Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon is the property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation, and Kodansha Comics.



The Price To Pay

Prologue: Browsing

By Gita Toronjil-Lee



countdown…

There he lay: the last one.

What he was going to do, it didn't know. This King of Ice had never been one to show his intentions on his face.

Over a thousand years, they'd all become quite good at this. This one was perhaps the best, though lately he'd been taking to melancholy sighs and tearful eyes.

It was watching him.

And it looked like he was preparing to wake. And who knew what this day might bring for him.

It could only hope.

****

Kunzite woke when he dreamed of the sickening crack of a human body striking a stone floor, when he dreamed of a pathetic scream caused by neither rage nor extreme pleasure but of pain. He awoke to rumpled bedsheets, tossed pillows, tight fists, clenched teeth, and dampened eyes.

He hated this.

Distractedly running his fingers through his tangled, sweaty white hair, he sighed angrily, sadly, and checked the time.

Not even dawn. Damnation.

Making a soft noise that crossed a laugh and a sob, he remembered other times during his very long life when he thought he had been in hell.

When he had thought that he that there was no one else in the entire Dark Kingdom who shared his bizarre desires for other men.

When he had realized that he had fallen and fallen hard for his student, of all people, and he was too afraid to share his feelings with the lovely young man.

When his student, Zoisite, had confessed an affection to him, and he didn't know whether he should offer himself or to stay mindful of his position. That hadn't lasted long; he had made up his mind in that matter very quickly.

When he had blamed himself for years after their loss against the Moon Kingdom; far be it for him to blame his queen, he instead put fault on the head army commander: himself.

And then… after he got through that, he had enjoyed a brief period of bliss, content with life and love.

Then Zoisite had been killed. This lonely, empty, grieving hell was the worst of all.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," he muttered, holding his head in his hands. "I can't live like this. I've got to do something."

****

It knew just what it wanted him to do. And it could wait. It had waited, of course, for a very long time.

****

There are times when… when something must be done.

For the sake of living, for the sake of love, for the sake of health, for the sake of sanity.

For survival.

But sometimes the something that must be done comes at a cost, despite its necessity.

Or perhaps, because of its necessity. The more important and the rarer the something, the higher the cost that can be charged.

And there isn't always a visible price tag.

What is needed is not always available in a supermarket or shopping mall.

But when something must be done, it needs to be done, for whatever the reason.

And its price…

Well, the price to pay must be paid in full.


End prologue

On to Chapter One

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