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Chapter 36

Makoto stood watering the last flowerpot in her little flat. "Nephrite?" she yelled.

"Mako-chan, it's only a small apartment, you don't need to yell," he said, as he walked into her living room. "What is it?"

"You haven't yet told me if you're joining us to see a movie later," she replied.

Nephrite frowned. "Oh," he mumbled.

"That's not an answer," she said, crossing her arms across her chest. "Are you doing something else?"

He thought on his toes. "I was planning on getting in some tennis practice," he replied quickly.

"Whatever for? You're already a great player! So much so that you're the team captain at school!" she laughed.

"I can't lose to you again," he smiled, kissing her on the forehead. She rolled her eyes.

She watched him as he turned to grab two glasses to fill with water. The teasing had gone from his face and instead his face was blank. She pursed her lips. "You know, we miss having you hang out with us."

His head shot up. "What?"

"Like I said," she nodded, raising her eyebrows. "Any particular reason why that every time we hang out as a group, you've been absent since Minako-chan came back from England a fortnight ago?"

Nephrite winced at her name but covered it up by shaking his head. "A coincidence, Mako-chan." Before she could make a retort, he continued. "I'll see you later, I promised I'd meet the guys to train." He left the glasses on the side, forgotten.

Makoto watched helplessly as he left, and she let out a big sigh. She gathered her things and left to meet everyone at the Hikawa Shrine.

In the late afternoon, Usagi was lounging on Mamoru's couch, reading one of her many manga books. Several times Mamoru had attempted to speak to her, but she was so engrossed by her comics that she hadn't noticed. Occasionally, she would burst out laughing, sounding horribly similar to a hyena, causing him to alternate between rolling his eyes and grimacing.

He went into his bedroom for a change of shirt as between the cinema, chilling out in the sun in the Juban park and then downing juices in the Crown Arcade with everyone, he started getting the twitch to clean himself up. At that thought, he couldn't help smiling to himself. His immaculate apartment was indicative of his obsessive cleanliness tendencies. He finished up, walking back into his living room to see Usagi giggling to herself. He pursed his lips and walked up behind her to see what had tickled her so much. Of course, another Sailor V. He didn't really understand her fixation with manga books. He swept the book from out of her hands and glared down at her.

"Usako," he said firmly, "have you heard anything I'd been saying to you for the past half an hour?"

Her face went from annoyed to blank in the few seconds it took for him to ask the question. "Evidently not," she offered, "sorry, Mamo-chan."

He put the book down on his coffee table and walked around the couch to sit next to her, gently pushing her side so that they could sit comfortably. He put his arm around her small frame and felt her relax into his chest. They sat in silence for a while, simply enjoying each other's company until Mamoru noticed that Usagi had been chewing on her nails. He reached up to gently tug her fingers from her mouth.

"What is it, Usako?" he asked gently.

"Huh?" she murmured, looking up at him. "Oh, nothing – just thinking."

"Careful," he warned. "That's dangerous."

She blew a raspberry, rolling her eyes, settling deeper into his side.

"I'm glad Mina-chan is back," she breathed. "It doesn't feel complete, but it feels like the hole is less prominent."

Mamoru breathed heavily through his nose. "Yeah, I'm not so sure everyone feels that way, though."

"You mean Nephrite?" Usagi assumed.

He nodded. "She doesn't know what we did with him after the events in Death Valley," he said, intentionally not voicing Kunzite's name.

"I know," Usagi nodded. "It's not really something we know how to bring up, Mamoru."

His eyebrows raised upon hearing the lack of affection when she said his name. He decided to change the topic.

"So, I know it's been a while, but I'm doing a gig at the café next week," he informed her.

"Oh?" she answered, her interest somewhat peaked.

"I was hoping you'd come," he hinted. His arms tightened slightly around her. "We don't spend much time alone these days."

"I know," she sighed. "Let's invite everyone to see you perform."

Mamoru frowned. "What part of alone didn't you understand?"

Usagi giggled. "I know," she said, smacking his arm playfully. "We can do something alone after! It'll be nice to have everyone see you perform again, gather an audience for you."

"Fine," he replied both grudgingly and gratefully, giving her a peck on the cheek.

Ami dived into the pool, swimming the full length, feeling completely in her element, free. She rolled forward in the pool, pressing her feet against the wall and pushing off to swim her way to the end she started with. She leapt up out of the water and sat at the edge, brushing her bangs back from her eyes. She felt a bottle of water being pushed into her hands and looked up to see Zoicite smiling down at her.

"That looked like a new record for you," he nodded.

"I don't keep times," Ami smiled, thanking him for the drink. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"No," he agreed, "I must admit I do prefer the dry, quiet nature of the library."

"Me too," Ami seconded. "But I like the freedom of the water." She swung her legs that were dangling in the pool and allowed it to splash about.

Zoicite watched her fondly for a few moments then turned to whip his shirt off. Ami raised her eyebrows, questioningly. Then he took off his trousers to reveal his swimming shorts.

"Care for a race?" he asked.

Ami's eyes brightened. "Seriously? Have you ever swum before?"

"I know the mechanics," he shrugged.

She laughed, swinging her legs out of the water and jumping up next to him. "Alright, I accept your challenge." She stood up onto one of the starting blocks and waited for him to jump up on the one next to her. "3, 2… GO!" she yelled, as they both took off.

She swam easily through the water, soaring through like it was a part of her. She glanced to her side to see Zoicite a little behind her but kicking with all of his might. She rolled forward to push away from the wall and cut her way down the lane. She felt Zoicite nearing her, using every effort to keep up with her but when she came to the end, she shot out of the water and rested on the pool's edge, smiling down at him.

He rested his arms on the pool's edge, allowing himself to float there. He breathed heavily, attempting to calm his gasps. He gazed up at her and rolled his eyes. "You were born of the planet of water. You do have the upper hand."

"Maybe," she mused, "or you're just a really poor swimmer."

"I was literally seconds behind you!" he argued.

"May as well have been miles," she teased.

He grabbed one of her legs dangling in the pool and he pulled. Her eyes widened right before she was doused in water. She swam to the surface and spluttered, arms resting on the pools edge.

"You're horrendous," she said.

"I know," he laughed, "but I love you." She rolled her eyes, giving him a kick underwater.

Makoto stood at the tennis courts and was surprised to see Nephrite there, packing up his belongings. A part of her had suspected that he was making up excuses not to join them all. She walked past the guys, smiling at them in acknowledgment as they greeted her on their way off the courts. She walked up to Nephrite.

"Good session?" she asked, making him jump at the unexpected visit.

"I didn't expect to see you," he smiled, giving her a brief hug before making a face and complaining about needing a shower. "Yeah, it was good, thanks. Let's walk." He gestured, and they made their way off the court.

"So, I know you're avoiding it like the plague, but until you 'fess up, I'm not letting it go," she said firmly. "What is your deal lately?"

Nephrite stopped, glaring at her. "What do you mean?" he asked stiffly.

"Judging by your reaction, you know what I mean," she replied, her hands on her hips. "You're distant and I want to know why."

"I'm not distant with you," he argued.

"You're avoiding and that's close enough," she disagreed. "There's something going on."

He sighed, throwing his bag on the grass. "Fine," he conceded. Makoto folded her arms across her chest and waited. "I don't want to be reminded every day that I lost one of my closest friends."

"Why is this coming up now?"

"Minako reminds me of the hole in our group! There's this gap that we cannot fill! It's been half a year and I still don't know how to feel any better. It sucks, Mako-chan. And every time I look at Minako, I just see the reason he died."

Makoto pursed her lips. "We don't know how he died."

"No, but she does," he countered. "It doesn't even matter how he died because the point is that my friend is dead. And while you're all watching movies and drinking milkshakes, that doesn't change anything."

Makoto dropped her arms to her sides and bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Nephrite," she said gently. Silence reigned over them for a few moments. "Take her to him."

His head snapped up. "What?"

"We don't really know what she's been doing while she was gone, or how she grieved, if she let herself grieve, but you need to grieve," she said. "Take her to him. You should be the one to let her see where he's laid to rest."

"I can't go there," he said.

"I know, but you will," she replied, coming forward to take his hands in hers. "We all loved Kunzite, but you need someone who was overcome with that same pain of losing him. Visit him, for me and make amends. Sometimes we all need a little help."