` If That's What It Takes `

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The White Prince of Nemesis -- known by so many titles, the shiro no oji, the shiroi oujisama -- was in about as good a mood in the future as Eudial was a thousand years into the past.

Brooding, he stood on the balcony of the now-empty reactor chamber, staring moodily at the empty space once occupied by the infamous jakozuishou. The room was ominously silent; only his shallow breathing could be heard. Even though the chinmoku no senshi had healed his side beyond the worst of it, Demando was not completely recovered from his adventure with the Wiseman. The fact that his right hand was protectively pressed to his left side only confirmed this fact to the figure in the open doorway.

Subtlety was not something Serpentine was familiar with. However, today, he knew instinctively that just walking in on Demando and trying to engage him in conversation probably wasn't going to do much good for either of them. So, he merely lingered in the doorway, waiting for Demando to acknowledge his presence.

He ended up waiting for quite some time; it had been more than half an hour before Demando turned his head without moving his body. His violet eyes met Serpentine's across the vast room easily. His voice, thought low and slightly dry through his pain medication, was as commanding as Serpentine remembered it had always been.

"Do you wish to speak with me, Lord Serpentine re'Carnelian?" he asked, his eyes burning into his with the cool fire that could only be attributed to the White Prince.

Serpentine stepped forward, moving to Demando's side at the railing. He briefly bowed his head in respect before meeting the violet eyes with his own. "Prince Demando-sama."

It always shocked Demando to see the intense colour of Serpentine's eyes. It was not because they were so confident and iron-willed, it was because they were the exact same shade as his own. "Is there some matter you wish to address, Serpentine?" prodded Demando gently, with uncharacteristic patience. Demando generally did not suffer fools gladly.

Serpentine briefly turned his gaze to the empty reactor cylinder; his eyes were troubled as he looked back to the Prince. "Most Serene Highness, I merely wondered... if you were all right."

Demando cocked an eyebrow, wearily amused. "Oh, did you?"

Serpentine smiled tentatively; even though he was now Demando's confirmed successor, he still felt slightly uneasy in his presence alone. Especially now, after all that had gone on in regards to that pointless war. "Yes, I did. Ever since you came back from Crystal Tokyo, you've been acting... strangely."

Demando winced slightly; he indicated his side by moving his hand a little. "This is still not much better, Serpentine. It was a mortal wound; the Senshi who healed me could not heal it completely without draining her own personal mana. It will heal in its own time." He flicked his eyes back to the former resting place of the jakozuishou, and Serpentine could see the pain lines etched around those remarkable eyes. It was obvious to see that he was in perpetual agony from the wound, but he refused to show it outwardly. "I hear you spoke to Rudra earlier," Demando remarked suddenly, abruptly changing the subject. Even though Serpentine had not been entirely finished with his own thread of conversation, he knew better than to go against the flow of Demando's wishes.

The violet-haired man nodded, wincing slightly at the memory. "Indeed I did, Serene Highness... I think he was still in a bit of a temper this morning, actually."

Demando cocked an eyebrow again, looking genuinely interested. In fact, he turned away from the empty space to face Serpentine proper. "Rudra, in a temper? That's certainly... unusual."

Serpentine smiled faintly, understanding Demando's surprise. Rudra was not typically one to hold grudges, or to even care about previous arguments or "heated discussions." The Nemesian Mooncat was emotionally detached, a consummate politician who cared more for his legislative acts than anything else. He was notoriously difficult to annoy, harder to please or impress. The fact that Rudra was in a temper indicated that he was unusually frustrated.

"Rudra-sama seems somewhat... irritated by some of the terms of the truce. He tells me that he was under the impression we were to be a completely individual state from the Earth, and that they would have no jurisdiction with which to interfere in our lives. However-"

Demando waved an alabaster-coloured hand in dismissal, wincing as this action pulled at his sensitive side. "I'll speak to him about it at length, later. It was wrong of him to bring it up with you. You may be the one to rule this place should anything happen to me, but if Rudra has a problem with the treaty, he should discuss it with me first." Demando's frigid anger suddenly vanished as he gave him a small smile. "At least it appears you get on with Rudra quite well. That's a relief."

Serpentine allowed himself a faint grin; on Nemesis, being in Rudra's good books was akin to being on speaking terms with God. Rare and a position with very good connections. "It seems he's more tolerant of me than my predecessor, as I do not tend to sneeze all over him."

Demando stilled; Serpentine instantly regretted his words. The eyes of the White Prince had glazed over slightly, and Serpentine noted with contrition the way Demando's hands had tightened, masking their shaking.

"Go-gomen nasai, Demando-sama, I didn't think..."

Demando looked to the floor, giving himself several seconds to compose himself before speaking. "I know that Rudra was never very fond of Saffir, but it was only partly due to his allergy to cat fur. You don't have to apologise for pointing that out, even though I did already know it."

Serpentine cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable. "It wasn't that... it was the fact that I brought up Saffir-sama at all."

Demando sighed, turning those violet eyes back on Serpentine. He looked tired, but they were surprisingly steely. "It's all right. I can talk about my brother."

"But what about-"

"The decree I passed about speculation over his death was applicable mainly to the citizens; however, as my successor, you are free to mention his name in my presence. I would appreciate it, though, if you would refrain from asking me impertinent questions about his death. All you -- and the people of Nemesis -- need to understand is that he is dead due to an accident. Aside from that, it is no-one's business but my own."

Serpentine nodded. This decree had been passed as soon as Demando had made it clear that Saffir re'Adamant, the Blue Prince of Nemesis and Lord Savant to the Lord of the Towers, was dead. He had not gone into details; he had said Saffir had met with an "inevitable accident" and had been killed more-or-less instantly. He had then gone on to say he never wished to hear the name of his younger brother spoken in his presence again. He had also coldly remarked that any public speculation on his brother or his fate would meet with severe reprimand, igniting the imaginations of those who made the rumours.

Serpentine had found out through Amethyst re'Padparadscha that the currently favoured idea was that Saffir had somehow betrayed Demando. The White Prince had then supposedly ordered that he be executed on charges of high treason, but, embarrassed by his brother's defection, refused to make an example of him to the people.

Amethyst didn't believe it; Serpentine didn't either. Firstly, Demando would make an example of anybody who betrayed him beyond doubt. To have ordered the execution of his beloved brother, Demando would have to have been very sure of the fact that Saffir had double-crossed him. The second reason was more a matter of opinion; neither of the violet haired Nemesians seriously believed that Saffir re'Adamant, of all people, could actually betray Demando. Amethyst had heard such doubts voiced by others as well -- as an archivist and librarian, she was privy to a surprising amount of gossip -- and she tended to agree with them. She had known Saffir relatively well, as an acquaintance through her own work. Serpentine had had less to do with the ao no oji, but he knew of Saffir's legendary devotion to his brother and his insane obsessions.

Serpentine said quietly, "Is there still to be no memorial service for him, or have you changed your mind?" It was said almost reluctantly, Serpentine carefully watching his sovereign's face for any signs of anger. However, he had needed to ask the question.

Demando's sigh was heavy as he looked at Serpentine with tired eyes. "No. I will not hold a memorial service for my brother... for the only person who needs to remember him will already never forget." Serpentine noticed the way Demando briefly pressed his fingers to his chest, over his heart. He then turned away from Serpentine, his voice low. "Serpentine, I am going away for a few days again, and I want you to watch over Nemesis for me. Don't worry about Rudra, I will deal with him."

"Mochiron, Demando-sama... but why?"

Demando did not get tetchy at being asked for his reasoning; that surprised Serpentine on one level, but not on another. "I wish to speak with Sailor Pluto in regards to the past world. In the meantime, you are to just keep a general eye on the goings-on in Nemesis... I won't be gone long, however." With that, Demando turned from Serpentine, obviously dismissing him.

Serpentine considered pressing him for details; he soon decided against that. After all, only one person had ever been able to badger the White Prince without threat of reprimand. And that person was lost to them all.

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As Saffir hurried out of the building, he held the folder tighter to his chest, using the other arm to tighten his long black jacket about himself further. There was a chill wind tonight, and even though he was used to the awful frigid climate of Nemesis, it was still cold to Saffir. As a consequence of thinking about what he should be doing rather than where he was going, he narrowly avoided running into a tall youth with sandy hair.

He did so by looking up two seconds before he ran into the individual; he neatly side-stepped just as the uniformed person did as well. Saffir's dusky blue eyes instantly rose to meet the shadowed green belonging to the student, looking apologetic. "Gomen nasai, I wasn't watching the road." Saffir had automatically assumed the teenager to be male; the student was dressed in the distinctive male uniform of Mugen Gakuen high school. However, the second the mouth opened to speak, he realised "he" was female.

"That's all right," she replied guardedly, giving him a look that made his skin crawl. There was something behind those green eyes that told Saffir she was dissecting him with her mind, trying to distinguish what it was about him that made her uneasy. "I see you came from the research laboratories -- are you one of kyouju Tomoe-sama's undergraduate students?"

"I suppose you could say that -- and you're a student of Mugen Gakuen, right?" he asked in reply, surreptitiously trying to inch past her. For some reason, he would rather have his back to the road than the laboratories. There was also something oddly -- familiar about her, her stance, her voice...

"First year," she said easily, looking past him suddenly. "Oh, excuse me for a moment. Michiru!"

Saffir jumped at the raised volume of the girl's voice; he immediately spun to find another student, this time in the female Mugen uniform, coming up the street towards them. Her aqua-coloured hair almost obscured her face completely, but Saffir noted that she was more than just pretty -- as well as being oddly familiar. In one hand she loosely held a school bag, the other was protectively wrapped about the handle of a violin case.

This Michiru smiled fleetingly at the other student, before turning to Saffir. "Are you going to introduce me to your friend, Haruka?"

"I would, Michiru, but I haven't been introduced to him myself," replied Haruka, slightly wryly. Michiru hid a giggle; Saffir allowed a brief smile to touch his lips also.

"Haruka never has been one for introductions," Michiru suddenly said to Saffir conversationally, almost as if Haruka suddenly wasn't there. "She can be a bit anti-social at times, actually, but don't let that put you off. Being rude is quite often her way of being polite."

"Why, thank you very much, Michiru," Haruka replied dryly, but Michiru spared her not a glance as she thrust her school bag at Haruka. She then used her free hand to extend it to Saffir in a gesture of respect. "Kaiou Michiru."

"Hirosada Saburo," he replied after a pause, slowly shaking her hand. "Are you a first year student at Mugen Gakuen also?"

"Yes," she replied easily, though she was looking at him sideways, as if she too recognised him from somewhere. "And this is Ten-"

Before the introductions were complete, a car with blinding headlights screamed down the street, pulling to a halt not two inches from the trio gathered on the sidewalk. The driver's door of the white hatchback was kicked open by a red-heeled foot, which was followed by a familiar figure in a white lab coat with long red hair. "Saburo-san!"

Saffir turned to stare at the woman in surprise. "Eudial-sempai! What are you doing here?"

"Asking you if you want a ride to the Tomoe residence," she said easily, disregarding the pair without even looking in their direction. "I was going to offer you one before you left, but I wasn't sure where I had left my car. I found it, though... so, do you want a ride?"

Saffir stared sceptically at the car for a moment. Even though it looked relatively intact, the state of the tyres assured him that she used her brakes often and fast, most likely because she often sped. "Isn't his house just down the street?"

"You're going to be later if you walk," Eudial remarked sharply. "Look, I went to all the trouble of finding my car -- the least you can do is accept my offer!"

"You must be a real absent-minded scientist to lose your car," remarked Haruka from the sidewalk, drawing Eudial's attention for the first time. She gave her something of a glare before laughing and tossing her red ponytails.

"Ah, genius racer Ten'ou Haruka... I suppose you would know about losing cars, wouldn't you?" Eudial looked at her a little closer, squinting even with her glasses firmly on her nose. "You know, I thought you were only a first year student... how is it that you have a license?"

Haruka's arrogance suddenly bled from her face as Michiru gave her a laughing sideways look. "Well... I... uh... I got one overseas..."

Michiru took her bag back from Haruka's loose grasp, taking her wrist with one talented hand. "It was nice meeting you again, Hirosada-san. However, we really have to go, don't we Haruka?" She gave her a pointed look; the girl looked a little surprised. Saffir found himself curious a second later, for Michiru leant closer to Haruka and whispered confidentially into her ear "The sea is getting stormy again."

Haruka stiffened; she nodded quickly and gave the two scientists a cursory nod of her head. "Good to see you both," she said curtly, before she and Michiru more or less ran from the scene.

Eudial gave them a very odd look, before shrugging. "Kaiou Michiru and Ten'ou Haruka... recent transfer students to Mugen Gakuen. Ten'ou-san is a brilliant student and sportswoman, Kaiou-san is a musician, swimmer, artist and intellectual... very talented, but there's something odd about them."

Saffir stared at Eudial from the corner of his eye; the woman looked... pensive, somehow. Noticing that Saffir was watching her, Eudial jumped, shaking her head. "Oh, gomen ne..." She indicated her car with one hand, adjusting her glasses with the other. "You still want a ride? It's on my way home."

He seriously considered saying no; something about the way she had brutally pulled into the curb assured him that the trip would be a hell-raising five minutes. However, even though Saffir's experience with cars was non-existent and Eudial's driving technique already made him nervous, he moved around to the other side, pulling open the passenger door. "Arigatoo," he said, sliding into the car as he pulled the door shut behind him. He almost laughed as he looked about the car; not only was every available space covered with Post-It notes about everything from the theory of relativity to last week's groceries, it had one of those little drinking perpetual motion birds.

Eudial more or less leaped into the car, pulling her seatbelt about her in the same moment. Saffir barely had time to do the same thing before Eudial's foot squashed the accelerator to the floor. She moved through three gears in ten metres, throwing Saffir against the back of his car quite severely.

He clutched his folder to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut for a second; he opened them long enough to see the Tomoe mansion pass them by. "Uh, Eudial-sempai..."

"Bugger," she said, quite clearly. With a sigh, she switched one pedal for the other, throwing Saffir forward almost far enough to whack his head on the dashboard. However, he found himself clinging onto the safety belt for dear life when Eudial wound her window down, stuck her head out to declare "I'm going backwards!" and then proceeded to do so.

It was then that Saffir decided that if he ever learned to drive, he would refrain from going down a street in reverse at eighty miles an hour.

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Minako sighed slightly, stretching her arms above her head as she walked down the street. A large yawn escaped her even larger mouth; the white cat at her side acquired a much larger sweatdrop. "Oh really, Mina, you didn't even do that much this afternoon!"

The blonde giggled slightly, giving the mooncat a playful glare. "Aw, come on, Artemis! You know me, I can't study until eight at night, it's bad for my brain!"
The cat shook his head, more-or-less ready to give up on Minako as being a basket case. "Funny how Ami-chan can do it so easily."

Minako snorted, swinging her schoolbag even higher as she sauntered down the street. "It's too bad the arcade's closed... I feel like playing Formula One racing." She then winked mischievously at Artemis, her baby-blue eyes smiling. "I might have even run into Haruka-san!"

The cat rolled his eyes at Minako's outburst of giggling, perfectly used to it. He was yet to meet this infamous Haruka person; however, if the reactions of the others were anything to go by, this woman was quite the "bishounen."

"Mina, really... if you want a boyfriend, you should really start checking out the male species," sighed Artemis, continuing down the street with his head held high. As a consequence, he completely missed Minako stopping dead in the middle of the street; it was several seconds before he realised he was alone. "Mina?"

When he turned, he saw that Minako was a little ways down the street, staring across the road in almost a trance. He skipped quickly to her side, clambering onto her shoulder most ungracefully for a better look. "What's wrong?"

Minako jumped at the voice of the cat in her ear; she then shushed him with her hand. "Shush, Artemis! Don't you think that man down that street there looks a little like..."

Artemis followed the blonde girl's line of vision, and started. They were standing at a T-junction, looking down the street that branched off the main stretch. A fair way down, two people stood, obviously arguing about something. Well, only one of them actually appeared angry; though the pale-haired man was gesturing rather violently, he was not shouting.

The woman with him was quiet, in a defensive position with her arms crossed angrily over her chest. She was dressed in a smart red trouser suit, long dark hair cascading over her narrow shoulder. She seemed annoyed, but not quite as frustrated as the man in the navy coat. The only other remarkable thing about them was the way the man had one hand pressed to his left side, as if it pained him.

"That looks like... Prince Demando," Artemis said finally, slowly.

"It is, isn't it?" asked Minako softly, not taking her eyes away from the altercating pair. "What is he doing back here -- and who is that beautiful woman he's talking to?"

Artemis sighed, and leapt down to the ground. "I'll sneak in a little closer, see if I can hear what they're saying."

Minako finally looked away from this bizarre sight, appearing a little peeved. "Hey! I'm coming too... I can be discreet!"

Artemis rolled his eyes. "Do you want to find out anything about what he's doing here, or do you want him to know that we're spying on him?"

Minako glared at him.

The little white cat acquired a sweatdrop; he ducked his head and muttered, "Fine. Come then."

"ALL RIGHT!" screeched Minako, garnering a large wince out of Artemis. There was little doubt in his mind that the duo, no matter how immersed in their conversation, could have missed that.

However, it appeared that they had. For when the girl and the cat turned back to look to the pair, both had vanished into thin air.

a a a

Eudial had dropped him off at the house easily; Saffir had never been so glad to get out of a moving vehicle. Not even Rubius would attempt stunts like loop-de-loops in his UFOs... Saffir was beginning to get the impression that Eudial would, however. After all, she had barely missed three pedestrians, two dogs, a lamp-post and a motorbike on the way back to the house. Saffir was also under the impression that they had only missed these viable targets because they had jumped out of the way before Eudial ploughed them down. He could have sworn the lamp-post had swerved to avoid them...

As he moved through the open gate, he heard the motorbike drive past again, in the opposite direction Eudial had disappeared in. He caught only a fleeting glimpse of the two riders; one in the male Mugen uniform, the other in the female.

"Must be the 'genius racer' Eudial was talking about," he muttered to himself, moving towards the immense house that he somehow vaguely recognised. It was indeed a mansion; it was lit up like a Christmas tree and appeared very welcoming. However... there was something odd about the auras surrounding the place. In places, they were bright and shining; in others, they were downright dark. This peculiar contrast made the sensitive physicist uneasy, but he tried to ignore them as he moved to ring the bell.

To his shock, Kaori pulled the door open just as his fingers grazed the button. "Saburo-san, youkoso," she said in an almost bored tone, welcoming him to the Tomoe residence. She was dressed in a brief black dress, which made her pale skin even more starkly so. "Do come in; the professor and his daughter are in the sitting room. You must excuse me a second, though; I have some business to attend to." Kaori then swept out of the door, leaving Saffir staring at her back for a moment. Suddenly, she laughed slightly, raising a hand to her lips. "Gomen nasai! I'm being very rude. Here, allow me to show you to the sitting room." With that, she came back into the house, turning to point at his coat. "Let me take your coat, Saburo-san." Saffir reluctantly surrendered the coat and his folder to the tall woman; she accepted them and tidied them away in the closet. She then led him down the hallway towards one of the many ornate doors, leading him through to a quietly decorated room. It was opulent but understated in its style, the most stand-out feature a large grandfather clock against the same wall as the door. It struck half-eight just as Saffir entered the room, startling him almost out of his wits.

Professor Tomoe turned from talking to a tiny figure on one of the sofas as Saffir and Kaori entered; he adjusted his unusual glasses as he did so. Standing up, he moved over to Saffir to extend a hand, a smile brightening his otherwise very serious face. "Ah, konnichi wa, Saburo-kun. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"The pleasure is all mine," Saffir replied, shaking his dextrous hand slowly. "I must say, kyouju, you have a very impressive home."

"Only because Kaori-kun is here to help me run things," Tomoe replied, casting the silent woman an appraising glance. "Since my wife passed on, she's been a great help to both myself and my daughter."

"Arigatoo, kyouju, but will you excuse me?" Kaori broke in smoothly, flicking a strand of that extraordinary hair over her shoulder. For some reason, Saffir found that hair fascinating. There was something about it that was almost... alive, as if it had a mind of its own. "I still have that business to attend to, if you'll recall."

Tomoe nodded; Kaori quickly turned and left the room, closing the door softly behind her. The professor turned his gaze back to Saffir, still smiling his quirky little smile. "She just has some pressing business to attend to, in regards to the joint project we're working on right now. She'll be back shortly to join us for dinner, she really shouldn't be long."

Saffir nodded, swallowing painfully. There was something about Tomoe Souichi that honestly bothered him, and he knew exactly what it was. The professor had deep violet eyes and pale, silky hair that fell loosely about an intelligent face. His voice was deep and powerful, his stance commanding and official.

In short, the professor reminded Saffir of his brother... he was more-or-less how Saffir had imagined his brother at age thirty-seven.

Professor Tomoe was still speaking as Saffir slowly came back down to earth; it seemed he was asking about his research project with Eudial. "... I know Eudial-kun has other things on, so I think she must be enjoying the help with the research into this new molecule. However... I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Hotaru."

As Saffir stared into the large, luminous dark purple eyes of the girl, he suddenly understood why it had felt as if he had met Haruka and Michiru before. It was because he had -- and he had met this thirteen year old girl on that same day.

Shaking his head slightly, Saffir clasped Hotaru's hand with his own, trying to determine if Hotaru recalled him as suddenly as he had remembered her. Her large, dark eyes were unblinking as she stared into his; however, it was a second later that she ducked them away shyly.

"It is nice to meet you... for the first time," Saffir said carefully, purposely choosing that turn of phrase. Hotaru seemed to react to this slowly, her voice low and sweet.

"The pleasure is mine, Hirosada-san. Welcome to our home."

Professor Tomoe smiled tenderly at his daughter; it was then that Saffir realised that Tomoe Souichi obviously adored his frail little girl. "Hotaru, will you..." He suddenly stopped, looking thoughtful. "Wait. You don't look so well; perhaps I should go and fetch the tea."

Hotaru looked away from Saffir to her father, a little embarrassed. "Poppa, I'm all right, I can get it for you."

Professor Tomoe shook his head with an affectionate smile, actually seeming to herd Hotaru back to the couch. He gently pressed her into the green softness of the couch, before standing back to give her an appraising look. "No, I think you need to sit down for a moment. I'll fetch the tea." He turned back to Saffir, and indicated the two couches. "Have a seat, Saburo-kun. I'll be back in a moment; until Kaori-kun returns, we'll just have a short talk in the sitting room. I take it you like tea? Or would you prefer coffee?"

"Tea, thank you," Saffir replied slowly. The professor nodded, and left the room in three easy strides, closing the door softly behind him.

Saffir uneasily sat down on the couch opposite Hotaru, at first purposely avoiding those huge, dark eyes. However, he soon found it hard to look away. As he looked up to meet her eyes, he wondered if he had just walked into the middle of the most incredible mess.

Note: The reference to Hotaru, Haruka and Michiru having met Saffir once before comes from a story I co-authored with Saint Erythros, by the title of "you're all i've got tonight." However, there is one slight anomaly; in this story, I say Hotaru is thirteen, in the other she is sixteen. This is a cock-up on my part; she's supposed to be thirteen. I just never realised that Mugen Gakuen was both a junior high and a senior high school... and that reference does not imply that the trails of these two stories are related or intertwined. I'm merely saying that Saffir once made a similar little sidetrip to the past in a similar fashion, which is why these four have met once before....

To Part Five

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