded nervous now.
She told herself yesterday she'd go see the statues of the Tuatha De Dannann, but her father made her stay home. Other people worshipped them, too, but under the new names. It didn't matter what they called them. The pagans knew they had returned.
Kazeko gathered her school books and put them in her bag. She didn't feel like eating anything this morning. Her parents had already given her a new dress, some strange thing that seemed to be very popular around here. It looked a little like the uniforms that Tuatha De Dannann fought in. Kazeko thought this must be why it was popular, but she wasn't sure if she felt comfortable wearing the same things as the gods. She left the dress hanging on the hook and went out the door.
Why?
Why was everyone dressed exactly the same?
There were only a few people up this early, but they ran down the halls and giggled, or just stared. Or they whispered to their friends. Kazeko stood there, dressed neatly, quaintly, in a dark blue blouse and a green skirt. She had thought it perfectly acceptable for any public place, and yet, they found something so odd about it...
"Hey, look at that..." one murmured, snickering to the other.
"What is she trying to say?" a guy said to his friend. "She rich or something?"
1-3...That was her classroom...she opened the door a crack, peeking inside nervously.
"It's a little odd for you to be early, isn't it, Erik?" Tokimo asked, pulling out a pencil and haphazardly scribbling deformed teddy bears across her notebook.
"Not really," he replied. "It isn't odd for me to be anything. I was early all last week. The week before I was on time. The week before that I was late. Maybe tomorrow I'll get here after class and stay here until the next morning."
"What, are you gonna sleep on your desk?" Tokimo asked incredulously.
"Maybe."
Tokimo yawned. "Sei, why did we have to come here so early?"
"It's dangerous to walk to school during the normal time. There's more people around then," she said.
"But...I'm soooo sleeeeeppyyy...." Tokimo sunk down, her head resting on the desk. "Let's not do this anymore. I'll beat up an army if it means I can sleep in tomorrow."
"Uh--umm--excuse me..."
Erik turned toward the girl, unsurprised. "Kazeko?"
"Y-yes..."
"That can't be your real name...trying hard to assimilate?"
"Y-yes..."
"Looks like you had mixed results..." he said, motioning toward her clothing. Kazeko looked downward.
"Y-yes."
"Did they laugh at you?" Seisui asked, looking up at her.
Kazeko didn't respond. She clutched her hands together.
"Didn't your parents tell you we wore uniforms?" Tokimo asked. "Were they trying to make you look dumb?"
"I-I don't k-know...I don't...think so."
"It's okay. They keep spares in the office, right?" Seisui asked, looking toward Erik. Erik nodded. "I'll take her. She'll be fine."
"But...Seisui..." Erik said as she stood up, "Are you sure if it's a good idea for you to take her? Your pardon was just in the news this morning, and I'm not sure if--"
"If Seisui wants to take her, she can take her! And I'm coming, too!"
"Tokimo, Seisui will be conspicuous enough as it is. Even if you insist on Seisui going, I think it's best if you stay behind--for Kazeko's sake."
"But if Seisui goes without me, who knows what'll happen to her?" Tokimo objected angrily.
"Tokimo! I realize you're worried about your friend, but if you make a fuss over the first person that gives Seisui a malicious glance, you're going to cause more problems than you solve!"
"But what if someone tries to beat Seisui up? What then, huh?"
Erik paused for a moment. He sighed. "Fine. Do you think you can keep yourself quiet? And I mean it. Unless someone tries to punch Seisui in the face, I want you to be quiet."
"But--"
"Tokimo, I'm serious. This is for Seisui's sake. You can't fend off the whole school. From now on, you're going to have to choose your battles."
"Fine," Tokimo grunted. "You better be right. Or else!"
"Thank you," Erik replied, choosing to ignore Tokimo's excited threat.
Seisui sighed, walking slowly toward Kazeko and bowing. "My name is Seisui Han'i."
Kazeko looked down at Seisui awkwardly.
"Seisui..." Erik said, turning his chair toward her. Seisui stood up and faced him.
"Yes?"
"Do the poor thing a favor, and hold out your hand."
"Oh, uh...certainly." Seisui held out her hand and Kazeko took it a little weakly.
Kazeko almost fell back. There was immense power coming from this person! Festering, unhappy energy...it felt like something rotting and crawling and hissing, squirming in a deep, dark pool. But it wasn't Fomorii...
"I'm Kazeko Shirochize," she said, smiling weakly. What poor human walked around like this, with such a festering energy in their being? "Pleased to meet you."
They dropped hands and Kazeko breathed a sigh of relief. Erik looked toward her, a little puzzled, but didn't say anything.
"I'm Tokimo Joshi," Tokimo announced, standing up. "I'm Seisui's friend."
"Pleased to meet you, too," Kazeko said a little anxiously.
"Right. Now that that's over with, let's go!" Tokimo said, opening the door and walking outside.
"Remember to be quiet, Tokimo," Erik reminded her as Seisui and Kazeko followed.
When Kazeko left the classroom, the looking and whispering only increased.
"Hey, look. There's a strange girl with Han'i..."
"She isn't wearing a uniform...maybe Han'i's friends think they don't have to follow the rules...?"
"Grrr," Tokimo mumbled, clenching her fist. "Can't beat 'em up...can't beat 'em up..."
"T-They're talking about you, right?" Kazeko looked toward the faces that were staring at Seisui, looks of disgust on their faces. "Is it...my fault...?"
"No. It isn't your fault," Seisui darkly. She sighed. "I probably shouldn't have brought you, Kazeko. I'm surprised you haven't heard of me..."
"Heard what?"
"I--" Seisui paused for a moment and looked at the faces around her. "Nothing. Nothing."
When they entered the office, everything stopped immediately. All of the employees looked at her. The principal walked up to her, straightening his tie and looking nervously at the strange jewelry she wore on her bow.
"You realize, Han'i, that I must call the police."
"Nuh-uh!" Tokimo said complacently. "You can't do that. You can even call the palace, and they'll tell you--"
"What are you talking about?" The principal interjected. "There's no way--"
"It's true, Mr. Kanada," A secretary informed him, looking up from her computer and pulling back the input microphone. "Seisui has been pardoned. Haven't you heard?"
"There's no way I can let a dangerous criminal like this go to our school!" the principal said, his face flustered. "This is a public risk!"
"The law says you can't turn down someone's right to an education, sir," the secretary continued. "There's nothing we can do."
"Is your name Serenity?" Seisui asked quietly, looking up at him meekly.
"What kind of a question is that?" the principal asked.
"If it isn't, you're safe. Now, if you can get past the fact that I'm in school, my classmate left her uniform at home. Would it be too much to ask that she could borrow one?"
"I-I'm sorry," Kazeko stuttered. She wasn't sure what was going on. Was Seisui a criminal? Is that what she meant by 'shouldn't have brought you?' Did it have a connection to the energy crawling inside of Seisui? "I-I didn't know we had to wear uniforms."
"Kazeko, right?"
Kazeko nodded.
"Your parents were sent one. Didn't they give it to you?"
Kazeko paused. "Well, m-maybe, but--I didn't know--I'm sorry--I'm sorry--"
"It's all right," the secretary said, getting out of her chair. "We'll let your borrow one. I can handle this, Mr. Kanada."
The principal nodded and walked off.
"Come along, Kazeko. I'll bring you into the back. Would you mind waiting here, Ms. Han'i and--er--your friend?"
Seisui shook her head. Tokimo scowled and clenched her fists. The secretary glanced nervously toward Seisui as she gently led Kazeko to the back room, her hand placed comfortingly on the young girl's shoulder.
"Is Japanese hard?" The woman asked in English, her speech accented heavily.
"Yes," Kazeko replied timidly in English, "a little."
"Will it be easier if I keep speaking in English?"
"I think so," Kazeko said, looking downward.
"What is your size?"
"Err--medium," Kazeko stuttered.
"My English is not good," she told her, "but you need to know something. That girl you is talking to--Seisui Han'i--is criminal."
"W-w-what did she do?" Kazeko asked.
"She tried to kill Queen Serenity," the woman told her. "Two time. She is Sailor Soldier..."
"T-that girl?!" Kazeko asked, shocked.
"Yes."
"Seisui is one of the Tuatha De Dannann?"
"What is that?"
"N-nothing," Kazeko stuttered.
"She says she is Sailor Titan," she continued, "which, I think, is a moon of Saturn. That's what the newspapers say. There is liquid--strange liquid that she uses to try and kill people. Please stay away from her. She is dangerous. Okay?"
"O-okay," Kazeko muttered, deciding it best to agree with the woman. But the place of a Tuatha De Dannann--even if they represented death, war or famine--that was something to honor and respect. All parts of life were essential.
The woman handed Kazeko the uniform and placed her hand on Kazeko's shoulder again. The woman was filled with fear. Kazeko stepped out of the room and looked, in awe, toward Seisui--she was sitting in a chair, attracting the stares of everyone who came into work.
Was what the woman said true?
Was Seisui a god?
"Lady Serenity!" a shrill voice chimed. "Lady Serenity!"
Usako turned away from her commode and looked downward.
"Hello, Diana. What do you want?" she said dejectedly.
"Don't you think you should go to school?" she asked, jumping up onto the commode. "It's been a week! His Majesty is beginning to be very worried."
"School has already started, Diana. I'll go tomorrow, okay?"
"But Monday is the most important day of the week! If you go, you can still catch the rest of your classes. Please, Lady Serenity?" Diana placed a paw on Usako's hand and looked pleadingly up at her. Usako had trouble resisting the cuteness--even though Diana was grown up, she still looked like a kitten.
"Diana..." Usako sighed.
"Where has Hiroshi gone, Lady Serenity? Is that why you're not going to school today? You told his Majesty you would go to school today..."
Usako turned away from Diana.
"Lady Serenity!" she persisted, tapping her back with her paw. "Do you know where Lord Helios is?"
"Helios is in Elysion," she snapped. "What's so unexpected about that? It's where he lives, isn't it? He should be there now anyway, since the enemy is here."
Diana paused for moment and took her paw off Usako's back. "You got in a fight with Lord Helios, didn't you?"
"You don't have to call him Lord," Usako said with a sigh. "It sounds really silly."
"Didn't you?"
"Please, Diana. I don't want to talk about it."
"Your sailor warriors are worried about you, Lady Serenity. Please go back to school. I'm sure Lord Helios will come back. He must be very lonely without you."
"Diana..."
"I have tried very hard to give you some space, Lady Serenity, because I realized that you were very distressed. But...you can't stay like this forever. Even if you just have to keep up appearances for a while. I'm sure Lord Helios will come back and you two will make up. In the meantime..."
"Fine! I'll go to school. I'm sorry, Diana, but things just aren't the same anymore. I'm so lonely. Nobody understands..."
"That is not true, Lady Serenity! Seisui was pardoned. Even though Seisui is free to harm you, you have been allowed to go back to school. Therefore, your family must have some confidence in you!"
"Say, Diana...?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think Seisui will ever be my friend again?"
"I don't know, Lady Serenity. But if it is possible, I'm sure you will accomplish it. Now get on your school uniform, or you will be even later!"
"Okay, fine."
"Thank you," Diana said, smiling and rubbing against Usako.
Usako grabbed her school uniform and put it on in a hurry. She didn't feel like doing her hair this morning, so it sat streaming around her face and falling everywhere. Seeing the inevitable impracticality of this, she grabbed a ribbon from her commode and tied her hair in a loose ponytail.
The glimmer of the clear glass bell caught her eye.
"You should bring it, Lady Serenity," Diana said happily. "If you encounter the enemy, you could certainly use Lord Helios' help. And afterwards, you may have an excuse to make up with him, right?"
"Jeez, Diana!" Usako said in annoyance. Nonetheless, she grabbed the little bell and tied it gingerly to her bag. "Let's hope you're right," she mumbled to herself. "There must be a solution to this, after all...I just wish you had more faith in me."
"U-SA-KO!"
Usako covered her ears as she prepared to hear a spiel from Haruko.
"You are sooooo late! Would it have killed you to go to school once in a while? The way you were holed up in that room by yourself, I thought you were were turning into a rabbit!" Haruko complained, shoving her face up close to Usako.
"Uh-huh!" Fuyuko chimed in happily. "Usako's rabbit hole!"
"But...where is Hiroshi? You two are usually glued at the hip..." Natsuko asked, looking down at her bag.
"Well, you know," Usako replied nervously. "Business. It's not safe to go walking around anymore, right?"
"That must be it," Akiko agreed. "She even has the bell on her bag. She wouldn't have the bell on her bag if it was really a fight, would she?"
"She might, if she was trying to hide the fact..." Haruko disagreed.
Fuyuko giggled. "We should call Hiroshi and find out!"
Usako clasped the bell protectively. "D-don't!"
"Hmm...definitely a fight," Natsuko said, nodding.
Haruko nodded. "Yeah, it's a fight."
"It's none of your business," Usako snapped.
"Hey, but...why do you think they got in a fight?" Akiko wondered.
"Hey, hey, Usako, why did you get in a fight?" Fuyuko asked, poking her shoulder. "Why? Why?"
Usako didn't reply.
"Why? Why?" Fuyuko continued, poking her in the cheeks.
"I said, it's none of your business!" Usako grabbed Fuyuko's hands and threw them away. "I don't want to talk about it. So just...leave me alone."
"Is it about Han'i?" Fuyuko asked.
"Why do you say that?" Haruko wondered. "Did you hear something?"
"I heard that Puu found Seisui at one of her friends' house. And I'm sure that Puu didn't know any of Seisui's friends. Usako would never give up where Seisui was, but Hiroshi is a little more equitable, so I thought--"
"There's nothing equitable about what Hiroshi did!" Usako snapped, repressing a sob. "He said he believed in me, and then he went and told Puu! I thought he had confidence in my abilities!"
"He does believe in you. He just wanted to protect you from Seisui. And besides, you got what you wanted in the end, anyway. That freak is walking around school again," Akiko said.
"Seisui isn't a freak. She's a human. She's human, and she hurts! And I wanted to be the one to save her."
The quartet turned toward each other, looks of skepticism across their faces.
"Well, I think you should show some gratitude for what Hiroshi did," Natsuko said with a sigh. "Even if you didn't like it, he did it because he loves you."
"I wish he'd love me a different way," Usako said dejectedly.
"What a stupid plan."
"Did I ask for you input, Coeus?"
"No," he said with a smirk. "So?"
"So why are you giving it?"
"Because it's a stupid plan."
"It isn't a stupid plan."
"Yes it is. You haven't made much progress yet, have you?"
"I haven't even done anything yet!"
"Exactly. Thus, a stupid plan."
"Look, blueberry, go make some diabolical plan or something. Or kiss ass. You're good at that."
"I don't kiss ass. I just have good plans, so I don't have to kiss ass. Unlike you."
"Who's in charge of Crystal Tokyo?" the man snapped, turning toward Coeus with a look of death.
"Mmmmmeyou."
"Right. Nemesis obviously sees something in me, if she put me on the most important front. Where are you, again? Tahiti? Guam?"
"Veeery funny. Actually, I'm in Australia."
"Oooh. Australia. What are you gonna do, fight the kangaroos?"
"At least I'm not like you. Then I'd be seducing the kangaroos."
"A broken heart yields a lot of kakon, Coeus."
"Whatever, Eros. Just remember, before you go down, you have to go up. And while you're wooing someone, you're making as much agathon as you are kakon. Moreover, I have some other issues with your brilliant plans. For one, they might be so disgusted with you afterwards that they'll just hate you and move on. And that doesn't yield a lot of kakon, now does it? Just a drop in the bucket."
"I choose my targets well. I know who's vulnerable," Eros snapped.
"You haven't made any progress so far. And as far as vulnerability goes, you don't seem to be doing too well."
"Just watch, asshole. You'll see," Eros said. He fell back into a nearby chair covered in smoky, wilted velvet. He picked up a tiny, tempera portrait from a black granite coffee table and examined the doll-like face upon it. It was painted delicately, as if to conceal any defects that the subject might have possessed.
Coeus laughed. "Of course. I'll enjoy watching you fail."
Coeus walked over to another chair nearby--wooden, splintered and withered looking. A strange, ghost-like woman was hanging limply in a chair, dressed beautifully in red and purple silk. Too bad she was dead. Coeus tapped her mockingly on the forehead. He laughed again. "Lady, silence is beautiful in women."
He waved his hand with sarcastic friendliness and walked out the door. Eros swore as Coeus entered the wretchedly lit corridor. It was lined with jeering corinthian columns, mocking faces carved in their myriad feathers.
~EPISODE TEN: FIN~
Kokoro kareteru you ni asu ga kuraku naru kara
Koe ga
kurushiku kasureru hodo sakebitai
Donna toki mo kimi no ibasho
sagashite
Setsunai omoide mo mune ni motte
Sorazorashii wake
no kage ni kakureteru boku mo iru
Sadame wo kowaseba mirai nante aru ka na
Demo maketaku nai
kara akiramenai yo donna aite demo
Sadame to iu mono ha michi
wo kimeru dakedo
Kaiki gesshoku demo kimi wo me ni suru
Kimi
ha umarekawattemo boku no Radiance dakara
Because, as if my heart's withering, tomorrow will get darker
I
want to scream until I get painfully hoarse
Searching for where
you are no matter when it is
And holding painful memories in my
chest
There is also a me who's hiding behind empty reasons
If I destroy predestination, will there be a future at all?
But
because I don't want to lose, I won't give up, no matter who my
opponent is
That which is called predestination decides our
paths, but
Even during a total lunar eclipse, I'll remember
you
Because, even though reborn, you are my radiance
NEXT EPISODE
Eros: The heart is as a rose. It withers and dies.
Yamiko: Kane continues to pester me. Despite all my attempts to get him to leave, he shows an infuriating and continued interest in my existence.
Helios: I am summoned by need and love. But, Usako...take care of yourself...
Usako: The arguments of the past make way for heavier concerns. Reconciled for now, the future is given precedence.
Fubuki: Enemies? Why should I care? Still, if it means escape...
Seisui: The twisted demon of unhappiness chases me. My feelings squirm in anguish...
Kazeko: Even those gods that are evil have love within their hearts. Seisui, take courage from that.
Next time, on MOON SENSHI: UNMEI NO KODOMO--
"A Rise And Fall In Time"
Mayumi: Everyone needs a little forgiveness.
