*distracting myself* the only fake marriage I want is Roy and Hawkeye’s fake marriage after he realizes its the easiest quickest legal way to protect each other.
In keeping with the post I believe prompted this: Roy files the paperwork without telling Hawkeye. Why would he need to? One day he tells her to put on her ceremonial suit and go to the courthouse with him. She's a little confused, as a visit there usually means she has paperwork to do. Still she does as he asks and thinks this is about Hughes or Havoc or something. But none of the crew are there when they arrive. The judge starts going over the paperwork and the situation begins to dawn on her. Her whole body turns to face him, heel step.
"What is this sir?" Her voice is mostly as if ever is but Roy can hear the edge of panic to it.
"Just a formality lieutenant, nothing more." He shrugs as if it's of no consequence.
"Marriage. Sir." Pause. "How is that just a formality?" Impatience begins to seep into her voice.
Roy pinches the bridge of his nose. "It's a legal contract Hawkeye. In the event of, one of our deaths, the other is entitled to our possessions. And this isn't even touching on simple incapacitation. If I get ill or something, you will be assumed as my power of attorney. Or do you want Colonel Hughes to finagle himself into that position. He means well, but is that really what you'd like?"
"But sir, if-"
"I have other appointments today." The judge has been remarkably patient.
"Just say yes lieutenant."
A long pause. Narrowed eyes. A turn to the judge, a begrudging sigh. "Yes. I do or whatever. Agree. Where do you need me to sign."
Judge taps twice with a knobby knuckle. Hawkeye picks up the pen.
Last year by this time, autumn had begun showing its color. This year, not so much. So it was strange, but pleasant, to find a country path yesterday through green forest, and along the way watch a sudden shower of yellow leaves I hadn't noticed in the canopy twinkle down in a soft breeze.
Last year, summer shifted suddenly into autumn.
This year, it's fading gently, peaking out between the branches, hiding in the 80 degree days and wilting quietly in the 50 degree nights. And though I'm over the heat and ready for window-open afternoons, it's a pleasure to watch summer inch into fall.
Word count: 1,157
This was written on a whim, after a long day, and without edits or much thought put into it. So warning, it might suck. BUT, this is specifically for @docholligay as she is a corrupting force, put an idea in my head that got lodged there, and said today hadn't been great for her which gave me that little extra push to FINE, put the thoughts in my head down 'on paper.' So... this really is fic written Just For Doc, but I guess if anyone else gets any enjoyment from it, cool. XD
ETA: I still hope to see your better version of this one day Doc
Hawkeye is forced to let Hughes take care of her.
"Roy?" was the first word out of Hawkeye as she began to surface to consciousness. The shock of cold was what finally managed her to break free from her collapse.
"He's with the doctors. Got a nasty concussion and needs treatment, but he'll be alright." A shot of tension eased at the words, spoken by Hughes. His voice was so casual. Hawkeye felt fairly certain that moments before, it had been strained and rushed and concerned. She had been trying so hard for consciousness all the way until the moment the cold had shocked her to it. Now, she wavered again. Roy would be safe.
She shifted just to test her body and felt movement all around her, heard the dripping of water. Her eyes snapped opened, all her muscles tensing as she tried to surge forward. A long, firm hand pressed her back into the tub.
"It's just me Riza, and it wouldn't be necessary if you hadn't thrown yourself in the way of acid. 'sides, I'm an expert at giving baths. Close your eyes." And a bucket of water was upended over her head, sending her nerves on fire as though they were tastebuds and water a strong mint. She cried out just the once, and it was mostly surprise that made her do it. Not that the sensation best compared to tasting mint as this came with a searing, tingling pain.
"Elicia was always choosing me to give her her baths, so I can safely assure you I am a pro. Of course, we were able to just fill the tub."
"Hughes," The word came out a threat. "I can do this myself."
"Elicia liked to play pirates! Ahh, she was the BEST pirate queen. You should have seen her. Actually, I think you'd have approved," the next bucket got dumped over her torso, and the sensation that hadn't even fully abated roared to life anew. This time, there was only a gasp followed by careful, controlled breathing.
"Elicia was a merciless queen. So many walked the gang plank." There was as sniffle of pride. "I always wondered how she still had a crew, but then again, the *charisma*. One can really hardly wonder. You'd have loved her pirate as a crew-mate. None of this none sense Roy gets himself into."
"Hughes," Even more threatening this time. She had had so little time to process what all was happening. The only clear thing that got through was that Roy was going to be okay. Or... as okay as he ever was. And now water had dripped in her eyes, and she was struggling to get her arms to do what she wanted. "Am I-"
"You know Hawkeye, I really only have eyes for Gracia. When I found her, other women may as well have been other men to me, as far as any interest I have. I mean don't get me wrong, men can be perfectly attractive I suppose, but what even is the point? You've met Gracia; you know." Now the fall of water was making it's way over her body, not just poured over her, but carefully moved from toes to head.
"How bad is it?" She asked, finally managing to wipe the water from her eyes and looking at her hands which were raw and red.
"Before the doctor insisted on having you sprayed down, he said it looked fairly superficial but worried it would get worse if not washed off. It was Dr. Grimes. You know he tried hitting on Gracia at that same party where you nearly choked him with tie. I can't really blame the guy. She is the most beautiful woman in the world, but I can't say it's endeared me to him. Still, he's a medical expert, and you needed some washing off. Do you think you can stand? I just need to check for something." He had put the most recently emptied bucket down and held out his hand to her.
Hawkeye was glad that Hughes paid more attention to his fitness tests than Roy. Not that this was saying much, but he was able to help her stand despite her whole body feeling frail and weak and her traitorous knees shaking as she stood.
"I didn't even tell him off that night you know. Hard to feel threatened by a guy you're pitying. Gracia's so sweet, she didn't say anything obvious, but he could tell she was disinterested. I think perhaps it would have been kinder if I *had* pretended to feel threatened. He was so disheartened."
As Hughes had rambled on, he'd done a circle of her, and as he finished, he came back to her side and gripped her hand and elbow gingerly. "There. No blackened spots. Some blistering though on your back and legs. He will need to look at those; I don't have that skill. Still, I'll get you covered up." He was lowering her back into bath, and he leaned over to plug up the stopper this time before starting the buckets to refilling.
"Now, with Elicia, we used a rag," he was pouring soap into his hands which she just realized were in white latex gloves. "But Dr. Grimes–you do know who I mean right?–well he said we can't have any irritants. Still, we need to be absolutely sure there's no more traces of that acid or whatever that was." He lifted her arm and started gently but impersonally applying the soap.
"Hughes" Hawkeye said again, but it had lost its threat. She was catching up. She recalled the blast that had knocked Roy into the wall so hard he'd landed lifeless on the ground without a sound, remembered that sickly fluid being shot toward him, her throwing herself into the way, the burning...
Hughes had only paused a moment at the sound of his name like he hadn't before. The lack of threat finally made him willing to listen to her, but she had nothing to say. She indeed wanted nothing to do with Grimes, let alone have him giving her this particular treatment. Funny, that Hughes spoke of her nakedness like she had to be concerned for her modesty instead of how vulnerable she felt just now, weak as a kitten, pain pulsing along her limbs, miserable at her failure to keep Roy from harm. But Hughes wasn't scolding or even reassuring her as he so often seemed to do.
This had been a hard day for Hughes too, she could see. He would be worried about Roy too and unable to place the blame with her where it belonged. So he would reassure himself with thoughts of his girls, and the least she could for him for now would be to listen.
She fell back into unconsciousness before he was done, to the sounds of his energetic story of how Elicia had decided, and managed, her own first bath without his help.
ETA:
Caveat: The reason why I'm a bit disparaging about this fic is just largely because I still feel like I'm only get to know these characters and not like I have much of a passing grasp. Otherwise, I'm perfectly happy with the CONCEPT I've got here.
Fun little tidbit: Yes the acid would have not just seeped into Hakweye's clothes but eaten away at the worst parts. Hughes absolutely put his coat over her before throwing her over his shoulder to hurry her either back to the med tent or ambulance or whatever. Yes this ruins that coat of his. His formal petition for a new coat comes with the request that the inner lining of the coat has a chickie pattern on it.
Someone: Other than your own, of course, whose is the most loving marriage you've seen?
Hughes: Oh Roy and Hawkeye of course!
Maria: I thought their marriage was like one of those lavender marriages or something
Havoc: Roy's not gay
Fuery: It's a marriage of convenience! Colonel, you know that's not what they meant.
Hughes, leaning his chair back on two legs, heels on the desk, reaching for a cookie on a counter behind him: I know exactly what they mean, what you think, and what's going on between the brigadier general and his lieutenant. Just because they don't love each other like [takes a big bite of the cookie, and through his mouthful] my Gracia and myself [pause to marvel over his marriage], they still love each other very much. [swallows] Their marriage is overflowing with love.
Havoc's eyes roll so hard the room feels it
Fuery: It's still not the same. What happens when one of them actually fall in love. You're not telling me they're in love colonel.
Havoc, to himself: He is going to tell you exactly that
Hughes: Noooo. But that doesn't make their marriage any less loving. [punctuates his statement with a bite into his cookie. Says around it] I'm Not changing my answer
Havoc: He just says that because not neough of us are married.
Fuery: He has sisters that are married!
Havoc: Hot sisters.
Hughes, good naturedly: Watch it!
Roy, entering the room: It's not the colonel you need to watch out for either. His sisters could beat your ass Havoc.
Havoc: Just because they could beat your ass-
Hawkeye, behind Roy: They could beat your ass Havoc.
Below is 1,177 words inspired by @cl0udberry's art depicting Michiru transforming. It's her first time in this fic. And as usual, my version of Michiru is deeply informed by Docholligay's view of her 😂
💬 2 🔁 429 ❤️ 1027 · It must be so scary on the first time
Please go appreciate the full piece. Cl0udberry's preference was to not have the text added to the original post.
Michiru had seen Sailor Neptune in her dreams, flickering in peripheral vision as she turned away from silver backed mirrors, and in the ocean waves of the many beaches her family visited from the fanciest of hotels to second, fourth homes. The soldier had been an ephemeral companion for as long as Michiru could remember, warping in and out of her awareness lest she forget that unknown forces had plans for her.
Everyone had a plan for her.
Except herself.
Too many wants and desires were layered over her shoulders like fine silks the tailors asked if her mother thought were just right. She barely had room to figure out what, if any, were her own.
But she knew she did not want anything to do with that soldier. If she could have exorcised this personal haunting from her life, she would have. But no one else knew of her. No one else could have helped. No one else would have believed. If she had spoken of it beyond her first young mentions, when it could be passed off as an ‘imaginary friend,’ then she would have been considered flawed, broken, something to whisk away and hide. Be ashamed of and ridiculed for and thought forever insane.
But Michiru had not been insane. That soldier had been with her the whole time, haunting her, biding her time. And at last, she had struck.
It had been like a delicate chain collar of ice settled around her throat, much like a the first string of diamonds presented as ornamentation for her to wear to her first soiree as a “woman,” when she finally woke up to the ring nestled in the middle of her vanity. She knew it was no rich gift, and no human hand had nestled it there atop her ornate lave vanity tray. No. It was from her. Michiru hadn’t wanted to touch it, so she left it there, hoping a maid would see it abandoned and pocket it, whisk it away.
But as the distance grew between her and that simple piece of silver, a teal oval its only setting, Michiru could feel it like a weight in the back of her mind. An itch she could only reach if she would just touch it, put it on. It tested her iron will for two days, then five, then a week. Eventually, her growing irritation made her wit sharp enough it stung, ever so slightly, her mother, who demanded Michiru put a stop to this ever colder temperament.
So finally, finally one evening, she picked it up. No maid was ever going to have had the audacity to steal even a trinket from a Kaioh. It felt like ice against her fingertips and then a weight far greater than its size in her palm. It was enough. The itch was scratched. For now. It needed only be close to her. She put it on a long ornate chain, so it could hide under her fine clothes without lending her outfits any drabness. And she seethed, resenting every moment it hung between her breasts. She hoped never to find out why it had come to her.
Her hopes were never meant to be realized. She knew that even then.
So it came as no surprise to her that upon hearing distant screams, a compulsion lanced through her so sharp, she staggered. The hidden ring blazed in her mind's eye, froze through the fabric keeping it from her chest, and burned so cold, Michiru's hand compulsively grabbed at it over the top of her layers. It tempered but pulsed against her palm, and she knew the only way to gain relief was to put it on.
Michiru could see through the wide windows that people were running through the courtyard in terror. She was meant to help those people. Save them. That was Neptune's destiny, and somehow taking the ring was an acceptance of that destiny for herself. Michiru wanted to tear it from her and throw it down. Their lives weren't worth hers.
She knew the ring wouldn't let her escape it though, and it's powers to distract clearly were far greater even than she'd experienced before.
Michiru understood inevitability. She was capable of walking away, but what was the point? Better to face what would come now than run and hide from something already slung around her neck.
In a smooth motion, Michiru retrieved the ring from its chain and didn't let herself stop to think or hesitate before slipping it on her finger.
The only expectation Michiru had in the moment her fate was met was some sort of possession. Neptune would attempt to exorcise her. She expected a fight for control, expected a presence in her mind, a loss of control.
She did not expect a flare of blue refracted light to flash alight below her, to hear waves crashing, whirling, rising up from that circle of blazing light. She threw her arm back as though she might be able to block what was happening. She hadn't expected an attack or waves or magic light. A single quiet scream escaped her lips as the waves burst in a column up around her, closing her in, closing in on her. It was as though they picked her up and whirled her around, their cool waves spreading like silk over her abdomen, her arms, her legs. She expected, for a moment, to feel her body shift, her bones move, for pain to break her and leave a space for Neptune.
But when it was over, she was herself, only with a rip current of power under her flesh, in her veins. She lifted her hands to look at them, wondering if they would be a stranger's hands. They were covered in a fine white fabric, but the size and shape were familiar. She flexed her fingers and felt in the same way she knew to go from first finger on A to third on B that they had always and were still her own.
A not too distant howl of fury diverted Michiru's attention to the world around her, to the windows that faced the courtyard and the monster who had a target pinned to the ground, ready to strike.
Michiru had expected to feel like a captive once she embraced her fate, but in this moment, she felt power. Felt powerful. It had not resulted in possession. She had not been exorcised. And she could feel in this moment that she had been compelled as far as fate could push, for the moment. She could walk away from this moment, let the monster wreak unfettered havoc. But she wanted to feel this rush of power, see what the rushing in her veins could do.
So Michiru didn't run away that first time, only finally beginning to accept her fate now that it was, in fact, hers to choose.
It wouldn't be until later, after she met Haruka, she would realize the ways her free choices in these matters, could also be a curse.
This is written for the Sailor Moon Same Prompt Party hosted by Docholligay. I tried to make sure that this piece can stand all on it's own, but it is part of a larger thing I am working on. Parts one and two are already posted, but I hope are entirely optional reading for following this!
What you're getting into here: 3,332 words of angst.
In the dark shadows of the early morning hours of a new day, long before the sun would rise, a figure sporting a miniskirt and flowing hair leapt out of a tree into the cemetery, a backpack slung over one shoulder. She made directly for the fresh gravesite, more than an hour of observations assuring her no one else was here. She had a friend to meet up with and couldn't risk any unwanted visitors.
Mina watched Haruka across the table as she ran the fingertips of one hand over the rim of her beer can. The woman gave a drooping shrug. "I don't really care what happens after if I die. It's not like I have a lot of possessions. I suppose you should have that leather jacket you like so much."
Mina took a swig from her glass. Of course Haruka was going to be like this, make it hard for Mina to perform this part of her duty. She needed her soldiers to trust, in the heat of battle, that they haven't left anything to attend to, a reason to hesitate nor a reason to throw themselves into danger to avoid exactly this sort of thing.
"'Ruka, I waited until you were three cans deep exactly so you can be a bit vulnerable with me now. Tell me what you need from the rest of us if you die in battle."
Haruak's hand dropped to loosely cup the can in front of her, her eyes still staring intently at it. Mina let the silence fall between them as Haruka tried to sort out ways to escape the conversation. Minako typically understood exactly how far she could push Haruka, and most days, she would have shown her an out, but she needed to take care of this. Haruka was the last of her soldiers left and easily the most difficult. Michiru had been a walk in the park in comparison, informing Mina her lawyers and attorneys all had strict and comprehensive directives in the event of her death or going missing, and the only thing Mina would have to worry about would be Haruka.
Haruka sighed and dropped her knuckles to the table, not with any intention, but rather in surrender. "I don't know Mina. Clean out my stuff for Michiru so she doesn't have to sit with the reminder or do it herself?"
The backpack made a soft thud against the fresh, dew dampened earth of the grave site. Sailor Venus kneeled down in front of the tombstone, running her hands over the intricately carved name set into the stone there: HARUKA TENOH. Her fingers pressed firmly into the empty spaces that made up the K and A of the dead woman's name. If the edges would have been sharp, she would have welcomed the bite of the cut. But she was getting ahead of herself. Turning to the bag, she opened it and pulled out a stone slab that had weighed down the bottom of the pack. Next to it, she set down bottles of Potassium permanganate, glycerine, and water.
"Haruka." Mina said, filling that one word with meaning. Mina had at least gotten an answer, but really, it was a non-answer. Haruka hoped to get away with it, and Minako was not about to let her.
Haruka just gave another defeated shrug and stubbornly looked away. "You don't want anything left behind for Michiru?" Mina prompted.
"I think…" Haruka's hand jerked, closing into a tight fist. "Just honor me. Or some shit. Don't let my sacrifice be in vain. Let it mean something." Her voice was quiet but fierce, and as soon as she finished, she raised the beer back to her lips and downed the rest of her can. "I think I need something stronger."
From the bag, Mina additionally produced a first aid kit and a sheathed dagger. Finally, kneeling entirely on the ground, she lowered herself to sit seiza, her hands pressed into her knees to steady the trembling of her hands. She took a deep breath and gazed once more at the tombstone before her. She should have never come here. She should talk herself out of this. She clenched her fingers, hands balling into fists, palms pressing into her knees. Mina had never been one to follow the rules and keep her word. She couldn't decide if it was a trick of fate that made her general with those traits, or a clever happenstance. Oftentimes not following the rules and being able to lie helped one lead, but she could see how this was the worst possible thing she could be planning to do.
After Mina had gotten a whiskey delivered for Haurka, she continued, finally looked at Mina. "Don't let Usagi try and do anything stupid for me, and don't you blame her." Mina managed to hold back the instinctive flinch at those words. The chances of one of them dying to protect Usagi after she did something stupid was too likely a scenario. "Just… keep going. And, and Michiru…" Haruka's eyes dropped again. "Tell her. Tell her to move on, okay? That's why you should get rid of my stuff. She shouldn't have to live with my junk."
Mina bit back a groan of frustration. She struggled sometimes to figure out where Haruka's obliviousness ended and her need to believe she didn't matter began. "You want us to erase you for her? After everything you two have gone through?" It was a time to be gentle, she forced herself to remember. She needed these answers, even if it was for the sake of making everyone confront this very real possibility.
With some very real embarrassment, Haruka tentatively said, "Well.. I guess you could leave her my, my poem to her." Minako's eyebrows shot up, and she was glad Haruka wasn't looking at her so she could school her face. "It's not any good. I actually threw it away once, but I guess, if I'm dead…" She shrugged.
Mina nodded. What a difference these instructions were from say, Ami, who had taken time to write notes to everyone, from the thick manila envelopes for Usagi and Mako to that one thin envelope Mina suspected had so few words in it to Michiru, all closed only to be opened in the event of her death.
"Okay Haurka. Well done. We'll offer to Michiru to clean out your stuff for her, I'll give her your message, and I'll make sure she gets your poem. Does that sound right?"
Haruka gave a curt nod. "And don't look back. Give me the honor of my death when it comes. Just, appreciate what good I did." Haurka was meeting her eye again, intense and urgent.
"Right. Okay. Now where is this poem?" Mina added a note of teasing into her final question to avoid lingering on Haruka's most important and least possible request."
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Minako used the potassium permanganate and glycerine on the stone slab to start a fire. She shook a couple drops of the water into it, and when the blaze reached it's highest, she unsheathed the dagger and stuck it into the fire and let it sit, absorbing the heat. As it sat, she removed her gloves and pulled from the first aid kit some gauze bandages and antibacterial cream. She untwisted the cap of the cream and stared hard at her supplies, making sure they were ready and waiting for quick use.
With dread, her eyes returned to the dagger blade, heating up in its womb of fire.
Mina's hand traced along the gentle slope of Rei's hip, tracing back and forth as her head nestled in the girl's dark hair. Suddenly, Rei rolled onto her back, nearly knocking heads with Mina. Her hands jerked the blankets up, both fists balling into the blankets as she held them now over the hollow of her throat, covering herself. She stared hard at the ceiling as Mina readjusted to the new position, simultaneously amused and disappointed at Rei's sudden modesty.
"Are you going to spit it out?" Mina asked, as Rei glared daggers at the ceiling, clearing having something to say. Maybe Mina shouldn't have prompted her. It was going to be something or other about how this was a mistake, that it didn't mean anything, that it couldn't happen again. Mina, frankly, didn't want to hear it. But it was Rei. She may as well let Rei get the fight out of her sooner rather than later. She always did better to burn hot and quick than to simmer, and if she let her simmer, that would only give her time to buckle down instead feeling comfort in her win.
"Whatever you think you know about what you saw of Usagi, you need to keep it to yourself." It was said in such a hostile manner, that for a brief moment, Mina thought she had been absolutely right about the kind of fight Rei was about to pick with her. Luckily for her, her brain was quick to pick up the threads of this unexpected topic.
"Her missing toe." Mina said it aloud as the conversation brought her memory to that glimpse she got last night. "That's new. What happened?"
Rei's hands clenched around the blankets she still held clutched to her chest. Slowly, she turned her gaze to Mina, clearly meaning to assess Mina's expression, but immediately a blush spread over her cheeks and she looked away again. "You know you could cover up too."
Mina rolled onto her back, causing the blankets Rei had yanked up to fall further away, exposing her to her belly button. "I'm quite comfortable like this though." She turned her head to look back at Rei, whose face had gone red and was staring intently at the ceiling. It was perhaps a bit too mean, to try and keep Rei a little bit off balance here, but Mina had gone to expecting rejection to thinking about a failure, and she couldn't deny herself any advantage she had. "You know about it and no one else does, and it's important to you that we don't-"
"Stop! Just stop it!" Rei snapped. "Usagi made a sacrifice she never should have had to, and I won't see it ever happen again, so I need you to let this go." Rei looked at Mina now, but kept her eyes fixedly on Mina's face. Rei's own expression was intent and serious but still a little red.
Mina sat up, prompting Rei to mimic her, though while Rei kept the blankets clutched to her, Mina's pooled around her hips. She hugged her knees to her chest though, and she heard Rei let out a breath as her new position covered her. "Chibiusa." Mina said, the final pieces falling into place. Usagi had holed up alone for such a long time after Chibiusa had died, and only Rei had really spent much time with her. It was natural enough. Minako didn't care to see Usagi in the throes of grief nor did she know how to help her. The rest would listen to Usagi when she demanded to be alone. But Rei wouldn't. Usagi had been extra clumsy for a while, and Rei was so close at hand. "She's alive. Usagi brought her back."
"Do you understand what it would mean if they knew?" Rei demanded. Mina did. Instantly. Unequivocally. If any of them died, the others would have to live with it. Perhaps no one would admit to wanting to ask it of Usagi to cut herself up for their fallen, but deep down, they were far more human than they liked to think. They would grow to resent it. Resent her.
"Yes." Mina said quietly, one hand beginning to stroke up and down her leg as her thoughts raced. "And you've been sitting with this, by yourself." She said, looking over to Rei, seeing the pain there. "Why wouldn't you share the burden with me? I'm her general, why-"
"Can you really, honestly say you wouldn't want to ask it of Usagi if Haruka died?!" Rei demanded. "Or if I…" Rei looked down now, her hands loosening. She mimicked Mina's position then, using her thighs to her chest to hold her blankets in place. "No one can guess. If it happens and anything you do gives anyone the inkling of what Usagi could do…" Rei shook her head fiercely. "No. The fewer who know the better. It's been enough that I've had to worry about what Usagi would reveal if it happened."
Sailor Venus reached out with her right hand and touched the hilt of the dagger. She placed her left hand down, fingers splayed across the stone slab. Almost under her breath, she recited the words she'd prepared. "As the guardian of Venus, granted power by the Serenity line, I give this flesh of my body for the return of one of our own, guardian of Uranus, and friend, Haruka Tenoh."
Mina put a hand on Rei's knee. "That's a lot to carry on your own."
Rei moved in a quick, jerky motion, putting her face in her hands and resting them over her knees, on Mina's hand. "I still feel the blade sometimes Mina. I dream about cutting her up."
Mina's hand jerked back in surprise. It should have been obvious, but it was so easy to think Usagi just had to magically say "toe" or something and have it disappear with the way her magic worked. "You did it." She moved her withdrawn hand to Rei's back and started making circles there with her palm, comforting her, but also finding that the smoothness of Rei's flesh helped clear her own mind a little.
Slowly lifting her face from her hands, Rei shook her head then nodded. "Usagi had to do it, but you know Usagi. God Usagi!" The last came out as an exclamation of frustration but also affection.
Mina just continued the circles on Rei's back, waiting for her to continue. The girl had held onto this for too long on her own. Only the fiery determination of the guardian of Mars could hold up under the weight of this. Alone.
Rei cleared her throat so hard, Mina winced. It had to have hurt. "We can't speak of this again. This conversation never happened, and you know nothing. Okay?!"
Mina nodded mechanically, not exactly in agreement, rather to pacify.
"I mean it Minako." Rei drew away so she could reach and grab the hand Mina had been touching her with. The movement caused the blanket to fall, but this time, Rei paid no heed. She grabbed both Mina's wrists and stared hard into Mina's eyes. "Promise me. Promise me you'll never say or do anything revealing about this. Promise!" The grip on Mina's wrists were now so tight, it hurt.
"I promise!" Mina replied, flexing her fingers in a signal for Rei to let go. Rei seemed to be studying her for sincerity though, so more gently, fervently, she repeated, "Rei, I promise." Rei stared for another moment before nodding and releasing Mina's wrists.
She would break two promises this night, made to those she felt closest to. She would pay dearly for it. If ever there was a moment to step back, away from this ledge, this was that moment.
In a quick, fluid motion, her hand gripped the dagger, and with a shout, brought it down on her ring finger. Her shout turned into a scream of pain, and as the knife hit the stone slab, despite the blinding pain, Mina held still, hoping she had gotten the knife hot enough to cauterize the wound as it cut. Then her right hand let go of the blade, letting the fiery metal fall away, and with a cry, Mina clutched her hand to her chest, still reeling from the pain lancing through her.
Eyes watering, she looked to the grave. She hadn't been able to ask Rei the specifics of what she and Usagi had done. How long would it take. She didn't feel anything magical, but the pain was all consuming; it was hard to tell if there was anything else to feel.
With a quiet moan, she let go of her hand and reached for the antibiotic cream. The top already off, all she needed to do was bring the opening to her hand and squeeze, but she found for a moment, that she didn't want to look at the wound. She shook her head as if it could clear away the cowardice, and she looked. The cauterization had mostly worked. There was some blood seeping out, but it wasn't much. The remaining skin was blistered and waxy looking, and, of course, a digit was missing. Hands shaking, she managed to squeeze the cream onto the wound. She did it just in time before her stomach did a flip, and she had to lean over and vomit into the grass. What a sight she'd be for Haruka. The thought stung, and as she wiped her mouth with the back of her left wrist, her right hand holding her up, her eyes returned to the overturned dirt.
Still nothing.
Sitting back up, Mina reached for the bottle of water and tipped some back, rinsing her mouth. She spat that mouthful out before taking a good gulp of the liquid. She reached for the gauze and held it in place over her stump. Placing it there made new pain lance through her, and she wavered, gulped, and steadied. Then, another look at the grave.
Nothing.
Mina bit her lip not to cry out in pure frustration and pain and disappointment. Had she really gone through all that for nothing? She wasn't as powerful as their princess, but didn't all their magic stem from the same well? Why should it work only for Usagi?
Tears stung at her eyes, and just as she managed to think to herself that she needed to not cry just now, they began streaming down her face. Holding her injured hand to her chest, she leaned forward until her head touched the far end of the slab. This far from where she'd made the fire, it had only a mild heat. She really could have used a cool surface just then.
After a while, the crying lessened, and slowly, Mina sat back up. The earth was still undisturbed. With a quiet whimper, she shrugged off Sailor Venus, and before the grave now knelt simply a tear-streaked young woman. Slowly, numbly, Minako repacked the backpack with one hand. She couldn't quite manage the slab with it alone, so she left it. She couldn't get herself to care what its presence might suggest.
As she stood, packed and ready to leave still with no results, the numbness faded, and she was struck with the unfairness of it all. She'd always known it might not work. Really, that it almost certainly wouldn't. She was only their general, not the princess. Of course she wouldn't be granted this particular power.
The need to move, to run, to exert herself took over, and she turned and fled the gravesite. In her blind urgency, she didn't see the figure coming out of the darkness. She collided shoulder to shoulder with a woman entering the graveyard as Mina was leaving. The jolt sent a new flash of pain through her, and she cried out, her fingers convulsing. She dropped the gauze, then to her knees.
"Mina?" Came the startled but still elegant voice.
Mina hurriedly picked up the gauze and hid her finger. She crouched before the woman for a moment, trying to gather her wits and let her nerves calm. "Michiru. I'm sorry. I just… I have to go." And once again she fled, hoping Michiru hadn't seen. Hoping that if she had seen, she wouldn't understand. Hoping against hope that if she understood, she would better keep promises made to Haruka than Mina had.
Happy Birthday @docholligay! I finally got an idea of something super angsty to write for you and only managed to because it's your birthday as I don't know if I actually think it's a very well executed idea. SORRY IF THAT IS IN FACT THE CASE. No edits or re-reads because I don't know if I think it's good enough to post if it weren't for it being a gift. (aka I don't wanna re-read XD)
Have some Minako angst. 2,255 words. No hard feelings if you don't end up wanting to read it. XD
The villains thought without their general, they'd be useless. Or that they'd be stupid and try to rescue me. It's not a bad tactical plan when your enemy is young and brash. Which, I suppose most of us are. But they took the wrong senshi if they were hoping for a trade or a sacrifice or a rescue attempt that would lure them into a trap.
No one was coming for me.
Oh sure, Usagi is trying to convince the others it can be done, and Haruka is probably pulling her hair out with worry. Still. They're not coming for me. Michiru will restrain Haruka's valor, and Rei will do her duty to her princess. She was always going to choose her princess over her lover.
I should be proud. I trained her to take my place in exactly such a case.
I'm not. Not in this moment.
The room is too hot, too stuffy. The smell should repress my hunger, but I haven't had anything to eat since they got me.
They shouldn't have been able to catch me. If Usagi had stayed where she was supposed to. If Mako hadn't tried to power through a forward attack instead of backing up to give Michiru the opening when the enemy withstood the thunder.
The worst part is the thirst though. Once, they slid a small cup of water into the cell. I guess they decided I was, in fact, worth more alive than dead. I shouldn't have drank it. It wasn't enough. It made the thirst worse. I told myself not to, and resisted for a while. I couldn't tell you how long. I don't know how long I've been here. But there's nothing quite like thirst to make one lose self discipline.
The quiet broke like an explosion, the door of the cell grating open. It felt like I jumped out of my itchy, damp skin. My legs wobbled as I reflexively swung to my feet to face my jailer. This was the first time I was seeing the door open.
"All we've asked for is the holy grail. I would have thought a life more priceless than an object of power, but they haven't even deigned our offer with a reply." The voice was Kaolonite's. She tossed something to Venus, which was caught. Blessed coolness. Mina didn't look at what it was as she wasn't going to take her eyes off Kaolonite, but her hands recognized the object, and her whole body spasmed. A bottle of water. "Freshen up a little before our field trip. We hadn't cared enough about you to do anything worse, but it appears we will have to put on a show for your friends. It'll be more… impactful, if you're not already so decrepit."
Mina's hand clenched around the bottle. She should chuck it at Kaolonite and rush past her, make her own escape. Except she barely felt as though she could keep standing, let alone shove her way out and run. She probably had enough strength to summon her chain, but to do what?
"Nothing to say to all that?" The woman gave a one shoulder shrug. "Think about your loyalties."
"You have a proposition for me?" Her voice sounded strange to her ears. She hadn't used it in a while, and the stuffy air and lack of water had made her throat feel thick.
"No. Not really. Just seems to me they don't really care about you. I would have thought differently. It's no matter to us. In the end, you will serve your purpose. A meal will be coming soon. Eat up, look a little more refreshed. Try not to drink that so fast you throw it all up." And she left, closing the door behind her with a grinding that showed just how much effort it took to move the door. And as it closed tight, the air felt repressive, heavy, thick. Too thick. Like she couldn't breathe. And Mina was forced back to her knees as she gasped for breath.
--
Kaolonite waited for the senshi to assemble in battle before summoning the magical, transparent black sphere-cell Venus had been contained in. She could see her team through it, but a thick, oily substance warped their images as it swirled around within the orb. Jupiter reacted before Kaolonite even got to begin her evil monologuing about the exchange she wanted to make. A surge of her electric power smashed against the orb, and of course, nothing happened. At first.
It was like the orb had absorbed the attack… and rebounded it inside. Jupiter's power surged at Venus. Pain erupted from all sides, forcing her body to jerk. She bit her lip just in time to choke back the scream, but blood trickled down as the force of the pain and the power and the desperation buckled her body for what could only have been a couple seconds but felt like an eternity. It left her dazed and fallen against the side the bubble. There wasn't quite enough room to have fallen to the floor.
When she did come to, she heard shouting. Rei's voice was raging for everyone to stay back and not to do anything further. Mercury was yelling to Kaolonite to let her go, and Haruka was calling out directly to Mina, asking if she was okay.
Panting, Mina pushed herself upright and wiped her mouth on the back of her arm. Kaolonite was laughing.
"If you would have given me a moment, I would have told you what would happen if you tried to free your friend, but there is nothing quite like a demonstration, is there?"
"Let her go, or we will take you out Kaolonite!" Mars said it as an order, and it made Mina smile weakly. Venus would know this was a hopeless case, but Rei would believe she could do anything until she couldn't.
"That will not help your friend. Your only choice is to hand over the grail. Where is your silly little Sailor Moon?"
"Stay back." Mars ordered the others, and then she herself stepped warily forward, heading toward their captive general. She appeared ready for Kaolonite to try and stop her, but the woman just watched, seeming eager to see how this played out.
As Mars approached, she tentatively lifted her hand to touch the bubble. There was a crackle of electricity that caused Mars to flinch, but she kept her hand there. Venus lifted her own on the other side, touching the other side of where Mars did. There was no crackle for her. It was just a smooth, firm surface. She wanted to tell her to get her out of there. She wanted to tell her she loved her and despite all her frivolities, she always came back to Rei. But she looked up into those dark eyes and simply waited.
"Michiru and I have been looking into the mirror and fire. We were able to make sure Sailor Moon wouldn't know about this encounter. It's the only way we could think of to keep her safe. From this. We've been less successful figuring out how to get you out. Do you know where they've been keeping you?" This was all said in a quiet voice that had prompted Kaolonite to close the distance to hear, but they were both pretty sure all she could have caught was the last question.
The woman snapped her fingers, and the oily looking substance suddenly went from softly swirling to pulling together, shaping into a spike, and shooting through the center of the orb. Venus jerked in the small space to avoid being impaled. She was successful, but it was just surprising and quick enough that it caught her left arm as she moved, grazing deep against her outer bicep. She and Rei both screamed for a moment, and the senshi left behind jerked forward as one, but Neptune's sharp voice kept them from moving more than a step or two. Except Haruka, who had broken from Michiru's grasp and was suddenly also beside them, her fists pounding on the orb. Once again, Kaolonite's shrill laugh accompanied the moment.
"Oh right. That's another thing. If you don't get me what I want, your friend is going to be impaled in there. There's nothing you can do except-" The woman had to disappear as a wall of flame erupted toward her. She reappeared above them all, pissed and patting the hem of her dress. Rei had been so close. "Killing me won't release her. She can only be free when I hold the grail in my hands."
"Mina. Mina! Are you okay?" Haruka asked, her face nearly pressed to bubble. She'd stopped pounding as it was entirely ineffective.
"It didn't get me anywhere vital." She replied. Any other response would have been a lie, and while she wasn't opposed to lying, she wasn't ready yet to meekly accept her fate either.
"We have no plan for this." Mars said, staring intently into Mina's eyes, searching for instruction. Of course she couldn't just ask.
"It's all on you now Mars. I can't do anything from here. All I can ask is you make it quick if there's nothing to be done." Mina's voice was tight, restrained. She should have felt heroic, like an honored martyr. But she wasn't Haruka, and she wasn't Rei who would be happy to die in Usagi's place. Mina did her duty. She didn't always want to, and this was one of those times. She didn't want to die here, for a girl who had five times the amount of love in her life than Mina herself. Especially when she wouldn't have to die to save her. Except would they really let her go? At least the death might be quick if they gave up the grail. She would either be free or dead quickly. She couldn't go back to that cell.
"I've seen what happens if they get the grail. We all perish." There were tears welling in Rei's eyes. She looked so angry. They were probably tears of powerlessness.
"Mina," was all Haruka could say. She was so lost just now. This would have been so much easier for her if their places were changed. Mina wanted to laugh about the absurdity of it. She was their general and Haurka just a soldier, but if their places were switched, Michiru would have taken the grail for Usagi even by force if necessary to get Haruka back. But not for Mina.
"I wish we could have been something. Something real, before this." Mina said to Rei.
"Don't give up Mina!" Haruka said, pounding the bubble again.
"This is growing quite tedious," Kaolonite said from above, sounding angry.
"Venus." Rei said, her voice so controlled it shook. "You have to have some ideas-"
"Make it quick. Kaolonite is going to draw this out. If you can't get me out, don't let her humiliate me." She stared hard into those shining black eyes, looking for comprehension. Anger sparked behind her features and she slapped the bubble.
"How dare you ask that of me?!"
"I have no one else to ask." When Rei's eyes flicked to the side at Haruka, Mina let out a laugh of contempt.
"Mich-"
"She would never be forgiven, so she won't. Not for me."
"You two have a plan?" Haruka asked, sounding hopeful.
A sigh of annoyance from Kaolonite, and she snapped again. This time, Mina didn't try to dodge, just braced herself with her hands on the edges of the bubble as this time the power of the orb struck out and punctured right through Mina's body just under her collarbone on the left side of her body. Oh they would kill her, but not quickly. She wished they would as the pain suddenly disappeared as adrenalin poured into her, dulling the pain and making her ears ring.
"Stop! Stop! We'll get it. It's not here right now! Just stop and let us get it!" Uranus was yelling up at Kaolonite.
"Mercury, have you figured out anything else about this bubble yet?" Mars yelled back to the senshi. Mercury had been typing away at her computer.
"Your visions," Mina said, gasping after every couple of words, "didn't see you, getting me out of, this. Did they?" Mars ignored her and ran back to Mercury. Haruka was asking Mina what to do, if she was okay.
"Hey Uranus," Minako said, cutting in like they were just hanging out, ignoring Haruka's desperation. "You're a pain in the ass. But I liked having a friend. Tell your-" The spike this time, having successfully struck her, had stayed pinning her in place, but suddenly it drew back again. Her knees buckled and struck down on the curved part of the sphere, keeping her from being able to slump fully down. She leaned her forehead against the sphere.
"Mina, Mina." As her name brought her back to herself, the pain started to hit her in force. The adrenaline could only do so much. "Cast your chain. Mercury said if things can go in, maybe power can go out." Rei was saying to her.
Mina gave a gurgling laugh, blood spotting her lips. Oh yeah, that had gotten a lung. "That's the first thing I tried when they put me in here. It didn't work."
Another snap, and the next spike sprung through her middle. Oh that was going to kill her. But slowly. That had to be her stomach. Rei was on her knees by now outside the bubble, she now looking up at Mina as Mina was bowed over. "Be the one to show me mercy." She whispered, blood spattering against her cell as she spoke. If they let her out now, Usagi could still heal her with her crystal. But that was up to Rei now. The choice had to be made now.
"Minako" Rei said, and that one word was filled with longing and sorrow and grief for all the things they should have been for each other but would never get to. She said after a long moment, then stood.
"Are you finally ready to make the deal?" Kaolonite asked, seeing the decision in Rei's eyes.
"Haruka, I need you to go back to the others. That's a direct order. Do it for Mina" As Rei said this, Kaolonite lowered herself closer.
"Oh have you been holding onto it all this time?"
Haruka exchanged a tearful glance with all of them and allowed herself to be led away by Michiru who had stepped forward a while ago. As they stepped away, Rei looked to Minako. "I'm sorry."
The senshi of fire then threw everything she had into the largest, hottest blaze she had released to date, filled with all the misery of this moment, fury at her inability to do more, and conviction of the righteous. She took Kaolonite out in the sudden conflagration, and when the smoke cleared, there were two corpses, one a tangle of limbs against the scorched earth, and the other a pile of ash in a withered, cracked orb of burnt out power.
Unscathed among the circle of wasteland she had wrought stood Rei, straight-backed and hollow, and took her first steps away from the devastation as the official, monster general of the senshi.
(For the record, this just made me imagine what I think actually happened but I hadn't had specifics before. *I* started wanting to know them despite like, it being enjoyed I didn't have to explain 😅)
"You know, sometimes I actually quite miss my posting in Ishball."
Roy froze mid-sentence, his eyes darkening at the sounds of the conversation happening in a different circle of State personnel chatting over champagne in the State Hall near their own group.
Hawkeye looked past Roy's face, which to anyone else might merely look puzzled but she knew had frozen. Not far behind him was Dr. Cris Grimes.
"There was really nothing for me to do, and when there was, the Rockbells were so quickly on top of it, they rarely left anyone for me to treat. The food might not have been any good, nor the amenities, but I was left pretty free to my research."
Roy gave his now quiet circle of partygoers a partial bow before turning on his heel and making to leave. The doctor noticed his movement though and caught Roy by the shoulder before he could move off. "Ah you know what I mean! So few injuries needing treatment when the Flame Alchemist is at work!" He patted Roy's shoulder.
"Doctor." The word came sharp and harsh out of Hawkeye's mouth as she stepped forward into his personal bubble. The man's arm drew away from Roy's shoulder as Hawkeye stepped up to him. She didn't turn her gaze from him either as Roy took the distraction to walk away. "You're tie is askew." She covered for the distraction. Behind her, Armstrong and Havoc followed after Roy. Hughes stood at her back.
The doctor looked down at his tie in befuddlement, and Hawkeye reached up and took hold of it as though she were going to fix it. She did adjust it, slowly tightening it up. Grimes lifted his arms as if trying to stop her, but she gave a visually subtle jerk, but one he would feel clearly. A warning not to move. Once the tie was just pressing into the skin below Grimes's adams apple, she felt Hughes hand on her shoulder. Her hand spasmsed around her grip on the tie, but she didn't tighten it more. Not yet.
"Ishbal is off limits, doctor. You should already know this after what happened to Kimbly. Do you really want to be investigated as well?" With the last words, she did tighten the tie further, and she was satisfied with the way his skin tautened around the fabric. "And that's if your lucky. You don't want to disappear like Marcoh now do you?"
Dr. Grimes made a gargled sound and gave a bare shake of his head. Hughes's hand tightened on her shoulder, and he said a quiet, warning, "Hawkeye."
Then Hawkeye flashed Grimes a smile and loosened the noose, adjusting it to the perfect length (he had let it hang too high) and settled it snuggling in the actually right spot the tie should rest. She lifted her hands to his collar to adjust the material there as well. Attention to detail was always important. "Enjoy the party." Perfunctorily, Hawkeye took a brisk step back from the doctor, flashed him a salute, and turned on her heel to find Roy. She heard, behind her, Hughes sidling up to the man, saying something about how he simply must meet his absolutely perfect wife.
