#nephrite doubles down on being west

[sakuracyanide]

gestures at pgsm zoisite.

in this essay i will explain how pgsm zoisite switches the colors & coding of the direction he's associated with from north to east and why that is fascinating -

[kyralih]

cardinal king, arc two, chapter 13

Ongoing Sailor Moon fanfiction where the roles are reversed, and instead of Beryl and the Earth Kingdom attacking the Moon, the Moon Kingdom attacked the Earth Kingdom and now, thousands of years later, Mamoru and his Four Heavenly Kings fight to keep Earth safe.

While their past business was wrapped up in the First Arc of their story, their return to Tokyo was met with little in the way of peace, as Mamoru encountered a red haired, red eyed little boy who also calls himself “Mamoru” and insists on being with Usagi, despite the dangers that dog him at every turn. To make matters worse, a surprise attack has them down two Kings and leaves them with very little information to go off of to get them back.

Can they solve these mysteries before it’s too late?

For more information, media, and links to prior chapters, see this page: Cardinal King

Name reminders! Zoisite–> Hanada, Kaito –> North King Jadeite –> Moegi, Yuu –> South King Nephrite –> Midori, Nero –> East King Kunzite –> Kobai, Khalid –> West King

Red Jadeite

Light hit his eyes and though his brows furrowed against it, there was no escaping it. He put up a hand to block the sun, blinking awake in the late morning light - well, late in his case , but if he couldn’t sleep in on a Sunday what was the good of a holiday? He rubbed his face with his free hand, opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, taking in a deep breath to “welcome” the day. He had never really enjoyed waking up, but in a room as gorgeous as his it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and sat up, fully facing the sun as it broke between the highrises surrounding his suite, large, expansive windows letting in everything for his enjoyment. He stood, wrapped himself in the waiting robe, and approached to better appreciate the view, the morning’s schedule entering his head with every step through the plush carpeting and every building that jumped into recognition. As he tied the belt, stretching his neck to see the streets so many stories below, his alarm clock went off with a series of sharp, electric bursts before giving way to the morning news.

A brisk knock at the door officially started his morning. He called for them to enter, turning from the window as a small team entered, one setting down his breakfast at a small table nearby, one presenting him with his newspaper and a cup of coffee at the perfect temperature, and another strategically laid out papers on the desk, this third - Yamono-san - quickly and calmly moving through the morning schedule. When he had first started with Yamono, this activity had frustrated him to no end: how dare he assume he couldn’t remember his own schedule?! But when the schedule turned from three to seven to eighteen and more activities in one day, he grew to appreciate the double-checking the activity afforded, and receiving the updates on any last minute changes, additions, or shuffling those caused before he read the memos gave him things to process while he ate and skimmed the newspaper.

“And the deal?” he prompted, skimming headlines and sipping coffee. The other two assistants had disappeared into his closet. The newspaper gave no indication of a world-changing agreement, so he figured the other party had found something else to nitpick before giving in, a hunch succinctly confirmed by Yamono. He rolled his eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh as he finished his drink and put both paper and mug down beside a vase of fresh cut flowers on his way to the desk to flip through the papers as Yamono explained in broad strokes what went wrong this time.

He had been attempting to close on this important deal for what felt like weeks now, and while he was mentally stimulated by the challenges the other party continued to throw at him, he had honestly believed the counteroffer he had proposed in the late hours of the night before would have pushed them into his corner, but apparently thelanguage of the deal made them pause. … Rightfully so, as he had hidden a few clauses they had not expressly agreed to within some of the new additions, but still, it was frustrating to have been caught. It wasn’t as though the additions were harmful or anything - just guaranteeing a greater percentage of the net revenue went to various charitable organizations rather than into shareholder pockets - but he supposed he would have to debate that out in an additional meeting that had been scheduled for… he scanned his updated schedule again: noon today?! He looked sharply up at Yamono, but then the man had said there was a new meeting at that time, so he couldn’t fault him.

That gave him only four hours to prepare to change their minds in a meeting undoubtedly originally called to slap him on the wrist for jeopardizing the deal. Four hours… he considered, drumming his fingers as he leaned on the desk, eyes scanning the information presented and the morning schedule… there were only two other events. … Challenge accepted. When he looked up, his eyes meeting Yamono’s, the other man nodded curtly and the game was on.

Breakfast was reduced to a muffin and more coffee; his shower was a four minute affair, thorough but quick, an assistant taking care of drying his hair to his normal style as he dressed, pouring over reports held by Yamono as he stepped into dress pants and buttoned a shirt whose sleeves honestly stood no chance at staying straight that morning. His suit jacket never saw his back - or, at least, not until the very last minute before they were rushing out the door towards the first meeting of the morning, one assistant staying behind to gather all of the non-essential documents and carry them to his office as Yamono and the other - his mobile secretary - rode the elevator to the main floor, got into his waiting car, and made their way to his first stop of the day. He skimmed a brief on the topic of the meeting moments before the doors were opened to admit him, and from there he was off.

Less than thirty minutes later, they were all shaking hands and signing documents and he was off, using his car as a mobile office, making notes and running arguments off of Yamono to see how they sounded and fine-tuning them to be more impressive and persuasive. The second meeting went much like the first, and finally they were at his own building. He entered to a smattering of shallow bows as they made their way to the elevator, and he was glad that his office would be his final stop for the day, satisfied in the design choice of having the meeting rooms so close to personal offices of the top execs.

He had half an hour to polish his presentation and he was determined to use every second towards his goal. Reading reports freshly printed and handed to him as he walked, his mobile secretary waved off requests for his attention, allowing him to skim them and mentally update arguments he had been memorizing all morning and creating additional supporting statements, stating these aloud only when his office door was opened for him and he lead his little entourage into his main office, his sanctuary, his war room . He felt most productive here, and most satisfied. Honestly, he loved where his life had lead: he was successful, he was fulfilled, he was necessary and was doing something he believed - honestly believed - to be right, and got to use his skills in arguing and debate constantly. He leaned on his desk, underlining and scratching notes in the margins, but as he started to recite his opening argument - a half-veiled apology for getting caught before launching into why what he did was, in fact, the best and only option and why they needed to pursue his additions openly and aggressively - when the phone rang.

He paused, completely thrown by the interruption, looking at the telephone on his desk incredulously and… for some reason, glancing at his watch. The impulse was ridiculous.

The door opened and shut quietly, and Yamono quickly pressed a button on the phone to silence the ring, apologizing and assuring that Moegi had, in fact, told his outer secretary to hold all calls, and that the assistant had gone out to ensure it would not happen again. Still… Yuu couldn’t help the odd anxiety that had risen in him at having stared at his watch of all things. Watches didn’t ring. His watch didn’t even have an alarm function. At Yamono’s suggestion he cleared his throat, pushing the curiosity out of mind, and started again, but the unease stuck with him, despite his excellent cover of such a thing. The large clock on the wall facing him hit five til noon and they made the final decisions, leaving the room with exactly two minutes to spare. The phone rang again, but they were already gone. The secretary bowed an apology.

He entered the glass-walled meeting room like a king and took command immediately, using the rhetorical opening question of “ Well, we all know why we are here this morning, without a deal to sign -” as his opening to launch into his speech, much of which was still off his cuff, changing things around depending on the expressions of the faces in the room, and when he was subtly handed a presentation clicker by Yamono, he immediately utilized it, a screen descending from the ceiling and the projector sending images of charts and graphs from various reports up for display, adding a multimedia aspect to his impromptu presentation.

By the end of it, there was a smattering of applause that grew into a roar, exclamations of his talent right alongside well-meaning comments of his ruthlessness - remarks on how they were glad he was on his side - and promises that he would go far ringing in the air beneath the applause until the Head called for silence, and personally agreed. He was only twenty-eight, but already he was a force to be reckoned with. They would go forward with his proposal, and with a nod a meeting was made for later that afternoon with the same company so that they could hear his presentation and, they thought, finally sign the deal.

He was on cloud-nine, so powerful and intoxicated on his success that he barely felt the floor beneath his feet as he made his way back to his office, stopping to shake a few hands and accept pats on the back as he returned to his sanctuary. Yamono shut the door behind them and he shrugged out of his jacket and fell gratefully into his plush Victory chair, the first time he had sat in anything but a car bench or office chair all morning. He let his head loll back as he released a grateful sigh, enjoying the moment fully --

The phone rang.

He sat up, but already Yamono had silenced the ring and made an off remark about changing secretaries. How odd, Yuu thought, that the employee would let calls go through after being reprimanded for it already… but Yamono gave him a good natured ‘ Good help is so hard to find these days ’ shrug/eye-roll combination, and suggested ordering lunch. He returned a smile - as was expected and the best way to move through the situation - and tried not to think hard about why his right hand twitched to the watch on his left wrist, despite the unease that sapped the victory euphoria from his chest. He agreed to the idea of lunch, offering a suggestion of pad thai - his favorite - to which Yamono smiled broadly, agreeing it suited the situation beautifully, and left the room to make the order, remarking that he should ignore any calls that mistakenly made their way through and focus on the victory and the presentation later that afternoon. He nodded, joking about how Yamono ought to check to see if the secretary were even at their post when he made the order, and the older gentleman laughed appreciatively before making his exit.

The moment he left the room, Yuu stood and slowly approached the phone, the hesitation in his movement caused solely by the confusion the call had caused. He made deals on the phone all the time - sure, his secretaries usually did their best to redirect phone meetings to meetings in person as that was where he truly shone, but it wasn’t like a phone call had ever given him anxiety before, so why now? And why did his hand move to his watch rather than the receiver? Had the stress of this deal affected him that much? A vacation had been suggested but he had turned the notion aside as solving problems and making these sorts of deals had always been fun for him, but maybe stress had been building in the background and this was how it chose to present itself: phonecall, time-based paranoia --

It rang.

His hand reached for the receiver and the door opened loudly behind him, drawing his attention as Yamono reentered and, with a glance, rushed over to cancel the call to silence the ring with an apology before victoriously stating that they had a reservation for lunch at an upscale Thai restaurant nearby, and, hand on his shoulder companionably, lead him away from his desk. He protested, citing other meetings, only for Yamono to state that they had been rescheduled so that he could celebrate. Which was completely out of character. Yuu liked nothing more than a working lunch; stopping the day and rescheduling meetings so he could sit and eat at a restaurant was completely against his personal policy, and Yamono knew that. This was a victory, but the deal was still unsigned - the noon meeting had been but another step on this long journey towards ultimate victory on this case - a battle, not the war. Which meant, of course, that Yamono was trying to get him out of his office, and that, combined with his anxiety, made him immediately suspicious.

Why was Yamono trying to get him away from that phone? Who was calling, and why didn’t he want him to answer? They were just leaving when it rang again, and Yamono reached back to shut the door behind them definitively, and that was the last straw. “Who is calling?” he asked, to which his personal assistant had no satisfactory response. ‘Nobody,’ he stated, else ‘Nobody important;’ but if they had his personal number they were important, and the longer he was lied to the angrier he got. He stopped dead and Yamono paused, looking back at him questioningly, and then Yuu did something completely and utterly unexplainable:

He reset his watch, turning the hands to noon.

Yamono reached for him but the moment the hands were in place, time stopped and then the world fell away. He braced himself but never moved, despite the floor disappearing beneath his feet and the walls shooting away in all directions. Yamono remained for a split second longer than anything else, but then he, too, disappeared, pulled away by an invisible force into the white void the surrounded him. His heart beat faster as he looked around, trying to figure out just what he did - had he passed out? Was this what fainting felt like?

But then the world shook, and he was in a stone temple, surrounded by old stones with jungle creeping in on all sides. He took a step back and his slick dress shoes slid on the moss that grew on the floor behind him; he threw his hands out to either side to adjust, catching his balance before he could fall and ruin his suit, and then braced as the world shook again, the vibrations so strong he was knocked to one knee. An earthquake?! And he was alone in a stone temple in the middle of a jungle - he was as good as dead. But then the shaking stopped, and when he looked up, he was no longer alone.

A being larger than life stood before him, his presence alone enough to keep him silent. He was a giant of a man dressed head to toe in ancient armor, the metal black and the fabric red, styled not like Samurai but of something even more ancient. The man’s face was red, his eyes wide and staring, and behind him was a wreath of flames. He stared at him, and Yuu stared back, unable to look away. “Moegi Yuu, ” the voice boomed, and Yuu’s eyes widened further at hearing his own name come from this ancient giant’s mouth, “ child with the soul of Jadeite, you are being tested. You, who do not shy away from adversity, you, who grows in strength when challenged, who will go to great lengths to achieve your goals, you prideful thing, still you answered the call. ” He motioned, pointing with a great halberd to Yuu’s wrist. He looked down, staring at watch that was different from the one he was wearing, and yet felt… intensely familiar. Soft green stones decorated its face… “ You remain loyal, ” the voice boomed, reclaiming his attention; part of him wanted to run, the part that had wanted to write off the message, who had felt anxious when the rest of him had… wanted to answer the call, even before he had grown suspicious at Yamono hiding it from him, “ despite the illusion that surrounded you, that fed off of your dreams to supplement a reality that would keep you bound and susceptible to their temptations. Do you wish to awaken to the life you led, to grow in your understanding, or would you return to that world that catered to your every wish and whim?”

It was… too good to be true. Everything had gone his way - he even craved those failures so that he had something to figure out and fight towards; the meetings held, the accolades, all of it was perfect for him. It was… it made sense that it wasn’t real. He had been lied to. But why? Where… who was he to have such focus paid to him? He looked again at his watch before meeting the gaze of the giant, “What is being hidden from me? I do not remember things I feel I should, and I would walk into this decision with all facts presented.”

The giant nodded, and suddenly a rush of memories returned to him; where before he could remember his childhood easily, now memories of barely ten years ago - no, months ago? Days ago?! He wasn’t twenty eight, he was seventeen and would soon be entering his last year of high school. He was student council president, and was a star of the debate team, despite missing some meets because… because… the watch. The watch! Mamoru! Nero, Helios, Kaito and Khalid - he was the King of the South, a protector of Earth, and while they had just won against Diana and forces from their past, the red headed kid had brought some new enemies, and he had faced off against one only to - only to… “Where am I? What happened?”

“Some things you must take on faith, ” the giant replied, putting his empty hand on his hips as he regarded him. “ Knowing what you do, would you choose to go back, or to remain in this dream? The choice is open to you: if you return you may not live to achieve these dreams you have for yourself, but if you remain, those dreams will become a reality, should you change your allegiance. What will you do?”

His dream may never become a reality… He looked away, considering the life he had thought he lead. He had enjoyed it. Thoroughly. Nearly every moment of it he felt fulfilled and happy, but now? Knowing it was a dream - but even if he didn’t, even if this realization was taken from him again, could he honestly go through with making that decision when his friends were out there? Being a King wasn’t easy - it was dangerous and hectic and it constantlygot in the way of his schedule, but the work was rewarding . They helped people , they protected the peace, and they did it together . He couldn’t go back to a life without them, even if it were perfect. ! And if he were wherever he was, where was everyone else?!

“Go back,” he stated quickly, “They need me, and protecting the world…” he paused, thinking it through, “Is like a new dream for me. If I can only have the dream I was just in or could go back to face whatever they’re facing, then I’m going back.” He smirked, “If we win I can still go for my dream, right? And I’ll do it with them. Can you get me there?”

The giant considered him. “You would pledge your allegiance to Earth and its Champion?”

He scoffed, “If you mean Mamoru and those guys, then I already have.”

The giant nodded. “Then I will assist you, Moegi Yuu, soul of Jadeite, ” he said, and extended his halberd towards him, pointing the weapon at Yuu’s chest, and a burst of flame erupted from it, covering him. He closed his eyes against the sudden attack, but the flames did not harm him. They surrounded him, encasing him, and when they passed over him to gather in a disk of flame behind his head, he wore armor that mirrored the giants. “ I am Zochoten, true King of the South, and from this day forth you have my Blessing. With my armor you are impervious to flame and may have command over my Halberd of Fire in addition to the knives you have used prior. Along with these gifts, I, the Catalyst of Spiritual Growth, give you the ability of Growth, that you may continue to to shine in adversity, to strengthen when challenged, and go to great lengths to achieve shared goals.”

South King nodded gravely and bowed, accepting these gifts, “Thank you.”

Zochoten nodded and the armor disappeared, fading away to reveal his original South King uniform, only it was black and red rather than the dark grey he had previously worn as Moegi Yuu, or the white and brown he had worn as Jadeite of the Silver Millennium. The shoulders had the clasps that were otherwise missing on his previous uniform and a half-cape fell from his left shoulder; the buttons that had been hidden before were now threaded elaborately - in red - and the green jadeite pin that had been the top button, as he looked, changed from soft green to vibrant red.

“This uniform is all your own, ” Zochoten stated, swinging the halberd up and away as the stone finished its recoloration, “ Moegi Yuu with the soul of Red Jadeite, you are the first in millennia to receive my blessing and become a true King of the South. Do me proud, and always have faith.”

The world started to fade around him again, but this time it was joined with odd sensations through his limbs. He bowed again, wondering what all of it meant but trusting that, if it mattered that much, his friends would figure it out. Kaito would have a field day. No matter what, though, if this had actually happened, it’d be easy enough to prove it had happened. True King of the South… Red Jadeite...

When he blinked and reopened his eyes, he found himself somewhere completely different. He was lying flat on an uncomfortable mattress, surrounded in purple-hued glass with odd machine-things on either end of his bed. As he looked around he could just feel his energy draining away from him - energy he had just been granted by Zochoten, energy he trusted he could not afford to lose. Bracing himself, he kicked upward, noting the fabric of his pants was the new black shade had been granted. Smirking, he put that claim to the test. “ Armor of Zochoten, ” he whispered, and the moment the last syllable left his lips, he was again clad in the ancient form of armor, and when he kicked this time the glass - more crystal than glass - shattered. He pushed himself up, sitting to see he was in some sort of capsule that had been draining his energy away for who knew how long. Disgusted, he stood and jumped down, the armor making a horrendously loud noise - he sent it away, the metal fading back to his new black uniform, and then set off to figure out where he was and how he could make it back to his friends, back where he belonged.

Dreams were great, and achieving dreams was important, but new dreams were no less important, and if he could choose ‘both’ and risk losing one, he would always choose both.

Now, he thought, leaning against a wall to peer around a corner leading out of the room he had been stored in, Where the hell am I?

Notes~ 

:D I'M SO EXCITED! Their first power up~ ♥! AND *YES* I'M USING THE ACTUAL FOUR HEAVENLY KINGS AS COMPLETE INSPIRATION FOR IT~ and turning their gems to their power colors to make them completely their own, a gift from the past but made completely unique to who they are now and what they stand for now~ WITH THE BONUS OF AN ACTUAL HEAVENLY KING BEHIND THEM. ;D I mean spoilers but? no spoilers cause equality XD

Like mentioned in the notes beforehand, this chapter was a little shorter than my usual ~5000+ words, but XD my expected ~2500 words for Yuu turned into ~4000 and 1000 isn't enough for Kaito so POSTIN' IT NOW WHEN IT'S ALL FRESH AND NEW.

BTW: the inspiration for their “new” look came from this piece of fanart of Jadeite from PGSM (with modifications) (and all will be black with these highlights, not the other costumes from PGSM) (and without the beading and all that) (...honestly you could probably say i was like OH IN BLACK and this picture best showed that and i got very excited ANYWAY) but I can’t find the original author because google reverse image search finally failed me: 

If anyone knows the original artist please tell me so I can put a link in my resource files XD ♥

ANYWAY if my muse keeps with me then hopefully tomorrowish we’ll have a story for Blue Zoisite and possibly Orange Nephrite~ o/