Mauros watched the peonies from the bench as they swayed gently in the breeze. A few of them had toppled over onto the ground; he grabbed one of the flower heads and pinched it between his fingers until the flower came off of the stem. He admired the dark, burgundy flower, it's petals deeply cupped around bright yellow stamen.
"Hiya," Mayumi called from behind him. Mauros turned around, blossom still in his hand, and looked at her like a child afraid of being punished. He looked guiltily down at the flower and pretended like she wasn't there. "What's wrong, Kuro?" she asked, concerned. "Did something happen?"
"Brother says I can't talk to you," Mauros said guiltily. "He says...you'll make it so I can never see him again."
"What?" Mayumi said, shocked. "Kuro...I would never come between you and your brother. Heck, I haven't even met the guy!"
Mauros frowned. Mayumi seemed so nice...but Coeus had said...
"Anyway," she said, frowning, "Kuro, I want to be your friend. I know this'll sound kinda, weird, but...even just talking to you for a little while yesterday...I feel like you're a lot more upfront and honest than my other friends."
"I don't have any friends," Kuro replied, "except for my brother."
"Then won't you be mine?" Mayumi asked. "If you like."
"But...my brother said..."
"Then your brother doesn't have to know," Mayumi said, a little frustrated. "Look, I understand that maybe he doesn't know me, and thinks I'm not trustworthy. But the only person who can keep you from your brother is you. Nothing I say or do can force you apart. So if I say something like 'Kuro, I don't think you should hang out with your brother anymore,' then we'll know he's right and you should stop hanging out with me, 'kay?"
Mauros mulled this over. It seemed like a good argument. but....
"And anyway," she added, "we don't have to tell your brother that you're hanging out with me."
"Oh, but I couldn't keep something from my brother," Mauros protested. "He wouldn't like that."
"Well, we're not doing it to make him sad," Mayumi said. "We're only doing it because he's being silly. Someday we'll tell him, okay? When we're real good friends and we can get him used to me gradually-like."
Mauros looked thoughtfully down at his flower. He did like Mayumi. "Well...I guess we could wait to tell him. If I just wait, it's not like I'm really keeping something from him. Not really."
"That's the spirit!" Mayumi said. "Now. I brought you something!"
"Oh?" Mauros said, his interest piqued.
"I have tea and snacks!" she announced, holding up a lunchbox tied with a bright red sash. "I asked my chef to make double lunch today, so we could share a meal."
"Are they cream horns?" he asked.
"No," Mayumi said with a smile. "This food is a bit more...um...foody." She sat down on the bench and untied her lunchbox. She handed Mauros a sandwich and picked one for herself; Mauros ate the dainty finger food with relish and took another from the box.
"So, are you waiting for that guy again this time?" she asked.
"Huh? Oh, Kane. No," Mauros said. "My brother leaves me here while he's investigating."
"What does he investigate?" Mayumi asked. "Is he a detective?"
Mauros looked a little confused. "A what?"
"A detective. It's a person who finds out information about people. And solves crimes."
"Oh!" Mauros said. "Yeah, I think that's what he's doing. Something like that."
"Do you know when he's coming back?" Mayumi asked.
"Not for a few hours," Mauros said. "We can finish this."
"I have some tea, too," she said, pouring him some.
Mauros frowned as he drank it. "It's bitter!"
Mayumi laughed. "Sorry. Yeah...it is a little bitter." She glanced at the peony, which Mauros had placed delicately beside him on the bench when they sat down. "So...where are you from, Kuro?"
Mauros paused, unsure of how to answer. He was pretty sure that telling Mayumi where he was from was not a good idea, and was only liable to shock her. "I live...nearby." he said awkwardly.
"Oh, so do I! We must live near each other. Where do you live around here?" she asked.
This made Mauros very uncomfortable. "Umm..." he looked flustered.
Comprehension dawned on Mayumi's face. Clearly, Kuro didn't live in a house at all, but in this park with his brother. That would explain his loitering around here. "Well, it doesn't really matter," she added quickly. "I know where to find you." Mauros looked visibly relieved at these words. "Do you have any hobbies, Kuro? Or interests?"
Mauros looked at her blankly. "Hobbies?"
Carrying on a conversation with Kuro was turning out to be something of a trial. He didn't have any interests, didn't live anywhere, and didn't seem to know anything. Mayumi suddenly felt a little guilty for being so stingy about the Serenity Benefit Ball. Clearly, being poor sucked. "Kuro," she said, "do you like music?"
"I'm not sure," he said. "I'm pretty certain that I don't hate it, at least."
"Would you like to go to one of my concerts?" she asked. "I would love to know you were in the audience."
"One of your concerts?"
Mayumi smiled. "I'm a performing artist," she explained. "That is, I sing for a living."
"Oh," Mauros said, interested. "I would be very interested to hear you sing. I imagine that you must sound very nice. When you talk it sounds very nice."
Mayumi blushed at little. "Oh, Kuro--that's so sweet."
"Is it?" Mauros said, perplexed.
"Yes," she said, "you are just too cute."
"I'm not sure I've ever really thought of myself as cute," Mauros replied. "In fact, I'm not sure that anyone has ever really thought of me as cute."
"Well, they're silly," Mayumi said.
"If you say so," Mauros replied. He looked suddenly sullen and reflective.
"What's wrong?" Mayumi asked.
"Mayumi," he said, "Thank you for being my friend. All of my other friends...even my brother, too...they aren't as nice to me as you."
"Well, then they aren't very good friends," Mayumi replied.
Mauros looked uncomfortable at this suggestion. "But Coeus saved me," he said.
"Saved you from what?" Mayumi asked.
Mauros paused. "I can't talk about it," he finally said.
"It's okay," Mayumi sympathetically replied. "You don't have to talk about it."
Mauros put his head in his hands. "I'd like to...but I can't. I...it's just...I can't."
"No, really," Mayumi said soothingly, "it's okay, Kuro. Here..." she pulled two small pieces of paper from her bag. "My father gave me these extra tickets for my concert next week. I hope you and your brother will come." she took his hand and closed it around the tickets. "Let me know if you need a ride, okay?"
"Are you leaving?" Mauros asked, a little disappointed.
Mayumi smiled sadly. "I have to," she said. "I can't stay long, or Mr. Seki and my dad will wonder what I've gotten up to."
"Will you be back tomorrow?"
"Always, Kuro," she replied.
Kazeko had to admit to feeling uncomfortable being in the Crystal Palace. She had spent most of her life worshipping this as the most sacred of temples, and now Fuyuko was casually walking to her room like this was any ordinary house. It clearly wasn't, between the sparkling walls and opulent decoration. Fuyuko brought her to a large bedroom that was decorated with pale blue and bright pink curtains. There was a series of shelves of detailed, foot-tall dolls with intricate clothing. Kazeko couldn't help but be a little bit amazed...many of their faces were delicate and elfin, some cute and childish, but there was something vaguely otherworldly about all of them.
"W-what are they?" Kazeko asked, looking toward the dolls.
"Oooooooh!" Fuyuko said excitedly, "Those are my dollies!" she ran over to the shelves and delicately picked one up. It had light blue hair tied into the exact same hairstyle Fuyuko wore hers in, and it was wearing her senshi fuku, complete with white boots. "Look at this one!" she said happily. "They made a special series of dollies based on the Sailor Senshi when they heard I was a fan, and they sent me a free set!" she grinned. "
"They're so delicate-looking," Kazeko remarked. "They certainly aren't like regular children's toys."
"It's because they aren't children's toys," she said. "They're special dolls...lots of care and tons of work is put into each and every one of them. Some people just collect them and never take them out of the box, but I think that's a shame. I like to put them in costumes, and um...I like to role-play with them. I know that's a little weird..."
"I'm in no position to call someone else weird," Kazeko said with a smile.
"Anyway, I thought we could practice on the dolly version of me," she said, taking off the bizarre hairpiece that mirrored Fuyuko's own and undoing the top bun.
"Oh, but--" Kazeko looked awkward. "I couldn't...if they're as special as you say, it must be very valuable."
"Bah," Fuyuko said dismissively. "I got it for free, remember? Now tell me, what kind of braids do you know?"
Kazeko gently took the doll and looked at its hair. "There's a type of braid called a halo braid," she explained, beginning to work on the doll's hair, "that partitions off part of your hair and makes a loop around the top, and another one, hanging loosely, around the back of your head."
"Sort of like your hair?"
"A little," Kazeko replied, continuing to work on the doll, "but much more complicated than how I wear my hair." She continued working in silence for quite some time, and then showed her handiwork to Fuyuko. There was a tight french braid over the top of the doll's head, not unlike a headband; another braid hung more loosely across the back of the doll's head, intertwined with two or three more.
"Wow!" Fuyuko exclaimed. "That's amazing, Kazeko! I didn't know you were such a master with braids!" Kazeko shrugged modestly. "I'm surprised you don't braid your hair more elaborately at school. I mean, come on--you have such nice red hair. I would."
"It's a little complicated for everyday wear, in my opinion," Kazeko replied. "It took me about twenty minutes to do this one, and there are braids much more complicated than that. But then, I suppose your sisters and other members of the royal family have hairstyles that are as elaborate, or more so, than this one."
"You can say that again," Fuyuko said. "Although mine's not as bad as their hair. But I'd like to try wearing my hair like this. Can you teach me?"
"Sure," Kazeko said. Once she explained how to weave her hair into the elaborate braid, Fuyuko practiced on the doll. After she seemed to have mastered it, Kazeko let her practice on her own bright red hair. Then she helped Fuyuko braid her own hair, which was no small feat to accomplish on her own head. By the time they had finished, Fuyuko's stomach was making an audible growl. She glanced at her clock.
"Ah!" she cried. "It's nearly time for dinner. Won't you join us?"
Kazeko's face became as ghostly pale--which was a weird sight for someone so pale already. "I--you don't mean, with the whole royal family?"
"Of course," Fuyuko replied.
"I...there's no way I could," she said. She couldn't even imagine feeling hungry in front of the royal family. The very thought of it made her sick to her stomach, so she feared actually eating would make her--well, it didn't bear thinking about.
"Oh, come on, you'll be fine," she said, grabbing Kazeko's wrist and pulling her along.
Seisui's jaw dropped as Erik pulled his modest Honda into driveway. It practically looked like an old-fashioned inn; a sprawling Japanese house with impressively large grounds for its distance from Tokyo. There was a large, open, barn-like structure and a patch of neatly mowed grass.
"This is where you live?!" she exclaimed.
"No, this is Ikkoku's house," he remarked dryly.
"I let Erik stay here sometimes," Ikkoku added.
Seisui just rolled her eyes. "You can't have bought this place on a teacher's salary," she said.
"He didn't," Ikkoku interjected. "He inherited it from his grandfather." she paused thoughtfully. "Didn't get to keep any of his parents' stuff, though."
"We don't talk about that," Erik snappishly replied.
Seisui looked at Erik wonderingly but said nothing.
"His mother, Amy, used to be the chancellor of Germany, you know," Ikkoku said. "And his dad was--"
"--a councilor in Crystal Tokyo...Erik, you're one of those vonDarkmoors? Then that--" Seisui remembered back to when she had taken the music box from the Queen's room. She knew something about it had bothered her at the time. She vaguely remembered reading about the death of the beloved politicians of Germany when she was younger--how it had come out that they'd amassed a fortune in debt, and everything had been sold.
Erik said nothing. His face was coldly inscrutable. There was something almost frightening about his emotionless visage; she had not seen him quite so closed off since he had protected the princess from her. And that seemed so long ago now...
Erik walked over to the mowed field and motioned to a barrel of shinai. "Take one. I'll need to find some bougu that will fit you," he said, refering to the protective gear of kendo. He headed toward the barn.
Seisui walked over to the barrel and took one. "It's funny," she said as he walked away, "That you teach kendo, since you're from Germany."
He stopped and turned back toward her. "I learned that, also, from my grandfather. But I do know western fencing."
"...like with a rapier?"
"None of the three disciplines of western fencing are based on the use of a rapier," Erik replied. "The style that makes use of the lightest weapon, foil, is based on a very short, thin piercing weapon known as a small sword; epée used exactly what it says, and the same with saber."
"Really?" Seisui said, surprised. "I had no idea. I've always been curious to try western sword fighting. My father was half-western himself."
"Then put back the shinai," Erik said. "I'll get you a foil, mask and jacket." Erik glanced at her a little awkwardly. "Did you bring pants to change into?"
"Yes, I did."
"Ikkoku, show her where the bathroom is," Erik said. Ikkoku fluttered down onto the porch and looked expectantly toward Seisui. Seisui followed after her with her school bag in tow.
When Seisui had changed into her tank top and leggings and returned outside, Erik appeared to be reviewing his technique, lunging forward, then retreating and parrying an invisible blade. As Seisui approached him, he swung his foil down, tossed it a few inches into the air and caught it on the blade beneath the guard. "All right then," he said. "First thing's first. I'll teach you the stance." He demonstrated the proper position and handed Seisui a foil and glove; Seisui made her best attempt to copy it.
He shook his head. "You need to bend your knees more in the en garde position," he told her.
Seisui grimaced and bent her knees. "Is it supposed to be so uncomfortable?"
"Yes," he said. "At first, anyway. And make sure your front heel is perpendicular to the center of your back foot." Seisui did her best, but she seemed to be having a great deal of trouble. "Here," Erik said, and he stood next to her and corrected her flawed positioning by hand. Seisui flushed a little--but Erik didn't seem to think anything of it, so she tried to take it in stride. He demonstrated a lunge and asked Seisui to do one. She did, and again, he corrected her positioning and asked her to do it another time. This went on for what seemed like forever to Seisui, but Erik didn't seem to become impatient or frustrated; he simply took things one lunge at a time until she seemed to be getting it.
"Keep practicing. I'll be right back with some water for you," he said, heading toward the house. Seisui sighed.
Tokimo held her locket high above her head.
"Why in Sol's name are you transforming?" Kouken asked.
"Charon prism power, make up!" Tokimo cried. Space blurred around her as her senshi uniform appeared. "'Cause," she said, "I need to talk to Eros. And to do that, I need to go to aphro-land--"
"Aphrodite," Kouken corrected her.
"Right," she said. "So I'm gonna need to teleport."
"I don't think you can--"
Sailor Charon held her Naginata high above her head and disappeared.
"Are you okay?"
Tokimo groaned, opening her eyes. She could hear the gentle babbling of a brook nearby. Or a stream, or a fountain. Something. Whatever. Eros sat next to her; she moaned in pain as she sat up.
She was in a large, ornate room of gold; she was sitting on a huge bed with thick curtains pulled back around its tall posts. A small stream of water was flowing into a marble basin beneath it, splashing cheerfully. "Wow," Tokimo remarked. "This place looks...expensive."
Eros chuckled half-heartedly. "So, how did you manage to get here on your own? Did you teleport again?"
Tokimo looked surprised. "You knew I could teleport?"
"Yes," Eros replied. "I was there when you teleported to Nemesis and back. But I'm not surprised you don't remember; I was a fair ways off, and I imagine you had other things on your mind."
"Huh. You're right, I don't remember," she replied. "Anyway, I need your advice."
"My advice? I'm not sure I have any good advice to give, but ask away, I suppose," he said apathetically.
"I need you to help me make Coeus fall in love with me."
Eros looked at Tokimo, dumbfounded.
"The priest of love and that's the best you've got?" she said, annoyed.
"...for the sake of all that's holy...why would you want to seduce Coeus? First of all, he's a misogynistic prick. Second of all, he's working for a woman who wants to destroy Sol. Third of all, he has a creepy relationship with his brother, the nature of which I have never fully comprehended and honestly don't want to--also, did I mention that he's a misogynistic prick?"
"What's a miso-soup-ginistic?" Tokimo asked.
"Misogynistic. It's a special word we use for chauvinists."
Tokimo looked at him blankly.
"He's sexist, Tokimo. He hates women."
"Oh!" Tokimo said comprehendingly. "Well, I guess that'll make things take a little longer, huh?"
Eros sighed. "What made you decide this was a good idea? Don't tell me you actually fancy him?"
"No!" Tokimo replied vehemently. "He's a jerk-face. But hey, I figured falling in love made you go good, so--"
"You can't seriously be thinking of seducing Coeus to make him go good!" Eros said, disgusted. "Even assuming such a plan would work, Tokimo, do you have any intention of staying with him if you were to succeed?"
Tokimo frowned. "Well, I guess it kinda depends. I hadn't really thought that far ahead."
"There's no way I would help you in such an endeavor. Frankly, Tokimo--how is your doing that any different than what I did to Yamiko? You'd be using Coeus for your own ends, not helping him out of any genuine concern."
"But..." Tokimo looked a little crestfallen at this. "I want to make the rest of the priests go good. And anyway, if I did end up liking him, I'd stay with him."
"That's a big 'if'," Eros replied. "Frankly, an unlikely one, given Coeus' less-than-likable personality. And anyway, if you decided you didn't like him, you'd hardly be doing our side any favors--when he found out you'd used him, he'd be giving Nemesis even more negative energy, would feel even more resolved to follow her, and would hate women even more. I doubt that's the outcome you're hoping for."
"But..."
"I have nothing more to say on this matter," Eros replied. "I will teleport you back home. I hope you'll reconsider this idea, Tokimo--though honestly, I think your chances of success are slim to none anyway."
Tokimo frowned. That sounded like a challenge.
Jirou hugged his knees as he tried to block out the memory of the smell of Chikao's skin burning.
His brother was practically father's ashtray. He covered his face with his hands. He was powerless to stop it. If he tried, he knew he would only make things worse for his brother. Meimi sat down next to him, a liter of vodka in her hand. She held it out to Jirou. "When he gets like this," Meimi said, "There's not much else to do about it."
Jirou glanced at the vodka and looked away. "If I did that, how would I be any different than him?"
Meimi shrugged and took a sip from the bottle. "You may be right," she said. "But otherwise, how do we survive?"
Jirou shook his head. "I'm leaving," he said. "I'll be at Fubuki's place."
She scoffed. "At least I don't leave when things get bad," she said.
"What use is there in my staying here?" Jirou asked. "I can't do anything for him, and neither can you. All we can do is hope that it's over quickly."
"And when it's over, where will you be?" she asked. Jirou was silent.
"Call me," he said at last. "And I'll come to pick up the pieces."
Fubuki glanced down from the balcony as she heard the doorbell ring. She could see Jirou at the entryway, shuffling absent-mindedly and looking at the ground.
"Jirou," she said, "Howzzit going?"
Jirou looked up at her, his face troubled.
"That bad, huh?" she replied. "Is it your asshole parents again?"
Jirou sighed. "Think you could transform and crush their faces?"
"Sure," Fubuki replied. "When do you want me to do it?"
Jirou shook his head in disbelief. "Only you would take that seriously."
Fubuki shrugged. "What reason is there not to kill them? Have they ever done anything for you--or your brothers and sisters?"
"They pay the rent," he said. "It pisses me off, but I still need them for that."
Fubuki sighed. "I wonder if my mom would notice if I moved you into the house. If we put you in the basement, I bet she wouldn't..."
"Fubuki, that would never work."
"I dunno...she's pretty fucking oblivious. She just comes home and sleeps and leaves. If you made sure to go to bed early enough and get up late enough, I bet she'd never notice."
"It might work for awhile, but eventually she'd notice. We couldn't stay there all the time, and one of us would come up when she was there. Or she'd go down there and see that someone was living there, even if we weren't around at the time, when she went in the basement to get something. Or, Serenity, at the very least she'd notice the food bill."
Fubuki frowned. "She is fucking stingy when it comes to money," she said. "Say, maybe you could convince Chibi-Usa to purify them."
Jirou shook his head. "After all Seisui put her through about that? I doubt it. Maybe it's worth a try, but...I wouldn't start making plans."
"Well, why don't you come in, anyway," she said, pulling out her cell phone and unlocking the door remotely. "No reason to brood on the front steps."
Jirou opened the door and went inside; eventually, he reappeared at the balcony.
"Michito gave us some cookies," he said, tossing the tin to Fubuki, who caught it in her hands and pulled the lid off. They were spritz cookies.
"Sweet," she said, eating one. "So, if you're not going to live in my basement, what are you going to do?"
"Not sure," he said, sighing. He scoffed. "I could be like Meimi, and drink."
Fubuki swallowed another cookie. "Fuck, who could blame you? But isn't that the problem with your dad?"
Jirou shrugged. "Hell, I'm not sure if it's that he drinks, or if he's just an asshole. Or both. Anyway," He continued, "I'm not going to drink. Someone has to be responsible, since it obviously isn't going to be Meimi."
Fubuki handed him a fuzz stick. "Here," she said. "At least fuzz doesn't make you act like a fuckwad."
Jirou smiled. "Fair enough," he said taking it and lighting up.
They spent a long time sitting together, talking from time to time and taking drags on their fuzz sticks. They looked off into the city beyond the balcony, watching meaningless people go about their meaningless lives. Eventually, Jirou's phone rang.
"It's Meimi," he said, glancing at the screen. "I need to head back. My dad has lost interest in tormenting Chikao."
Fubuki threw him the tin. "Take the rest," she said, looking up at him sadly. Jirou nodded and left the balcony.
"You two are sweet, in your own way," Michito said wryly, coming in and picking up after Fubuki's drugs and the glasses of water she had been drinking.
"I wish I could help him somehow," Fubuki said.
"He'll get through it," Michito said. "He's strong."
"Get through what?" Fubuki replied. "Michito, when you have a crappy parent, there's nothing to fucking get through. You just have to live with the same god damn hell every day of your life, with no end in sight--and there's not a fucking thing you can do about it." she sighed. "I guess eventually you get old enough that you can get a fucking job and high-tail it out--but what about Chikao? He's just a kid. How could Jirou just leave him with that asshole?"
Michito frowned.
"Fuck," she said, "I know you were trying to cheer me up, Michito. But it's just what pisses me off. I hated being so fucking powerless against my mother. For me, getting my powers has finally changed that. But Jirou doesn't have any fucking powers, he..." Fubuki shook her head. "He can't just scare his parents into not fucking his life up."
"Jirou could appeal to the state, you know, Fubuki," Michito suggested. "Try to make his parents lose custody."
Fubuki shook her head. "Then they would all be split up and sent to an orphanage...and fuck, I'm sure sugar-shit Serenity means well, but kids in orphanages never get adopted unless they're babies. No...he's better off just waiting...just waking up to hell each morning until he can break his brother free."
"If I can help, Fubuki....just let me know."
"Thanks, Michito," Fubuki said sadly. "Thanks."
Tokimo sighed as she sat down on a nearby bench. "Kouken, I haven't found Coeus yet."
"I'm not surprised," Kouken replied. "You've just been wandering aimlessly around town."
Tokimo paused thoughtfully. "I should disguise myself," she said. "If Eros knew who Yamiko was, I bet Coeus might know who I am, too." she looked at Kouken knowingly.
"What?" Kouken said.
"Didn't Sailor Moon have this thingy...it disguised her and stuff?"
"You mean the disguise pen," Kouken replied. "Yeah, she did have something like that."
Tokimo continued to look at Kouken expectantly.
"Oh, god," Kouken said. He sighed. "What do you think I am, some kind of item factory?"
"Looks that way to me," Tokimo said. "Com'on, Kouken, you must be able to make some kind of disguise item," She said. "Pleeeeeeeeaaaaase?"
"I'm not your item factory!"
"Please?"
"No!" he replied.
"Pretty pretty please?" She said, whining.
"Okay, fine, but only if you shut up!" he snapped.
Tokimo smiled. "Of course!"
Kouken closed his eyes and a spiral of light gathered in front of him. A pair of dark purple stud earrings hovered in front of him. "There," he said as they fell on the ground. Tokimo picked them up and put them in her ears.
"How does it work?" she asked.
"Just say what you want to become," he replied. "And leave me the hell alone for a change."
"Okay," Tokimo said excitedly. "What kind of girl do you think Coeus likes?"
"How should I know?" Kouken replied.
"Hm," Tokimo paused. "I know! Since he doesn't like women, I should disguise myself as a tomboy."
"That's hardly a disguise," Kouken said. "Besides, I'm not sure that your logic really makes--"
"Become a blonde tomboyish college student!" Tokimo shouted. She transformed into a girl with a short, blonde pixie cut and overalls with a peasant style shirt underneath. "Okay," she announced. "It's time to go find Coeus, for reals!"
Tokimo continued to wander around town aimlessly for another hour. Eventually, she ended up in a large park; she saw a very distinctive older man with blue hair and eyes walking down a path across from her. "Psst," she said, opening the flap to her bag so Kouken could see. "Is that him?"
"Wow, that's lucky," he said, impressed. "It is."
"See? This is what happens when you leave things up to Tokimo Joshi, master spy!" She ran over to the man and pretended to trip on a wad of turf, slamming into him.
"Ouch!" The man exclaimed, grimacing. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Hey!" Tokimo said, annoyed. "I may have tripped into you, but you don't have to be a jerk-face about it!"
The man pushed her aside thoughtlessly. "Whatever. I don't care."
"Hey!" she said, yelling after him. "Jerk-face!"
"Are those the only two words you know?" the man said derisively. "Honestly, they should have some sort of remedial insult classes."
"I'd rather be bad at insulting people than good at being a jerk-face!"
"Really?" He replied. Tokimo nodded. "Because I think I'd rather be good at being a jerk-face." Tokimo's jaw dropped. "Now if you'll excuse me," he said, turning around, "I need to meet up with--"
"Not so fast!" she cried.
He turned back, looking at her in confusion. "How mean do I have to be to you to get you to leave me alone?"
Tokimo ran in front of him and planted herself in his path. "Mean enough to move me aside!"
He shrugged and began to walk around her; but she quickly moved into his path once more. "So," Tokimo asked, "What's your name?"
"None of your goddamn business," he said, moving to the other side. Tokimo quickly obstructed him once more. "Besides, you haven't told me your name, so why would I tell you mine? It's rather presumptuous of you."
"Fiiiine," Tokimo replied. "My name is...." she paused dramatically. Which was really so that she could think of something, but she didn't tell Coeus-guy that. "Himeko," she told him.
"Very nice," he said. "Too bad I don't care." He moved to get around her again, but still Tokimo blocked him. Eventually he sighed and motioned to pick her up. "Sol," he hissed, "You've packed in a lot of body fat for someone so small!"
"Hey!" Tokimo shouted, kicking him in the stomach as he struggled to pick her up. "That's 110% muscle, mister!"
"Ow!" he exclaimed. "There's nothing as thoroughly obnoxious as a fiery woman."
"Yeah, well you better get used to it," she retorted, "'cause you're not getting rid of me!"
Coeus stood back for a moment. Were all Earth girls this insane? Then he motioned to push her aside by force. She was stubbornly well-rooted to the ground. "What must I do to get rid of you?!" he cried in exasperation.
Tokimo paused thoughtfully. "You could buy me an ice cream."
Coeus paused and considered whether it would be better to kill her and be done with her or just buy her the damn ice cream. Sadly, he thought reflectively, it would be a smaller thorn in his side if he just bought her the damn ice cream--even if she demanded one every day that he came to the park--than if he killed her and caused a huge scene by by using his magical powers in this place and thus removing his ability to use this park as a convenient base point to explore Crystal Tokyo. Unless... "Look!" he said, pointing in the distance.
"Oh com'on! I'm not that stupid!" Tokimo said, annoyed.
Coeus frowned. "And you're sure I can't just punch you in the face?"
"You can give it another go," Tokimo said a little encouragingly.
Coeus frowned and sent his fist flying toward her face. Tokimo stepped aside, and Coeus used that opportunity to make a run forward. Unfortunately, she was way ahead of him and tripped him as he ran, sending him roughly into the pavement. "Ow," she said. "That looked like it hurt."
"Your astuteness astounds me, Lady," he said depreciatingly. "Fine. You shall have your ice cream, on the condition that you leave me in peace."
"Yay!" Tokimo cried excitedly.
"Lead the way, then, Miss Himeko," he said, and Tokimo skipped happily to a nearby parlor. He considered trying to make another getaway as she turned around, but his previous level of success seemed to imply that any further efforts were futile.
Inside the parlor, it was refreshingly cool, and there were waitresses in bizarre outfits serving people at tables. A waitress came up to them with a polite smile.
"A table for two?" she asked sweetly.
Coeus frowned. "N-"
"Yes!" Tokimo interrupted him.
Coeus looked at her, annoyed. "Can't you just pick something out and I'll pay for it and leave?"
"That's not how it works," Tokimo said. "You gotta sit down and order. And talk."
"I have to talk to you?" he said, his frustration increasing. He was beginning to regret his decision not to kill her.
"Yup," she said.
"What if I don't?" he said challengingly.
"Then I'm gonna kick your butt," she said.
"Umm..." the waitress said awkwardly.
"Two," Tokimo repeated.
Coeus frowned but allowed himself to be seated. Tokimo looked happily over the menu. "Do you want something, or do you think it's not manly to eat sweets?" she asked, looking casually at her options.
"That's a Japanese peculiarity," he said. "Where I come from, eating sweets is perfectly normal for a guy." he sighed. "And I might as well console myself in my suffering with sugar." He glanced idly over the menu and then closed it with the kind of decisive efficiency that comes from reading a lot of books and getting entirely too serious about it.
"So," Tokimo said, "you like studying?"
"That's such a vague and meaningless term," he said. "Studying what?"
Tokimo paused. "Ice cream?" she suggested helpfully.
"I do not like studying ice cream," he replied, annoyed. "I enjoy eating it, if that's what you mean."
"How about math? Do you like math?"
"Why do you care?" he asked.
"I dunno," Tokimo replied. "Com'on, just answer the question."
Coeus studied her for a moment. "Fine," he said at last. "I enjoyed the sciences and maths when I was younger. But..." he shrugged. "I've kind of gotten out of it in the past...few years."
"Aw. Why's that?" Tokimo asked.
The waitress came back and they politely ordered before continuing their conversation. "I've had a lot of things on my mind," he replied. "And anyway, it doesn't give me the same joy it used to."
"Really?" Tokimo said, interested. "What's changed?"
"Everything," he said darkly.
"Well, I hope it changes back," Tokimo said encouragingly.
Coeus smiled ironically. "Never wish for someone to receive back their innocence," He said. "It's a gift in poor taste, and one that is easily lost again."
"Don't you mean 'hope'?"
Coeus frowned again. "It matters little," he replied. "In my case, it's one and the same."
"I don't think it is," Tokimo replied. "Being innocent just means you're dumb. Being hopeful means you still think you can accomplish stuff, because you think the future still has promise."
Coeus shrugged nonchalantly. The waitress brought them their ice cream and Coeus nibbled at it apathetically.
"What's your name?" Tokimo asked after they had eaten for awhile.
"Hm?" He had let his mind wander in the blissful silence. Sighing as he brought himself back to the present, he glanced at her. "They call me Livy," he told her.
"Well," she said, finishing off her ice cream, "Thanks for taking me, Livy."
Coeus shrugged as he got up and straightened his blazer. "Don't mention it," he replied. "Please."
"Okay, Yami, let's go," Sayoko announced, pulling her sister off the couch where she was lying apathetically.
"Go where?" Yamiko said. "I'm not going to school."
"It's Saturday," Sayoko said, putting her hand to her head in frustration. "We're going to see a play. I got you a ticket, so you can't refuse now."
Yamiko looked toward her sister, vaguely curious. "What play?"
"Phantom of the Opera," Sayoko replied.
"I don't feel like it," Yamiko replied.
"You would have said that no matter what I suggested," Sayoko replied, annoyed. "Come on. We're going--you don't have a choice in the matter." Sayoko pulled her sister toward the door and brought her through the apartment building and down the street to the bus station. From there, it was a short trip to the subway.
"I know you like this show, so don't make a big pretension of being too good for it or something," Sayoko said as they waited for their car to arrive.
"But I--"
"Phantom of the operaaaaaah!" Sayoko shouted loudly, ignoring her sister's protestations.
"Shut up! You're embarrassing me!"
"Aaaaaaa-ah-ah-ah-ah-aaaaaaah!" She continued.
"Sayoko!"
"Keep singing, Yami!" She cried, laughing, as they entered the subway.
"Are you ready, Eros?" Minako said, knocking on the bathroom door near his room on Aphrodite.
"Um, almost," Eros said, straightening his navy blue jacket. He stepped out of the bathroom and smoothed back his hair.
"You forgot your blush," Minako said sarcastically. He had been in there, like, an hour.
"If you had told me exactly what time this was before hand, instead of calling on me when it was happening--"
"Whatever. Like you can keep track of time down here--where are the clocks? Even if you can, is it even tuned to Earth time? Besides," she continued, "It's not like you have a full schedule."
Eros frowned. "And here I had a special gift for you," he said, vaguely annoyed.
Minako perked up. "Oh?" she said. Eros walked down a hallway and turned into a room. It was full of glass cupboards, their shelves lined with golden and copper-toned treasures. They sparkled with gems.
"Oh, my," Venus said, breathless. "Are they all for me?"
"Strictly speaking, they were always yours," Eros said. "But there was something in particular I wanted to present to you." He went into a cupboard and pulled out a copper-colored tiara studded with jewels of topaz, opal and lapis lazuli. It was formed of graceful half circles intersecting with its supporting band.
"Oh, it's beautiful," Minako said admiringly.
"It was the Queen of Venus' crown," Eros told her. "But, like me, she abandoned it for Diana's leadership."
"Well then," Minako gingerly took the crown and placed it on her head. She placed her hand affectionately on Eros' cheek. "You are abandoned no longer."
Eros smiled. "Thank you, Minako."
"Now come on," she said, taking her hand away and looking at him impatiently. "They know I'm going to this musical thing, and because I'm so important and what-not, they'll delay it for us."
"If I had known that," Eros replied, "I would have taken longer."
"Ah, there you are, Princess Venus," the usher said as Minako made her way into the theater.
"Ah-ah-ah!" Minako said, pointing to her crown. "It's Queen Venus now."
"Erm...my apologies," The usher said, somewhat flustered. "A gift from your consort?"
Eros smiled and Minako blushed a little. "He's not my consort," she replied. "This is the honorable Priest of Aphrodite, the holy land of Venus--Eros."
Eros inclined his head politely as the usher blushed. "My sincerest apologies, sir," he said.
"Quite all right," Eros replied. "I'm sure that Her Majesty goes through consorts faster than jars of rouge."
Minako smiled at Eros and stepped on his toes. Eros cringed; the usher looked on awkwardly. "Well, if you'll come this way," he said, "We've prepared your usual box for you."
"Thank you," Minako said.
The usher lead them to their seats; Eros turned toward Minako. "It's funny," he said, "what the usher said about me being your boyfriend--we're probably related."
"Really?" Minako said.
"My sister was the princess of Venus at the time of the war," he replied. "I don't know what happened to her after she defected to Diana's side--but I suspect you are probably her daughter or grandaughter, if the current Queen is Princess Serenity's the firsts' daughter. Which might make me your uncle."
Minako looked at him oddly. "That is so weird," she said. "I mean, obviously we don't age. But you don't seem older than me, personality-wise. If anything--"
Eros laughed a little dryly. Minako was glad to see that he was at least making an attempt at conviviality. "Well, you have to realize, I was asleep, frozen as a statue, for most the time between when Nemesis took me in and now. When the war broke out, I had reached my twenty-second birthday. You, on the other hand, have lived through the past thousand years. So by all rights you are a great deal older than I am, in experience if not by actual accounting."
"Hm," she said, "I suppose you're right." She paused, looking into the filling auditorium thoughtfully. "What sort of person was she, my grandmother?" she asked. "Even my mother from that life....I only vaguely remember her."
Eros frowned. "Your grandmother was every bad stereotype about Venusians, and none of the good," he replied. "She was exceedingly vain, interested in men--but only for their money, power, or good looks. And she used me to those ends, as well. I don't know how much you know about becoming a priest, Minako, but it is not like being a senshi or a knight. Priests are made, not born, and she used her second son--me--as a tool to exert more control over the Venusian domain. And when I was old enough that a marriage could no longer be delayed, she started to trot nobleman's daughters before me. When it was time to select the Maenads who serve Aphrodite, she bid me pick the aristocratic ladies she cared to curry favor with. As for my sister," he continued, "I hardly knew her. My mother sent me to Aphrodite for training as young as possible; I never saw her except briefly and in public capacities. She was kind from what I knew of her, but who knows? My mother showed a kind enough face to the public." he smiled gently. "Still, she raised a daughter who has a kind heart. So I choose to believe that her kindness was her true face, and not merely a mask she presented to the public."
"Aw, Eros, you're so sweet," Minako said. "You must have been quite the charmer back in the day."
"I..." Eros looked distractedly into the rows.
"What's wrong?" Minako asked, a wry smile on her face. "See someone you know?"
"I can't believe I thought it was just by-the-by when you told me you wanted me to see this play with you," Eros said, annoyed. "You and Sayoko set this up! You knew she would be here!"
"Oh, come now," Minako said, grinning fiendishly. "it's not like she can see you. Only you can see her. Where is she?"
"Third row from the front, fifth seat on the left," he said distractedly, leaning on the banister. "Oh, Minako, look at her. She's not dressed up at all, and for her that would be half the fun."
"Oh, I see her! I can see the family resemblance. She's so pale, though."
"It's true," Eros said. "her skin reminds me of the color of the inside of a scallop shell."
Minako tried to suppress a smile, with mixed results. Their conversation was cut short, though, as the lights went out and the actors came onto the stage. Although Minako worried that Eros' wistful mood would ruin his enjoyment of the musical, by the intermission he seemed thoroughly engrossed. As the curtain was drawn and the house lights came back on, Venus ate the dainty tea snacks they had brought to her box while she watched Eros look listlessly toward Yamiko's seat.
"Do you like it so far?" she asked, wiping cookie crumbs from her fingers.
Eros turned toward her and smiled a little awkwardly. "It's very good," He said. "Different from the theater we had back in the day, but it has a lot of charm, once you get used to the singing." They chatted a bit more about the play until the lights dimmed again and the second act began.
Soon they reached the climax number.; in it, The Phantom came onstage in place of Piangi to sing a duet with Christine.
"Wait, that's--" Eros clasped his hands together and prayed to himself. Then he turned toward Minako. "My lady, transform!"
"What, why--"
"I really ought to play along until Christine pulls off the mask at the end of the number," The blue-haired phantom said, pulling off his mask to reveal Coeus' bemused visage. "But I have to admit, I don't know the words to the song." He held out his hand and a huge, mechanical monkey materialized onstage. It opened its mouth and a terrible, hoarse sounding scream tore through the auditorium. Most of the audience and the actors immediately collapsed; Yamiko and Sayoko were oddly unaffected.
"Venus crystal power, make up!" Minako cried, transforming in a swirl of energy into Sailor Venus. "The sailor senshi of love and beauty, Sailor Venus, will give you divine punishment!"
"Ugh, not a speech," Coeus said with a grimace. "Mauros, go play with your new friend."
Mauros stepped out from behind the stage, his scythe in hand. "Certainly, brother." The bright stage lights cast shadows beneath the slumped over figures of the audience members; from these shadows, paper-doll like youma rose up and linked together in a circle around their master.
"Rolling heart vibration!" Minako shouted, firing a spiral heart toward Coeus' Youma. A black shadow youma jumped in front of the monkey and screamed as it was torn apart.
Mauros grimaced. "I'm losing again! I hate losing. Go get her," he said, motioning toward Venus. The youma swirled together and appeared in front of her.
"The goddess of love can't keep a beau; she's always switching to someone new!"
Sailor Venus flinched for only a moment, but the shadows used that moment to swirl around her and claw into her. She grimaced in pain as blood trickled down from her wounds.
"My lady!" Eros said. He kneeled down, but before a prayer could escape his lips, the shadows encircled him, too, and tore into his flesh. Eros grimaced but continued to pray; a faint glow appeared around him and the youma screamed in pain as they retreated backward.
"What did you do?" Sailor Venus asked.
"Shine are youma of hate," Eros replied. "My control over the domain of love weakens them."
Eros gazed across the auditorium at Yamiko, who was standing, dumbfounded, as she stared at Coeus. Coeus looked vaguely annoyed. Eros had a good guess as to why. He put his hands over his heart and a orange glow emanated from the teardrop on his forehead. Two great, white wings protruded from his back, glowing at their base where they came from his shirt. "Yamiko!" He shouted, jumping off the balcony and landing in the rows.
"You're not fooling anyone with those wings, Eros," Coeus said. "We all know you're not an angel. Mauros!"
Sailor Venus looked on, dumbfounded for a moment, but realized she had no time to gawk. Mauros turned his attention toward Eros and was sending another one of his 'friends' toward her priest. "Venus wink chain sword!" she cried, sending her love whip flying sharply toward Mauros. Mauros gasped as the chain pieced through his shoulder before it dissipated, leaving a gaping, red wound.
"Mauros!" Coeus cried, his face suddenly pale and vulnerable.
"Coeus..." he said weakly. "This game...hurts..." He grasped his shoulder and hunched over.
"You idiot!" he said angrily. "Now that you've let this happen, it's ruined everything! We have to leave immediately," he grasped his brother's waist and put Mauros' arm around him. Then he disappeared as suddenly as he had come, leaving only the mechanical shine behind.
"Yamiko!" Eros cried. "You need to transform. There's still an enemy here!"
"Leave me alone!" Yamiko cried, turning toward her sister and burying her face in her chest.
"She won't transform," Sayoko said. "I tried getting her to already...it's like she doesn't care what happens."
"If nothing else," Eros said, "don't you want to protect your sister?"
Yamiko paused as she leaned against Sayoko. She stepped away and held her hand above her head. "Phoebe prism power, make up!" Shadow consumed Yamiko as she transformed into Sailor Phoebe. "Dark garrote!" she cried as a dark hand encircled the mechanical monkey. It groaned and howled against its prison, but it could not escape.
"Venus," Eros cried, "your chain!"
"Venus love-me chain!" she cried, grabbing the youma's head and pulling on it. Its head came soaring off of it's imprisoned body and slammed into the back wall. It crumpled apart into a pile of gears and scrap.
"Yamiko...I..." Eros mumbled sadly.
"I don't want to talk to you right now," Phoebe said. "Sayoko, let's go home."
Eros' wings faded away and he watched, silently, as she left him behind.
"Don't feel too bad," Minako said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It could have gone a lot worse. Because of you, she was able to transform."
"I'm glad of that," he said sadly. "Anyway, it's not like I expected her to fall into my arms."
"So....do I get wings?" Minako asked.
Eros laughed. "I have wings because my cursed form is a swan," he said. "If I was something less airborne, I wouldn't be so lucky."
"Well, we better take care of these people," Minako said with a sigh. Eros nodded and kneeled. He began to pray and a few people groaned and sat up in their seats. He stood up a little unsteadily.
"You don't look too well," she said, concerned.
"I'll be okay," Eros replied. "I must return to Aphrodite now..."
"Oh, come on now," she said. "You must get lonely staying there all by yourself all the time. Let's go get a bite to eat."
"Did you know he would be there, Sayoko?" Yamiko asked.
"No," Sayoko said. "I swear, Yamiko. I would never have gone if I had known you would bump into Eros. Seeing him is the last thing you need right now."
Yamiko said nothing as they got on the subway and headed toward home.
"I'm sorry that that asshole ruined the play for you," Sayoko said. "Coeus, I mean."
"Do you think he's stalking me?" Yamiko asked.
"It's hard to say," Sayoko said. "But probably not. Your going to the play was a last minute decision, and he looked like he had planned everything out ahead of time. Plus he targeted the whole theater, not just you, and when his attack didn't hit you, he seemed pretty apathetic.
"I wonder why not..." Yamiko said. "It didn't hit you, either."
"I just sort of assumed it was Eros," Sayoko replied. "Who else could it have been?"
Yamiko paled a little. "But..."
"Look, whatever Eros did to you, there is the fact that he does love you, Yamiko," Sayoko said. "I don't think he'd just sit and watch while you died."
"He was pretty content to make it happen before," she said darkly.
"But he didn't," Sayoko replied. "He changed his mind, and he was almost killed for it."
"I don't want to talk about this," Yamiko said hastily, covering her mouth as a sob threatened to escape. She narrowed her eyes and looked away.
Sayoko frowned. "Well," she said, "We'll go again some other time. I'm sure Coeus has no intention of attacking the play again. The Senshi will be ready to come at a moment's notice."
"Seeing the play was a mistake," Yamiko said. "I should never have gone."
"Oh, Yamiko..." Sayoko said sadly. "Please don't say that. Please don't hole yourself up again like you did...back then."
"I used to hurt all the time, Sayoko. I finally got to the point where I was beginning to forget about the pain. And now..." Yamiko sighed and looked at the ground.
"That time will come again, Yami," Sayoko replied. "I promise. So...please don't shut yourself away from me."
Yamiko smiled weakly. "Not from you, Sayoko," she said. "Never."
"Are you okay?" Eros asked, watching as Minako looked listlessly out the window while sipping her drink.
"Huh?" she said distractedly. "Oh. Oh yeah, I'm fine. I'm just worried about you and Yamiko."
"Oh," Eros said wryly. "Okay then."
"What?" Minako said, sitting up and looking at him accusingly.
"I'm not the only person with love problems around here, am I?"
Minako frowned. "I don't know what you mean."
"I get the feeling you've had a lot of boyfriends."
"Yeah?" she said. "So what?"
"Well...are you happy about that state of affairs?" Eros asked.
Minako looked sullenly at her spaghetti. "No."
"Is there some reason you're having trouble settling down? Or can you just not find the right person?"
She shrugged. "Being who I am, I have obligations. The kind of guys that want to get serious...I don't have the time for them. I only have the time for dalliances." she rested her chin on her hand. "Most of the others don't even date. There's sort of this unspoken feeling...our duty is to the Queen, not to ourselves. Getting attached would mean compromising our vow to protect her."
Eros frowned. "That's wrong, Minako. First of all, it's only because of Diana that things have become so warped in that way. Your duty is to Venus, not to her. Of course, I understand that we have other things on our mind right now with Nemesis afoot than rebuilding your kingdom...but I fully expect that once this is over, you and Neo Queen Serenity will remain close friends with no obligation between you and her at all. And furthermore...how are you supposed to pass on your legacy without a lover? Who will be your support?"
"I have the others for support. As for my legacy...I'm immortal. I can remain Sailor Venus forever--and it's probably better that way. I'm more powerful." She paused. "Even if...even if things happened the way they did because of Diana, we love our Princess, Eros, and our duty will always be to her."
"That is not the way of Sol!" Eros said. "In this system, we each dedicate ourselves to our own star. How can you be a proper queen when you bow down to a Moon, of a different planet?"
"What are you saying?" Minako said, annoyed and perplexed.
"I am your loyal servant," Eros replied. "But how I am supposed to look up to you when you think so little of yourself, my lady? You must abandon this idea that Serenity is your mistress. You are your own mistress. You are my mistress. For the sake of Venus--no, rather, for you own sake--I hope you will begin to think of yourself as your own ruler."
Minako looked a little taken aback. She had no idea that Eros felt so strongly. "I will think about your kind words, Eros," she said.
Eros scoffed. "Kindness has nothing to do with it. I'm not working for the queen of Luna."
Minako giggled. "I wouldn't dream of making you," she replied.
"Brother, it hurts," Mauros moaned as Coeus laid him down near the black poison crystal furnace.
"Of course it hurts," Coeus said distractedly. "You got pierced straight through the shoulder. Now be still while I heal you."
"Brother," Mauros said, grabbing Coeus' sleeve. "Is it like this for everyone?"
"Is what like this for everyone?" Coeus asked, holding his hand over Mauros' wound as the dark power of the poison crystal mended him.
"When...when you lose the game. When you get hit. Is it...like that for my senshi friends, too?"
Coeus looked a little taken aback. "Well it's...no, it's not the same. Sailor Senshi...it's like they're made of iron. They feel nothing. No pain..." he narrowed his eyes. "Nothing."
"Promise?" Mauros asked worriedly.
"I swear it."
~EPISODE SEVENTEEN: 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
Erik: With Seisui's energy directed into her training, her confidence is slowly beginning to build. But there is a darkness inside of her that even I cannot touch.
Tokimo: Huh. Here I thought Coeus was just a big fat jerk, but his anger is not as simple as it seems.
Mayumi: A role as Princess Serenity in a new movie about the Silver Millenium brings back memories of my past. Meanwhile, me and Mauros become ever closer. But I can see that there is something that troubles him which he will not share with anyone...
Kazeko: The cool blue of Pallas is soothing after the blood red of the men who once haunted me. Will I finally bring myself to tell someone why I came to this distant place?
Akiko: As I watch Natsuko's dedication to track, I begin to realize why she wanted to forge a path of her own. Maybe I should visit the Ark after all...
Yamiko: Eros...you are not a knight--you are not my knight! Leave me alone!
Eros: Despite my misgivings, I will follow your advice, my lady...
Next time, on MOON SENSHI: UNMEI NO KODOMO--
"The sphere of wretchedness"
Mayumi: Everyone needs a little forgiveness.
