"You did what to Zoisite?"

Kunzite leaped for Mamoru's jugular vein, but the little emperor rolled away.

"I'm sorry! I was just a stupid kid!"

"You die!" Kunzite shot an energy ball from his hands. Mamoru dodged. It hit the alley wall like a flame thrower, torching the bricks. Mamoru ran. Fell. Scrambled into the open, across the pavement. Kunzite chased him, ignoring the dying rays of twilight.

He had never liked Mamoru, and he knew the atrocities people of Earth were capable of, but raping Zoisite! Kunzite bounded like a lion seizing prey.

Suddenly, he felt spiny claws around his throat, crushing his wind-pipe as a black portal yawned beneath him. Suction down the vortex, spinning, being squeezed to nothing, then Slam! Hard stone. Spots swam before Kunzite's eyes as he looked up from where he sprawled on the polished obsidian floor of Beryl's audience chamber.

"I told you I'd put a lock on your mind," said Beryl, standing over him. "You've finally succeeded at something. Without a minute to spare, you have found our source of darkness, and a few other things besides."

Kunzite's head lolled. Chasing Mamoru, he had forgotten about Beryl.

"Well, well." Beryl laughed--an unpleasant, grating sound. "Your little rat isn't dead after all. Alive, pregnant, and having intimate relations with your enemy. The unpardonable sin of adultery is punished by death in many cultures, but we have more important matters to attend. The rabbit has gone into labor-- true labor this time. Get up."

Kunzite raised himself to his elbows, too dazed to think. He made it to his knees, then finally his feet. The stalactites hanging over the great hall seemed to spin around him as Beryl summoned a youma from the shadowy recesses to provide flesh and blood for the spell.

"Approach!" said Beryl to the trembling youma. It was a little one, with antlers, stripes and four arms. Obviously just released from the bloody hands of punishment, it staggered forward and kowtowed.

Beryl stroked the bulb of her staff, which was planted in the center of her dais. The dark indigo globe crackled with energy.

"You saw Tuxedo Kamen," said Beryl. "You gave him information."

"N-n-no! I nevvver!"

"Don't question me! You compromised the security of our mission! But because Kamen must have seduced you into talking, I'm lightening your sentence to a mercifully quick and useful death. Your spirit will carry a very important spell into Crystal Yedo."

"I, I am h-honored, M-most Honored--"

Kunzite looked up and saw the noxious, green vapor of his enfanta spell roiling inside a glass sphere about the size of a fishing net floater, hovering just above Beryl's palm.

"Take it," said Beryl to the youma.

The youma rose, wrapped its fingers around the ball, then shrieked in pain. Its body exploded in a spray of flesh and blood. Then the blood began to glow, turn green and gather into a whirling funnel, rising toward the ceiling of Beryl's chamber. Kunzite covered his ears and wrinkled his nose against what sounded like an air raid siren and smelled like wormy meat.

"Come!" shouted Beryl. "Our carriage awaits! I've always wanted to see the palace!" She grabbed Kunzite's wrist, sank in her fangs, then forced Kunzite to do the same to her. Just when he felt ready to vomit, she yanked him along into the whirlwind, where their blood mingled with the rising, spinning vapor. As they melted into the spell, ready to enter the palace's kimon, Kunzite whispered, "I'm sorry, Zoisite." Then all went black.

A small, neat flame warmed the fire pit of the palace's northeast shrine. Wearing a long, red skirt over her white kimono, a "miko," or young, Shinto shrine attendant, knelt alone, daydreaming over the orange coals, enjoying the heat on her face. Head Priestess Rei and all the other miko had been called to Usagi's quarters to attend the enfanta's birth, but someone had to stay behind and tend the fire.

A moth fluttered near the ceiling. The miko could hear a soft breeze whispering through the needles of an ancient pine tree that sheltered the little pavilion. It was past her bed time and she grew sleepy.

Suddenly, the fire flared up, knocking the girl back in alarm. Just as quickly, it went out. The miko froze, terrified, as the coals turned white with frost. Then a gust of foul vapor exploded from the fire pit. It spun around the miko a few times, then blasted a gaping hole through the wall panel and howled toward the palace.

After a minute of staring at the spot on the asphalt where Kunzite had disappeared, Mamoru finally scraped himself together enough to stand without passing out.

"Oh!" he groaned. "Am I a total idiot, or what?" If violating Zoisite was the darkest thing he'd ever done, confessing it to Kunzite was the dumbest. What ever possessed him to think anything good could come of this? Thank the Gods that Beryl summoned Kunzite when she did, or Mamoru would've been nothing but an unidentifiable body by now.

He brushed the sand grit from his cape, inspected a rip in his coattails, and slowly, painfully weaved his way out of the old fish market district. Home to Crystal Yedo was probably the best place to go, but he didn't feel ready. His attempt at atonement had failed, his head pounded, and he felt as much a villain as ever. At least it was dark enough to be invisible to people he didn't want to deal with. But now what?

The temple. He would go to Rei's old, family temple on Sendai Hill, because if anything was going to improve, it would have to start within.

Would anyone still be awake? he wondered, removing his cape and mask as he passed under the wooden, vermilion painted torii gate marking the sacred ground on Sendai Hill. Rei's family shrine was small and insignificant compared to the grand, multi-pagoda complexes of the larger neighborhoods. Sheltered inside a grove of oak trees and junipers was an intimate, stone patio for bonfires, a booth where the miko sold charms and rice offerings, and three to five rooms within, depending on how many screens were drawn. With Rei living mostly in Crystal Yedo, her grandfather was now the only priest, and he was always struggling for help, since the novices at Kokugakuin University weren't attracted to such a small shrine.

First, Mamoru washed his hands and mouth at the torii font, where the water bubbling out of the thirty-year-old copper spigot tasted like lead. Then he borrowed some white, paper ties from the miniature pagoda that sheltered two granite lions. The beasts were both lichen encrusted and worn with generations of temple service. Around the legs of the "stop lion," he wrapped the paper, to gain help in stopping his mean streaks. Then he paused to contemplate the "thorn pulling lion," a guardian for those struggling with emotions.

No one answered when Mamoru pulled the bell string, so he opened the door, removed his shoes and padded across the sanded, wood floor toward the orange light of the fire pit in the room beyond. Grandfather still wasn't locking the temple at night, despite rising crime rates around Sendai Hill. Since Mamoru had no money for the rice store next to the booth, he conjured a bouquet of roses for the small, sparsely adorned altar, laying them under the white, paper streamers of Grandfather's wands. Then he knelt before the glowing coals, leaning back on his heels and flexing his leg muscles so they wouldn't go to sleep, and touched his forefingers together.

He sniffed. Something smelled like . . . he peered into the fire pit. Yams? There were three of them roasting on sticks over the coals.

"Mamo-kun!" said Grandfather, sliding open a screen. The dwarfish priest must've come straight from his house next door, because he waddled in wearing blue checkered pajamas. "Good to see you, my boy! I knew you'd find your calling; you've come to serve at my temple! You'll be my senior priest!"

"Uh, thanks, but I'm not priest material."

"Eh? You're Emperor of Crystal Yedo, yes? The highest of all priests!"

"Gods help us, then." said Mamoru.

"Just in time for a late night snack!" Grandfather pulled a yam from the fire pit. "Good stuff, yes?"

"Are, are we allowed to cook in the sacred fire pit?"

"Yams are good! Can't go to sleep on an empty stomach, can we? Yams will give you good dreams. Now, if we had marshmallows . . ." said Grandfather, scratching his bald head and wandering from the room, toward the patio outside.

"He's just a little distracted," said a miko, entering with a tea tray and setting it on the mat beside Mamoru. " He just got back from the August Nine commemorative service at Suwa Shrine in Nagasaki. All the priests are worried about what's going on in the world, with America talking war in the Middle East again."

Mamoru gave the unusually tall, flat-chested miko a once over. The miko had a pierced nose and eyebrow, long, black hair that was highlighted with what looked like cherry spritzer, and a voice that sounded a little too deep.

"Um," said Mamoru, "are you a guy?"

"Shhh," said the miko, straightening his temple skirt. "Grandfather can't see too good."

"Rei would have a fit!"

"Please don't say anything. I love this job, and I'm pretty careful about hiding my sex from the visitors. It's my calling to be a miko, and this is the only shrine that would have me."

"I believe that," said Mamoru.

The miko knelt beside him and touched his sleeve. "Are you the one who's supposedly the emperor of some magical kingdom Grandfather's always blathering about?"

"That would be me."

"Well, I don't know what Crystal Yedo is, but I had a really disturbing vision during my fire reading tonight, and, well, wherever you're from, you need to get back there right away."

"You see things?" said Mamoru, looking into his eyes. Rei's fire visions had saved Usagi's butt more than once.

The miko nodded. "Not always, but this time I did."

Mamoru stood up. He could feel the miko's sincere urgency and knew there was trouble. "Thanks for the tip."

"I hope everything's all right."

"So do I. Please apologize to Grandfather for my sudden departure." Then, without thinking of how it would startle the poor miko, Mamoru teleported.

The jump only produced a short dizzy spell, but as Mamoru staggered from the rose garden, transforming into his Crystal Yedo costume, his nostrils flared. Something wasn't right. Nothing he could identify, but the very wind felt eerie. He ran to the palace, falling only twice.

"Where's Usagi?" he called to a maidservant rushing past him in the corridor. But she neither saw nor heard him. He hurried after her until he arrived, panting, at Usagi's sleeping chamber. But Makoto and Minako blocked his way with the curved blades of their naginata spears.

"I'm sorry, Mamo-san," said Minako. "She went into labor a couple hours ago, and we can't let you in."

"Is she okay?" said Mamoru.

"Everything's fine!" called Ami from within the room.

Four women arrived with basins of water and herbs, followed by Rei and a ghostly procession of eight miko with bell wands. Rei, dressed in her white temple robe with black hakama skirt, carried the magic scepter that would be presented to Princess Usa as soon as she came out. They all passed between the two spears into the room, bowing to Mamoru, but not wasting any time.

Usagi screamed.

"Usako!" cried Mamoru, trying to push his way in.

"Get him outta here!" said Rei.

Makoto gently but firmly took his arm and said, "C'mon Mamo-chan. I'll take you to the waiting place."

Mamoru looked back at Minako, stoically crossing the doorway with her spear, and reluctantly let himself be walked down the corridor. He saw Usagi's pet rabbit look up at him from the mat, twitching its nose. It was already expecting bunnies.

"Don't worry," said Makoto, one hand pressed to Mamoru's back. "Everything's okay. It's just a little early."

But Usagi screamed again, and Makoto had to pull hard to keep Mamoru from bolting back to the room.

"I'm sorry," she said as she finally brought him to the guest receiving chamber in a distant wing. "But this is how it's done here. The men have to stay away. Even Zoisite's not allowed. But every healer in the palace is with Usagi, so please don't worry." Then she left Mamoru alone and returned to her post.

But when Mamoru looked across the palace's most decorative room, he saw that he was not completely alone. Zoisite huddled under the tokonoma recess, beside the fountain pool. Dressed in black, she was curled into a ball, face touching the mat. She hadn't seen him.

At first, Mamoru felt the old anger rising, but he stopped himself. There would be no more of this dark hatred in his palace, he decided. Zoisite appeared to be meditating, so maybe now was a good time to talk.

"Zoisite?"

She lifted her head and looked at him with eyes that seemed slightly veiled.

"Hey, Zoi-chan. I didn't mean to be so nasty to you today. And I went down to Tokyo and did as you asked. I told Kunzite the truth this time. The whole truth."

Zoisite regarded him for a moment, then lowered her head back to the floor. Mamoru rubbed his nose. Why hadn't she stung him yet with one of her biting insults? She didn't even look angry.

"Zoisite? I said, I went to Tokyo. Are you refusing to speak to me now?"

"No," came a soft reply. "I'm just not feeling well."

Mamoru frowned and tried to approach, but he bounced against the repulsive force of dark energy that kept them apart.

"This stupid oath!" he said. "First thing I'm gonna do is get rid of it! I can't stand it anymore!"

Zoisite turned her face to him and blinked as if too dazed for astonishment.

He raised both arms over the great ball of energy, braced himself and said, "I, Chijba Mamoru, release you, Zoisite, from the bonds of my obedience oath!" There was an ear-popping crack, and the ball suddenly vanished. Mamoru fell, but quickly got up and rubbed his eyes. His head suddenly felt clear, almost light. The constant pressure at his temples was gone. The burning spot over his brow was gone. Even the air in the room smelled better!

Laughing, he skipped over to Zoisite and dropped to one knee beside her. "Oh, this is much better!" he said, laying his hand between her shoulder blades. "I am never, never going to use a Jigoku spell again! I've learned my lesson!"

Then he paused. Zoisite was shivering. Her skin was cold and damp under the thin silk of her black yukata, and she wasn't resisting his touch at all. "You must be really sick," he said. "Too much sun and excitement today?"

With a great deal of effort, Zoisite raised herself up a little, then fell against Mamoru's chest, gasping. He caught her in his arms.

"Mamo-chan," she whispered. "Thank you . . . for releasing the oath."

Mamoru held her tight. All his hatred was melting, transmuting into a sudden need to comfort the one he had hurt. And although he knew she was guilty of many injuries against him, he couldn't recall any just now.

"Zoisite," he said, almost in tears, "I'm so sorry . . . about a lot of things. I hope you can forgive me."

Zoisite pressed her cheek to his hand, nuzzling his fingers. He felt the light brush of her eyelashes against his palm.

"Oh," said Mamoru, rocking her gently. "I should've done this long ago. We're gonna be better now, you and I."

He looked around the room at the crystals set above the window screens, at the cedar columns and the lush, green vines where white blossoms had folded up for the night. With the hatred melting from his heart, he felt as if he were seeing everything with new eyes. There was a hush over this wing of the palace, for it had been abandoned by everyone preparing for his daughter's birth. The women were taking good care of Usagi, and soon Mamoru would be a father. It was a good time to start anew.

Then his eyes wandered across the floor to the tatami mat from where he had pulled Zoisite into his arms. There, staining the immaculate, white straw, was a spot of blood.

His finger reached down, touched it. Wet.

"Zoisite?" he said. "Where did this blood come from?"

She looked up. He now saw that her face was as white as the mat, eyes like twin shadows, lips drained. "Where do you think?" she said.

"Zoisite!"

"I didn't do anything! It just happened. I swear!" A spasm wrenched her body. "Uh!"

Mamoru drew in a sharp breath. He glanced about in panic.

"I, I thought it was just a stomach ache," said Zoisite.

"This cannot be happening," said Mamoru. "This cannot be happening." He cried out, "Ami! Ami!" Then he remembered that Ami and all the other healers were with Usagi and wouldn't hear him no matter how loud he screamed. "Help! Anyone! We need help!"

Zoisite's fingers clutched at the front ties of Mamoru's tunic. Her breath was coming in short, painful gasps. "Mamo-chan," she said. "Oh, Mamo . . . what's happening to me? It hurts much worse than thorns!" She was crying now. "You're the magic emperor; can't you do something?"

"I'm sorry," said Mamoru, embracing her tightly. "I can fight demons, but I don't have any healing gifts."

After calling out for help one last time, Mamoru carefully lifted Zoisite into his arms. "They can't hear us! I've got to get you to Usagi's room!"

Zoisite screamed.

"Hang in there," said Mamoru, carrying her out the door. "Put your arms around my neck . . . that's it. I'll get you to Ami, and you'll be all right! I promise!"

I promise! Mamoru ran. This was one promise he would keep even if he had to give up the kingdom for it.