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The sky glowed blue against the black contours of the horizon as twilight’s ambience permeated the park. Kit had been out and sketching, but once the sun had set and the outdoor lamps weren’t enough to draw by, he’d gotten up from his bench, stretched, and traded out his sketching pencil for his henshin pen. Once he’d looked around to be sure that the coast was clear, he wandered into a small thicket of trees to power up. Super Sailor Ptolemaeus emerged a few minutes later, ready to head out to collect some energy with his mirrorwraith for the night.
Before he could summon one of the creatures with his mirror shard, however, the Dark Mirror Senshi sensed another energy signature nearby. It was an Order signature. How long had they been there? Had they just arrived, or had they been lingering around the park since before he’d even powered up? Either way, Ptolemy knew he had to be cautious because regardless of the other person’s faction, there was no way to know for sure what they thought of the Dark Mirror Court.
“Helloooo~” he called playfully, heading toward the source of the energy signature. It was probably best to meet up with the owner first before he tried any energy-gathering just in case whoever it was didn’t approve and attempted to attack him for it later on. “Nice evening we’re having, isn’t it?” Besides, he loved interacting with others; both familiar and unfamiliar, whether they liked him or not.
Before he could summon one of the creatures with his mirror shard, however, the Dark Mirror Senshi sensed another energy signature nearby. It was an Order signature. How long had they been there? Had they just arrived, or had they been lingering around the park since before he’d even powered up? Either way, Ptolemy knew he had to be cautious because regardless of the other person’s faction, there was no way to know for sure what they thought of the Dark Mirror Court.
“Helloooo~” he called playfully, heading toward the source of the energy signature. It was probably best to meet up with the owner first before he tried any energy-gathering just in case whoever it was didn’t approve and attempted to attack him for it later on. “Nice evening we’re having, isn’t it?” Besides, he loved interacting with others; both familiar and unfamiliar, whether they liked him or not.
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Things had been… Oberon didn’t want to say rough, but with everything happening things weren’t exactly easy. There’d been that greater youma at the power plant, and then the whole incident at the hospital after the gala. Oberon was feeling somewhat worn down these days, but he didn’t want to just give up on his research.
He’d been out in the park, trying to lure youma to him with his energy signature, but not really doing more than fiddling with the small sketch book he kept with him. He wasn’t an artist. But he tried very hard to jot down his notes. He supposed he could do the same thing digitally, but for some reason he found that doing things this way helped him keep a clearer head.
The energy signature nearby didn’t exactly come as a surprise, because if he was in the park then why wouldn’t other people go to the park? But it did put him on edge. A chaotic signature, even if it wasn’t the Negaverse, was always something to be cautious about.
"I suppose," Oberon mumbled in response from where he perched on a low tree branch, but after putting his pencil and sketch book away in one of his many pockets, he carefully lowered himself to the ground, landing lightly on his still healing leg.
The other man wasn’t much older than himself, or at least he didn’t seem that way. It really was true that they were all just children in this stupid war. He didn’t bother saying anything else, but instead crossed his arms over his chest to watch and see what the man did. Maybe he would be smart and move along. Oberon had no qualms with the Dark Mirror Court. Well, mostly.
He’d been out in the park, trying to lure youma to him with his energy signature, but not really doing more than fiddling with the small sketch book he kept with him. He wasn’t an artist. But he tried very hard to jot down his notes. He supposed he could do the same thing digitally, but for some reason he found that doing things this way helped him keep a clearer head.
The energy signature nearby didn’t exactly come as a surprise, because if he was in the park then why wouldn’t other people go to the park? But it did put him on edge. A chaotic signature, even if it wasn’t the Negaverse, was always something to be cautious about.
"I suppose," Oberon mumbled in response from where he perched on a low tree branch, but after putting his pencil and sketch book away in one of his many pockets, he carefully lowered himself to the ground, landing lightly on his still healing leg.
The other man wasn’t much older than himself, or at least he didn’t seem that way. It really was true that they were all just children in this stupid war. He didn’t bother saying anything else, but instead crossed his arms over his chest to watch and see what the man did. Maybe he would be smart and move along. Oberon had no qualms with the Dark Mirror Court. Well, mostly.
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The 6’3” teen beamed at the casual-sounding response and what he thought he saw was a pencil and sketch book being stowed away. “You sketch, too? I usually like carrying my sketchbook on me, but it seems kind of a liability to be sketching when you’re powered up, don’t you think? Never know who might sneak up on you while you’re trying to concentrate. Or were you taking notes?”
Ptolemaeus inspected the other young man up and down, but he couldn’t guess his sphere. He had an interesting-looking tiara that appeared to be made of leaves and twigs, hiking boots, a fleur de lis brooch, and a very large back bow. From his energy signature, the White Moon Senshi seemed to be of a fairly high rank, but no more powerful than himself. He didn’t seem to be attempting to initiate conflict, nor did he seem particularly hostile, but then was he waiting for something? An introduction, perhaps?
Well, Ptolemy supposed he had approached him and spoken up first. “Name’s Ptolemaeus; Ptolemy for short. Dark Mirror Senshi of Change.” Grinning, he scratched his head. “But I can’t for the life of me guess what you might be the senshi of. Feeling generous enough to give me a hint?”
Ptolemaeus inspected the other young man up and down, but he couldn’t guess his sphere. He had an interesting-looking tiara that appeared to be made of leaves and twigs, hiking boots, a fleur de lis brooch, and a very large back bow. From his energy signature, the White Moon Senshi seemed to be of a fairly high rank, but no more powerful than himself. He didn’t seem to be attempting to initiate conflict, nor did he seem particularly hostile, but then was he waiting for something? An introduction, perhaps?
Well, Ptolemy supposed he had approached him and spoken up first. “Name’s Ptolemaeus; Ptolemy for short. Dark Mirror Senshi of Change.” Grinning, he scratched his head. “But I can’t for the life of me guess what you might be the senshi of. Feeling generous enough to give me a hint?”
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”Yeah sort of. I’m not an artist; I’m a scientist,” Oberon explained, watching the slightly taller teen warily. “I’m researching youma, so yeah sketching and taking notes.” He already knew of the liability of having a sketchbook with him, but he was too committed to stop. It wasn’t as though he didn’t already chase around youma as a civilian, anyway.
He was busy brushing himself off when the other introduced himself, and Oberon froze. That name. He knew that name. He was the same man who Chara was telling him about. He had to be.
Without much of a warning, Oberon lunged forward, swinging his fist to hit the other, preferably in the face if he could manage it, but just shoving him back would be good, too.
“I’m Oberon of Adventure. I’m Chara’s friend, a*****e,” he hissed, both because he was angry for what he knew the other had done, and also because his hand really ******** hurt because he must have hit the other in a way that made injured his hand. s**t.
He tried to shake out his hand, glancing down at it to see the damage and trying to fight back the tears that pricked the corners of his eyes from the pain.
“You stay the hell away from him,” he spat, glaring at the other.
He was busy brushing himself off when the other introduced himself, and Oberon froze. That name. He knew that name. He was the same man who Chara was telling him about. He had to be.
Without much of a warning, Oberon lunged forward, swinging his fist to hit the other, preferably in the face if he could manage it, but just shoving him back would be good, too.
“I’m Oberon of Adventure. I’m Chara’s friend, a*****e,” he hissed, both because he was angry for what he knew the other had done, and also because his hand really ******** hurt because he must have hit the other in a way that made injured his hand. s**t.
He tried to shake out his hand, glancing down at it to see the damage and trying to fight back the tears that pricked the corners of his eyes from the pain.
“You stay the hell away from him,” he spat, glaring at the other.
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“Ah, science notes. Cool,” he answered, his words perhaps making him sound more aloof toward the subject than he really was. Youma research? Now that was something he hadn’t considered doing before. “You must have a lot of guts trying to research things possibly trying to kill you. Now I’m curious about what you’ve learned.” He’d always just assumed the Negaverse monsters to be mindless beings following instinct; similar, perhaps, to the Dark Mirror mirrorwraiths. But now that the other senshi brought it up, Ptolemy considered if maybe there was more to them than just that. He hadn’t encountered enough to know, but what interested him most of all was that it was a White Moon Senshi - someone of the Order faction - who was curious enough to research the youma rather than simply destroy them on sight. He doubted this teen was the sort studying them just so he could destroy them more efficiently, too; more like he had a genuine interest in them.
The abrupt tension in the other male’s body language surprised the black-haired sailor scout. Had he said something wrong…? He hadn’t had much time to ponder it over, however, before he found himself lunged at and punched squarely in the face. Usually he could tell when he was about to be hit and was usually able to brace himself accordingly, but this came out of nowhere, knocking him off balance so he fell back hard on his behind.
The impact of his landing in addition to his facial injury caused him to groan weakly in pain. He knew better than to get back up off the ground before he figured out what that had all been about, though. The older senshi wasn’t about to deny he deserved that attack, since he had done a great many things in the past that people had been upset with him for, but he would have liked to know what for, at least. Especially because he was pretty sure he’d never even met this kid before.
He raised his brows and delicately felt his jaw as Oberon introduced himself and revealed that Chara was a mutual connection for them. Dark brown eyes darted to the younger teen’s fist that seemed to have been hurt as well. Oberon must have really been angry with him if he’d hit hard enough to cause damage to himself in the process. Looked like it was pretty bad, too, with the expression on his face, but that could have at least been in part out of his dislike for Ptolemy or his concern for what had been done to Chara.
Silent for a minute, the college student gradually sat up, but made no move to rise any more than that. He turned his head to the side to spit blood from accidentally having bit the inside of his cheek and balanced his forearms on his knees as he considered what to say. At last, without looking at Oberon, he asked calmly, “What did he tell you I did?”
The abrupt tension in the other male’s body language surprised the black-haired sailor scout. Had he said something wrong…? He hadn’t had much time to ponder it over, however, before he found himself lunged at and punched squarely in the face. Usually he could tell when he was about to be hit and was usually able to brace himself accordingly, but this came out of nowhere, knocking him off balance so he fell back hard on his behind.
The impact of his landing in addition to his facial injury caused him to groan weakly in pain. He knew better than to get back up off the ground before he figured out what that had all been about, though. The older senshi wasn’t about to deny he deserved that attack, since he had done a great many things in the past that people had been upset with him for, but he would have liked to know what for, at least. Especially because he was pretty sure he’d never even met this kid before.
He raised his brows and delicately felt his jaw as Oberon introduced himself and revealed that Chara was a mutual connection for them. Dark brown eyes darted to the younger teen’s fist that seemed to have been hurt as well. Oberon must have really been angry with him if he’d hit hard enough to cause damage to himself in the process. Looked like it was pretty bad, too, with the expression on his face, but that could have at least been in part out of his dislike for Ptolemy or his concern for what had been done to Chara.
Silent for a minute, the college student gradually sat up, but made no move to rise any more than that. He turned his head to the side to spit blood from accidentally having bit the inside of his cheek and balanced his forearms on his knees as he considered what to say. At last, without looking at Oberon, he asked calmly, “What did he tell you I did?”
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Oberon cursed under his breath, trying to flex his fingers. That’s what he got for never really learning how to fight, but he was so angry about what Chara had told him, that he couldn’t help it. He’d never actually tried to hit someone out of the blue before, and apparently he’d startled the other enough to knock him down. Which worked out for him because he needed a few moments to catch his breath.
Maybe he really did need to start learning how to fight. Up until that point, he usually could get away with not fighting because he was a kid and people felt guilty for attacking kids. But he would be starting college in the fall and probably needed to start thinking more about things than just studying.
“Why? So you can try to deny it?” he growled, more out of pain than anything, although he was still obviously angry. Maybe a little at himself, too. “He told me you kissed him, and then what you did to him. He told me everything, jackass. He had no reason to lie to me, especially since he probably never expected me to meet you. <********>,” he practically whimpered, this time covering his injured hand with his other.
At least he’d managed to injure the other enough that he cut his cheek or something. And he wasn’t getting up right away which meant Oberon had a chance to try and nurse his injured hand. He probably should have thought this out a bit better, but…
Maybe he really did need to start learning how to fight. Up until that point, he usually could get away with not fighting because he was a kid and people felt guilty for attacking kids. But he would be starting college in the fall and probably needed to start thinking more about things than just studying.
“Why? So you can try to deny it?” he growled, more out of pain than anything, although he was still obviously angry. Maybe a little at himself, too. “He told me you kissed him, and then what you did to him. He told me everything, jackass. He had no reason to lie to me, especially since he probably never expected me to meet you. <********>,” he practically whimpered, this time covering his injured hand with his other.
At least he’d managed to injure the other enough that he cut his cheek or something. And he wasn’t getting up right away which meant Oberon had a chance to try and nurse his injured hand. He probably should have thought this out a bit better, but…
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In spite of himself, at Oberon’s initial question, the older senshi responded with a weak laugh. “Even if I denied it, it’s not like that would automatically make you believe me,” he pointed out. “Unless you’re worried I might somehow convince you of something against your will. But I don’t see the sense in denying facts. I just wondered how much you had because it’s difficult to imagine the entire picture without gathering them all.” He cocked his head, casting the other teen a meaningful smile.
“Going off your scientific inclinations, I wouldn’t have taken you as the sort to act rashly without obtaining both sides of the story. Doesn’t just having one side’s version make things a bit biased?” He waved a hand in a placating gesture. “Granted, emotions tend to cause people to ignore logic. He must be a pretty good friend of yours for you to have gone so far as to spontaneously hit me after just hearing my name. Bad enough to have hurt yourself, too.” Ptolemy curled his index finger to beckon Oberon closer. “Here, let me see that. It might be dislocated or broken.”
Reaching out a hand to try to take the other male’s, he continued, “Yes, I kissed him. I kiss a lot of people. I like physical contact. But ‘what I did to him’ is pretty vague since we did a lot of things to each other.” A crooked, faint smirk played on his lips and his gaze flickered up briefly from examining Oberon’s hand. “Yeah? Did he tell you I gave him the option to kill me multiple times? He didn’t have to lie; there’s always omission, whether intentional or not.”
“Going off your scientific inclinations, I wouldn’t have taken you as the sort to act rashly without obtaining both sides of the story. Doesn’t just having one side’s version make things a bit biased?” He waved a hand in a placating gesture. “Granted, emotions tend to cause people to ignore logic. He must be a pretty good friend of yours for you to have gone so far as to spontaneously hit me after just hearing my name. Bad enough to have hurt yourself, too.” Ptolemy curled his index finger to beckon Oberon closer. “Here, let me see that. It might be dislocated or broken.”
Reaching out a hand to try to take the other male’s, he continued, “Yes, I kissed him. I kiss a lot of people. I like physical contact. But ‘what I did to him’ is pretty vague since we did a lot of things to each other.” A crooked, faint smirk played on his lips and his gaze flickered up briefly from examining Oberon’s hand. “Yeah? Did he tell you I gave him the option to kill me multiple times? He didn’t have to lie; there’s always omission, whether intentional or not.”
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"You don’t know anything about me, a*****e," Oberon hissed, his voice still strained despite himself. Yes, Oberon would admit that this was more of a rash decision than he was used to, but the flare of anger that he felt upon hearing Benji’s story lit back up inside him and he couldn’t just ignore it. He didn’t often get emotionally attached to things, but when he did, he apparently felt very strongly, and he felt particularly protective of his friend. Benji might not have had anyone to stand up for him back when this all started, but he did now.
Not that Oberon was much of a fighter. Or a fighter at all.
If anything, he was more irritated with himself at the moment, and jerked his hand back when the other senshi tried to beckon him closer and reached out to him. Ptolemy might have been close enough to take a quick look at his hand, but Oberon had no intention of the other touching him if he could help it.
"It’s fine," he hissed, still clearly in pain and doing his best to ignore that fact. He tried running everything Benji had told him through his memory. He couldn’t recall if he’d mentioned the offer to kill the other, but at that point it didn’t really matter.
"He told me you forced him to do things he didn’t want to," Oberon growled, taking a step back to keep his distance from the other. "Explain that."
Not that Oberon was much of a fighter. Or a fighter at all.
If anything, he was more irritated with himself at the moment, and jerked his hand back when the other senshi tried to beckon him closer and reached out to him. Ptolemy might have been close enough to take a quick look at his hand, but Oberon had no intention of the other touching him if he could help it.
"It’s fine," he hissed, still clearly in pain and doing his best to ignore that fact. He tried running everything Benji had told him through his memory. He couldn’t recall if he’d mentioned the offer to kill the other, but at that point it didn’t really matter.
"He told me you forced him to do things he didn’t want to," Oberon growled, taking a step back to keep his distance from the other. "Explain that."
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Ptolemy gave a small shrug. "You're right; I'm only going off of what I've observed about you in the last few minutes. But feel free to correct me if I'm wrong." He didn't try to pester Oberon any more about his hand when it was abruptly withdrawn, but his smirk was grim. "It's 'fine', huh? I somehow doubt that." Shaking his head with a sigh, he pointed out, "I get that you're angry with me right now, but can we at least keep things truthful between us? You could have just told me not to touch you or to leave you alone."
Running a hand through his hair, he scratched his head perplexedly upon hearing what Chara had told Oberon. "Honestly...I'm not sure what he's talking about. I'm not saying he's wrong," the older male assured him quickly, "I'm just not sure what he's referring to specifically. Whatever the case, though, I didn't deliberately do anything I didn't think was in his best interests." Raising his head, he met Oberon's goldenrod eyes with his own. "Believe it or not, I care about him, too."
The Dark Mirror Sensei sighed heavily once more. "All I can tell you is what I know about what happened from my perspective. The first time we met, Chara went all out in attacking me. He was a Super Senshi of the White Moon Court and I guess he didn’t know anything about the Dark Mirror Court, because he thought I was with the Negaverse since my energy signature was chaotic. I’m not a fighter, so I didn’t really put up much of a fight; just tried to talk to him. I’ll admit I tried to use my magic on him, but it’s not usually offensive and since he was a higher rank than me, it didn’t have any power over him.
“I tried to explain to him I wasn’t with the Negaverse while trying to understand why he hated them so much. He continued to burn me without holding back, but I’m used to pain, so I just took it. At least he seemed willing to explain and even listen to me a little. The guy still wasn’t pulling his punches - or his magic - so I ended up pretty beat up, badly burned, and at his mercy. But I could tell he was hurting and I wanted to do something to comfort him. So, since at the time I could hardly move and he had pinned me, I kissed him.” Glancing away guiltily, he added, “...I hadn’t realized that was his first kiss.”
“Anyway, you probably know how temperamental he is. He said something about wanting to ‘kick my nuts in’ as payment, so I told him he could, but he just touched my face all tender-like before kneeing me in the gut. We parted on very odd terms that day and it took me a while to fully recover from the physical injuries he caused me, but I felt like I might have soothed some of his inner pain a little and maybe started to open his mind to the idea that not all Chaos was bad. Heh...after only that first encounter, I hadn’t even gotten his name, though.”
He went to go lean against the tree that Oberon had been previously perched in, his expression contemplative. His dark eyes were distant as he continued. “The second time I met him did not go well. I had become a Super by then, too, so we were of equal rank. He came at me out of nowhere, yelling and sounding even more angry than ever. I had experienced that sort of reaction before and I could tell Chara wanted to blow off some steam, so I invited him to fight me like last time. Since I had just recently grown in power, I wasn’t about to let the outcome be as one-sided as before. I thought it would have been a good chance to test out my own magic if we sparred a little, though I had never intended to hurt him.” Closing his eyes, he wearily passed a hand over his face.
It was a few moments more before he spoke again. “Since my sphere is ‘change’, my power tends to be unpredictable. From what I can tell, it transforms a magical attack to give it a different effect. Sometimes the effect happens to be ‘opposite’ of the original attack in one way or another, but sometimes it just alters it. Sometimes it’s even detrimental to me.” He gestured vaguely. “The first time we fought, Chara used his basic senshi attack against me, so I was able to counter it with my basic attack and it turned his burning chocolate kisses into something that felt like real kisses upon impact, with the pleasant warmth and coziness of hot chocolate on a cold day. The attack still hit me, but the magic was changed. When Chara used his super attack, I wasn’t able to change that as a basic senshi, but as a Super senshi, I had a super attack of my own to counter it.
“What I hadn’t realized was that even though both of our attacks were just upgraded versions of our basic ones, the effect of my super attack on his super was different than my basic on his basic. When it hit me and I countered, I didn’t just feel warm, cozy kisses. I felt…” He hesitated, looking pained for a moment. “...I felt this overwhelming lust. And...it was only later that I realized it must have been because chocolates are supposed to be natural aphrodisiacs, but...the sensations I felt...they made me lose control for a bit.”
His brows narrowed and his hardened gaze glared at the ground. “When the attack first hit, I tried to keep myself away from him, but he kept coming toward me, trying to figure out what had happened even when I warned him to stay away. With him so close, I couldn’t focus on keeping in control. I loathe not being in control of my own body and urges. I fought it, but the magic was disturbingly strong and Chara just wouldn’t listen to me about keeping back. I almost...I almost lost to it.”
Jerking his head up, he looked to Oberon with a faintly distressed countenance, his brow furrowed. “I didn’t, though. I managed to restrain myself until the magic wore off. It just...scared me how close I came. Chara had actually been egging me on at first, doing things like pressing himself against me. But when he realized I wasn’t in my right mind, he asked me to stop because he didn’t want to do it when I wasn’t myself. And it was damn hard to stop then after all his teasing. But I did it.”
Ptolemy shook his head. “Then Chara began to cry. He told me he wanted me. I told him he didn’t know what he was talking about, especially if he was a virgin. I explained to him that intimacy and understanding were what he actually seemed to crave the most and that he probably only thought he wanted me because I must have been the only one to show him those things so far.” His eyes flickered to Oberon. “I don’t know if he had known you then. But whatever the case, I didn’t think he truly understood his own feelings about me. He reminded me too much of my little sister, always drowning in such passionate emotions that she didn’t know which to express or how many at a time or even what the difference between them was. Like with her, I didn’t trust Chara to know what he actually wanted and I told him so.
“He started to ask me if he meant nothing to me.” The black-haired senshi’s tone was grim. “If I hadn’t given him a passing thought. Why I hadn’t pushed him away. I told him I did care about him, but that we still didn’t know much about each other. Suggested we spend more time together. He told me his name then.” Chuckling lightly, he said, “Chara mentioned something about feeling like it was wrong to like me, since I was supposed to be the ‘bad guy’ and he was supposed to kill me. But then I suggested we try fighting some youma together and he was surprised us DMS even attack the things. We agreed to meet up more while patrolling and parted ways bidding each other good night after he pulled me down to kiss my forehead. Things had turned out better than I’d expected because after the way I’d behaved under the influence of that magic, I’d thought he wouldn’t have wanted to come within sight of me ever again.”
The teenager wet his lips to moisten them. “We met up some more times after that, attacking youma or doing more intimate things if he felt like it. Hugs, kisses, jerking each other off...being a physical person constantly craving touch, I never minded. But I went looking for him on Valentine’s Day because I wondered what the Senshi of Chocolates would have been doing on such a holiday. If he was alone, I thought I could make sure he had company; Valentine’s Day being harder for many people to spend by themselves than most other days. I brought him some chocolates to tease him about his sphere. Turned out he was alone.”
Studying his silver nails, he said, “I asked him about having anyone else to give him attention on Valentine's Day and he told me he did, but that he preferred mine. Said he knew nothing about love, but that I made him feel better and I told him I was glad. That had been my goal all along, after all. But then…” Ptolemaeus looked troubled. “...then he said that he didn’t think of anyone else and that he didn’t want to. And I started to get worried.
“I told him I thought he might only have felt that way because he felt he didn’t have anyone else there for him. Again, I didn’t know anything about you or at what point you came into his life, but that was the impression I got from him because he never mentioned anyone else. Chara said he might have only liked me for that reason at first, but not anymore. The mere suggestion had hurt him, though, and he closed himself off, telling me to leave him alone.
“Well, I wasn’t about to let him walk away like that with him feeling worse than he’d started out. I told him I knew how desperate loneliness made people and how brave he was for telling me how he felt. That I appreciated his courage and honesty, but I still didn’t think he knew enough about me to know for sure what to think of me. I told him I didn’t even think he knew enough about himself. He tried pushing me away, but I continued to hold him close and told him he wasn’t going anywhere until I was certain he understood.”
He closed his eyes and rested his head back against the trunk of the tree he leaned against. “We talked about a lot. About how stupid love was and painful and how it didn’t let you pick who you fell for. He said he didn’t think he’d ever get to know enough about me because we only met while we were powered up and knew nothing about each other as civilians. I got the sense he was trying to get me to join the White Moon Court, like him, so we could learn about each other and maybe get closer beyond just our powered forms. But he still didn’t understand why I was in the Dark Mirror Court and I got annoyed with his childish idea that his way of seeing things was the only right perspective.”
Opening his eyes, Ptolemaeus pushed off the tree and looked Oberon straight in the eye. He doubted the other sailor scout would like this part, but it had to be said. Maybe, with luck, the White Moon Senshi would understand. “He said he wanted to ‘forget how ******** up the world was’, so I picked him up and told him that if he wanted to forget, I knew where to take him.
“I assured Chara that if I took him to Mirrorspace to corrupt him, he wouldn’t have to be so miserable. He could forget all the bad things that had happened to him in the past and stop forcing himself to fight for people he called assholes. He kept struggling and telling me to put him down, but I wouldn’t.” His expression was dead serious. “I never really intended to corrupt him and I explained to him later that I couldn’t actually bring him through the mirror against his will, but I needed him to be afraid of me; to hate me. It would be easier for him to get over me then. He wouldn’t hate himself for having loved me because he would blame me. That was the best I could do because although I want him to be happy and I love him too, it wasn’t in the same way he felt for me.”
The teen went back to the tree and slid down the trunk to sit at its base, crossing his legs and resting his head in his palm. “Before, he had told me he didn’t want to be selfish. But he had said later that killing me would be a help to the world and that he wanted to help people. So when I handed him a glass shard and he refused to hurt me with it, I asked him, wasn’t he being selfish? I was trying to make the point that he still didn’t know what he truly wanted.
“We argued some more about how people got murdered in war, about how Chara thought the Negaverse killed civilians for fun, and how I told him he had no right to assume that because most were people just like him with families and lives and loved ones of their own. I asked him that if I corrupted him, not killed him, if he thought that was enough for me to deserve to die. He asked why I would want to corrupt him and I explained again how it might bring him happiness. Chara asked why I would care about his happiness and I admitted that I loved and cared about him, but like family; not romantically. I don’t think he took that well, but after that I left.
“The next time I found him, he was strangling a civilian to death. I stopped him, but after all he’d said before about how wrong it was to murder civilians, I knew something must have happened to him to cause such a drastic change.” Casting Oberon a sideways glance, he asked, “Do you know what it is?”
Running a hand through his hair, he scratched his head perplexedly upon hearing what Chara had told Oberon. "Honestly...I'm not sure what he's talking about. I'm not saying he's wrong," the older male assured him quickly, "I'm just not sure what he's referring to specifically. Whatever the case, though, I didn't deliberately do anything I didn't think was in his best interests." Raising his head, he met Oberon's goldenrod eyes with his own. "Believe it or not, I care about him, too."
The Dark Mirror Sensei sighed heavily once more. "All I can tell you is what I know about what happened from my perspective. The first time we met, Chara went all out in attacking me. He was a Super Senshi of the White Moon Court and I guess he didn’t know anything about the Dark Mirror Court, because he thought I was with the Negaverse since my energy signature was chaotic. I’m not a fighter, so I didn’t really put up much of a fight; just tried to talk to him. I’ll admit I tried to use my magic on him, but it’s not usually offensive and since he was a higher rank than me, it didn’t have any power over him.
“I tried to explain to him I wasn’t with the Negaverse while trying to understand why he hated them so much. He continued to burn me without holding back, but I’m used to pain, so I just took it. At least he seemed willing to explain and even listen to me a little. The guy still wasn’t pulling his punches - or his magic - so I ended up pretty beat up, badly burned, and at his mercy. But I could tell he was hurting and I wanted to do something to comfort him. So, since at the time I could hardly move and he had pinned me, I kissed him.” Glancing away guiltily, he added, “...I hadn’t realized that was his first kiss.”
“Anyway, you probably know how temperamental he is. He said something about wanting to ‘kick my nuts in’ as payment, so I told him he could, but he just touched my face all tender-like before kneeing me in the gut. We parted on very odd terms that day and it took me a while to fully recover from the physical injuries he caused me, but I felt like I might have soothed some of his inner pain a little and maybe started to open his mind to the idea that not all Chaos was bad. Heh...after only that first encounter, I hadn’t even gotten his name, though.”
He went to go lean against the tree that Oberon had been previously perched in, his expression contemplative. His dark eyes were distant as he continued. “The second time I met him did not go well. I had become a Super by then, too, so we were of equal rank. He came at me out of nowhere, yelling and sounding even more angry than ever. I had experienced that sort of reaction before and I could tell Chara wanted to blow off some steam, so I invited him to fight me like last time. Since I had just recently grown in power, I wasn’t about to let the outcome be as one-sided as before. I thought it would have been a good chance to test out my own magic if we sparred a little, though I had never intended to hurt him.” Closing his eyes, he wearily passed a hand over his face.
It was a few moments more before he spoke again. “Since my sphere is ‘change’, my power tends to be unpredictable. From what I can tell, it transforms a magical attack to give it a different effect. Sometimes the effect happens to be ‘opposite’ of the original attack in one way or another, but sometimes it just alters it. Sometimes it’s even detrimental to me.” He gestured vaguely. “The first time we fought, Chara used his basic senshi attack against me, so I was able to counter it with my basic attack and it turned his burning chocolate kisses into something that felt like real kisses upon impact, with the pleasant warmth and coziness of hot chocolate on a cold day. The attack still hit me, but the magic was changed. When Chara used his super attack, I wasn’t able to change that as a basic senshi, but as a Super senshi, I had a super attack of my own to counter it.
“What I hadn’t realized was that even though both of our attacks were just upgraded versions of our basic ones, the effect of my super attack on his super was different than my basic on his basic. When it hit me and I countered, I didn’t just feel warm, cozy kisses. I felt…” He hesitated, looking pained for a moment. “...I felt this overwhelming lust. And...it was only later that I realized it must have been because chocolates are supposed to be natural aphrodisiacs, but...the sensations I felt...they made me lose control for a bit.”
His brows narrowed and his hardened gaze glared at the ground. “When the attack first hit, I tried to keep myself away from him, but he kept coming toward me, trying to figure out what had happened even when I warned him to stay away. With him so close, I couldn’t focus on keeping in control. I loathe not being in control of my own body and urges. I fought it, but the magic was disturbingly strong and Chara just wouldn’t listen to me about keeping back. I almost...I almost lost to it.”
Jerking his head up, he looked to Oberon with a faintly distressed countenance, his brow furrowed. “I didn’t, though. I managed to restrain myself until the magic wore off. It just...scared me how close I came. Chara had actually been egging me on at first, doing things like pressing himself against me. But when he realized I wasn’t in my right mind, he asked me to stop because he didn’t want to do it when I wasn’t myself. And it was damn hard to stop then after all his teasing. But I did it.”
Ptolemy shook his head. “Then Chara began to cry. He told me he wanted me. I told him he didn’t know what he was talking about, especially if he was a virgin. I explained to him that intimacy and understanding were what he actually seemed to crave the most and that he probably only thought he wanted me because I must have been the only one to show him those things so far.” His eyes flickered to Oberon. “I don’t know if he had known you then. But whatever the case, I didn’t think he truly understood his own feelings about me. He reminded me too much of my little sister, always drowning in such passionate emotions that she didn’t know which to express or how many at a time or even what the difference between them was. Like with her, I didn’t trust Chara to know what he actually wanted and I told him so.
“He started to ask me if he meant nothing to me.” The black-haired senshi’s tone was grim. “If I hadn’t given him a passing thought. Why I hadn’t pushed him away. I told him I did care about him, but that we still didn’t know much about each other. Suggested we spend more time together. He told me his name then.” Chuckling lightly, he said, “Chara mentioned something about feeling like it was wrong to like me, since I was supposed to be the ‘bad guy’ and he was supposed to kill me. But then I suggested we try fighting some youma together and he was surprised us DMS even attack the things. We agreed to meet up more while patrolling and parted ways bidding each other good night after he pulled me down to kiss my forehead. Things had turned out better than I’d expected because after the way I’d behaved under the influence of that magic, I’d thought he wouldn’t have wanted to come within sight of me ever again.”
The teenager wet his lips to moisten them. “We met up some more times after that, attacking youma or doing more intimate things if he felt like it. Hugs, kisses, jerking each other off...being a physical person constantly craving touch, I never minded. But I went looking for him on Valentine’s Day because I wondered what the Senshi of Chocolates would have been doing on such a holiday. If he was alone, I thought I could make sure he had company; Valentine’s Day being harder for many people to spend by themselves than most other days. I brought him some chocolates to tease him about his sphere. Turned out he was alone.”
Studying his silver nails, he said, “I asked him about having anyone else to give him attention on Valentine's Day and he told me he did, but that he preferred mine. Said he knew nothing about love, but that I made him feel better and I told him I was glad. That had been my goal all along, after all. But then…” Ptolemaeus looked troubled. “...then he said that he didn’t think of anyone else and that he didn’t want to. And I started to get worried.
“I told him I thought he might only have felt that way because he felt he didn’t have anyone else there for him. Again, I didn’t know anything about you or at what point you came into his life, but that was the impression I got from him because he never mentioned anyone else. Chara said he might have only liked me for that reason at first, but not anymore. The mere suggestion had hurt him, though, and he closed himself off, telling me to leave him alone.
“Well, I wasn’t about to let him walk away like that with him feeling worse than he’d started out. I told him I knew how desperate loneliness made people and how brave he was for telling me how he felt. That I appreciated his courage and honesty, but I still didn’t think he knew enough about me to know for sure what to think of me. I told him I didn’t even think he knew enough about himself. He tried pushing me away, but I continued to hold him close and told him he wasn’t going anywhere until I was certain he understood.”
He closed his eyes and rested his head back against the trunk of the tree he leaned against. “We talked about a lot. About how stupid love was and painful and how it didn’t let you pick who you fell for. He said he didn’t think he’d ever get to know enough about me because we only met while we were powered up and knew nothing about each other as civilians. I got the sense he was trying to get me to join the White Moon Court, like him, so we could learn about each other and maybe get closer beyond just our powered forms. But he still didn’t understand why I was in the Dark Mirror Court and I got annoyed with his childish idea that his way of seeing things was the only right perspective.”
Opening his eyes, Ptolemaeus pushed off the tree and looked Oberon straight in the eye. He doubted the other sailor scout would like this part, but it had to be said. Maybe, with luck, the White Moon Senshi would understand. “He said he wanted to ‘forget how ******** up the world was’, so I picked him up and told him that if he wanted to forget, I knew where to take him.
“I assured Chara that if I took him to Mirrorspace to corrupt him, he wouldn’t have to be so miserable. He could forget all the bad things that had happened to him in the past and stop forcing himself to fight for people he called assholes. He kept struggling and telling me to put him down, but I wouldn’t.” His expression was dead serious. “I never really intended to corrupt him and I explained to him later that I couldn’t actually bring him through the mirror against his will, but I needed him to be afraid of me; to hate me. It would be easier for him to get over me then. He wouldn’t hate himself for having loved me because he would blame me. That was the best I could do because although I want him to be happy and I love him too, it wasn’t in the same way he felt for me.”
The teen went back to the tree and slid down the trunk to sit at its base, crossing his legs and resting his head in his palm. “Before, he had told me he didn’t want to be selfish. But he had said later that killing me would be a help to the world and that he wanted to help people. So when I handed him a glass shard and he refused to hurt me with it, I asked him, wasn’t he being selfish? I was trying to make the point that he still didn’t know what he truly wanted.
“We argued some more about how people got murdered in war, about how Chara thought the Negaverse killed civilians for fun, and how I told him he had no right to assume that because most were people just like him with families and lives and loved ones of their own. I asked him that if I corrupted him, not killed him, if he thought that was enough for me to deserve to die. He asked why I would want to corrupt him and I explained again how it might bring him happiness. Chara asked why I would care about his happiness and I admitted that I loved and cared about him, but like family; not romantically. I don’t think he took that well, but after that I left.
“The next time I found him, he was strangling a civilian to death. I stopped him, but after all he’d said before about how wrong it was to murder civilians, I knew something must have happened to him to cause such a drastic change.” Casting Oberon a sideways glance, he asked, “Do you know what it is?”
Guine
((So sorry for the length of that last post. XP Feel free to take your time in responding; no rush!))
