183/Like Rain On Your Wedding Day

Like Rain On Your Wedding Day
Date of Scene:	30 July 2023
Location:	Juuban Ward
Synopsis:	CW: Animal Injury. A star named Luna lights up two lives in exchange for her own.
Cast of Characters:	Nephrite, Usagi Tsukino

---

Nephrite has posed:
    What to do on Earth when you're broke:
    1. Brainwash bank directors to embezzle funds to you and then cover up the losses.
    2. Profit.
    3. Also get a sports car, those are pretty sweet.

    Having accomplished all of those things, Masato Sanjouin, in his second sports car (the first being registered to 'Maxwell Stanton', his alter ego who is also 'older' by virtue of a Glamour and also more mind control) is just cruising through Tokyo's streets. Sometimes he'll drive out into the country and just travel for hours for the hell of it. He may have human memories as Masato Sanjouin, but the memories of him as a loyal servant of Queen Beryl in an ancient past are stronger -- even if the details of the latter aren't especially clear.

    Both as a human, and as a Dark General, Masato Sanjouin just enjoys the finer things in life. He drives, he drinks, he lives in a mansion, he has luxurious designer clothes, a position of power within Beryl Holdings and the Dark Kingdom, youma followers at his beck and call, and magic that 99.9999% of humanity couldn't fathom in their darkest nightmares. It's a good life to live, if this is all there was.

    But it's not, and he knows it. He always has that voice whispering in the back of his mind, and the owner of that voice has more than once figuratively taken the wheel when he was too indecisive to act. To Nephrite, that voice is the Power to achieve his goals. Weakness devoured and turned into something useful.

    But right now? This summer evening? He's just cruising in a 1967 Shelby GT 500 collector's car that he bought for a very reasonable price with money that wasn't his until the funds were handed to him. It's a very nice car, though not the high-speed monster that his first one is.

    Maybe he'll make his next purchase a Lykan Hypersport. It looks like something out of Batman, and that is definitely Nephrite's personal aesthetic.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
What to do in Tokyo if you're broke (and have never considered using your magical powers for evil):
1. Hang out at the beach.
2. Window shop around town and fantasize about the things you'd buy if your mean Mama and Papa would give you more allowance.
3. Ignore the nagging of your magically talking cat as she tries to convince you you and your magical allies should be combing the streets, looking for your allies.

If you're Usagi Tsukino, you do all three, because you've always been an overachiever. (This is a lie.) Besides, as she's already explained - "Ami still has cram school, and Rei-chan had shrine duties tonight. I told you I'm not wasting time, there's just nothing going on today!"

And she's grateful for it, really. She can't say she'd imagined being a magical girl having more downtime, because she'd never imagined being a magical girl, but if she had, she's positive she would have imagined more downtime. The few days that have passed since her last battle are a much appreciated break, and not one she's eager to see end.

Luna, perched on her shoulder, is as decidedly unimpressed with this argument as she's been all day. "You could be searching on your own, Usagi, because you're not doing anything else today."

It's the same thing Luna has been saying all day, and rather than argue, Usagi reaches up to pull Luna from her shoulder, holding her in front of her like a dangling baby.

"What if instead of arguing about this againnnnnn, we skip to the part where you huff and accept that I won?"

Luna bites her in response, and Usagi drops her, because ow. "Luna! Just for that, you can walk yourself. You don't have to be a sore loser you know!"

Even with the annoyance, Usagi stops at the crosswalk, not just starting across the street but waiting for her turn. She's been walking Tokyo streets all her life; the reflex is strong within her. Luck is also strong within her - the light changes not a moment after she stops, and Usagi steps into the crosswalk, Luna walking a few feet behind her, still grumbling to herself, voice pitched just low enough that anyone who overheard would assume they were mishearing things.

Usagi, of course, is visible - she might be short, but she's still nearly five feet tall, visible over the top of a car. Luna, however...

Nephrite has posed:
    Yes, Usagi being visible and Luna not. That is definitely the issue here. Well, it's a factor in what's about to happen. But Masato is also just not paying attention. He has a lot on his mind despite his attempts to just relax and enjoy his drive. Jadeite's failure to keep the space-time boundary of the project site for Midnight Tokyo secure, Zoisite giving off the same sort of vibe as a serial killer as he gleefully plots to just murder all the children in their homes until there are none left to fight or whatever he's doing, Hematite's wishy-washyness, the potential adding of that white-haired student to their forces, the displeasure of Her Majesty at the lack of progress in amassing life force or locating the Silver Crystal, and the ever-dangling threat of what Pyrite is turning into.

    It's not anything good, that much is certain.

    Yes, there's so much on his mind when just wants to relax. So, while he obeys the traffic light for Usagi while she's in the crosswalk, slowing down until she is further across, he starts to hurry through the intersection a bit too early and at too high of a speed.

    Much, much too high of a speed.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi notices the very nice car - of course she does. She's a fourteen year old girl, and even if she doesn't know much about cars themselves, she's always had an eye for things that were shiny and expensive. Maybe it's because her best friend practically grew up in a jewelery store. So she's a little distracted as she crosses the street, walking fast, not so much talking fast - there's no one to talk to but Luna, and it's harder to hide talking to Luna when said cat isn't perched on her shoulder. Once she's crossed the street, she doesn't crane her head to watch the car, or try to peek at the driver. Really! She doesn't!

Maybe she does, a little. And maybe she rushes forward a little more, when she realizes the driver is taking off quickly, speeding through the intersection once she's passed -

At least until she hears a yowl of pain, an agonized cry in a voice as familiar as her own brother's, at this point.

"LUNA!"

And then she's whipping around, back to the car, and more importantly, the cat it's just run over.

All because she didn't let Luna ride on her shoulder.

If Nephrite didn't feel the thump of rolling over something, he'll see Usagi rush behind his car in his rearview mirror.

Nephrite has posed:
    Masato is definitely broken out of his thoughts at the sound of an impact. The car screeches to a halt as he spins the wheel wildly to the side and slams on the brakes. It's a good thing there's a lack of traffic right now, because after putting the car in park, the tall brown-haired teenager is able to jump out and rush over in the middle of the street without danger. No danger other than his own actions, anyway. Heart beating fast, but not pounding, a mix of adrenaline and magic flowing through his veins as his body automatically shifts into combat mode in response to the sudden shock, he is at the girl's side and the cat's in moments.

    "I'm sorry. I didn't see it." he says in his rough, slightly-raspy normal voice. Not the one he uses when trying to impress. He is too tense for such nonsense. He isn't sure why he cares that he hit some cat with his car, but he does.

    "Were you hurt?" he asks Usagi distractedly while trying to remember if he ever learned how to treat an animal's injuries, how to tell what's even injured, and if there's an emergency animal hospital close enough nearby to get to in time.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi doesn't even noticed the driver, not at first. She's thrown herself on the ground beside Luna, hands flapping about in a panic because she doesn't know if it's safe to touch her. "Luna, Luna, can you hear me?!"

Luna's down on the ground, panting and whining, and much to Usagi's terror, she's not speaking, her noises of pain wordless sounds. It's probably good for their secret - but Usagi can't think of that now. There's blood and there's bone, her skin torn, the awful white of bone poking through fur and skin - and Usagi is sick and pale and dumbstruck with horror.

She's not throwing up, at least, even if her eyes are wet with tears.

"I'm fine," she says, throat tight, "But Luna - " she's too scared to even touch her.

Probably, she should be mad, but there's just - no room in her for it.

Nephrite has posed:
    The skin aorund his eyes tightens as Masato looks at the injured cat. He is a man who has seen so many terrible things that he has grown accustomed to seeing terrible things. Or at least his alter-ego is. Masato Sanjouin is, despite the soul inside of him, still young. Perhaps that's why, unlike the terrible things he has plotted, seeing an injured animal right in front of him is still distressing. Worse than that, he feels guilt. It is his fault, but a feeling of responsibility for his actions isn't exactly typical of him.

    He doesn't like it. And this girl, and this cat, have done nothing to deserve this pain, unlike the Enemy. He takes a deep breath and reaches a hand into his jacket. No. Not here. Time is of the essence. He takes his expensive jacket off, and lays it out on the ground, then very carefully slides the black cat onto it. Being stained with blood is the least of his concerns, but it'll be difficult to drive with a dying cat in his arms and he isn't about to make the poor girl get blood all over herself, especially if this goes wrong.

    "There's an emergency animal hospital several blocks away. I know where it is. Get in and I'll take us there." Then, assuming there's no protest or problem, he very carefully wraps his jacket around Luna and then lifts the bundled up cat to hand over to Usagi.

    The moment that's done, he's in his car and preparing to take off to somewhere he can fix his mistake and save a life. He doesn't care how fast he has to go to do so, or if someone happens to see him, or if there's legal consequences... It's just not a concern right now.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's not a word of protest, not from Usagi, at least. Luna struggles weakly when she's touched, hiccuping little wheezes of breath escaping her, but she goes limp the moment she's lifted - the pain too much. She's unconscious, mercifully.

UIt's a good thing the jacket covers her too much for it to be obvious, because Usagi would be panicking further. As it is, she just fumbles to her feet, accepting the little bundle of life - her friend, her advisor, held in the cradle of her arms and an expensive jacket quickly staining with blood.

She's crying, wet streaks pouring down her face, but -

"Thank you," she says in a quiet, strangled voice, before rushing around the side of the car, Luna kept as close and still as she can manage. She slides into the car and doesn't even try to get the seatbelt on, refuses to move that much or risk hurting Luna further. The emergency hospital isn't far. The emergency hospital isn't far. They'd be able to help Luna. She wasn't going to - she wasn't going to die.

Through the jacket, Usagi can just barely feel Luna's chest rising and falling with her breathing. She holds onto that with all her heart.

Nephrite has posed:
    They move quickly.

    The same speed that caused the injury is now being used to try to save the one the car injured.

    Masato barely parses the fact he has shifted the burden of responsible in his head from himself onto the car, as though it was the machine that chose to drive recklessly. There will be time for self-examination later.

    The lights ahead of them turn red, one after the other, like they're plotting to put as many obstacles as possible in the way. Masato has to spin the wheel and turn onto side streets, take corners sharply while trying not to cause further harm at the same time. Shortcuts, until he gets onto a street with only a single green light.

    Then it's just straight ahead until the hospital on the left.

    Masato pulls into the parking lot quickly, onlookers staring in shock as the vehicle is simply put in park and left with the door wide open as the driver runs around to the other side and opens Usagi's door for her, so she won't have to let go of Luna. Then he's doing that magic + adrenaline thing again and crossing the distance from parking lot to the waiting room in a couple of seconds. "House cat, hit by a car, bones protruding through skin, possibly ribs. Heavy blood loss. She'll need a transfusion immediately, and to be intubated." The memories of having done something like this in the past come to him unbidden at the moment they're needed. He doesn't wait to see if he's listened to. He's tall enough and looks old enough to be an adult, not a child, and when an adult is that frantic but controlled it usually means they aren't going to accept any argument.

    Masato makes sure Usagi is getting inside while the call for help goes and nearby medical staff rush to the door to help get Luna to safety.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The drive is tense and quick, Usagi holding onto Luna and only bracing herself against the turns for fear of hurting Luna further. Despite the turns, the stops and starts of the car as it has to slow and return to speed, Luna doesn't wake. Luna doesn't stir. Her injuries can't be seen now, but the stillness of her body goes to show how hurt she is. She's a light sleeper, after all, as most cats were. If she were able to wake at all, she would. That she can't -

Usagi tries not to think about that. Tries not to think about how integral to her life Luna has gotten to be, her voice, her presence, talking to Usagi in the day and night, following her around, being with her - Usagi has begrudged her, hated her, loved her - she doesn't want to imagine the quiet that would fall in her dorm room, without Luna. The emptiness where she would be.

So she doesn't. She just whispers to Luna, over and over, "Almost there, we're almost there, just hold on, I've got you, I've got you -"

Over and over.

And then it's almost there, it's just - there.

Here.

And the stranger - she hasn't gotten his name, she thinks to herself almost hysterically, he hit Luna and he drove her hear and she doesn't know his name - gets the door open for her, and she fumbles out with Luna clutched in her arms, and it's a good thing he's keeping calm and steady and intense, because when Usagi hits the door, she's still in tears and clutching Luna as tightly as she can.

She's only just barely coaxed to give Luna to the professionals, who have a medical bed, a stable board for keep Luna's body straight and still, and they take her - and they take her, bustling orders, making requests, heading for the nearest prepped surgery room -

And Usagi wobbles on her feet. If Masato helps her, she'll stay on her feet. If not, she'll sink right down.

Nephrite has posed:
    Support is definitely provided. Support, and guidance to the nearest chair. Anything Masato can provide. He'll help with communicating details about Luna's medical records if Usagi has any of those details (unlikely), and while it's unlikely anyone would be so crass as to bring up payment in front of a distraught teenage girl, he of course is going to pay for any and all expenses associated with this screw up. Introducing himself right now doesn't seem like a good idea. There are bigger concerns. But if he's asked, he'll answer. For now, he just... Decides that standing and pacing aren't going to help, and settles into a seat next to Usagi.

    "I'm sorry." he says quietly. He doesn't say 'I didn't see her' or anything, because that's just an excuse. He wasn't thinking. That was it. Even the simple apology is, he realizes, just an attempt to mollify his own guilt.

    It's funny, in the same way finding out the house you just bought burned down before you could move into it funny not 'haha' funny, that this is what's causing him to feel guilty. Not anything else. It really shows where his priorities lie. Maybe he just has a soft spot for animals and crying girls. Something vague in his memory makes him shake his head to clear it. A girl... A woman he used to know? The details vanish quickly.

    "How long have you had her?" he asks, just to keep Usagi's mind off of things.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi leans against Masato as he helps her to the nearest chair, and she drops into a chair as soon as she's lead to one. Her hands cover her face; the scent of blood clings to them, metallic and sharp; that much proximity, even if it didn't stain her hands, has marked her, at least until she scrub with soap. When asked, she can share the information from the very limited set of medical records - provided by Luna, actually, enough to show she has the necessary vaccinations, that she's a healthy young adult female cat - that Usagi's seen. The important thing she can say is that there's nothing to be concerned about, nothing untoward in her medical records, no conditions or disorders to be noted.

The thought of payment and costs doesn't even cross her mind. It's a good thing, because the thought of talking to her parents - hearing their concern - just makes her want to cry more.

The quiet voice is welcome, actually.

"I should have been holding her," she says to his apology. "You made sure we got here. She - if she's okay, it's because you got us here."

Maybe someone else wouldn't be consoling him, but Usagi - she can only think that if she'd been holding Luna, she wouldn't have gotten hurt at all. It was an accident. An accident made from two careless choices.

"A little over a month," Usagi answers automatically, and then laughs in a bordering hysterical fashion. "Isn't that funny? It's just barely a month and I already don't know what I'd do without her. She found me, and followed me home, and she's been with me ever since..."

Nephrite has posed:
    Masato glances away. "Sometimes, we don't get to choose when or how bonds are formed... Or who with. A bond's strength has nothing to do with time either. Sometimes... The most passionate relationships are with those whom we only had a short time to know. I would consider myself privileged to have had such a companion in my life, even for a day." He looks back to Usagi. She is putting out an enormous amount of energy right now, in the form of her emotions. Masato can tell that just like his words, the bond formed is very intense. "I have no doubt that Luna feels the same way about you as you do her." he says very quietly.

    He hesitantly raises a hand, pauses, and then rests it on Usagi's head, if permitted. It's a small comfort he can provide. But it's better than suffering alone. "I am certain that your connection is one that will not end so soon after meeting. You two have a shared destiny." Masato sighs as he looks up at the ceiling. "Just like the stars."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's a profound thought, intense, a little over Usagi's head at the moment, her head full of Luna's shrieking yowl and the weight of her limp body, but - "I hope so. I need her to be okay, so I can tell her. So she knows."

She needs her to come out of this okay, for a doctor to say she's fine, to say that even if they saw her bones, it's all going to be okay -

She does accept the comfort, the contact. Masato will feel her shake, a little, a tremble that wracks her body. "She's - important to me." Awkward words, but it's hard to find a single word to encapsulate what Luna is to her, Luna who irks her and winds her up and nags and scolds and cares and encourages in her own prickly way. "Like the stars?"

A question, and a request for distraction all in one.

Nephrite has posed:
    Masato nods. "Yes. The stars--" know everything, and as members of the College of Astrology we are to use that knowledge foremost for the betterment of our fellow man. Not for personal gain nor self-aggrandizement have we come here but to focus our gaze upon the heavens. "...Like the eternal wisdom they personify, the stars are our guide in the way of truth and knowledge and justice and light." May we follow them thus forever and ever. "And I can state with absolute fact, that Luna will be just fine." Memories of long ago. Memories of a different version of him. A scholar and a gentleman. A man who loved fine whiskey and a girl from another planet and--

    Tears start to drip down his face. "The stars... Won't allow her to join them in the heavens just yet." He begins to very slowly, gently, siphon away some of Usagi's energy. Enough to relax her. To take the edge off her emotions. Possibly even to go to sleep or at least enter a trance.

    Tomorrow, he may be Nephrite, Dark General, in service to Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom. Right now, he is both Masato Sanjouin, and Nephrite the Guardian of Endymion. He may not be able to stop all the deaths he'd like to, but this is one he definitely can.

    "You should rest." he says in a near whisper.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She's never thought much of the stars, besides finding them pretty, besides liking the stories about them, like the one she was named for - a rabbit on the moon, stars in the sky, pretty sparkles not always visible through Tokyo's light. But he talks about them as something more, a weight to the words she doesnt entirely follow, but which drag her mind away from recent memory and guilt and fear and early grief, and she would see him cry, only, her eyelids are very heavy...

She doesn't notice the energy drain. It's subtle, gentle, and he'll find that she has plenty of energy, but nonetheless - she reacts like any person would. She yawns, sleepy, she sinks into her chair. She might not be asleep. It's more of a doze. But her tears, her sharp, vibrant emotions, aren't so much, now.

"Thank you," she says again, and she's been thanking him, all this time. Blame has not crossed her thoughts, not when he was so immediately remorseful, not when he helped, not when things have a chance to be okay because of him.

Her head lowers, chin touching her chest, banks in her eyes.

Nephrite has posed:
    Making sure that Usagi is settled, Nephrite raises his hand after leaning over to whisper, "I'll be just a moment." Then he rises from his seat, blanks his presence from the minds of on-lookers with his Shadow -- for once not a projection of evil, but of the void with stars scattered across its surface -- and teleports to where he last saw Luna being taken. A short search later, and he locates the operating room. He doesn't know the details of the surgery, or what the chances of success are, or if there will be any complications. But there will be no death this day.

    "The Stars know everything..." he begins his chant while still being completely ignored by the people around him as he enters the operating room. A nimbus of purple magic forms between his hands as he holds them on either side. "Phoenix the Firebird, I command you to appear before me." The purple energy erupts into scintillating shades of red and yellow and gold as a gentle warmth fills the area. A constellation shaped like a bird emerges from the light show, and perches upon Nephrite's arm.

    "This small life that dwindles will not yet pass. Heal her with one of your feathers." the Astrologist commands as he walks over and gestures to the black cat.

    The Phoenix does as commanded, letting out its bird call and sending a flaming feather flying out to drift slowly through the air and then land on the feline patient. The Phoenix is one of the most powerful and most rarely used among the 88 Constellation Avatars available to him. It was supposed to be saved and used only for resurrection in the event that Prince Endymion was slain. One use only, ever, and then it would no longer be in Nephrite's arsenal. And there are... Other costs.

    A single feather though?

    To right a wrong, he will accept the price.

    Outside the room there is nothing to see but those gold and crimson lights shining through even the smallest cracks like the Sun is rising again here, in this hospital.

    Nephrite is only gone a few minutes. When he returns, the Phoenix is gone, its duty fulfilled, and the Guardian transitions back into being just Masato Sanjouin as he reaches the reception counter. A wad of ten-thousand yen bills as thick as an average man's hand is left there.

    Payment for a service rendered, no matter who did the healing.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
No one sees. No one is aware of anything Nephrite doesn't want them to know of. He stands in a surgical wing, in the operating room, and no one notices as they work frantically, setting bones, repairing wounds, trying their hardest to keep Luna alive, Luna breathing, to provide blood to replace that which was lost -

In the end, what those doctors remember is that the wound wasn't as bad as they originally thought. What they remember is that the break wasn't so severe, the blood loss not so dire. What they remember is a surgery that went surprisingly well, a little cat that came through with flying colors, a fracture they expect to see heal without complications, ribs that will be able to heal without additional intervention.

She should make a full recovery, they put on their notes. She'll need pain management, but she'll be fine, they plan to inform the owner.

Usagi Tsukino dozes in the waiting room, eyes red and swollen from tears even in sleep. She'll be so reliieved when she wakes. If Masato is there, she may well hug him in her excitement, her relief.

If he's still there.

Nephrite has posed:
    He is not still there. He, and his car, are both gone.

    Sticking around would just be... Exacerbating the crime he already committed, in Masato's mind. He has a lot to think about, as he has memories in his head that have completely changed his view of reality. At the moment he remembered, his face was serene, if tear-stained. Now, he is just furious at the betrayal, remorseful for the evils he has committed, and...

    Just so very, very sad for what was lost in the Fall.

    He should feel like mourning his fallen prince as well, but... For some reason...

    He still feels like he can find him.