Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Pearls of Experience ❯ Palisade ( Chapter 13 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun or Sailor Moon

Sharem: Hi everyone…^_^ I know, I have other stories that I need to finish but this one just wouldn't leave my mind. This is my first story in the Sailor Moon Crossovers section and the story takes place after the end of both anime.

IMPORTANT! I have a group for my stories…If anyone is interested in getting updates of my stories and discuss them at length, please join my group…^_^ The link is in my profile…^_^

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'italics' - thinking

*italics* - speaking telepathically

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Pearls of Experience

Chapter Thirteen - Palisade

"Uranus?" Mercury gasped softly as she walked up to the taller woman. "I…I thought that you were killed with the rest of the senshi…"

The Uranian smiled gently at the blue haired senshi and then glared mildly at Knives before turning her attention back to her old friend. "No, I didn't die," she answered. "If you remember correctly, Pluto sent me on an errand to my home planet before the final attack on Crystal Tokyo. When I heard of the attack, I raced back to Earth to help protect our queen. Unfortunately, I was too late to do anything. I found everyone dead…Koneko…Michiru…"

Before anyone else could do anything, Knives drew his black gun and held it at Uranus' head. "Tell me this, woman," he began viciously, "how did you get here? Also, what is your purpose here? And do not tell me that it is to protect that pink little spore."

Uranus turned her attention at the black-clad Plant and narrowed her eyes warningly at him. "Small Lady is a princess and you will treat her as such," she hissed dangerously as she started to gather energy in her hand. "I also do not have to answer questions by some one like you. I am a senshi like Mercury and my duty is to the royal family and my fellow senshi."

Knives snorted at the Wind senshi but kept his gun trained on her. "I do not care what you are," he replied coolly, his own icy cerulean eyes glaring at the woman. "I do not trust you."

Chibiusa rushed in between the two arguing adults and glared mildly at both of them. "Look you two, Lady Mercury is found and there's no reason to bicker," she stating calmly before looking up at the manic Plant. "You better catch my mother before she falls down, Moron."

The blonde Plant was about to say something when he finally took a good look at the Ice Senshi. Her fuku was torn in several places and she was bleeding from numerous cuts and gashes she received from the youma. She also appeared as if she was about to fall down. Instinctively, he grabbed the woman before she could fall and she transformed back into Ami. Her clothing did not have the ragged appearance of her fuku, but the wounds were still apparent.

"We better get her to a doctor," Vash finally spoke up, his aquamarine eyes showing concern for the Doctor Lady. "We're too far from New Pueblo, though…"

"But I don't think that we aren't too far from Palisade, Mr. Vash," the little pink princess piped up. "Chad told me that a cousin of his lives there and her grandfather is a doctor."

Uranus thought for a moment before she transformed back into her 'bounty hunter' appearance. "I've been there a couple of times. Doctor Charles Minokoe is a good man…he has set some of my broken arms in the past."

Not waiting for any other words to be said, Knives picked up Ami in his arms and started to make his way to their vehicles. He reasoned mentally that whatever caused their jeeps to stop running would no longer be in place. As he was walking over some of the sand dunes, he didn't notice the blush that was creeping over the blue haired woman's face. She couldn't pretend to understand why this man who had professes intentions on killing her in the past was now trying to help her. Yes, she no longer denied that he was very handsome but she still did not fully understand his soul. 'Perhaps I never will,' was the thought that rang through her mind as she unconsciously snuggled closer to the man, her head resting gently on his chest.

Ami's movements didn't go unnoticed by the Plant carrying her. He stiffened slightly in shock but his it very quickly. Knives was confused by her innocent shifting because of the way his chest seemed to tighten and his breathing became slightly erratic. He thought to himself that it was probably the heat of the twin suns and the energy he used earlier. The power that he felt from the Ginzuishou shard was nothing like he ever felt before…It reminded him when he went inside Ami's mind to wake her up from the coma. The crystal was pure, just like the woman and the one who called herself Neo-Queen Serenity. It was also so much like his twin brother, Vash the Stampede.

After walking for a few minutes, Knives finally made it to Ami's jeep and gently put her in the passenger side of the vehicle. "You are in no condition to drive, woman," he stated, leaving no room for argument. He looked up to see the others approaching closely.

"Knives, I saw a town just a couple of miles from here from the top of the dune and I think that it's Palisade," the blonde woman reported, her eyes never leaving the man. They narrowed a bit as she felt protective over the blue haired senshi. "I'll take my friend and Small Lady. You can ride with Vash."

"Oh Haruka-san, let Mr. Knives drive Ami-chan's car," Chibiusa uttered a little loudly. "He won't hurt her. I just know it."

Vash turned to look at the little girl with a confused look on his face. "Who is 'Haruka-san'? I thought that her name was Roushuko."

The pink princess giggled slightly as she watched the outlaw's brother roll his eyes and get in the driver's seat before the Senshi of Wind could say anything. "Her real name is Haruka Ten'ou, Mr. Vash. Come on, I'm hungry and maybe we can get donuts in Palisade."

Vash's eyes went wide at the mention of eating his favorite pastry and picked up the little girl. He put her on his shoulders and then grabbed Haruka's arm as he dragged the bounty hunter up the large dune to their vehicle. "Donuts!" he exclaimed loudly, causing the people around him to sweatdrop, especially his twin brother.

"Moron," Knives muttered to himself as he tried to start Ami's jeep. It took a few tries to get it running when the engine began to roar with life. He smirked to himself and was about to say something when he noticed the blue haired woman was sleeping in the passenger seat. Apparently, the fight took a lot of energy out of the doctor and her body needed the rest. Just before he shifted the gears, Knives hesitantly ran a hand through the woman's blue hair and he marveled at the softness of her tresses.

'No! I cannot do this,' he hissed to himself mentally as he jerked his hand away from the woman. He then put the jeep in gear and started driving in the direction of the town called Palisade. He vaguely heard his twin's vehicle rumble and pull up behind him. His thoughts returned to that of Doctor Mizuno and how much she has somehow intertwined herself in his life. This caused the blonde Plant to grip the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles became white. He also thought of the pink haired spore and how she had became an annoying part of his life as well. He growled softly at that thought as he put his foot on the accelerator and began speeding towards the town.

A young girl about thirteen years old was sitting on her porch while watching the desert skies. Her shoulder length brown hair with red streaks was flowing loosely in the slight breeze; her emerald eyes sparkled with some inner amusement. She thought of the strange woman with long dark blue hair that was staying in the old house on the other side of town. She somehow knew that there was something wrong with the woman but no one listened to the young girl's suspicions. Kia shrugged her shoulders and closed her eyes knowing that there was nothing that she could do.

A few minutes later, she heard the sounds of two vehicles moving very fast in the direction of her house. She opened her eyes to see one jeep come screeching in front of her home and stop. Another one had to stop suddenly as to not hit the other vehicle. Kia saw a rather tall man with short, light blonde hair get out of the first car and glance around, a look of disgust on his face. When he saw the young girl, he motioned to her.

"Girl, where is the doctor in this godforsaken place?" he yelled out, causing Kia to momentarily cover her ears. She thought that he was a very rude person but decided not to take offence.

"Gramps isn't here, mister!" the young brunette yelled just as loudly which made the light blonde haired guy cover his ears as well. "He's making a house call to a farm about ten miles south of here!"

Before the man could say anything, another tall blond man appeared. His hair was more golden than the other and it reminded her of a broomstick. The next thing she noticed was the kindness in this man's eyes. He smiled faintly at Kia as he gently approached the girl.

"Little Girl, our friend was wounded in a fight and we need to put her somewhere," he began to explain. "Do you know where we can put her while waiting for your Gramps?"

Kia nodded emphatically and grinned. "You can bring her inside my house," she stated importantly. "I know that Mom won't mind. She's out helping Gramps." She watched with interest as the first blonde man went back to his vehicle and noticed how gingerly he picked up an unconscious woman. When he approached the porch, two more people exited the second jeep. One was a tall woman with a golden bandana covering her hair and wearing a dark blue trench coat. The other was a rather adorable girl with pink hair in a strange hairstyle. The pink haired girl smiled shyly at Kia and held out her hand.

"Hi there, I'm Usagi Tsukino Chiba Mizuno, but everyone calls me Chibiusa," Chibiusa replied as the other girl accepted the handshake.

"Oh! I should have introduced myself," the young brunette grinned. "I'm Kiata Marie Minokoe. But please, call me Kia. It's a lot easier."

The tall man with the short light blonde hair snorted as he carried Ami up to the porch and stopped in front of the door. "Spore, I would think that you would want your adoptive mother be helped first before you start rambling with insignificant human children," he remarked acidly as his icy cerulean eyes narrowed at the young princess.

Chibiusa stuck her tongue out at Knives and had a sheepish look on her face as she glanced back at Kia. "Sorry about that…Mr. Knives is a meanie sometimes but I know he cares." The Plant had a murderous look on his face when the pink haired girl said that he cared.

"That's a strange name for a guy," the emerald eyed girl muttered to herself as she opened the door to let everyone inside. She made Knives put Ami in a guest room on the first floor and was glad that he decided to stay in there with her. She went back out to the living room and shrugged.

"I don't know how much longer Mom and Gramps will be gone," she admitted and then fidgeted slightly. "Um…can you all tell me your names? Then you guys, besides Chibiusa, won't be strangers."

Haruka chuckled slightly and bowed her head a little towards the girl. "I'm Haruka Ten'ou. The blue haired woman that Knives brought in is called Ami Mizuno."

Kia's eyes brightened up a little. "You mean Doctor Mizuno?" she asked excitedly. "Oh! I got some letters from my cousin Chad in New Pueblo that she is a nice doctor lady who fixed his arm, his dad and Lita."

Chibiusa giggled a little and grinned at Kia. "So you're the cousin that Chad keeps talking about. He said that you're the coolest cousin he got."

"I'm the only cousin he got," the brunette giggled and then looked at the other blonde man in the room. "So, who are you? You look like the meanie Mr. Knives."

Vash laughed sheepishly as he nervously ran a hand through his spiky hair. He then held out his hand and made the V for victory sign. "I'm Vash and I fight for Love and Peace and donuts!" he stated loudly, causing everyone to sweatdrop at his antics. Well, Kia didn't sweatdrop…she stared at the gunman and began laughing. Her laughter was infectious and in turn, Haruka, Chibiusa and Vash began laughing as well.

'Thank you,' Haruka mouthed silently at the blonde outlaw and gave a slight smile. Vash saw the gesture and smiled back.

*I could tell that Little Lady (AN: That's how Vash thinks of Chibiusa) was going to cry again because of Doctor Lady,* he thought, sending the message telepathically to the Senshi of Uranus. *Those crystal things inside of us made us more aware of each others emotions, I believe.*

The bounty hunter nodded just enough for the outlaw to see. She knew that they needed to keep the pink haired princess from breaking down in sadness. *Nonetheless, thank you Vash…you are definitely not like the rumors that have been spread about you.*

Knives rolled his eyes as he heard the laughter coming from the living room. He knew why his idiot brother would make that mirth happen. He also felt the sadness coming from the pink spore through the link they shared thanks to the Ginzuishou shards. It didn't mean that he would help in lifting the spore's spirits, though. He quietly walked over to the side of the bed Ami was lying in and watched her. He watched her chest rise and fall gently with her breathing and saw her flinch in pain every now and then.

Not exactly knowing what to do, the tall Plant sat down on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes as he gathered the energy within himself. He saw the silvery threads that connected him to the other shard carriers and concentrated on the one that led to the Senshi of Mercury. It seemed to glow brighter than the rest and he tried to pour his energy into the thread, trying to heal the woman. This went on for a couple of minutes and nothing happened.

He opened his eyes in frustration and felt like killing something in order to release his disappointment. He began pacing around the room he was in when the door opened. The creaking sound brought Knives out of his anger and he just glared at the person who came inside. It was Haruka, the woman who paraded around for years as the bounty hunter, Roushuko Ichijin.

"What do you want, woman?" he asked the Wind Senshi icily. "I have already tried healing her wounds but to no avail. I cleaned up the cuts as best as I could…but the infernal doctor refuses to wake up!"

The woman chuckled gently as she took off the golden bandana on her head to reveal short, sandy blonde hair. "Look, I know you just tried to heal Ami-chan. We all do because the Ginzuishou connects us to each other. She will wake up soon, I know that. Remember, she had used up most of her energy in fighting all of those youma before we even arrived on the scene."

Knives snorted and glared. "I don't care for your pretty explanations, woman. I just…"

"You just want her awake," Haruka finished for him. She smirked evilly as she caught the Plant's homicidal glare and then had a very serious look on her face. She stalked up to the tall blonde and grabbed his collar with both of her fists and pulled his head down to her level. "You hurt Ami-chan in any way, I will hunt you down, rip out your intestines and force feed them to you. And then I will cut your heart out with my sword while you are still breathing and feed that to you as well. That is if you even have a heart that I can find. I am not blind, Plant…I've seen the way you look at her. I've also seen the way she had looked at you back in that area with the cliffs."

The blonde Plant wrestled free from the Uranian's grasp and raised his hand as if to strike her. "I do not take kindly to threats, woman," he seethed angrily. "If it wasn't for the fact that this infuriating crystal shard was within me, I would not hesitate in killing you here and now. I would have also killed that infuriating doctor by now as well!"

Haruka laughed at that statement, her own blue eyes were like hardened steel as she swiftly caught the man's arm before he could hit her. "As if you could kill me, Plant, or my fellow senshi. I have lived far too long to let some young whelp such as you catch me by surprise."

Knives practically growled at being called a whelp. "I have been alive for over one hundred and thirty years…"

"And I've been alive for about two thousand years, your point?" the blonde woman asked sarcastically. "Just because you have lived longer than a human does not mean that you have wisdom or maturity. The way you act reminds me of a spoiled child!"

"Please…no more arguing," a weakened voice whispered softly. Both opponents swiftly turned around to see Ami trying to sit up in the strange bed. Knives was about to help her when Haruka roughly pushed the Plant out of the way, making him fall onto the floor. He began to spout out some very colorful profanity at the Wind Senshi and she just smirked at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry Knives…I didn't see you there," Haruka chuckled as she eyed the irate Plant before turning her attention to Ami. "How are you feeling, Ami-chan? The whelp here tried to heal you using his Ginzuishou shard but it apparently did not work."

Ami looked up at her friend and coughed. "I'm…doing okay, Haruka-san. But please…no more arguing between you and Knives. I'm just…so…tired of everything…"

The blonde senshi nodded sympathetically at the doctor and gave the woman's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I understand, Ami-chan. I'll just take the whelp with me and wait for the girl's grandfather to come and take a look at you."

"No," the blue haired woman stated quietly. "Leave Knives here…"

"But…" Haruka began but stopped short when she saw the pleading look in the doctor's sapphire eyes. "Alright, I'll leave this Plant here with you, Ami-chan, but you know that I don't trust him."

"You should, Haruka-san. Remember, the Ginzuishou sent a shard into him."

Ami's declaration stopped the tall woman cold. She was right…the purity of the Silver Crystal would not have gone to a person who could not be trusted, even if that person was Knives. Haruka just nodded at the smaller woman and quietly left the room, muttering, "I still don't trust him though," as she closed the door behind her.

As soon as the Senshi of Uranus was gone and out of hearing range, Ami looked up at Knives. "I'm sorry about Haruka-san, but she can be overprotective at times," she explained quietly, her sapphire eyes taking in the blonde's ragged appearance. The material of his trench coat and shirt was ripped when he used his Angel arm on Tidus and had a wild look about his face. "She does not trust others easily as well."

Knives snorted as he crossed his arms over his chest and gazed out the window. "She is right to not trust me, doctor," he replied in a bored, yet nasty, tone. "I have ordered hundreds of humans, maybe thousands, to their deaths by my minions. It's quite an achievement."

"You actually…sound proud of that fact." The doctor's voice sounded…sad.

The Plant shrugged as he turned around to face the woman. He raised a curious eyebrow at her sad expression. "Remember, I do not care for those spiders and I still believe that they all need to be exterminated," he replied through gritted teeth. "I do not know why I have to explain myself to you."

Ami sighed quietly and stared up at the ceiling. "I did not ask you to explain yourself, Knives. You did that all on your own."

The blonde Plant seethed inwardly as the doctor's statement made him feel brainless. He stalked over to the woman and leaned over, his face mere centimeters away from hers. "I do not like being made a fool, Ami," he murmured dangerously, his icy blue eyes never leaving her face. She tried to look away but Knives stopped her. He cupped her face none too gently and forced her to look at his eyes. "I do not like being this close to you. I do not like what you are doing to me. Ever since I have met you, everything that I had known was turned upside down. How I am reacting right now is entirely your fault! Why could you not have reacted in fear towards me? Why can you not just be a human? Then I would have been able to kill you without hesitation! But…you just have to be something other than human! You…just have to intrigue me, don't you…"

Ami tried to squirm away from the tall man but that only made him grip her face tighter. Her she tried closing her eyes but each time Knives seemed to get closer to her. She then gazed into his eyes with her sapphire ones and could not break free from his stare. There was something lurking in his icy depths that she tried to identify. Before she was able to name the emotion that she saw, Ami felt her lips being crushed by the Plant. It was a passionate, desperate kiss that took the blue haired senshi by surprise. The intensity of the kiss was nearly overwhelming for the senshi…she had never had anyone kiss her like that in her long life.

She put her hands on Knives' chest and feebly tried to push him away. This only made him wrap his arms tight around her petite form. He nipped her bottom lip, causing Ami to gasp at the feeling it caused. The Plant took this opportunity to slip his tongue inside her mouth. The sensations of his tongue inside her mouth made her body feel like it was melting. She was the Ice and he was the Fire and it was as if he was melting her soul.

In fact, it was the other way around in the mind of the blonde Plant. A couple of weeks ago, he felt compelled to kiss the blue haired senshi but was thwarted in the action by one pink haired spore. He had become frustrated for some strange reason and began taking out his anger on helpless objects. Now that the woman was injured and alone in the bedroom, he gave in to the temptation to kiss Ami. She was so much like Rem…he had to taste her. He felt that he had to taste all of her. He ran a hand down her back while the other hand was cupped behind her head. He enjoyed the feeling of her silken blue strands running through his fingers as he deepened the kiss even more. He was so caught up in the throes of passion that he barely heard the woman moan beneath him.

"Knives…please…stop…"

Those simple words were said in such a quiet, frantic tone made Knives immediately stopped the kiss and release Ami. He stared at her, disbelief written all over his face. Once the act was over, he could not believe that he actually kissed the infuriating doctor. Disbelief gave way to confusion and then to anger. 'How could I have kissed that woman?' he thought to himself. He wiped his mouth as if he had tasted something bitter.

Ami felt her face blush furiously when the Plant finally pulled away from her. She did enjoy part of the kiss but she knew that it should not have happened, especially in her current condition. However, it did not stop the woman from being curious as to the intent. "Why?" she asked, her sapphire eyes seemed to sparkle a bit. "Why did you kiss me?"

Knives could not answer her quickly. He glared at her with his icy cerulean eyes and smirked when he saw her flinch from his glare. "I don't know, woman…why I would kiss you? I loathe humans, those filthy spiders, and you consider yourself to be one. Yet, you are not human…you are actually superior to those spiders. There is nothing that I despise more than someone like you who lowers herself to the level of spiders!"

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AN: Whew…Chapter 13 is finally finished. I had a major dose of writer's block along with stress at work and home. But thanks to help from Mercury of Ice1, I was able to finally write this chapter…^_^ It still took awhile though…*sweatdrops* Anyway, Knives was sure a bastard in this chapter, eh? He is really fighting his 'attraction' to Ami tooth and nail…heh…Oh yeah! Kia Minokoe is now going to be an on and off character like Chad Lowery…^_^ I hope that she likes that…hee…^_^