Morning breeze, sunlight was filtering through the trees timidly. Gradually, the city wakes up, and among its citizens, the inhabitants of a Shinto temple in Sendai Hill. Anyone who knows of the temple knows that this is not a temple that has a large staff, but that the few people who live or work there, are honest and hardworking. There is also a rumor that the resident Miko, is quite skilled, possessing real spiritual powers and that she is able to give a correct interpretation of the sacred flames.
Said priestess, who goes by the name of Hino Rei, was currently sweeping a few leaves that were in the entrance of the temple. This, you could say, was part of a daily routine that any casual observer could quickly decipher.
However, what no casual observer and even someone who really cares to observe closely, could not really find out, were the thoughts of said lady, which were beyond the perimeter of the temple. Or maybe, in fact, were in their room, and in the letter that arrived yesterday.
For years she knew, there was no date that does not arrive or deadline that is not met. And in this case, being completely honest with herself, this spam of time was longer than expected. The sealed envelope that arrived yesterday was nothing more than the invitation to the wedding reception of Mr. Kaidou, the assistant of his father.
In the same line of honesty, Rei admitted that the pain and jealousy she felt years ago when she discovered the lies sprout out by him, and his subsequent commitment had disappeared completely, in fact, what she felt inside her this time was more of a feeling of closure. While her attraction to him had decreased over the years, in his mind more than once was formulated scenarios, different variations of the facts and how they might have resulted.
In the end, she realized that she could not continue living in the past, and as she promised herself some years ago, she would not be ruminating on the past. She must look to the future and enjoy every moment that life offered.
Some time later, with her memories of the Silver Millennium newly recovered, she broke that promise thinking, not of Kaidou, but of another blond, with beautiful blue eyes and a mischievous smile. Now that she thinks about it, maybe her attraction to Kaidou, was nothing more than a reflection of what in another life she felt for Jadeite.
Clearing those thoughts from her mind, and having finished her morning chores, she set out to change her clothes and start her day. Once in her room, again she looked at the invitation resting quietly at her desk. With a smile, she decided to honor this promise and live from day to day.
She will be attending the wedding.
She really didn't know why she is still doing it.
She knew that this would happen from the very moment she answered the phone call and heard his voice. She knew that the moment he invited her to eat something, she would not refuse. She knew the exact time of their date and that as always, she would ask for the window table.
And she also knew that he would not come.
No, this was not the first time he did it. In five years she had fallen into the same trick over and over again. Sometimes, if she had any luck, a text message would enter her mobile; said message would be full of silly apologies and excuses for being unable to arrive. Then she would ask for her bill of the coffee she had asked beforehand and retire from the place.
It was always the same routine.
With a yawn of boredom, she asked herself for the umpteenth time why she endured such abuse. She was a strong, beautiful and successful woman, after all, her bakery was the best in town, she had amazing girlfriends and coupled with that and although not outside the public domain, she was a warrior who fought for peace... you could almost say she had everything... except that there was a little voice in her mind that keep repeating over and over again, that in the reality what she had, was fear. Kino Makoto, Sailor Jupiter, businesswoman and friend, was afraid of loneliness.
Because after all, having good friends, great adventures and money was not everything in this life. Because sometimes she longed to get home with the knowledge that there will be someone there for her, waiting for her and wanting to share things with her; she wanted someone to laugh with and go meet new worlds, someone so like her, but so different that complements her. Because she wanted someone to lean on, someone with a shoulder ready to catch her tears and hugged her until she felt infinitely better.
She wanted someone like Usagi's Mamoru. Or, even if she doesn't know him personally, someone like Minako's Hiroshi.
With this in mind, and with an empty coffee cup, she decided to continue with the routine, paying her bill and leaving the place.
She started walking without apparent destination; her feet were guiding her along unknown paths. Step by step, and lost in the depths of her thoughts, crossing busy or lonely streets, parks or malls. It doesn't matter; she just wanted to let her mind wander until it went blank.
This situation led her to ignore the pedestrian red light.
Later, Makoto could just remember three things. The horn of a car that was coming straight to her, a sharp blow to her side together with the arms of a stranger, and then opening her eyes to find an unknown and yet strangely familiar green eyes.
- Are you all right? – A deep voice, tinged laced with concern was talking to her. That voice... those eyes... she knows who this is... but she is so confused, numb enough to not know from where.
With a slight nod, Makoto tried to stand... only to fail miserably and again to be supported by the friendly guy who apparently rescued her from a certain death... a death that would have come all because she wasn't thinking.
- If you do not mind, for your health and my peace of mind, I would like you to see a doctor. There is a hospital not far from here, and I would like to accompany you.
And then Makoto recognized him. Those green eyes, the long wavy hair, and the frank smile, one of the few men who could boast of being taller than her... one of those people that she thought she would never see in this life again.
Nephrite...
Seeing her surprise and misinterpreting her reaction, with that same smile that her reminded of another life, he proceeded to introduce himself – My apologies, you must think I'm some kind of crazy stalker. My name is Mori Satoru. If it is not rude to ask, what is your name? – leaving the stupor that had her submerged for the second time that day, and trying to keep her voice from betraying the sea of emotions and thoughts that crossed her being in that moment, Makoto responded both to the question of the name, and the request for the check up at the nearby hospital, declining the later.
- In that case, how about I treat you a coffee? I saw a very cozy place in my way here and I would like to try it. Are you up to? – She got a great desire to have a huge laugh coming from the depths of her soul. To think that she landed herself in this situation precisely because a failed date at a Café, but more because of respect for the gentleman before her, and because he wanted to prevent him to think she was crazier than a goat, she contained herself, instead giving him a small but sincere smile as she answered – I would love to. –
Annoyance.
There was no better word to describe what this day was to him. He had left his alarm sound more than five times before deciding to get out of bed and still he did not feel the slightest will of doing so.
He finally gave up and after battling with the sheets, stood up. It was then he saw on the nightstand the reason of the immense annoyance of the day, a wedding's invitation.
A Wedding. Just imagining it caused him immense bout of nausea; God! Who does such a glitzy party for an affair that is certainly private? Of course, being who they were, they could not settle with just making the respective changes in the family books.
And above it all, it was a Western-styled wedding, with a priest, a chapel and other shenanigans. He could almost see the place packed with snooty people, thinking they were better than the rest of the world just because they have a better social or economic position, Men who only know how to talk about how to expand their fortunes and false women who only speak fashion or the newest gossip; sure enough there would be lots of reporters covering every corner of the event to the smallest detail, trying to get the best note... a complete circus.
However, he had an obligation to be there. Perhaps if anyone else had asked him to go, he would have outright refused... but not him. He owed him too much, after everything that had happened.
The memory was still fresh in his mind. A few years ago, when there was a young Yusaku freshly out of college. His parents were proud of him and he could see worship in the eyes of his little brother. He had graduated with honors and had a job offer in one of the largest law firms in Tokyo.
Everything was going as planned and he hoped everything would just continue as such.
He began his working life with one or other family affair, alimony, or child custody, nothing really stressful, but they were things that were gradually gaining him reputation among partners and associates of the firm.
And one day everything changed. He remembers that day clearly, and sometimes he wonders how it would have been if he had refused to take that case. It was his first criminal one, a murder; apparently some guy was accused of murdering his own daughter in a very brutal manner.
He was confident in his abilities and believed in the innocence of his client, so he jumped at the chance to make himself a better name among his colleagues. He was fully involved into the research, looking for all the evidence that would lead him to prove the innocence of his client.
What he was not expecting was that the more he searched, the more he doubted the veracity of this man's history, for everything that he murdered his daughter, this was not his first victim. Unfinished investigations, lawsuits dismissed for lack of evidence, but all of them had one common denominator... torture and subsequent dismemberment. And all pointed to the same person... the one that was introduced to him as a grieving parent and an innocent man who was being accused for a crime he did not commit.
He felt disgusted and decided to confront the client and drop the case. In an ideal world, things would have ended there, Yusaku would continue with his normal life and that guy would find someone else to do the dirty work. But we are not in an ideal world, and as we can imagine, the confrontation did not go as he had planned it.
For many people, a contract for professional services is a blessing, allowing you to charge a fee even if the customer refuses to pay later. To Yusaku, it rather was his undoing. Reminding him that the contract required them to meet each other ends, or face the consequences, and throwing to his face the dishonor the breach involved, Yusaku could only nod his ascent. But if he had any doubts about doing a good job and not condemn his client by "mistake" the guy reminded him that his daughter was not his first victim, and that it depended whether any member of his family were the following unsolved case.
Then it the first Audience came, and with it, also came the best performance of the young lawyer. Confident, convincing in his well prepared arguments, and using all his charisma, he was able to convince the jury of his client's innocence. Only the date of the next audience and sentence summoning remained, and then to pray that the case was closed.
As expected, the judgment was favorable, and although they surely would have to appear before the Court of Appeal, the case was finished. The man was satisfied enough to have paid triple the promised fee. Yusaku was devastated, whatever everybody said, he had convinced the world of the innocence of a bloody murderer, who went unpunished for this and many other crimes, and who now walked calmly through the city. The money in his hands, it was stained with blood.
Guilt and remorse were gradually taking its toll on him, who sought ways around that reality, those feelings. His work no longer satisfied him, he snapped at everyone at home, and without really knowing how, one day he found some relief in alcohol. It started with a few drinks before bed, then a whole bottle; then he added another bottle for breakfast and soon his intoxicated state covered all hours of the day.
The reality did not hurt much, guilt appeared to be wearable, and the regret mingled with the euphoria caused by alcohol... Yusaku felt "at peace", he believed everything began to gradually grow normal again.
Except that in reality everything was collapsing around him slowly. He began to forget appointments, losing audiences, to confuse clients or not properly prepare his arguments. He no longer spoke with his parents, he distanced himself from his friends… he even verbally assaulted his little brother... he just could not stand those eyes anymore, those eyes that once regarded him with great adoration, now filled with disappointment and pain... in his delirium, Yusaku came to think that those eyes also held reproach and censure, that he knew what he had done, and he judged him for it.
Alcohol soon ceased to be an effective palliative. When its effects decreased, his guilt multiplied and the pain returned, which made him consume larger amounts of it until he was left near unconsciousness. It was then that the visions began. He saw himself as a warrior and as a king, swearing allegiance to another, and then betraying him. He saw himself serving a sadistic redhead, who ordered him to get rid of all his loved ones, he saw himself fighting with a lady with long black hair, who ended his life while she finished his; he saw himself serving the redhead again, fighting with three teenagers... sometimes the redhead mutated into the murderer, and sometimes the teens mutated in his brother or parents... imagination can be a powerful weapon, something that was proven true when the details he read in the research began to take root and mix with his visions... torture and dismemberment... betrayal, death.
To betray or to torture acquaintances and strangers, exponentially increased his guilt, which was now bordering to madness.
With a lump in the throat, Yusaku continued his grooming. He pondered what happened and although he knew it was of no use; more than once his mind conjured a thousand different scenarios, situations that he could have changed in that time of personal darkness; it was while taking a fiery red tie, that his mind shot back to the past. That tie was a present from his little brother gave him, the day he ended his rehabilitation.
With a bitter smile, he recalled how he finally reached the bottom. The line between reality and fantasy was completely diluted in his mind. He could no longer distinguish between the people of the visions and the ones around him. He lost his job because of his negligence and even his parents were close to disown him. It was an angel in the form of his little brother Ittou who finally helped him cope.
Despite the constant abuse to which he was subjected by his older brother, Ittou refused to leave his brother alone to destroy his life; he who was his first idol, his first example, was gradually fading... and nobody really knew why.
He made it his mission and purpose to help him, he had no idea how to do it, but his brother would shine with the same intensity as he did in other times.
The recovery was slow and tortuous, but with the immense love and support from his brother, Yusaku was successful. His sanity returned, and even if the guilt never really disappeared, he could now understand that things happened that way, and that he acted in the best possible way given the circumstances to protect what was most dear to him.
The last step in recovery was to gain again his personal and professional credibility, and with the same tie that he was wearing today with a mixture of love and pride, he went to his former employer, to request a new opportunity, explaining the circumstances of his previous failure.
It was not an easy task, but the old lawyer Hanada, chose to believe in him again, warning him that this would be his only chance. He would be in trial mode for a few months before accepting him completely back in their ranks and that his performance would determine the final decision. Fortunately until today, Mr. Hanada had not regretted his decision.
Was he who extended an invitation to the wedding of his daughter, with Senator's Hino "Successor".
Finally wearing his best suit, with the invitation in hand and killer smile, Yusaku headed on to what promised to be the most annoying evening of his life.
He had to admit that the "religious" ceremony wasn't that bad. The chapel was adorned with white roses and it was a sight to behold; the "priest" had dedicated his sermon preach about to eternal love, and the mutual support that should be provided. If he was honest, and he always tried to be, the reading of the letter of St. Paul, was particularly nice.
But much to his chagrin, the nice and quiet part of the event was over. It was time to make way for the main attraction, or as he had already named it, "The Circus".
The event was to take place in a garden located downtown, and it was decorated with white and red motifs; in the center of each table, a floral arrangement that not only wore the same white roses that decorated the church, but they were accompanied with some sort of red Liliaceous.
And it is at this stage that performs the show; The first phase, "The Catwalk", which consisted in observing one by one the arrival of each guest who were gradually appearing; he could appreciate the effort that each one made in bringing the best outfit, or the most striking dress, the more ostentatious jewelry or the most "innovative" hairstyle. Men and women, who exhibited their companions as if they were another accessory of sorts.
Almost simultaneously, phase 2 was going on, also known as "The Kiss of Judas". What was this? Simple, as people were arriving, the critic murmurs began criticizing if the color is favors them or not, or if that was not the some guy's wife, but when acquaintances greeted themselves, they made it with fake smiles and compliments to the previously criticized things.
For Yusaku, all that frivolity was repulsive, and he had to continually remember himself why he had agreed to attend this wedding... he decided to focus on the glass with soda currently in his hand, and to patiently wait for the food to be served.
Concentrated as he was in everything and anything, he suddenly noticed a change of tune in the murmurs; rather than being critical or disapproving, they were rather surprised, whoever has come, was not someone they were expecting to see. He decided to look up and he found a beautiful creature with long black hair, which had a regal air, she was wearing a red dress in different materials and colors, with matching shoes and accessories in gold and black. There was just one word in Yusaku's mind at seeing her: Fire.
And that woman of fire was heading right towards him. Or rather, she was walking to the general area where he was standing.
For the first time that evening, Yusaku decided he needed to socialize a bit with the people who were around him, he just had to know who the mysterious lady was. To his great disappointment, he learned that she was nor more nor less than the only daughter of Senator Hino. Surely a spoiled child, another pretty face with little brain... one more frivolous woman to join the party... so he chose to ignore her altogether.
And so time went by, Yusaku choose not to only eat and drink soda or any non alcoholic drink he was offered, but also and out of sheer boredom, he chose to dance a few times with one lady or another, discreetly checking his watch, trying to decide the right time to withdraw from the party.
Just when he figured it was a great time to flee, a hand was laid on his shoulder, startling him in the act, and forcing him to turn around and face the owner. He found a pair of brown eyes, white hair and the good-natured smile of Mr. Hanada, who after claiming he had not seen him throughout the whole event, urged him to follow him, because he had to meet someone very important... there, standing side by side, were his daughter and her husband, the infamous Mr. Kaidou.
The presentations were brief and cordial; sincerely, Yusaku wasn't up to provide extra entertainment to the circus. He had always thought of Rin as a nice girl, and the few times he got to exchange words with her, he could tell she it was somewhat smart and that she was madly in love with her fiancé, now husband... who now that was face to face wit him, he didn't seem as incredible, not even half of what Rin had described previously.
He perceived some Movement on the periphery of his gaze, which alerted him of the upcoming arrival of a third and fourth person; Senator Hino who was accompanied by who hours before he discovered to be his only daughter.
And the first thing he noticed just by one look, was that their family relationship was not exactly in the best terms.
The brunette tried to look calm and aloof, though her eyes betrayed the overwhelming fury that some of his father's comments were causing. The Senator meanwhile, could not hide his annoyance with the same ease, as it was betrayed in the way he frowned slightly or how he clenched hiss fists.
-Ah! There you are! Just in time! Takashi old friend, this is the young man I've told you about, Asanuma Yusaku. Boy, this is Senator Takashi Hino, and this is his beautiful daughter, Rei. –
Yusaku had to admit that now that he was close to her, Rei was prettier than expected; her hair looked beautiful with the golden brooch that he had noticed earlier, and her dress really held her figure... her violet eyes... that were watching him with a mixture of awe and appreciation, perhaps a bit of recognition, which played an invisible fiber inside him, was what most caught his attention. He could swear that he had seen those eyes somewhere else, and in different circumstances.
He noticed the awkward moment that had settled among them, and after exchanging greetings and pleasantries, he took some courage and invited her to dance. Rei wordlessly placed her hand on his and allowed herself to be led to the dance floor.
It was a seemingly quiet waltz, which was the perfect opportunity to talk, the only problem being that neither of them knew what to say.
In Rei's mind there was a sea of confusion. Not long ago she was analyzing the strange similarities between Kaidou and Jadeite, and now like a twist of fate, she had them both in the same room, for in her mind there was no doubt that the one who had her currently wrapped in his arms, was precisely the old Shitennou of the East.
By Yusaku's part, there was also some confusion, though not in the same way as the brunette. There was something about her that was very familiar, the way his embrace fitted, like she was made especially for him, as if she belonged right there, in his arms... filled his heart with some nostalgia and warmth.
The song ended, but none of them made any move to separate themselves, they remained in the same position until the next tune, which was of a different pace, and that finally shocked them out of that trance.
-Would it be too bold of me to invite you to the terrace? The environment is growing increasingly stifling.
Loosing her grip and nodding slightly, they both retired from the dance floor. The way to the outside was silent, but oddly this was not an uncomfortable silence. Once fresh air hit their faces, the silence was gone. Yusaku proceeded to introduce himself again, claiming that horrible introduction in front of old ones was not worthy to be remembered, and after various tricks and jokes, he got Rei's first smile of the evening.
They made small talk, after all, despite what Rei's mind and soul told her, they were still a couple of strangers... whether as they had discovered, neither of them really enjoyed these kind of gatherings.
It was starting to get late, so Rei decided that this was a good time to leave. Her initial goal had been met, and except for the odd company that had accompanied her at the end of the evening, she didn't have anything to do there. Telling him her intentions to her companion, he insisted on accompanying her, at least some of her way home.
Finally it was time for goodbyes, a moment that Yusaku used to ask Rei's phone number, she hesitated a bit before throwing caution away and give in, letting Fate decide the results from this chance encounter.
Before somebody complains, no, I don't have anything against Yusaku or Makoto. In fact I have a soft spot for both. But you can blame the extra suffering to my quite weird mood.
Also an apology… this should have been up since Friday night… but translation was a real pain…
So… Yusaku/Jadeite is finally here! I hope you liked his chapter.. Although this time the encounter with Mamoru was delayed.
Just one Shitennou left to meet, I wonder how is Zoicite doing?
References:
- Mr. Kaidou, his fiancé and Takashi Hino are from the "Casablanca Memory" chapter. You could find it at the end of the 11th book of the manga.
- Rei thinking of Jadeite is from a Shot of mine called "Set Fire to the Rain" (if you want me to upload it, just tell me)
- The red liliaceous are "Blackout Lily" which are the red version of the Casablanca.
- The title of the chapter is from a song by Opeth that I was listening when I began to write this.
- And if you are curious of why honour was so heavy in Yusaku, look out for the Giri Code.
Special thanks to Isis Aurora Tomoe, Drazeel, i1976 - blu notte, SilentWriterGirlWithADream, QuicksilverWitch, Kai2 and Antoinette Veronica for either reviewing, favouring or following this story :D
Until the next time!