Sayoko sighed as she looked out the window. Yamiko had confined herself to her room; Sayoko made sure to take everything even mildly sharp or pointy out of there before she let her sister settle in. Sayoko also locked the windows and put away all of Yami's drugs. She thought of making her stay in the living room with her and Tokimo, where she could watch her, but she thought that Yamiko would probably want a little time to pull herself together--at least enough to stop crying. That, and she suspected that Yamiko would spend the time alone sleeping off some of her tears.
"Shouldn't you head home, Tokimo?" Sayoko replied.
"I thought I could maybe make dinner," she said. "I figured you could use another hand around the house, since you're gonna have to keep an eye on Ms. Death-wish."
"You can cook?" Sayoko asked dubious.
"Um..." Tokimo looked a little sheepish. "If I take it slow. And it's something simple. I'll make spaghetti."
"Oh, Tokimo," Sayoko said, sighing. "What am I going to do?"
"Kill Eros and burn him into tiny ashes?"
She looked away from the window and toward a pile of manga on the coffee table. "Part of me wants to," She said.
"And you should want to!" Tokimo replied. "His butt needs kicking."
"I want to, but..." Sayoko snapped.
"But Yamiko was happy with Kane?" Kouken suggested.
"Did he really regret what he'd done, Kouken? Did he really feel guilty?"
Kouken paused. "When Coeus first revealed to Yamiko that Kane was Eros, she didn't believe him. At that time, Coeus was in a very tight spot; as long as Yamiko didn't believe that Kane was Eros, he couldn't exactly shatter Yamiko's world. But it was an interesting thing. Even though Eros had tried to get Yamiko to leave before she could find out the truth, once Coeus told her, he admitted that he was Kane--he said it was because he couldn't stand to lie to her anymore. I wondered, at the time--if he couldn't stand to lie to her, why lie to Tokimo earlier?"
There was a pause. "Well, why?" Sayoko said.
"I don't know," Kouken said. "It wasn't a rhetorical question."
Sayoko looked thoughtful. "Maybe he thought she was happier not knowing the truth," Sayoko said. "But at the same time, he didn't want her thinking well of him after what he'd done."
"When I met him at his house," Tokimo said, "he told me to tell Yamiko that Kane had just been going after Yamiko for her fortune. So he couldn't have been too worried about making her think he was a nice guy."
"So he probably wanted to spare her the trauma of knowing that he was a basically a monster...and just give her the trauma of knowing he was a jerk."
"How's that any better?" Tokimo asked.
"If a guy's an asshole to you, usually it's not because he's trying," Sayoko said. "Like in this case, if Kane had really been after Yamiko's money, it's not so much that he wants to make Yamiko unhappy as just that Yamiko has something that Kane wants. But Eros set out to make Yamiko unhappy. That was the whole reason he made her fall in love with him. How must that make her feel?"
"Huh," Tokimo said. "I guess that makes your argument about Yamiko not being cursed because you've dated a bunch of guys kinda dumb."
Sayoko groaned. "Well, she only had the one experience. What my boyfriends have lacked in cruel intentions they've made up for in number."
"So what will you do, Sayoko?" Kouken asked. "Are you going to get revenge against Eros?"
"I want to," she said. "But the more I think about it, the more I know that what Yamiko and Ka--Eros has was real. I know, I've been in a lot of relationships...only a couple times have I felt something like the chemistry those two built. And Yamiko...she finally opened up to someone. As much as I want to hate Eros, I have to admire him a little bit. Even I haven't gotten Yamiko to open up like that. Part of me wishes I could rewind to the past, smack him in the face and ask him what the fuck he was thinking by joining Nemesis."
"If he hadn't, he wouldn't be alive for all of this to happen in the first place," Kouken remarked.
"Even so!" Sayoko said. "He should have quit. Oh, Yamiko..." she tousled her hair in maddened frustration. "But I can't just let him off easily, either. He hurt my little Yami! For that he's gotta pay!"
"Hm," Tokimo said. "He still loves Yamiko, right?"
"That much seems pretty apparent," Kouken agreed.
"Why not freak him out? Make him think Yamiko killed herself or something. He'll believe it--it's close enough to the truth." Tokimo grinned. "And just when his heart is crushed--just kidding! He'll be so relieved he'll do anything you say."
"You're brilliant, Tokimo!" Sayoko said.
"I know. Which is why it drives me nuts when people always say I'm dumb," she said accusingly.
"But where is he?" Sayoko wondered.
"Probably on Aphrodite," Kouken replied.
"...where exactly is that, anyway?" Sayoko asked.
"It's co-located with Venus through an extra time-space dimension," Kouken replied. "In a spiritual kind of way."
"Great," Sayoko replied, "How am I supposed to get there?"
Kouken paused. "Um,
well...that's a good question. There's two different ways--"
"I
could do it!" Tokimo piped in as pots were heard clattering in
the kitchen.
"Maybe," Kouken replied, "but without your crystal, it would be hard. I don't recommend it. Rather than that, you'd be better off talking to Sailor Pluto or even better, Helios."
"Helios, huh?" Sayoko said thoughtfully. "Well, it's off to the Crystal Palace I go."
Tsuki ni michibikarete doko ni tadoritsuku to mada kangaete iru
Yasashige na lullaby kiite kako wo sukoshi dake omou
Machigai mo hiai mo ippai dakedo anata ga iru kara
Koukai-shinai
Pink-iro no tsuki no shita ni iru kedo
Motto tsuyoi nagusame ga iru no
Tatoe ayamachi dake shitemo
I love you tte itte ne
Though I hold a mysterious destiny,
I'm still wondering to where I will struggle on,
being led by the moon
Listening to a gentle lullaby, I think just a little of the past
It's full of mistakes and sorrow, but since
You are here, I won't regret it
Though I'm under the pink moon,
I need an even stronger comfort
Even if I make only mistakes,
Say, "I love you," okay?
Moon Senshi: Unmei no Kodomo
Episode Seventeen:
"The Panacea"
"I can't believe you're just marching up to the Crystal Palace," Kouken said.
"You must be a slow learner, Kouken," Sayoko said. "How many times now have people you know just gone marching up to the Crystal Palace? I mean, it's practically the story of your life."
Kouken just sighed. Sayoko approached the front of the doorless palace and just sort of hopefully knocked.
"Who is it?" A gentleman asked, appearing on a large projection on the wall of the palace.
"My name is Sayoko Hoshino," she said. "I'm Sailor Phoebe's older sister and guardian. I need to talk to Helios about Eros. Oh, and this is Kouken, the talking ferret."
"Hi," Kouken said. The guard looked a little taken aback, but the screen blipped out and back in.
"Helios is at still at school," the guard said.
"Really?" Sayoko said. "I guess he must have club or something..." she reflected.
"But Princess--er, Queen Venus says she will see you."
A huge, ornate door appeared before them and opened a crack. "Com'on in," Venus said, ushering them inside.
"This place is huge," Sayoko remarked, looking at the huge foyer and the grand-staircase that loomed above them.
"Yeah, I know," Venus replied. "I'm embarrassed to admit that I've gotten lost a couple times. Come on, I'll take you to my parlor." Queen Venus led her through a series of hallways and into a small room. The furniture was opulently decorated in the rococo style with wine red upholstery. The walls were a pale, brownish yellow with goldenrods splayed decoratively across them. The wall was decorated with nicely framed posters of famous celebrities, most of them signed with rather prominent hearts drawn on them. This didn't surprise Sayoko; the Queen of Venus was known for her, ahem, close friendships with prominent figures. Venus pushed what looked like a doorbell in the parlor and a servant quickly came by.
"Yes, my lady?" she said.
"I'll have a mimosa," Venus said. "Would you like anything, Ms., Er..."
"Sayoko is fine," she said. "And I'll have one too."
"Very well," the servant said.
"You can call me Minako, Sayoko," Venus said.
"Anyway," Sayoko said. "I was hoping to get to Aphrodite. I need to talk to Eros."
"Is it about Yamiko and Eros?" Minako asked.
"Oh--you know about it?" Sayoko replied, surprised.
"Eros told me about it." she frowned sadly. "It's really tragic, what happened. He really loves her, but he made a terrible mistake."
"A 'terrible mistake' is breaking someone's $800 vase. What Eros did was 'be an asshole' not 'a terrible mistake.'"
"Then...you don't want them to get back together?" Minako said, crestfallen.
The serving woman came in and put down the mimosas. Sayoko took a sip before continuing; she watched the servant leave. "It was a difficult decision," she said. "But I ultimately decided that they should get back together. Not before I have my payback, but..." she shrugged. "The fact of the matter is, no one--not even me, I'm ashamed to admit--has made Yamiko so happy. And I can tell that what he felt for her as genuine, at least at the end. Part of me will never quite forgive him....and I fear that it may be too late for him and Yamiko after what he's done. But if what they had can be recaptured...I'd like to try."
Minako clapped. "Well," she said, "then we're in agreement. The next step is how to go about it. And I agree with you--Eros should have to do something to show that he truly regrets his crimes, even if it's pretty clear from his behavior that he does. Did you know he had every intention of killing himself, before I convinced him otherwise?"
Sayoko looked surprised. "Really? I guess he shares more in common with Yamiko than I thought," she replied.
"Was she going to kill herself?" Minako said, taken aback.
"Well...I hope not," Sayoko replied. "It's hard to know. She was crying so hard."
"Is she alone right now?" Minako asked.
"No," she said. "Tokimo is watching her." Sayoko paused. "Which I suppose sounds irresponsible, but if you can get Tokimo to set her mind to something, she'll pursue it with psychotic vigor."
"I don't know Tokimo, so I'll have to take your word for it," Minako said. "Anyway, the problem that we're facing now is that Eros refuses to see Yamiko. He says that only if Yamiko says that she forgives him will he return to her. So we need to make her forgive him."
"It's not that simple," Sayoko replied. "Yamiko isn't the forgive and forget type, and she'll only believe Eros is a changed man if he makes a real effort to prove it to her."
"Great. So we have Eros in the right corner, who won't make a move without the blessing of Yamiko; and Yamiko in the left corner, who won't make a move without some display of his sincerity."
Sayoko flopped back in her chair. "So what do we do?"
"Eros told me Yamiko was distrustful and miserable. Is that true?"
"Ding ding," Sayoko said dryly. "And an escapist."
"Then we're probably better off trying to get Eros to try and prove his feelings of regret than we are trying to get Yamiko to forgive him. So we need to come up with something that will motivate Eros to try and prove Yamiko he still cares."
"No, no..." Sayoko said. "I think if we try to get Eros to prove that he still cares about Yamiko, we're doomed to fail. In some ways, he might hope that she thinks he doesn't care so that she'll get over him quicker. No, what we need to do is make Eros do something that he thinks will help right the wrongs he's done."
Minako hemmed thoughtfully. The both sat in the chairs for a long time, sipping mimosas as they thought.
"Nice poster of Kou Yaten," Sayoko remarked absently. "That an antique?"
"Yeah," she said. "She signed it before returning to Kinmoku."
"Uh..." Sayoko paused, confused. "Huh." And was silent again as she thought. "It's no good, " she said at last. "Barring some sort of radical act of derring-do, I can't think of a damn thing Eros could do. Can you?"
"Nah, me neither. We'll just have to convince him he has the hots for Yamiko too bad to give her up." Minako sighed. "So I guess the best we can manage to do for now is get them to go somewhere and meet each other and realize how in love they are."
"Naw, too fast. Better if Eros just sees Yamiko. Yamiko's not ready to face him," Sayoko replied.
"Then we'd better pick something that doesn't involve too much socializing with a large group." she paused. "Hey, does Yamiko like musicals?"
"Depends. How angsty is it?"
"It's Phantom of the Opera. Is that angsty?"
Sayoko grinned fiendishly. "It's perfect."
"All right, then," Minako said. "I'll get Eros in a place where he can see her, and I'll make sure to get you tickets in a place where she can't see him."
"Oh--" Sayoko said, suddenly remembering why she came here to begin with. "Can you take me to wherever Eros is staying--er--"
"Aphrodite," Minako said.
"Right. I need to talk to him."
"About Yamiko?" Minako asked.
Sayoko nodded. "I need to have a talk with him," she said. "Like I said...I need my payback."
Natsuko squinted as she glanced at the sun rising in the distance. She had to admit, Akiko had a good idea with the hair; today, Natsuko tried braiding her hair up around her head, and it stayed out of the way of her face much more than her normal style. The morning birds were making a huge raucous in the distance; she took a deep breath and began to jog as Hitomi called to start.
Akiko slowly approached her and managed, with difficulty, to keep pace with her younger sister. "Hey," she said, panting, "This isn't so hard."
Natsuko ignored her.
"Hey," Akiko said, louder this time. "I said--"
"I know what you said," Natsuko replied. "I just don't give a crap."
Akiko frowned. "I'm just trying to--"
"I'm trying to beat my time," Natsuko said. "This might be a lark for you, but it's important to me. So be quiet."
"Natsu," Akiko said, putting on her school uniform, "I think you're taking this whole track thing way too seriously."
Natusko shot her a withering look. Hitomi and the other girls in track and field had already dressed and left; Natsuko and Akiko had been slowed by fixing their hair. "I want to compete in the nationals before I graduate," she said. "So I have to get good."
"But why?" Akiko asked. "It's just running around a circle. Isn't it more fun to goof off with your sisters?"
"I have fun hanging out with you guys," Natsuko said. "But I want to apply myself to something, too. I want to prove I can be something besides a sailor senshi."
Akiko looked thoughtful. "It still seems like a waste of time," she said. "Track seems easy and boring to me."
"Well, it's not easy for me!" Natsuko said angrily. "If it's so damn easy for you, why not try something that's more of a challenge?"
Akiko frowned. She regretted her words; it wasn't as easy as she had said it was. By the end, she had really felt like walking. But she was damned if she was going to admit that to Natsuko.
"Hmph," she said. "Maybe I'll just do that stupid animal thing after all."
"Good," Natsuko replied. "Get you out of my hair already."
"Oh, that's a challenge!" she snapped. "Fine. Next tournament, I'm going to beat you. And after I beat you, only then will I leave the track team.
"Feh," Natsuko replied, "If you can beat me. Though if you do, at least you'll be out of my hair!"
"I'm surprised more things don't get caught in your hair," Akiko snapped, "It's like a big fishing line with a lure at the top!"
Natsuko punched Akiko in the face.
"Ow!" she exclaimed. "The hell--"
"Aki, you think you're hot stuff," she snapped. "You're not. Your hair isn't any more normal than mine, so I wouldn't talk--and at least I didn't beat animals!"
"You can't bring that up here!" Akiko said. "That's Neherenia stuff. It's off-limits!"
"You made fun of my hair--that's just as bad!"
"It is not, you b--" Natsuko swung another fist toward Akiko, but she grabbed it this time. Natsuko tried to fling her other fist toward Aki's stomach, but Akiko grabbed that one with her other hand. Soon they were braced against each other, going nowhere fast as they glared daggers at each other.
There was a loud creak as the door to the changing room opened. "Akiko, Natsuko!" Haruko shouted. "I was wondering where you were. What the hell is going on?!"
They immediately broke off and turned away from each other. "She started it," Akiko snapped.
"This is why I thought going off and doing your own thing was a bad idea," Haruko said. "The first thing you do is fight."
"We weren't fighting, until Akiko decided to play copy-cat," Natsuko said. "Way to play up the baby sister stereotype."
"Why does it matter if Akiko wants to join the same club as you?" Haruko said. "Shouldn't you be happy that she has the same interests?"
"She doesn't," Natsuko said. "She just joined because she was curious as to why I wanted to."
"I'm sure that's not true," Haruko said. "That's just your assumption."
"Actually," Akiko said guiltily, "it is kind of true. I did join partly out of curiosity as to why Natsuko wanted to go off on her own. But I'm taking it seriously!" she said. "I'm going to be in the next tournament, and I'm going to beat you, snot!"
"You only want to be in the tournament because I said you should quit so you would be out of my hair!"
"Your dumb looking hair," Akiko retorted.
"Shut up!" Haruko said. "Akiko, you can stay in track until the tournament--but afterwards you have to quit, whether you lose or win, unless you can convince me that you sincerely care about track and aren't just copying Natsuko...or trying to find out what the fuss is about...or whatever it is that you're doing."
Natsuko frowned. "But she--"
"Discussion over," Haruko announced, and turned to go to her classes.
"So," Nemesis said dryly. Her dark, glassy throne towered above them in the grand hall; the dark, inky colors of her sailor uniform seemed to blend together, and in the dim light of the Twilight Palace, midnight blue and burgundy looked little different from the deep, dark black of her collar. "You want to work with your brother in Tokyo."
Coeus bowed reverently. He tugged on Mauros' long jacket, and his brother mimicked the gesture. "After much consideration, I feel it wouldn't do to underestimate the Tokyo senshi. Moreover, they have Planetary Senshi to back them up, not to mention Sailor Luna--and now, Venus too--both of whom have their three powers intact. And, as you know, Mauros and I make an excellent team."
Nemesis paused. "You did collect quite a lot of kakon when you revoked Eros' power," she remarked. "Both from Phoebe and, more impressively, Eros--not to mention the additional kakon you garnered from Vesta and Charon."
"Thank you, your eminence," he replied.
"So, given the circumstances, I will let you work in concert with your sibling," she said. "Besides which, Mauros is difficult to control on his own...so it may be for the best to have you two work together."
"Thank you," Coeus said. Nemesis waved her hand to dismiss him.
"So I'm staying in Tokyo to play with these Senshi?" he said.
Coeus shrugged. "There was never any doubt," he said. "I knew Nemesis would go along with it, after our excellent performance with Yamiko and Eros. I would have liked to have taken more kakon from Yamiko, but...I suppose much more could have killed her, and she's probably more useful to us alive."
Mauros looked happy. "I like Tokyo. It has cream horns."
"What did you say?" Coeus asked.
"Nothing," Mauros said hastily.
"Tell me, Mauros!" Coeus said, grabbing the front of his brother's jacket and looking at him menacingly.
"A nice girl gave me a cream horn," he said. "I didn't tell her anything, I swear, brother. She just shared a food with me."
"Haven't I told you, Mauros--never talk to strangers. They'll take away all of your friends. They'll take away you, and you'll never be able to see me again. We only play with the sailor senshi, and we only spend time talking to our brother."
"I'm sorry, Coeus," he said meekly. He was disappointed, because Mayumi was so terribly nice, and her face was very nice.
"You're forgiven this time," he said. "But you must never do it again."
"Yes, brother," Mauros said sadly.
"Kouken," Tokimo said, "I need your advice."
"Yeahuh?" he said passively, munching on a carrot from Tokimo's lunch box.
"How would I go about getting a guy to fall in love with me?" she asked.
Seisui, Kazeko, and Kouken all went dead silent. "What?" Kouken said, confused.
"I said," Tokimo repeated, louder, "How would I go about getting a guy to fall in love with me?"
"Who is it?" Seisui asked, a little shocked.
"I dunno," Tokimo said. "But it's probably Coeus, because it looks like he's the new priest on the block."
"You're...you're in love with Coeus?" Kazeko asked, confused.
"What?" Tokimo said, disgusted. "No! No no no! Of course not."
"Then why in the name of the ten gods would you want him to fall in love with you?" Kazeko asked.
"'Cause," she said. "I have a master plan! See, when Eros fell in love with Yamiko, he went good, right?"
"I have sinking feeling about where this is going," Kouken remarked.
"So I figure, if I make whatever priesty is in Tokyo fall in love with me, he'll go good, too!"
"Um, Tokimo," Seisui said, "I'm not sure...I'm not sure your plan is entirely sound."
"What?" she exclaimed. "How could it go wrong?!"
"Well, for one," Seisui said, "you can't guarantee that this priest will fall in love with you. And anyway, making someone fall in love with you isn't exactly a small task to begin with."
"How do you know, huh?" Tokimo asked. "How many guys have you seduced?"
Seisui looked sort of flustered. "Um--"
"Perhaps, Tokimo," Kazeko interjected, "The fact that none of us has had any sort of relationship before is a testament to the difficulty of the undertaking."
"To be honest," Kouken said, "I can't imagine any of you three in a romantic relationship. You're all either too weird or too traumatized."
The Tokimo and Seisui gave him a dirty look. Kazeko just looked sort of flustered and uncomfortable.
"How many girlfriends have you had, huh Kouken?" Tokimo said. "I don't recall seeing any girl-ferrets around."
"How many ferrets do you see around, period?" Kouken replied. "Anyway, how do you know I've always been a ferret?"
"Maybe he has a human form, like Luna and Artemis," Seisui said. "Maybe he comes from an alien planet like they do."
"Of ferret-people?" Tokimo replied.
"Um..." Seisui trailed off. "Kouken, do you?"
"None of your business," he replied. "Point is, Tokimo, I don't think any amount of advice from anyone is going to help you attract a member of the opposite sex."
"I'll show you!" Tokimo said. "I'll become Tokimo, master...." she trailed off. "Person who gets priests to fall in love with her! I'll talk to Eros. He'll have advice for me. And before you know it, Coeus will regret his life of evil and be begging to join us!"
Eros watched his flower garden dejectedly. In the time between when he had turned into a swan--the first time, before he joined Nemesis--and the final crumbling of Aphrodite, a healthy crop of weeds had sprung up. Once, he would have labored over pulling out the unwanted plants and shoveling gravel mulch over the beds to keep them from sprouting up again. Now it hardly seemed to matter; what difference between weeds and ornamentals but a few meaningless flowers? He turned his face toward the vermillion sky of Aphrodite, watching the clouds lazily float past.
He sighed. The Queen of Venus wanted to speak to him, and she wanted him to bring some mortal with her. He stood up, brushed himself off, and summoned them to Aphrodite.
Sayoko appeared alongside Minako.
Eros looked surprised. "Sayoko..." he said.
Sayok walked up to Eros and slapped him, hard.
Eros held his hand up to his face but just looked toward her, dejected. "Sayoko...I..."
"She's dead," she said, tears forming in her eyes. "She killed herself, and it's all because of you!"
"N-no..." Eros murmured. His face became wan. "I-I..." he looked around, lost. "Venus...you may have to find someone to replace me after all..."
"What? Wait--"
Eros turned away from them and walked deeper into his garden. Minako and Sayoko walked hurriedly behind him. "What are you doing?" Minako asked.
Eros didn't answer her, but walked up to a tall, gorgeous flower. It was true blue, and tall as Eros; the blue flowers reached up to the sky, held up by brass stakes. An arrow appeared in his hand and he used its head to cut off one of the huge flowers.
"Eros, what are you doing?" Minako asked nervously.
"Delphinums are beautiful flowers," Eros said, and he opened his mouth.
"Stop that!" Sayoko said, grabbing the Delphinium out of his hand and throwing it aside. "Yamiko isn't really dead. I just told you that to make you feel like crap."
"Really?" he said shakily.
Sayoko frowned, sitting down on a nearby bench carved of bluish marble. "Yeah," she said. "I told you that as revenge."
"Well," Eros said, "I can't say I blame you. Frankly, I'm not sure why you stopped me from eating the delphinium."
"I agree with Minako," Sayoko said hesitantly. "I think...you and Yamiko should give it a second try."
"What?" Eros said, shocked. "Have you been taking Yamiko's pills, Sayoko? Or are you just totally misinformed on what happened?"
"I know what happened," Sayoko said. "You lied to my sister...got her to trust you, and then destroyed that trust..not just in you, but in everyone." She shook her head. "But...you got Yamiko to trust you. That's more than anyone but me has managed. Hell, even with me, she's annoyed at me as often as not. She genuinely enjoyed your company."
"She genuinely enjoyed Kane's company. He's dead now."
"Oh, come on," Minako interjected. "You were pretending to be Kane, right?"
"Well..." Eros said. "Yes."
"Did you radically alter your behavior when you were pretending to be him?"
Eros paused. "At first," he said. "But by the time Yamiko seemed to like me, I wasn't really pretending to be someone else at all. I was just myself with a different face."
"So what she really enjoyed was your company," Minako said. "You just happened to be wearing a really good disguise."
Eros shook his head. "Even if that's true, what I did to her was unforgivable," he said. "I caused her so much pain. Even if I was the only person in the world she came to trust, even if we were the best of friends, what I did would make all of that meaningless."
"Then it's up to you to make it meaningful again," Sayoko said. "Think of it this way--telling yourself you're too despicable to be with her is a nice sentiment, but it isn't going to help Yamiko any--"
"Oh, please," Eros interjected. "This is where you say that if I really love her, I'll try to fix my mistakes? Hardly. My being around her will only serve to remind her of what I've done to her--how I've betrayed her," he explained. "And even if it didn't, what reparation can there possibly be? What I did to her was despicable, too despicable to be made up for with even the most well-intentioned of apologies or reparations."
"Look, Eros," Sayoko replied, "I'll agree with you that in the short term, it might be best to give Yamiko some space--let her recover enough to function. But doing that won't heal any of the wounds you've inflicted--it'll only scab them over. If you really want to help her, you have to try and show her that you regret what you did. Can you make up for betraying her?--maybe not--maybe not ever, as you seem so sure of. But if you spend your life dedicated to making Yamiko happy, I'll take that as a halfway decent way of making up for destroying her trust."
Eros was silent.
"Look," Minako said, "If even Yamiko's sister is willing to give you a second chance, shouldn't you give yourself one?"
Eros sighed. "I suppose I'll think about what you've said, Sayoko," he said. "If you're really sure it would be better if I involved myself in her life again...but honestly, if it was really such a good idea, wouldn't Yamiko come herself if she felt like forgiving me? Why should I harass her?"
"You know as well as I do that even if Yamiko forgave you, she would never have the balls to come here and say so," Sayoko said. "Moreover, why should she forgive you when the only thing you've done to apologize is sit around and mope on Aphrodite? Not exactly a heroic act of atonement."
Eros looked away. "Maybe...maybe you have a point. I suppose that in a way, if I stay here and do nothing, it's almost as if I don't care at all--or I'm just being petulant, instead of considerate. I'll think about what you two have said. Is there any point to your further harassing me?"
"Oh," Minako said, "before I forget, I'd like you to come with me to see a play.'"
"Is that an order or a request?" Eros said lifting an eyebrow.
Venus looked pleasantly surprised. "I can give you orders?"
Eros raised an eyebrow. "Well...yes," he said. Then added hastily, "Depending on the nature of the order." Lest Minako get any...unusual ideas.
"Okay, then it's an order," she said. "But don't worry, we'll have fun."
Sayoko snickered.
"Oh, shut up, Sayoko," he replied.
Kazeko smiled gently as she walked into classroom, bearing a medium-sized wooden box with acorns and leaves carved on the front; twisting, lacy branches were intertwined between them. "I brought fidchell," she said. "So we can play it on a proper board today."
Fuyuko clapped her hands together excitedly. "Awesome!"
Kazeko opened the box and pulled out a wooden board, which she delicately unfolded. It was divided up into squares with thin, delicate celtic knots burnt in wood; Kazeko set the high king in the center, an anthropomorphized oak tree who played a harp formed of its own branches. Around him she set four men in armor, swords in their hands. Then she set down five black, vaguely anthropomorphic crows, their wings splayed upward and forward.
"Wow," Fuyuko said, "Those crows...they look so menacing."
"Crows are harbingers of death," Kazeko replied, "and symbols of war."
"Are they evil?" Fuyuko said, thinking of Phobos and Deimos, Rei's guardian crows.
"No," Kazeko said, holding back a grin. "They are aspects of the Morrigan--Sailor Mars, as you call her, along with Phobos and Deimos. Death and war were inevitable parts of life, ones that still come to us when we are unfortunate. But if Morrigan is a sign of a struggle, she gives us the power as warriors to defeat our enemies...and, if she favors us, she will make things harder for them."
"Really?" Fuyuko replied. "Do you really think Sailor Mars determines the outcome of battle?" she said. "You playing the high king or the crows?"
"You may play whichever you like," Kazeko replied. "Some people think that the high king is easier, but I'm not sure I hold with that. Anyway," she continued, "Don't you think that Sailor Mars determines the outcome of battle?"
"Well..." Fuyuko paused. "I guess sorta. But I'm not sure she decides it any more than any of the other sailor senshi. I'll play the crows," she added, making a move.
"Hm," Kazeko said. "But Sailor Mars has the power of fire. Isn't that destruction in its purest form?"
"Yeah, but y'know," Fuyuko said, "Sailor Saturn has the power of death and rebirth. So isn't that destruction in it's purest form?"
"Well..." Kazeko looked perplexed.
"Anyway, I thought, since you accepted your destiny as you-know-who and all, you didn't believe that senshi were gods."
Kazeko paused. "I guess I haven't completely decided whether I'm a god, too...or none of us are."
"Do I look like a god to you?" Fuyuko asked.
Kazeko sighed. "It's just...I have a lot of memories worshipping the Tuatha de Danann...with...with my family." The grove of oak trees appeared so clearly in Kazeko's mind...14 oak trees, one for each senshi, with the first, and biggest, oak standing in the center. The tree of Serenity. Kazeko remembered placing stones or making prayers or even summoning elements beneath those trees...remembered watching her mother show her how it was done.
And then...
"Kazeko?" Fuyuko said, watching as Kazeko's eyes became dark and her face became pale and feverish.
"W-w-what?" she said suddenly, gripping her arms in her hands.
"Are you okay?" she said, alarmed. "You look kinda like someone just stepped on your grave..."
Kazeko shuddered. "P-please...don't say that."
"I'm sorry," Fuyuko said, looking at her friend with deep concern. "Look, maybe we should play another game. Blokus, maybe?"
"No...it's okay. I just...my f-f-faith...it was..." she shook her head. "It's all I have left of them." She pulled out a purple handkerchief and brushed it surreptitiously across her face.
Apparently, it was not just her brother that Kazeko had lost. "Com'on," she said, "let's go do something relaxing for awhile. I know I sure don't feel like playing board games when I'm in a cruddy mood."
Surprising herself as much as anyone, Kazeko weakly nodded as Fuyuko gently took her hand and led her away.
"So, what do you like to do when you're depressed?" Fuyuko asked. "Me, I like to watch movies--especially funny movies." Fuyuko had brought Kazeko to a nearby park; she figured that somewhere quiet and calming would be a good change of pace.
"I can't really get into a movie when I'm thinking about something," Kazeko said. "A lot of times, I like to commune with trees when I'm upset, but...I don't know. Right now I think that would cut to the quick even more, since using my power would make me think even more of home, and my family, who taught me to use it."
"You can talk to trees?"
"Yes," Kazeko said.
"What is that like?"
Kazeko paused thoughtfully. "It's not like talking to a person at all. You get impressions and memories from trees...sometimes very vague thoughts. But you can't really carry on a conversation with a tree--and you certainly couldn't play a game of chess."
"What's the point?" Fuyuko asked.
"Trees are useful," she said. "They can give you positive energy or take negative energy away. Plus, communing with a tree is a little like meditation...for awhile, you're forced to slow down and empty your mind."
"What do you mean by taking negative energy away?" Fuyuko asked. "You mean, you can just put your bad feelings in a tree?"
"Well, sort of..." Kazeko said. "It's not something you want to do carelessly. A tree is a living thing, and if you put your feelings into it, they become the feelings of the tree. So you have to be careful...you must do it with the permission of the tree."
"Hmm..." Fuyuko looked at the grove of cherry trees that grew in the park. "Funky. Even with the needing permission and stuff, it sounds like it would be nice to be able to put your bad feelings in a tree. Plus you'd be able to talk to the tree when you're lonely."
"It's not like that," Kazeko said. "Trees aren't a replacement for people." she glanced at Fuyuko. "Do you have trouble relating to you sisters?"
"Nah, I love my sisters," she said. "I guess sometimes there's just stuff I can't talk about with them. I mean...kinda like you don't want to talk about certain stuff with your family, y'know? Personal stuff, or the hobbies you know they think are boring or dumb. Er--" she blushed. "I guess that's probably kinda a bad thing to bring up right now..."
"It's okay," Kazeko said. "You don't have any family either, except for your sisters."
"Yeah," she said, "I don't even know if I have any parents, or if I do, who they are." Fuyuko sat down on a bench underneath a maple tree, and Kazeko joined her.
"I've always wondered..." Kazeko said awkwardly. "Your hair, it's..."
"Weird as all get out?" Fuyuko laughed. "I know. But I've always worn it this way. I've thought of changing it, but nothing feels right. It feels too boring down, and I'm no good at styling it..." she shrugged. "I guess it's for the best. When I transform, it'll go back into this style regardless. Anyway, I am sort of attached to it...although I wouldn't mind doing something different now and again."
"Well, it's not like you transform every single day," Kazeko remarked. "As for styling it, maybe I could teach you. My mother taught me how to braid hair really well."
This seemed to pique Fuyuko's interest. "Really?" she said. "That sounds like fun. But why don't we go to the Crystal Palace...we'd probably look kinda weird, braiding each other's hair in the middle of a park."
Kazeko smiled weakly. "You seem to be taking me a lot of places today," she said. Fuyuko just shrugged.
"Seisui," Erik said, approaching her as she put on her navy blue sneakers. She looked up as she finished lacing her shoes; Erik stood out starkly against the exiting students and teachers; he was dark, extremely tall, and rather foreboding. "Do you want to train this afternoon?"
"Sure," She replied noncommittally. "Let me send a message to my mother and let her know where I'll be, so she doesn't worry and think I'm fighting." Seisui pulled out her phone and quickly typed a message. "Okay," she said.
"I apologize in advance," Erik said. "It's a rather long trip."
"It's okay," Seisui replied. "I can read Jane Eyre on the train."
"Are you enjoying it?" Erik asked as disinterestedly as humanly possible.
"Yes," Seisui said. "I like Jane. She always tries to be honest with herself...with other people."
"Yes," he agreed. "Jane reminds me a little of you that way." Seisui gave a polite smile but said nothing. "How far are you?"
"Jane is at the estate now," Seisui replied. "Having an obvious crush on Mr. Rochester."
Erik chuckled a little at this. The bus stopped and they got in and sat down.
"Where is Ikkoku?" Seisui asked.
"She goes home ahead of me, most of the time," Erik replied. "Sometimes she hides in my bag, but that's hard to manage, not to speak of the discomfort. She's a bird, so she can fly much faster than we can walk. And she can go in a straight line."
"Did you ever find out where she was from--who she is?"
"No," Erik replied a little ruefully. "But the more I talk to her, the more I feel like she's either known me for a long time, or has made me the subject of a lot of research."
Haruko frowned deeply as she walked toward the Crystal Palace, Diana's tiny paws pitter-pattering beside her. Usako had declared that she was going on a date with her boyfriend; Hiroshi, his face beet red, had happily followed behind her.
"I wish you wouldn't look so dejected, Miss Haruko," Diana said, concerned. "You look as though someone ripped out a piece of you."
"My sisters are gone," she said flatly. "So...I suppose that's not far from the truth."
Diana looked down at the ground thoughtfully. "But it's not like they're dead," she replied. "I mean...you don't think they hate you, do you?"
Haruko sighed. "I don't know. It's just...if hanging around me were really so great, Diana, why would they feel like they need go off and do their own thing?"
"Well,
Lady Serenity left just now to spend time with sir Helios,"
Diana remarked. "Does that mean she doesn't like you?"
"That's
different," Haruko retorted. "They're in love. The
Quartet...we only have each other."
Diana looked up at Haruko's dejected face. Although Haruko bossed around her sisters as much like a mother as a sibling, Diana suddenly realized that Haruko relied on them as much as they did her. "You know they still care about you, right?"
"Do they?" Haruko looked at the clouds passing overhead. "Diana, can you keep this conversation between us?"
"Of course," she said sincerely.
"I'm beginning to feel like.." Haruko hesitated. "Maybe it's my own fault."
"But why, Miss Haruko?"
"Because...well, I'm better than I was when we were working for Neherenia, but let's face it...I've always been kind of bossy toward them."
"You're their leader," Diana protested. "It's only natural that you'd direct them."
"Maybe so," Haruko agreed. "But...maybe I've been a little heavy-handed about it. I..." she sighed. "Before, it was like...they never even thought of not listening to me. Maybe now that they realize there's nothing forcing them to follow me, they don't see any reason to...even worse, they see a lot of reasons not to."
"What reasons would they have not to?" Diana asked.
"Oh, let's not beat around the bush," She said, flopping down on a nearby bench. "Diana, everyone thinks I'm a stuck up bitch."
"No!" Diana protested. "That's not true. If it were really so bad as that, why would they have stuck with you as long as they have?"
Haruko frowned. "Somehow, that isn't very reassuring."
"Well, I don't think you are," she added.
"Diana, you like everybody."
"T-that's not true!" she said.
"Oh yeah?" Haruko said, looking at her accusingly. "Name one person you don't like."
Diana looked flustered. "Well, I..." she paused. "Sometimes I think Princess Uranus is rather too abrasive."
Haruko looked at Diana a little agog and then laughed. "Diana," she said, "You are just too funny."
"Well," she said huffily, "See--I don't like everyone!"
"Still," Haruko added, "not everyone is as good-natured as you, Diana."
"Well...." Diana frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe if you're so worried about them not liking you, you could do something to endear them to you."
"Like what?" Haruko asked. "At this point, it seems like anything I do will seem like an empty gesture to get back in their good graces."
Diana sighed. "Well...maybe since they feel like they want to express themselves more, you could get them something supportive of their endeavors...like...maybe show that you want them to succeed."
"But I'm not sure that I do," Haruko replied. "I think a part of me would rather they fail, so they hang around more."
"Maybe that's the problem," Diana replied. "Miss Haruko, I think perhaps the reason they are expressing themselves has less to do with thinking you're stuck up and more to do with the fact that they feel you keep too tight a leash on them. Maybe seeing Lady Serenity finally branch off from her mother has made them realize that they, too, want to find themselves."
She sighed. "Have I really been such a bad leader?" she asked.
"You haven't had to do much leading as of yet, miss Haruko," Diana replied. "The Moon Senshi are the first antagonists you have faced without the aid of the Planetary Senshi, and they are hardly a representative example of most of the adversaries the senshi been fighting. But for what it's worth, I think you have done admirably so far! You quickly got to the bottom of who Seisui was; and because of you, Lady Serenity was able to have her independence. And anyway," she added, "it's true that the others have gained some interests of their own, but when it comes to battle, do you really think they'd hesitate to follow you?"
Haruko stood up; she looked a little relieved. "Maybe you're right."
"I think you should make an effort to be supportive of the others, even if you don't like that they're branching off," Diana said. "Go to Natsuko's track meet...and if Fuyuko has a chess competition, you should go to that, too. I think if you show that you care about them, even if you don't really understand why they're doing what they're doing, it will make you even closer. And also...I think that, perhaps, you will come to understand why they've done what they've done."
"I'll try, Diana," Haruko said. "Even if I don't entirely understand their reasoning."
"Well, if you don't mind my suggesting so, perhaps you should join a club as well, Miss Haruko! Your sisters are loyal to you; you don't need to worry about their decisions. Rather, I think it would be exciting to follow their lead and try and find some calling of you own."
Haruko sighed. "Maybe you're right, Diana...sitting around getting depressed about it certainly doesn't seem to be helping.
Tokimo watched, surprise evident on her face, as Yamiko ended her self-imposed exile and walked into the living room. She looked around listlessly and then stared just as dumbfoundedly back at Tokimo.
"Where is Sayoko?" she asked at last, her voice devoid of any energy.
"Uh..." Tokimo stammered. "She went to the Crystal Palace. She wanted to talk to Eros."
"Oh," Yamiko said. "Do you know where she's keeping my medicine?"
Tokimo frowned. "She told me not to let you take anything."
Yamiko groaned. "I just need my sleep medication. Please. I just want to sleep."
Tokimo stared at Yamiko. She looked like she had seen better days...and considering who she was talking about, that was saying something. But Sayoko had been very explicit in her directions not to give Yamiko anything while she was gone.
"Fine," Yamiko said at last. "I'll just have some alcohol."
"No!" Tokimo said. "You're underage. And you'll become an alcoholic. And trust me, you got enough problems as it is."
Yamiko flashed her a dirty look. "Okay then. I'll just stand here and wallow in my own misery until she gets back. Happy?"
"Not really," Tokimo replied. "Here. Let's do something until she gets back...take your mind off of things."
"Like what?" Yamiko said disinterestedly.
"We could play..." Tokimo looked thoughtful. "Go fish!"
"Great," Yamiko said. "Less fun than a barrel full of monkeys."
"Okay fine," Tokimo said, thinking. "How about...checkers? We could play that. You must have a checker board."
"I don't want to play a game," Yamiko said.
Tokimo sighed. "Okay, maybe you should...I dunno...read a book. You like...reading."
Yamiko flopped on the couch. "I...I don't have the energy for it."
Tokimo stood up and walked over to the massive bookshelf built into the wall. The whole middle shelf was nothing but cookbooks, but there was still a sizable collection of other works as well. None of them looked very familiar, and most of them looked either very depressing or not something she felt very comfortable reading aloud. There was one book that she thought looked promising; it was called The Little Prince. Tokimo pulled this book off the shelf. It was thin enough that she could probably read it in an afternoon. It looked interesting. Tokimo sat down next to Yamiko, who was looking dejectedly out the window and biting her lip as though she were trying to keep from crying. "All right," Tokimo said. "I'll read a book to you."
"I don't feel like it," Yamiko replied.
"It's okay," Tokimo said. "You'll get into it once I start. Let's see....'Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories From Nature, about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal...'" Tokimo continued to read from the book while Yamiko passively listened. She half-expected Yamiko to become indignant and make her stop, but surprisingly, she just sat down and listened. Tokimo was surprised to find that she liked this story. It was about how adults were stupid, which was pretty much the truth. And it had a picture of a boa constrictor eating an elephant. It reminded Tokimo a little bit of Night on the Galactic Railroad, but not on fuzz. Tokimo read for a long time--she read and read and read some more. Her voice was getting a little tired, but she didn't want to stop, because Yamiko seemed less upset, and she was listening to the story. Eventually, she heard a soft, low breathing. Glancing at Yamiko, Tokimo realized she had fallen asleep.
"Hm," she said quietly. "See, Yamiko? Bedtime stories work way better than any stupid drugs." Tokimo sighed and looked at the cover of the book; getting up, she went to the kitchen and got herself a glass of milk and some kind of biscuity-looking thing with raisins in it. She sat down and kept reading the book while she ate her biscuit thing.
Tokimo was most of the way through the book when the door opened and Sayoko walked through. "How is--" she shut her mouth as she saw Yamiko asleep on the couch. Sayoko looked toward Tokimo. "How is she?" she said more quietly.
Tokimo shrugged. "Pretty bad. But I read her this book and she seemed to pick up a bit." Tokimo held up The Little Prince to Sayoko.
Sayoko quietly walked toward her and took the book from Tokimo. "Oh," she said, smiling a little. "This was one of my favorites when we were little. I used to make our nanny read it to us."
"Did Yamiko like it, too?"
"Hmm," Sayoko said thoughtfully. "Even as a kid, she was sullen and quiet. But I think she did. She didn't complain when I wanted to listen to it."
Tokimo stared at Yamiko thoughtfully. "It's weird to think of Yamiko as a little kid."
Sayoko chuckled. "Not like you, Tokimo. It's weird to think of you as anything but a kid."
Tokimo stuck out her tongue. "Yeah, well--better that than to be like Yamiko."
Sayoko's smile faded and she looked at her sister sadly. "You may be right about that," she said. "Anyway, Tokimo, you can head on home now if you like."
Tokimo looked at Yamiko, concerned. "Let me know if you need any more help, okay, Sayoko?" she said.
"Thanks, Tokimo," Sayoko said.
"C'mon, Kouken," Tokimo said quietly. Kouken had been sleeping on the couch nearby; he pricked up his head at the mention of his name and climbed on Tokimo's shoulder. "Let's go."
