CROSSING PATHS

The girls sitting on the couch and on the armchair, and the boys sitting on the floor of the living room, they ate the dinner enjoying the calm atmosphere.

Arashi rested his empty dish on the small table, "Your curry rice is great, Makoto. Bravo!"

Makoto smiled and gently blushed, pleased by Arashi's compliments, "Thanks."

Mitsuo stared at Makoto, "Makoto Kino, uh? Did you attend Mita Junior High School?"

Makoto looked surprised at Mitsuo, "Yes. But I moved to Juuban Junior High School during the second year, and now I'm attending Juuban High School, with Usagi, Minako and Ami. How do you know about my old school?"

Mitsuo opened the collar of his school's uniform, "I attended Mita Junior High School, like you. I remember your name, you were pretty famous" he smiled "especially after knocking out a boy who was bullying some of your friends. Class 1E, right? At that time, I was in class 3F. And now I am attending the last year of Mita High School, though I am already 19 year old. Before you ask me why, you know, I was … missing … for a while. Spirits aren't allowed to attend school." He winked.

Ami had a soft laugh.

Mamoru smiled and stared at Arashi, "About school, I remember your name. When I was still a Junior Student, I heard about a great student who was going to graduate: Arashi Nakamura. It was you, wasn't it?"

Arashi stirred and grinned, "Right. I graduated at Moto-Azabu High School. And now I am a Law Student at Tokyo University. I am going to become a lawyer, like everybody in my family, though I want to become a different kind of lawyer."

Rei blinked and turned to Arashi, "That lawyer? Are you related to that Nakamura?"

Arashi nodded and turned serious, "That Nakamura working with your father. You are the daughter of that Hino, aren't you?"

Rei averted her eyes and lowered her head, his long and raven hair covering the side of her face like a protective veil, "I don't want to talk of my father." She could feel Yuki's eyes on her; she glanced at his calm and curious eyes and relaxed.

"Neither I. Stop talking of our fathers." Arashi smiled again and glanced at Mamoru and Yuki's uniform, "K.O. University Students, right? I am glad students at Tokyo University aren't obliged to dress uniforms." He looked satisfied at his orange sweatshirt, blue jeans and black sneakers.

Mamoru nodded, "I am a Medicine Student, and Yuki an Architecture Student."

Mitsuo turned to Yoru, "What about you, Yoru?"

"I am a Psychologist. I work at Meiwa University Hospital."

Ami nodded, "Before dinner, Mamoru, Yoru and I were talking about it. My mother works at Meiwa University Hospital, and this is also the Hospital that Medicine Students usually attend. Yoru knows my mother, and Mamoru is going to attend Meiwa Hospital, where both Yoru and my mother work."

Yoru's grey and cold eyes stared at a distant point in front of him, "Right. Saeko Mizuno is a friend of one of my oldest colleagues. Our paths have always been close. We were reborn to find our Prince, the way you, Senshi, were reborn to find your Princess. If we hadn't fallen for Queen Beryl's tricks before regain our memories, becoming her puppets, for sure we would have met, some day or another, 'cause our lives as normal guys and girls would have crossed."

Arashi gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anger, looking outside the window, "Queen Beryl. I don't want to hear that name. Never again."

Mitsuo too looked at the city becoming dark outside the window, his eyes sad, "I agree, better forget about it."

Yuki remained silent and simply untied his tie, his hands' gentle trembling caught by Rei's attentive eyes.

"Please, don't talk about it." Usagi stood up and stared at everybody in the room, a sweet smile on her face, "Don't talk of the past. Don't talk of that past. We are here, now." Her wide blue eyes lingered on the Shitennou, "Yuki. Arashi. Mitsuo. Yoru. I hope you are going to be happy. I hope you are going to be good friends with Mamoru. We have finally met, not as foes, and we remember everything of the past and of the feelings we had for each other in our past lives. I hope everybody is going to be happy from now."

Minako stood up and nodded, "Usagi is right. Stop thinking of those days and start things from here." She smiled at Yoru, "The feelings we had for each other during our past lives are still here, cherished in our heart."

Yoru smiled sweetly, then he glanced at his clock and at the darkness wrapping the city, "Now it's time to go home, it's late and we are going to have a lot of time to talk."

Mitsuo looked at the small table of the living room, scratching his head, "Before to go, we should help Mamoru to clean the table. This is a mess."

Minako laughed, "And not just the table. Also the kitchen is a mess."

Rei folded her arms, closed her eyes and lowered her head, "For sure not because of Makoto but because of you. You have always been messy, Mina-chan." She finally looked at Minako and smiled.

Usagi laughed, her laughing spreading to everybody in the room.

After leaving Mamoru's apartment, the group slowly scattered, everybody taking his way to home, just Rei and Yuki still walking along the same street, silently.

Yuki stopped and pointed at a near cross street, "This is the street to my home." He smiled, "So, bye. See you." He turned to the cross street, his hands in his grey winter coat and his head down.

Rei stretched her arm out and grabbed his shoulder bag, "Jade- uh – Yuki." She waited for him turning round and looking surprised at her, "I just want to say that… I am happy you are back." She kept for herself the words Minako had the nerve to say to Yoru, "The feelings we had for each other during our past lives are still here, cherished in our heart."

Yuki smiled, "I am glad you're saying so. When I met you at the Shrine, you looked angry."

Rei shook her head and sighed, "I wasn't angry, but confused and scared."

Yuki's smile turned sad, "Scared? Were you thinking I was still evil? Were you afraid I was going to attack you?" His smile faded and he rested his hand on his face, "I can't stand the memories of the Dark Kingdom. I can't believe I did – "

"Stop it, please." Rei came closer him, "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't you. I was scared because…" she closed her eyes, lowered her head and had a deep breathe before to let it go, "… I was scared to revive the pain of losing you, again and again. I don't want to lose you any more."

He had a step to her and her forehead gently touched his chest.

She buried her face against his chest while he wrapped his arms around her waist. She didn't push him away, she didn't resist to his calm and warm hug, that hug she knew pretty well. She let her school bag fall to the ground and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close.