Cupid Alliance Series 2: To Defy Destiny

 

Title: Cupid Alliance Series 2: To Defy Destiny

Author: kazeko

Show: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

Series: Cupid Alliance Series

Multipart: yes

Chapters: 2

Rating: M15

Timeline: “The Last Sacrifice: The End of the Silver Millennium”, “CAS 1: The Trouble with Love”, “CAS 2: To Defy Destiny”, “Every Cloud”, “Crystal Shards”, “CAS 3: Unwilling Accomplice”, “Our Past 1: The Reason We Fight”, “CAS 4: Princess of Light”, “Our Past 2: The Reason We Still Fight”, “Our Past 3: The Reason We Fought”, “CAS 5: One Last Shining Star”, “In the Darkest Forest”, “Destiny or Duty”, “Desperately Searching”, “Kazeko”, “Chronicles of the Star Senshi” 

Couples: Usagi/Mamoru

Time: Season 1 and 2

Summary: All Cupids know that Destiny is already written and unchangeable, but Cupid #374 Omicron, Asakaze, risks everything to keep the end of the Silver Millennium from repeating.

 

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Chapter 1: Evaluation

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Asakaze, Cupid # 374 Omicron, sat on the roof of the building opposite the Crown Arcade and sharpened her arrows.  She watched as a short blonde bounced in, followed by her short-haired friend, a girl named Osaka Naru.  They settled themselves at the counter and exchanged pleasantries with the blonde boy manning the counter, Furuhata Motoki.  He thought of the two as younger sisters, his friends, but the blonde was completely and totally infatuated with him, to the point that she couldn’t see that her friend Umino was falling for her.  Asakaze aimed a simple Arrow of Desire at the little blonde, letting it fly, watching hearts fill her eyes.  Though technically against the Cupid Code, Tsukino Usagi was not yet Assigned, so Asakaze was free to do as she pleased.

 

She straightened as a tall man with stormy blue eyes came into view, pointed toward the little arcade.  He wore his power like a cloak, glaringly obvious to any Cupids or gods.  She opened her great white feathered wings, soaring closer and hovering over his head, examining his energy signature.  “Urakaze-kun, do me a favor.”

 

“What do you need, Asa-chan?  And where are you, anyway?  You have a meeting with 35 Omicron in ten minutes.  Status reports and all.  If you expect a new assignment, you must be there on time.”

 

“I know, worry-wart.  Look, I need some information on the Silver Millennium.”

 

That got the younger Cupid’s attention, and Cupid #557 turned his entire attention to his former master’s question.  Asakaze laughed at the change as the human with black hair entered the arcade.  In a flash of pale blue, the younger man appeared by her side, pale brown hair pulled out of his face, ice blue eyes searching the street.  “Why the Silver Millennium, Asa-chan?  Who did you find?”

 

“I think . . . I think I found someone very important.  Just find me the files, please?  I’ll come see you after my meeting.”

 

Urakaze shrugged, covering his ears as a fierce wail shook the buildings, threatening to bring them to the ground.  “Kami-sama!  What a sound!  What poor creature is being skinned alive?”

 

“A girl who has only just begun to understand her destiny.  I will see you later, Ura-kun.”  With that, the older of the pair opened her wings and flew off, golden hair shining in the sun an instant before she vanished.  Urakaze moved lower and glanced inside the Arcade, taking in the girl and her friend, the blonde boy, and the dark-haired man.  He sensed anger, fury, pain, and . . . something else.  A tie that he could not identify.  Shrugging, Cupid #557 Omicron headed toward the Great Cupid Library to find the information that his former master had requested.

 

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35 Omicron was an old Cupid, her gray hair pulled into a tight bun, glasses on her long nose, wrinkled fingers rifling through brittle papers, sharp muddy green eyes glancing up at the purple-eyes cupid.  The Omicron Cupids knew that 35 could assume the form of any age that she wanted, but old woman was her choice, possibly to intimidate her young charges.  “Well, 374.  I see that you have been busy recently, and your progress has been satisfactory.  Your apprentice has done well, a tribute to a fine and meticulous teacher, but you have not requested a new assignment in twenty years.  I do not understand your reluctance to be an excellent Cupid instead of merely ordinary.”

 

“Forgive my honesty, but it is not the number of assignments that makes a Cupid worthy.  I have brought hundreds of couples together in these past two decades, and I think it unfair of you to point out that none of them were worth points I’m supposed to be accumulating so I can be assigned more land, or another apprentice.  I do not really care.  Since Urakaze, 557, graduated and was given his own domain twenty years ago, I have been doing the best job I can with what I have been given, not fighting for more.  Tokyo is a beautiful city, and its people are happy.  With the exception of the recent youma crises, my town is peaceful.  People fall in love, they get married, they have the children, and they live full lives.  What reason would I need more land if I have achieved all of this?  Honestly, 35 Omicron, I don’t understand why I was called for Review, anyway.  I have spent the last two decades trying to stay out of the spotlight.”

 

To the blonde’s surprise, 35 was smiling, her wrinkles not as severe in her happy state.  “And that is exactly why you have come to our attention.  You finally realized the true purpose of a Cupid, and we need to ask you for a favor.”

 

“Me?  The Council needs a favor from me?”

 

“Yes, Asakaze-san.”  The blonde started, shocked that 35 had used her real name.  “You see, we do not give Assignments to Cupids that need to advance; we give our special cases to Cupids that can handle them.  We have a few that only a powerful and wise Cupid can handle, and we want you to consider one of the Alpha Cases.”

 

“Alpha Cases,” Asakaze whispered, wings falling open in shock.  “But those are the ones that even the hundreds cannot bring together!  Those are the destined ones!”

 

“And we have faith that you will bring them together.  Have you seen the list recently?”

 

“I have.  It has grown substantially since Beryl awoke and began to call her generals.  Soon the first of the ancient senshi will begin to fight, but we have no idea who that girl will be.”

 

“You will find out the Senshi’s identity, and that of her court when they make themselves known.  It is important to us that the information is brought to our attention as soon as possible.  We cannot protect the ancient princess if we never find her.  She cannot die again.  It is a great disgrace to the Cupid Alliance and the Gods that gave us life that we let the Moon Kingdom fall in the Silver Millennium.”

“I have read the reports, and no one is to blame for that unfortunate event.  We could not have predicted it.  Even the ginzuishou was silent until the tragic end, and you were able to send the senshi to a new future on Earth.”

 

“Asakaze, listen to me.  I know that you younger Cupids see that event as a mere stroke of bad luck, the one valley of tragedy in a long string of Cupid successes, but the truth is that none of us who were there can even admit to our true identities at the time.  We all changed our names, our designations, and rebuilt the Cupid Alliance from scratch.  We trust the youngsters like you to keep this Alliance from falling into ruin as the last one did.  Being immortal, we will always feel the pain of that horrible day.  We all lost our charges, and something . . . some part of us went with them, never to return.  All that we can hope is that they will have their happy ending here.”

 

“But that will never happen if we do not find and destroy Beryl and her master Metallia.”  Asakaze nodded as she stood.  “I will do my best to find the senshi, but I want a favor.”

 

“Okay.  What?”

 

“I don’t care about the Alpha Cases, but I do want to request Tsukino Usagi.”

 

“Usagi?  She’s in your Realm, isn’t she?  You’re in charge of her, anyway.”

 

“I think she’s special, 35 Omicron.  I think she has to be Assigned.”

 

“Any one else?”

 

“Chiba Mamoru.  And all of the Senshi if I find them.”

 

35 raised an eyebrow, amused by the impetuosity of the younger Cupid.  “I’ll make you a deal.  We will consider Chiba and Tsukino, but we will not Assign them to anyone else until we vote on you.  As for the Senshi . . . we cannot Assign their cases to just one Cupid.  They are powerful and complicated.  However, I will make you a deal.  As soon as you identify one couple and can successfully prove that they truly love each other and not because they fight together against the darkness, you may name your Partner and the Senshi will be given to you.”

 

Asakaze bowed her head.  “Deal.  Consider Tsukino and Chiba, please.  There is more to that girl than meets the eyes, and the boy practically bleeds power.”

 

“We will.”

 

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Chapter 2: Luna

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On the largest branch of the tallest tree in the park, a single black cat sat and watched people pass by, cleaning her fur when she got bored, a strange golden crescent moon on her forehead.  She hissed, falling into a defensive posture, as a tall blonde woman with purple eyes and white wings appeared in the air beside her, apparently invisible to the humans on the ground.  “Be calm, Luna, Advisor to the Queen.  You’re smarter than that.  You know that I mean you no harm.”

 

Luna snorted and resumed her bath, pretending as if she had not been startled at all.  “I do not know how you expected me to react to a Cupid appearing beside me for no good reason out of thin air.  Why are you here, and what is your designation?”

 

“My designation is 374 Omicron, but that would mean nothing to you now.  After the Moon Kingdom fell, the Alliance was rebuilt form scratch, the old Cupids retiring or changing their numbers.  My name is Asakaze, and I would prefer to be called that.”

 

“Very well.  Is there a particular reason you are bothering me, Asakaze-san?  I have a bath to finish.”

 

“I know, but I have a favor to ask of you.  I . . . I know that you ran into Tsukino Usagi today, and I want to know your impression of her.”

 

“My . . . Usagi?  That blonde girl wearing the strange hairstyle?  She’s the one that removed the band-aid from my crescent moon and allowed me to speak again.  I . . . there’s an aura about her, Asakaze-san, and I know that you can sense it.  She has power, but I do not know what to make of it.”

 

“What does your heart tell you, Luna?”

 

“That she is one of the Senshi I must find.  I can feel Beryl’s evil attacking this peaceful world as it did so long ago, and I must stop her.  But I do not want to call the Senshi, Asakaze-san.  It is such a burden, so much pain and suffering, and they may all die as they did before.  It would be better for them if I let them be.”

 

Asakaze reached down and easily lifted the cat, staring into her red eyes.  “Luna, I know how you feel, but you cannot let your love of the old senshi, the dead senshi, blind you to the fact that you have a duty to the princess.  She has been reborn, as well, and Beryl will not stop until she has found and destroyed our innocent Serenity.”

 

“I would not recognize her, Asakaze-san, even if I did see her.  I cannot remember most of the Silver Millennium.”

 

“I know.  Perhaps it is better that you do not.  But you remember enough, enough to do some good, to call forth the Senshi of old, the princesses who fought Beryl and Metallia and their evil army and died protecting their princess.  Please go to Usagi tonight and awaken the senshi power she holds.”

 

“But I do not know . . .”

 

“Just go to her, Luna, and look into her eyes.  When you use your powers to call forth her henshin stick, it will know where her power lies.  All you have to do is protect and train Usagi as a Senshi.  Soon her partners will come, drawn to her as the princesses were called together in the Silver Millennium so long ago, and they will form a team to defeat the evils of Beryl and Metallia.”

 

“When you say it . . . I believe that it might work, Asakaze-san.  I almost believe that soon I will look on the beautiful face of Serenity’s daughter and heir.”

 

“You must believe it, Luna,” Asakaze whispered, “or it will never happen.  Go now; darkness comes and I fear that tonight there will be unrest in my beautiful city.”

 

Luna nodded and leapt, easily landing on four feet on the ground, dashing off toward the Tsukino residence.  Asakaze watched her go, nodding.  Usagi’s power . . . she was one of the Senshi, of course.  What else could she be?  But she would never be given the girl as a charge if she could not find her soulmate.

 

“Cute kitty.  Yours?”

 

“You know better than that, Ura-kun,” Asakaze scolded as her former apprentice appeared by her side.  “She belongs to the princess.”

 

“Princess?  Serenity?  But we do not know who she is.”

 

“Not yet.  But Luna has confirmed a few things for me.”  Asakaze waved her hands, holding up the papers that appeared.  “Thank you for these, by the way.  After I left our venerable Master, I read these, searching for any clue to Usagi’s identity.”

 

“You think Usagi was part of the Royal Court?”

 

“I am sure of it, my friend.  Luna is, too.  She sees the power better than you or I because she was born for it, bred for it.  She can feel Beryl gathering her power, preparing to attack, and she will want the princess.  Usagi is but the first of the senshi—from the notes we have, I can surmise that there were nine, including Queen Serenity.  But it does not name Serenity’s Senshi name, since she never became her.  The Princess never even saw the ginzuishou, except for when she died and its power, enhanced by the Cupids, brought her here.  I do not know where, but the appearance of one Senshi in Tokyo indicates that all of them will come here soon, even the princess.  Once Luna begins to awaken the senshi, she will have them search for the shards of the ginzuishou and bring them all together.  Only the full crystal can summon the princess, awaken her at last.  Once that happens, Beryl is toast.”

 

“Wow.  You have this planned out!  Where is your little senshi now?”

“Luna has gone to her house.  Shall we follow and see how the girl does in her first fight?  I imagine she will be terrific.”

 

“Don’t kid yourself, Asa-chan.  I know that you have watched her for a long time, and I have, too.  She’s young, and immature, and she’ll be scared to death.  She’ll make it, because that’s what the Senshi do—did—all the time.  But she will never be the same.  I hope you said goodbye to her today, because she will never be the same.”

 

Asakaze nodded, finding tears unexpectedly gathering in her eyes, vowing at that moment never to give the girl another false love.  “I know,” she whispered, her voice only shaking slightly.  “I know.  And I did it to her.  I asked Luna to go back, I told her not to feel sorry for the girls whose lives she was going to irrevocably alter, just to think about the princess, but . . . she’s going to die, Ura-kun.  I know it.”

 

“You can’t, Asakaze.  None of us can see the fate of our charges.  Please don’t blame yourself, no matter what happens to her.  She won’t die because of anything you’ve done, and if she dies fighting, than at least she will have died a senshi.  She couldn’t have asked for anything else.  The Senshi died fighting in the Silver Millennium.”

 

“I know.  They deserve better.  They deserve a future, a kingdom where they are all recognized and worshipped for their amazing fire and love, a life with the soulmates that they were denied centuries ago, children.  I want them to have that.”

 

Urakaze wrapped one wing around Asakaze’s shoulder, trying to comfort the older Cupid.  “It will happen, all of it, just as you have said.  I promise.  I and the other Cupids will help it come true.  We won’t let the past repeat itself, I promise.  Now, I think we ought to go see what Usagi does her first night as a Senshi.”

 

“We have to stop somewhere first, Ura-kun.  Do you remember that man you saw at the Arcade earlier?  Well, I watched him when he ran into Usagi, and there was a definite surge of power.  Some part of her, the part that perished with her, defending the princess, recognized the ancient part of him.  Chiba Mamoru was part of one of the Royal Courts of the Silver Millennium.  We need to go awaken him.”

 

“How?  Asa-chan, you know how hard it is to awaken power that old.  Luna can do it because she was trained for it and learned the proper techniques to pass on power.  We are just young Cupids; we do not know how.”

 

“I have a plan, Ura-kun.  Follow me.”  The Cupid flipped over backwards, falling off the branch as she opened her huge wings and soared into downtown Tokyo, heading for a specific apartment and her chosen hero.  Urakaze shrugged and followed his former mentor, wondering what the woman had planned.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Chiba Mamoru sighed, staring at the ceiling, really not seeing it at all.  He mentally reviewed his meeting with that strange blonde Odango Atama, wondering what it was about her that intrigued him so.  She was young, immature, a pain, a whiner, a horrible student . . . but that wasn’t the worst of it.  Mamoru had actually enjoyed running into her, and their chance encounter had been the highlight of his day.  He wanted to see her again.

 

Groaning, the blue-eyed man rolled over and stared out the window, watching as the sun vanished behind the steely buildings of Tokyo, realizing that he would have to eat something soon so he could go to bed.  Resigned to his lonely life, Mamoru reasoned that he would not be lucky enough to see that girl again as he sat up and prepared to head for his kitchen.

 

He stopped as a glowing apparition appeared in the air before him, dressed in a flowing white gown, face hidden in shadow.  The room around him changed, becoming a balcony, the Earth hanging in the sky, an evil darkness cloaking the land, choking him.  He was dressed in a suit and cape, sword on his hip, staring up at the woman.  She held out her hand, beckoning, supplicating, and her gentle voice embraced him.  She never spoke, but he heard her, ancient words filling his mind.  ‘Help me, Endymion.  You must awaken me.  I am weak, powerless, defenseless . . . you must save me.’

 

‘How?  I don’t know where you are, Princess.’

 

‘You do not have to.  My Senshi can find me, can awaken me, can bring me back to you.  I miss you so much, beloved.  Please save me.’

 

‘Your Senshi?’

 

‘You have the power to protect them.  The first one wakes now . . . you will always know her danger.  Save her especially, Endymion.  She is the most important.’

 

‘How can I protect her?  I have no power.’

 

‘You do, Endymion.  When you need to protect her, you will find it.  Go now; she needs you.  Please find me, beloved.’  The image vanished, Mamoru’s living room returning as an excruciating pain ripped through the man, dropping him to his knees.  He blacked out, the princess only returning in his dreams, as an alternate personality he never knew he possessed took over, Tuxedo Kamen standing up for the first time.  He looked around, wondering where he was, eyes narrowing as the sense of pain and danger invaded his senses once more.  Without a second thought, Tuxedo Kamen leapt toward the balcony, jumping out and away, heading for a small downtown jewelry store where a young and very inexperienced heroine was trying her hand at fighting one of Beryl’s youma.

 

Asakaze and Urakaze watched him leave, the younger Cupid amused.  “How did you make him transform?  What did he see when he looked at you?”

 

“His heart’s desire, his soulmate.”

 

“But you don’t know who she is,” Urakaze protested.  “How can you show him what you do not see?”

 

Asakaze reached around her neck and unfastened a golden chain, holding up the amber heart-shaped stone for her former apprentice to see.  In the depths of the amber were tiny iridescent scales, forming the ancient symbol of paired lovers, soulmates, a symbol that fairly closely resembled the astronomical symbol of Uranus.  “This is the Artemis Heart, a stone created by the ancient gods as a birthday present for the first ruler of the Moon.  The goddesses gave it the power to identify soulmates and the gods gave it the power to bring the destined lovers together.  We Cupids are not strong enough to release its full power, but I have learned from some of the younger gods how to use it to project an image.  I told Mamoru to use the power he has inside to protect the first of the Senshi and all that follow her so that she can find the princess.  What he saw was his soulmate, begging him to save her by finding the princess.  I didn’t have to know who she is or who the princess is for him to see and hear what he needed to.  Now he will protect Usagi and she might survive this war.”  Asakaze returned the necklace to her neck and vanished, heading for the battle where Usagi would meet Tuxedo Kamen for the first time.

 

Urakaze stared into the empty room for a moment.  “The Artemis Heart?  I thought that was in the Forge.  I wonder if she stole it . . .”

 

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To Be Continued

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Read CAS 1: The Trouble with Love

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Read CAS 3: Unwilling Accomplice

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