His lordship Chaos presents:  R.v.W.
Rated PG



"The bishounen are coming to save the world!"

	--found on a bulletin board at Anime North 2005






				Red Vs. White

 (or "What's A Cute Guy Like You Doing In A Future Like This?")



All was not right with the world. Crystal Tokyo was under siege. 
Its newest protectors found themselves at the front line: silent 
and waiting for the storm to begin. Helios stood inside one of 
Amanogawa Academy's third floor classrooms, staring down at the 
gathering mob below.  His expression was grim.

He glanced over at a fellow classmate. "How many of them are out 
there?"

"It's hard to tell," JunJun said, her eyes narrowing. "Maybe close 
to forty, I think."

"They're up from last year," VesVes remarked. She grinned and 
slapped Helios on the back. "And to think, they're all here for 
you."

"I wonder how they'd react if they could see him with his horn," 
PallaPalla said.

Helios frowned as he stared down through the window. The horde of 
schoolgirls clustered around the front gates of the academy seemed 
to grow right before their eyes. They'd come from all over the 
city; he could discern at least six or seven  different uniforms. 
And after waiting for an hour already, they were restless. He could 
see them jostle each other in an attempt to be the first to reach 
him. Any moment it looked as if they might riot and stampede over 
the nervous Truant Officer--the only thing currently keeping them 
from entering the grounds.

Helios hadn't expected any of this attention. In fact, he was 
downright unnerved by it. What had begun as an unexpected 
opportunity to spend time alongside his maiden had turned into a 
series of ordeals beyond any of his expectations. It was like some 
sort of deranged gauntlet. The Asteroid Senshi simply called it, 
"high school."

He had been just as surprised as anyone else to discover that 
Elysian had merged with the Earth. Ami had theories, most of them 
involving the fact that, during the last crisis, Mamoru had used 
the Golden Crystal in conjunction with Eternal Sailor Moon's 
Ginzuisho to save Tokyo. Something might have gotten mixed up or 
confused along the way. Some innate power might have been 
unexpected triggered. In any case, one day Helios had gone for a 
walk in the gardens of Elysian and then suddenly found himself 
standing on the streets of Tokyo.

Amidst all the confusion, in the middle of all the surprises, a 
single thought drove him forward on that day, drove him right up 
the steps of the Crystal Palace and into the throne room. A name. A 
face. A hope that she hadn't forgotten him.

She hadn't.

One moment, he'd seen Chibiusa standing there, looking just as 
surprised as the other Senshi surrounding her. The next, she'd 
flung herself down the stairs of the dais and thrown her arms 
around him. He'd wanted to say how much he'd missed her. How much 
he loved her and prayed for her safety. How he wasn't sure if this 
was only a dream.

He never did get to say any of that.

She'd kissed him the second her arms had wrapped around his 
shoulders. In all his life, Helios could only remember crying three 
times. That moment marked the third. Warm tears had spilled down 
his cheeks and fallen onto his maiden's face. He'd held her tightly 
in his arms, not wishing to let her go, taking in her beautiful 
scent and ultimately wondering just where she'd learned to use her 
tongue like that.

To help him adjust to his new life, the King and Queen had him 
enrolled in one of city's most prestigious schools. The very one 
Chibiusa and the four recently-awakened Asteroid Senshi attended. 
Like before, no one knew of their powers or identities. That secret 
was as fiercely guarded as the truth of Chibiusa being the heir to 
the throne. Everyone was oblivious. Everyone let them go about 
their lives.

And now, two years later, he was a protector of Earth--of Elysian--
of his home and the ones he loved. He had become the Tuxedo Kamen 
of this generation's Sailor Senshi. Only he didn't wear a tuxedo. 
Or a mask. Or make really bad speeches. He'd helped them fight 
youma invasions. He'd helped save the world repeatedly. All these 
dangers and more he'd faced in the past few years. But this...this 
terrified him more than words could describe.

The mob of schoolgirls were now chanting his name. Helios nervously 
scratched the back of his neck and looked to his friends for 
support. Unfortunately, this being the Asteroid Senshi, there was 
very little sympathy to be found.

"Wow!" PallaPalla said, her forehead pressed against the 
windowpane. "Look at them go! I wonder what will happen if we make 
them wait another ten minutes."

VesVes turned to JunJun. "You know, I bet if we could get him to 
headline a band, we'd make a fortune as his managers."

"Won't there be issues with him having to cut his concerts short so 
he can save the world?" JunJun countered. "His bandmates would get 
suspicious really fast."

VesVes scoffed at the concern and said airily, "Maybe we could 
become his band. You know, Sailor Senshi and singers all rolled 
into one."

"I can play the electric guitar!" PallaPalla spoke up, her forehead 
still against the window.

"It's been done before," JunJun said, skeptical, and crossed her 
arms over her chest. "Remember the Three Lights?"

"I hear the Queen still listens to their discs from time to time," 
VesVes said.

At this point, Helios felt compelled to cut in and say in a 
deliberately loud voice, "If you ladies are done deciding my future 
vocation..."

Everyone's heads and attentions turned to the crowd below. The mob 
was spilling out onto the road and VesVes turned to JunJun. "You 
know, I bet if we could get him to headline a band, we'd make a 
fortune as his managers."

"Won't there be issues with him having to cut his concerts short so 
he can save the world?" JunJun countered. "His bandmates would get 
suspicious really fast."

VesVes scoffed at the concern and said airily, "Maybe we could 
become his band. You know, Sailor Senshi and singers all rolled 
into one."

"I can play the electric guitar!" PallaPalla spoke up, her forehead 
still against the window.

"It's been done before," JunJun said, skeptical, and crossed her 
arms over her chest. "Remember the Three Lights?"

"I hear the Queen still listens to their discs from time to time," 
VesVes said.

At this point, Helios felt compelled to cut in and say in a 
deliberately loud voice, "If you ladies are done deciding my future 
vocation..."

Everyone's heads and attentions turned to the crowd below. The mob 
was spilling out onto the road and forming a line down the street. 
At least two or three signs proclaiming an eternal love for Helios 
were being touted. One even had in big, bold English letters: 
"HELIOS!!!" 

PallaPalla idly entertained the notion of changing the sign to read 
"OH LIES!!!"

"We'll have to take our chances and sneak out soon," JunJun said, 
glancing up at the clock. "Classes ended an hour ago, and most of 
the clubs are finishing up."

VesVes nodded her head. "They'll be locking us in for the night at 
this rate."

Helios didn't want to openly admit how tempting the thought was.

"You're just lucky they can't get past the front gates unless 
they're wearing our uniform," JunJun told him.

Helios frowned again. "That didn't stop three of them last year."

"But you have to commend their sewing skills," said VesVes. "Even 
the teachers couldn't tell the difference until those girls got 
caught trying to trap you in the phys-ed storage shed."

"Don't remind me," Helios groaned.

"You really have only yourself to blame," PallaPalla told him.

"How was I supposed to know I'd get a rabid fanclub the second I 
transferred here?" Helios retorted.

JunJun sighed and patted Helios a few times on the cheek. "You poor 
boy. You really don't know how cute you are, do you?"

Helios was not impressed. "You'd better not be hitting on me, or 
Chibiusa will have your head."

JunJun sauntered over to the nearest desktop and made herself 
comortable on it. "Perish the thought," she replied with a smug 
grin. "Besides, I prefer brunettes."

They turned their heads as the classroom door slid open. Chibiusa 
and CereCere stepped inside, their schoolbags in their hands. 
Helios felt his heart beat a little faster when he saw Chibiusa; 
her hair had grown so much longer since the Dead Moon Circus, and 
she'd gotten so much taller. And he really liked how she looked in 
the academy's uniform.

Helios smiled warmly at his maiden and took a step towards her. 
Before he could say anything, CereCere told him, "They're going to 
eat each other alive out there unless you put in an appearance. In 
fact, I think the Principal herself is going to show up and beg you 
to go outside if you hole up in here for another five minutes."

PallaPalla made a face. "Phooey. I wanted to see what they'd do 
after ten."

Helios' smile crashed and died a horrible death. He grumbled and 
pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not you too," he sighed.

Chibiusa wrapped her arms around his and leaned her head against 
his shoulder. "You should be flattered," she told him. "They all 
came here for you. Not because you're a prince, but because they 
like you just the way you are."

"Technically, I'm just a guardian," Helios told her. "Elysian has 
no royalty to speak of."

"You know what I mean," Chibiusa said. She shook her head at him, 
but she was smiling. "They like you. And I know where your loyalty 
ultimately lies, so don't worry about me getting jealous. Besides, 
if they get too frisky with you, I'll rip them limb from limb."

CereCere glanced over at the others. "I didn't know dismemberment 
was allowed on our list of ways to punish evildoers."

JunJun shrugged. "Missed the memo, I guess."

Chibiusa reached into her schoolbag and brought out a small, 
wrapped box. "Here," she said, placing the gift in Helios' hand. "I 
wanted to give this to you before things got a little crazy. Happy 
Valentine's Day, Helios."

"I wonder if it's negligee," PallaPalla said.

"I call bets on it being a maid's outfit," VesVes added.

Chibiusa's eyes went wide, her face turning a deep shade of red. 
Helios found himself torn between laughing at Chibiusa's reaction, 
or flinging PallaPalla and VesVes out the window. "Let's wait until 
we're alone to open this, shall we?" he said, gently setting it 
back into Chibiusa's palm. As he let her fingers curl back around 
the box, he whispered into her ear, "Thank you, my maiden."

Chibiusa's cheeks were still a vibrant pink. It made Helios smile. 
He loved how she looked whenever she blushed. He loved how she 
looked whenever she was curled up and sleeping; it reminded him so 
much of when he used to watch over her as the Pegasus. Helios 
closed his eyes and breathed in his maiden's scent of jasmine and  
roses. He could feel her breath against his skin. Her lips were so 
close.

And then JunJun said in a not too subtle voice, "If they start 
making kissy faces at each other, I swear on Serenity, I'm going to 
throw up all over them."

Grudgingly, Helios pulled away. Chibiusa looked as disappointed as 
he did. She glanced down at the present in her hand. "Aren't you 
even curious about what it is?" she asked.

"You mean it's not a maid's outfit?" he answered, feigning 
surprise.

That earned him a punch in the shoulder.

JunJun rolled her eyes at them. "Kids," she sighed.

"Hey," Helios told her. "I've got a few hundred years on all of you 
here."

CereCeres smugly responded with, "Is that any way to address an 
upperclassman?"

Helios sighed and shook his head. At least the teasing about that 
had dissipated in the last few months. While he never openly showed 
it, he hated the fact that when he "enrolled" at the academy, he 
was a year behind Chibiusa and the Asteriod Senshi. Even now, he 
was in his junior year, and they were in their senior year. The 
Asteroids especially enjoyed addressing him as "underclassman" 
whenever they got the chance.

The chanting outside had not yet abated. If anything the cries of, 
"Helios! Helios!" were growing louder and frenzied.

Helios felt his stomach tighten all over again as he walked back to 
the window. "What should I do about them?"

Chibiusa grinned and patted him on the back. "You should go out 
there and greet your adoring public."

Helios stared at her in disbelief. "You want me to do what?" he 
exclaimed. "Chibiusa-chan, you're my girlfriend!"

"They don't know that," JunJun said.

"Yeah," CereCere agreed. "The King and Queen asked you to keep your 
relationship secret. Or do we have to remind you about last year?"

One of Helios' hands clenched into a fist. "I'm not going to flirt 
with them!" he stated.

"I know," Chibiusa said, and pointed down through the window at the 
crowd. "But they have chocolate. Lots and lots of it. You will 
share that with me, won't you?"

"With us!" chimed in the Asteroid Senshi.

Helios glared at Chibusa. With a sincere, expectant smile on her 
face, she said, "I love you." 

"She loves you!" chorused the Asteroid Senshi, sincere smiles on 
their faces.

Helios stared at each of them, then looked down at the horde of 
adoring girls, and finally resigned himself to his fate. "You are 
so paying for this on White Day," he stated.





**
**

This one's all for Yumeko.  Without her fanfic challenge, poor 
Helios would have had a rather quiet and boring Valentine's day. 
And where's the fun in that? 

Sailormoon and all related characters and situations belong to 
Naoko Takeuchi. Without her wonderful universe, this story would 
have had no voice. That said, Takeuchi-sama, I'd be very 
appreciative if you did not hunt me down and inflict grievous 
physical injuries for this fic. (Please?)

Email Chaos at: hislordshipchaos@hotmail.com