SNOW AND FIRE
The apartment's door remained closed after Mamoru's knocking. He sighed, "Jadeite isn't at home."
Usagi shook her head, "We can't wait here for him. But now we know his name and where he lives. We can come here tomorrow, or find him at K.O. University. Are you sure you want to talk to him, Mamo-chan?"
Mamoru walked away, followed by Usagi, and left the building. Finally outside, he watched the grey sky and the snow falling, "I want to find the Shitennou, Usako. We fought against them, a tragic fight because of the feelings we had for each other during the Silver Millennium. We suffered, everybody suffered because of that fight against people we once loved. I understand Rei's confusion and her fear to get hurt again, and I respect her feelings. I don't want to force her to meet Jadeite if this is still painful to her because of the memory of that tragic fight, but I can't stand anymore this wait. I know my Shitennou best than everybody else and their spirits helped me several times after Metallia's defeat. And don't forget their help in defeating Metallia, too. Now, Jadeite is back, and I think Nephrite, Zoisite and Kunzite too, someday, are going to show up. Jadeite doesn't remember his past and he's struggling to find out about what happened to him; I know what it means, confusion and fear for a past you can't remember but you feel important. It's devastating. It's why I want to help him."
Usagi grabbed his hand and kept it close while they walked to his apartment, "What are you planning to tell him, Mamo-chan?"
He shrugged, "I am going to tell him the truth about his real identity, his reincarnation and our past during the Silver Millennium. It could wake his memory up."
Usagi sighed and shook her head, "Or maybe he isn't going to believe it and he's going to think you are crazy."
He smiled, "Jadeite is going to listen to me because he needs to know the truth. If Juki Watanabe is Jadeite as I remember him, for sure he is going to listen to me silently, with no visible emotion on his face, keeping all his thoughts and feelings inside him until everything will be clear, then he'll finally talk. Yuki is the perfect name for him; like snow he can ease the fire inside Rei; it's why Mars fell in love with Jadeite when she first met him."
Yuki. His eyes grey as the sky above, his name as the flakes dancing around them.
Rei held her breath. The last time she saw those eyes his name was Jadeite. She stared at him, at his black boots, at his blue jeans, at his grey winter coat and at his black scarf: normal guy's outfit. She stared at his short and wavy hair, blond locks falling on his forehead, and she repressed the instinct to gently brush back those locks.
"Rei?"
His voice, the voice she knew so well, so deep and sweet. The voice she once loved. She forced her voice out her dry throat, "How do you know my name?"
He smiled, sweet and embarrassed smile, "So, your name is really Rei, as in my dreams." He slipped his hands into his winter coat's pockets and remained silent, studying her and keeping his thoughts for himself.
Rei blushed, flames from her heart to her cheeks, "My name is Rei. Rei Hino."
"You are the granddaughter of the Shrine's head, aren't you, Rei?"
Her heart raced, the fire as fuel, "Hino-san, I prefer."
What's that fire burning her? Irritation? Fear? Confusion?
Usagi laughed and rested her head on Mamoru's shoulder, "Snow and fire! You know your Shitennou very well, and my Senshi too." She glanced at him, her eyes full of curiosity, "OK, Jadeite is like snow and Rei like fire. And what about the others?"
Mamoru smiled amused, "Nephrite is emotional and hot tempered; he is like strong wind, and he can shake Jupiter like wind can shake a strong and high tree with deep roots. Zoisite is joyful and lively; he is like sun, and he can warm Mercury as sun can warm a deep and mysterious ocean. Kunzite is the leader of the Shitennou, the way Venus is the leader of the Senshi, and they both have a great sense of responsibility for their role; Kunzite's seriousness and maturity balances Venus' joyful way to live, they are like night and day."
Usagi walked silently by Mamoru's side, her head on his shoulder and her arms wrapped around his arm. She stopped and stared at Mamoru, "And what about us, Mamo-chan?"
Mamoru stared at her, keeping on smiling, sweet and caring smile, "You are the Moon and I am the Earth. We can't live without each other."
The air filled with crows' caw when Phoibos and Deimos flied on Rei's shoulders.
His hands still in his pockets, he moved to her, walking past her and then down the stairway; scent of aftershave and soap reached her, increasing the heat on her cheeks. After two steps, he stopped and turned his head to her, "My name is Yuki Watanabe, and you can call me Yuki, if you want to. Bye, crow-girl." He finally walked away down the stairs, her eyes on him.
"Your name is Jadeite. You are the knight of patience and harmony," she thought.
He came at the end of the stairway and turned at the corner, simply vanishing, just white flakes at his place.
"You are the man I loved. And lost."
What's the fire burning her?
"You are the man I have always loved, since then, since when we first met. You, Jadeite, the knight of patience and harmony, and I, Sailor Mars. You are the man I want back with me."
It was love, mixed with fear of losing him again. The awareness of her feelings calmed her, the red on her cheeks fading into pure white, her fire extinguished by gentle snow.
Usagi rested her back against the door of Mamoru's apartment, "Do you think Rei is going to decide to meet Jadeite, finally, after your talking with him? What if Jadeite regains his memory and decides to meet Rei but she refuses to see him?"
Mamoru sank on the couch, "I don't know. I don't want to force Rei and the other Senshi, but I want to have the Shitennou back with me." He looked at her, "The thing you said at the coffee bar, about Crystal Tokyo with both the Shitennou and Senshi as our guardians… it's a beautiful dream, Usako. I want it to come true."
Usagi smiled and walked to him, she sat down on the couch and then huddled up, her head on his lap, "I too want it to come true, so it will happen. I feel it."
He caressed her hair and smiled, looking at her falling asleep and at her long hair scattered on the floor turning silver in the milky light entering the window.
Yuki plopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, emotionally exhausted by the meeting with the raven-haired girl.
Rei Hino. Rei. The girl of his dreams.
He turned his head to the window, looking at the snow falling and covering everything with its white and fluffy blanket.
Was Rei Hino coming out his dreams or out his memories?
He closed his eyes and fell asleep.