Backdated to August 28th


Curling into a fetal position on her bed, still fully clothed in her smart black dress, Naomi pulled her knees to her chin and shivered.

It had been a long day. A long, horrible day. No-one liked funerals. They were the only events that you could guarantee the whole family bothering to attend, and that was just wrong and twisted in the worst way. Naomi hadn’t known Samuel Black well, but she’d met him on a few occasions and apparently he’d approved of her enough to grant her her stay in the Black family household. Everything had been going okay, since her corruption – Labyrinthite had become her officer, Zinkenite had informed her of her full civilian identity, Mrs Black had embraced her presence like that of a new daughter.

And then that wretched senshi had broken in and destroyed everything.

Naomi had been distraught, more so than the Black’s had been able to understand. Chase was of course in pieces, and his mother was inconsolable. But Naomi had only met Samuel twice, maybe three times, and didn’t really know the man at all. She was sad at his passing, truly, but it was the knowledge that she’d once been one of those foul creatures, one of those disgusting criminals, that hurt her right in the chest. She’d committed similar crimes in the past, broken families like that abhorrent senshi had broken this one. How was she supposed to live with herself, knowing she’d committed such terrible deeds?The blonde had vanished off to Negaspace for prolonged periods of time to sort her thoughts out, but there had been moments where she’d considered drastic actions. The coward’s way out.

That was exactly what it was, though. If she took that easy escape, she’d never be able to repay her debts and prove herself worthy.

There had been a lot going on, but by the day of the funeral she’d come to terms with the repulsive actions of her previous self and dedicated herself to fighting on the right side of this war for all she was worth. Naomi had stood there amongst the grieving family, mourning the loss of Samuel Black as another victim of this terrible war in which she’d been given a second chance. A second chance to do right that she was going to grab with both hands and squeeze for all she was worth.

Awkward questions had been asked, and initially she’d been upset that Chase wasn’t there to help her answer them. Of course the family were confused, some random blonde girl they’d never seen turning up at the wealthy businessman’s funeral. Eventually she’d ducked out and gone to find the boy, only to find him collapsed on the floor in a backroom sobbing uncontrollably. Naomi had wrapped her arms around him, unaware of the tears suddenly coursing down her face, unsure of whether she was trying to comfort him or receive some comfort of her own. She didn’t like these situations, she didn’t know what to do. She was scared and she was confused but most of all she was scared, terrified, and she didn’t know what to do to make it better.

And then he’d just...come out with it. All of it. How it had happened, how it had really happened. It wasn’t the senshi that had killed Samuel Black.

It had been Labyrinthite.

It had been Chase.

Suddenly she’d been gripping him tighter, the hug no longer for his benefit but for hers. She was being greedy, selfish, but Naomi had sobbed into his chest at the realization. Chase was usually so strong, he was her officer and was supposed to show her the way. But here he was, scared and broken, and suddenly she was finding their relationship the other way around. She was supposed to be the rock – but she couldn’t! That was what scared the blonde the most, the thought that she wouldn’t be able to give Chase the comfort and reassurance he needed.

Sitting upright on the bed, Naomi stood and walked towards the mirror, surprised when she found herself crying. Henshining up, Sailor Eos quickly disappeared into the Negaspace, wrapping her arms around herself to try and bring some warmth to her shivering limbs.

What was she going to do? She needed Chase, she needed support, but suddenly she was left without it and she felt like she was lost at sea without a liferaft. An audible sob shook the stony silence of the Negaspace as she brought her thumb to her mouth, sucking on the digit through her glove to try and provide herself with some comfort. Eos hugged her chest again, wanting someone else there to do the job for her. But this hiding, this self-pity, it wasn’t getting her anywhere.

Finding a chair parked conveniently in a corridor, Eos sat herself on it and stared at the floor in front of her. Still sucking her thumb, she shivered lightly as she thought to herself. She had to try putting herself in their shoes, try putting herself in Chase’s shoes. What horror must he be going through in his head right know, knowing that he’d been responsible for the death of his father? Eos gave a growl of frustration through her thumb, kicking the floor in a somewhat childish manner. It wasn’t his fault, that was the thing. He’d delivered the blow, but it was the senshi that had driven him to it. If she hadn’t been there, like the common thug she was, none of this would have happened. Labyrinthite had killed her – she’d gotten the easy way out. It was Chase who was now left to deal with the fallout, Chase’s delicate mind that was being torn at by the horrible reality that was left.

She had to get over herself. As difficult as it was, and as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t keep feeling sorry for herself. She didn’t have an officer to look after her, not right now, but she had someone to whom she owed a huge debt, a debt that she was failing to repay by sitting here in Negaspace wallowing in self-pity. Without properly thinking it through in her head, Eos stepped back into Destiny City before she could change her mind and decide otherwise. However, this time she appeared in the bedroom down the hall from hers, glad to find a large boy-sized lump buried underneath the duvet. At least he wasn’t out patrolling or getting himself killed.

Eos quickly became Naomi, the blonde quietly sliding underneath the duvet and into bed beside Chase, wrapping her arms around him before he could protest. She hugged him gently, unsure of whether he was awake of not – this was probably wrong but she didn’t care right now. “It’s not your fault, Chase,” she whispered into the darkness, not caring whether he was awake or asleep, listening or not, “The senshi will pay. We’ll make them all pay.”

Chase had fixed her. Now it was her turn to do the fixing.


Word count: 1,171