Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Ghosts of the Past ❯ Chapter 7

In Crystal Tokyo, another figure was laying in his bed. He felt cold and alone. He had only felt so alone one other time. Back in the hospital, back before he had found Fiore. “Fiore.” Mamoru whispered the name to the ceiling. Just the mention of that name made him feel warmer. He rolled over, half expecting to see the alien boy resting quietly next to him. There were no sad eyes looking back at him. No childlike face smiling from over the blankets.

 

Mamoru wondered exactly how long Fiore had been in love with him. More to the point, when he had started to feel the same way. He knew there was some sort of connection with he had first found the alien boy collapsed in the rain. As a boy, he knew no one else could see Fiore. Fiore was his friend. He didn't need anyone else back then, because he had Fiore. As a little boy, he loved Fiore. Not exactly in the way he felt now, but the feelings of love were there.

 

Mamoru realized that that was why he had been so devastated when Fiore had told him he couldn't stay long on this planet. Mamoru's grown up mind could comprehend the statement Fiore had made so long ago. The alien boy said he had to leave because the atmosphere was killing him. While the younger Mamoru had assumed the alien boy meant Earth, the older knew Fiore had meant the hospital. Fiore was a free spirit, a wondering soul. He couldn't be content in a sterile, lonely place. In a sense, if Fiore had stayed, the hospital would have killed him.

 

That realization struck Mamoru. That was why Fiore had run again. The alien had spent so much time being lonely. He had wondered the galaxy for so many years he didn't recognize home when he saw it. His brush with evil had also hurt Fiore deeply, on a physical as well as a mental level. Instead of bringing the alien closer to Mamoru, it had pushed them further from each other. There was a brief time when they had been enemies.

 

The more he thought about it, the more Mamoru understood what was happening to his friend. Fiore knew he had done awful things. He didn't want to be pushed away again The man he loved was afraid. Afraid that Mamoru would hate him. Mamoru was shocked at this thought. It wasn't Fiore's fault that he had been forced to live a lie. It wasn't the alien's fault that he had fallen in love with Mamoru. Or that Mamoru had discovered that he felt the same. Mamoru had always searched for eternal love, hungered for it. It seemed that he had been looking in all the wrong places. Setsuna had been right. His duty was not to the kingdom. He had to do right for himself, or he would never be able to sleep soundly again.

 

He started out of his reverie when a translucent figure appeared beside his bed. He didn't have to move to know who it was. He could see the stark white hair and feel gray eyes on him. “Endymion?” A soft male voice started. It would have been surprising to anyone else, but Mamoru knew that Kunzite had a soft side when he chose to show it.

 

The King wondered why his top general had decided to appear in the middle of the night. That wasn't like him. He also wondered why the others hadn't appeared either. When one general appeared, the others were sure to follow. Kunzite answered his question. “They thought it'd be best it I told you, since you've known me the longest.“ There was a pause.

 

Mamoru had no clue what was going on now. Generals appearing in the middle of the night to tell him things usually wasn't a good sign. Did it mean they were leaving him to be alone? Had they found a new leader? He wanted to cry. He had already lost Fiore today, he couldn't stand to loose his four closest friends as well. Kunzite shook his head. Sitting beside Mamoru on the bed, he smiled. It destroyed all his doubts. Times like this made him wonder if Kunzite could read his mind. “Some of us may think you're a little anal retentive at times, but we aren't going anywhere. You still need us. And we'll be here until you tell us we're no longer needed. There is another reason why I'm here.”

 

Mamoru knew that look. Kunzite had given him that exact look during the time of the Silver Millennium. He had a feeling that the speech was going to be the same speech as well. Only this time, it wasn't going to be about the Moon Princess, it was going to be about a certain alien. He was right, it was. It even started out the same way. “You're hurting like Hell on the inside.”

 

“I know.” Mamoru answered. “Spare me the self-righteous speeches Kunzite. I've had enough of them for one lifetime. If I want to feel sorry for myself, then that's my business.”

 

Kunzite's voice was cold and distant. “That's exactly why I'm here. I've always wanted to be part of a pity party. Three cheers for being whiny, pathetic losers. Hip, hip, hooray.” Mamoru couldn't help but hear the sarcasm dripping from the general's voice. “Now, if you're quite done feeling sorry for yourself, I'd suggest you get your act together. You still have things to do.” This was definitely different. Kunzite hadn't said any of this when he was head over heals for Princess Serenity. Then again, he knew that Kunzite knew exactly what he was feeling. It was no secret that Kunzite and Zoisite were an item.

 

“What about Fiore? I was stupid. I chased him off... He hates me now.” Mamoru trailed off. Kunzite's hand passed through him in an effort to knock some sense into him.

 

“Don't be naive, boy!” Mamoru's eyes widened. It was a very rare day indeed when the oldest general raised a hand against his Prince. He sputtered indignantly. Kunzite had called him a boy. It was true. Kunzite was much older than Mamoru, despite his looks. “So what if you had a fight. All couples fight sometimes. He loves you. Nothing will ever change that fact. ”

 

“How can you be so certain he will come back?” Mamoru didn't like the look in Kunzite's eyes. He knew that look. Kunzite was planning something, and considering how much of that plan he could tell Mamoru. “You have a plan, don't you?”

 

Kunzite looked straight at Mamoru and nodded. “I wish I could tell you. I really do.”

 

“For the love of God, you're starting to sound like Pluto!” Mamoru saw the way Kunzite stiffened. “You've talked to her, haven't you?” Kunzite refused to answer. In a way that was an answer it itself. Not many people who talked with the Guardian of the Gate of Time wished to talk about their visits. It surprised him that his generals would have taken it upon themselves to materialize for someone other than him. He wondered if Setsuna had been shocked when she had seen four ghostly men appear.

 

“Actually, she was expecting us.” Kunzite had done it again. Read his mind without trying. He really was the leader he was made out to be. “But she said we weren't to get involved. It would only complicate things. That's why I'm here. I'm here to ask you to let us find this man you love and talk him into coming back. He has to be somewhere on this planet, and it would be easier if there were four of us looking, as opposed to one.”

 

The King knew what Kunzite was suggesting. It was suicide for the generals, pure and simple. Their spirit forms were linked to the stones he carried. To be separated from them for too long meant destruction. His generals, his closest friends were willing to die to get Fiore to came back to him. Mamoru thought if over for about four seconds. “If the situation hasn't remedied itself in four days, you have my permission.” He noted the irony. In four days, it would be Valentine's day. A day dedicated to love.

 

“Four days.” Kunzite sounded grim. He started to vanish again.

 

Mamoru stopped him for retreating completely. “Kunzite. Tell the others that I'm lucky to have such good friends as them. And thanks for the pep talk. You're a really good guy when you try to be.”

 

Kunzite smiled then, a dazzling smile. “Don't go spreading that around. It'd ruin my reputation. Now go to sleep, Endymion. There is much to do, and little time to do it in.” He started to vanish again. Making sure he got the final word, right before returned to the rock the held his spirit, he said, “and no more feeling sorry for yourself either, boy.” His barb had been missed. Mamoru had already gone to sleep, smiling.