12/29 The Beginning of Business (Minako, Usagi)

[Aino Minako]

[Late Afternoon/Early Evening, sometime after Rei leaves the office]

Minako headed up to Usagi's office for the second day in a row. She wondered how frequently she'd be making this trip now that she was part of the new Crystal Tokyo Government. Lucan's security run-through was more sobering than she'd realized at first. Now, when she walked through the palace, she found her eyes darting left and right, taking in the sights of those around her. She paid more attention to the location of the security personnel, who were charged with protecting the lives of the important members of the government. She wondered if Lucan had them protecting the senshi even without telling them - she was fairly convinced that Lucan would have them all under lock and key if he had his way.

Minako reached the outer doors of Usagi's office and grabbed hold of the handle. She paused for a moment to take a breath. She hadn't seen Usagi since she'd heard about the news of the break-up with Mamoru, and while she'd gone over what she'd say to her friend over and over in her head, in the end nothing sounded right. There wasn't anything to say. She'd just have to let Usagi talk. Still, the news changed the potential future of Crystal Tokyo, and knowing what Minako knew about Usagi's future child, she just couldn't accept that the relationship between Usagi and Mamoru was over. Chibiusa was too dear in her - perhaps all of their hearts - to just forget about.

She pulled open the door and headed into the office. "Usagi-chan?" Minako called out toward the second set of doors that led into the private area of the office. Minako flashed a glance at the secretary, but didn't bother asking her if the Queen was in. Instead, she crossed the office and knocked softly on Usagi's door.

[Neo Queen Serenity]

After Rei had left, Usagi had resumed her work. Unfortunately, the papers she had quickly shoved into her drawer were quite crinkled. Wrinkling her nose, she smoothed them out and put paperweights around the corners. She'd have to tell her secretary to make new copies, and have the old ones recycled.

Usagi was thankful to be holed up with this particular bit of work, which was not too taxing or involved. She knew the rest of the office was getting to get quite busy, as preliminary preparations for the party were just starting, and the news of the broken engagement spread around the world. The Daily Yomiuri had hit the stands with the story this morning, and Usagi had opted out of the incoming calls and questions from foreign dignitaries and the press, wondering what to do with their invitations and how this would affect policy. Usagi had told Hikari to deal with all of that. Furthermore, she had been informed that there was an issue with the airports in Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka; that they were getting overloaded with requests and that it had something to do with her broken engagement... That had confused her. It was the holidays, and tons of people were flying in for the party, of course they were overloaded. What did that have to do with her? She had also told Hikari that that was something for the airport authorities to deal with, and not her. Honestly!

A soft knock broke her out of her meandering thoughts. Usagi set down her pen, wondering who it was now. "Come in," she answered, leaning back in her chair.

[Aino Minako]

Minako pushed open the door and stepped into Usagi's office. Her eyes fell onto her queen, who was sitting behind her desk, taking care of business as usual. That was just like Usagi, Minako thought to herself. Even if Usagi's world was falling apart, if someone else needed something to be done, then the queen was going to take care of it. Minako remembered back to their first year in high school, when Mamoru had disappeared. But there was so much going on with Galaxia that Usagi had hidden her own fears and emotions, trying to shoulder both burdens for the entire team. One look at Usagi told Minako that her friend would try and do the same again.

She crossed the room and sat down in the chair in front of Usagi. She reached out her hand and set it down on the papers in front of Usagi, "I think you need a break, Usagi-chan," Minako began. "Don't you?"

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Usagi smiled at Minako, but it was a generic one. She was genuinely happy (and rather relieved) to see her, but it meant talking about difficult matters, again. Usagi felt entirely tapped out emotionally.

"I'm glad you came to see me. I've actually been having quite a few breaks lately, but I know I need to talk to you." With Rei coming in with her gift, and the long nap she had taken yesterday, Usagi had had plenty of breaks, at least during normal working hours.

It felt so heavy-handed to speak to someone from behind a desk, especially one of her friends. Usagi stood up, coming around to sit in the other chair across from Minako.

"I'm sure you've heard by now." She glanced down at her left hand involuntarily; the sight of her bare finger always jarred her. "Who hasn't? The phones have been ringing off the hook all morning. I'm sorry you had to find out the way you did..." She knew what it was like to be the last to know about important things, but so much had come together. It was just one of those things.

[Aino Minako]

Minako reached for Usagi and wrapped her arms around her friend. "It doesn't matter how I found out," she said softly, "It's ok. What matters," Minako paused. Deep down, she was thinking what matters is that we find a way to make things right again. What matters is that we get Mamoru back here. What matter is that we fix this mess. For Chibiusa..... But she did not air her thoughts. Usagi would not have broken up with Mamoru lightly, and Minako was there to support her. Instead, she hugged her tightly, "What matters is... you."

She pulled back, arms still clasped tightly on Usagi's shoulders. "I've seen how you handle these things. You push your own needs down so deep and hide your feelings where no one can see, and put everyone else in front of you. Well that might have worked ten years ago, when you weren't Queen of the world, but now if you do that, you'll never get back to yourself.

"You don't have to tell me what happened, if you don't want to, but I'll listen if you need to. If you'd rather talk about business and tell me what things you need me to do, we'll talk about that. If you want me to tell you more about this movie I'm doing, we'll talk about that. If you want to hear about how Lucan blew any mental capacity I had away today with his security tour, I'll tell you all about it. But whatever you do, Usagi, put yourself first ok?"

[Neo Queen Serenity]

There was always something about hugs that blew away any sort of resistance or stoicism that she had. Usagi sighed, leaning into her friend's embrace and closing her eyes for a moment. She never knew how much she needed physical comfort until it was given to her. It was during times like these that she felt like a little girl; she still needed to be held now and then.

Minako's pause did not go unnoticed, but Usagi didn't remark upon it, choosing instead to hear her out. At Minako's mention of Lucan and his security tour, she couldn't help but crack a smile in amusement. "You too, then?"

Usagi sat back up, letting out a long sigh. "Mina-chan... You talk about me pushing things down, but let's just be honest here, okay? You and the rest of the girls had plenty of invested interest in Mamoru and I..." she hesitated, remembering the glimpses they had had of their future, and their future child that had lived with them for much of the time. "...And Chibi-Usa. Come on. You have to have some pretty strong feelings about it. There's got to be questions, things you want to know. Honestly, I don't even know where to start, so why don't you? At least if you share what's going through your mind about this, I'll know where to begin to talk about this."

[Aino Minako]

Minako leaned back as she untangled herself from the embrace. She reached for Usagi's hands, gripping them in her own. "Usagi-chan," she said softly. "I don't know why you broke up with Mamoru. I'm sure you have a good reason. I know you have a good reason. After what, ten years? Certainly only the worst of the worst could cause such a rift between you two." Minako took a deep breath.

"But I can't see it. I just," Minako shook her head softly, "I can't and won't believe that you simply don't love him anymore. Two days ago we were talking about your wedding dress, two days ago you were flushed with emotion at the thought of finally being his bride. Two days ago was only two days ago. What could have possibly changed how you felt about him? Short of infidelity or abuse, which I can't even begin to wrap my mind around, what could Mamoru have done?"

Thoughts of Chibi-Usa swam in Minako's head. She'd loved the little munchkin, even during the pink-haired girls most annoying moments. Minako hesitated to bring her up. They weren't supposed to know the future, and had only been privy to some of the knowledge because of the Black Moon Clan's battle with Crystal Tokyo and the deep sleep of Neo Queen Serenity. The future wasn't set in stone, according to Pluto, although Minako couldn't imagine how time would handle their past if Chibi-Usa was never born. In fact, Chibi-Usa's existence at all was enough for Minako to assume that whatever Mamoru had done was fixable. Besides, Minako reasoned to herself, Usagi didn't need to be reminded of what she already knew.

"Tell me what happened," Minako asked softly.

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Two days ago... Minako was saying it like it was such a short time, but two days felt like centuries... There was such a wide gulf between then and now, in who she was and who she thought Mamoru had been... And reality. Usagi swallowed, trying to wrap her head around the changes to her world. Two days ago she thought that nothing could separate her from her Mamo-chan-- two days ago she thought that he would never keep such a secret from her. Two days ago she thought he loved her for who she was instead of the supposed 'destiny' they had together. Two days ago her world would have ended without him.

Really, everything about them two days ago was a lie. But would Minako believe her when she said as much?

"Two days ago I did love him, or what I knew of him. But you can't love a man that doesn't exist, Minako." Regret pooled in her eyes as well as tears. "Oh, it hurts, when I stop to think about it. You know I thought I would just fade away or something if I lost Mamoru... That somehow I would stop existing. I was so foolish-- I banked too much on him..." Now she wasn't making sense, but the words were jumbling together, thoughts crashing into each other as she took the time since the meeting with the other senshi to just contemplate her future without Mamoru. How much of her perception of herself, who she was, and what she wanted out of life, was based on Mamoru?

This was the time for explanations, not introspection. "It was-- well, not in the way you meant, but it was-- infidelity; or a betrayal of faith, really. Of trust." She paused. "He kept an enormous secret from me, from us-- something has and will effect our lives dramatically, and he didn't even care. He even hinted at withholding more information. I--" Where did she begin? Minako was asking about Mamoru, but none of this story could be told without the Shittenou coming up. She paused, wondering how to proceed, but more frustration kept bubbling out.

"You know, this is not the first time he's done this to me either, I was just willing to look past it all!" She recalled the break-up, when he was protecting her-- information involving her life, that he had kept secret, taking matters into his own hands and hurting her in the process. Mamoru had shown these tendencies before-- to be secretive, play things close to his chest. She just thought he'd change as their relationship grew, that he'd trust her more, that she could, in turn, trust him... "Oh, God, Mina-chan, I've been so blind," Usagi confessed. "You'd think-- after nearly dying, and he did die during Galaxia-- and coming back, and everything, everything that has happened over the past ten years-- things that nearly cost us our souls much less our lives, the risks we took for each other and sacrifices we made..." her voice shook with controlled fury. "And I defended him! Blindly-- even with the Nijizuishou, even before I knew his real identity-- I was always, always trusting him, defending his secrecy, his lone-wolf tendencies... Thinking-- for whatever naive, ignorant, stupidly romantic reason I had-- that those same things wouldn't be used on me, and they [/i]were[/i], to devastating effect. And the pain and the frustration and confusion I will have put you all through by being so blind, by not seeing this sooner... There's just... There's nothing left for us, Minako, nothing. I don't know him-- so I can't love him. And I don't want to know him, anymore. Why would I want to know the kind of person who could do this to me-- to us?" Usagi knew, distantly, that Minako probably had no clue what 'this' even was, but the temptation to blow off steam was overwhelming.

"What have you heard? I'd... rather not explain things twice."

[Aino Minako]

Minako listened silently, offering a nod here or there. Usagi seemed to need to vent her frustrations and Minako was more than willing to listen. She hadn't known much of anything - Rei had not felt inclined to discuss Usagi's business with her. In some ways, Minako was glad, because as painful as recounting the story was for Usagi, Minako would rather hear it from the source.

Minako gripped Usagi's hand and squeezed softly, "I wasn't there when you confronted him and I apologize for not being there when you told the others. No one has told me what happened - perhaps they thought it best I hear it from you." Nevermind, Minako thought somewhat bitterly, that no one was talking to her. Deep down, she yearned to leave, to return to touring away from the mess that was the palace. Only Usagi's need, and the promise she'd made to become second in command, kept her from making a mad dash to the tour bus. She bit her lip and expelled those thoughts. This meeting was not about her, but about Usagi. Instead, she continued. "I can't speak for him, only what I've seen in the past ten years. Mamoru does not have the same personality as you, Usagi. You are an open book. You wear your emotions on your sleeve. Your heart bleeds and you want everyone to feel safe by sharing everything. Probably, because we've always been such a close senshi team. But not everyone operates that way. Some people feel that they protect by holding back, that they are effective in keeping the ones they love safe by taking care of the situation in their own way. Haruka and Michiru have always been that way, and even though they trust you explicitly, they still maintain that distance when it comes to solving problems. I've always thought Mamoru was like them in that way. He's more apt to go off and fix something and never tell you, then invite you along to face the danger with him. Whatever he was hiding, I don't know what his motivations were but I doubt it was done to thwart his love for you."

She paused, "Did you ask him why he chose not to tell you?"

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Usagi just shook her head, wondering how she could explain this tangle to Minako. She appreciated the support, but... Well, if the prospect of Mamoru keeping the Shittennou secret was so beyond all that she had imagined before, how could she expect Minako to understand when all she hinted at was the concealment of important information? Deception wasn't quite the word for it, but secret seemed too mild-- this was a game-changer. A mutation of their relationship, a permutation, a deal-breaker. The euphemism for 'My fiancé concealed the existence of four men who tried to kill me and my friends repeatedly and also were their lovers in their past lives' had not yet been invented.

"He didn't keep this secret to protect me," Usagi said finally. "He kept this secret to protect himself-- to not have to deal with inconvenience. I told him-- I told him that I am different from him, I can be overbearing. You're right, I'm much more open than he is. But this-- this really has nothing to do with personality issues. There are some things you don't keep to yourself-- it doesn't matter if you're an open or closed book. When it comes to the lives of other people-- their safety, their happiness, their memories... Some secrets are not yours to keep-- not his to keep! You know that saying... 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions.' I think it's applicable here. I can believe he didn't mean to hurt me-- he said as much... It's his behavior after he knew that he did that's as much an issue as the secret itself!" She took a deep breath.

"This wasn't a problem to be solved, in fact it's only created problems..." She kept getting ahead of herself. Usagi sighed, running a trembling hand though her long bangs, feeling a tension headache coming on.

She wasn't good with narration like Rei was; she couldn't build up to things and weave the details in so intricately. Best to get the punch-line out and then color in the lines afterwards.

"Mamoru has had the souls of the Shittennou in stones, with him, which he has taken advice from-- for the past ten years." There. It was out. Questions would come-- as would the explanation of Jadeite waking up, and everything else, but for now-- she had to let that sink in.

[Aino Minako]

Minako felt a slight stab at her heart at Usagi's words. The Shittenou? In stones? With Mamoru? How could that possibly be? Didn't they destroy the back-stabbing generals who had so easily betrayed their prince and their lovers for the allure of dark power? "How can that be?" Minako whispered softly. For years since the senshi had awakened, Minako had dreamed of her past love with Kunzite, until the dreams had become solid enough for her to remember the details while she was awake. But she'd pushed them aside. Kunzite was dead, and even if he lived, Minako could not forgive him for abandoning her for Queen Beryl. She wouldn't forgive him.

"I thought we sent their souls back into the darkness when we destroyed them..." Minako replied, her voice barely a whisper. She felt her past life's heartbreak pressing at the edges of her soul and she wanted nothing more than to return those feelings back to their proper place.

"Usagi, finish the story," Minako said softly. "His behavior? What did he do. And if he has the souls trapped in stones in a box, why don't we just... destroy them? Or better yet. Ask Mamoru to do it as a gesture of his faithfulness to you."

Minako felt a conflicting mix of emotions towards Mamoru, but she wasn't sure she was ready to throw him under the bus completely. Not until Usagi had told her everything, and perhaps, not until she spoke to him herself.

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Usagi shook her head, even gave a mirthless laugh at Minako's last suggestion. "Oh, Minako... You have no idea... He wouldn't even consider that, they are more important to him than I am... You see..." She settled herself in a chair, deciding that it was time for it all to come out.

"The day I snuck out and was with you, there was a man who came to Rei for help with dreams. Apparently he had some psychic abilities. To not get into details-- he burst in on the rest of the girls, and they felt some familiarity to him. The same day, Rei was going back to the shrine when she met a Palace tech-- some guy named Hiroki. Things happened, Hiroki awakened a few days later-- as Jadeite. Apparently, some part of their souls are in the stones that Mamoru has. When Hiroki-- the reincarnation or whatever, awakened, the soul/body merged... So, Hiroki is now fully Jadeite. Rei figured out that Nathaniel-- the guy from earlier, is really Nephrite. And we have some idea who Kunzite might be. I confronted Mamoru over the fact he had been keeping this a secret, asked for an explanation-- apparently he believes the Shitennou are loyal to him now and wouldn't hurt us. He is surprised that they would get to awaken, but insisted that it didn't matter. And I use insisted loosely, he was patronizing and acted as if I was stupid and wasting his time for even bringing the issue up! He was extremely domineering and hurtful-- I had never seen him like that. It scared me, Mina-chan... His treatment of me, with such scorn, and he didn't even care about how shocking and hurtful this all was-- for me or for the rest of us."

Usagi exhaled forcefully. "So. Mamoru would never destroy their souls. He has taken advice from them, they are his friends, he will stand with him, he didn't even deign to inform us of their existence, and talked down to me when I wanted to discuss it. How's that for faithfulness?"

[Aino Minako]

A domineering and hurtful Mamoru was hard for Minako to imagine. Granted, he'd had his moments in the past, but those had been moment where he'd been possess by darker forces. Mamoru had been influenced - overwhelmed - by dark powers more than once. Minako could hope that now was one of those times, but somehow she doubted it. Usagi had always been so protective of Mamoru when the forces of evil had invaded his soul. If she had suspected, even slightly, that he was once again subjugated by then, she'd fight to get him back.

No, Mamoru had simply betrayed her. Betrayed them all. Minako felt her emotions welling again, as though this new betrayal simply awakened the old.

"If Mamoru won't do it, Usagi, we must. We must end this once and for all. They are a danger to Crystal Toyko - you and I and everyone else know this. Who knows how much of the dark powers of Metallia still rest deep in their souls, even if Mamoru doesn't believe it. They may already be twisting him back into the clutches of..." She furrowed her brow. The battle again Beryl was so long ago, Minako couldn't even remember exactly what the queen's forces had called themselves. "And once they are gone... well, we can figure out what to do with Mamoru then."

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Usagi shook her head slowly at Minako's words. "No," she uttered softly, but forcefully, her spine straightening as her mind went from Mamoru's betrayal to the business of the matter, emotions clearing to give way to strategy. "That's precisely what will jeopardize the peace. Rei said that when Jadeite appeared, he was-- strangely-- not hostile. As long as they have not attacked us, I will not preempt anything, at least right now."

She tossed a long lock of hair over her shoulder, scooting to the edge of the chair to speak earnestly with the leader of the sailor senshi. "Thanks to Mamoru, we have precious little information on what the Shitennou are capable of and what their motivations are. He could be right, he could be wrong... Trust me, my first reaction last night was that he had been brainwashed or something. He is fully in control of his faculties." She frowned briefly, remembering her blind expression of faith. She had been so stupid...

"Anyway, he has denied us the information we need to make informed decisions about this, so therefore we will have to accumulate that information by other means. Furthermore, the other halves of the Shitennou that are walking around now are completely unaware of their former lives and the parts of the souls hidden away in those stones. These are innocent civilians who have done nothing wrong, and we cannot in good conscience destroy a half of their souls, at least until we know what is going on. This has nothing to do with Mamoru's feelings," she added. "That is the least of my concerns at the moment.

"Right now we are going to watch the people we have identified as possible other halves for the Shitennou, and determine if we can or should keep them from reawakening. I have also sent Ami-chan to approach Mamoru to see if he might be willing to cooperate. It would be in his best interest to start talking whether he likes it or not; the last thing he needs is us against them, he is currently at a disadvantage. If we force the issue now, Minako, we are operating blindly, and that is not a vantage point I want to be in when picking a fight. Now, Rei is going to follow up with Nathaniel, the man we believe is Nephrite, and I already have a pending contract with Khalid ibn Maleec, the man we believe is Kunzite. There will also be ways to keep an eye on Jadeite," she disclosed firmly. The time for tears had passed.

[Aino Minako]

Minako listened, absorbing the details as Usagi spoke. There was so much information - she'd have to sit and dissect it later. And, even though Ami had already spoken to Mamoru, Minako felt compelled to do so herself. Too much of this information was second or third hand. If she was going to back-up Usagi, if she was going to help her Queen make the right decisions, then she needed to be sure her facts were straight. And while Minako did not doubt Usagi for an instant, she also understood how easily emotions could impact conversations. Like her 'talk' the day before with Rei.

Her thoughts came crashing to a halt, however, when Usagi told her that Kunzite and Khalid ibn Maleec were the same person, or at least potentially the same person. The revelation at least explained why Minako had felt so flustered by him. She felt her cheeks flush - the complements he'd given her, the devotion to the movie - where they all because he was Kunzite? Or did he not know of his other identity. Minako's eyes met Usagi's, "Does Khalid ibn Maleec know he's Kunzite?" she whispered softly.