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Diamohns are Forever	By : SailorSol Category: Sailor Moon > General Views: 22490 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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LAND OF THE RISING SUN

Tokyo, Juban District, Eight Months After the Defeat of Galaxia

�NO!� Fushida Aster surged into a sitting position on her futon. She was covered in sweat, her long red-gold curls soaked. Slowly, she became aware of the attempts of her companion, Ishihara Washino, to calm her down. She got up and hurried into the bathroom to take a shower.

Clean, mostly dry, and clad in a fresh sleeping kimono, Aster came back into her room and sat down to face the concerned black eyes of her bodyguard and lover.

�It was just the battle on the moon, Charon,� she said. �I remembered every agonizing detail. All that death, and they didn't even look like it made an impression. They didn't care anymore, about any of us. He said he loved me. He promised not to leave me!� She broke down, finally, and cried.

The wrenching sobs were painful for the man facing her, but he knew that she had to put the past behind her, finally. He was not entirely convinced that the Shitennou were dead.

He pulled her into his arms, and tucked her head under his chin. He reached to the back of his head and pulled out the tie that held his waist-length hair back, allowing the red-black waterfall to flow free and cloak Aster.

After the emotional storm passed, Aster wiped her eyes and smiled feebly at the man before her. �I'm going out to the middle garden, Washino,� she said quietly. �Don't worry about me. You can't protect me from this. I'll manage, just like I did then. There is at least one piece of my heart that they cannot kill or turn against me.�

�Not so far,� he conceded. �I will be waiting when you come back in.�

Aster nodded and made her way to the tiny garden in the center of her traditional house. She welcomed the sting of the winter cold. It distracted her somewhat from the turmoil in her heart. She padded across flat stones to the pond with its solitary water lily and two small koi. She dribbled some food into the pond, and then made her way to a small shrine in one corner of the garden.

Unlike most shrines, this did not contain a small statue of a god or goddess, or images of family members that had died. This shrine contained crystalline pillars of four types of stone. She had gone through a great deal of trouble and expense to find them.

The leftmost stone was a piece of flawless jade, nearly translucent. It was four inches high and just over an inch in diameter. She touched it gently and whispered softly to the individual it represented.

�I wish I had your cold logic, Jadeite,� she whispered. �Endymion wasn't the only one that needed his Guard. They were invaluable to me, as well. How can I be Warleader for our Princess without my key advisors? The cold detachment of Hyperion helped me keep my head.�

She touched the next stone, a four and a half inch high pillar of red-brown Nephrite an inch and a half in diameter.

�You always knew what the future held, Oberon,� she said. �Why didn't you tell us that you would become Nephrite? Did the stars refuse to tell you until the time was upon you? I thought you had everything. You had the heart of the one I loved above all others. I could understand the others choices. I never understood you. How could you do that to her? How could you let Pluto become Kori again?�

She moved onto the next pillar, three and a half inches tall and three-quarters of an inch thick, of opaque green Zoisite. She smiled fondly as she caressed it, remembering good times on another world.

�At least I understand you, Janus,� she murmured to it. �They had him. You loved him more than anything or anyone in existence: more than Terra, and more than Endymion even. I know why you became Zoisite. Faced with your choice, I might have made the same decision.�

She did not content herself with merely caressing the last pillar. It was a five-inch tall, two-inch thick pillar of flawless white Kunzite. She had searched the longest and hardest for this stone. This stone, and the man it represented meant the most to her.

�Kunzitosama, aisuru,� she whispered, wrapping her hands around the stone and placing its bitingly cold length against her cheek. �I miss you more now than ever. I didn't have the heart to blame you for betraying me then, and I don't have the heart to blame you now. I always knew I was second to your little rat, your sakura. I just have to live with this hole in my heart. At least, then, my pain came to an end when I exploded in your face.�

�I am sorry,� the voice behind her made her gasp and whirl around to face the speaker, dropping the kunzite pillar onto the moss.

Kunzite was before her, floating six inches off of the ground.

�You're alive,� she whispered, her eyes wide in disbelief.

�Somehow, yes,� he replied. �I do not understand what happened, only that it did.�

�I can't go with you,� she said, her eyes filling with tears. She was reminding him of a promise he had made to her when he visited her in her childhood, starting two days after she was born. �I have to protect and guide my Princess. She needs me. Besides, there is no sun there. I would die.�

�You once said that you wanted nothing more than to be with me,� he reminded her.

�I didn't remember then!� Aster cried out. �I didn't remember you facing me on a battlefield! When were you going to explain that to me?�

�We weren�t,� he answered simply. �We promised you when you were a child because that was what you wanted. We wanted to make you happy. We never meant to take you to the Dark Kingdom. I would have found a reason not to.�

�You were all four in it together?� she said accusingly. �You lied to me?�

�It was the only lie we ever told you,� he assured her. �We would not have taken you because I could not bear the thought of hurting you.�

�So you let Takara do it for you?� Aster asked, referring to her stepfather, who had raised her. He was a servant of Beryl's, and he had abused her in many ways while she was growing up.

�I understand your bitterness,� he said. �We always told ourselves that we would live with your hate, in your best interests. At least you would be alive.�

�That's the worst part of this whole thing!� Aster sobbed, breaking down and sinking to her knees. �I don't hate you! I can't hate you! Don't you think I would if I could?�

�What can I do?� he asked, moving closer to her. His boots touched the stones and he knelt beside her.

�I don't know,� she sobbed. She reached for him, fisting her hands into his tunic and burying her face in the warm juncture of his neck and shoulder.

�I should hate you,� she sobbed in misery. �You betrayed us. You became the enemy. I have to fight you. I may have to kill you. I might as well kill myself. I don't know why I still love you, but I do. I can't choose between you and my duty. I am what I am. But the day I face you again, another part of me will die, just like that day on the moon.�

Kunzite held her as she cried her heart out, rubbing her back and stroking her hair. He did not look up when he sensed the presence of Kishi Charon. He remembered killing the dangerous man after his conversion to the Dark Kingdom. Now, he wondered if the Kishi most had called the 'Death Knight' was thinking of vengeance.

Finally, Aster calmed down and pulled away a bit, wiping at her eyes and nose. Kunzite created some tissues for her to wipe away the signs of her sorrows.

�I must go,� Kunzite said, helping her to her feet. �I did not lie to you, Aster. I do love you. I . . . have always loved you. There are things you do not know. I am not what you think I am. I do not have time to tell you now. I will return soon, and explain everything.�

�I will do what I have to do, Kunzite,� Aster said, composure regained. �The Black Queen will have to live with disappointment. She did a good job of temporarily crippling me, but I am still not for sale. She will never have the right price. Do not come back. You will face Sailor Sol, not Fushida Aster.�

�If that is what you wish,� Kunzite said. �In spite of everything, nothing was ever said to Metalia about Sailor Pluto.� He stepped farther away from Aster and disappeared.

Aster took a deep breath and turned to Washino.

�Not a word to the girls, Charon,� she said. �I don't want Usagi and the others worrying about me, I don't want them to know about me, and I don't want them to know that the Shitennou are alive. Usagi's self-confidence is fragile enough, as it is. If she knows that they didn't truly defeat the Dark Kingdom, we would lose precious ground.�

�Do not worry so much, Sol,� another voice sliced through the night. The two of them turned to see Sailor Pluto standing near the small shrine.

�The Inner Senshi are stronger than you think,� she said quietly. �They may not even need you.�

�Then why am I here?� Aster asked. �If they don't need me, then why did I receive my powers? No, Pluto, they will need me. I just hope I'm up to the task.�

�If you doubt your ability,� Pluto responded. �You will fail. Perhaps the survival of the traitors is the reason that you do not survive to see Crystal Tokyo. Neither you, nor Terra, nor any of the Kishi save Endymion, or any of the Satellites, is in Crystal Tokyo. Remember that, Sol.� She raised her key and whirled down the mists and disappeared.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Aster opened the door before Usagi could knock and greeted the future Neo-Queen Serenity with a hug and a kiss. She greeted each of the other five girls in turn, and then led the way into the kitchen of her home, where she gave Usagi cooking lessons three times a week.

Usagi had been emotionally bereft after Mamoru had been accepted for a year to Cal-Tech. She had lost interest in nearly everything. She and Mina had met Aster at the video arcade. The older girl had bought them ice cream and talked to them, really talked, and listened to everything Usagi had said. When Usagi had wailed about not being good at anything, especially cooking and studying, Aster had offered to teach Usagi how to do both.

The once inept girl was blooming under Aster's careful tutelage. Her grades had improved, she could cook on her own, and her clumsiness was passing in favor of a deliberate grace that Aster was training into her. She spoke and acted with more assurance than she had even a year before, and was completely transformed from the clumsy crybaby that had first become Sailor Moon.

Aster had just opened her card file to let Usagi pick the recipe of the day when ChibiUsa came to her.

�Aster,� ChibiUsa said, holding up the kunzite pillar. �What's this for?� Her large pink eyes showed nothing but innocent curiosity. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a thornless pink rose.

�I found this with it,� she said. �It feels kind of funny, but it's not too bad.�

�Give me that,� Rei stepped forward and snatched the flower from the younger girl, and then cupped it in her hands. Her face became pale as she examined it, both physically and psychically.

�Where did this come from, Aster?� she asked, turning accusing eyes to her older friend. �I know what it feels like, but that's impossible. The Shitennou are dead.�

Aster sighed and made her way to the kitchen table, where she sat down and covered her face with her hands.

�I know what you think of them,� she said. �I assure you that my memories of them are quite different. Sometimes, they were the only thing that made living worthwhile, other than my sister.�

�Look,� Makoto said, sitting down on one side of her. �We all know that your stepfather was pretty rotten, but how could he be that bad?�

�He was worse than you could possibly imagine,� Aster replied, looking at each of them in turn before looking down at the table. �Once a month, one of the Shitennou would come to visit me. They rotated which one it was. Every time one of them came, it was 'what do you want to do today?' or 'what would make you happy?' Whatever it was, they would do it, unless it was illegal or unless it involved taking us to the Dark Kingdom.�

�That's hard to imagine,� Makoto said. �I mean, I only fought Zoisite and Kunzite, but they didn't seem like they would be the type of people to indulge children.�

�That's not entirely true,� Mina said, cocking her head. �I saw how Kunzite was with Zoisite at the tower. They were capable of gentleness and love. I don't find it strange that they might extend those feelings to children.�

�It's more than that,� Aster said. �I loved Kunzite very deeply. I always believed that he loved me, as well. This flower is proof to me.�

�We saw him die,� Ami said. �How could he be alive?�

�He said that he didn't understand it, himself,� Aster replied. �I have been thinking about it, and I think I know what happened, though. Usagi told me that she made a wish on the Ginzuishou after she defeated Beryl. She was on the edge of the Dark Kingdom when she made the wish.�

�I wished for everything to go back the way it was,� Usagi said, her eyes wide with realization. �Back before I ever heard of Sailor Moon or the Dark Kingdom. Does that mean that I brought him back to life?�

�If you did,� Makoto said. �You brought them all back.�

�Well,� Rei said. �They must have learned their lesson about messing with us.�

�Perhaps,� Aster said. �He did not say that they were planning another offensive. I will tell you, though, that everything I know of Queen Beryl tells me that she does not give up on what she wants. What she will want, eventually, is revenge, and then she will want whatever it is she wanted before.�

�Mamo-Chan,� Usagi whispered.

�Look,� Makoto said. �We're more powerful now, and we have the Outer Senshi. We beat them once, we can beat them again.�

�Right,� Rei agreed. �If they try again, we'll beat them again.�

�I'll help you all I can,� Aster said. The five girls looked at her in surprise.

�I mean it,� Aster said. �Being in love with Kunzite does not blind me to what would happen if Beryl gained control of this planet. The greater good supercedes my desires.�

�You'd let us kill the man you love for the greater good?� Mina asked sorrowfully. �What would you do afterwards?�

�I don't know,� Aster answered, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. �Part of it depends on whether I can find someone I've been waiting for since I was five, or one of the people I've loved in another life. Part of it depends on whether he has to die, or whether he can be shown that he has a choice.�

�You'll have us,� Usagi declared. �You'll always have us, and our other friends will like you, too.�

�That reminds me,� ChibiUsa piped up for the first time since bringing in the kunzite and the rose. �We invited Haruka and Michiru to come by. You said you wanted to meet them. They're bringing Hotaru, too.�

�Okay, Aster said. �We just have three more test subjects, then.� She smiled at the girls, wiping her tears away, unshed.

***** *****

Usagi's recipe of choice, stuffed pork chops, had just been put into the oven when Aster's foot gate squealed. ChibiUsa ran to answer the door, and then returned to the dining room area leading three people.

The first of the three, dragged to Aster by ChibiUsa, was Hotaru. She gazed up at Aster solemnly with her dark violet eyes, and then smiled tremulously and bowed.

�I am very honored to meet you, Fushida-san,� she said. Her voice was high and sweet, just the way Aster remembered Sailor Saturn sounding.

�The honor is mine, Tomoe-san,� she replied, bowing as well. �Please, call me Aster. Any friend of ChibiUsa's, especially such a close friend, is a friend of mine.�

�Then please call me Hotaru,� the diminutive Senshi replied, smiling more. �The feeling is mutual. You can't have too many friends.�

�Please make yourself at home, Hotaru,� Aster said, gesturing to the dining room area where the girls were relaxing with tea and cookies.

ChibiUsa pulled the older girl to the table, laughing. Aster turned towards the other two new arrivals, and her words of greeting died unspoken in her throat.

Tousled sandy hair topped a pair of impossibly blue eyes, set in a face that was all too familiar to Aster from dreams and previous lives.

�Odorikazu,� Aster whispered to herself. �My beloved wind dancer. How long it has been since we wind surfed on Uranus? How long since the first time we touched one another in love? Do you even remember me?�

The sandy-haired woman gave no indication that she recognized the golden-eyed woman before her. Inside, her heart was bursting to rush forward and wrap her arms around the warm, golden presence. She remembered her from several lives, and their relationship had always been intense, physical, and very loving.

�Pleased to meet you, Fushida-san,� she said, holding out a hand Occidental-style.

�Pleased to meet you, as well, Tenoh-san,� Aster replied, taking Haruka's hand in a firm grip and shaking it. �Please, call me Aster. I know how much Usagi and the girls like and admire you. Make yourself at home.�

�Thank you,� Haruka said, smiling. �Please call me Haruka. If you're a friend of Usagi's, then we should not be on formal terms.� She was a little puzzled that Aster did not meet her eyes, but she thought that perhaps it was a form of shyness. She did not, however, remember the young woman being shy in any other life.

�Welcome to my home, as well, Kaioh-san,� Aster said, looking past Haruka at the aqua-haired beauty that went nearly everywhere with her.

�Thank you,� Michiru said, keeping her own recognition of the other woman secret. �What Haruka said goes for me, too. Please call me Michiru.�

�Please call me Aster,� Aster said. �Please make yourself at home.� Aster led them to where the girls were sitting, and poured them tea while the girls brought them up to date.

While the girls kept Michiru busy talking about the latest fashions, Aster noticed that Hotaru had chosen to sit between Makoto and Haruka, and Makoto was amusing her by drawing little cartoons in a notebook.

Haruka looked up at Aster, trying to meet her eyes. With a skill gained from long practice, Aster avoided her gaze without seeming to.

Aster had noticed differences in some of the Senshi that she had met so far, and the most pronounced difference had been in Usagi. Princess Serenity had never been clumsy or unable to concentrate on studying. Princess Serenity had loved learning in all of its forms. Usagi, on the other hand, had a younger brother that was always insulting her, and Usagi�s parents did not contradict him. This had left the young girl with a serious self-esteem problem.

Makoto was more blustery than she had been before. It was probably reaction from the deaths of her family earlier in her life. Her additional bluster was to cover the deep hurt she had sustained then. The love of the others was healing her, though, and her manner was visibly softer than it had been when Aster had first met her.

Now, Aster was noticing another difference. Uranus and Neptune had always been lovers, and close friends. Now, they seemed separated from the other Senshi. Before, there had always been room for any Senshi in their hearts, their homes, and even in their beds. Now, Aster saw a definite barrier between them and the other girls. Now, there did not seem to be any room for anyone else.

�Umi'yosei,� Aster said silently. �My Sea Sprite. Do you not remember me either? What has happened to you that you will only open your heart to one? You used to be second only to Venus and myself in loving the Senshi. Now, you keep them at arms length. People need the sea to survive, as much as they do the sun and the wind.�

She didn�t say anything out loud, though. She watched and listened, and vowed that she would do everything in her power to keep them alive and unharmed.

***** *****

Aster stood by her front door, waving as Usagi and ChibiUsa rode off in Haruka�s car. The mannish blonde had offered to give the girls a ride home, saying that it was on her way back with her family. Aster had felt that she had to agree, even though some of her best times with Usagi were after a cooking lesson.

Makoto and Ami had already left. They needed to go by the library for some research on a project of Makoto�s for school.

Aster stepped back inside and closed the door, sighing at how empty the house seemed to be. It was times like this, when just she, Washino, and her other bodyguard, Tori, were in the house, that she missed her sister more than ever.

Two cleared throats brought her out of her musings. She turned to see Rei and Mina still sitting in the dining room, both settled back into their seats, with their arms crossed.

�We want some answers, Aster,� Rei said. �Real answers, not that evasive stuff that Usagi will settle for.�

�Okay,� Aster said. �I should have known that you two wouldn�t leave it alone. Why don�t we go into the living area, and I�ll tell you what I can.�

�What can�t you tell us?� Mina asked, rising from the chair and stretching before heading over to drop onto Aster�s couch.

�What I don�t remember,� Aster replied. �I also can�t tell you what I don�t know, or what I�m not sure of.� She went to the couch and sat down next to Mina. She patted the couch on the other side of her to encourage Rei to sit down as well.

�I�ll sit over here,� Rei said, dropping down to lounge on the tatami mats on the far side of the low table that sat in front of the couch, effectively putting a barrier between Aster and herself.

Aster sighed. She had spent months building up their trust in her, and now it looked like one visit from Kunzite had shattered that trust, at least as far as Rei was concerned.

�Why so far away, Rei?� she asked. �Is it because you don�t trust me?�

�I don�t know, anymore,� Rei answered honestly. �I do trust you, but I find that it�s hard to think objectively about you, and there is something vaguely Nega-creepy about you. When you told me about your stepfather, I thought that was all there was to it, but now I�m not so sure. I�m not leaving until I get the whole story out of you.�

Aster sighed in defeat.

�What about you, Mina,� Aster asked, turning towards the shapely blonde.

Mina frowned a bit, and then looked directly at Aster.

�I agree with Rei, to a point,� Mina said. �It is hard be detached about you, but I'm confused about how you make me feel. On the one hand, I want to sit down and tell you absolutely everything that's bothering me, because I know that you'll know just what to do or say. On the other hand, I don't know why, but something in me says that you're not what you seem to be.�

Aster sighed again.

�It's true,� she said. �I haven't told you everything. I kept some things back, because I needed you to trust me, and if I'd told you, you would have never trusted me. I kept back other things because I wanted you to have and develop your own strengths, not depend on mine.�

�Okay,� Mina said. �Tell us. We promise we won't tell anyone.�

�Yes, you will,� Aster said. �You girls just can't keep secrets from one another. You have to tell each other everything.�

�No,� Mina said. �I haven't told them everything I know.�

�What?� Rei exploded. �What do you mean, you're keeping secrets?�

�I have to!� Mina exploded. �How do you think Usagi would feel if she knew that they were still alive? I knew when Kunzite was restored to life. Like you knew, Rei, that Jadeite never died.�

�I . . . � Rei was at a loss for words for the first time since Aster had known her.

�If you think about it,� Mina said. �Each one of us is keeping a secret from Usagi. Ami knows that Zoisite is alive again, and Makoto knows that Nephrite is alive again. None of us told Usagi, because that would have hurt her terribly. What I want to know, for starters, is how Aster knew how the Ginzuishou works.�

�I know how most of it works,� Aster said. �You have to promise not to tell the others, though. There is only one other person that I owe any explanations to.�

�Uranus,� Mina said. �The General of the outer planets.�

�Yes,� Aster admitted.

�So tell us,� Rei said. �We promise we won't tell the other girls.�

�Yeah, spill,� Mina agreed.

Aster took a deep breath, and looked at both girls before she launched into her story.

�There's really two halves of this,� she said. �There's what happened to me in this life, and there's what happened back then. It was all so long ago, and yet I remember parts of it like it was yesterday.�

�What parts?� Mina asked.

�The part when I met Atlas,� Aster said. �The part where they disappeared. The part where the Moon Queen sent you four and her daughter through time, along with Prince Endymion and as many civilians as she could. The part where the Outers and I held the Dark Kingdom's armies with the help of your planet partners, until we all died.�

Both girls stared at her, speechless.

�You died on the moon?� Mina asked.

�Planet partners?� Rei asked.

�Every planetary Senshi has a partner, a Kishi,� Aster said. �The power has to have a balance point, male and female. It's because of the amount of power, even with Venus or Mercury. Believe me, the satellite Senshi have less than the least Planetary Kishi.�

�Satellites?� Rei asked. �You mean, like moons?�

�Yes,� Aster said. �Every Planetary Senshi and Kishi has satellites, even if the actual physical satellite doesn't exist anymore.�

�I remember,� Mina said, her eyes unfocused. �Cupid, Dionysus, and Bacchus. They were so sweet, and, um, friendly.�

�Of course,� Aster said, smiling. �They're your satellites.�

�So where do you fit in?� Rei asked.

�There were two major Senshi who did not draw their power from a planet,� Aster said. �One of them was Sailor Moon. She derived her power from the Ginzuishou, which was the basis for the Moon queen's leadership.

�The other one,� Aster continued. �Was the Warleader, the one that the Inner and Outer Generals, and the General of the Satellites answered to, in times of war. The only problem was, when war came, one General was missing.�

�He was on the other side,� Mina said, sounding like she was in a trance. �He used to be Atlas. He became Kunzite.�

�Yes,� Aster said. �Because of the key position that Atlas held in the hierarchy, we were crippled. He was the General of the Satellites, he was the head of Endymion's guard, and he was Bonded to the Warleader. With him gone, everything fell apart. We were all beside ourselves.�

�You're the warleader,� Mina said, her eyes widening.

�Yeah,� Aster said. �Warleader, mother confessor, advisor . . . �

� . . . Sweetheart to the regiment,� Mina said, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

�I guess you could say that,� Aster said. �Among the Senshi and Kishi, I had my favorites, but I was never . . . exclusive.�

�I'm missing something,� Rei said.

�I was Sailor Sol,� Aster said. �I was the central Senshi, the one that everyone came to for advice, the one that would take command if war threatened. I never understood what everyone was afraid of, but I was always trained to take command and coordinate attacks and know when to retreat. Until the Dark Kingdom, there had never been an attack.�

�Sailor Sol,� Rei whispered. �I remember you, now. Why not tell Usagi?�

�Usagi needs to learn to be Queen,� Aster explained. �For that, she needs to lead, and she needs to make decisions. Besides, if I show myself before I'm needed, then Usagi will never get any farther. She's already more powerful than her mother ever was. We have never tapped the full potential of the Ginzuishou, but Usagi has come closer than anyone. I'd like to see her go farther.�

�Do you think there's more coming?� Mina asked. Rei coughed.

�There's more,� Rei said. �I've been having dreams again. Dreams about giant bugs, with no eyes. They eat people.�

�Great,� Mina said. �That's all we need.�

�It's getting cold, too,� Aster said. �It's not a cold that anything can help. I just can't get warm, no matter what I do.�

�You'd be the most susceptible,� Mina said. �You and Rei. The two least susceptible would be Mercury and Pluto, and after them, Neptune and Uranus.�

�Yes,� Aster said. �Except that Neptune is the mystic of the outer system. She will be more affected because of her sensitivity.�

�I need to tell them,� Mina said. �Can I tell them about you?�

�About my existence,� Aster said. �Not who I am. If they didn't recognize me, then we should leave it at that. Remember, though, not a word to Usagi.�

�Hai,� both girls said in unison.

�I should get home,� Rei said, rising from the floor. She walked around the table and hugged Aster more warmly than she ever had.

�I trust you, Aster,� she said. �Let me know if there's anything I can do.�

�Say a prayer for me, Rei,� Aster whispered. �Pray that I won't have to face Kunzite in a fight. In spite of what I said, I don't know if I could do it.�

�You can do it, Warleader,� Rei whispered. �I know you can. You tried to kill him once, you can do it again.�

�I didn't want to live anymore,� Aster whispered. �I thought I was giving him a second chance.�

�You did,� Rei said. �You have a second chance to bring him back to our side.�

She let Aster go and headed to the door to put on her shoes.

�Believe in the power of love,� Mina said. She got up and hugged Aster as well. She watched Rei wave as she opened the door, and left to return to Hikawa Temple, a few blocks away.

�Now,� Mina said. �Would you like company for the night?�

�Are you trying to pick up where we left off, Venus?� Aster asked, smiling up at her friend.

�Why not?� Mina asked, leaning forward until her lips were almost brushing Aster's.

�My parents are in Osaka for two days,� Mina whispered, smiling. �They won't even know, and even if they did, they'd approve of me spending so much time with you. I mean, you're cultured, a member of a rich family, and accomplished.�

�Do you really think that they would approve of you spending the night in my bed?� Aster asked.

�Mother got me birth control in London,� Mina said. �She also gave me the talk about having close girlfriends would help me to satisfy adolescent urges without needing birth control.�

�That's not entirely true,� Aster said, slipping her arms around the other girl and pulling her into her lap. �If you were entirely heterosexual, then girls would only satisfy some of your curiosity, not your urges. At least your mother is being sensible. My stepfather just insisted on complete abstinence.�

�Except for him, you mean,� Mina said.

Aster looked at her, shocked.

�It's written all over you, Aster,� Mina said. �When we go out somewhere, even to the arcade. You know Motoki's harmless, but you always keep away from him, keep your eyes down, and the one time that he did touch you, you flinched. He didn't notice, but I did. Ami and I did some research, and we came to our own conclusions.�

�No one could ever fool you about such matters,� Aster said. �You are correct. Takara wanted to have us when he wanted, but he didn't want us to make that decision. He made us forget for the longest time. He stopped making me forget after my sister left home. He thought I wouldn't make any move to save myself. He was wrong. When he started gloating about the deaths of the Shitennou, I ran away.�

�You don't have to run anymore,� Mina said, snuggling into Aster's warmth. �He wouldn't dare try to stand up against all of us.�

�He might be mad enough to think he could do it,� Aster said. �I know he couldn't defeat us. I don't even think he has the power to defeat you, alone. The problem is, he is arrogant. We're only women.�

�I'll love and beauty shock him back to the Dark Kingdom,� Mina growled.

Aster smiled and tightened her arms around her seatmate. She looked up, past Mina, and smiled at Tori.

�Sailor Venus is determined to protect me from my stepfather,� Aster said.

�Venus was always protective of women,� Tori said. �She used to pick on the Kishi that were having a hard time with their relationships with Senshi.�

�I did not pick on them!� Mina protested. �I just knocked some sense into them, verbally.�

�I remember when Charon was avoiding Calypso, right after they bonded,� Tori said. �Calypso was already bonded to his sister satellite, Cerberus. He did not wish to come between them.�

�He were being stupid,� Mina said. �You, fortunately, were never stupid in that regard, Hermes. You never formed a lasting relationship, but you never turned away from a short term one, either.�

�No one could compare with my primaries,� Tori said. �My devotion was to them and my brother satellites alone.�

�Let's go finish cleaning up,� Aster said. �I never have to make dinner on cooking day, but sometimes Usagi misses something in cleanup.�

�Only when Makoto doesn't go in with her,� Mina said, climbing out of Aster's lap. �Makoto helped her with the cleanup today. There won't be anything to finish.�

�All the same,� Aster said, rising from her seat. �I want to double check, just in case.�

As predicted, the kitchen was spotless. Mina smirked in triumph.

�I told you so,� she said. �Now, what shall we do to pass the evening?�

�I think we can find something to do,� Aster said, sliding an arm around Mina's waist. �Come with me.�

She led Mina into her bathing room, and picked through the baskets of scented soaps until she found something that she thought suited Mina. She put the basket on a bench and turned to Mina with a smile on her full lips.

Anything she was going to say or do died in a wave of astonishment and sudden lust.

Mina had undressed herself and stood next to the ofuro gloriously and stunningly nude.

Cautiously, aware of how much had changed in ten thousand years, Aster crossed the room to stand right in front of Mina.

�You don't waste any time, do you?� she asked.

Mina smiled.

�Why should I?� she asked. �Have you ever known me to waste time where this is concerned?�

�No,� Aster said, closing the remaining space between them and cupping Mina's face in her hands. She lowered her lips to Mina's and plundered her mouth and thoroughly as she knew how. She kept it up until both of them were breathless and aching with desire.

�Maybe we should do the bath later,� Aster said, panting. She reached for a robe hanging on a nearby hook and wrapped it around Mina�s body. She then took her younger friend by the hand and led her out of the bathing room and down the hall to her own room, where Mina had never been before.

Unknown to Aster, there were other subjects the girls did discuss freely, including their sex lives. Mina was well aware that Aster had already seduced Makoto, Rei, Ami, and Usagi. Considering what she now knew about their gold-eyed friend, it was no wonder. Ami was Aster�s nearest neighbor, planet-wise, Makoto would have held the attraction of strength, Rei of a fellow hot head, and Usagi was just made to be loved, by all of them.

Mina took the initiative once they were inside by sliding the robe off of her shoulders and draping it across a clothes frame. She watched in open assessment as Aster removed her own clothing and put it over another clothes frame. Before Aster turned around, Mina had stretched out on the red-covered futon arms over her head and eyes closed. She kept them closed when she felt Aster lay down next to her and nudge her legs apart.

Her blue eyes opened in surprise a moment later when warm fingers, liberally coated with oil, slipped between her nether lips and began exploring the heated folds. She found herself gazing into golden orbs darkened by desire, and she closed her own again as the slight tingles of pleasure that she had been feeling became nearly electric currents of sensation.

She gasped and grabbed at the bed under her when the questing fingers found her clitoris and circled it gently. She felt her nipples tighten in response to the extra sensations, and she gasped again when warm, wet lips closed around one nipple. She could not stop the moan that escaped her lips as Aster began gently massaging her aching clitoris, and ran her talented tongue around her hardened nipple.

Mina had spent the night sharing a bed with Usagi, Ami, and Rei. Their clumsy explorations had been just that: exploration.

This was completely different. Aster knew what she wanted to do, and knew what would bring Mina the most pleasure.

After suckling on one breast for a while, Aster shifted until she was hovering over Mina before she began suckling on the other. She paused briefly in her ministrations to Mina�s clitoris, but she did not stop. She kept the pace steady, but slow. She was building the sensations slowly, but to a higher peak.

After timeless interval, Aster started kissing and licking her way down Mina�s torso. She paused to stab her tongue into the other blonde�s navel, pumping into it in such a suggestive fashion that it only aroused Mina further. After a few moments of that, though, Aster moved lower.

She settled between Mina's legs, her arms firmly but gently wrapped around her lover's thighs, and began burrowing her tongue where her fingers had just been. She explored every fold and contour of Mina's secret places with her tongue, learning her way around thoroughly before delving far enough in to reach the core of her pleasure, hard and pulsing.

She licked and nibbled at that hard nodule of flesh, feeling and hearing Mina's responses. She gently reached up and slipped one finger, then another, into the slick passage below her chin, stopping when she reached an unbreached barrier. She rubbed softly, feeling the passage contract around her fingers as she continued to feast.

Finally, Aster sensed that Mina had reached the limits of her senses and was ready to explode. She rubbed more firmly inside of her, and closed her lips around the hardened, pulsing nodule at the same time, then began humming softly.

With a soft cry that quickly spiraled into a scream, Mina stiffened and surged up against Aster, then collapsed in a limp heap on the bed. Aster moved up a bit, then laid her head on Mina's belly, listening to her friend's heart and breathing return to their normal rhythm. She climbed up further until her head was on the pillow, and gathered Mina into her arms. She let out a sigh of tired contentment, and closed her eyes.

***** *****

When Washino came into the bedroom at 2AM to guard Aster and to make certain she would not be trapped in a nightmare, he paused at the sight that met his eyes.

Aster lay on her side, her long hair fanned out on the bed behind her. Her face had lost some of the pinched look it had possessed after the encounter with Kunzite less than a day before. Wrapped in her arms and tucked under her chin lay Mina, sound asleep with a small smile on her face. One of Mina�s hands was tucked under her head, and the other was lightly cupping Aster�s hip.

Without a word, Washino lay down behind Aster, atop the covers that the two women were sharing. He drew another blanket over himself against the winter chill. He hoped that now, with one General connected to her and the other within reach, Aster would finally realize how desperately all of them needed her, despite Sailor Pluto�s words in the center garden.

TBC
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Diamohns are Forever