Lita waited patiently, sitting in the middle of the soccer field of her school where she and Kento were supposed to meet to talk. It originally was going to be a time for the two of them to hang out, but after the incident on Friday afternoon, she and Kento needed to talk. After Ken left that morning to go back to Tokyo with the other guys, she called up Kento and told them that they needed to talk. Kento reluctantly agreed, saying that, yes, they did need to talk.
So now, she sat there, waiting for Kento so she could talk to him and explain to him the misunderstanding. She just hoped that he would understand. As she sat there, her legs crossed Indian-style with her hands in her lap, thinking about what she was going to say to Kento, he walked up behind her. Lita didn't notice him sneak up behind her and was thoroughly surprised when he called out her name.
"Hi Lita," Kento said. Lita jumped and turned her head to see him. She stood up, facing him.
"Hello Kento." An awkward silence fell over the two of them and it was a few moments before one of them spoke.
"So, we have to talk, don't we?" Lita said quietly.
"Yes, we do." Lita looked into Kento's eyes and almost hesitated to speak at the look she found in them.
He seemed angry with her, betrayed. But, behind that anger lingered a hint of disappointment. Lita would do anything to make that look disappear.
"I think you know what this is about," Lita said.
"Yes, I do. It's about you and your new boyfriend." Lita felt her blood start to boil. From the sounds of it, he didn't sound like he wanted to listen.
"Look," Lita said, gritting her teeth, "that guy that you saw me with on Friday isn't my boyfriend."
"Listen Lita, you don't need to lie to me to keep from hurting my feelings. I know that guy was your boyfriend. You two make a cute couple."
Lita felt like she was ready to explode. He just wasn't getting it. She was just going to have to knock some sense into him. Literally. Kento flew back a few feet as Lita's fist came in contact with his face. Kento turned his face back to look at Lita, surprised at the strength that she possessed. What surprised him even more is that when he looked at Lita, he could see the tears gleaming in her eyes. Why was she crying?
"Listen here, Kento," she said, her voice quavering as tears starting running down her cheeks. "I don't know why you can't get it through your thick head, but the guy you saw me with on Friday wasn't my boyfriend. There's no way that he could be my boyfriend. Do you know who that was?" Kento only shook his head. So, Lita told him.
"That was Ken, my best friend from back home. He came down to surprise me with a visit because I hadn't seen him in a long time. I was never going out with him. I've never even considered it."
Lita paused to wipe the tears away from her eyes and to take in a deep breath before continuing. Once I say these next words, there's no going back. I'll have revealed everything, Lita thought before saying, "Besides, how could I go out with anyone else when I'm in love with you?" Kento felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. She was in love with him?
"Lita," he whispered, still not believing it.
"That's right. I love you, you idiot. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. And, although I don't know why, I still love you despite the fact that you've rejected me. And I would do anything if you would be my friend again."
Kento was dumbfounded. He didn't anticipate this turn of events. But, before he could respond in any way, a feminine laugh filled both the ears of Lita and Kento.
The two of them turned to see a woman with dark maroon skin, standing in front of them with a triumphant look on her face. Flipping her deep red hair over her shoulder, she said,
"I'll give you something. You are one hard girl to track down." Lita took a few steps backwards, remembering who the woman was and the damage she had caused Lita. Lita turned to run, pushing Kento along with her.
Both of them had only taken a few steps when the monster jumped in the air and landed in front of the two, glaring at them.
"Now, now. It doesn't do you any good to run from sweet little Pyrope. Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you too much. Just enough so that you'll feel what I felt the last time we fought." A smile her only warning, Pyrope sent a stream of fire towards Lita and Kento. Lita stood there frozen as the attack hurled towards her and Kento. She couldn't move. Too many memories were of their last fight were coming back. So, it was up to Kento to do something.
Sensing Lita's fear, he dove for her, knocking them both to the ground, effectively dodging the attack. Kento got off of Lita and faced Pyrope, standing in between her and Lita.
"Hey, watch it with that fire," Kento said threateningly, "No one tries to hurt my girl and gets away with it." Lita's eyes widened in surprise at Kento's words. His...girl? Is he saying...
Before Lita could explore the thought any farther, Kento had pulled out his kanji ball and used it to transform into his sub-armor. Lita could feel her heart skip a beat. No! He's going to fight for me. He's going to get himself killed.
"Kento, don't do it!" Lita shouted. Kento turned around and gave Lita a quick smile, his only explanation, before transforming.
"ARMOR OF HARDROCK! DAO GI!" Within seconds, Kento stood there in his Hardrock armor, ready to fight against Pyrope. He was ready to anything to protect Lita, even if it meant dying for her. Kento lunged at Pyrope, trying to catch her off guard, but she was too quick for him.
"Well, well, looks like someone wants to fight me. I guess I'll let you give it a shot. But don't be too disappointed when you lose."
As Kento and Pyrope started fighting, Lita watched, hoping that Kento would get the upper hand. But, he never did. Lita could see that Kento was tiring out. Pyrope was a more powerful opponent than Kento had ever faced by himself.
Lita became furious. This battle was between her and Pyrope, not Kento and Pyrope. It was time to step up for her own fight.
Getting to her feet, Lita called out, "Hey Pyrope!" Both Kento and Pyrope stopped fighting and turned to look at Lita.
"Have you decided to fight me?" Pyrope asked.
"Yeah, I have," Lita said with an edge to her voice; she was going to finish this once and for all.
"But Lita, how do you expect to fight?" Kento asked her. Lita pulled out her transformation pen and looked at it gravely. It had been months since she had fought. She wasn't so sure that she could do it.
Her fist tightened around her transformation pen. She had to do it. This was her fight and she was determined to win it.
Looking up at Pyrope, Lita said, "Prepare to meet your end, Pyrope." Raising her transformation pen in the air, Lita shouted out, "JUPITER STAR POWER!" Pyrope smiled maliciously. So, she had found the right girl.
Kento, on the other hand, couldn't believe his eyes. Lita and Sailor Jupiter are the same person? Kento thought as Sailor Jupiter took Lita's place. Pyrope abandoned Kento and turned to Lita.
"So, you're ready to fight me, I see?"
"Yeah, and you're going to lose," Lita said before calling out her attack.
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" Lita sent out a bolt of electricity followed by a stream of it towards Pyrope, who countered with an attack of fire. Both sides poured everything they had into their attacks while Kento just stood there, watching with a look of amazement and revelation on his face. So many things make sense now, Kento thought as his mind mulled over the information that he just received.
As he thought about everything that had happened for the past 8 months, one more bit of information was revealed to him. As he watched the battle and the amount of energy being tossed around increased all the while, it got to a point where Lita's Sailor Scout form couldn't handle the amount of power coursing through her veins. Before Kento knew what was happening, a ball of green light surrounded Lita, temporarily blinding Kento.
When it faded and Kento could see again, he saw Lita standing there, wearing a green dress, one that he had seen before; Lita's Princess Jupiter dress. His eyes went wide with surprise and his jaw went slack. He couldn't believe it. His mind made one more connection. Not only was Lita Sailor Jupiter, but she was also the girl that he met on the night of the Winter Ball all those months ago, the girl that he kissed. He stared on in shock before he realized the fatigued look on Lita's face and realized that Lita was giving the battle her all.
"Kento," she forced out, "Please, help me." Kento could hear the weariness in her voice as he moved to help her. He rushed to stand next to her and once he was next to her, he called out his attack.
"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!" The attack hit Pyrope and she upped the power level on her own attack. Lita and Kento were both amazed at how much power this one creature possessed; it was an overwhelming force and Lita and Kento didn't know if they could win.
Pyrope laughed, covering up her own growing sense of fatigue, and said, "You two aren't powerful enough; you don't have what it takes to beat me." Kento's eyes narrowed and he glared at the evil creature. His blood boiling in rage at her comment, he proceeded to pour more power into his attack, even if just to prove her wrong.
Lita could feel the power radiating off of him as she concentrated on Pyrope. She somehow knew that Pyrope was reaching her limit and if Kento could come up with enough power to best Pyrope, they would win. Glancing over at Kento, she was surprised to see the sudden turn of events. Kento was beginning to glow orange. With a loud shout, a bright ball of orange light surrounded Kento, causing Lita and Pyrope to turn their eyes away.
When it was safe for them to look again, both of them fixed their gazes on Kento. Lita was shocked. His armor has disappeared, leaving in an outfit that much resembled Prince Darien's, except that Kento's was a dark burnt sienna, so dark that it was almost black, but one could see that it was still a deep orange color. The cape that was around his shoulders was black on the outside and the inside of his cape was a dark orange color, not as dark as his armor color, but still dark nonetheless.
Lita nearly stopped breathing as she remembered where she had seen that outfit before. It was the outfit her lover wore during the Silver Millennium. But, wait a moment. If that is the outfit my lover wore during the Silver Millennium, then that means... Lita thought as her eyes went wide. Kento was her lover from the Silver Millennium. Tears of relief filled her eyes as she realized that her true love wasn't lost from her forever.
She looked at his face and saw that his eyes held a glazed look, like he was off in another world. Lita marveled at the fact that he could be lost in his memories while still keep up his attack against Pyrope. When his eyes cleared, he looked over at Lita, his heart in his throat.
"Lita, I..." he began, but Lita cut him off.
"After we deal with her, Kento, then you can say what you want to say." He nodded and they focused their attentions back on Pyrope.
As they fixed their attentions back on Pyrope, Pyrope shivered. There was something different about the two of them, something that didn't mean good news for her. She upped the power level as far as she could before she felt herself hitting her limit; she hoped it would be enough to keep her alive. But, it wasn't meant to be.
With one last blast of power, Lita and Kento broke through. Pyrope couldn't counter the attack and was bombarded by pure power. With a scream, she disintegrated as the power coursed through her body and as quickly as it began, it ended, leaving a very exhausted Lita and Kento.
Lita's knees gave out and she collapsed. She prepared to hit the ground when she felt a pair of strong arms holding her up, keeping her from hitting the ground. She looked over to see Kento staring into her eyes. She stared at him with the same gaze; it was a gaze filled with wonder, amazement, and love.
"Ok, now I can say it," Kento said, "This is what I wanted to say before Pyrope or whoever that was interrupted us." Taking in a deep breath, Kento smiled softly at Lita.
"Lita, I'm sorry for overreacting. I was just heartbroken. I thought that guy was your boyfriend and that I had lost you permanently. The reason why I was so hostile was that I was trying to shut off my feelings for you. Over the last 8 months, my feelings for you have grown and when I saw you with that guy, I thought that you could never return the same feeling." Kento smiled sheepishly.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love you, Lita." Lita smiled broadly before looping her arms around his neck, moving her face closer to his.
Before their lips met, Lita whispered, "I love you too." Their lips met in their first real kiss in a thousand years because this time, they both knew who they were kissing and they had never been happier.
So now, she sat there, waiting for Kento so she could talk to him and explain to him the misunderstanding. She just hoped that he would understand. As she sat there, her legs crossed Indian-style with her hands in her lap, thinking about what she was going to say to Kento, he walked up behind her. Lita didn't notice him sneak up behind her and was thoroughly surprised when he called out her name.
"Hi Lita," Kento said. Lita jumped and turned her head to see him. She stood up, facing him.
"Hello Kento." An awkward silence fell over the two of them and it was a few moments before one of them spoke.
"So, we have to talk, don't we?" Lita said quietly.
"Yes, we do." Lita looked into Kento's eyes and almost hesitated to speak at the look she found in them.
He seemed angry with her, betrayed. But, behind that anger lingered a hint of disappointment. Lita would do anything to make that look disappear.
"I think you know what this is about," Lita said.
"Yes, I do. It's about you and your new boyfriend." Lita felt her blood start to boil. From the sounds of it, he didn't sound like he wanted to listen.
"Look," Lita said, gritting her teeth, "that guy that you saw me with on Friday isn't my boyfriend."
"Listen Lita, you don't need to lie to me to keep from hurting my feelings. I know that guy was your boyfriend. You two make a cute couple."
Lita felt like she was ready to explode. He just wasn't getting it. She was just going to have to knock some sense into him. Literally. Kento flew back a few feet as Lita's fist came in contact with his face. Kento turned his face back to look at Lita, surprised at the strength that she possessed. What surprised him even more is that when he looked at Lita, he could see the tears gleaming in her eyes. Why was she crying?
"Listen here, Kento," she said, her voice quavering as tears starting running down her cheeks. "I don't know why you can't get it through your thick head, but the guy you saw me with on Friday wasn't my boyfriend. There's no way that he could be my boyfriend. Do you know who that was?" Kento only shook his head. So, Lita told him.
"That was Ken, my best friend from back home. He came down to surprise me with a visit because I hadn't seen him in a long time. I was never going out with him. I've never even considered it."
Lita paused to wipe the tears away from her eyes and to take in a deep breath before continuing. Once I say these next words, there's no going back. I'll have revealed everything, Lita thought before saying, "Besides, how could I go out with anyone else when I'm in love with you?" Kento felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. She was in love with him?
"Lita," he whispered, still not believing it.
"That's right. I love you, you idiot. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. And, although I don't know why, I still love you despite the fact that you've rejected me. And I would do anything if you would be my friend again."
Kento was dumbfounded. He didn't anticipate this turn of events. But, before he could respond in any way, a feminine laugh filled both the ears of Lita and Kento.
The two of them turned to see a woman with dark maroon skin, standing in front of them with a triumphant look on her face. Flipping her deep red hair over her shoulder, she said,
"I'll give you something. You are one hard girl to track down." Lita took a few steps backwards, remembering who the woman was and the damage she had caused Lita. Lita turned to run, pushing Kento along with her.
Both of them had only taken a few steps when the monster jumped in the air and landed in front of the two, glaring at them.
"Now, now. It doesn't do you any good to run from sweet little Pyrope. Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you too much. Just enough so that you'll feel what I felt the last time we fought." A smile her only warning, Pyrope sent a stream of fire towards Lita and Kento. Lita stood there frozen as the attack hurled towards her and Kento. She couldn't move. Too many memories were of their last fight were coming back. So, it was up to Kento to do something.
Sensing Lita's fear, he dove for her, knocking them both to the ground, effectively dodging the attack. Kento got off of Lita and faced Pyrope, standing in between her and Lita.
"Hey, watch it with that fire," Kento said threateningly, "No one tries to hurt my girl and gets away with it." Lita's eyes widened in surprise at Kento's words. His...girl? Is he saying...
Before Lita could explore the thought any farther, Kento had pulled out his kanji ball and used it to transform into his sub-armor. Lita could feel her heart skip a beat. No! He's going to fight for me. He's going to get himself killed.
"Kento, don't do it!" Lita shouted. Kento turned around and gave Lita a quick smile, his only explanation, before transforming.
"ARMOR OF HARDROCK! DAO GI!" Within seconds, Kento stood there in his Hardrock armor, ready to fight against Pyrope. He was ready to anything to protect Lita, even if it meant dying for her. Kento lunged at Pyrope, trying to catch her off guard, but she was too quick for him.
"Well, well, looks like someone wants to fight me. I guess I'll let you give it a shot. But don't be too disappointed when you lose."
As Kento and Pyrope started fighting, Lita watched, hoping that Kento would get the upper hand. But, he never did. Lita could see that Kento was tiring out. Pyrope was a more powerful opponent than Kento had ever faced by himself.
Lita became furious. This battle was between her and Pyrope, not Kento and Pyrope. It was time to step up for her own fight.
Getting to her feet, Lita called out, "Hey Pyrope!" Both Kento and Pyrope stopped fighting and turned to look at Lita.
"Have you decided to fight me?" Pyrope asked.
"Yeah, I have," Lita said with an edge to her voice; she was going to finish this once and for all.
"But Lita, how do you expect to fight?" Kento asked her. Lita pulled out her transformation pen and looked at it gravely. It had been months since she had fought. She wasn't so sure that she could do it.
Her fist tightened around her transformation pen. She had to do it. This was her fight and she was determined to win it.
Looking up at Pyrope, Lita said, "Prepare to meet your end, Pyrope." Raising her transformation pen in the air, Lita shouted out, "JUPITER STAR POWER!" Pyrope smiled maliciously. So, she had found the right girl.
Kento, on the other hand, couldn't believe his eyes. Lita and Sailor Jupiter are the same person? Kento thought as Sailor Jupiter took Lita's place. Pyrope abandoned Kento and turned to Lita.
"So, you're ready to fight me, I see?"
"Yeah, and you're going to lose," Lita said before calling out her attack.
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" Lita sent out a bolt of electricity followed by a stream of it towards Pyrope, who countered with an attack of fire. Both sides poured everything they had into their attacks while Kento just stood there, watching with a look of amazement and revelation on his face. So many things make sense now, Kento thought as his mind mulled over the information that he just received.
As he thought about everything that had happened for the past 8 months, one more bit of information was revealed to him. As he watched the battle and the amount of energy being tossed around increased all the while, it got to a point where Lita's Sailor Scout form couldn't handle the amount of power coursing through her veins. Before Kento knew what was happening, a ball of green light surrounded Lita, temporarily blinding Kento.
When it faded and Kento could see again, he saw Lita standing there, wearing a green dress, one that he had seen before; Lita's Princess Jupiter dress. His eyes went wide with surprise and his jaw went slack. He couldn't believe it. His mind made one more connection. Not only was Lita Sailor Jupiter, but she was also the girl that he met on the night of the Winter Ball all those months ago, the girl that he kissed. He stared on in shock before he realized the fatigued look on Lita's face and realized that Lita was giving the battle her all.
"Kento," she forced out, "Please, help me." Kento could hear the weariness in her voice as he moved to help her. He rushed to stand next to her and once he was next to her, he called out his attack.
"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!" The attack hit Pyrope and she upped the power level on her own attack. Lita and Kento were both amazed at how much power this one creature possessed; it was an overwhelming force and Lita and Kento didn't know if they could win.
Pyrope laughed, covering up her own growing sense of fatigue, and said, "You two aren't powerful enough; you don't have what it takes to beat me." Kento's eyes narrowed and he glared at the evil creature. His blood boiling in rage at her comment, he proceeded to pour more power into his attack, even if just to prove her wrong.
Lita could feel the power radiating off of him as she concentrated on Pyrope. She somehow knew that Pyrope was reaching her limit and if Kento could come up with enough power to best Pyrope, they would win. Glancing over at Kento, she was surprised to see the sudden turn of events. Kento was beginning to glow orange. With a loud shout, a bright ball of orange light surrounded Kento, causing Lita and Pyrope to turn their eyes away.
When it was safe for them to look again, both of them fixed their gazes on Kento. Lita was shocked. His armor has disappeared, leaving in an outfit that much resembled Prince Darien's, except that Kento's was a dark burnt sienna, so dark that it was almost black, but one could see that it was still a deep orange color. The cape that was around his shoulders was black on the outside and the inside of his cape was a dark orange color, not as dark as his armor color, but still dark nonetheless.
Lita nearly stopped breathing as she remembered where she had seen that outfit before. It was the outfit her lover wore during the Silver Millennium. But, wait a moment. If that is the outfit my lover wore during the Silver Millennium, then that means... Lita thought as her eyes went wide. Kento was her lover from the Silver Millennium. Tears of relief filled her eyes as she realized that her true love wasn't lost from her forever.
She looked at his face and saw that his eyes held a glazed look, like he was off in another world. Lita marveled at the fact that he could be lost in his memories while still keep up his attack against Pyrope. When his eyes cleared, he looked over at Lita, his heart in his throat.
"Lita, I..." he began, but Lita cut him off.
"After we deal with her, Kento, then you can say what you want to say." He nodded and they focused their attentions back on Pyrope.
As they fixed their attentions back on Pyrope, Pyrope shivered. There was something different about the two of them, something that didn't mean good news for her. She upped the power level as far as she could before she felt herself hitting her limit; she hoped it would be enough to keep her alive. But, it wasn't meant to be.
With one last blast of power, Lita and Kento broke through. Pyrope couldn't counter the attack and was bombarded by pure power. With a scream, she disintegrated as the power coursed through her body and as quickly as it began, it ended, leaving a very exhausted Lita and Kento.
Lita's knees gave out and she collapsed. She prepared to hit the ground when she felt a pair of strong arms holding her up, keeping her from hitting the ground. She looked over to see Kento staring into her eyes. She stared at him with the same gaze; it was a gaze filled with wonder, amazement, and love.
"Ok, now I can say it," Kento said, "This is what I wanted to say before Pyrope or whoever that was interrupted us." Taking in a deep breath, Kento smiled softly at Lita.
"Lita, I'm sorry for overreacting. I was just heartbroken. I thought that guy was your boyfriend and that I had lost you permanently. The reason why I was so hostile was that I was trying to shut off my feelings for you. Over the last 8 months, my feelings for you have grown and when I saw you with that guy, I thought that you could never return the same feeling." Kento smiled sheepishly.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love you, Lita." Lita smiled broadly before looping her arms around his neck, moving her face closer to his.
Before their lips met, Lita whispered, "I love you too." Their lips met in their first real kiss in a thousand years because this time, they both knew who they were kissing and they had never been happier.
