Chapter 1: The Dream
Rei Hino woke up and started her day as she did every morning. She got out of bed, and went out to the garden of her late-grandfather's temple. Meditation: something to cleanse her mind in preparation for the coming day. As she sat down on a cool stone, she fell into a vivid vision.
She walked down a quiet garden path flanked with rows of brilliant poppies until she reached two young looking girls, Phobos and Deimos. They happily greeted her and let her to a small reflecting pool. Her reflection wore a long crimson gown and around her neck was a stunning ruby necklace, but the most shocking thing Rei Hino, the princess of Mars, found was an engagement ring.
Glittering in the light of the moon, a rectangular cut ruby set onto a twisted gold ring. While admiring her new ring, it finally occurred to her that an engagement requires two people. Her thoughts, however, were soon enough disrupted by the man whom in this dream state was to be her husband. As their eyes met across the pool, he ran through the water to her side and held her in an embrace. He smelled of lavender oil and gunpowder.
Jadeite.
He nuzzled her neck and whispered something in her ear, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. You know I'm always here for you…"
Just as she was going to ask him why he was apologizing, her meditation was disrupted by Usagi bounding up to her. "Rei! Everyone's been looking for you! We know it's not like you to miss school!"
"Miss school?!" Rei exclaimed, still awakening. "You're telling me that I woke up at 3:30 am to meditate and now that I am back to reality, I've missed classes for the day?"
"Yup! Good thing that college professors are more lenient than high school teachers, huh? By the way, it's 5:30 pm in case you were wondering. I'm getting ready to head over to Mako –chan and Minako's apartment, if you would like to join me." Usagi said, pinching the senshi of fire on the cheek.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me go change clothes and I'll be right behind you…"
While walking with Usagi, Rei found herself deep in thought. It greatly disturbed her that she missed her classes, not really for the fact that she missed school, but really that she had meditated that long. Thinking to herself, she finally rationalized that she had maybe just fallen asleep while relaxed, because that weird vision was more like a dream that any of the other psychic experiences she had ever had.
"Hey Rei! Missed ya in sociology today!" Makoto yelled, when she heard her door open. Rei and Makoto ended up attending the same university together upon graduating high school. Rei was studying voice acting and Mako culinary arts. Minako asked Mako to be her roommate because she felt safe with Makoto in case of a break in. In exchange, Minako decided to pay most of the rent, still banking royalties from "Sailor V".
"Sorry, I guess I fell asleep this morning when I went outside to meditate…I'm pretty sure I got enough sleep last night. It's just not like me to do that. I've never fallen asleep like that! Even as a child!" Rei found herself pacing.
"Don't worry yourself about it though! This is your first year of college. That's a lot to deal with, along with, of course, losing your grandpa…" Mina-chan said, while placing her hand on Rei's shoulder.
Mako-chan prepared a simple dinner of udon soup and onigiri and the young women ate in silence (other than Usagi's obnoxious slurping). As Rei got up to put her plate in the sink, she was overwhelmed with the need to vomit. She ran to the commode, heaving and breaking out in a cold sweat. Minako ran to her side and helped her up. "Rei! Is everything alright? I think you should lie down."
"No. Just water please. There is no worse taste in your mouth than puke…" Rei gasped.
Makoto handed her a glass of water, and before she could finished the glass she was throwing up again. "I'm just going to go home...I need to rest before class tomorrow…Mako-chan, if I am not in class tomorrow, please get my work from today and tomorrow. I will greatly appreciate it…" And without saying any goodbyes, Rei Hino was out the door.
"She wasn't herself this evening. She didn't boss me once," Usagi said somberly, "I never told her this, but before I woke her up, she was sitting in her garden crying. And not just a few tears, she was actually weeping…"
