Uranus clutched the weeping Michiru fiercely to her breast, being careful not to jostle her fragile love as she ran. Jupiter, carrying Saturn, and Mercury, huffing all the way, were not far behind. Mars and Venus were farther back, helping Pluto along, she assumed. They had saved Michiru, right? Surely now Usagi could be saved . . . surely they would win. The bad guys would lose. The good guys would win. By some strange twist of fate, the waiting room and halls were pitifully empty in the wing where Usagi had been sent to die. The senshi scrambled through the halls, desperately trying to get to their Princess before it was too late. When Uranus reached her room, she screeched to a halt, sliding through on the slick tile. Michiru weakly lifted her head, her blue eyes wide and trembling as they both stared helplessly. Usagi was sitting up and had detached most of the machines from herself, beaming as she ran blood-soaked hands through a still Mamoru's hair and tears ran down her cheeks. And now it crossed Uranus's mind that this time the good guys *hadn't* won- Because this time she wasn't sure if there had ever been one at all. Requiem for a Soldier Part VII: Libera Me Author: Ai-ko E-mail: tennyo@attbi.com Disclaimer: Sailormoon does not belong to me. *Two weeks later . . .* "How old were you here?" "This was my tenth birthday. She baked the cake for me," Michiru said softly, screwing up her face. "It tasted awful. She always was a terrible cook." Usagi laughed, a sound like tinkling bells. Michiru, in response, smiled at the sound they had all once feared would never be heard again. "You look like her," Usagi commented, stroking Michiru's image. Kaioh Emi reminded Usagi of a mermaid, with dishwater-blonde hair, an elfin face, and seaweed-green eyes. She looked like an artist: sensitive and delicate. And while Michiru did resemble Emi, Michiru was a soldier first and foremost. The cool, quiet strength that Michiru always carried with her was sorely lacking in Emi, even a two- dimensional one; she was a strangely frail woman. "I know she looks weak," Michiru murmured, reading Usagi's mind, "but she wasn't. She was the second-strongest woman I've ever known." Haruka would always be first and foremost in that arena, Michiru reflected. But even the strong could fall, Usagi recalled darkly. She changed the subject. "She was a musician?" "A cellist," Michiru replied. "She was so amazing . . . I was so worried I'd end up in her shadow that I decided to pursue the violin. But she loved to compose more than anything." The aqua-haired woman sighed, looking wan. "She was proud of those notes, sparse as they were. That reminds me," she said suddenly. Digging in her purse, she pulled out the Star Locket. "I may have, ah, tinkered," she admitted. "But not as you might think." Usagi stared at her. "Why do you have this? Haruka-san gave it back to me." "I wanted to listen to it one last time," Michiru admitted. "Otherwise it would've bothered me for forever. I'm still going to write that Requiem, you know." "With your mother's music?" Usagi asked softly. "No," Michiru replied. "Entirely my own. Whatever else needs exorcising, her music must be laid to rest." "I see," Usagi said carefully. "How did she die?" Michiru gazed beyond Usagi. "That, Usagi-chan, is a story for another day." Usagi was silent as Michiru flipped through three more the pages of the photo album, watching Michiru more carefully than the pictures. "I can only hope," Michiru said quietly, "that someday these pictures will cease to hurt me. Then I'll tell you everything." "Is that so?" Haruka had clearly been standing there for a while. She finally approached and glanced over the page. "I didn't know you had these," she said, deliberately keeping her tone flat. Michiru had the grace to blush. "I couldn't throw these out," she whispered, looking straight at her lover. "She's a part of me, aisuru, and these and her music are all I have left of her. It'd be like tearing off my right arm." Haruka silently pulled out her wallet and opened it. Quivering hands fumbled within, eventually plucking out a small stack of photos. "You're not the only one who couldn't forget the skeletons in her closet." She tossed the photos onto Usagi's lap. "I'm going to get a drink." Michiru took up her photos and followed Haruka. Usagi stared, watching them go. Haruka and Michiru couldn't quite bridge the emotional gap they had deliberately created unless they broke down and accepted that the past, painful as it may be, must be laid to rest. But their problems only took up a small part of Usagi's consciousness. Today was the day she would be released from the hospital. The doctors had been so stunned by her miraculous recovery that, despite her perfect health, they'd insisted on keeping her longer for observation. Mamoru had been released the week before. Poor love, he had already been admitted for severe exhaustion and several injuries he'd sustained during the battle with the Wraith; the doctors soon discovered he had also overdosed on painkillers before coming to see her. How had he survived it all? It was lucky she'd gotten back enough strength to kill that bitch herself. Usagi grinned, reveling in the memory. The Wraith could do what it wished to her, but hurting Mamoru was a whole other story. "Usagi-chan?" Minako peeked in. "How're you feeling?" "Too well to be in a lousy hospital bed," Usagi replied sharply. "My parents are still filling out paperwork." "Everyone's in the waiting room," Minako commented. "We have a surprise for you." The giant feast set out at Usagi's house would certainly satisfy the little odango, who had been complaining about the atrocious hospital food. Makoto's smuggled goodies had barely sustained Usagi. "Never mind me," Usagi said, "how are you doing? I heard from Mako- chan you had another date with Nishikawa-san." "Nishikawa-san?" Minako squirmed in her chair. "I . . . cancelled that." Usagi raised an eyebrow. "Why did you do that? Mako-chan said you were really excited about him." "I just . . . " Minako fiddled with her fingers. "I just didn't think getting into a relationship would be worth it." "Is this about me?" Usagi blurted out. "I want you to be happy, Mina- chan. You should go out with him." "It's not that," Minako said lamely. "I . . . I'm the leader of the Inner Senshi, Usagi-chan. I can't compromise that by mooning over boys any longer." Haruka popped her head in. "What're you two doing in here?" "Discussing the weather," Minako said coolly. "How are you doing, Haruka?" She saw Haruka's eyes narrow. "Quite well," she answered innocuously enough. "And yourself?" "Recovering." "That's good to know." Haruka nodded curtly and stepped away. Usagi glanced between the empty doorway and Minako. "What was that about?" she asked suspiciously. "Nothing," Minako sighed, "nothing at all." Minako suddenly saw Rei in the doorway, beckoning her. She exited without even saying goodbye to Usagi. "You didn't tell me you'd broken off your date," Rei remarked sharply, staring at Minako. The blonde stared at her as if she'd just grown a second head. "What Are you yammering about?" she scowled. "It wasn't meant to be." "He made you happy, Minako." Her face dropped. "It wasn't worth it," she murmured, hanging her head. "Not after seeing all that. Someone died, Rei-chan. It's my duty to protect Hime-sama." Rei stared at her in shock and disbelief. "When did you become so cynical, Mina-chan?" Minako shook her head at the question. "If it means someday I might have to choose between my Princess and my Love, Rei-chan, well, then I don't know if I have the strength to do what I'd have to do. We're soldiers, Rei-chan. We can't let ourselves fall--" "Excuse me?" The small, wide-eyed girl who had interrupted looked hopefully up at them from the doorway, her eyes shining. Rei's eyes narrowed. "May I help you?" she asked icily, staring at the woman. "I'm looking for Tsukino Usagi-san's room," the girl said quietly, the temporary burst of fire in her eyes rapidly fading. Minako and Rei exchanged glances. "What for?" "Well . . . " the girl's eyes settled down on her shoes. "She has something that was once very precious to me." A solitary tear rolled down the girl's cheek. "Is something the matter?" On a rational level, Rei and Minako sympathized with the aura of pain they sensed around the woman. But the past few weeks had hardened their hearts; and now they were wary of lovers. This was a woman haunted by a ghost, Rei realized. She let out a tiny sob. "He-he saved me. He said he loved me. That's why--that's why he . . . he . . . " "He what?" "He-he p-p-pushed me out of the way of the car," she explained miserably through sobs. "But he . . . my poor Taro . . . " He died. Suddenly Minako understood what had happened. "Was he an organ donor?" She nodded. "They told me . . . the girl who got his heart . . . her name was Tsukino Usagi . . . I wanted to meet her. Is she still here?" "Iie," Rei cut in suddenly. "She's not here any longer." Minako raised an eyebrow at Rei, but the priestess shook her raven head. "I'm sorry, but she's long gone." "Oh," the girl replied, her eyes dim through the watery stream. "I hope she's happy . . . she . . . she got a heart full of love. Maybe she'll find someone . . . and have someone special like Taro was to me." "Unfortunately," Rei replied grimly, "she does." * * * * * * * * * "Koibito-chan?" Michiru looked up at Haruka, still sorting through the photos. "What do you want, Haruka-chan?" Haruka sighed. "I want you, but that might not happen." "It might." Michiru looked at one of the pictures, one of Haruka working under a car. She looked up. "Otou-san wanted a boy," Haruka recalled softly, "but he told me that once I was born he wouldn't have traded me for a million boys." "That's nice," Michiru murmured. "Isn't it nice to have someone who will love you no matter what?" "It really is," Haruka agreed softly. "And I wanted to be just like him, he was so strong . . . 'Kaa-san thought it was disgraceful, playing with cars and dressing like a boy, but he always told me that the rest of the world's opinions won't matter if you aren't happy with yourself." She took a deep breath. "Unconditional love is precious . . . so when the one offering it slips away from you, you have to remind yourself that's what it is: unconditional. Not even death can make it go away." "I never thought of it that way," Michiru said quietly, staring at the image of her mother. "I just wish it didn't hurt so much. We never should've tried to shut the past out like that, Haruka-chan." "No," Haruka corrected her gently. "What's past is past; nothing can change that. What we did was worse. We shut away parts of ourselves. These memories . . . these people . . . they made us who we are, and the more I think about it, the less terrible that seems." Haruka knelt down next to Michiru. "I love you," she said simply. "I love you too," Michiru replied honestly, smiling wistfully at Haruka. They stopped for a moment, each staring at the other. "So what do we do now?" the tall, slim woman asked hoarsely, her fatigue apparent. "We start over," Michiru murmured, suddenly hugging Haruka to her breast. "No more locked doors. No more untreated wounds. But pain, and sadness, and a lot of demons to tame." "Then why do we even bother?" Haruka whispered into Michiru's chest. "Because love is worth any price." * * * * * * * * Her family and six senshi were in the waiting room, happy and excited. Usagi was grinning like an idiot, looking expectantly at the door. "Happy to be leaving?" Minako poked her, smiling. She beamed. "Today Mamo-chan will come for me," she explained, deliberately ignoring the way her father began clenching his fists. Rei looked a bit surprised. "He hasn't visited you in the past week, you know," she commented, trying to make sure Usagi didn't expect too much. "It doesn't matter. He and I needed some time to sort out our thoughts," she explained matter-of-factly. "Besides, he's on some pretty heavy medications," she added, shrugging laconically. Usagi verily skipped out, much to the doctor's chagrin. He was busily giving last-minute instructions to her parents. "What's with her?" Makoto whispered as Minako rejoined the three Inners. "She thinks Mamoru-san is coming," Minako explained sadly. "I really hope she isn't expecting too much." All three senshi looked a bit paler. "I suppose we should put off telling her about Setsuna-san then," Ami said, sighing. "We really need to tell the three of them." To everyone's surprise, Makoto shook her head firmly. "They believed Hotaru-chan when she told them Setsuna-san went back to the Timegate," Makoto pointed out. "They don't have to know." Ami stilled. "Are you suggesting--" "I'm not suggesting," Makoto cut in, "I'm flat-out saying. Let them be happy. They paid for it in blood." "Yeah--someone else's!" Minako exclaimed in disgust. "Their actions were disgustingly selfish! They SHOULD have to suffer the guilt of knowing her death was THEIR--" Rei put finger to Minako's lips. "Makoto's right," Rei replied. "We won't tell them, and if you do," she threatened, "you'll regret it." She pulled her finger away and Minako nodded wordlessly, then took off to talk to Usagi. Makoto escorted her, making certain Minako would keep her silent promise. Ami cocked her head towards Rei. "Explain why we're planning on deceiving Usagi-tachi," she ordered sharply, staring over where Minako and Makoto chatted with Haruka and Michiru. "Because apparently I'm a bloody optimist," Rei scowled. "Because after everything that's happened, I still believe that love is the most important emotion any of us can feel." "I don't understand," Ami replied. "Mina-chan's grown a bit cynical," Rei explained. "She thought love was this perfect, wonderful thing, right? Now she knows it's not that simple, but she's ignoring that made her think love was special in the first place. I want Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san and Haruka-san and Michiru-san to experience the joy of love before we spring the truth on them. Why ruin the thing they fought so hard for?" Rei and Ami stopped when they felt a presence suddenly enter the room. The entire room turned towards the door. It could only be one person who had just walked through those doors. The room was thick with tension as they surveyed the cold, stormy-eyed form of Chiba Mamoru. The intensity of his expression frightened even Usagi's father. His face was still slightly bruised and battered from the battle, and his left arm was in a sling. Despite the weariness that clung to him like a wet garment, he was oddly energized, ready for anything. Ready to challenge anyone who got in the way of Usagi and him. And ready to unleash the careless cruelty he had proven himself capable of, something that set the entire room on edge. But Usagi was not at all afraid, as she had once been. Instead, she smiled brightly and threw herself in his arms. He softened immediately, bringing his lips down on hers. Their kiss was so powerful, the temperature of the room rose five degrees. Rei thought she saw a faint red light around the couple. All good things must come to an end. When the couple came up for air they realized people were watching. Usagi looked at the crowd. She looked at Mamoru. She looked at the crowd again. "Oh, to hell with it," she said as she dragged him after her. * * * * * * * * Hotaru hadn't come out of her room since the night she fought the Wraith except to go to the bathroom, which adjoined it at any rate. Her father was genuinely concerned for her mental welfare, and tried every method he could think of to get her out of her room, but she screamed and fled back into the safety of her little haven every time. Sometimes, late at night, he heard her talking to someone, but to whom he had no idea. One night, he found her with a shaving razor, staring at her wrists, and while she hadn't done anything to herself with it, the good doctor knew his daughter was fading away. The little senshi of death crawled under her covers and clutched her pillow. "I saw such terrible things in my mind, Setsuna-mama," she said aloud. "Such horrible things. I'm so scared. "But do you know what's worst of all, Setsuna-mama? When I see them, so happy, even after they killed you and that poor, pathetic woman. I'm afraid. Love is dangerous. We never should have toyed with that, tried to test Mamoru-san by resurrecting that ghost. Because we got our answer. Now you're dead for it." She struggled under the covers. "One day, one day Setsuna-mama, I'll avenge you. I'll make a world just for you, Setsuna-mama, where no one's love will hurt you. I PROMISE, Setsuna-mama! I PROMISE!" And she began to sob, crying miserably for all her shattered illusions and foolish ideals. When she slept, she dreamed of being the senshi of death that she was. * * * * * * * * * He was never going to let her go, and she was perfectly fine with that. Mamoru would do anything for here, just as she would for him. Their love, for better or worse, would never be questioned after that. But at what cost had come her peace of mind? For a moment, a better part of Usagi suggested that the sick joy of sliding the blade through flesh, of declaring to the world that nothing would stand between her and Mamoru any longer, especially not some long-dead hussy who had already caused her share of grief, wasn't the joy of someone expected to be a fair and judicious monarch in the far-off castles of the future. Usagi remembered it now as Serenity had a thousand years ago: more than once she had fantasized about killing the dismal weakling that had hung on Endymion so. For a moment, she felt guilty. Then it passed. Beryl be damned. They had earned their happiness. No one would ever part them again. Something glinted in the weak moonlight. Usagi remembered she'd set the Star Locket on the nightstand before she and Mamoru had indulged in lovemaking. Michiru had said she'd done something to it. Now curious, she leaned over and reached out, trying to grab the locket without disturbing Mamoru. Unfortunately, he always was a light sleeper. Just as Usagi had it, he stirred and clasped her more tightly with his good arm. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked half-sleepily, half- seductively into her neck. "I'm just getting my locket," she explained. "Michiru-san said she'd changed it." That's when Usagi realized that the bottom felt different. Turning the locket over, she discovered someone had engraved a message into it. Mamoru let go of Usagi and rubbed his eyes, then read it himself. Amor vincit omnia.* * * * * * * * * *Amor vincit omnia - Love conquers all. From Virgil's "Aeneid." Comments, complaints, criticisms can go to tennyo@attbi.com, but flamers will be treated with appropriate mocking condescension. Look forward to hearing from you! Special thanks to some of my nearest and dearest, who supported me while I drove myself slowly insane writing this: Bejiin-onee, The Rose Society, Quicksilver, Meredith Brownen Mallory, Loralei Fairhill (what would a girl do without her editor?), Kes X, Sailor Elysia, Moon Klutz, and Antigone. Thank you for everything. ^_^