Akiko sighed. "I need to feed these cats," she declared, looking at the mass of animals purring and rubbing against her legs with the hope that food would be forthcoming.
"You need to go to track meet," Natsuko said. "The nationals are coming right up."
"I have to go to the pet store this morning," Akiko said. "They haven't eaten since I brought them home last night. Just go without me."
"I just do not get what would ever possess you to want so many goddamn cats," Natsuko said wonderingly.
"And I don't get why you'd ever want to do track team," Akiko retorted. "All you do is run around in a circle."
"If you don't get why I'd want to do it, why the hell are you doing it?" Natsuko asked.
"I dunno," Akiko replied. "I guess I figured there must be some reason it was fun I wasn't seeing."
"it's just..." Natsuko paused. "The challenge of it, I guess. And the feeling of freedom."
"Haha, maybe it would make more sense to get a bike," Akiko said caustically.
"Oh man, a motorcycle would be awesome," Natsuko said. "Have you ever seen Haruka driving around on hers? She looks so badass."
"Don't you have to be like, eighteen to drive a motocycle?"
Natsuko pouted. "Yeah, it sucks. You can get one at 16 if you take like, this extra hard exam. But I don't really have the time to mess around with that."
"You could learn how to drive a bike instead of taking track," Akiko suggested, picking up a brown tabby cat and snuggling her face against its fur.
"If Haruka would teach me. She's kind of busy."
"You're like family... I'm sure she could make time."
"So, what are we going to look at?" Tokimo asked. Coeus had begrudgingly taken her to the National Science Museum. There was a huge steam powered train in front of the museum, which Tokimo looked at admiringly. "Hey look, a train."
"Is that what that is?" Coeus said, interestedly.
"Oh, yeah," Tokimo said. "They still have them, but they look different. I think the old ones look kinda cool, though. You can see all the wheels and stuff."
"Indeed," Coeus said offhandedly, reading about the train on the informational plaque. She was surprised he didn't know about trains, since he was so smart and stuff. Maybe it was because he was from, like, a billion years ago. "I know about them, but it looked so different I didn't recognize it."
"Haven't you been here before?" Tokimo said, surprised. "I thought museums were like, your thing."
"They were," Coeus said. "I don't get out often anymore. To the aquarium once in awhile, and that's pretty much it."
"Well, you should take me to all the museums, and we can learn everything," Tokimo said happily.
"You'd get bored and fall asleep," Coeus replied dryly.
"Nah, it's interesting when you talk about it," she replied. "So, what are we going to look at?"
"We could see the prehistoric skeletons," Coeus suggested. "Dinosaurs and ancient fish, from when the oceans covered the Earth."
"Oooh, dinos! I love dinos," Tokimo said enthusiastically.
Coeus smiled. "Yes, dinos," he said.
"I used to draw them all over my sketchbook when I was a little kid. I liked the ones with the cool armor and the kick butt tails."
"Ah, Ankylosauria," Coeus replied. "Haha, it suits you. They even had armor on their eyelids, you know."
"Whoa, really? That's awesome," Tokimo said.
Coeus led her into the museum and into a section with huge, reconstructed fish fossils in a wide, empty room. It was a weekday afternoon, and the museum was devoid of people. "Wow," Tokimo said, impressed. "You could feed a lot of people with those fish."
"They're actually Menosaurs," Coeus told her. "Reptiles. Closely related to snakes--they ambushed their prey and swallowed it whole."
Tokimo looked at him a little skeptically. "Where did they hide?"
"Ah, well..." Coeus paused. "I'm not really sure. I guess there was more ocean back then, since the earth's landmass was smushed into one continent."
"Really?" Tokimo said, putting her arm around him. "What are those?" she said, pointing to smaller fossils.
"Sarcopterygii," he replied. "These fish were the direct descendants of amphibians. See, you can see their fins have a leg-like skeletal structure."
"Oh, you're right," she agreed, "They look like little flat legs. I bet when they walked out of the sea all the bugs were pretty freaked out." Coeus laughed.
Tokimo grinned. "You've got a really cute smile."
Coeus looked a little taken aback and glanced away. "Don't be ridicu--"
Tokimo stood on her tiptoes, grabbed his cheek and kissed him. At first, she really thought he was going to pull away, and he almost did. But he didn't. He returned the kiss with surprising earnestness. Tokimo pulled away and smiled. "I really like you--" Tokimo blushed as she realized she had been very, very close to calling him Coeus. "--Livy."
"Himeko, I..." He backed away. His face was bright red. "...I have to go."
"Hello, Mauros," Rhea said, waltzing into the twins' room as though she belonged in it more than he did. she glanced idly at the merlin and blew a kiss in it's direction. The mechanical bird rusted away and fell into pieces.
"Ah, you can't do that, brother will--"
"Don't worry about your brother," Rhea said, twirling her dark purple hair between her bone-pale fingers. "He's plenty occupied. You should take this time to go see your girlfriend."
"Coeus said he'd hurt Mayumi if I saw her," Mauros said, upset. "I'm worried he will already after you broke his spying bird."
"I told you, he's pretty well occupied," she assured him, sitting beside him on the bed. She rather undaintily adjusted her black corset as Mauros awkwardly looked on. "But, since you don't look like you're going to believe me, I'll prove it to you."
Rhea stood up and walked over to the mirror, her long mermaid skirt trailing behind her. She blew gently on the surface of the mirror and Coeus appeared in it's reflection. He was gazing at a girl.
"You've got a really cute smile," she said, looking toward him.
His brother seemed unusually flustered and awkward. "Don't be ridicu--"
Mauros' eyes widened their lips locked and they shared what looked like a very intimate moment. Coeus looked embarrassed and flushed as he pulled away.
"Do you know what a kiss is, Mauros?" Rhea asked as the image vanished. She walked toward him and leaned down to look in his eyes as he sat on the bed.
"I think I have some idea," Mauros said, his face dark and menacing.
Rhea stood back up and looked thoughtfully away from him. "Didn't Coeus say something about how he didn't want you to get involved with girls because they were bad people?" She glanced back toward Mauros, whose expression was as cold and grave as stone. "That seems a little hypocritical of him."
Mauros stood up, his scythe appearing in his hands. "I will return his love in kind," he said, disappearing before Rhea's eyes.
She smiled a cold smile. "Oh my," she said mischievously, "I hope I haven't caused a falling out between the twins."
Coeus covered his mouth as he walked away from Himeko, his shoes clicking on tile as he walked down the hall that led away from the sea exhibit. What was he doing? He should have been disgusted at Himeko's kiss. it's not like she was even all that attractive, certainly not the kind of girl he found attractive. But when they had kissed, he was overcome with the most intense sensation. Did he love her? No, impossible...
"Brother!" It was an anguished cry. Coeus looked up to see Mauros, his scythe in his hand, a look of intense hurt on his face.
"Mauros, what--"
"You lied to me, brother!" he said, his voice a scream and a sob all at once. "You told me to stay away from women because they were bad, and look at what you've been doing!"
Coeus blanched. "You don't understand, I--"
"And you told me that all this time, when I was hurting innocent people and making them suffer, it was just a game! That they felt no pain, that it was no big deal!"
"That was only because--"
"I've had enough of your lies, Coeus! I've had enough of you!" Mauros held his war scythe aloft and bore through Coeus' stomach. Coeus looked down at the wound in speechless horror and toward the anguished face of his brother as a curtain of red poured from his abdomen. "M-my blood..." he murmured before falling to the ground.
"Coeus?!" Tokimo shouted. She had heard some kind of commotion toward the hallway that led from the huge display area, and she suddenly had a horrible feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. She ran to Coeus' side, horrified, as his blood pooled around him and he looked lifelessly toward the ceiling. "Coeus!" She screamed, tears forming in her eyes. She looked up at Mauros. "Your own brother....! Charon prism power, make up!" Tokimo transformed into Sailor Charon as space blurred around her.
"You might be the priest of Pluto, but you gotta whole lot to answer for! Chaos Compass!" Sailor Charon disappeared. Mauros turned around in time to parry her blow as she appeared again to the left of him. He looked confused and torn.
"B-brother... I-is he... okay...?"
"Of course he's not okay!" Charon shouted, swinging her Naginata at Mauros. "He's dead!"
Mauros looked toward his brother in alarm and barely parried another blow from Charon. "Coeus!" He cried, making to move toward his brother. "I have to help--"
Charon swung her Naginata at his torso. Mauros shuffled backward to dodge her polearm and tripped, falling into the expanding pool of blood. His trenchcoat was soaking up the blood of his twin. "Don't touch him!" Charon screamed, holding her naginata aloft, ready to stab him in the heart.
Mauros disappeared just before the blade hit his heart, soaked in the blood of his brother, his body numb and cold as ice.
Sailor Charon hurriedly opened her communicator. She typed 'luna' into the panel as fast as she could, though her state of panic guaranteed that she wrote it incorrectly at least three times.
A moment passed before Usako appeared in her communicator's screen. "Hello?" she asked.
"You gotta come quick," Charon said urgently, tears in her eyes. "Coeus is dead. You gotta come and wave your shiny crystal around!"
"O-okay," Usako said, a little confused. "I'll come."
Tokimo waited anxiously, watching Coeus' pale, lifeless face. Eventually, Sailor Luna appeared, Helios and the Quartet beside her. She ran over to Coeus and as the pink moon crystal floated gently her hands. A soft, warm glow spread from the crystal and over Coeus' body, and his wound slowly closed and healed.
"I should take him to Princess Mercury," Helios said. Sailor Luna nodded as Helios began to pray.
"I'm going with you!" Tokimo declared.
Helios frowned, "Ah, but--"
"Just take her," Sailor Luna said wearily. "She'll just teleport herself to the palace if you don't."
Helios completed his prayer and they vanished, Coeus' comatose body in their midst.
Coeus groaned as he opened his eyes. glancing around, he saw that he was a spacious bedroom, covered in intricate blue and white designs. There were four people flanking him; on one side, Sailor Charon stood beside the Princess of Mercury. On the other, Lady Serenity and the priest of Earth watched over him. Their faces were stern and full of concern.
Panicked, Coeus felt the teardrop on his forehead. It was still turned upside down--though that should have been obvious, since he still kept his human form and no priest could take the form of a man when his holy land was sick, no matter if another planet's crystal sustained them or no. He sat up and looked around. There was a huge mirror on the wall with a fountain in front of it, and a small bookcase stood beside the bed.
"Coeus!" Sailor Charon shouted happily, hugging him. "I'm glad you're not all bleedy anymore."
"Get off me," Coeus said, pushing her away. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
Charon frowned. "B-but... we kissed, and I thought..."
Coeus paused, then frowned as he made a horrifying realization. "Himeko? But--"
"I-I can explain!" Charon said hastily, de-transforming into Tokimo, who even Coeus knew was Sailor Charon. "I wanted to convince you to join the good guys by, y'know... making friends. But I knew I couldn't do that unless I was someone you didn't recognize... so I had to disguise myself, and--"
Coeus glared at her accusingly. "Try to seduce me? Steal a kiss?"
"I kissed you because I wanted to!"
The other three looked uncomfortable. "Ah... perhaps we should wait outside for the time being," Mercury suggested. "Let us know when you're done talking." Mercury looked at them and moved the two teens toward the door.
"I kissed you because I love you," Tokimo said sincerely.
"If you love me so much, why did you lie to me?" Coeus asked. "Even if I could put aside every bad thing that's happened to me because I've been used or tricked by a woman, you've just proved all of my worst prejudices all over again." He tried to convince himself that he wasn't disappointed or hurt by this revelation, that it was exactly what he suspected all along, but he remembered the way his heart ached when she kissed him and a dull pain rose in his chest.
"If I had come to you as Tokimo--as Sailor Charon--would you have listened to anything I had to say? Could we have spent time together like we did?"
Coeus looked away from her, toward the fountain. "Maybe it would have been better if we hadn't."
Tokimo was quiet a long time. "Maybe?" she said. "You don't sound too sure. And when I first talked to you... you woulda said absolutely."
"Can't you just leave me alone?" he asked, tired. "My own flesh and blood--" Coeus turned his face away from Tokimo, struggling to hold back tears. He would not let her see such a display of weakness.
Tokimo paused. "He regrets it," she said at last, getting up and moving toward the door. Coeus did not know whether to believe her or not as she left the room.
Princess Mercury entered the room as her long, blue dress trailed behind her. She took a seat next to the bed where Coeus sat. For a long time, they just studied each other's quintessentially Mercurian features in silence. He was almost certain that they were related; he was probably her half-uncle or even half-sibling, knowing his mother's reputation.
"What do you want from me?" Coeus said at last, tired.
"I had hoped that you might want to leave Nemesis," Princess Mercury replied, "and join me as a colleague once again."
"A colleague?" Coeus replied. "How interestingly you put it. As if we were team-mates, partners, allies. If I join you, My Lady, I am not your colleague. I am your bondsman."
"Perhaps in name," Mercury admitted. "But I would not treat you that way. I would see you as an equal."
"Why should I trust you to be as good as your word on that?" Coeus asked caustically. "I have no proof that you are a benevolent master."
Mercury smiled. "Ah, that is true," she replied. "But I have trouble believing your current mistress treats you so very well."
Coeus paused, annoyed. "She--she does not treat me so very badly," Coeus replied, which he supposed was true. But there was always a feeling that they stood only a breath away from being cut off from her powers, which sustained their lives and human forms. There was always the heavy knowledge that it was their very misery that made them so valuable to her. "Anyway, I have my brother to take care of."
"And your brother...he can't be convinced to join as well...?"
Coeus smiled sadly. "Normally he listens to everything I say. But now I'm quite sure he won't listen to anything I say. Of course, under the circumstances, he's hardly likely to want to talk to me anyway, even if I return to Nemesis."
"I'm sure... I'm sure you can patch things up with your brother, Er, um..."
"Mauros," Coeus told her.
"Well... I think it would be best if you joined us," Princess Mercury replied. "But ultimately, it's your decision."
Coeus looked over the Princess of Mercury, a little disgusted.
"What?" she said.
"Where is your pride?" Coeus asked. "You have me under your thumb. There's no where I can go, not without your being able to stop me. You're in a position where you don't have to make it 'my decision.' It's your decision. I'm in the palm of your hand."
Princess Mercury looked shocked for a moment and then laughed. "You're rather funny," she said at last.
Coeus just frowned, perturbed. "What's so funny?!"
"Well, one would think that you would be grateful for my giving you a choice, rather than questioning my judgement."
Coeus sat up and looked at his lady, more irked than ever. He had hated his mother for being a tyrant, for throwing her power around heedlessly. But this was even worse. "You're the Lady of Mercury," he said. "You have power. Use it."
Princess Mercury smiled a little weakly. "I suppose. Though just because one has power does not mean you should always wield it," she replied. "Besides, among all of the planets, I imagine that I am generally thought the weakest."
"What?!" Coeus retorted. "The weakest? Have you no pride as a Mercurian? Our star is the crown jewel of Sol, the planet of wisdom and knowledge."
"Well, the other planets have their provinces as--"
"Men may want love, to bring death or justice to their enemies, the strength of the sky and seas--but wisdom, my lady--that gives a man power over all of those things and more."
Mercury grinned. "My, what inspiring words. And you have even referred to me as your lady."
Coeus glanced away awkwardly. "It just disgusts me to see our Queen behaving in such a subservient manner."
"I thought that you served Nemesis now...? What interest have you in the affairs of the Water Star?"
Coeus was quiet for a long time. Could he bring himself to serve a woman once more? But even he could not deny that Mercury was right--he already did. Joining Mercury meant abandoning Mauros on Nemesis... but if he could convince his brother to join him... maybe it was for the best. He had deserved Mauros' ire. He had told his brother to abjure the company of anyone, especially women, and he had done anything but follow his own advice. And even Coeus knew that Mauros did not belong on Nemesis. His brother was everything that was gentle and kind... when he thought of him, all alone in that dark place...
"If... if I join you..."
"Yes?"
"Will you help me to convince my brother to join as well? When I think of him trapped on Nemesis, filled with confusion and sorrow... all because of my foolishness..."
Princess Mercury smiled warmly. "I will do everything in my power to help you," she replied.
Coeus got out of bed and stood in the center of the large bedroom. "Nemesis!" he called to no one in particular. "I revoke my power and privileges!"
Coeus' body melted into a strange, chimerical form. His head was that of a ram; the ram's head gave way to the body of a lion from which the wings of a bird and a serpent's tail sprung forth. "Ah," Princess Mercury said, intrigued. "You take the form of a criosphinx."
Coeus said nothing, but summoned Princess Mercury to the now-desolate holy land of Metis. Where there had once been fountains and an impressive palace with a marble facade, now there was only crumbling ruins and dried up rivers and lakes. The knight of Hermes and the senshi of Apollo appeared before him.
"Hello, Princess Mercury," Hermes said, smiling and bowing politely. "It's an honor."
"Ah, thank you," she said. "You are...?"
"Prince Enodios of Hermes," he replied, "Though I am called Jair Feigenbaum in this life."
"Princess Lyceios, of Apollo," The female senshi said, introducing herself.
"Let's not waste any time," Coeus said. "This form is hardly comfortable for me." He stretched his wings and scrutinized his Masters. "The fates of three are the fate of one. As we live, so do we die. As we thrive, so do we wither. Do you accept?"
"I accept," they said.
Light enveloped Coeus and he resumed the form of a blue-haired teenager. From there, the light spread across Metis and the castle reformed into an elegant marble castle; fountains sprung up from the paved ground and re-formed where it had crumbled. Rivers and waterfalls in the distance were surrounded by vegetation once more, and Mercury thought she could see bogs spontaneously growing off in the distance.
There was a feeling of excitement that ran through her, the kind of excitement that ran through her when an idea struck or she discovered something amazing for the first time. She held out her hands and between them appeared a crystal, silver-colored and brilliantly reflective, like a mirror. Like mercury.
Prince Enodios, now clad in silver armor, smiled sheepishly. "Ah, do you think you could return me...?"
Coeus mumbled a few words under his breath and the Mercurian moon senshi were gone.
Princess Mercury stared down at her crystal, amazed. "This must be..."
"Your crystal, of course. Now you won't have to be sycophantic to the White Queen any longer."
Mercury smiled. "Serenity is sweet and kind. I have never minded serving her." She held the lustrous gem to her heart and it vanished inside of her, leaving just a trace of the racing excitement in its wake.
"She could be sweetest woman in Sol for all I care," Coeus replied irately, "but it's still backwards. This is the planet of wisdom. You should be leading others with your wisdom, not the other way around." Coeus glanced around Metis. "Anyway," he said, "I need to go get my glasses."
"Glasses?" Mercury said, confused. "Why would you need glasses in this day and age?"
Coeus walked through the huge marble entryway; Mercury followed behind him interestedly. There was a long stream carved into the marble floor; fish swam freely to and fro inside it, while what looked like a computer screen was inlaid into the stone walls beside them. "What are these screens? Could they be...?"
"Mercury's computer systems are ahead of Earth's even now," Coeus said, turning toward one of the screens. "Though that's with a lot of magical help. Honestly, I think we could do a lot better with the advances in computer science and engineering that we've missed out on. Come on," he said, feigning indifference to the topic at hand, "l need to get to the main interface to get my glasses. I can show you what it can do while we're there."
"Oh, okay," Mercury said, trying to hide her amusement. Coeus ignored her as he navigated the halls until he came to a huge, central room with a cascading fountain. There was a screen against one wall, at least a yard in length. Coeus walked up to it mumbled a long string of words under his breath; the computer screen lit up.
"Hello, Coeus," A soft-spoken female voice called out. It clearly came from the room, though Mercury was not sure from whence it issued.
"Hello Aidia," Coeus replied warmly. "Did you miss me?"
"I was not aware you had left," the voice responded.
"Ah! I need to update the time," he said. "It's been shut off so long, and it's not connected to any kind of network anymore... Aidia, can you pull up a calculator for me?"
A calculator appeared on the viewscreen. "So it is the computer talking," Mercury said aloud. "How impressive... just how advanced is it?"
Coeus looked thoughtful as he plugged figures into the calculator. "I'm not sure," he responded. "She seems to have a personality, but I might be anthropomorphizing her."
"I have been programmed to be ever cheerful and of assistance to my Lord," the computer replied.
"She sounds very fond of you," Mercury said teasingly.
Coeus rolled his eyes. "She's a just computer," he said dismissively.
"My Lord," the computer said, sounding disappointed, "what of our many discussions? All those times you confided to me about your--"
"Ahahahahaha," Coeus interjected nervously, "I... don't know what I was thinking."
Mercury smiled. "My name is Princess Mercury, or Ami Mizuno," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aidia."
"You as well, My Lady," she said. "From the new date you have entered, Coeus, it appears several thousand years have passed since we last spoke! Is there a reason for my being powered down and alone for so long...?" Ami could have sworn there was a note of sorrow in her voice.
"I was frozen for that time," Coeus responded. "And Metis was in shambles."
"I see," she replied. "I take it that Queen Tyche is no longer ruling. Who is the current Queen?"
"Actually," Coeus replied, "Mercury is. I don't know why she is using the appellation 'Princess.'"
"And she does not have her crown," the computer added. "I do hope you get on with her better than Tyche, dear Coeus."
Coeus grunted. "Why don't you get her the crown of Mercury," he said, trying to draw attention away from himself. "And my glasses. Oh, but--wait on the glasses, just a minute just a minute--" he pulled up one of the chairs that were lying around in the room. He began feverishly typing on the strange-looking keyboard that sat in front of the screen.
"What are you doing?" Ami asked, looking over his shoulder. He seemed to be writing some sort of computer program, mumbling softly under his breath almost constantly as he did so. While he was busy mumbling to himself, a brilliant sphere of light appeared in front of Ami. The light faded and a crown hovered in front of her; a delicate tiara fashioned of thin silver wire and covered with deep blue gems. The gemstones were beaded onto twists of tall, vertical wire. It looked almost as though black ice shards had been set against silver icicles. "Oh... this is lovely..." she said, taking it gingerly in her hands. "Almost too lovely to wear."
"Throw it out, for all I care," Coeus replied. "It's yours to do with as you please."
"You have to admit that would be an awful waste," she said. She looked around for somewhere good to put the crown, but there weren't any tables nearby, and she was afraid that she might sit on it if she left it on a chair--which would be painful, as well as a shame. She put the crown on her head and sat beside Coeus. "Are you writing a program?"
"Ah--yes," Coeus replied. "A new program for my glasses." Coeus looked over his code and then typed a few more commands into the computer. A similar sphere of light appeared before him and a pair of circular, gold-framed glasses appeared before him. "Here we are." Coeus grabbed the glasses and put them on, a self-satisfied look on his face. "Let's try this out." Coeus scrutinized her with his glasses for a moment and frowned. "Hm."
"Do they not operate to your satisfaction?" Mercury asked.
"No, they work amazingly well, given that I just wrote a program in five minutes," he said with chuckle. "I can probably thank Aidia for that."
"You're welcome," the computer interjected.
"What does your new program do?"
"Measures stress levels," Coeus replied. "You see, the way I collected energy and chose targets was based on how unhappy they were. Morpheus tends to target individuals more than I did, and he will almost certainly be the next priest assigned to Tokyo."
"How do you know?"
"Whoever impresses Nemesis the most gets Tokyo," Coeus replied. "She seemed impressed with Morpheus. QED."
"So, what displeases you about your glasses, if they work?" Mercury inquired.
"Nothing about the glasses displeases me in the slightest," Coeus replied. "Has anyone ever noticed that you are not a particularly happy person?"
Mercury looked a little awkward. "Er...what do you mean...?"
Coeus scrutinized her. "You just seem kind of on edge, I guess," he said with a shrug. "Not about to jump off a cliff or anything, but. It would probably be good to relax a bit."
"It's only natural to be a little on edge," she replied with a slight frown. "We're in the beginning stages of a war, and I also have my duties to look after in the royal palace."
"You can look after important things without getting stressed out about it," Coeus said, lifting an eyebrow. "Just do them, and don't dwell on it."
"How old are you?"
Coeus glanced to the side. "That's....not important."
"You look like you aren't full-grown. Fifteen, maybe...?"
"Seventeen!" Coeus replied defensively. "I am not fifteen."
Mercury smirked. "That is only two years ahead of fifteen."
Coeus adjusted his glasses self-consciously. "You shouldn't be doing the grunt work for some Lunarian queen, anyway," he mumbled.
She laughed. "You're funny."
Coeus just hmphed in reply.
Fubuki glanced over the church with a decided lack of enthusiasm. She could think of several things she'd rather do, but she had agreed to show up... she walked through the ornate double doors and into Gakusha's office at the back of the temple. Gakusha stood up and bowed his head politely. Fubuki just glanced away awkwardly. "Fubuki," he said, "thank you for coming... I realize this sort of meeting is not your habit."
Fubuki sat down. "What do you want?" she asked.
"Why don't you tell me a little about your father," Gakusha said patiently. Fubuki's mother sat quietly on a couch in one part of the room.
"Because I don't want to talk about it?" Fubuki replied.
Gakusha smiled. "I know, but... I think it will be helpful for me to hear your side of the story. And for Ms. Jujutsu. Why don't you tell me a fond memory you have of him."
Fubuki was quiet a long time. She tried to focus on the view outside the window, to look away from the faces of Gakusha and her mother. "When I was younger, if he was working traffic or the box... he used to let me come to work with him on weekends. I'd bring like..." Fubuki looked embarrassed. "A coloring book, or a video game... and we'd talk to the people on the street. Then, for lunch, we would go to this ramen place where everyone knew everyone's names, and dad would always get me shio ramen." Fubuki shrugged and shifted uncomfortably. "Not that it matters or anything."
"Did your mother ever come with you?" Gakusha asked patiently.
"No," Fubuki answered immediately, "I don't think she did. I mean... it's not like I never spent time with my mom back then." she made a point of not looking toward her mother. "But when we went to the ramen shop together, it was special. It was just the two of us. I guess... I mean, most kids have a parent they connect with more than the other. I think me and my mother... the only thing we had in common was dad. And when he died, and things changed... when her feelings toward him changed..." she shrugged. "Now we don't even have that."
Gakusha looked toward Fubuki's mother. "Why did they change?"
Her mother was silent a long time. "Things had started to go downhill before he died, really... to be honest, he scared me a little. Sometimes he was fine, all smiles and good humor. Other times... there was something frightening about him. It was like he had a lust for blood."
"Did you see this part of him too, Fubuki?"
Fubuki was quiet. "Maybe a little," she admitted. "But... I'm not about to criticize anyone for that."
Gakusha looked contemplative. "Still..." he said, "There was something each of you saw in him."
"He had his moments," Ms. Jujutsu admitted.
"Like...?"
"Oh... little things..." she said awkwardly, glancing toward the floor. "He'd bring me home flowers, or... leave romantic notes on the bathroom mirror in the morning."
"Whenever you weren't around," Fubuki interjected, "he always used to say that the house felt like an empty cave."
"He was..." she sighed. "Dependent on me, in a way, but it was also sort of endearing."
"I see," Gakusha said. "So... there was something you saw in him." Fubuki's mother nodded awkwardly. "You know, Ms. Jujutsu... your husband is dead, and no amount of disapproval you have toward him in this life will be in aid of anything. Rather than focus on everything about him that frightened and repelled you while he was alive... why don't you remember those things about him that loved? Your warmer memories of your husband are something--perhaps one of the few things at this moment--that you can share with your daughter."
"Perhaps," Ms. Jujutsu admitted.
"Thank you for coming, Fubuki," Gakusha said sincerely. Fubuki shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe you can come again another week?"
"Maybe," Fubuki said evasively. "I'm not gonna promise anything."
"If you came," he replied, "your mother and I would greatly appreciate it. Right?" he said, glancing toward Ms. Jujutsu.
"R-right," she replied.
Fubuki sighed. "I'll think about it."
"Thank you, Fubuki," Gakusha said gratefully. "I'm very hopeful that we can make progress together."
"Sure, whatever," she said with a scowl, standing up and moving to leave.
Mayumi had snuck away from her classes as fast she could to meet Mauros. When she got there, however, he was not in his usual spot. She had a horrible feeling, but she sat down on the bench where they had met before and waited, and waited, and hoped. But a scant hour later, Seki came to pick her up, looking perturbed.
"You have rehearsal."
"I know," she said, trying to repress her tears. "Can't we tell them I'm sick? Please?"
"Come on," he said, taking her wrist gently and pulling her way from the bench.
"Wait!" she said, drawing back. "Just... just..." she ran to a nearby clump of peonies. She tried to pick one, but the thick, woody stems would not yield; so she picked off a blossom. She grabbed a piece of gravel from a nearby path and set the peony on the bench, setting the gravel on one of its petals to weight it down. "Please see it, Mauros."
With that, she ran off toward the car and to her rehearsal.
~EPISODE NINETEEN: FIN~
NEXT EPISODE
Coeus: I won't give up on my brother so easily.
Mina: A masquerade sets the stage for a final confrontation. Love will heal the wounds of the past--even if some are determined to see it as a distraction.
Rhea: It's time to earn what I've always wanted--what I've always needed. It's a shame you have to get hurt in the process...
Eros: I'd do anything to make up for the pain I've caused you. When I see the emptiness in your eyes, I feel my crimes weigh heavily upon me.
Tokimo: Things are only complicated 'cause we've made them that way! Just talk it out and we'll fix everything right up. You'll see!
Next time on MOON SENSHI: UNMEI NO KODOMO--
"Blood of Chronos, Part II"
Mayumi: Everyone needs a little forgiveness.
