Clearly… Impossible?

Author: ellephedre

Translator: Giulia M.

Episode One – First meeting (part one)

Meditating in front of the Holy Fire wasn't leading to anything.

Still, Rei couldn't help it: the seven Rainbow Crystals. She and the others had to collect them all in order to find the Silver Crystal, according to Luna's information.

An inveterate gamer, a Christian priest, a student with the ability to predict the future, a painter, Motoki's girlfriend… Apparently, there was nothing that linked those people, besides the fact that they were all enshrining a fragment of the Rainbow Crystals.

Until that moment, she and the girls had been able to collect only one of them; three were in the enemy's hands, while another was held by Tuxedo Kamen. He had always come to their aid, but he craved the Crystals for himself and he had declared to Usagi that he was ready to fight their group to seize every fragment.

Unfortunately, there was not much to do for them other than wait for the appearance of the persons who held the missing slivers, even though Luna had asserted that very day that maybe, soon, she could succeed in developing a system for the identification of those special people – something that would work better than the Moon Stick's elementary signal.

Rei looked up at the ceiling.

She had thought that she would learn something from her prayers before the Fire, but the outcome had been negligible.

It had been worth a try: the quest for the fragments was a very important matter for them and-

A scream hovered in the air, outside.

That was her grandfather!

She rushed out of the room, crossing the hallways. Stepping out of the temple, she ran until she reached the forecourt: that yell had come from there.

In the dark she got a glimpse of a small figure, curled on itself.

It was her granddad!

Above their heads, Phobos and Deimos were cawing desperately, cutting through the air.

She reached for her grandfather, sustaining himg. "Granddad, are you okay?! What happened to you?"

He remained crouched and aching.

Why was he holding his chest so tightly?

Nearby, someone yawned.

Rei raised her eyes and saw two arms stretch upon the stairs to the temple's entrance.

"Who's disturbing the peace?" The voice belonged to a man. "All this noise…"

Great, she thought. Some new tramp was mistaking their sanctuary for a place to sleep.

She sighed and cast a glance on her grandfather: he had stopped moaning, so maybe he was feeling a little better. Now she would kick out the beggar and take her granddad inside to rest.

She sharpened her voice and addressed the stranger. "I should be the one asking who you are. You cannot sleep here."

The guy turned towards her. He was younger than she had expected, but she didn't care: he was a tramp, and their shrine wasn't a Homeless Recovery Center. "Did you hear me?" she repeated.

He didn't say a word; he kept on staring blankly at her.

Perhaps he was deaf?

A gasping gibberish came out of his mouth.

He threw himself on his knees in front of them. Rei pulled back.

"My-… My name is Yuichiro Kumada!" The young man bent over so much that his head touched the pavement. "Please, master, take me as an apprentice!"

What?!

Her grandfather burst forth. "Of course!"

WHAT?! "Grandfather, are you insane? We don't even know him!" And where had he dragged up all that energy? He had been sick just a moment ago!

The young man jumped up and this time he addressed her directly, bending his head. "I-… I promise that I am not a criminal, or… a bad guy. I mean… well, I only want to stay here, I want to be an apprentice!"

Her grandfather started to dance around. "Yes, yes, I've already said yes! There is absolutely no problem!"

"Grandfather!" He was out of his mind! "Stop hopping and keep still!" She grabbed his shoulders. "We can't hire an apprentice! He would live with us, in our house-"

Her grandfather jerked his arms. "We have a lot of empty rooms!" He burst into laughter. "There is aaaabsolutely noooo problem!"

No, there was a problem! That stranger was going to sleep under her own roof! "I absolutely cannot accept that- HEY!" Her grandfather had run away!

She tried to follow him, but stopped after a step. "You, there! Nothing has been set, so don't move!"

But the guy wasn't looking at her anymore; instead he was staring at something behind her shoulders. "I think he's trying to knock down the door."

Rei turned around: her grandfather had gotten insane!

She rushed to him. "Granddad! Have you lost your mind?!" She tried to stop him. "Calm down, you're going to hurt yourself!"

He kept wriggling in her arms. "Blame this stupid door, it doesn't let me in!" He escaped her grasp and flung himself against the wooden panel: he smashed into it as a dead weight.

"Grandfather! Enough!" He was going to fracture some ribs!

"I'll hold him."

The stranger enclosed her grandfather in his arms, trapping him.

Rei hid a sigh of relief. Well, at least that guy was helping her out.

"Let me go, let me go!" Her grandfather tried to wriggle in the stranger's grasp too, but he was prevented from doing more harm to himself.

Rei made a quick decision. "I'll look for something to sedate him."

She entered the house, mentally searching through the pills in the medications' drawer.

"Ahem…" The guy cleared his throat. "Shall I wait here with him?"

The thought of letting a stranger in bothered her beyond imagination, but at that moment she had no alternative. And he didn't look like a criminal. "Bring him to the living room. It's over there." She pointed at it with her arm. "I'll go and take something for him."

She run into her grandfather's room. She picked some sleeping pills and went back in a hurry.

The guy was standing in a corner, her grandfather shouting nonsense in his arms. "Release me, release me, I said! I must fight the evil in this world!"

He had gone completely nuts.

She run into the kitchen and filled a glass with fresh water. She came back as fast as she could. "Granddad, take this pill with some water."

"It's a poison! I don't want it!"

"Of course it's not poison, it will make you feel better! You have to swallow it!" She tried to bring it closer to his mouth, but he rejected it with a slap.

"I said I don't want it!"

The guy lowered him to the ground, but didn't stop holding him. "That's not poison, sir. It will make you stronger."

"Really? Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Her grandfather's wrinkled face was full of rage. "Rei, give it to me!"

She heaved a sigh, handing him the tablet. Her grandfather got rid of the stranger's grasp, snatched the glass out of her hand and swallowed the sleeping pill. He collapsed immediately .

"Granddad!" She got down on her knees before him. "Can you hear me, are you okay?!"

"Maybe he's just… sleeping?"

Sure, he had fallen asleep as soon as he took his pill. "Shut up, please."

She touched her grandfather's sweaty forehead. He was still breathing and his body temperature seemed normal. Actually, he was even a little cold. Why was he sweating, then?

Something had happened to him.

At least he had calmed down. "I'll lay him down to sleep." She was going to check on him hour after hour. She mistrusted his physical condition.

The guy came back on his feet. "Of course. I… I'll be on my way."

Huh? It was exactly what she had been about to suggest. "Yes. Thanks for your help."

He nodded glumly and headed for the exit.

What if …?

"Wait." All things considered, he had been kind. "Do you have a place to sleep tonight?"

"Well… not yet. But I will manage to find one. Don't worry."

Sending him to rest on the streets after all the support he had lent to her seemed cruel.

It was cruel. "Listen… If you are okay with it, I can unlock one of the temple's rooms for you. You can sleep in there."

He hesitated.

Now what? Maybe he wanted to stay in the house? No way!

"Of course, I- thank you. Thank you for your kindness."

Uhm. "Wait here, I have to bring my grandfather to his room."

"I can help you… If you want."

Well, then. She could use him: in spite of his small build, her grandfather did weight a lot. "Okay."

She moved aside, making room for the guy. He came closer and picked up her grandfather.

She stood up. "This way." She stepped into the hallway, then turned left. Halfway, she realized something. "What's your name again?"

"yuichiro Kumada."

Well, at least he didn't hesitate while pronouncing it; at a glance he didn't seem to possess much self-confidence. After all, he lived like a beggar.

Bah. She didn't care about his life's story. "Here we are." She pointed at the futon on the floor in her grandfather's room. "Put him down there, please."

The guy did as he was told and she bent down to tuck her granddad in. Just to be sure, she placed her palm on his forehead… Yeah, everything seemed fine for the moment.

Snorting, she headed straight for the drawer that contained the keys of the sanctuary. "Follow me. I'll show you where you can sleep."

"…okay."

The young man didn't say anything else during the walk from the house to the temple.

He really was a strange person. Maybe she should have been more cautious in his presence, since he was a stranger popped out of nowhere, but… she wasn't afraid of him, at all, and her instinct never deserted her. They only had another male apprentice over the years and she hadn't liked him from the very beginning. Indeed, he had turned out to be one of their enemies, Jadeite. Luckily he had never insisted for spending the night in their house.

She unlocked one of the rear rooms of the sanctuary. It was completely bare. Even if she had misread the guy, he couldn't stole anything.

She pushed the switch near the door, turning on the only light in the room. A pale yellow glare spread all around. "Here it is. If you are okay with it, I have this place."

"Of course."

He entered and laid a haversack that had seen better days on the floor. His clothes weren't anything special, but the jacket and those blue jeans appeared to be quite new. Maybe they were the gift of some Homeless Recovery Center, or the result of a few days of work. For sure, if he had had a job recently, he hadn't invested any money in hairstyling: he wore his hair long, shoulder-length.

The young man bowed down slightly before her. "Thank you."

"Yes." But she had to be clear with him. "You can stay here until tomorrow morning. As you have understood, my grandfather wasn't in his right mind when he accepted your offer. Therefore, nothing is going to come out of it."

He bent down his head, stricken. He tried to talk, but fell silent.

She hated spineless people. "Why do you want to become an apprentice? It's a job with no future. Actually, it's not even a job!"

"It looks like a good one… to me. I like the idea of being in a place like this… praying."

She rolled her eyes. "At your age you should find a real occupation."

"…I'm only eighteen."

Eighteen? She had thought he was at least four or five years older: his bunch of dark hair and that hint of beard didn't help. Bah. "Good for you. But you have no hope here. Even if my grandfather insists, I will disagree." She crossed her arms. "We live by ourselves in this house and I don't want to share such a private space with a stranger." She gulped.

Oh, damn it! Telling him that she lived alone with her grandfather hadn't been smart at all! Especially with her grandfather being unconscious! "I mean…"

"I see", he interrupted her. "I think it's normal that you don't want to live with… other people." He tried to smile. "Perhaps you shouldn't have told me that tonight you're going to be alone in the house, but I", he pounded his hands on his chest, "I am not a criminal, I swear. I am going to stay here all night long. If you think you'll be more comfortable, lock every door. Actually, you should always do it."

"…okay." Rei assessed him, puzzled. "Then… take all the time you need. When you want to leave, just leave this door open." She turned around. "Thank you for your help with my grandfather."

"Don't mention it."

He bent down his head for the tenth time in as many minutes.

How stupid of her to think him dangerous. He was perfectly harmless. "Sleep well. And if we don't see each other again…" She shrugged. "Good luck with everything."

His mouth opened in a bright smile. "Thank you."

He wasn't only inoffensive, but maybe even a good guy.

"Goodbye" she said to him.

She closed the door behind her and walked towards THE house.

Continue…

Author's note: where is this story headed? Well, I have already many chapters ready in italian and have managed to narrate Rei and Yuichiro's story all through the second season.

I love them as a couple, but I'm not going to force their interactions. I'm going to narrate what actually happened in the anime – like in this first part – while indulging in Rei's and Yuichiro's thoughts and feelings.

For instance, why did she kissed him at the end of episode 31 of this first season, just days after meeting him?

I have written already another story in which they come together as a couple, but for now I want to present the beginnings of their relationship.

For this I have to thank Giulia M. and her efforts in translating this story. If you still see any errors – pardon, neither of us has English as a first language – just tell us.

Bye

Elle