Setsuna breathed a sigh of relief as she returned from the Time Gates. She’d been reasonably sure that she’d still be able to use and protect the Gates after she’d bonded to her husband, but still, this was the kind of thing that she couldn’t afford to make any assumptions about. Luckily for her, her ability to view the Time Gates hadn’t been impaired by her connection to her chaotic husband at all—if anything, they were now a bit clearer, most likely due to her stabilizing influence on him. Nonetheless, she was glad that she wouldn’t have to choose between Ranma and her career; quite frankly, she didn’t even want to consider the possibility that she’d have to choose, because no matter which one she chose, she would probably hate herself for it.
But that was a moot point; right now, the Guardian had more important things to think about than unpleasant moral quandaries—like the wellbeing of her significant other, of example. She entered the living room to find her husband speaking with Michiru, who was apparently outlining the history of the Sailor Senshi for the martial artist.
“Hang on… I thought you guys liked Hotaru.”
“Well, we do… now. But at the time, we had difficulty seeing her as a person—we only saw her as the Senshi of Destruction. If it weren’t for Usagi—”
“If it weren’t for her, we would probably have doomed the planet several times over in our effort to rid the world of Saturn’s ‘menace,’” Setsuna jumped in.
Ranma craned his neck to view his wife. “Wait… Setsuna, why were you after her? Couldn’t ya use that Time thingamajig ta see that Hotaru was important?”
“I saw that Saturn’s reawakening would coincide with something that threatened the entire planet. It didn’t occur to me until much later that that threat might not actually have originated from Saturn herself.”
“But…”
“I may be intelligent, and I may have access to a lot of information, but that doesn’t mean that I’m immune to foolishness.”
“Oh.”
“I suppose some good did come from the whole mess—it taught me to see those who cause strange things to happen to the timeline as people, instead of anomalies, and if that hadn’t happened, I’d have probably tried to neutralize you instead of actually getting to know you.”
“Oh… yeah, I guess that’s good.”
At this, the violinist rose from her seat. “Well, it looks like this conversation is about to take a much more private turn, so I believe I’ll excuse myself.”
“No problem.”
“Night, Michiru.”
Once Michiru had left, the conversation did indeed turn to more personal matters. “So, Ranma, how are you doing? Think you’ll be all right?”
“Well, I’m okay, I guess. I mean, everything seems normal; at least, as “normal” as someone like me can be—except there’s something else there, ya know? It’s like, I can feel it, but I can tell it ain’t me. I’m guessin’ it’s that life bond thing?”
Setsuna paused for a second as she tried to think of the best way to answer this. “Sort of… though it’s actually more like a very beneficial side effect.”
“So, what, that thing I’m feelin’ is you?”
“In a sense. Ranma, what you’re feeling right now is a mild empathic link with me—and because of it, the two of us will always have a reasonably good idea how of how the other is feeling at any given time.”
“What? Ya mean it’s like mind readin’?” Ranma didn’t look too comfortable at this prospect.
“No, it’s not telepathy—if it was, I’d have made certain that you knew before you agreed to go through with the life bonding. Empathy allows for the exchange of emotions, rather than concrete ideas—though you can usually get a general idea of what another person is thinking based on their emotions. Of course, right now, our link is very weak, and thus won’t really register anything but the strongest emotions, but it can be built up through regular use, much like a muscle. I would have told you all of this earlier, but you sort of surprised me with your quick acceptance.”
“Oh, alright. Um, ya said that it’s a side effect?”
“Almost all metaphysical bonds between two people result in some form of a mental link. For example, Usagi and Mamoru both have a sort of ‘silent alarm’ that lets one know when the other is in danger, in addition to a more traditional empathic link which they haven’t taken the time to develop.”
“Uh huh… an’ what about Haruka and Michiru? Didn’t ya say they had one of those?”
“Haruka and Michiru are a special case, because they have what’s usually called a ‘soul bond,’ which was extremely rare even during the times when magic was in wide use among the population, simply because it develops without any human interference.”
“But didn’t ya say that Usagi and Mamoru were born linked, too?”
“They were, but that bond was formed by Usagi’s mother during the Silver Millennium, Serenity. When the pair were reincarnated, they didn’t form a new bond—instead, the old one survived through the millennia—which is itself pretty extraordinary. But I digress. Haruka and Michiru are mentally linked, but that link is so ingrained into their personalities that they don’t even notice its presence.”
“Huh? How could they not notice it if I can tell we got somethin’, an’ ours is s’posed ta be weak?”
“Well, in their case, their link allows them to subconsciously provide for each other’s psychological needs, rather than allowing for a conscious exchange of information.”
“Uh….”
Setsuna continued, having expected that her husband wouldn’t be able to grasp the concept in abstract terms. For example, Haruka rarely acts feminine because that’s the way Michiru acts. But the reason behind this explanation is not so that they can pass for a straight couple when necessary, nor because of the idea that ‘opposites attract.’ The real reason Haruka acts so masculine is because Michiru literally is her feminine side—in other words, because of their link, Haruka has almost no psychological need to express the feminine side of her personality, because Michiru expresses Haruka’s femininity for her. And yes, the reverse is true for the masculine side of Michiru’s personality. It does exist, and its name is Haruka Ten’oh.
“But as I said before, they are an extremely rare case—most bonds, like the one that now exists between you and I, aren’t capable of reaching that level of mental interconnectedness.”
“Oh.”
Their new link might not have been strong enough to pick up an emotion as subtle as “slightly worried bewilderment,” but Setsuna had enough experience talking to her husband to recognize it anyway. She sat down next to the eighteen-year-old and hugged him tenderly. “Don’t worry, dear. Believe me, this is a good thing—after all, the reason most relationships break down is because of a lack of communication, and this will certainly help prevent that. In fact, given that both of us have a tendency to try and hide our emotions to begin with, I can’t see how this will be anything but a help to us both. And considering that our relationship could theoretically last for eternity, I’d say we’ll need all the help we can get.”
“Yeah… I guess that makes sense.”
“Now, why don’t you come to bed—you’ve got to get up early for your father, after all, and that means less time for us to celebrate.”
“Celebrate?”
Setsuna gave her husband a blank stare.
“Oh, ya mean more sex. Sure thing.”
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(Posted Fri, 08 Sep 2006 02:41)
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