Author's note: This is a sequel to my story "A Whiter Jade of Pale", where we leave Rei and Jadeite as very good friends. Well, couldn't leave it at that... also, I wanted more action, more youmas, more sex, more fun, more Shitennou scenes... you can easily see why this story is more difficult to write than the straighforward ones I did before, and some feedback would be really helpful. Sooo... if you like it... comment. No pretty please. Do it, damnit!
The credit for the characters and my thanks go to Naoko Takeuchi and everyone who helped to make PGSM.
x x x
Saturday
Peaceful.
Rei couldn't find a better word.
She was on a date with Kunzite, and she felt more peaceful than she thought she ever would. They'd tried the dinner-at-a-restaurant type of date one or two times; but to Rei, it felt like a waste. Kunzite was beautiful, scary, surprising. Restaurants were boring. There had to be something better to do with their time.
They found it almost accidentally. She had mentioned a little shrine she was interested in, and Kunzite had insisted he'd take her there. It was a little place near the shore, and no one was there but them. Rei was a bit worried Kunzite might not like it, but he did. He was at ease taking in the scenery, and Rei liked that so much that she forgot to ask him to detransform into one of his many human forms, as she usually did.
Kunzite was interested to hear about Shinto, and to Rei's surprise, intuitively grasped what she was trying to explain.
"Magic theory turned into religion," he said and laughed. "Spells and spirits turning into beauty. I wish I had been taught it like this, right at the place where it emerges."
Rei liked that.
Kunzite then gave her the magic theory version of the place, and Rei, still remembering how magic was being done, suddenly had a moment of clarity. It was like her senses tuned into his, and her perception heightened, and she – saw.
Magic turning into beauty. The drifts of the water, the shape of the cliffs, the coastline, the clouds, everything spoke to each other, everything spoke to her. Had she been in her Sailor Mars transformation, she would have stretched out her hands and just felt the magic float through her.
She was at a loss of words of how to tell Kunzite what happened to her, and how she appreciated it. But she didn't have to. A few minutes later, Kunzite experienced something similar. Magic and beauty turned into art.
Rei had asked him to take some pictures with her camera, and it turned out that Kunzite had no idea what photography was. He had seen cameras, but never understood what they were being used for.
Rei almost laughed when she saw the look on his face. Never had she seen someone so puzzled, so focused, so fascinated. He fell in love with her camera the moment he understood the idea, and spent the next hour glued to it, asking Rei a thousand questions, and taking hundreds of pictures.
Rei had a lot of fun just watching him have fun.
It turned out the pictures were good; more than good, amazing.
"You are very talented. You have an eye for sceneries, for capturing the spirit of a place."
He also had an eye for women, judging from the pictures of her he had taken.
"I always liked the sea," he said, beaming excitedly. "Can we do that again, soon?"
"Yes, I'd like that. There are some more places like this one I want to see. How about you? Some place you want to go?"
He shook his head. "I wouldn't find them anymore. It has been a long time. The coastline has changed. Everything is different in this time. I will let you guide me."
Wow. That did something to Rei she couldn't define, but it almost embarrassed her.
"Okay," she murmured.
Then they ate the delicious picnic Rei had brought. She'd asked Makoto to make the food. She hadn't told her she'd share it with Kunzite, she was a bit worried Makoto might poison it if she knew. Makoto didn't trust any of the Shitennou, with or without Dark Power.
And then they just sat there next to each other, looking over the sea.
Peaceful.
At ease.
Just being themselves.
If there was a better way to spend a day, Rei didn't know it.
x x x
Sunday
"Ha!"
Jadeite threw another spherical blast at the shadows that were closing in, and again, the pink energy was just being absorbed.
"Congratulations," he said. "I see you guys have learned since we met last time."
Someone snarled something, and the shadows crept closer.
Jadeite sighed. "Go home, kids. I haven't got any more cool tricks to show you. The next lessons will be painful. You don't want to see them."
But they still came closer from all sides.
Jadeite took a deep breath. "Stop right there!" he bellowed, and indeed, the shadows stopped. For a moment, they were all looking at him.
But then, in a simultaneous movement, they started moving towards Jadeite again.
Jadeite made a disgusted grimace and materialized his crystal daggers.
"What the hell is wrong with you guys?" he asked. "You should be mine now."
More snarling answered.
"Yeah, thank you very much, very flattering, but I haven't got time for that," said Jadeite. "If you haven't got anything else to say, you should all go now. Please. Please leave. Don't make me kill you. Don't make me kill you for nothing."
The first shadow leapt and landed before him, towering over the Guardian.
"Nhott fhorh nhothingh," rasped his voice. "Fhorh the hhivhe! Fhorh the qhueenh!"
Jadeite's eyes narrowed. "You are a disgrace for the queen that hatched you! What good does it do your hive if you get killed in the streets? No hive youma would ever say such a stupid thing. These are the words of humans. Go and tell your human masters I'll find them and shove these words up their asses."
"Ttellh themh yourhsselfh!" snarled the youma and leapt forward. It was the second last thing he did in his life, because Jadeite's short blade ended his movement in one quick and cool stride.
It was the last thing that the youma did that made Jadeite lose his usual, cool and composed fighting mood. It was when the youma's head suddenly broke open like a dropped melon, and the youma fell, dead before he even hit the ground, eyes wide open.
It took Jadeite a moment of shock before he understood. Understood just too well.
Yelling out in rage, Jadeite tightened the grip around his daggers, jumped right in the middle of the others, and finished them all.
x x x
Monday
Rei sat in front of the fire trying to get into the familiar clarity of mind that would bring her the dreamlike pictures that used to guide her in the past.
But today it wouldn't work. It would take forever for her to calm down, and when she did, all she would see was Jadeite. His face turned upwards, his eyes closed, his white gloved hands outstretched to the sides, calmly awaiting the final blow that would come from behind.
After the second time this vision had come, Rei gave up.
She shivered, even right in front of the fire.
Why did she get to see something so cruel?
It could be a warning. But she didn't believe it. It had to be a trick of her heart. It had to be that letter that distracted her so much and crept up on her visions. That letter in her pocket, that thing that had shattered her confidence and turned her world upside down.