Coruscant Rain: Don't Stand So Close

Rain is one thing. Evil rain caused by Sithspawns is another.

"Solar Beam!"

Kashyyyk's attack sizzled the rain around me. "Careful," I ground out.

"Sorry!" the blonde apologized, blushing.

I grumbled quietly and glared at the monster. "You're perverted one of Coruscant's great pleasures... don't except us to just let you go."

"That's right!" Sailor Naboo agreed. "We are the Sailor Jedi, and we will punish you!"

Lightning clawed at the sky as if trying to rip it open. I held up my arm to protect my eyes from the unnatural light. "Asteroid Shower Power!"

Fist-sized asteroids pelted the Sith's creation, courtesy of my attack. The being came out mostly unscathed. I narrowed my eyes and scanned the area for any small help to us. A bump in the terrain revealed itself. I shouted at the other senshi through the pelting rain to be ready. With a well-aimed kick, I forced the evil thing backwards. It tripped, giving Sailor Alderaan enough time to attack. "Magic Staff Stun!" she cried.

Easy as ryshcate.

I held one of my blasters on the evil and prepared to shoot it.

"Don't! Don't kill it!"

I looked up at Sailor Hoth, honestly confused. "Why not?"

"Asteroid! How can you be so mean?" Kashyyyk asked.

Now I was really confused. Now that the being was unconscious the rain was beginning to clear. "I'm not sure I'm tracking," I confessed.

"You would just kill her?" Sailor Naboo asked.

That was something I could answer easily. "Yes."

She shook her head. "You're so like Hakura!"

I didn't know if this was a compliment or not, so I just frowned. "Then what should we do with her?" I had turned away from the evil thing behind me, counting on Tatooine and Alderaan to watch it. That was a mistake.

The two of them started squabbling over something minor... which gave the evil being they were supposed to be watching an opportunity to launch itself at Sailor Naboo.

Instincts took over. I'm not saying that it was wrong of me, but it was very instinctive. I fired at the creature, creating a gaping hole where its torso had been. The creature screamed and faded away. As it disappeared, we could hear menacing laughter. I assumed it was from the Sailor Sith who'd sent the being in the first place.

I cursed under my breath as I turned back to the other Sailor Jedi. They were all looking at me, shocked. Well, Numako wasn't. But then, she knew my type from her years as a barmaid.

"Asteroid... why..."

I didn't answer.

My assertion of innocence, and the realization that I wasn't, was all too fresh in my mind. I'm sure that Yuki - innocence incarnate - had seen this written across my face like the half-healed scars on my hands.

Despite its power, there wasn't enough rain to wash that away. There isn't enough rain anywhere.

So why did I find myself seeking solace in the punishing cold waters from the skies? Maybe because it was a punishing cold. Maybe I was trying to use this greatest pleasure as a weapon against myself.

Raindrops flowed like tears into my braided hair and down my back. A shiver ran down my body... something about this rain was cruel, biting into me as if it was trying to hurt me as much as I wanted to hurt myself. Maybe I screamed.

Lesson of the night: just because you think you've beaten the Sailor Sith, don't let your guard down. Something I should have paid a little more attention to. Of course, sometimes I don't think clearly. Sometimes I get carried away. And sometimes, I get taken away.

Kreffin' rain. Let me break it down for you. Evil Sailor Sith creates a being who has attacks involving rain and the formation there of. I blow a hole the size of Beggar's Canyon in the creation. It disappears. With me so far? Now, apparently this creation wasn't dead. Or maybe the Sailor Sith brought it back. I don't know. What I do know is that the rain that was falling around me had been like acid on my skin. I said "had been" because... this sounds silly, even to me. Especially to me. I'm not used to being the Damsel In Distress. Usually, I'm the one putting the damsel in distress.

I said "had been" because the rain wasn't falling on me anymore. Yes - it was the caped man from the earlier night. "Let me go," I snapped. Not because I wanted to be mean to him... but because I felt like I was sunburned all over. Besides, I was getting a little annoyed at his whole "protective" attitude. I don't need protecting. There isn't anything about me worth protecting anymore.

He didn't say anything. I tried to push myself away from him. Of course, this necessitated the cloth from his cape rubbing my skin. My eyes widened, and a hissing breath escaped from my mouth. Ouch! This was worse than sunburn. This was like having the top layer of skin burned off. And that's not pleasant, let me assure you. How do I know that? Well... let's just say I don't usually have any fingerprints and leave it at that.

Lesson number two for the night: When you're in a fairly safe and protected place, don't leave. You might find yourself worse off. This is especially true if there's acidic rain outside.

Early morning broke over Coruscant's skyline. I saw it from the viewpoint of my ship. I didn't know how, exactly, I'd gotten there. When I looked over to the seat nearest me on the bridge, I made a wonderfully astute observation of what should have been painfully obvious from the start. The man sleeping in the chair next to me must have brought me back.

With that realization out of the way, I could fully wake up and move on to pondering the great mysteries of the universe. Like who this man was. That, of course, came second to realizing there was a deep aroma something like strong caf penetrating the entire ship. It reminded me of the time that Coru and I had spent an entire night telling wild stories and comparing scars... Coru wasn't staying with us. The other girls were staying at the Jedi Temple, a place Coru had good reason to avoid. While I missed my best friend, I had other things occupying my mind.

I still wasn't thinking clearly when I turned my head to look at the man sleeping in the other chair. "Serruna nessa trer oohcha?" I asked quietly. Why do you only come to me at night? I have a slight romantic streak... a very slight one.

"What?"

Oops, he was awake. I narrowed her eyes at him. I'd seen him before, I realized. It was a while ago, when we first came to Coruscant before heading off to Alderaan. He'd been wearing a shirt that said something about "Led Zeppelin" and that had looked like a shirt from the band Heavy Balloon, one that I liked. A Jedi master had taken him away after that brief glimpse. He'd been the one who'd saved me from my cousin. I'm not one to forget faces... or crystal blue eyes.

Sithspit, that streak I mentioned earlier is growing.

All right, if this was the same person, then he had a little convincing and a lot of explaining to do.

"Who are you?" I questioned. I wanted to make my voice harsh like the winds that blew over the ice deserts of Hoth... but I failed. Looking into those eyes made me feel different inside. I both hated and craved the feeling. It felt like... the rain...

I shook my head. Crazy. This man was no one I needed to concern myself with deeply.

He didn't answer. But then, I guess I didn't expect him to. Instead, he reached out and touched my shoulder. Let me set one thing straight. I do not like being touched in any way. It's not something I'm used to. When your family abandons you and you're raised by people who hate you, being touched becomes a negative thing. It'll take a miracle for me to get over that, I'm sure. If I ever do.

I winced away from him. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Don't touch me," I warned him. There was a question in his eyes. I shook my head. "Just don't."

He voiced the question that had been haunting his blue eyes. "Why not? Who hurt you?"

"Who didn't?" I retorted sharply. I must have looked pretty bad off, because he reached out to touch my shoulder again. I guess he was trying to be comforting... but I don't like my space being invaded. I grabbed his hand before it could complete its journey. He stood up from the chair, and by necessity, I stood up too. We were closer than I liked, so I let his wrist go. That was when I glanced out the viewpoint and noticed Mori and Yuki with their faces plastered to the glass. I looked surprised and turned on the man...

He was gone. And with him, whatever shreds of reputation I had with the senshi.

Wait, why did I care what they thought?? I collapsed back into the chair and closed my eyes, massaging my temples. I had to watch out for these Earthborns, that was a given. And to do that... I wanted them to respect me. And to be respected, I needed to be respectable. I groaned out loud. Then I commanded the Black Fire Dreamer to lock herself up while I figured a few things out.

I had to start back at the beginning. There was proverb from a happier planet that said your family is all that you know of Heaven. That was a good place to start. My family was all that I needed of Hell. In the viewpoint, I could see my eyes hardening. There. That was the outlook I needed. No one should be able to get close to me.

With that out of the way, I considered the past couple of days. It took me a few minutes to connect the statement I'd just made with the man. That was what disturbed me. I'd let him touch me, and I hadn't minded.

Well, no more of that. I swore that to my reflection in the viewpoint. I didn't want to be that close to anyone or anything. Ever. It would only get me hurt in ways that I probably couldn't even fathom... and nothing short of several blows to the head was going to change my mind.

White knights and shinning armor hold no fascination for me. If you sweep me off my feet, more likely than not I'll stick a vibroblade between your ribs. That's just the way I am. I prefer hurting people to letting them get close to me. I prefer the cold of space to a lover's embrace.

And I prefer the rain.