Forum: Tokyo City
Type: Relaxed

Plot Summary:
Taking place a few years after the end of Stars, Mina is finally in an idol training school, a place where young women like herself train to become idols. Mina is trying to balance her school life, time with her friends and being a Senshi when minor threats pop up from time to time.

Kunzite, having been recently awakened from his rock form by his Prince, works part time as a Barista at the local coffee shop of Minako’s idol school, while going to school part time to studying, at his Prince’s urging.

Thinking Kunzite had died after what happened with Beryl, he was the last person she ever thought she’d run into in the café she liked to frequent on campus. After being initially suspicious, he convinces her that he was reborn, has all his memories from his past life, and what he did in the service of Queen Beryl and Metalia, and how much he regrets hurting and betraying her.

Is it love at second sight? Can they put aside all the hurt and the pain and recreate a loving romance?

Details on any necessary information: This takes place after the Stars arc.

Restrictions: Only Kunzite and Minako will be playable, everyone else will be NPC.

Source: N/A

OOC Thread: N/A

Characters:
- Kunzite: Played by Addelyn
- Sailor Venus/Minako Aino: Played by Sailor Mercury

Ah… the life of a future idol. Minako could not be happier about where she was now. She had also never been happier about school. She used to hate it; how all her classes bored her and how she had to struggle to graduate from high school, listening to Ami’s lectures almost every day about ‘your future, Minako, your future is incredibly important how could you do this?!’

But now she had found her calling. Well, she had known it for a long time, really. There just hadn’t been a proper time to respond to the call. Now that the world seemed to have calmed down, though, she decided it was her time to shine. And so she enrolled herself in one of those universities that offered an idol preparation program. Her singing, dancing, and acting classes were really enjoyable. She almost wanted to cry; she never knew classes could be this fun.

Of course, Minako was the brightest star in her class. Or so she liked to think, anyway. Once she graduated from here, no doubt talent scouts would be lining up with offers for her. She grinned to herself as she practically skipped into the coffee shop she loved on campus. This was another thing that was so great about university life. Café in campus! No annoying shrill bells to remind her she was late! No scary guard blocking the gate if she wanted to bail! She was enjoying the freedom more than ever.

Minako stepped inside and scrutinized the menu she had practically known by heart, tapping one finger on her lips. What should she get today? The caramel macchiato? Some frappuccino? The pumpkin spice latte? Oh, so many delicious choices! How was she ever supposed to decide?

Kuznite handed the latest customer their change, smiling as they thanked him. There, that was the last person in the giant rush they'd just had. Ever since he had started working here, Kunzite had noticed an increase in the number of females that came to the cafe. His manager absolutely adored him for it, but he honestly couldn't care less. There was only one woman for him and due to his past actions, he didn't think she'd ever forgive him, or want anything to do with him, so Kunzite had resigned himself to living his life alone and with his brothers.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that he had another customer. "Can I help you?" he asked, walking back over to the cash, finally getting a good look at the customer and froze. No, no way, it couldn't be her, could it?

She hadn’t recognized his voice, but she should’ve. Minako was just so engrossed in her difficult decision making dilemma that she was distracted. When she finally decided on the pumpkin spice latte in celebration of autumn, she gave the barista her biggest smile and approached the counter. “Yes! I would like one—”

Her words got caught in her throat when she saw him properly and did a double take. What…? At first, she didn’t immediately recognize him because his attire was unusual for his standards, but then the familiarity hit her like a ton of bricks. Kunzite?! She instinctively stepped back, turning left and right to check her surroundings and determine if it was safe to transform. Thankfully the café seemed to have gotten rid of its last few customers, and they were alone.

How convenient.

Unless, of course, it was a trap.

“You,” she said seethingly, glaring at him with a mixture of panic and dismay. “I seem to recall killing you some years ago. How are you alive again?” This would mark the third time he’d managed the impossible feat, and immediately she felt scared about what it could possibly mean. Was Beryl back too? Was Metalia? Was that how he was here again? After all, it had been the Dark Kingdom that had revived him.

Then Minako looked around the café in disbelief. “Oh my god! Is this one of those fronts for a Dark Kingdom plot? Really?! You’re doing this on my favorite café? On my school? Unbelievable.” Minako stepped forward now, pointing an accusing finger at him. “What did you put in all those cups? Are you sucking energy from my classmates?!”

Minako could feel her rage bubbling to the surface. She didn’t even know why she bothered interrogating him. She should transform and kill him right now if she knew what was good for her.

He blinked as she became more upset, accusing him of working for the Dark Kingdom still. Dammit, this was not the place for this discussion, especially if she transformed, like he was beginning to believe she was about to do.

"Mark, I'm taking my break now," he said curtly, untying his apron as he stalked around the counter, glowering. This was not how he had imagined their first meeting to go. Granted, she didn't know that he had been a rock for several years and was reincarnated. Last times he saw him, he had been evil and had been trying to kill her. He couldn't fault her for her beliefs, but dammit, it stung that she looked at him with such hate and loathing in her eyes. Coming around the counter he walked up to her. He leaned down and whispered into her ear so he wouldn't be over heard.

"I don't suggest transforming here or trying to kill me in the cafe. You'd only be putting innocent civilians are risk. I know you're upset to see me and I do understand. However, you are missing some information. Come with me and we'll talk. No tricks, no traps I promise. When we're done you can kill me if you still want to," he stood up, eyeing her for a moment before taking a step back, watching her and then turning towards the cafe exit, hoping she would follow him so they could talk. If she didn't believe him or still hated him after for everything that he'd done, a small pat of him hope she would kill him. He wasn't sure that he could live in a world where the woman he loved with every fiber of his being hated him.

As he started walking toward her, Minako stepped backwards until she hit a table and had nowhere else to go. She flinched as he leaned close to her, every fiber of her being readying to attack. She heard his words as a threat and scowled. However, his words did tickle her curiosity, which annoyed her. There was no reason to talk. He’d been the enemy, always had been. He’d betrayed her not once but twice. To fall for it now would put her to shame. “What good is the promise of a villain?” she challenged, still distrustful.

Like he’d really let her kill him without even trying to defend himself.

Although if that was an actual attempt to fool her, she almost felt insulted at how unconvincing his words were. Still, it wasn’t as if she could leave him here. And she was concerned about exposure. Even if there was no other customers around, his manager was here, and he was already eyeing her suspiciously. Minako managed a smile and a friendly, innocent wave to him. “Nothing to worry about here. Just lovers’ quarrel, you know how it is.” She felt nauseated at her lie, though some part of her memories that had regained knowledge of her past life knew that it wasn’t entirely inaccurate. They’d… well… no. That wasn’t even her life. That was a different Venus. It was irrelevant.

She sauntered reluctantly after Kunzite. “Just so you know, we’d better be heading to a public place. I’m not following you to some dark alley or whatever.”

Staying in public suited Kunzite. It would keep Venus, no Minako, as he'd heard Usagi mention numerous times, from losing it in public. He slowed his stride when he reached the doors to outside so Minako wasn't running to keep up with him. The height difference between them still amused him.

"I honestly didn't think I'd ever see you again," he said as they walked across the campus aimlessly. He sighed in frustration. He didn't know how to start this conversation; "I'm sorry for betraying you a thousand years ago and being the result of everyone we knew and loved dying," didn't seem to quite cut it.

"I think it's time you had some answers. Here's the deal. You can ask me anything and I'll answer it truthfully. No lies, no games, no manipulations. Just the truth," he said, unsure if she'd believe him.

“Well, that makes two of us,” Mina crossed her arms as they stepped outside. She didn’t like having to stand this close to him or having to look up at him from an inferior position. But her condition of staying in public meant she couldn’t attack him as much as he couldn’t attack her. Maybe she should’ve rethought that. Not to mention villains generally didn’t care who saw them doing their evil deeds anyway…

She raised an eyebrow with interest as he said he would give her answers to anything she wanted to know truthfully. She still had no reason to believe what he was saying, but she figured she would try. If it turned out he was lying, well… she would’ve seen it coming. And if not, maybe she’d be surprised.

“Well, for starters, you can tell me the truth about what you’re doing here right now,” she said. She felt foolish even saying it, and she could already hear Artemis yelling in her head about conversing with an enemy instead of fighting them. What was wrong with her? Just because she hadn’t seen him do anything bad in this new life didn’t mean he wouldn’t fall back into his old ways. And yet her instincts told her to listen and wait. It was strange that it wasn’t telling her to kill him right then. She could usually rely on her gut, so she reluctantly forced herself to be patient.

"I work at the Cafe, that's why I'm here. You did see me behind the counter with an apron on," he teased gently, unsure how she'd react to him teasing her. "I work here part time and I go to the local college part time as well."

He was glad she wasn't just straight up attacking him like he had figured she would. In fact, he was pleasantly surprised that she was taking him up on his offer to answer her questions, not that he would allow that pleasure to show on his face, least she think him up to something nefarious.

Mina peered at him, scrutinizing his face for telltales of lies. He looked ridiculously sincere, which just made no sense to her. She scoffed, again feeling insulted that he expected her to believe that. “Right. You’re living a normal life now. And it’s not as if I haven’t seen you guys masquerade as ordinary people before.” Although now that she thought about it, if this was a disguise, it was a poor one. Like he wasn’t even trying.

She didn’t have time for these mind games. Drawing a deep breath, she pulled her hair a little in frustration, wishing she knew what to believe. Her instincts were being totally unreliable right now; it kept flip-flopping between believing his words and not in mere seconds. And she couldn’t keep up. “Okay. Next question. How are you alive?”

She dreaded the answer to that one, because very few people could do the whole resurrection thing. The only person she knew was capable of that was… Usagi.

But that was impossible. Right?

He could tell that she didn't believe him. He hoped with time and with every question he truthfully answered, she would come to believe him.

"The Prince and Princess were able to resurrect myself and my brothers," he replied to her question, wondering how much detail he should go into voluntarily without her having to demand answers from him. He was worried that if he gave too many details, he would seem like he was lying, but if he didn't give enough, then she wouldn't believe him. He felt a flash of frustration for a moment before ruthlessly pushing it down. Patience, he needed to be patient here.

“What prince—wait, you mean Usagi and Mamoru?” she said in disbelief. Now she knew he was lying. “Usagi never said anything to me! When did this happen?” Why would Usagi have not told her? But why would he say a lie that she could easily disprove with a simple phone call to confirm? Mina’s head was spinning, and she took a couple steps away from him. None of this made any sense! If what he said was true… if all the Shitennou were alive again… she felt a chill along her spine at the implications. Why would Usagi and Mamoru do such a thing?

Unless… they were convinced that the Shitennou could be trusted and deserved a second chance at life. But why… no one had talked about this with her! Usagi should have consulted them about it!

"I'm assuming The Princess never informed you of her actions despite the Prince urging her to do so?" he chuckled a bit to himself. Some things never seemed to change. Minako would always get so upset when the Princess had gone off and done things without informing her guardians.

"I am truly sorry she never talked to you about it. My brothers and I thought it would be best to stay out of your way when we came back. We didn't want to bring up any...uncomfortable memories for you."

“No, she most certainly did not,” Mina shook her head in disbelief. “One second,” she raised a finger to him and pulled out her communicator. She connected to Usagi’s line and was greeted by a cheerful, completely innocent cheer of, “Mina! I’ve missed you so much! How goes the idol training life? Have you gotten offers to appear on dramas yet? What about commercials? Or—”

“USAGI-CHAN,” she yelled into it, not caring that Kunzite was watching all this. “Stop talking for a second. I have the weirdest story to tell you. Today, I’m going about my business like usual, going to this café on campus before class to get a nice cup of coffee, when… you wouldn’t guess who I met.” On the communicator’s tiny screen, Usagi looked baffled. “Is this the part where I get to guess?” she asked. “Ooh! Ooh! Is it your old crush?!” she said excitedly, then quickly deflated. “Wait… there’s too many of them. I don’t know where to begin—”

“USAGI-CHAN!” Mina yelled again, and Usagi cowered from the screen. “This is a serious matter. I ran into an old enemy by the name of Kunzite. He said you and Mamoru, oh… just brought him and his brothers back to life. No big deal, right?” she glared, and Usagi actually started to nod before she yelled again, “DID YOU ACTUALLY DO THIS WITHOUT CONSULTING ME OR TELLING ME ABOUT IT AFTERWARDS BECAUSE I SWEAR TO GOD USAGI—”

“WAHHHHHHH! I’m sorry, Mina!” Usagi’s shrill cry reverberated from the other end, and Mina flinched. “I did! We did! And I totally forgot to tell you! I meant to, but the time never seemed right, and, and I really meant to do it that afternoon but then there was the release of that new manga, and on that evening but I got distracted by an ice cream shop, wahhhhhhhhh! Forgive me!”

Mina slowly dragged her palm across her face, wishing she could reach in and shake her princess. Seriously, even after all these years… was this really to be their future queen?

“Usagi, stop crying for one second and tell me why,” she demanded, forcing herself to be patient. “Why would you bring our enemy back to life?”

“Because… because they’re really meant to be Mamo-chan’s guardians! And… and it isn’t fair if I’m the only one who have you guys, right? And they’re good this time! I swear! I mean, I used the ginzuishou… they weren’t revived by an evil power which was what happened last time. And… with no Beryl or Metalia around, they’re safe! Don’t kill them, Mina!!”

Mina sighed. It was almost too late for that. If she hadn’t stopped and listened… then she would’ve made a grave mistake. Although… she honestly still didn’t believe they were really good. Usagi had the tendency to want to believe the best in everyone, and Mamoru… well… he would be biased on this matter.

“Mina-P? Promise you won’t kill him?” Usagi’s tear-stained voice came again, and Mina grudgingly promised, “Fine. I won’t kill him. But if I did, it would be all your fault.” Before Usagi’s wails could start again, she ended the connection.

She looked back up at Kunzite reluctantly. He’d better not look smug right now. “Fine, so your story checks out. But it doesn’t mean that the foolish princess isn’t wrong about trusting you. You said you chose to stay out of our way. Does that mean you working on my campus is really just a coincidence? Out of all the places to work in Tokyo… you just happened to work here?”

Kunzite looked on in amusement as Minako contacted Usagi on some sort of communication device on her wrist. He winced as his companion began yelling at the Princess and as the Princess began to cry. He looked around and thankfully found themselves alone.

The two had no tact and it was a wonder they hadn't given their secret civilian identities away years ago with how loud the two were being. Then again, some things never changed. He vaguely remembered the two having the same type of relationship in the Moon Kingdom. Princess Serenity had always been running off and doing things without telling her guardians; starting a romance with the Prince of Earth for example. She smiled a bit as he heard the Princess make her guardian swear that she wouldn't kill him. Serenity always did have a big heart. One of this days it was bound to get her into trouble if it hadn't already.

He just looked at her in amusement, as if she was providing some entertainment here. Mina balled her fists and pushed down the urge to punch him in the face. “Hello? I’m talking to you here. Are you telling me you being here is just a coincidence? And on that note, how about you go look for employment elsewhere since you wanted to stay out of our way and this is definitely not it!”

She was losing it a little bit, but the thought of having to see him every day when she went to school rattled her. Even if he was good now, it would still be… weird. She didn’t need all that reminder about what happened. And she certainly didn’t need the memories even further back, the ones from another life.

"I took the job because it was the only one available tht was remotely near to my campus. I goto the local university," he explained. "If I had known you were at this school, I would have turned the job down to give you your privacy. I can quit if you want," he offered hesitantly. It would be hard, but he had a little money saved up, if he was careful he should be relatively alright until he was able to get another job. Hopefully Mike would be able to write him a recommendation for another cafe.

Mina tried to imagine Kunzite attending classes like a normal person in a university and failed. This was all so… bizarre. All she’d ever had memories of were him in his general regalia, posing a threat to all civilians in Tokyo and providing a constant source of misery for her and her friends. Villains weren’t supposed to go to school, damn it. And now… now she felt guilty. And she wanted to kick herself for it. She knew she’d told him to go find a job elsewhere, but what would Usagi say if she heard about how Mina had caused him to lose a job? To wreck his second chance at life?

Damn it, Usagi.

And Mamoru. He would probably just silently judge her so hard.

Cursing mentally again, Mina massaged her temple. “Alright, fine, you don’t have to quit. I just… I don’t know how I could handle seeing you here every day… might have to give up coffee at this point.” She thought about how easily it was for Usagi to forgive and forget. She envied that. For her… she couldn’t just let this go and pretend everything was fine and dandy now. Not when too much hurt had been inflicted.

She had half a mind to walk away from the conversation, deciding it was concluded now that she’d determined he wasn’t a threat—at least not yet, she was still going to keep an eye on him to make sure… oh dammit, she was going to have to keep an eye on him!—but her attempt to turn and walk away failed.

“Just tell me one thing,” she finally said, turning back to him. “All those years ago. Back in Silver Millennium. I only want to know one thing… why?”

She didn’t elaborate, because she knew she didn’t have to. He should know.

"I.." he faltered. All the pain from his betrayal coming back all at once. "It wasn't by choice. There was a woman, a sorceress named Beryl. She came to the court one day, and somehow managed to impose herself into the ongoing of the Castle. We didn't trust her but we were unable to convince anyone else of our suspicions."

"Once she appeared, unrest in people about the Moon Kingdom appeared. Suddenly people began to believe that the Moon Kingdom was spying on the Earth, trying to control us. We didn't know how to stop it. Endymion was too wrapped up in Serenity to see what was going on around him. Soon Beryl came to each of us. She used some sort of magic to control us. She got to Jadeite first, then Nephrite and Zoicite. I was the last. I tried so hard to resist her and her magic yet in the end I was too weak," he said bitterly. If only he'd been stronger, maybe things would have turned out differently.

"You have to know that I would have never betrayed you voluntarily. I loved you. I still do and I would never do anything to hurt you," he pleaded. "I understand that given what happened and my actions if you never wanted to see me again. I cannot blame you for that. Just know that I have never stopped loving you all these years."

She listened to his story, her guard up the whole time. Part of it she already knew, but what she never understood was how he’d turned against her. Now that he was saying that it wasn’t his own will, that it was all Beryl’s influence… she didn’t know what to believe. It was what she wanted to believe for a long time. She remembered Venus’ memories that fateful day when the war broke out and how she tried her best to rationalize what was happening. She remembered clinging to a hope for an explanation to the last moments. But then, when it became too clear that any amount of hope wasn’t going to save them, she had done what was necessary. She fought back. She killed them before they could kill her.

It didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

She was caught in those memories that were both hers and weren’t until he said the words, almost casually, as if they had been waiting there all this time. I love you. Mina looked up in surprise, especially when he claimed that he still did love her. No. That wasn’t… That was impossible.

How could he talk about love when all they’d ever had between them was bloodshed?

But she knew she was wrong. The unexpected wave of feelings from the original Venus’ memories crashed back into her like a tide trying to pull her under. Suddenly, all the promises they’d made to each other back then resurfaced. Before that horrible night when the world as she knew it ended… All the stolen moments. All the guilt mixed with excitement. The joy… The bracelet…

She gasped and pulled herself out of those long forgotten memories.

Never stopped loving her? After all the heartbreaks, after the conviction that she was never going to find love for herself, that she was cursed by her own heart and that she was meant to put her duty first to her princess at all times anyway, Mina had never entertained the notion of love much anymore. Sure, she still had crushes, the occasional boy she flirted with, but she never really allowed herself to think seriously about romance anymore.

And Kunzite of all people…

“But you did. Hurt us again. More recently, the second time you were alive. Was that time all Beryl’s fault too?” Even if it was really her manipulations, could someone really be forced into betraying the one they love twice? Was his so-called love for her really not strong enough to fight against it?

"After the battle, Queen Serenity reincarnated all of her people on earth in the future. She locked way Beryl and myself and my brothers as punishment for betraying her. I don't have any memories of the time we were locked away," he explained.

"I found out when we were reincarnated in this time, that there was another force in play. Her name was Metalia. She was the one who had manipulated Beryl, had given her increased powers in order to manipulate and control people. When Metalia had regained enough strength from her fight with Queen Serenity, she reincarnated us along with Beryl. She locked away our memories. When we met during this life time when I was still under the control of the Dark Kingdom, I had no memories of my past, no idea that I had betrayed anyone. It wasn't until we were killed and brought back as stones, living with The Prince in his apartment that all of our memories returned."

"I know I did horrible, unforgivable things while I was a part of the Dark Kingdom, but they were never my choice. I would have never done them freely. They are against everything I have ever stood for."

“So you didn’t even remember me. You didn’t recognize me,” she concluded. Of course, the beginning of her second awakening had been hazy for her as well. She remembered more than the others, and sooner, too, but she didn’t dwell on most of the painful memories. She’d only plucked the most important and relevant ones and used them for the present. When she’d learned that the Shitennou had once again served under Beryl, it only hurt for a little while before she simply accepted it as something that she couldn’t change. She thought it was their destiny. And she hadn’t hesitated to kill any of them.

It was easier the second time.

Whether she wanted to or not, she tried to remember the real Kunzite. The one she thought she knew all along but had then thought was merely a façade when he betrayed them. Could it be that she had gotten it all backwards? Had he simply spent most of his life being a pawn for someone else?

He had spoken as if they could just pick up where they left off; as if all the fighting and the killing in between their happier times and now never existed. Mina had never thought about her feelings for him, mostly because it had been her past life’s and not hers, and it was pointless anyway. She’d forgotten and buried all of it deep inside. For her, he had changed beyond recognition and belonged only in the past.

But for him, to awaken from all the magic controlling him and erasing his memories… how did it feel like? She imagined for him it was easy to go back, because he hadn’t been in control of all of his actions. He hadn’t had his full knowledge or memories.

“What… what do you want from me, Kunzite?” she asked finally.

Maybe he’d been a different person for a while, but she… she’d been the same the entire time. She’d made the hard choices. She’d chosen to get over him.

And now she didn’t know if they could ever go back to the way things were.

"We can't change the past, but I'd hope now that you know I exist we can perhaps change the future. I know we can't restart where our relationship left off. We're both too different for that. I'd like maybe perhaps to start over, if you're wiling of course. If your not, I would walk away right now and never contact you again if that's what you truly wanted."

“The thing is, I don’t know if there’s a ‘we’ at all,” she said matter-of-factly. “You said you loved me, Kunzite, and that you still do. But how could you, truly? You don’t even know me. I’m not the same Venus that I was back in Silver Millennium. I’m Minako Aino, and that’s a different girl entirely. I grew up differently, I have a different family, and I’m from earth.”

The last sentence made her pause. For the first time in a long time, they belonged to the same planet. They wouldn’t be breaking any rules if they wanted to start anything. The only reason she had been so hesitant and guilty back then was because it had been forbidden. Serenity breaking the rule was already bad enough—Venus was supposed to know better. And if she was too busy being in love with the prince’s guard, surely she couldn’t protect her princess properly.

But now everything was different. There was no ancient rule forbidding them from fraternizing anymore. The prince and princess were together and didn’t need 24/7 protection anymore. Their life was peaceful and… suddenly Mina felt as if they had all the possibilities in the world. She was free, no longer chained by protocols and rules and duty. Literally anything was possible… if only she wanted it.

"You may have different experiences from your last life, but you'd be amazed about how much I can still see about you that is the same from before," he said,looking her in the eyes. They were both incredibly stubborn, driven towards their goals, loved to have fun, could be serious when the situation required it and one of the best soldiers Kunzite had ever known.

"The option still remains that we part ways here and I never contact you again" It wasn't something he really wanted to do, it would kill him to do it, but for her, he would do anything, even rip out his own heart. He suppose that he would have to quit his job at the Cafe and perhaps transfer to another university outside of the area, maybe over in Sapporo, which was on the other side of Japan. The more space he gave her, perhaps the happier she should be.

“Really?” Mina raised an eyebrow skeptically, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “So tell me then… what are these things about me that you can see?” How much could he possibly figure out about her from one meeting? They’d never really met each other when she wasn’t in her senshi form in this life, and so she figured he would have no idea who Minako Aino was. Did he know of her hopes and dreams? How she aspired to be an idol? She didn’t think so. How could you love someone you didn’t even know?

She contemplated his offer of vanishing from her life, but to be honest, she knew she wasn’t going to make him do it. Aside from the fact that Usagi and Mamoru wouldn’t be happy with her, she also could deal with it. She’d dealt with a lot of worse things, and she wasn’t going to be selfish or cruel now just to make her life easier. If she had to see him every day, then that was okay. If he was truly a changed person, then she would want to be there and make sure he kept his word anyway.

“Hmm, let’s see. You still yell at the Princess when she does something she’s not suppose to do, or does things without telling, that hasn’t changed,” he laughed softly, remembering all the times Venus had yelled at Serenity for sneaking out to meet Endymion.

“You are still the solider, no matter what other things you may pursue, and at times you can be very confrontational. If you were not, you would not have confronted me in the coffee shop. You could have easily pretended you did not recognize me and returned at a later date to keep watch on me. Instead you chose to meet the perceived enemy head on. That was always something I admired about you.”

“Your tenacity astounds everyone you meet. Once you have decided on a course of action, you do it with all of your being. You have always been incredibly determined to get what you want. Whether that was attempting to stop the princess from seeing Endymion or finally pursuing me once I finally convinced you that a relationship between us was possible, you go after what you want with such passion. In this lifetime, you are applying that tenacity, passion, and determination towards becoming an Idol. From what I have seen, it is not an easy goal, yet you do it because it is something you love and want and you are determined to reach your goal in the end.”

“You have always been incredibly loyal. You protect those who have your loyalty fiercely. You also love those you deem worthy of your attentions with every fiber of your being whether that be your friends in the Moon Kingdom or your reincarnated selves in this life time, and, you will do the same with any man who is lucky enough to hold your affections.” He paused for a moment, raising his eyebrow. “Shall I continue?” he asked, wanting to know if she needed more comparison or if what he had listed was enough.

As Minako listened to Kunzite’s speech, she found herself more and more surprised by the second. The fact that he could see so much within her in the span of a few minutes… of course, he did know her. Some things were obvious, like the way she hadn’t bothered hiding her scolding session with Usagi, and how she wasn’t going to let him get away from her no matter what when she thought he was a threat. But others were things he definitely recognized from before, and like it or not, he did know her very well back then.

She blushed slightly when he mentioned pursuing him. “Excuse me, that’s not how I remember things happening. As I recall, you were the one who relentlessly pursued me even though we both knew we had responsibilities to do.” It was a little bit of both, really. They sort of convinced each other into it, though Mina would always tell anyone that it was him who had dragged her in a relationship when they should’ve known better. Sometimes she wondered if the fall of the Moon Kingdom was partially her fault.

For the longest time she thought he had used her, seduced her in order to get information and gain her trust before finally stabbing her in the back when she least expected it, but even if he hadn’t, she still had allowed her own attraction to him to distract her. Maybe if she had been more focused, she would have seen the threat Metalia and Beryl posed much sooner. It was her job to be one step ahead of the enemy, and she had utterly failed.

And then having to kill him, her broken heart, all of it had prevented her from fighting on her peak during the battle. It must have also contributed to their downfall. Love, the one thing she believed in, the one thing she embodied, had been her Achilles heel.

She was surprised to hear that he knew of her dream, then realized where they were. Of course, that was another simple deduction. He was a regular Sherlock Holmes, wasn’t he?

She averted her gaze as he talked about love and how she did it with all fiber of her being. “Well, on that one, you’re wrong. I’ve not had any romances worth writing epic stories about since—” You.

She stopped, not wanting to finish the sentence. “Oh, I’ve had tons of crushes and flings and about thousands of first loves, but a man I met long ago said that I always do it with only half my heart. I’m never… serious about someone. Not anyone except the princess. I think…” she stuttered, wondering if it was wise to lay her heart bare like this. She’d never thought about it before, but it all made sense now. “I think you broke me when you betrayed me. You made the goddess of love… unable to love again.”  

It was a thought that had always secretly terrified her.

He could feel a smile tugging on his lips as the woman in front of him recounted that he was the one that pursued her. In truth, he had started pursuing her, but he began to have doubts when she seemed to constantly rebuke him, saying that she had her duties to attend to. Then she began to pursue him. They ended up convincing each other that it was a good idea.

He still firmly believed that it was a good idea, had been a good idea and if things had turned out differently, if Beryl hadn’t brain washed himself and the other Shintennou and the citizens of Earth, he liked to think they would have had a happy future together and maybe some young. He knew her heart had shattered when she had to kill him. He wished that there was something, anything he could do to repair that damage. Part of him broke that night as well with the knowledge that he had betrayed everything that he had ever fought for and the betrayal and the pain he caused the woman that he loved to this day with ever fiber of his being. His heart further broke when she admitted to him that he had shattered to the point where she felt like she could never love again.

“Minako…I…” he reached out instinctively to comfort her, only to remember that she wasn’t his anymore and he no longer had the right to do so. He allowed his arm to fall lamely to his side, wracking his brain for something to say to comfort her.

“You’ve always been incredibly strong,” he started. “It’s always been a quality I’ve admired about you. I’m sure that when the time is right and you find a man who loves you, cherishes you and treats you like you deserve to be treated you will fall in love again. You are capable of love Minako. It comes in many forms. You love you friends and your family. You love your duty. You love singing and performing or you wouldn’t be here at this school. You will be capable again of being loved and being in love again. You just have to be strong enough to want to open yourself up like that again, to be that vulnerable again. Love is never without the risk of being hurt. If I could go back to change how things had turned out to spare you the pain that I caused you, I would, but I cannot. I cannot change the past and neither can you. You can change your future though. You just need to be brave like I know you can.

It felt strange to hear her name—her civilian name—on his lips. It was the first time he’d said it, had seen her as more than just Sailor Venus and she wondered how he even knew the name. But the fact that he could see the girl behind the mask was oddly comforting. He said she was strong, but how come all she wanted to do was cry? All the grief from the past—both the distant and more recent—suddenly caught up to her. She realized that she had never had a chance for a proper closure. He’d betrayed her and both times she never got to ask why, never got to confront him about it and was just forced to make her own conclusions before killing him. Ending his life for good. That was never an easy decision, but something she’d come to accept as necessary.

And it had been easier to bury that all in the past, to pretend that was that and nothing else needed to be said about it. Now, however, when she came face to face with him with no more influences clouding his mind, with nothing but the truth between them, Minako almost felt cheated by the fact that she couldn’t even be angry at him. That she couldn’t yell at him because it hadn’t really been his fault. But she could try anyway.

“I… I risked everything for you!” she blurted out, no longer interested in keeping the tears in check. She needed this, needed it all out before she could ever have any hope of moving on. Maybe this was what was blocking her. What prevented her from truly opening her heart again. “I loved you, so badly. I thought maybe we could have what Endymion and Serenity had. A love that can inspire others and transcend space and time. A love that doesn’t care about rules or laws or anything else. Why didn’t you love me enough to fight the influence?” she felt like hitting him, but all she could do was pound weakly on his chest.

“You made me kill you. Do you have any idea how terrible that is? It’s even more terrible than you trying to kill me. And I hated myself for feeling that way. For being weak. All I wanted was you, damn it!” She didn’t know how it happened, but suddenly all the memories she’d carefully boxed away and kept in the deepest corner of her heart came surging back. Suddenly, she was the old Venus again, and she felt how deeply she had once loved him. Remembered his promise that they would always be together, and the gift he’d given her as a token of that promise. And all that had ended up in so much grief.

“Tell me that I wasn’t a fool for loving you. Tell me that it wasn’t all for nothing.”