Mu #11: Clemency (Battle by Kitsune Moonstar)
Title: Battle
Author: kitsunemoonstar
Pairing: Kunzite x Aino Minako
Fandom: Sailor Moon
Theme: #11: Clemency
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or its characters.
Rating: For Everyone
Battle
Kunzite was pretty sure he had fallen in love. Aina was intelligent, kind, cunning, and dangerous, all wrapped up in a beautiful package. And for the first time in his life, Kunzite wasn't concerned about the consequences of falling in love. Aina understood. She understood duty and loyalty and that his duty to his prince came first. She might not be able to speak, but she communicated effectively enough with the Shittenou in general. Kunzite found that he hardly had to rely on the rudimentary sign language they'd devised to understand her meaning. But everyone in their circle understood her, and she understood them. It was a far cry from many of the court ladies.
As far as they had been able to tell, Aina was priestess trained, most likely by an isolated sect. She knew the traditions and rituals of the court, but only in older, more traditional forms. And very few women of nobility (which Aina so clearly was) were trained to fight if they were raised outside of a temple. Given that Aina had never made any attempt to show them where she might be from, the Shittenou were also assuming that whatever community she had belonged to had been destroyed when she was captured. That would be par for the course with those particular opponents.
They had learned of her fighting skills quite early on. There had been an ambush that hadn't been spotted before hand, and Aina, still weak and recovering from her ordeal, had acquitted herself better than most of their men. The sword she had taken from one of the soldiers was too large for her, but after that they had made sure she was properly outfitted. And included in their sparring sessions. When it came to skill with a sword, really only Endymion and himself matched her skills. Not to mention the fact that she was rather skilled with a number of other weapons.
In fact, Aina's skills had actually solved several problems that the Shittenou had before. For example, Aina's presence with Endymion when he was mostly dealing with the ladies of the court and their mothers was a welcome safeguard. No one expected Aina to be acting as a bodyguard, and given the way that she treated the prince and most of the Shittenou like they were her brothers, most of the court ladies did not see her as a threat either. The only one that Aina treated differently was Kunzite, and that was perfectly fine with him. He'd been drawn to Aina from the start, and she had been a welcome addition to their inner circle, even if he did have to put up with teasing from the others.
What they hadn't told Aina was that the necklace she always wore, the one that had been Kunzite's, marked her as close to being betrothed to him as possible without any sort of formal asking and announcement. At the time when Aina had been introduced to the Royal Court, it had been a way to force the court to accept Aina without much question. Showing up with a former prisoner who no one had ever heard of even if she was obviously nobility of some sort and making her a part of the prince's inner circle could have been difficult. But with Aina as one of the Shittenou's close companion, it was much harder for anyone to refute her presence. And in the end, Kunzite had never reclaimed the necklace. Aina had tried to give it back once, but her clear reluctance and the wistful glance she'd given the pendant had Kunzite wrapping her fingers back around the necklace. She always wore it now.
And while Aina might not know the full significance of the necklace, she clearly did know that whatever it was between them was something more than the easy camaraderie that she shared with the others. It was Kunzite that Aina went to when she had concerns or nightmares. While she was affectionate with all of them, it was Kunzite's lap that she liked to curl up in when they held their meetings. It was an odd little courtship the two of them shared and not at all to court standards, but Kunzite found that it suited them both just fine, even with the teasing from Endymion and the others.
For all intents and purposes, Aina basically was one of the Shittenou. The only secret she was not aware of at this point was Endymion's recent meeting and subsequent infatuation with the Moon Princess. And that was only because the girl hadn't come back yet, though she had promised Endymion she would. The Shittenou had all decided that they needed Aina's judgment on the girl. She seemed just as infatuated with Endymion as he was with her, but Aina had proved time and again to be a better judge of the court ladies' intentions than they had. If Aina approved, then they would start figuring out how to make this work. Technically, contact with anyone from the Moon Kingdom was forbidden, but Endymion had been breaking rules and traditions ever since childhood.
Glancing around the small antechamber, Kunzite frowned when he realized that both Aina and Zoisite were not there. That could spell trouble. The two of them were far more mischievous together than Zoisite had been on his own. Moments later footsteps could be heard in the hall, and Zoisite appeared in the doorway with a bright grin.
"What do you think?"
Aina stepped into the room. Instead of her usual court dress, she wore a grey uniform that almost matched the rest of the Shittenou's. Hers was clearly tailored for a woman with the jacket cut with a v-neck instead of a high collar, and the trim on hers was the golden yellow color that Aina seemed to favor above all others. A slim chain was wrapped around her waist in lieu of a belt, and Kunzite was well aware that she could use it as a weapon. Her hair was confined to the thick braid she typically wore when sparing, and Kunzite's necklace was displayed resting between her collar bones.
Endymion smiled. "Making a point are we?"
Zoisite shrugged. "Aina's not a court lady. Besides, we've all been feeling uneasy. If something happens, a court dress would be a hindrance."
Endymion sighed. "You all our overreacting."
Jadeite frowned. "Lady Beryl's attention is reaching rather obsessive levels, and she has never taken refusal well."
Kunzite nodded. "It never hurts to be prepared. We've survived more than one fight because of that. Are we ready?"
There were nods all around, and the group took their regular places for their entry into the grand hall. Aina slipped into place at his side, her hand tucked in the crook of his elbow with a smile. Kunzite was pretty sure that he had fallen in love with her, and he did not mind in the slightest.
Minako appreciated the familiarity of the court sessions. There were still things about both living on Earth and without her voice that threw her on a regular basis, but some things kept her grounded. The routine of the Royal Court was one of them. The Shitennou were another. They had become her brothers as much as the Senshi were her sisters. Well, except for Kunzite. Her feelings toward Kunzite were not at all brotherly. Serenity had always teased that when the Senshi of Venus fell, she would fall hard, and her princess had been right.
Thankfully, it did not appear to be unrequited. Kunzite might be reserved, but he was openly affectionate with her, and there had been three toe curling, spine tingling kisses as well. The frustrating part was not being able to articulate her feelings to him the way she wanted to. They had never really discussed what this was between them, and as much as Mina wanted to ask, she couldn't. Kunzite was going to have to be the one to bring the subject up, and waiting had never exactly been a skill of hers.
Still, she was happy here. She had found a place where she belonged, and even if she would always miss and mourn her former life, Minako knew that she would be able to both survive and thrive here. In the six months that she'd been here, she'd found a second home. Kunzite nodded at her, and they made their entrance.
Court was fairly typical today. There was the regular slate of petitions interspersed with favor currying and court ladies flirting with Endymion. The prince had been immune to most of that so far for which Mina was glad. There really was not a single woman in his court that was a suitable match for the prince in either temperament or in the skills that were needed to help run a kingdom. Endymion needed a partner as much as he needed a wife, and there was no one that Aina had met yet in the Royal Court who was up for the task. Everything was just fine until the woman stalked into the room.
She was dressed as the Senshi of Venus. Minako did not recognize her, though the woman was clearly Venusian. She was older than Minako though, and more than that, she felt wrong. Beside Kunzite, Mina tensed, and he cast a concerned look at her. But she did not have a chance to give any explanation or warning before the woman stalked up to Endymion.
"How dare you corrupt my princess? You are hardly worthy of the least of us let alone the best of us, and you think to seduce her? Thankfully, I'm here to nip that infatuation in the bud."
The other woman raised her hands in a familiar gesture. She didn't think; she just reacted. Minako threw herself into the attack, ignoring the cries of the Shittenou. It should have hurt her. Instead, Minako felt familiar power fill her. It wasn't full strength, but she could feel the power of Venus coursing through her once again. Her power had come home to her, and she was not about to let this interloper harm her new family.
Two things were immediately clear. Her power was weak but there as were her bonds to the other Senshi and Serenity. But also, now there was another bond, just barely there and not fully formed, that connected her to Kunzite. She had hoped for that, but she'd never really expected to find someone she could bond with. But she would worry about that later, first she needed to deal with this imposter.
It was very clear that the woman hadn't expected her. She was staring at Mina in shock.
Minako smiled. "That was a mistake."
Her voice was slightly rusty, but it was her own. The other woman narrowed her eyes.
"That's impossible. You're dead."
"It would seem otherwise."
The fight itself was brief. Mostly because when the Shittenou shook off their shock and joined, the imposter decided to beat a retreat. That just left Minako to deal with the aftermath. Everyone was staring at her, even her Shittenou. Taking a deep breath and touching Kunzite's pendant for comfort, Minako turned to face the King and Queen of Earth, dropping into her most formal curtsy. She only had a small window of opportunity to try and mitigate the situation.
"Your majesties, I apologize for the attack from that imposter. Please do not take it as a true example of the behavior of my countrymen. My true name is Minako of Venus, and until that attack, I truly was mute. The power was mine, stolen from my when I was captured and tortured, and when she attacked me with it, some returned to me." Minako had not yet risen nor had she turned to check the reactions of the men who had become her surrogate family. "I pledge upon my honor that I am no threat to your kingdom or your people. You have given me hospitality and home that I could not have asked for. I am as much Aina of Earth now as I am Minako of Venus. I apologize for any deception on my part, but I could not help it."
The monarchs shared a look with one another. There was a dreadful moment of silence, and Minako worried that she had just lost everything for a second time. Then the king's lips quirked up in a smile.
"Rise, Lady Aina. I suppose a more detailed explanation is in order, but that can perhaps wait for a more private venue."
As she rose to her feet, the queen smiled as well. "And perhaps you could tell us your proper title as Minako of Venus."
Mina nods. "Princess. Crown Princess of Venus, and heir presumptive of the Moon Kingdom."
Out of the corner of her eye, she catches the Shittenou trading glances. The queen nods.
"We shall adjourn then, Princess Minako, in half an hour and hear your full story."
Minako bobs a smaller curtsy in response and steps to the side of the dais, retaking her spot at Kunzite's side. She glance up at him, suddenly nervous.
"Kunzite." Her voice was soft.
He smiled and took her hand. "My princess."
She smiled back. She could finally breathe again. She had clemency for now, and perhaps the chance to reclaim some of what she lost. And she hadn't lost her new family. At least not for another half hour.
Author: kitsunemoonstar
Pairing: Kunzite x Aino Minako
Fandom: Sailor Moon
Theme: #11: Clemency
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or its characters.
Rating: For Everyone
Battle
Kunzite was pretty sure he had fallen in love. Aina was intelligent, kind, cunning, and dangerous, all wrapped up in a beautiful package. And for the first time in his life, Kunzite wasn't concerned about the consequences of falling in love. Aina understood. She understood duty and loyalty and that his duty to his prince came first. She might not be able to speak, but she communicated effectively enough with the Shittenou in general. Kunzite found that he hardly had to rely on the rudimentary sign language they'd devised to understand her meaning. But everyone in their circle understood her, and she understood them. It was a far cry from many of the court ladies.
As far as they had been able to tell, Aina was priestess trained, most likely by an isolated sect. She knew the traditions and rituals of the court, but only in older, more traditional forms. And very few women of nobility (which Aina so clearly was) were trained to fight if they were raised outside of a temple. Given that Aina had never made any attempt to show them where she might be from, the Shittenou were also assuming that whatever community she had belonged to had been destroyed when she was captured. That would be par for the course with those particular opponents.
They had learned of her fighting skills quite early on. There had been an ambush that hadn't been spotted before hand, and Aina, still weak and recovering from her ordeal, had acquitted herself better than most of their men. The sword she had taken from one of the soldiers was too large for her, but after that they had made sure she was properly outfitted. And included in their sparring sessions. When it came to skill with a sword, really only Endymion and himself matched her skills. Not to mention the fact that she was rather skilled with a number of other weapons.
In fact, Aina's skills had actually solved several problems that the Shittenou had before. For example, Aina's presence with Endymion when he was mostly dealing with the ladies of the court and their mothers was a welcome safeguard. No one expected Aina to be acting as a bodyguard, and given the way that she treated the prince and most of the Shittenou like they were her brothers, most of the court ladies did not see her as a threat either. The only one that Aina treated differently was Kunzite, and that was perfectly fine with him. He'd been drawn to Aina from the start, and she had been a welcome addition to their inner circle, even if he did have to put up with teasing from the others.
What they hadn't told Aina was that the necklace she always wore, the one that had been Kunzite's, marked her as close to being betrothed to him as possible without any sort of formal asking and announcement. At the time when Aina had been introduced to the Royal Court, it had been a way to force the court to accept Aina without much question. Showing up with a former prisoner who no one had ever heard of even if she was obviously nobility of some sort and making her a part of the prince's inner circle could have been difficult. But with Aina as one of the Shittenou's close companion, it was much harder for anyone to refute her presence. And in the end, Kunzite had never reclaimed the necklace. Aina had tried to give it back once, but her clear reluctance and the wistful glance she'd given the pendant had Kunzite wrapping her fingers back around the necklace. She always wore it now.
And while Aina might not know the full significance of the necklace, she clearly did know that whatever it was between them was something more than the easy camaraderie that she shared with the others. It was Kunzite that Aina went to when she had concerns or nightmares. While she was affectionate with all of them, it was Kunzite's lap that she liked to curl up in when they held their meetings. It was an odd little courtship the two of them shared and not at all to court standards, but Kunzite found that it suited them both just fine, even with the teasing from Endymion and the others.
For all intents and purposes, Aina basically was one of the Shittenou. The only secret she was not aware of at this point was Endymion's recent meeting and subsequent infatuation with the Moon Princess. And that was only because the girl hadn't come back yet, though she had promised Endymion she would. The Shittenou had all decided that they needed Aina's judgment on the girl. She seemed just as infatuated with Endymion as he was with her, but Aina had proved time and again to be a better judge of the court ladies' intentions than they had. If Aina approved, then they would start figuring out how to make this work. Technically, contact with anyone from the Moon Kingdom was forbidden, but Endymion had been breaking rules and traditions ever since childhood.
Glancing around the small antechamber, Kunzite frowned when he realized that both Aina and Zoisite were not there. That could spell trouble. The two of them were far more mischievous together than Zoisite had been on his own. Moments later footsteps could be heard in the hall, and Zoisite appeared in the doorway with a bright grin.
"What do you think?"
Aina stepped into the room. Instead of her usual court dress, she wore a grey uniform that almost matched the rest of the Shittenou's. Hers was clearly tailored for a woman with the jacket cut with a v-neck instead of a high collar, and the trim on hers was the golden yellow color that Aina seemed to favor above all others. A slim chain was wrapped around her waist in lieu of a belt, and Kunzite was well aware that she could use it as a weapon. Her hair was confined to the thick braid she typically wore when sparing, and Kunzite's necklace was displayed resting between her collar bones.
Endymion smiled. "Making a point are we?"
Zoisite shrugged. "Aina's not a court lady. Besides, we've all been feeling uneasy. If something happens, a court dress would be a hindrance."
Endymion sighed. "You all our overreacting."
Jadeite frowned. "Lady Beryl's attention is reaching rather obsessive levels, and she has never taken refusal well."
Kunzite nodded. "It never hurts to be prepared. We've survived more than one fight because of that. Are we ready?"
There were nods all around, and the group took their regular places for their entry into the grand hall. Aina slipped into place at his side, her hand tucked in the crook of his elbow with a smile. Kunzite was pretty sure that he had fallen in love with her, and he did not mind in the slightest.
Minako appreciated the familiarity of the court sessions. There were still things about both living on Earth and without her voice that threw her on a regular basis, but some things kept her grounded. The routine of the Royal Court was one of them. The Shitennou were another. They had become her brothers as much as the Senshi were her sisters. Well, except for Kunzite. Her feelings toward Kunzite were not at all brotherly. Serenity had always teased that when the Senshi of Venus fell, she would fall hard, and her princess had been right.
Thankfully, it did not appear to be unrequited. Kunzite might be reserved, but he was openly affectionate with her, and there had been three toe curling, spine tingling kisses as well. The frustrating part was not being able to articulate her feelings to him the way she wanted to. They had never really discussed what this was between them, and as much as Mina wanted to ask, she couldn't. Kunzite was going to have to be the one to bring the subject up, and waiting had never exactly been a skill of hers.
Still, she was happy here. She had found a place where she belonged, and even if she would always miss and mourn her former life, Minako knew that she would be able to both survive and thrive here. In the six months that she'd been here, she'd found a second home. Kunzite nodded at her, and they made their entrance.
Court was fairly typical today. There was the regular slate of petitions interspersed with favor currying and court ladies flirting with Endymion. The prince had been immune to most of that so far for which Mina was glad. There really was not a single woman in his court that was a suitable match for the prince in either temperament or in the skills that were needed to help run a kingdom. Endymion needed a partner as much as he needed a wife, and there was no one that Aina had met yet in the Royal Court who was up for the task. Everything was just fine until the woman stalked into the room.
She was dressed as the Senshi of Venus. Minako did not recognize her, though the woman was clearly Venusian. She was older than Minako though, and more than that, she felt wrong. Beside Kunzite, Mina tensed, and he cast a concerned look at her. But she did not have a chance to give any explanation or warning before the woman stalked up to Endymion.
"How dare you corrupt my princess? You are hardly worthy of the least of us let alone the best of us, and you think to seduce her? Thankfully, I'm here to nip that infatuation in the bud."
The other woman raised her hands in a familiar gesture. She didn't think; she just reacted. Minako threw herself into the attack, ignoring the cries of the Shittenou. It should have hurt her. Instead, Minako felt familiar power fill her. It wasn't full strength, but she could feel the power of Venus coursing through her once again. Her power had come home to her, and she was not about to let this interloper harm her new family.
Two things were immediately clear. Her power was weak but there as were her bonds to the other Senshi and Serenity. But also, now there was another bond, just barely there and not fully formed, that connected her to Kunzite. She had hoped for that, but she'd never really expected to find someone she could bond with. But she would worry about that later, first she needed to deal with this imposter.
It was very clear that the woman hadn't expected her. She was staring at Mina in shock.
Minako smiled. "That was a mistake."
Her voice was slightly rusty, but it was her own. The other woman narrowed her eyes.
"That's impossible. You're dead."
"It would seem otherwise."
The fight itself was brief. Mostly because when the Shittenou shook off their shock and joined, the imposter decided to beat a retreat. That just left Minako to deal with the aftermath. Everyone was staring at her, even her Shittenou. Taking a deep breath and touching Kunzite's pendant for comfort, Minako turned to face the King and Queen of Earth, dropping into her most formal curtsy. She only had a small window of opportunity to try and mitigate the situation.
"Your majesties, I apologize for the attack from that imposter. Please do not take it as a true example of the behavior of my countrymen. My true name is Minako of Venus, and until that attack, I truly was mute. The power was mine, stolen from my when I was captured and tortured, and when she attacked me with it, some returned to me." Minako had not yet risen nor had she turned to check the reactions of the men who had become her surrogate family. "I pledge upon my honor that I am no threat to your kingdom or your people. You have given me hospitality and home that I could not have asked for. I am as much Aina of Earth now as I am Minako of Venus. I apologize for any deception on my part, but I could not help it."
The monarchs shared a look with one another. There was a dreadful moment of silence, and Minako worried that she had just lost everything for a second time. Then the king's lips quirked up in a smile.
"Rise, Lady Aina. I suppose a more detailed explanation is in order, but that can perhaps wait for a more private venue."
As she rose to her feet, the queen smiled as well. "And perhaps you could tell us your proper title as Minako of Venus."
Mina nods. "Princess. Crown Princess of Venus, and heir presumptive of the Moon Kingdom."
Out of the corner of her eye, she catches the Shittenou trading glances. The queen nods.
"We shall adjourn then, Princess Minako, in half an hour and hear your full story."
Minako bobs a smaller curtsy in response and steps to the side of the dais, retaking her spot at Kunzite's side. She glance up at him, suddenly nervous.
"Kunzite." Her voice was soft.
He smiled and took her hand. "My princess."
She smiled back. She could finally breathe again. She had clemency for now, and perhaps the chance to reclaim some of what she lost. And she hadn't lost her new family. At least not for another half hour.