I'll Cover You cpt 7

"Ichi."

"Ichi."

"Ni."

"Ni." I suppress the urge to call myself a Knight who says "two."

"San."

"San." My headphones are so loud, I almost don't hear the knock at the door. After my Sesame Street lesson for the day, I pull them off and stop the tape. "Who is it?"

No one answers. I guess I was just hearing things. I start putting my headphones back on when I hear English. "Darien, it's me. Please let me in."

Raye.

My heart doesn't do any dances. My pulse doesn't race. I don't want to open the door and beg her forgiveness.

Is this good or bad?

"Just a second." I push myself up and open the door. "Hi." I hope I'm looking in her general direction.

"Hi." She walks past me, into the apartment. I feel her hair brush over my skin, and I close the door behind us. "So..."

"Why'd you come here, Raye?"

"Darien, remember how I used to get...eerie feelings?"

"Premonitions? Bad vibes? Visions of death? Yeah, I vaguely remember stuff like that."

"You're still as sarcastic as ever."

"I'm blind, Raye, not humourless." My mouth feels dry. I wonder where Usagi is, why she isn't home right now. She should be back from class. My head begins to throb.

Dammit.

"Well, I felt something emanating from here. Nothing evil, it was a presence of good. But I want to do some meditations here and see what I find. Maybe an evil spirit is keeping you blind."

My thoughts turn to Endymion's apparition. "Yeah, I'd agree with that." The pain in my temples is getting excruciating. I can't hold this in much longer. "But, um, could you do it later? Usagi will be coming home soon, and I don't know how she would feel about someone being here, doing readings, and..." I realise I don't care if Raye knows about the woman I live with.

"I don't think Usagi would mind. She's seen me do this type of stuff before."

I pause. "You know Usagi? From where?"

I hear her curse under her breath. She clears her throat. I know what she's doing, because she's done this before. She's stalling. "I met her at the temple. She came to say some prayers and we became friends."

Usagi and Raye are day and night. Somehow I can't believe they would just "become friends." But I have to stop thinking about Usagi; Tuxedo Mask is trying to break through.

A beeping goes off from within Raye's purse. "My phone, excuse me." She hurries into the kitchen.

A cell phone? Raye has never been big on technical gadgets. She didn't even like ME having a phone.

From the kitchen, I hear hushed, hurried Japanese. The girl on the other line is Usagi.

What is it I'm not getting? How are these two friends? Why is Raye suddenly in Japan? And how does she know about Serenity, like Usagi does...

No...she couldn't be. Is Raye one of the Technicolor blurs?

She comes back. "I have to go do something. Emergency. Be back later, bye Darien." I feel her speed past me. After the door closes, I let the rush consume me and I can see again. As painful as it was, I have learned that I can control this somewhat. Good.

The arcade where Usagi and I met flashes by in my thoughts. That's where she is. "Up, up, and away."

I hop along rooftops until I reach the arcade. As always, Sailor Moon is there, but accompanied by a red blur today. At least she has some help. I leap to the ground to join them, pulling out an obligatory rose. The creature of the day is about to attack her, when the red blur yells out an attack.

"Fire Soul!"

My breath catches in my throat.

It couldn't be.

But I'd know that voice anywhere. I've known it for over a year.

I breathe again, but in short rasps. As my mind realises who she is, the blurriness fades away to reveal Raye in a little red sailor suit.

A part of me that I'm slightly ashamed of asks why she never dressed up like that for me when we were together.

As I stand there shocked, the monster decides I'm a sitting duck and jumps at me, something I don't notice until Sailor Moon leaps on top of me, taking the blow. She screams as it throws shards of glass at her. Some of them are still stuck in her back as Raye continues to fight, leading it away from us.

"Oh, please, tell me you're okay," I whisper to the girl still on top of me. Her face is just inches from mine. I wish I could see her without all these theatrics; I'd almost forgotten how beautiful she is.

"I'll be fine," she replies. She tries to push herself up, but her features are pained. I watch a tear escape her eye and drop onto my cheek.

"Don't move." I push her up, roll out from under her, and place her face-down onto the ground. "This is going to hurt a little bit..."

"It already does, so go ahead, Takishido Masku."

I reach for a shard and, using the Band-Aid philosophy, pull it out in one quick motion. Her body seizes, then relaxes. She's biting her lip.

"Only a few more. Go ahead and let it out."

"Okay."

I pull out a second shard, and she lets out a slight squeak.

"You're very quiet."

"Well, I'd prefer to say some things that are very improper for a lady."

"Go ahead, I won't mind."

"No. You're too cute for me to make a fool of myself in front of you."

I smile. "Two more. Okay?"

She nods weakly.

The third piece is the smallest; I've saved the largest one for last. I say a silent prayer that this won't damage any internal organs, then rip it out. Sailor Moon lets out a shriek that hurts me more than that creature ever could. Blood is covering the back of her suit.

"You need to get to a hospital."

"No, I can't. Not like this. They can't...they can't know..."

"Shhh. We'll kill it, then you should get someone to take care of you."

A smile creeps across her face. "I have someone to take care of me, even though I'm supposed to be taking care of him. He knows how to fix me."

I try not to blush, and to keep my mind on the task at hand. "I don't know if you should be telling me this, Sailor Moon. You might give away your secret identity."

"I would tell you if you would tell me," she rolls onto her side and reaches for my mask. "You almost seem too familiar..."

I lean back so I'm out of reach. "You stay here. I'm going to help, um...her," I point at Raye.

"Sailor Mars."

"Yeah. Her."

Raye is Sailor Mars, with the power of fire. Heh. It would figure, Raye, you were always so bonded with the shrine flame.

I throw my usual barrage of roses, and she attacks with flames. The monster is almost dead when I hear a familiar shout. Mars and I turn to see Sailor Moon, still bleeding, standing with her moon wand. Light surrounds the creature, and it returns to human form.

Weakly, she says, "I helped," before collapsing.

I run to her and catch her just before she hits the pavement. The cement is stained red now.

"We have to get her to a hospital," Mars says next to me.

"No, we can't. They'll find out who she is. They'll run tests on her and hurt her worse than she is. I know where to take her."

I jump up to the rooftops, carrying her. I've got to get her home and take care of her. That's all I can do. If I take her to the hospital, even just as Usagi Tsukino, they'll want to know what happened. Please, God, let me be able to make her better.

I can tell someone's following me. I look behind to see Mars, chasing me, gaining on me in high heels. "Atta girl, Raye," I mutter. I'm sure she'd know how to follow me psychically even if I evaded her. I don't have time to run away, I have to help Usagi.

I feel energy surging through my hands. I stop, turn, and toss Sailor Moon over my left shoulder. I hold my hands downward and yell, "Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber!" A blast shocks the roof materials, kicking up enough dust to stall Sailor Mars while I escape. It works. Whew.

Our apartment's right ahead. Now that I don't have to worry about an ex-girlfriend on my tail, I wonder where my new power came from. Endymion? Radioactive roses? Usagi? Raye? I'm sure every guy, at least once, would like to have a power that they can hurl at their ex.

I swoop (heh. There's a word I never thought I'd use in relation to myself) in through the window, girl on shoulder, feeling very much like Tarzan.

I lay Sailor Moon down on the couch, not caring about bloodstains. "Okay, what do I do first?" Scanning the room, as if it would provide the answers, I mutter, "Where's that stupid prince when I need him?"

First things first, I suppose I should turn her back into Usagi. If she uses her brooch to transform, does it work the same way backwards? Shrugging, I poke at it, wondering what to do. A bright light flashes out, and ribbons envelop her body before her regular clothes fit around her. Her brows furrow and she lets out a whimper.

"Ssh, it'll be okay, Usagi."

"Who is that?"

"Tuxedo Mask."

"Where am I?"

"Your apartment."

"Oh, okay." She smiles and closes her eyes again. All right, she's alive and breathing, and almost sort of conscious. Rolling her onto her stomach, I see that her clothes have already been soaked with blood.

"Dammit." I pull off my gloves and rest my hands on her. Please work. Please. I'm losing hope; nothing's happening. But then, I see the blood stop flowing. Little by little, her skin starts to heal itself. It's pulling together, building scar tissue. I hope her scars won't last forever. I hope she's back to normal, even if it means losing the memory that I - well, Tuxedo Mask - helped her.

The room starts spinning, but I keep concentrating all the energy I have. This is certainly harder than healing a little burn. My skin is glowing a bright gold colour, and it's getting harder to see.

The last thing I hear before I collapse is, "What...where am-- Darien!"

"Hey there. Feeling better?"

Head is in extreme pain. I still can't see. Hell.

"You feeling alright?"

"Raye?"

"The one and only."

"What are you doing here? Where is here?"

"We're at your apartment. Usagi found you passed out on the floor. I stopped by to do that reading I had wanted to do earlier, and so I sent her grocery shopping. I'm under strict orders to take care of you."

"How's Usagi? Is she okay? Can she go grocery shopping? She should be in bed!"

I know Raye is staring at me. She just gives you that feeling where you don't even have to look at her to know you're under her eye. "Why wouldn't she be okay, Darien?"

"Well, she was late in coming home from school, and I know her back has been hurting her lately."

"Uh-huh."

There's silence between us, each of us calculating what to say next.

Raye was always better at math. "So, I did my reading."

"Really? Find any bogeymen, or the cause of the mysterious puddle that appears on the bathroom floor?"

"Actually, I was drawn to your room. Your nightstand, specifically."

"Really? My table lamp giving off ¡¥bad vibes¡¥?"

"More like three large jewels in the top drawer. Very pretty, but I can't imagine why you would have them. Where did you get them, Darien?"

"Oh, here and there. Over my many travels."

"Wow. You know, because I have a jewel just like the three you have. Well, mine is blue, and I just picked it up today, in fact."

"That's terrific, Raye. When is Usagi getting back?"

"Whenever she's done shopping. Don't worry, Tuxedo Mask, you fixed her up great."

"Good, I--"

Shit.

"Well, I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you, you meddling kid. The gems gave me away?"

Raye giggles. "Yeah. That and the fact that you knew exactly where Sailor Moon lived. How long have you known?"

"Since I saw her transform the night I went blind. Of course, I just found out you were Sailor Mars today."

"I had expected you did. You know my voice too well to hear me attack and not figure it out."

"So who else is in your little group?"

"You're the journalist; figure it out for yourself."

"Terrific. Thanks for your help." Raye places a wet cloth on my forehead, as if that's supposed to heal a giant energy loss. Oh well, she's doing her best. "Are you sure Usagi's all right?"

"Yes." She rustles something in her purse. "You care about her, don't you?"

Don't tell me she's jealous? "Of course I do. She's taking care of me, and she's fun to be around. Who wouldn't care about her?"

"I mean as more than a friend, Darien. You really care. You're in love."

What?

"What?"

"You can't be with her, you know. You have to be with Serenity."

"All right, stop right there. No more lecturing until you tell me how much you know."

Raye sighs, and I sit up. "Okay. But I'm not repeating this, so you had better listen good, got it?

"A thousand years ago, there was a time known as the Silver Millennium. Luna, Earth's moon, was the centre of an alliance of all of the planets. On the moon lived Selene and her daughter, Princess Serenity. We lived there, too, our purpose to guard the princess. Serenity was in love with a prince on Earth, Prince Endymion."

"Me, I assume?"

"Good for you. Can I finish?"

"Please do."

"Relations between the Earth and the Moon were getting tense, as a Queen named Beryl started gaining power. She led the Earthlings in a rebellion against Luna, killing almost all involved, including the princess, the prince, and the guardians. The survivor was Selene, who used the Silver Crystal to send everyone to the future, to be born again to happiness."

"So we know who Endymion is, we know who the guardians are, why don't we know who the princess is?"

"The princess holds the crystal, which contains immense powers. She was sealed out of our memories, and the enemy's memories, so the crystal would be hard to find. We thought you would be our best link to her."

"How did you know I was Endymion?"

Raye sniffs. "After...our incident, I felt something pulling me here. So I made arrangements to move to the Hikawa Shrine. I met the other four girls, and became a Sailor Senshi. When they had briefed me on what I had missed, I remember you talking about Serenity in your dreams. When you said her name again in the hospital, I knew it was you."

"So why do we have to be together? Can't we just find her and get the crystal?"

She sighs at my question. "We were sent to the Earth for a second chance at happiness. We were returned so we could find each other again. You and Serenity are fated to be together."

"What if Serenity has changed? What if I've changed? What if we find this princess, and she's a boorish idiot that none of us can stand?" Thoughts of Corinne appear in my mind.

"I don't know, Darien. I'd like to think that we are the same as we were back then, and we'll be glad to lay down our lives for her, and you'll be madly in love with her. But I can't guarantee anything. All I know is that when we find Serenity, we'll still be her guards whether we like it or not, and you'll be her destined mate."

"'Destined mate'? I feel like an animal! We're endangered? Do we have to breed more little moon people?"

"Darien, I don't know!" Raye gathers her things and stands up. "I probably shouldn't have told you...I just thought I'd let you know before you became too attached to Usagi! She's Sailor Moon: she's a guardian to the princess, like us! So you just can't be with her. I'm sorry." Uncomfortable moments of silence pass. "I'm going to go now. Tell Usagi I'm sorry I couldn't stay and take care of you, but you seem fine anyway."

I wish I had my sight back just so I could stare blankly at something. My life has gone to being carefree to suddenly being mapped out. Raye tells me that I can't be with Usagi, because she's not the princess. I shouldn't get attached.

How do I tell her it's too late for that?

I already am attached.

I think I love her.

Shit.