Taking Charge by Starsea

"You do not lead by hitting people over the head — that's assault, not leadership." – Dwight D. Eisenhower

“No, not like that, you do it this way!”

“Says who?”

“Says me!”

Nephrite thrust his head forward. “And who died and made you king?”

“Kunzite left me in charge —”

“Yeah, that’s turning out to be a real success!”

“SHUT UP!”

“MAKE ME!”

“FINE!”

Jadeite leapt on him and the usual scuffle began as they rolled around on the floor like little boys, punching and kicking, insulting each other’s genitals and mothers with complete abandon. Zoisite sighed and lowered his spear. Endymion sheathed his sword, boiling with frustration.

“They’re not usually this bad, are they?”

“No, because they know Kunzite will smack their heads together.”

Endymion stared at him. “Kunzite wouldn’t do that.”

“It’s a last resort, but I have seen him use it on a few occasions.” Zoisite glanced at his comrades, who were were still punching each other. “Mainly because the only way to separate them when they’re like this is by force.”

Endymion closed his eyes. “I can’t do this,” he said. “I just can’t…”

“Master.” Zoisite looked at him with sympathy but made no move to separate the other two guards. “You are our leader. You can’t rely on Kunzite all the time. That is partly why he went away. You need to be able to handle them.”

Endymion turned away. He felt the criticism, even though Zoisite had put it far more gently than any of the others would have. He often let Kunzite deal with problems among the tennou, even though they were technically all under his command, because he felt that Kunzite had a more commanding presence. He was also aware that he needed to overcome this. So he drew his sword out of its sheath once more, marched over to Nephrite and Jadeite and smacked both of them on the back with the flat of his sword. They both pulled away from each other, protesting angrily.

“ENOUGH!” Endymion yelled and heard his voice ring throughout the room. “I will not have my guards fighting like beggars in the streets! You’re an embarrassment, not just to me, but to yourselves!”

“Nephrite started it…” Jadeite muttered.

“NO,” Endymion snapped, making them both jump. “You’re the one Kunzite left in charge, Jadeite. You’re meant to remain above provocation. But since you can’t manage to do that, I’m taking over. Any objections?” He looked at all three of them. They said nothing. “Good. I don’t want to hear any more about it. We’re here to practise with our weapons, not roll around on the floor. The Jovian delegation will be here in two months. Do you want them to report back to the other planets that we really are no more than barbarians?”

Both Jadeite and Nephrite went red.

“I didn’t think so. Now, let’s start again… and be aware that I will smack your heads together if I have to.”

They both looked shocked but Zoisite turned away to hide a smile. There was no more fighting: a few verbal exchanges, but that was normal for Nephrite and Jadeite, and Endymion found that it was pretty easy to interrupt them if he used the right tone of voice. Nevertheless, he was very glad to see Kunzite when he returned from his diplomatic mission to Venus.

“Nothing happened?” Kunzite asked after the formal welcoming ceremony, when they were able to talk freely.

“Just promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“Don’t ever stay away that long again. I don’t think I could take it.”

Kunzite smiled, the first real smile Endymion had seen on his face since his return. “Why, did they give you trouble?”

“A little. I managed, I think I can handle them better now… but I’d still feel better with you backing me up.”

“You know you’ll always have my support.” There was something in Kunzite’s voice that made Endymion stop and put a hand on his arm.

“Kunzite, what is it? Did something happen on Venus?”

The older man closed his eyes briefly. “Nearly. But you don’t have to worry.”

“Kunzite…” Endymion felt something cold slither down his spine.

“I’m just tired. I need to rest.”

“Of course…” Endymion let go. “Take as long as you need. Will you… will you tell me?”

“Maybe. Later. At the moment, I’d just like to forget it and enjoy being back home.”

Endymion nodded. “Of course. Go and rest. I’ll see you later.”

Kunzite bowed and left. Endymion watched him walk down the corridor. There was something different, but he couldn’t tell what. He turned and walked the opposite way. The Venusians were notorious for their powers of persuasion, which meant that any diplomat sent there had to be strong-willed and objective. Kunzite fit this profile so perfectly that Endymion hadn’t even bothered to consider a second option when putting the diplomatic team together, but now he wondered if it had been such a wise decision. Although Kunzite had always been the mature one of the group, other people had pointed out that he was still only seventeen, very young to be sent to a planet like Venus. The problem was that there was nobody else who combined Kunzite’s characteristics with his amount of prestige. There were other important men and women who could have gone, but none of them were objective enough; there were people who were strong enough to resist but did not have the credentials to lead such an important mission. In the end, they had all agreed that Kunzite had to be the leader. Now all Endymion could do was hope that whatever invisible injuries Kunzite had sustained on Venus would heal with time.

He walked quicker. He needed to talk to the others.


DISCLAIMER: I do not own the wonderful Endymion or the incomparable shitennou. That privilege belongs to Naoko Takeuchi.