--------------------------
Destiny, by Kristii
--------------------------
Chapter three ~ sorry about the delay; enjoy! ^^
Thanks to everyone who's given me feedback – I really
really do appreciate it!! ^^ If you have any more comments, just
drop me a note or email me at aznvballgurl@yahoo.com ^^
Sailor Mars and affiliated characters (c) Naoko Takeuchi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Mars." Dressed in street clothes, but regal nonetheless,
Setsuna rose and moved toward the younger woman as she stood, frozen,
in the doorway. "You left this." She held out a thin manila folder--the
same folder Rei had received just that morning from her lawyer.
"I--I know." Rei took the folder slowly, knowing too well what
it contained. "Setsuna, I--can't I wait?" She glanced at her husband,
sleeping off the anesthesia in the narrow hospital bed, unable to
contain herself. "He has four months left, Setsuna. Can't we just let
him go peacefully?"
"Mars." Pluto gestured toward the chair by the bed, and Rei sat
down numbly, her eyes never leaving the older woman's face. "I know
this is hard," she said softly. "I didn't expect anything like this to
happen; I know how tough this makes things for you now, but..." Pluto
shrugged slightly. "The dark forces won't wait, and neither will
Jadeite. It's not in my power to delay his return or prevent its plans
of acquisition--"
"Dammit!" God, Rei, you know she's right... but you can't do
this to him, not now; not like this, dammit! "Setsuna, I can't do
this, I can't! It's too cruel; I can't make him face this alone--"
"You can," Pluto said softly. "It's a terrible thing, Mars, I
know, but... If you save him, you are damning humanity--and your
Princess--forever..."
"I--" There was no way to counter that, nothing. "Setsuna--"
"I'm sorry, Mars." To Rei's surprise, Setsuna stepped forward
and hugged her; Even in the days of the Silver Millennium, she had
never seen the Time Senshi show this much emotion before. "I know how
hard this must be, but you've got no choice; you know it, I know it. It
hasn't been your choice for centuries now, not since you first put your
name to that oath in the Silver Millennium..."
"I know..." Rei closed her eyes, sighing. She's right, Rei...
Mars comes before Rei; you've known that forever--why can't you accept
it now? "I know..."
"Good," Pluto said quietly, releasing her embrace. The flash of
emotion was gone; Setsuna Meiou had retreated back into the shell of
the Time Senshi as quickly as she had come. "It must be done by
tonight, Mars." Her voice was flat again as she strode toward the door:
"Report to me as soon as you are finished; Jadeite, I believe, is
scheduled to return any day now."
And then she was gone, the door closing silently; leaving Rei
alone with her husband, and her conscience.
---------
Rei sat alone at her husband's bedside long after Pluto had
left her, holding his hand and wishing to God that she'd never known
Serenity. He looked so pale, so ill; she could not bear to imagine the
look on his face when she broke the news to him. Sleep, Kyle, sleep...
There's nothing for you when you wake, save misery...
It was nearly five hours later when Kyle finally woke,
struggling to recognize his surroundings as he glanced around him.
"Reiko?" He tried to smile, but winced instead, his hand going gingerly
to his stomach. "What happened?"
"Kyle!" It took all of Rei's willpower to keep from bursting
into tears right then, falling into her husband's arms and confessing
everything. "You--you collapsed at work this morning. How are you
feeling?"
"Okay..." Kyle studied Rei's face for a moment, his eyes
inquisitive. "What's wrong, Rei? You look like you've been crying."
"I--" Oh, shit, Rei. Don't break down, not now--there's too
much at stake for you to give in to emotion... "I'm okay." Rei stood
hurriedly, forcing a smile that only she knew was fake. "I should go
get Dr. Lynch, Kyle. He wanted to see you as soon as you were awake..."
"Wait, Rei--"
But Rei had already hurried out the door, unable to face her
husband any longer.
----------
Dr. Lynch smiled sympathetically as he came out of Kyle's room
a few minutes later. "I told him," he said softly, his voice resigned.
"He's pretty shaken up right now; try to calm him down a little, will
you? I know it's hard for you too, but try to be strong for him..."
"I--of course." I can only be strong for one person,
Doctor--Kyle, or Serenity. Rei took a deep breath and pushed opened
the door to Kyle's room, her fingers tightening involuntarily on the
folder...
"Reiko?" Kyle looked up as the girl entered the room, and
her heart broke as she saw the bleak look in his eyes. "Dr. Lynch, he
said--" He broke off, unable to continue. "I--it's cancer, Rei." Kyle
closed his eyes for a moment, trying to steady his voice. "He
said--four months..."
Oh, God, Kyle... don't do this... "I know," Rei said softly,
sitting down at her husband's side. "I know, Kyle, I--"
"Four fucking months," Kyle said softly, looking away. "God,
I'm sorry, Reiko. This--this is just--dammit!" He stopped for a moment,
and the anger faded from his voice. "I'm sorry, Rei. You're too young
to be a widow…"
And you're too young to die... "Kyle?" Rei stared down at the
papers in her hand, unable to meet her husband's gaze. "I--I know this
is a bad time, Kyle, but.." Oh, God, Reiko, you have to say it...
Remember your oath; remember Serenity... "Can I ask you a favor?"
"Hmm?" Kyle looked surprised for a moment, but nodded. "Of
course, Rei. What is it?"
"I--" Come on, Reiko! Crystal Tokyo is at stake here--just DO
it! "I--" Rei took a deep breath, forcing herself to look into Kyle's
eyes:
"I want a divorce..."
There was a very long moment of silence; Kyle drew in a
sharp breath, his face draining of color as he stared at the girl
beside him. "Rei, what--" His eyes went wide as she looked down,
stunned at the realization that she wasn't kidding. "Wait, Reiko--
what--what are you saying?"
"I have everything ready," Rei said softly, holding out the
folder. "You just need to sign, and we'll be done..."
"Oh, my God..." Kyle looked like he was going to be sick; he
pushed himself up to a sitting position, his voice shaky: "Rei… why?!"
"I--" Because of Mars, Kyle... because of Mars... because Mars
will always supercede Hino Rei... "It's complicated, Kyle. I didn't
want to break it to you like this, but..."
"Oh, God…" Kyle was struggling to keep his composure, his
eyes huge with stunned horror as he tried desperately to meet his wife's
gaze. "Please – don't do this now – please? I can't -- I can't face this alone,
Reiko. Just four more months... Four more months, and you have all the
time in the world to do whatever you want. Just don't leave now; I--I
can't--"
"Kyle... Please?"
"Rei..." Kyle bit his lip, a shadow passing over his face. "Why?
Is there another man?"
"I--" Oh, God, Kyle... No... I've never loved a man as much as
I love you--not Jadeite, not Darien, not anyone... "Kyle, no; don't do
this..."
"Oh, God..." Kyle buried his face in his hands; the light had
gone out of his eyes when he finally looked up again. "I understand,"
he said quietly, his voice so low Rei could barely hear his words.
"You--you don't deserve this. I can't give you anything but pain,
Reiko. If--if he makes you happy, I..." He voice was wavering as he
forced out the words. "I'm – I'm dying anyway. It's better if you just
forget about me..."
"Kyle--"
"Where do I sign?"
Oh, God, my poor baby... Unable to look into his eyes, Rei
handed Kyle the papers and fished a pen out of her purse. "Here..."
Kyle stared down at the blank "Sign here" line for a moment,
his eyes straying to the neat "Hino Rei" scrawled above it. Then, in
one quick motion, he scribbled his name across the clean white paper
and thrust the document back at her, the pen dropping from his fingers.
"Take it," he said softly, swallowing hard. "Be--be happy..."
"Kyle..." Oh, God, Reiko... There were tears in Kyle's eyes;
Rei had never seen him cry before. "I--I'm sorry, Kyle." There's
nothing left to say, is there, Reiko? You've just forfeited your right
to ever speak to this man again... "I have to go." She jammed the
papers back into the folder and stood hurriedly, not sure if she could
keep her own tears back much longer. "Feel better..."
And then she turned and almost ran out the door, unable to keep
up the façade any longer. There, Pluto. I did it. Crystal Tokyo is
safe now... are you happy? Your world is safe, and his is shattered...
are you happy now?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Like it? Hate it? Comments -- aznvballgurl@yahoo.com