This chapter is Rated G.

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The Legend of Serenity
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by: Spatula Gurl

-- Chapter One


Suzumeno Himitsu Forest, May 24, XA0029

	"Are we there yet?"
	The question came from Minako, who was clinging rather limpily 
behind her tall friend.  She had her arms slinging carelessly about 
Makoto's shoulders as she was being carried, and her thighs were wrapped 
around the strong girl's waist.
	"No," Makoto answered shortly. "And be quiet. You're getting 
heavier by the second." She continued to trudge along the muddy path, 
sweat and mud outlining her pale, exhausted face. She was trailing behind 
Rei and Ami, with Minako riding her back. They had come a long way from 
the village they had stopped by earlier during the day, and even then, 
they didn't have the time to take a quick soak in the tub. She was tired, 
starving, and was stinking like hell.
	"Mako-chan," Rei called out. "Is she rambling again?" She wore a 
weary expression, and like the rest of them, she was covered mostly with 
mud. She stopped, waiting for her friends to catch up.
	Ami stopped in her tracks and waited with Rei.  Her stomach was 
growling fiercely, and she could only hope she wouldn't be doing the same 
thing some time soon. She sighed. "Maybe we ought to stop for a moment to 
wash and rest."
	Rei shook her head slowly. "I hope we could," she said, biting her 
lower lip. "But doing that would mean taking time to retrace our steps 
back to the village, not to mention we'll probably be knocked out cold 
with exhaustion before we even get there."  She turned to Makoto, and 
frowned slightly at her friend's facial expression. "I'll carry her," she 
offered.
	Makoto managed to smile in spite of herself, making the hardened 
mud on her cheeks crack. "Don't worry, I can manage. The camp is not too 
far, anyway."
	Rei eyed her friend, doubtful of her reply. "You sure?"
	Makoto nodded. Once again, she felt Minako stir slowly from her 
position. She peeked from behind, an indignant expression on her face as 
she addressed both Makoto and Rei. "I can walk, you know." Rei shook her 
head, but she grinned before continuing on their way. Displays like these 
wasn't usual between all of them, but it was amusing whenever it made an 
appearance every once in a while.
	"Don't be silly, Minako-chan. I can carry you," Makoto replied, 
once again trudging behind Rei and Ami. "Besides, I won't have you slip 
and sprain your ankle to match the other one you already have."
	Minako snorted, an unladylike habit which her guardian, Artemis, 
constantly disapproved of. She rubbed her cheeks to peel off the caked mud
with the back of her hand. "It wasn't entirely my fault, you know. It was 
better than shaving my hair off and selling it to the Coiwaneans." She 
shuddered, not liking to remember the way the Coiwaneans scurried after 
her, waving their blades dangerously in the air. She and the others ran 
madly for cover, not wanting to create more chaos by defending themselves 
in the way they knew best. It was wiser that way, and they had managed 
to escape, after all.
	"And you," Minako said, jabbing at Makoto's side lightly. "You 
actually thought it was okay for them to have my hair. MY hair!" She 
huffed in feigned anger. "Yes, it's your fault. And I don't wish to walk 
anymore. I'll let you suffer by bearing my unbearable weight, and torture 
you ceaslessly with my talk. So there!"
	Makoto laughed out loud, her eyes twinkling at Minako's outburst. 
"Careful," she warned teasingly. "I'll drop you if you do!" She glanced at 
Minako who was grinning back at her. "Besides, I don't think it was such 
a bad idea.  We needed the mon--owww!" She rubbed her shoulder which 
Minako had just pinched.
	"Ha!" Minako laughed. "It's you who should be more careful. I'll 
bite off your ears next time, see if I don't!"


				*	*	*


	Kunzite frowned slightly, comfortably absorbed with the papers he 
was reading. He was drowned, lost in his deep pool of thoughts. He 
burrowed deeper into thought, his thumb resting at the base of his chin 
as he brushed absently at his locks whenever they got in the way of his 
reading.
	Aehibio. Cowain. Illandre. He could go on and on with ghost towns, 
hopeless and uninhibited cities...
	But he had other things in mind. His eyes searched further down 
page, after page, hoping to find more reports on Mamoru. Dammit, 
everything was happening at the wrong place and at the wrong time. This 
shouldn't have happened.  It was a nightmare.
	He looked at the lantern which was providing him the small 
amount of light he needed. He watched as the flames flickered and danced, 
realized that in his own world, it was just as wild and turbulent.
	He shook his head. Everything was a nightmare. He took off his 
reading glasses and rested his head on the soft cushions. He let out a 
frustrated sigh, wanting to pull his hair out. It has been the same for 
the past months, and he didn't know how much of his hope and energy were 
left.  He felt so drained, so damnably tired...
	"Kunzite!"
	Not moving from his position, Kunzite's eyes fell upon the source 
of the voice who called out to him. Nephrite. Kunzite knew it was him the 
moment he heard his friend's bellow.
	Nephrite strode accross the room and took a seat directly in front 
of Kunzite. He noticed Kunzite's grim expression, but decided not to 
mention it. It had been another grueling day, and he understood how his 
friend felt. Jadeite entered moments later, wearing the same expression. 
He remained silent, lost in thought.
	Kunzite looked at Nephrite, his expression weary. "They have 
arrived?"
	Nephrite shook his head. "Not yet." His gaze turned to the papers 
Kunzite was holding. "Any news?"
	Kunzite sighed. "Nothing about Mamoru-kun."
	Jadeite looked at them both, his look inquiring. "Do you think 
they can help us?"
	"I hope so," Kunzite replied.
	At this, Nephrite frowned slightly. "They better be useful," he 
grumbled. "I don't want to waste time protecting useless court peacocks 
with peas for brains."
	Jadeite laughed at Nephrite's expression. "Haughty peacocks... 
...hmmm," he mused. "Why do you think they're not here yet?"
	"Who knows? Maybe the ladies decided against 'roughing it' and 
tucked their tails and went home running. They're not our responsibility." 
Nephrite had mixed feelings regarding this particular duty. Not only were 
their lives in danger since they had to tangle with the women's web, he 
also predicted that they would have a hard time handling weak and fragile 
women who were not accustomed with the rough way of living. Why should 
they be? He assumed they were all brought up the same way, leading and 
living a comfortable life full of luxury in their pleasant, well-guarded 
kingdom. How should they know what kind of life the people on Earth led? 
They were not from this place, they were foreigners. 
	But they had something to offer that he could not refuse.  When 
one looked at it, considering all odds, there was no real risk for him and 
the others if they accepted.  So they did.
	"Yet." Kunzite looked at them both with a stern look on his face. 
"We agreed to take on this assignment, remeber?  They'll be our 
responsibility."
	"Anything to find Mamoru." Nephrite's face hardened. "Dead or 
alive, we have to find him." He grimaced at the thought. Mamoru, dead. 
He shook his head. 'Kami-sama, don't let it be.'
	"These women may be our only hope."
	"Yes."
	"Yes..."
	Kunzite looked outside, his eyes searching. "Where is Zoicite?" He 
had noticed Zoicite's absence since late afternoon, when he decided to 
drown himself with the reports.
	"He's been outside, or perhaps sleeping inside his tent, waiting 
for the arrival of the court ladies," Jadeite answered. He smiled, 
remembering Zoicite's assurances of the women's physical appearances. "He's 
convinced that he may enjoy this particular duty after all."
	Nephrite groaned and Kunzite shook his head. So like Zoicite.
	Just then, the guard posted at the camp's front came running 
towards them. "Sir," he said, bowing low to Kunzite. "They have arrived."
	Hearing the guard's report, Nephrite and Jadeite immediately stood 
up and took after Kunzite. As they neared the destination, they noticed 
Zoicite was already there. All three generals stopped in their tracks, 
their mouth agape at the astonishing picture before them.
	The women were here all right, but they did not look at all prim 
and proper, no frilly bows nor lace, not even a hint of silk clothing. In 
fact, they hardly resembled the haughty, highly-pampered court ladies 
Nephrite and Jadeite had so pictured. There they were, the lot of them, 
wearing leathered suits and breast plates, as if armored for battle. They 
were bruised, and were caked with mud all over.
	One of them stepped forward, with an exhausted expression on her 
face. She was fair-skinned, Zoicite noted. She couldn't be older than 
nineteen or twenty summers. He could not properly discern her features, 
despite the flaming torch the guard beside them was carrying, for she was 
covered with mud all over. But she looked up and held his gaze directly. 
Zoicite caught his breath. He was surprised, found himself gazing at the 
most exquisite pair of brilliant, sapphire-blue eyes.
	The woman spoke. "I am Mizuno Ami." Then she nodded towards her 
friends. "My comrades and I are here by orders of her royal highness 
Selene. I assume you all know why we are here?" She looked expectantly at 
all the generals' blank faces. When no one spoke, she frowned slightly and 
turned her gaze to Zoicite, the general who was standing closer than the 
rest. 
	Jadeite shook himself mentally, and turned towards Ami. He was 
about to say something when a woman stepped out behind Ami and interrupted.
	While Mizuno Ami wore an exhausted expression, she wore an 
irritated one. The woman had magnificent violet eyes, which had a 
fascinating fiery glow while it reflected irritation. "I am Hino Rei," she 
introduced. "And I would appreciate it if all of you were to stop gawking, 
and start straightening matters out." She eyed each and every one of them, 
her angered expression fading away to reveal an identical one to that of 
Ami's. "I am sincerely sorry we couldn't be more"-- slight pause -- 
"presentable, but I assure you that in this case, we could not have 
stopped it from occuring. It was entirely beyond our control.
	"If you would like to discuss our circumstances tomorrow, after 
everyone has had their rest, we respect your decision. We would rather 
have ourselves full and cleaned as well, if you don't mind, so we would 
also appreciate if you were to make your decisions immediately." She 
nodded, noting the astonished look on the generals' faces. "It would all 
save us precious time and effort, so if you would please?"
	Zoicite stepped forward with a look of concern. He nodded, "I 
understand." Then stopped abruptly. His eyes searched far back, but he 
could see no more than the women before them. "Actually, I don't. Where 
are your escorts?", he asked, bewildered.
	"Escorts?" echoed Ami.
	"We have no need for escorts," Rei replied shortly. 
	Jadeite was about to question them further, but one look from the 
woman's face told him that it was the end of discussion. So he nodded, 
motioning at the farther end of the camp. "There is a brook back there that 
would serve you well. The guards can lead you women there."
	"Is your friend all right?" This, coming from Kunzite, who had not 
spoken since the women's arrival. He had discerened two heads way back, 
swathed heavily with the darkness and the mist to his naked eye. When it 
seemed that the figures stepped forward, he realized that there were two of 
them all right, but one was being carried by the other.
	As if on cue, the woman who was being carried lifted her head and 
squinted her eyes, as if she was trying to focus on her view. "Mako-chan," 
she whispered. "We can finally bathe?"
	The tall woman, whom the other one had called 'Mako-chan', shook 
her head and whispered back, "Not yet. We have to attend to your ankle 
first."  She then, turned towards Kunzite, giving him an inquiring look. 
"Can you...?"
	Kunzite heard their brief conversation, and was fast to catch up. 
"Understood, m'lady. This way." He gestured for them to follow him towards 
his tent.
	The woman nodded before saying, "Just a moment, please. I wish to 
have a few words with my friends."
	Kunzite nodded back, motioning to his tent due east of the camp. 
"I shall prepare the necessary aids. You can go inside whenever you are 
ready." He turned back to the other women. "Excuse me," he said, and with 
that, he left. Nephrite nodded his head slightly, before doing the same. 
Only Jadeite and Zoicite remained. The tall woman's eyes followed General 
Nephrite's retreating back before turning towards Rei. 
	"You fellows go ahead. I'll be with Minako, and have her ankle 
bandaged." 
	"Mako-chan, I think it would be better if we had Minako cleaned up 
first, so she wouldn't have to soil her bandages."
	At that, the woman agreed. "You are right." She was about to say 
something more, but she stopped abruptly and shifted Minako on her back, 
turned towards the generals and looked at them as if she had forgotten they 
were present.
	"I am Kino Makoto," she said. "We thank you for offering us 
assistance to the brook, but I believe we can find our own way. Just point 
to us the direction."
	Zoicite was again caught by surprise, as the third woman locked 
gazes with him. He masked his surprise as quickly as it came and looked 
back. The woman had emerald-green eyes which seemed to sparkle even when 
her mood was apparently not as lively. It was amazing. He wondered if 
their people were truly gifted with that certain facial feature, or was it 
merely coincidence that these women possessed such striking ones? He shook 
himself mentally, and concentrated back on Makoto's words. "Are you sure 
you can find your way?"
	Makoto nodded , albeit impatiently. "Then by all means," Jadeite 
said. "The brook is just a little north from the end of the camp." He 
understood the women's wish for privacy. This was an all-men camp after 
all, and he understood any feeling of uneasiness or uncomfort. He would 
just as well apprise the soldiers for any possible intrusion, to at least 
keep the women's mind at ease.
	"Thank you."


				*	*	*


	"This feels good," Rei remarked with her eyes closed, savoring 
each splash of cold, fresh water, streaming by her feet. She leaned 
closer, dipping her long, raven mane, scrubbing it good and clean. 
	The brook was much better than expected. The running water was 
fresh, and sparkling clean. It was slightly hidden behind a grove of Kuorac 
trees and an impressive spray of wild flowers, but it wasn't too hard to 
find. The delicate moonlight touched the fragile surface of the area, and 
the beautiful gray-blue nightsky had its own spread magnificently starlit. 
The place had a charm; it was not too bold in its beauty, neither was it 
simple, but it had a certain quality that made it so inviting.
	"Heavens, it feels like scratching a long-time itch," Minako 
sighed. She grinned, then wrinkled her nose. "Come to think of it, not 
being able to bathe the past few days certainly, literally, gave us 
quite an itch!" She laughed, as she playfully splashed water at her 
friends with her feet.	Makoto smiled, as she splashed water right back. 
"Stop it," she warned in a teasing manner. "You'll get our only clean 
clothes soaked." Then she shook her head and sighed. "It was a good thing 
not everything in our sackcloth got muddied." She reached for the 
sackcloth they had emptied earlier, and proceeded to wash it clean.
	Rei had just finished cleaning up, and reached  for the white, 
terry cloth to dry herself. "Do you think it wise to go along with the 
sleeping arrangements?" she asked, to no one in particular.
	Ami, who was busy scrubbing her clothes clean, looked away from her 
task for a moment. "Yes," she answered. "We have no other choice, if we 
want everything to work out fine." Again, she bent her head down back to 
her work, and began scrubbing vigorously.
	"After all," Minako quipped in, "It's not as if we haven't done it 
before. We always sleep with the ones under our custody, except for 
Usagi, that is. We can be sure of their safety, that way."
	"Yes, but that was different. We were the ones who were standing 
guard, and the ones in our charge *knew* it. And besides, back there, 
everyone knew who we were. They know better than to fool around with us." 
She shook her head, a frown marring the exotic features. " And I can't 
bring myself to trust them so easily."
	"You don't have to," Makoto cut in, her expression grim. "Like 
Ami-chan said, we have no other choice. We have to see to their safety." 
She too, stood up, and began drying herself. "There are four of them, and 
four of us. Likely, each of us gets one. It doesn't really matter to me." 
She quickly donned a pair of loose trousers and a snug, cotton blouse. She 
left her hair loose, decided on waiting for it to dry.
	"We must be careful of everything we say to them in conversation," 
Minako said, looking thoughtful. "The best way to protect them, is having 
them close by all the time, but then we must be cautious of every word and 
action." There was silence for a moment. Then, Minako's mouth formed into 
a wide grin, as she began eyeing Makoto's choice of clothes.  "We should 
also seriously consider wearing more, uh, feminine garb if we're to carry 
on this pretense..."


				*	*	*


	"So they weren't the haughty court ladies I've expected. But they 
don't appear to be what Jadeite said you expected them to be as well, 
Zoicite."
	Zoicite was smiling at his friend Nephrite, also shaking his head 
as if he was pitying a confused simpleton for a knowledge he couldn't 
share. His friend was terribly mistaken, as far as he was concerned. He 
could sense natural, physical beauty on women--he was familiar with 
physical beauty, for he was gifted with one, after all--even if... "They 
were layered with mud and dust."  He smiled knowingly.  "You can never know 
for sure."
	Jadeite groaned.  Of all the things to discuss.  He didn't 
understand why the two of them were squabbling so much.  Nephrite was being 
a pain in the neck, but he understood how much his friend loathed the duty 
he had to carry.  It was only natural for him to carry out his anxiety to 
the women.  But Jadeite also had a feeling...that there was something in 
Zoicite's arguements.  His friend may be right.  
	He shook himself mentally.  What the hell was he thinking?  He did 
some head-shaking of his own, convinced that his friends' squabble had 
gotten into him.
	Nephrite scoffed.  "As far as I'm concerned, they resemble urchins."
	At that moment, the tent's entrance-flap was brushed open.  A tall, 
purposeful figure stepped inside.

	'As far as I'm concerned, they resemble urchins.'
	Both of them only caught the last statement.
	Makoto was seething.  She knew who spoke the words, and she knew 
who he was talking about.  Minako barely had time to convince her friend 
to let it go, when Makoto swiped open the flap.  Minako groaned inwardly. 
It was inevitable.  In all those years they've been together, Minako knew 
for a fact that this particular friend of hers had an intense problem 
regarding her temper.  She didn't deal well with strangers.  And had the 
tendency to attack at their slightest provocation.
	Nephrite had been standing near the entrance.  Makoto stepped 
inside, openly glaring at him with intense hostility. If it hadn't been 
for Kunzite clearing his throat...
	Nephrite was clearly astonished, even when he did make an attempt 
to mask it. Zoicite took note of it, amused, and Makoto had noticed as 
well, but thought it was her sudden entrance that caused the slightly 
startled look.  She had made quite an appearance after all. The woman was 
statuesque, the top of her head almost reaching his eye level.  And he, 
Nephrite, was a tall man. She stepped forward in his direction, fixing him 
with an icy look that could only mean she had heard his concluding 
remarks in his discussion with Zoicite.  He caught his breath, unbeknownst 
to everyone else in the room, dumbfound at the brilliant flash of emerald 
hue that met his eyes.
	Kunzite cleared his throat, in an attempt to break the tension, 
but not before Nephrite had noticed the flawless, golden skin of her face, 
the perfectly shaped brows that was burrowed slightly in obvious irritation, 
the fine nose, and the pursed, yet noticeably full lips...
	So the woman had remarkably beautiful features.  That didn't mean 
anything at all; a Frankenstein was the same.  After all, it was apparent 
that the woman did no efforts to make herself attractive.  She kept her 
hair in a simple style, and she was dressed in loose, mannish attire.  
Everything she wore was plain and practical. She did not wear face paint or 
cosmetics, not even jewelry, except for the tiny pair of rose earrings 
which was barely noticeable.
	Makoto snapped back to realization, and calmed herself.  The 
man's tone was positively condescending, and his remarks were no doubt 
highly-insulting.  She could care less what he thought of her appearance, 
but she simply wanted to make it clear that no one was going to get away 
with such contemptuous remarks.  She looked him over coolly, in such a 
manner that would've usually effected uncomfort, even embarassment, a mild 
enough retaliation for her.  It irritated her that he stared back in a lazy 
manner reeking of nonchalance.  Arrogant bastard.
	Kunzite shook his head, and heaved a sigh of relief that was barely 
audible. He cast a brief glance at his friend Nephrite before turning his 
gaze towards the two women. The tall one supported her injured friend by the 
waist, and allowed her sholders be grasped for a more solid support.
	"I believe we haven't been introduced." he said started. Then he 
began to introduce himself and the other generals as well, pausing slightly, 
as if hesitantly when he gestured towards Nephrite.  Makoto acknowledged 
their presence with curt nods, and returned to Kunzite with a half-smile.
	"I am Kino Makoto," she replied, deliberately disposing the title 
attesting to her noble birth, as what Rei and Ami did before, when they 
introduced themselves to the generals.  "I have introduced myself before 
to the other two generals."  She glanced briefly at Minako whose 
expression was inscrutable.  "This here is Aino Minako."
	"A pleasure to meet both of you," he returned.  When both women 
turned expectantly at the soldier standing beside Kunzite, he apologized 
and introduced him as well.  "This is Miyamoto Kenji.  I have little 
knowledge regarding medics and first aids, so I have called upon him for 
his assistance."  He added briefly for assurance, "He is very much 
skilled."
	Miyamoto Kenji was a boyishly handsome fellow, with amber eyes and 
ash-blonde hair.  He bowed low, and smiled good-naturedly at the two women.
	Kunzite turned to the other generals.  "The tent is too crowded for 
comfort.  Would you mind?" he questioned meaningfully.  "Lady Mizuno and 
Lady Hino may need your assistance," he added.
	"Please," Minako said, speaking for the first time since they came 
in.  "We don't care for formalities.  We prefer to be called by our first 
names, otherwise, we won't know who you're referring to."
	Kunzite took a moment to study the woman who was introduced as Aino 
Minako.  He never noticed until now that she had fine, flaxen hair, for it 
really was difficult to discern, covered in mud, dirt, and bruises as she 
was. She was fine-boned, and had an undeniably lovely face, which fairly 
bubbled of charm and exuberance.  And she had eyes to match, a pretty 
shade of light blue, which flickered in an interesting manner whenever she 
conveyed emotion.
	"I understand," he replied, when Makoto nodded her agreement, in 
support to her friend's statement.  "Our preferences are the same, after 
all. Please call us by our first names as well." He gestured to himself and 
to the rest of the generals who were already filing outside.

	Once outside, Zoicite did not waste time throwing his barb. "Sleep 
well, my friend," he said, his tone mockingly exuberant.  "Who knows, you 
might even end up assigned with the pretty little urchin!"
	Nephrite glowered at his remark before finally stalking off.


=====================================================================
This story was written by Spatula Gurl. All comments and suggestions 
should be sent to ucchan@gurlmail.com.  Naoko Takeuchi owns 
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and its characters.  I am not making any 
profit from this fanfic.