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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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Tokyo, Juban District

3 weeks later, 1:30 am

Aster was awakened from a sound sleep by the unmistakable feeling of Dark Energies activating somewhere in Tokyo. She got up immediately and summoned her clothing in the dark. She knew that she should use her Dark powers as little as possible, but this felt like an emergency.

Washino entered her room already prepared, empowered as Charon and looking like a living shadow with red eyes.

When she was ready, she nodded to Washino and felt herself enveloped in his darkness.

She stepped out of the shadows onto the roof of a building. In an alley below, a Youma was tearing into a woman Aster did not know with messy enthusiasm. Nearby, Ami was immobilized against a wall, and a man had his hands on her. His intentions were very clear.

Aster�s blood ran cold. The man molesting Ami was her stepfather, Chiba Takara. She would never forget his face or anything else about him, including the foulness of his touch.

Aster stepped forward to drop down on him when Washino�s hand on her arm stopped her. Not far away, she could hear the siren of a police car.

�He will not risk discovery,� Washino said. �Mercury will call you. You must be at home to receive that call.�

�I hate it when you�re right,� Aster grumbled. She pooled together a small amount of energy, whispered to it, and dropped it to gently land on Ami�s head, planting the suggestion that Ami should call Aster as soon as possible, or have someone official call her.

***** *****

Back at the house, Aster paced in the living room, a sturdy mug of tea clenched in her hands.

When the phone finally rang, she jumped, startled. She composed herself and finally lifted the instrument from its cradle.

�Moshi, moshi,� she said, wondering whether it would be Ami, the police, or the hospital.

�Fushida Aster,� a man�s voice said. �I am Dr. Arakaki. I work at Tokyo General Hospital. A friend of yours has asked you to come down to the hospital to be with her.�

�A friend,� Aster said, sitting down. �Which friend?�

�Mizuno Ami,� he replied. �Her mother was murdered in front of her tonight, and she is understandably upset. When we asked her if we could call someone, she requested you.�

�I�ll be right there,� Aster said, rising back to her feet. With a start, she saw that it was just past four in the morning.

�Tell Ami I�ll be right there,� she said.

She hung up without another word and nodded to Washino.

***** *****

Ami sat completely still in the Emergency Treatment Room. Tears flowed in an unending stream down her face. She was still wearing the clothing that she had met her mother in earlier. Of course, it was soaked in blood, now.

The police had accepted her story of a lone monster that disappeared in a puff of smoke. It was almost the truth. She couldn�t tell them that a man had dragged the two of them into an alley, pinned her against the wall with a spell, called her Sailor Mercury, and then pushed her mother at a monster with huge claws and teeth.

The most horrifying part of the whole episode was that the man had started fondling her while the monster was murdering her mother. He had squeezed her breasts and thighs and was reaching under her skirt when he heard the approaching police sirens. He and his youma had disappeared into thin air, leaving Ami covered in blood next to the mangled remains of her mother.

The approach of hurried footsteps made her look up and she felt a wave of relief wash over her when Aster rushed into the room. Without appearing to think about ruining her own clothing, Aster threw her arms around Ami, enveloping the younger girl in a feeling of warmth and protection.

Without understanding why, Ami felt as though a dam had burst inside her. She kept crying, but now she sobbed, harsh sounds of grief erupting from her until she felt as though she was being torn apart, as her mother had been earlier.

Aster held her, stroked her matted and bloody hair, and rocked her until her sobs became hiccups, and then soothed her until her hiccups became sniffles. All the while, Washino stood at the doorway, ready to keep out any passersby.

When the emotional storm had passed, Aster finally stepped back a little and looked Ami up and down.

�You�re a mess, Ami-chan,� she said unnecessarily. �I grabbed the change of clothes you left at my place the last time you spent the night. It looked complete. Let�s find a place for you to get cleaned up, and then we�ll get you into some clean clothes.�

Ami nodded, in too much pain between her sore throat and her swollen eyes to argue, or even to comment. She slipped off of the examination table as Aster went to the doorway to flag down a passing nurse.

A quick conversation and a short walk later, Aster guided Ami into the nurses� locker room. A large walk-in shower covered the far end of the room. Nurse Sasaki, who Ami remembered her mother working with frequently, was there to help her undress and get under the hot spray of water.

Ami vaguely heard Aster and the nurse talking while she soaped and rinsed repeatedly. At some point she had the vague idea that Dr. Arakari stopped in, and she was certain that she heard a police radio at another point. She kept washing and rinsing herself, unaware that her skin was completely clean, until Aster�s strong hands grabbed her wrists, causing her to drop the soap.

�Ami-chan,� Aster said. �Come out, now. There�s no more blood on you.�

�I still feel it,� Ami objected. �Are you sure?�

�Look at what you�ve done to yourself,� Aster said. �You�re hurting yourself.�

Ami looked down dazedly, and then stared in shock at her raw and reddened breasts. The skin of her thighs wasn�t in much better shape. The logical part of her mind realized that she was trying to wash the touch of that man off of her, even though there was no physical soil to remove.

�I think I need some help,� she said, looking up at Aster. �Can you help me?�

�If I can�t, Ami-chan,� Aster said, pulling her friend away from the shower and wrapping a towel around her. �I will find someone who can.�

Ami dazedly helped dry herself off, and helped dress herself. She meekly let Aster take her hand and lead her out of the hospital and to the parking area where Aster�s Rolls Royce waited. She followed Aster into the back seat, and laid down with her head in Aster�s lap.

�Home, Kage,� Aster said. �I know the doctor gave us pills for her, but I think that a bit of a drunk and a lot of sympathetic company will do her more good, right now.�

�You would know best,� Washino responded. He closed the door and then got into the driver�s seat and drove the two women home.

When they arrived at the house, Aster brought Ami inside and sat her down on the couch in the living room. She retrieved a cask of sake from the freezer, encased in its own block of ice, a flask in a dish of ice, and two chilled bowls.

�Normally I would not recommend this,� Aster said, pouring sake into a flask for serving. �But you�ve had a big shock, and you need something to numb you for a while.�

Ami nodded meekly. She was not really paying attention to what Aster was doing or saying, but she knew that Aster would never do anything to harm her. She trustingly picked up a sake bowl when Aster did, and she watched while Washino came over to pour for both of them. She saw Aster drink the entire bowl in one swallow, so she copied her.

The line of raw fire that the sake drew down her throat made her cough and choke. Washino was ready with a towel, and then a glass of water, which Ami gulped until the fire died down a bit.

When she could breathe clearly again, Ami realized that the warmth of the sake inside her seemed to be making the horrors of a few hours ago a bit more distant. She looked down at the sake bowl she had dropped on the table. She carefully picked it up, and then held it properly for drinking.

Responding to her unspoken request, Washino picked up the flask from its icy bed and filled her bowl.

Ami drank this bowl of sake expecting the burning, which gave her the concentration to swallow and then reach for the water again. She repeated the process, ignoring whether Aster was drinking, until she began seeing double.

�I think I should stop, Aster-chan� she slurred. �There�s three of you.�

�I think you should stop, too, Ami-chan,� Aster said. �You need to lay down for a bit, and the rest of the gang will be by later. I�ll call them while you rest.�

�Okay,� Ami said. She laid down on the couch where she was and curled up to sleep, blissfully numb for the moment.

***** *****

Ami woke gradually to the smells of cooking and samisen music played at a low volume. Sounds of cooking reached her ears, and for a moment, she thought that everything had been a horrible dream.

When she opened her eyes, she knew with a deep sense, that it had not been a dream. She was lying on the couch in Aster�s living room, covered with a quilt. Her head hurt. Her head was pillowed in someone�s lap, and the cooking noises she heard had to be from Aster�s activity. Someone was stroking her hair softly, comfortingly, and she felt safe.

�I know you�re awake,� the soft voice of Aster�s other bodyguard, Tori, did not bring a sense of peril with it that she almost expected. Instead, she relaxed more, knowing that he was there.

�The rest of the girls will be here in an hour,� he told her. �You should get up and change clothes. I think you spilled some of the sake.�

�I don�t have any clothes here,� Ami said.

�You do now,� Tori told her. �Let me help you.�

Ami sat up, carefully folded the quilt, and then stood up. Suddenly, her stomach lurched.

She turned panicked eyes to Tori, who took her by the elbow and quickly led her to the closest bathroom. He stayed with her while she retched into the toilet, and handed her a damp cloth to clean her face.

�It�s all right,� he told her. �Aster expected you to get sick. She thought that the numbness would be worth the sick, and she said you needed to get it out of your system.�

�That man,� Ami said, and then her stomach heaved again.

�I know,� Tori said. �Aster says it was her stepfather, Takara.�

�How did she know?� Ami asked.

�She said she�ll tell you while you eat something, after you get cleaned up,� he told her. �She said it was time to explain everything.�

�Okay,� Ami said. She pulled herself up to the sink, pulled down a cup with her name on it, and rinsed her mouth out. She still tasted the sake and the sick, so she decided to brush her teeth. She had kept a toothbrush at Aster�s since the first time she had stayed over, sensing that it would not be the only time. All six of them, including ChibiUsa, had items there for overnight stays.

When Ami was finished, Tori brought her to the dining area, where Aster put a small dish of kayu in front of her as she sat down.

�I didn�t think you�d want something heavy,� Aster said. �The girls know the basics of what happened, and they�re coming over for a sleepover. They have permission to stay as long as you need them.�

�Tori said that I have clothes here,� Ami said. �I don�t understand.�

�I spoke to the police, and to Children�s Services,� Aster said, sitting down next to her. �They were concerned about you, because they can�t reach your father, wherever he is, and they weren�t anxious to give him custody of you, anyway. I told them that I was more than willing to take responsibility for you until you finish school. I pointed out that I live essentially alone in a large house, I have two bodyguards, a state-of-the-art security system, and I live near Hikawa Temple. They felt that all of these factors would discourage either a supernatural threat, or a human one. They gave me legal responsibility for you until you are an adult. I left Tori with you, and Washino and I went to your apartment and got a few things while you were asleep. We�ll deal with the rest of it in a few days.�

�It�s a good thing you know about Sailor Mercury,� Ami said, smiling weakly. �I can�t imagine having to explain running out in the middle of the night to a foster mother.�

�Eat,� Aster said. �You have nothing in your stomach, and you insulted it with alcohol. I wouldn�t have done that, normally, but I thought you needed it. It really didn�t take much to get you drunk. It looked like it was your first time.�

�Yes,� Ami said. �Mother never told me not to drink, but she never spoke well of those who did.�

�Sometimes it�s the only thing that helps,� Aster said. �Unfortunately, it�s a short-term solution. I just wanted you to get some rest, and a little numbness.�

�I do feel better,� Ami said. She obediently started eating the kayu. The bland food did seem to settle her stomach a bit, and it was possible that some of her nausea was from hunger.

She stopped eating when the dish was empty, and then looked at Aster sadly. Aster stood up, pulled Ami out of her chair, and led her to the couch again.

Aster pulled Ami down onto the couch with her, adjusting the younger girl until she was leaning with her head pillowed on Aster�s shoulder.

�There�s a few things I need to tell you, Ami,� she said softly. �I need to say these things before the girls get here. You must not tell Usagi, no matter what. When the time is right, I will tell Usagi myself.�

�I trust you, Aster,� Ami said. �You always seem to know what to say and do.�

�It�s my job, Mercury,� Aster said, allowing some of Sailor Sol�s authority to creep into her voice. �What good is it being Warleader if you don�t know what to do?�

Ami stiffened for a few moments, and then a hazy memory stirred in her mind. A memory of a woman who looked like Aster, who was always ready to listen to a problem, join in a game, or spend an afternoon doing nothing but talk about whatever came to mind.

�Sailor Sol,� the words came to her lips without conscious thought. �I forgot about you until now. I wonder why that is.�

�You forgot about the Outer Senshi until you encountered them,� Aster pointed out. �I think that some memories just need to be jogged.�

�Why don�t you want Usagi to know?� Ami asked.

�I want her to keep pushing herself,� Aster explained. �She�s more powerful than any holder of the Ginzuishou so far. I want to see how far she goes.�

�If she knew who you were, you don�t think she�d get farther?� Ami queried, twisting her head around so she would see Aster�s face.

�No, I don�t,� Aster said reflectively. �Usagi has so much self-doubt, I�m sometimes surprised that she is this far. If things get bad, I will reveal myself, of course, but I�d like to wait a bit.�

�I won�t tell her,� Ami promised. �I never told her about Zoisite.�

�I understand,� Aster said, hugging Ami. �I hope that Rei is right, and I can bring them around. I don�t know what will happen if I have to fight them.�

�We never saw them in the future,� Ami said sadly. �I miss Janus. I never told anyone, but I always thought that I�d be better with him.�

�You would,� Aster reassured her. �Just because you never saw them when you went to the future doesn�t mean they weren�t there. Things were in a state of turmoil, right? Maybe they were leading the militia, or keeping citizens calm.�

�Maybe they died in the fighting,� Ami said. �I know that I didn�t see them. Sailor Pluto never mentioned them, either.�

�Did you ask her about them?� Aster asked. �She doesn�t usually volunteer information.�

�That�s true,� Ami admitted. �Maybe it�s just that.�

Anything more was left unsaid as the footgate squealed, heralding the arrival of the other girls. Before Aster and Ami could completely get up, there was a flurry of knocks on the door, and it opened to reveal Usagi and ChibiUsa, followed by the rest of the Inner Senshi. They paused only to drop their shoes at the door before coming in on stocking feet. Ami let them pull her away from Aster and wrap her in a group hug, secure that nothing further could happen to her.

Aster got up to close the door, and saw Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru coming up the walk.

�Ohayo,� she said. �Ogenki-desu-ka? Please come in.�

�Arigato,� Haruka said, reaching the door a bit ahead of her partner and foster daughter. �We�ve been all right. How is Ami?�

�Better than I expected,� Aster said. �How would you be if you watched a youma murder your mother while its master tried to molest you?�

�Nani?� Haruka looked at Aster as though she had lost her mind.

�We need to talk, alone,� Aster said. �We can leave Michiru in charge of the children, and go into the solarium.�

�Lead the way,� Haruka agreed. She nodded her head in the direction of the living room where the girls were, dropped her own shoes, and followed Aster to the back of the house.

Except for some of the furniture and the western-style second stove in the kitchen, Aster�s house was almost entirely traditional. The other exception was at the rear of the house.

Behind Aster�s house was a large swimming pool, covered in a solarium that was attached to the house. Haruka was glad that her eyes adjusted quickly.

Aster walked into the bright sunshine without any sign of discomfort whatsoever. She stopped once she was in full sunlight and let her head fall back, almost like Michiru when she got under a waterfall.

�I thought it was you, Warleader,� Haruka said after a moment. �You had me going for a minute, when you didn�t look like you remembered me.�

�How could I not remember you, Odorikazu?� Aster asked, looking over her shoulder. �I thought perhaps that your memories were as faulty as the Inner Senshi. Of the three that know about me, none of them have remembered until I mentioned it. It�s as if the action of the Ginzuishou blocked off their memories until they�re reminded.�

�What did you need to talk to me about?� Haruka asked. She watched with more than a little desire as Aster gracefully walked over to a rattan couch and sat down.

�What happened to Ami�s mother was no accident,� she said. �I know the man who did it, and if he�s discovered who the girls are, they�re in danger.�

�What can we do about it?�

�Increase our vigilance,� Aster said. �Try and make certain that they�re never alone. I know it�s hard, since they all live in different places. For right now, they have permission to stay here for as long as necessary, provided they don�t neglect school. I�m thinking of asking Mako-chan to move in. I don�t like that she lives alone.�

Haruka walked over to Aster and sat down on the couch next to her.

�You can�t protect them forever, Sun-face,� she said. �They�re stronger than you think.�

�I know how strong they are,� Aster said. �Takara knows how to exploit the one fear common to most women, though. I think he even might be able to frighten you.�

�You seem to know quite a bit about him,� Haruka observed. �Do you mind telling me what you know, and how you know it?�

�No,� Aster said, her golden eyes darkening with pain before she looked away. �I have to tell you. I haven�t even told them all of it. They don�t need to know what horrors some men are capable of.�

�Like what?� Haruka asked, leaning closer. There was something different about Sailor Sol this time. It was almost as if she had been broken and not completely mended. There was an underlying fragility to her, even though she seemed to be as strong as ever.

�His name is Chiba Takara,� Aster said. �He raised me, and my adopted sister. He is a high-ranking servant of Queen Beryl. He is less powered than the Shitennou, but powerful enough for his own purposes. He seems to exist to serve Beryl, because she gave him his power, and to satisfy his appetites.�

�What did he do to you?� Haruka asked. She reached forward and put a supportive hand on the other woman�s shoulder.

�I was seven when he raped me the first time,� Aster said. �He used his powers to fix everything, so there was no evidence, and no permanent damage. He made me forget, so I couldn�t tell. You see, Kunzite found out right after he started, and told him that if he ever touched me like that again, they�d see if the Black Queen still felt like making him immortal.�

�When was the next time?� Haruka asked softly. She reached out and drew Aster closer to her, so she could wrap her arms around her warmth.

�Almost every night, until I ran away,�

Haruka stiffened, tightening her arms around the other girl. She could feel a cold knot of anger building inside her. Someone brutalizing Aster like that was like someone brutalizing Usagi. She was going to kill him, as slowly as possible.

�It wasn�t your fault,� Haruka said quietly. �You didn�t do anything to make him do that.�

�I know that, Wind Dancer,� Aster said. �I never blamed myself for his depravities. It was just that I can barely endure the presence of a man now, let alone the touch of one. When we meet the Kishi, they�re going to expect me to be the way I was. I don�t know if I can do that. I�m not afraid of Kunzite, but I don�t know what will happen when I meet another Kishi, one that is less oni and more human. I don�t know what will happen between Saturn and I, or between Pluto and I.�

�Kunzite isn�t really oni,� Haruka said. �You know that. You�re not afraid of him because you know he can�t hurt you.�

�Any more than I can hurt him,� Aster agreed. �I told the girls that I�d fight him and help them, but I don�t know that I can. I can�t hurt him.�

�So I�ll hurt him,� Haruka promised. �You hurt the others. You leave your stepfather for me, though.�

�You, and Venus, and Charon, and Hermes,� Aster listed. �It�s fine, as long as he doesn�t get near Usagi.�

�I promise you,� Haruka said. �I�ll make sure he doesn�t get near Moon-face. As for Pluto and Saturn, wait and see what happens. Setsuna told Michi and I that we shouldn�t expect to see our counterparts ever again. She said they�re not in Crystal Tokyo.�

�Neither am I,� Aster said. �She went out of her way to tell me that, the night I had confirmation that Kunzite was still alive. It was the night before I met you.�

�Why tell me something so unrealistic?� Haruka asked, looking down at the young woman in her arms.

�It is realistic,� Aster said, her voice choked by tears. �Terra and I sacrificed ourselves for Serenity�s safety and future before. It is completely probable that we would do it again. We took most of the Kishi with us then, and we could do so now. Don�t get attached to me this time, Uranus. You and Neptune have each other, and this time I�m going to make sure that you live to enjoy it. Maybe the reason that I had the upbringing I did was so that I wouldn�t feel bad about dying. Maybe I die because of what Takara did. I don�t know.� She pulled away from Haruka and walked a few steps away.

�Not a word to the others, Uranus,� Aster said. She looked over her shoulder at her general, her golden eyes cold as ice. �When the time comes, you tell them that I don�t regret a thing. Give them this quote, from a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson: �Glad did I live, and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will.��

�No regrets?� Haruka asked, astonished. She had once resigned herself to dying, when she realized that she carried one of the talismans that she and her partner were searching for. Besides, at that time she thought that Neptune was dead, and she had nothing else to live for. She realized, now, how Sailor Moon had felt, watching her treat death as a forgone conclusion. Aster had something to live for, though. She and Michiru were more than willing to welcome her into their lives, and the girls already had.

�Only one,� Aster said, smiling sadly. �None if I find my adopted sister before it happens. I just have a few things to tell her, and Mamoru. If I can accomplish that, then I will have no regrets. If I can take Takara, and maybe Beryl, with me, then I will indeed gladly die to eliminate them.�

�I refuse to accept that,� Haruka said. �The Inners didn�t see Neptune, Saturn, and I when they went to the past. Pluto never mentioned us to them, either. Maybe she�s just mistaken, or maybe some things can change.�

�She went out of her way to mention the Kishi to you,� Aster pointed out. �No, I keep my distance until she changes her tune.�

�It�s a little late for that,� Haruka said. �Moon-face told me about her sleepovers with you. You�ve already let them too far in.�

�You�ll be there to take care of them,� Aster insisted. Her voice broke, and then she continued. �Other than during a battle, this is the only order I will give you, Uranus. Keep them safe, and help them heal after I die.�

TBC

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Kage � shadow � Aster�s nickname for her bodyguard, since he is like her shadow at times.

kayu � rice gruel

ogenki-desu-ka � (loosely) how are you doing

oni � spirit or demon (demons were not necessarily malevolent)
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Diamohns are Forever