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Takashi stepped off the councilor transport and looked around for probably about the fifth time at Sullust. He looked around for a sign of welcome and found it in a redheaded woman, surrounded by palace guards, holding out her arms to welcome him.
He ran into Shina's arms holding her close, remembering the times they had shared together in the secluded garden at his palace in the mining city of Piringiisi. Her gentle smell of perfume mixed with something else filled his nose, reinforcing his love for her.
Shina pulled away, looking at him. "You're worried," she said, holding him out, probing deep into his mind with her Force powers.
Takashi blocked all thoughts from reaching her mind and gave her a peck on the cheek. "It's nothing," he said, wrapping his arm around her waist as they walked towards the transport that would take them to the palace.
During the short trip, Takashi wrung his hands as he stared out the window. What would Shina say about his decision? He was even more worried about her father, Itchiyo. He was a demon compared to the angel he was married to, Celima.
When they reached the palace gates, the guards let them through, and the two stepped off hand-in-hand. The king and queen sat on their thrones, their reactions masked. The two obviously had had Force training.
Takashi bowed low. "Your Majesties."
Celima nodded her head slightly and Takashi stood up. Clearing his throat, he walked over to the king. Itchiyo stared at him blankly. Obviously, he had no idea what was coming.
"Your Majesty," Takashi said, kneeling once more and reaching out to take Shina's hand, "I ask permission for your daughter Shina's hand in marriage."
The look on Shina's face was even more shocked than the way that Takashi felt inside. What would the king say? And even worse was the fact of the end result. What if he refused?
The king's eyes twitched. He looked to the queen for help, and there seemed to be a conversation, but Takashi dared not interfere. Being nosy could get him kicked out.
Itchiyo finally turned to them, and Shina squeezed Takashi's hand encouragingly.
"So," the king said, "how long is she going to be away from me?"
Takashi's heart leapt at his words and he stood up, grabbing Shina and giving her a long and passionate kiss. I love you, he sent.
Oh, I love you, dear, came the reply. They broke apart and ran to the garden where they had met so long ago, and the many times after that...
Little Shina sat in the garden all alone, wondering where everyone had gone. Her nurse, Tio, was supposed to play with her, but she was off flirting with the guardsman and had completely forgotten about Shina.
Stifling a sniffle, little Shina's head darted up as a small boy walked through the small gate.
"Who are you?" Shina asked, her chubby hands resting on her scabbed knees.
"I'm Takashi Hikaru, Prince of Piringiisi," the white-haired boy said, his blue eyes sincere. He offered a slim hand to the little girl. "Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"
"I am Shina Azuri, Princess of Sullust," Shina said proudly, brushing a strand of red hair out of her eyes...
In the garden, Shina waited for Takashi. The last time he had snuck out to meet her, she had got them both in trouble. She didn't want that to happen again.
"Shina!" The princess jumped at the whisper, but stood up as Takashi walked through the gate, which he now towered over by some feet.
Shina moved as though to shake his hand, but Takashi ran to her and met her lips with his, his hands snaking behind her back.
She pulled away. "Takashi, I have to tell you something important."
"I'm sure it's not as important as what I have to tell you," Takashi said, his movements awkward since they were only thirteen.
"I love you, Shina Azuri, and one day, I'll marry you," he said.
"I love you too!" Shina said, grasping his hand in hers...
Those moments seemed so long ago now as they sat together, talking and spending time thinking about those days. They talked for hours, until the sun went down behind the gas clouds over Sullust, and Tio, now an elderly woman, called them in to eat dinner.
Over dinner, Celima and Shina discussed wedding plans while the king and Takashi swapped jokes and told stories.
"Here's a joke that my father shared with me, before he died," Takashi said, his eyes clouded at the memory of his father. "If one man calls you a Hutt, ignore him. If a second man calls you a Hutt, begin to wonder. If a third man calls you a Hutt, buy a drool bucket and start stockpiling spice."
Itchiyo roared at this joke and almost choked on the mynock he was eating. The servants were able to help him, and afterwards no one told any more jokes.
After dinner, Takashi and Shina bade farewell as he began to board the transport back to Piringiisi. They shared a kiss, and something inside Takashi knew he wanted to stay, but as king of the capital, he needed to fulfill his duties.
"Goodbye!" Shina called, going back inside and waiting for the day when she would see him again.
Takashi wasn't able to come the next day because of diplomatic business over at the SoroSuub mining facilities where some miners had started a revolt. Angry at how his business had kept him away from his love, Takashi left the decisions to his advisor and took the day off to relax for his next trip to see Shina.
The next morning, he knew something had gone dreadfully wrong. He felt no presence from Shina when he reached out to her, and her parents' presences were absent also.
"What has happened to Shina?" he asked, bursting into his advisor's quarters, still in his pajamas.
"I regret, sire, that the princess, and her family, are dead. Killed by Darth Vader, the evil Sith, who plans to come here and take over Piringiisi and SoroSuub. Everyone is already evacuating, and what pilots we have, we are sending to fight the Star Destroyers. You must go..."
Takashi heard nothing after that, for he had run into his room and sobbed in anguish. He pounded the pillow, his tears soaking it in seconds, and cried. For Shina. For the love that he had never gotten a chance to marry. For her parents. For Sullust.
He ran to his drawer, his mind gone, and pulled out a blaster. One shot, and he would be free to join Shina. Just one shot... he pulled the trigger...
"Where am I?" he asked. His mind was cloudy, and he had no memory. He was surrounded by men, each of them wearing a different outfit, and women, each of them wearing the same kind of dress. Then he saw her. Shina. The one thing that he remembered.
He ran to her, embracing her, smelling her scent, loving every inch of her. Shina was his again.
"Gods, I love you," he said, never wanting to let go. "Where am I?" he asked again.
"You're in the Room Behind the Waterfall, with the Sailor Senshi and the Sailor Knights," Shina said. "We are fighters against evil and doers of justice. You have been reborn to help us." She looked more mature now, to Takashi. She wasn't the girl he had fallen in love with. She was a woman, and now, he was a man.
A blue-haired man walked up to Takashi. "Kyoshi, Hothian Knight here," he said, offering a hand to him. Takashi shook it, and each of the other senshi in turn. He felt closer to Kyoshi, however. Something about him. He knew they would be friends.
"You are the Sullustan Knight," Shina said. "If you say 'Sullust Transform', you will turn into him, and I will turn into Sailor Sullust, your future wife."
Takashi said the words, and as he transformed, he felt like he was the happiest man in the world. "Shina," he said. "I wanted to give you this, but I wasn't sure if you were going to marry me at first." He handed her a small silver locket, mined in Piringiisi.
She opened it. Inside was a picture of the two of them, and on the other side there were two words engraved.
Forever Yours.
