A/N: Many thanks to those of you who've read, added to fave, and added to alerts! Huge, huge thanks to KageNoNeko for reviewing!

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Chapter 5

While Kisho and Minako saw one another every day (after all, he did live in her house), they didn't talk about the nobles and about what he and the others were going to do to them. All she knew was that one day, the rumors about the Sailor Senshi started to dissipate, dying into the background as if they were figments of their imaginations. After that happened, Mamoru became more lighthearted during meetings, smiled more often, and even made a joke about the rumors one day.

What made things worse was the fact that Kisho acted as if the nobles never existed in their lives and didn't talk about them. It was moments like these when she actually kind of missed how the impostor would offer up information without her needing to prompt him to do so.

Therefore, she resorted to double-checking the records with Ami, trying to see if they could find any clues in regards to what had happened. After a couple of hours and after Minako thought she was going to fall asleep from boredom, Ami finally mentioned that the day the rumors started to die down was also the day when all five men disappeared off the charts for a considerable amount of time.

"Where'd they gone?" Minako asked.

"The computers couldn't track them," Ami answered, "so I wonder if they'd gone to Elysion to take care of the nobles."

Other than that, they couldn't find any more clues, much to Minako's dismay. This meant that she would probably never find out what had happened.

"Mamoru was apparently there with them. He wouldn't let people harm Usagi-chan," Ami reminded her.

She knew what Ami said was true. However, it bothered her not knowing simply because they could be harmful to their princess. All things were fine and dandy if they were dead, but if they were still out there, there was a chance they could do something to hurt Usagi.

Perhaps it showed on her face, or perhaps he was just as goddamned observant as he was in the past, but one day, Kisho finally spoke up.

"There's something you wanted to ask me." Kisho looked at her, tilting his head to one side.

"... Maybe?"

Kisho hung up the suit jacket he had been wearing before sitting down next to Minako on the couch.

"How's work?" she asked instead.

He raised an eyebrow at her, a strange look on his face. Nonetheless, he still humored her, "It was fine. Masato mentioned for the thirty-fifth time that he provided the money needed to open the business, so we should let him sit back, relax, and get his salary without having to put in any more effort. Zenshi whined about how Mamoru-san and Usagi-san becoming king and queen soon should mean that we shouldn't have to work in the first place. Jin suggested that I teleport the two of them to Uranus before I reminded him that their princess and future queen might see it fit to use that as another excuse to beat him to a pulp."

Minako laughed. "So another normal day at work."

Kisho didn't answer. Instead, he gazed at her questioningly.

"... What?"

"That's not what you wanted to ask me," Kisho said.

Minako stared at him before sighing. "Fine. I wanted … I'm just curious about what happened to the reincarnated nobles."

Kisho didn't immediately answer. He kept his eyes on her face for a short moment before a corner of his lips quirked upwards.

"That wasn't too difficult, was it?" he asked.

"... Huh?"

Placing a hand on her cheek, he leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips before resting his forehead against hers.

"We're going to have to work together to protect Mamoru-san and Usagi-san soon," he said softly with his eyes closed. "While I know it might still be difficult, you'll have to learn to place some trust in me."

"I do trust you!"

Pulling back, he allowed his hand to drop downwards to intertwine his fingers with hers. "Not enough to ask me simple questions like what happened to the enemies."

Minako gnawed at the inside of her cheek, slightly embarrassed. "They were your parents and relatives from the past. I … wasn't certain if you would've wanted me to know."

"Not because you were afraid that I might release them due to personal feelings?" he asked in an almost teasing manner.

"You don't love Mamoru-san any less than I love Usagi-chan," Minako said, echoing the words Ami had said the other day.

Kisho drew in a deep breath and nodded slowly.

"So … what happened to them?" she asked almost timidly.

"We—the Shitennou, that is—had wanted to get rid of them … permanently," Kisho admitted with some difficulty.

"'Had wanted', so ... oh. Oh . Mamoru-san stopped you guys, right?" she asked with a frown.

Kisho shook his head. There was a strange expression on his face, one that looked as if he wanted to smile and frown at the same time but couldn't decide which one to settle on.

"Then what happened?" she asked.

"Your princess."

"Goddamnit."

"That's what Nephrite said, too," Kisho said, amusement flickering in his eyes. "We weren't very certain in regards to how she'd found out, but we suspected Mamoru-san had told her."

"Let me guess, she went on harping about how it'll be too awful for the four of you to execute your own family members, disregarding whatever evil things they'd done and will do," Minako said.

"Something along those lines."

"Dear Selene, please help me," Minako groaned, burying her head into Kisho's shoulder. She stayed like that for a moment before asking, "And then? What did she do? Encourage them to become good little boys and girls before allowing them to run off scot-free?"

"I believe that was probably what she had in mind."

Minako straightened up. "But?"

"Zenshi, Jin, and Masato distracted her before we brought them to Helios's temple where certain parts of their memories were taken away," Kisho answered. "They won't remember what happened during the Golden Kingdom, and they won't remember anything concerning the rumors, including their role in it. Their memories were altered so they would believe that they are normal humans so that even if they do see Mamoru-san and Usagi-chan in the future, the memories will not be retrieved or triggered."

Minako blinked. Okay, so maybe there were still some problems here and there—her mind was already whispering plenty of "what ifs" in her mind—but altogether, she supposed they could assume this to be the best ending for both sides.

"But what about their powers?" she asked.

"Helios ran some tests on them. Except for simple divination, they don't possess enough power to do anything significant to Mamoru-san and Usagi-san," Kisho answered.

"What if they see something about their past?" she asked.

Kisho smiled. "If you didn't go through what you did, would you have believed that you were the reincarnated princess of Venus, even if someone had told you?"

"... Okay, maybe you do have a point there," she replied before snuggling up to him again.

They sat there silently for a few moments, cherishing their moment of peace together before she spoke up again.

"Do you still need to go back to Elysion? Didn't you say that day at the meeting that the four of you hadn't completely healed yet?" she asked.

"Mamoru-san asked Helios on the day we returned to Elysion with the nobles. He said that our energy levels are still on the low side but should recover with time," Kisho answered.

"Would it be easier for you to recover in Elysion?" she asked.

Kisho shook his head. "Helios said that we appear to be recovering at the same speed as when we were staying at Elysion so where we stayed doesn't make a difference."

Minako nodded.

"We just … won't be too much help within the next couple of months, if more powerful enemies than the nobles come along," Kisho said with a displeased frown on his face.

Minako laughed. "There will be plenty of moments for you and your brothers to shine in the future. Right now, your priority is to heal completely, soldier."

Kisho raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you attempting to pull rank on me? Because I was under the impression that we are and will be of equal status in the future."

Pushing herself upwards, she gave him a peck on the lips. "... No, it's a request from a woman to the man she loves."

He ogled at her in surprise before his features softened. "Request accepted."

Circling her waist with an arm, he brought her closer and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Don't cut your hair again," he whispered as he stared into her eyes.

She hummed as she took a glance at the hair that was now up to her chest. "I think I still look gorgeous with short hair."

"I don't deny that," he said as he played with a lock of her hair. "But I remember how much you loved your hair."

"As long as you don't disappear on me again," she said before she could stop herself.

"I won't," he promised. He paused for a moment before adding, "And I've told you, we were brought back to life long before you cut your hair."

"I know," she said.

She recalled that he'd said that they were brought back to life with Mamoru after Usagi's battle with Galaxia, but since their bodies were long gone, they'd needed time in Elysion to recover their strength and powers. The whole logic was too long and boring, and of course, Ami was probably the only one who'd listened intently to it.

They sat there for a couple of more moments before Kisho went to the bathroom to shower. She stared at the door he'd disappeared through before she got up and went into their bedroom.

Our.

She smiled at that thought. While the decorations were still much girlier than he would've preferred, there were still elements in there that signified his presence, like the ties hanging on the hooks on the door next to her jacket and the single cologne bottle standing out amongst the numerous bottles of her perfumes.

Strolling over to the dresser that the fragrances were standing on, she opened the top drawer and took out a box. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she opened it and stared at the content for a moment.

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"Greek mythology? You probably know it better than the professors," Artemis sniggered as he looked at the book that was on top of her desk.

"Why do you think I'm basing my essay on it?" she asked with a sly smile.

"Pfft," Artemis scoffed before jumping out the window and leaving her to her reading.

He wasn't there when she reached the story about Berenice, and neither was he there to witness the way her face became more and more solemn as she read the last paragraphs of the story.

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She sat in front of the mirror, feeling just a bit silly and a whole lot more pathetic. Nobody believed in fairy tales at her age — or at least, practical people didn't.

But she was supposed to be the avatar for Venus. She was allowed to believe in sugary-sweet stories for once, wasn't she?

Taking a deep breath and thankful that Artemis had gone to visit Luna for the night again, she strengthened the hold she had on the scissors and cut off bits of her hair. There. It wasn't much and people probably wouldn't even notice the difference, but it was the heart that counted, right? Quality over quantity.

She bit down on her lower lip. Offerings required to be burned, don't they?

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She had no idea why, but she felt a sense of peace and something similar to happiness bubbled inside her the day after the ritual. She wondered if it was because it had somehow worked.

She started wondering if she should anticipate his return.

Until the short instance of peace was thoroughly disrupted by enemies, hunting for Sailor Crystals.

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Her thoughts were disrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening, and moments later, Kisho entered the room.

He gave her an inquisitive look when he saw her sitting on the bed with something in her hands. In return, she gifted him a mysterious smile before getting up, placing the box back into the top drawer of the dresser. She still wasn't certain if the ritual did work or if everything had been just a mere coincidence, but she still liked the idea of a little secret that nobody else knew about.

Turning around, she got into bed and snuggled up to him, placing her head on his chest. As he placed a kiss on the top of her head, she smiled.

"I love you," she said.

He didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled her closer to him, into his embrace.

But right before she drifted off to sleep, she thought she heard something. It was so soft, that she almost thought it wasn't real. Or perhaps it was that state between reality and dreams where people often hear strange things made up by their own imaginations. Before she could decide on which one it was, however, darkness overcame her.

"I love you, too."

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Fin.

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A/N: The art that inspired this fic is by chevalierviolet and it is the book cover for this fic. For better resolution, go to her art blog to check it out at

artchevio dot tumblr dot com slash post / 188657618838 /for-httpsssrevminibangtumblrcom