Look, more! Um...yeah. Again, a newly rewritten chapter. Nothing major has changed. My style's different since I started this, so it's gone through revisions, and this probably won't be the last one.

Disclaimer...D'oh: I still own nothing, save for a few plushies. Sue me, and I'll make you eat Dr Pepper s'mores!

*~*~*~*~*~*
Land of Confusion
by AngelAnne

Chapter Two: Moving Into The Street
*~*~*~*~*~*

'You are my rock, my shelter from the storm...You are my harbor, the place that keeps me warm...You are my rock, and you'll always be...The wandering angel that belongs to me...'

The soft notes echoed in her head. Oh, how sweet they had sounded the first time he'd played it for her...She could remember the day clearly. A cold, crisp day with no sun to be seen behind the expanse of gray clouds. She'd been sick for many days, and though the girls came in many times a day to cheer her up, she wasn't getting any better. That was when he decided to pull out what he termed, "the really big guns".

She'd been so glad to see him, wearing his trademark black coat and pants, short wine-colored hair fluffed messily about his head. In one tanned hand, he held his azeitona[1] (a bowed, strung instrument, made of rich ginyuu wood; his specialty) and in the other, a stack of sheet music. He had left both his shirt and his jacket unbuttoned partially down, and you could just see the royal crest of Cocoon imprinted on his collarbone.

"Hey, Anjo[2]," he whispered, running long fingers through her loose hair. "Feeling any better?"

"Not much..." she muttered. "So much for immunity to colds. Remind me to pay Hime back. We had a bet on it."

He raised an eyebrow. "I never thought Kakyuu-hime to be a betting woman..."

She laughed a little, and shrugged. "Neither did I."

She pointed to his azeitona. "Come to play a tune for me, have you?"

He smiled a quaint little smile. "I have indeed. What better way to make my anjo feel better than to sing her a song?"

In response, she let out a hacking round of coughing, and grimaced. "Some cough suppressant would be nice..."

He ruffled her long hair, undone from its usually ponytail. "You know I don't go for conventional methods."

She laughed again. He grinned; how he loved that sound. "I know that all too well, dear," she mused.

He unceremoniously plopped himself on his beloved's bed, making the ancient frame shudder and creak a little. He ran the slender bow over the strings of his prized instrument, tuning them ever so slowly. When the tone finally suited him, he began to play a soft, lilting melody.

"Mmm..." she breathed, inhaling his scent: olive blossoms and roses. "Lucas..."

"For my Taiki," he said softly, and then began to sing...

THUD!

"Ow! Seiya, not so hard! We're trying to peek in, not scare the crap out of her!"

"It's not my fault if I can't see this early..."

"Early?! It's almost noon!"

"...Just give me the blasted key, huh?"

Maker moaned, rolling over on her side. This proved to be a bad idea, as she rolled over plenty of freshly bandaged wounds.

"Ow...That'll teach me to stay out in the rain..." she muttered sourly, rolling over onto her back.

A pair of sparkling green eyes peered into the room, barely lit with the curtains closed. "Hey there. How's the wet kitten doing?"

"I could be better..." she said.

Healer moved into the room slowly, and opened one of the drawn curtains just a hair. "I'll bet."

Maker looked better than she had last night; few of the wounds were more than tiny surface ones. If she felt up to it, she'd be back on duty today.

"Hey, if you're up to it, I've got Mission Impossible for you..." said Healer, smiling.

"After looking for your missing earring, nothing is impossible," Maker joked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'll never forget the lovely string of obscenities I got," muttered Fighter, making her way into the room. "I honestly don't know how it got stuck in my mattress!"

"Seiya wants you to go with her to talk to Rhys," Healer stated, changing the subject. "I can't do it; I'm supposed to be on duty, but Kakyuu's in the shower. I think it's a good idea. With her inherent sense of 'direction', she's bound to get lost."

Fighter fell over. "Oh, gee, thanks. And here I thought you were going to say something pleasant about me."

Healer raised an eyebrow. "You know I can't do that."

"Of course. What was I thinking?" she groused.

"Well? Are you going or not?" Healer cocked her head. "Time waits for no one."

Maker sighed. "I'll go, but only because I'm afraid she'll get lost."

Fighter groaned. "Nice to know you have confidence in me. Just because I got myself locked in the tool shed one time doesn't mean I'm totally beyond help!"

Maker coughed. "No, I'm pretty sure it does."

Maker grinned as a pillow went flying at her head and she ducked.

"Now, if you'll kindly remove yourselves, I'd like to get cleaned up. I'd hate to make my first appearence to him in two years looking like I'm half dead. And I don't appreaciate being stared at."

"Okay, we get the hint," said Healer, dragging Fighter out of the room by her shoulder. "She'll be waiting outside. I have to go see if Kakyuu needs any help."

"She's taking a shower. How much help could she need?"

"I refuse to dignify that statment with a remark," said Healer. With that, she disappeared behind the wooden door, taking her raven-haired companion with her.

"What a way to start the day," she said, shifting in her soft violet shirt and excersize pants. "Maker Star Power, Make Up!"

~~~~~
[1]Portugese for "olive". I love lame in-jokes like that. And for you non-observant types, it's the Kinmokusei equivalent of a violin. Duh.

[2]Portugese for "angel". I had fun with my online foreign dictionaries!


~~~~~


Fighter anxiously twisted a free piece of hair around a gloved finger. "I don't know if I can do this...Taiki..."

Maker sighed. "For the last time: We. Are. Not. Going. Back. This means way too much to you, whether you like it or not."

Fighter's boots crunched into the slush on the street. She was incredibly nervous. She'd been completely in love with Rhys for years. Why was it different now? She checked the piece of paper again. Yes, they were at the right house. He was outside, tending to some of the plants that had gotten bent and broken in the storm.

"You know what? I wish I could be more like you," Fighter mused absently, watched her blue-haird beloved tend to his trees.

"Come again?" Maker wasn't sure she'd heard right. Wanted to be more like her?

"You're so strong. You don't need any of this love crap; you can fend for yourself. I wish I was a little more self-sufficient."

Maker balled her hand into a fist, to contain the sudden rush of emotion. She wasn't sure whether to slap Fighter or kill herself. Both were cowardly acts, but they would have given her selfish satisfaction.

"You don't want to be like me," she said evenly, which was becoming increasingly difficult. "You know why? No one should feel like I do. With no purpose except to live and die, day by day. I love you and Healer and Kakyuu. But these days...These days I just go through the motions."

She pushed Fighter into the cover of a few trees, indicating with her hand that she should stay there. "Just watch for a second."

Rhys adjusted his vest; it certainly was cold. It wasn't down to freezing, but the weather had been so absurd lately, he didn't know what to expect. Backing up to the walking path, he took appraisal of his garden. One of the things he had been good at was tending flowers, especially the exotic ones he'd brought back from Mermaid. He was about to take another step back when he felt another warm body plow into his, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Ah, I'm sorry," he said, getting to his feet. "I didn't mean--"

He came face to face with a pair of sizzling violet eyes and a twitching mouth.

"Taiki-chan," he whispered. "Taiki-chan..." On a reflex, he grabbed the auburn-haired soldier and wrapped her into a hug.

"Excuse me, but what in the name of everything good and holy do you think you're doing?!" said Maker impatiently, removing herself forcefully from the embrace. "I don't know where you get off, kid, but we must get two things straight. One: Don't hug people you don't know. It's weird. Two: Don't give pet names to Kakyuu-sama's personal guards. Experts like to call that 'stalker-mentality'."

Rhys' deep green eyes widened in shock. "You've gotta be kidding me. 'People I don't know'? I've known you for four years, and I think I know you about as well as anyone!"

Maker glared at him. "So you know me. Newsflash, sweetcheeks, so does everyone else on this planet. I don't know you. In fact, I probably don't know a lot of our people. I'd like to get your name, though. Her Highness will be most interested that you seem to think you know so much."

Rhys took a daring step forward. "You wouldn't, Taiki-chan. Stop denying the fact that you know me. What's happened to you, with all of this indifference and bitterness?"

Maker took a step forward, coming an inch from the man's nose. "I can, and I will. Your name please."

"Taiki-chan."

"Your name. Now."

"I don't believe you."

"I'm getting rather tired of this. You. Name. Now."

"Prince Crhystoph of Castle Manatee on the planet Mermaid."

Maker grunted, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, and I'm Sailor Galaxia. Look, since your being so dashedly stubborn, I'll let this slide. However, if you ever bother me again, I'll turn you over to proper authorities for failure to demonstrate proper respect to an official. Now, I suggest you start showing me some respect, sooner than later."

Rhys stared her down, trying not to let salty tears fill his eyes. What had happend to the Taiki he loved? Had the war changed her so much? Or perhaps...perhaps she had amnesia? He began to speak quiveringly. "I...I apologize, Maker-sama. Forgive me."

He got on one knee and bowed his head; a gesture of respect recognized everywhere.

Maker stared at him for a moment. A tiny smile crept up the sides of her mouth as she got down on her knees.

"After all of these years, you still smell like seaweed and salt water," she said softly, kissing his forehead. "Don't ever change, waterbaby."

He looked up at her, totally and utterly confused.

Maker smiled wryly. She turned on her heels, and walked back to the place of hidden among the trees.

"That's why you never want to be like me," she said to Fighter, their eyes locking. She shrugged. "I'm done messing with his head. Go get all lovey."

Fighter didn't say anything. She couldn't say anything. She just shook her head, and walked slowly out from the shadows.

Rhys got to his feet, brushing slush off of his pants and shoes. Fighter looked into his bottle-green eyes. She felt herself swimming around in them, and she'd fogotten how lost she could get in them. Full of compassion and grace, he still looked the same. His face was still long and narrow, and strands of soft blue hair draped over it. They stood for a moment silently, taking it all in. It was a big moment, and there was no need to rush into anything.

Fighter could take it no longer. She ran forward, and with a little leap she threw her arms around his neck.

"Rhys...I've missed you, Rhys!" Her voice came out somewhere between a joyful squeal and a sob.

"Seiya!" he exclaimed, swinging her around. "Oh God, Seiya, I finally have you back!" They just stood there, arms around each other, ankle-deep in the frozen slush. Maker, long since forgotten in the shadows, watched with a sad smile on her lips.

"'Abscence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.'"[3] As a single silver tear slide out of her eye, she crossed her arms and watched silently.

~~~~~~~~~

[3]Quote from Comte DeBussy-Rabutin

Ummm...Stuff. Yeah. ^_^ I love Rhys. Rhys kicks so much fan-created bishounen arse. He really, really does.