A/N: Hey guys! I have done a lot with this story and I hope that finally what I came up with is to your liking. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Naoko owns the whole idea, characters, and all that stuff on Sailor Moon. The only thing I own concerning Sailor Moon are the stickers my friend got me for my birthday. =p

Seeking To Subdue

Gleeful, cerulean eyes examined their prey expertly from their hiding place amongst the bushes. Long, strong, lithe form; stiff in awareness that someone was watching him; beautiful. He would surely be a fine conquest. His extensive legs were at the ready, tense and secure to spring at his opponent. His right hand – she noted that he was right handed – was perched on the pommel of his sword. He was watching the lovely landscape from the eminence. Although his attention was elsewhere, he seemed alert for trouble.

The sun was just setting, hovering in the middle of the sky like a pretty picture hung in the middle of the wall. It gave her just enough time to finish him off and enjoy his company afterward. Then, when the moon was high in the sky, she would disappear from his life and he would be left alone in the prairie to never set eyes on her again.

Her long fingers reached to her belt tentatively and pulled out the shimmering sword. The sword's handle was embedded with three fine jewels; Almandine in the middle – a violet tinged variety of garnet that ranged colors from a deep red to a brown red – and blood red Rubies on either side of the Almandine. Diamonds, the size of grain, encircled the jewels, and the handle itself was the color of an orange tinted brown; the guard of the sword was the shade of royal brown.

Slowly, she began inching towards him. One short, measured step after another. She could almost hear her mother's voice: "Serenity! What have I told you about picking fights with people from Earth? I demand you to stop this sport at once!"

An amused smile graced her features. She was only seeking for an adventure; nothing more. It wouldn't hurt anyone to have a little fun, not to mention this would boost his self-reliant ego down some. Men were not meant to have become so confident, and if anything the women of this world would thank her for making them see that a woman could hold power as much as a man could.

Her smile faded as she neared. With deliberate slowness, she raised her sword and counted to ten. When he didn't turn around, she took another step towards him. And then another…

Before she could react to the happenings, the man she was intent on conquering turned swiftly and flung his sword out, aiming it at her neck. A long second passed before her shocked expression melted into another amused smile. She flipped backwards to put some distance between them, then took her stance so that the point was aimed towards him.

"Who are you?" he questioned. His deep voice carried to her ears by the wind, and she shivered at the warmness of it despite the situation. He now stood at a perfect angle for her to examine his physical features.

He wasn't a handsome man. Oh no, handsome would most likely be an insult to such a fine looking creature – she was positive of the fact. His midnight blue eyes held a never-ending depth, along with a wise nature in them she couldn't comprehend. His fine, lush ebony locks fell over those eyes and matching eyebrows that weren't too thick or too thin. His jaw was set in a relaxed posture, and the corners of his mouth were up only slightly, but enough that she could tell that he believed she would be no threat to him. And then there was his skin… a tan apricot, she decided. Overall, he was quite a fine picture to marvel at.

"Serenity Moon, your worst nightmare, protector of innocence extraordinaire; pick your favorite. And who are you?"

"Ah," he sighed dramatically, "and I thought you knew who I was, considering that you suddenly decided to combat me. You are quite a vixen, aren't you?"

She tilted her head, her grin never ceasing. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"

The man smiled at her and began to move sideways. She copied his movement, and soon they were moving in a steady circle. "No, of course not. It would be shameful to upset a lovely creation such as yourself with an insult."

"Sir…" she trailed off.

"Endymion is what you may call me," he supplied.

"Sir Endymion, I would prefer not to be called a vixen. Believe it or not, but I hold a tall title."

"As do I, Lady Moon."

"Lady Serenity, if you please."

"Lady Serenity; beautiful name, by the way," he murmured, the left corner of his mouth twitching up.

She smirked and bounded forward, breaking off their repetitive motion. He instantly blocked her attack, and pushed the blade of her sword down with his own. "Please, Lady Serenity, do not think that just because you are pretty that I would take pity on you. You did, after all, intend to attack me first."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, my good sir. That way when I win, you can't say you went easy on me."

"Ah, but those words won't be uttered from my lips tonight, Lady Serenity, as I would be the champion and you shall eat your words with a fork."

"Don't underestimate me, Endymion."

The two locked gazes, his eyes slightly narrowed from her lack of courteous manner, and hers taunting. He took the sword out from over hers and went to strike her. And so the battle began. He took a blow, she blocked, and then the roles switched. They continued on like that for a full ten minutes before they both retreated back into their circle.

Beads of sweat trailed down her forehead. He had managed to lightly cut her shoulder, and she had stabbed his hand rather deeply in turn. She watched as he flexed the fingers on his injured hand as he studied her.

Endymion was much stronger than. she had believed. He had also complimented her three times on her gracefulness with the sword, which she found odd but pleasant at the same time.

Serenity tightened her hand on the sword and dug her toes farther into the dirtied ground. "I must say I am impressed," she finally said.

His chest rose up and down in staggering motions as he nodded. "You can still give up and we'll call it a draw," he suggested mockingly.

"Not a chance," Serenity spat. She lifted her sword and charged at him again. Metal hit metal as he blocked her and roughly pushed her sword aside with his own.

"You are going to get badly injured."

"You amuse me, for although my small frame I am tougher than you think, and yet you keep underestimating me."

He frowned and drew his sword along the air near the ground in an attempt to throw her off balance, and she responded by jumping onto his blade and landing on her right foot, and kicking it from his grasp with her left. The sword cut through the air and landed on the soft, green grass.

"Impressive," he murmured. "But do you know this move?" and his hands roughly took hold of her shoulders and pushed her down. They both tumbled to the ground, him falling on top of her, face inches from her own. Her sword tumbled out of her hands in surprise and landed somewhere next to his own. She squealed in surprise.

"I do believe you should be disqualified if it was an all-rule combat. Rule number one, you battle with swords, not hands. Rule number two, when one of the two parties fall to the ground in defeat, the winner decides whether that person should die or stay alive, and in this case we both tumbled so we have a little problem here, don't we?" she whispered, trying to regain her breath.

"Well, than, since I am disqualified, what should my punishment be?" Endymion asked ardently. Serenity gazed at him, almost not acknowledging that he had lifted her wrists and pinned them above her head. For once, the protector of innocents was truly out of words. This man was not only allowing her to win by not bringing up the third rule - the one to hit the ground first loses, in which case rule number 1 is blocked out - but he seemed to enjoy his position in the battle. Something, though, told her he wasn't so interested in the battle as he was in her. Her smile once again lifted, though this time mockery was not a part of it.

"You are incredible," she murmured, shaking her head.

"Aren't I?" he drawled, leaning down so that their noses we touching. He stopped there, not daring to go farther.

Serenity could feel his breath tickling her skin. Her mind instantly blocked all thoughts, dazed at the closeness of the man she had before believed would do anything to win. Now, he not only went along with the "rules" but also allowed her to choose whether he was allowed to enter a territory more personal than a battle for woman's rights. And he hovered there, not daring to move, taking slow, shallow breaths that made her senses go berserk ever more than before. Without much more of a thought, she leaned up only slightly to capture his lips.

The sweetest emotion overcame him when she didn't refuse him. Beautiful as she was, it was something more that had made him act out this scene, wanting to feel those heavenly lips against his own. He wasn't interested in who the winner was - at least not anymore. Never had anyone fought with him for so long and still kept going. Her fiery spirit did things to him he had never experienced, and although he didn't know the moon vixen, he couldn't let the experience be missed. She was his equal, he realized, and that was more than enough.

When they parted, she whispered timidly, "You are not what I expected."

He grinned. "Does it scare you?" He watched her carefully as she thought it over, his eyes on her own, searching the depth in them for the answer she was calculating. Finally, she murmured a no. His lips twitched into a smirk. "Your equal is the person you cannot beat. Your equal is the person you cannot underestimate. I think we both overlooked that, didn't we?"

She nodded. "But yet even though you hear those words, you still want to know to what extremes you can go until something out there is too much for the other, and you are left victorious."

"Of course, that is what happens all the time. But the thing is, what you are good in, that person might not be, but they have their own experiences and might also beat you in something different in which you falter in."

Serenity sighed. "You are a lion, aren't you?"

"More like a son of a lion, but yea," he replied, breaking their moody moment.

A grin broke onto her face. "At least I now know you can be an ego-maniac if you wanted to."

"Ah, but Lady, don't you see that my ego is not the only high one in this meadow?"

"Perhaps it's not. I have been known to be persistent."

"We both learned something today, did we not?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes we did," Serenity agreed, "But although we have learned something, my time here has fallen short. I must depart, for the moon has almost reached the limit of its height. Expect to see me again, Endymion. I will practice and I will not go easy on you on our next meeting."

"I will be waiting."

With that promise made, the mystery girl disappeared from beneath him, leaving behind nothing but the sword that had been thrown aside when they had both tumbled, and a promise that would soon be fulfilled, on the next full moon.

FIN

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