Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Cursed Destiny ❯ Chapter 4

Neflite sat on the couch in Makoto's apartment with his angel in his arms. She hadn't awakened yet. She had snuggled against him, searching for warmth. The others had awakened already and were sitting around the room silent. The Outers, Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna and Hotaru had shown up as well. They too had been attacked but had dissolved their foes. Each had contributed to the story until Neflite had known everything there was to know. Apparently though, only Usagi and Mamoru had known about Makoto's kill. They had told him about their past lives, how they had defeated other enemies…and how they were destined to do it. Ami also told him how the Tri Prince would be the one that Makoto was destined to fall in love with, not him. Neflite decided he didn't like Ami very much; know it all that she was. And that was interesting too, how each of his friends were princes. Kunzite was the Mono Prince, Zoi was the Bi Prince, Jadeite was the Quad Prince, and Mamoru was the Earth Prince. They were still searching for the Tri Prince, who they thought had been that guy Makoto had been in love with a while back, but he had disappeared.

"And the true Tri Prince would never abandon his prince, or his princess," said Zoi.

"Princess?" ask Neflite.

"Each of the Sailor Senshi is a princess. Sailor Mercury, Ami, is the Princess of Mercury. Rei, Sailor Mars is the Princess of Mars and so on," said Kunzite.

"The Tri Prince and the Princess of Jupiter, Makoto, belong together," said Haruka, who was sitting next to Neflite. "Their souls were joined together long before the Silver Millennium was even created. Through every life time, they have searched for and found each other, just like each of us has. But…Makoto, Jupiter…her soul is different. Somehow, in each lifetime, she finds her prince but is never able to give her love to him or receive love from him. An enemy is always there to rip them apart. We don't know why." Haruka placed her hand on Makoto's forehead. "The poor thing must be exhausted. She ran off before she could eat and that was hours ago. It's no wonder she collapsed."

Setsuna spoke up, "I think it would be a good idea if we all stayed together tonight. Those things were collecting us; others of their kind will probably come and it would be better if we were all together.

Minako spoke, "Neflite, you will be safe since you are not one of us so you may go home."

"Minako!" said Kunzite softly, "Don't be so rude about it."

"Oops, sorry, but it's true. Neflite would be safer away from us than if he stayed here."

"That doesn't matter love, you really need to curb your impulsiveness."

"But you admire my impulses, you said so just this morning when I…" Kunzite silenced her with a kiss, so she wouldn't reveal anything more embarrassing. Ami and Rei giggled at Minako and retreated to the bedroom to find some blankets and stuff that everyone could sleep on.

"We'll stand watch on the balcony," said Mamoru motioning to Kunzite, "And Zoi can take the second watch with Jadeite. Minako and Hotaru can take the third watch, then Rei and Michiru. Each watch will be three hours. Once noon rolls around, we'll figure out what to do next."

Ami and Rei came from the bedroom carrying lots of blankets. Haruka and Setsuna also came back into the room with blankets and pillows they had grabbed from Mamoru's apartment. The four spread the blankets all over the room, covering the floor entirely. They had had to move the furniture to the kitchen in order to make room for all the linens.

Kunzite moved out to the balcony and Minako started helping Ami and Rei. Hotaru laid down on one of the blankets farthest away from everyone and promptly fell asleep. Michiru lay near her and waited for Haruka. Usagi had run back to Mamoru's apartment for various items like toothbrushes, towels and snacks. Minako, Ami, Rei, and Haruka sat on the blankets with Michiru and Hotaru and talked about a strategy against the new enemy. Jadeite and Zoi had retreated to a corner and listened in on the strategy session, interrupting every so often to tell the girls that the plan wouldn't work. Depending on who spoke, either Ami or Rei would shove their beloved to the floor. Setsuna went into the kitchen and began to prepare hot cocoa to help everyone sleep. Mamoru came to sit by Neflite, away from the girls.

"Neflite, Minako has a point; you should leave in case something happens."

"No. I won't leave her."

Mamoru watched Neflite as he gazed upon Makoto still sleeping in his arms. "Are you sure? You could get seriously hurt."

"I'm sure. If I can't be her prince, then I'll just do my best to make sure she's happy," He brushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes, "That's all that matters to me now, her happiness."

"Ok then. There's room for you too. You can stay by Makoto if it makes you feel better. She should be waking up in a few hours though."

"Ok, I'll just lay her down on the couch and sleep next to her." Neflite carefully laid Makoto on the couch and covered her with a blanket then lay down on the floor next to the couch. Mamoru watched all this and smiled as he walked out to the balcony to join Kunzite.

"He really does love her doesn't he?" said Mamoru.

"Yeah, he does. Think they'll have better luck this time?"

Mamoru looked around to make sure no one was listening in. "I hope so. He just proved himself to be the true Tri Prince. Now he just has to awaken his power."

"What about these new enemies?"

"I think you should stop calling them new, for one. You know as well as I do that these are the same enemies we keep facing over and over in each lifetime. Thank the gods we can all be together this time, instead of all separated. We might actually win this time. You know, I still can't figure out why we have never been reborn all together until now. In the last life we had, I was dying while you were playing with the neighborhood children. And neither Zoi nor Jadeite was there. Nef was a grown man then, he had that business, remember? No, you were just a kid then…His supposed friends, who he thought were us helped kill him."

"I vaguely remember you telling me this before, when we first found him. We'll have to show him our transformations too, won't we?"

"Yes, you can tell him first. Might not be so much of a shock if he can prepare himself first."

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The rest of the night went without anything eventful. Minako complained about having to wake up for her watch, but Kunzite joined her and Hotaru so she didn't have much else to complain about. Everyone slept in pairs, even Hotaru and Setsuna, though they did not have the same kind of relationship everyone else had.

Makoto awoke sometime in the early morning, near sunrise. The purple rays were just beginning to show over the horizon. Zoi and Jadeite were talking on the balcony. Odd, she thought, why are those two even conscious at this hour? She tucked her blanket around her before getting up and walking out the front door. She had always loved watching the sun rise. It made her proud to live in the Land of the Rising Sun. Japan really was a wonderful place, even with all the evil that happened here. It just happened to be a hot spot for evil, because of the hell mouth that rested here. Yes, it really was a beautiful place, if only that hell mouth wasn't around… Her senses were extra keen this morning; she could smell the beginnings of a burnt breakfast and hear the newborn baby down the street wake up, crying for its momma. A sound behind her broke her thoughts. She whirled around to come face to face with Neflite.

"Um, hi…" he said. He looked as nervous as she felt. I should say something, like apologize for yesterday, she thought, or ask what's going on.

"Neflite…"

"Makoto…"

They both laughed. Makoto motioned for him to follow her. She led him down the steps and to the pool area. There were some tables and chairs there. They sat close to the pool. Makoto spoke first.

"I just wanted to apologize about yesterday. I didn't mean to react like that. It's just…well...you scared me," she looked over at him shyly. He was watching the water. She turned to the water also and watched his reflection as he watched hers.

"It's ok. I understand. People do things when they are scared or hurt that they later regret. I got myself fired once for punching my boss."

"You felt regret that you were no longer employed?"

"Actually no. I didn't regret that. If I hadn't gotten myself fired, I would have never met Mamoru or come to work for him. I love my new job. I have friends and a life that I enjoy."

"That's good." Makoto fell silent, unsure of what to say next. "Um, so why was everyone camping out in my front room?"

"Oh that. Well, some of them were afraid that those sand things might come back. They thought that it would be a good idea if you all stayed together."

"Oh, well that's alright then. But, why did you stay? You weren't in danger, were you?"

"Um. Well, about that…"

"Neflite! Mako-chan!" Haruka was waving to them from the top of the stairs. She ran down the stairs and hopped over the fence to get to the pool. "What are you two doing out here?! What if those things came back and attack you? You'd be defenseless."

"But I feel much stronger now," Makoto said.

"That doesn't matter; you haven't gotten all of your strength back. Now get inside," Haruka growled. Now was definitely not the time to argue, Makoto thought and meekly followed Haruka back to the apartment.