Sorry for anyone who was waiting for this, I'll try to be quicker between
updates. Reviews please!
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As the Tears Fell~Chapter Seven
By MCRK
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After following, or rather being dragged by, Rei through most of the palace grounds, the two finally came to a stop in the gardens and sat down on a bench. "Ok, start explaining." She demanded.
"You have just as much to explain as I do you know." Jade said angered by the way that she was acting.
"Me? What do I have to explain?"
"Well for starters how about why you haven't talked to your mom in over five years? Or why none of the other princess know about any of that?" He asked.
"Fine. I'll explain all that, and tell you whatever you want to know. But you have to promise to then explain stuff also agreed?" Rei asked now calmer.
"Agreed."
"I guess the first thing you want to know is why I haven't talked to my mom at all right?" She asked.
He nodded and waited for her to continue.
"Well first of all in the letter that I sent you, right after I got here, I did tell you that I was never going to talk to my mom again." Rei said.
"Well yeah you did but I didn't think you were serious! I mean you were 12, all 12 year olds say that." Jade exclaimed.
"Well I meant it." She said determined.
"Yeah but don't you think it's time to forgive her for that? She was doing what she thought was in your best interest." He said.
"Oh come on Jed! You were there; you saw what her idea of 'my best interest' was. She had no right to keep something so important from me for all those years. And come to think of it, neither did you!" Rei said glaring at him.
Jeadite sighed. "Look I'm sorry about that too and I'll explain that in a minute. But first you have to explain one more thing for me. Why is it that you never told any of the other guardians about this?" He asked.
"It isn't something I enjoy looking back upon." She said quietly. "And it's not that I don't trust them or anything, but I don't know, I don't share that much with them regardless of how close we all are. Besides, I did tell one person; Princess Serenity knows."
"You two are really close aren't you?" He asked softly.
"We are as close as sisters. There is nothing that we can't tell each other. And it makes sense that we are so close, seeing as she is my cousin." Rei said quietly.
Jade glanced at her with wide eyes. "You are related to Princess and Queen Serenity?" He asked.
She nodded. "Another thing my mom didn't tell me when looking out for my 'best interest.'" She said sarcastically. "Queen Serenity is her sister, making the two of us cousins. But enough about that. You have explaining to do too you know." She said changing the subject.
"Yeah unfortunately." He said.
"Tell me something, how could you know for seven years that I was part of Princess Serenity's court, and never tell me?" Rei asked, her voice proving that clearly she was hurt.
"Look Rei, trust me I wanted to tell you more then anything in the world." Jade said quickly.
"Then what stopped you?"
"Your mom." He said.
"How did my mom stop you from telling me something?" She asked confused.
"The same way she stopped me from telling you that I was one of Endymion's guards."
"What are you talking about?"
He sighed. "Maybe I should just start from the beginning. Do you remember, how the first time I met you, you showed me your fire?" He asked.
"Yes." Rei said nodding.
"As soon as I saw that, I realized that you had to be one of Princess Serenity's guards. But since you didn't seem to know anything about it, I wanted to talk to your mom first to find out why you didn't know." Jade explained.
"Did she give some stupid excuse about how she didn't want to lose me any earlier?" She asked sarcastically.
"Actually she never really gave me a reason." Jade admitted.
"So what stopped you from telling me?"
"The fact that your mom threatened me that if I ever told you anything about it before you had to leave, and she found out, I would never be able to talk to you again." He said.
"I wouldn't have let her know!" Rei exclaimed. "I was your best friend you couldn't trust me?"
"It wasn't that, but I was so afraid that somehow it would slip or something. I couldn't run the risk of never talking to you again. And trust me I have tried to get her to change her mind over the years. Man have I tried." He said rolling his eyes. "Like remember when she threw you that huge birthday party for your 11th birthday? And she was acting all weird and everything, and you wrote to me upset because you were afraid something terrible was going to happen? Well when I got that letter, I realized why Victoria was doing all that and I sat down and her wrote her a very nasty letter. First telling her that she should have told you a long time ago, and she should tell you now, but then just yelling at her. I told her that if she wasn't go to tell you until it was time for you to leave, then the least, the very least she could do, was stop acting like her daughter was dying. She was never a model mother from the start, and now was too late to start trying to be one. I told her that is she was going to miss you so much, then she should start appreciating the time the two of you had left, not scaring you to death."
"You did that for me?" Rei asked touched.
"Of course I did. She wrote back to. Apologizing and promising that while she wouldn't tell you about being a guard, she would stop acting weird and talk to you." Jade said.
Rei was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier and getting angry with you. I missed you a lot over the years and I'm sorry I ruined all this by getting mad."
He shrugged. "No big deal. Besides you did have some right. But let's start over ok? Hey dorkus, long time no see huh?"
She smiled. "Hey Jed. Haven't seen you in a while." She said. The two stood there for a moment before hugging each other tightly.
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"The palace grounds are beautiful Princess." Endymion said as he and Serin walked, hand in hand, through the palace grounds.
"Please call me Serin." She said.
"Ok Serin. So tell me about yourself."
"Hmm what do you want to know?" Serin asked.
"Everything."
"Well let's see. I was born here, on June 30th, and you met my mom, and I'm not sure where my dad is. My mom never really said anything about him. Then when I was 12, the others all came. Those are my friends that you met before." She explained.
"Right, Makoto, Minako, Ami, and Rei right?" He questioned.
She smiled. "Yeah that's them. They're the best friends I could ever have, especially Rei."
"She sounds like a wonderful person, Jade talks about her often too." Endymion said.
"She is. She has always been there for me. Through everything. She is also my cousin you know." She said looking up at him.
"No I didn't." He said in surpass. "Are your mothers sisters?"
"Yeah but I never met her mom. When Rei was little she had this big thing with never telling her that she was a scout, or that I was her cousin. And since then, Rei won't even talk to her." Serin said.
"That's terrible."
"Yeah I know. But let's move on to something happier." She said.
"Ok like what?" Endy couldn't help but laugh lightly at her bubbly personality.
'Tell me about you."
"You want to know about me? Ok, I was born on August 3, on Earth. I'm 19 years old; I have a younger sister, Terra who can be a major pain sometimes. Do you have siblings?" He asked, completely forgetting about the conversation between Rei and Serin that he had overheard before.
Serin was silent for a moment, not sure how to answer. "I...did." She said slowly.
He saw the hurt in her eyes and felt terrible. "If you don't want to say anything, I'll understand."
"No it's ok. It's just hard for me to say. I had a twin brother, but he died about seven years ago, and I miss him a lot." Serin explained as she started to silently cry.
"Oh Serin, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He said gathering her in his arms.
"I'm sorry for crying on you and everything." She said wiping her eyes.
"Don't apologize, I should have made you talk about it. But if you ever want to talk, I'm here. I may not have ever lost someone close to me, but I am always willing to listen."
Serin pulled away and looked deep into his eyes. "Thank you. No one has ever done that for me before."
Endymion tried to pull his gaze away but failed. "May I ask a favor of you?" He whispered.
"Yes."
"May I kiss you?"
"But that wouldn't be a favor. A favor is usually something one person doesn't want to do. And I assure you, I want for you to kiss me." Serin whispered smiling up at him.
"Wait, so I can?" He asked.
She laughed. "Yes."
Cupping her cheek with his hand Endymion leaned down and kissed Serenity. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, and he found his arms wrapping themselves around her waist and holding her tightly.
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'What is wrong with me?' Jade wondered. 'These thoughts are kinda abnormal, I mean she is my best friend! That would be like going out with a sister, seeing as she is the closest thing to one. And yet, I never want to leave her embrace.'
'Whoa did I just say to myself that Jed is really hot?' Rei wondered silently. 'What is wrong with me here? First of all he is my best friend, second of all he is older then me, and third, I already have a boyfriend! This is probably just hormones or something.'
"I missed you so much." Rei said.
"I know I missed you too." Jade responded reluctantly letting her go. "You look so different." He said gazing at her. "And I mean that in a good way." He added quickly.
Rei stifled a laugh. "Yeah well I'm not exactly a gawky ten year old anymore am I?"
"Definitely not."
"But you didn't turn out to bad either. You look a little to much like someone else who isn't around any more, but that's ok."
"Serin's brother right?" He asked not really paying attention.
She gasped. "So you guys were spying on us!" She exclaimed. "I was wondering how you tell that Serin and I are so close. You guys were spying on us."
Jade blushed as he tried to come up with an excuse. "Well we only followed you guys because we where else to go, and we didn't really want to get to lost so we just followed you. We weren't planning on listening in. We just wanted to see if that would help us find our way, but then Endy like totally fell in love with the Princess. Are you mad at me?" He asked.
"You know I can't get mad at you. Even if you have a lame excuse." Rei said laughing.
He shrugged. "It worked though."
"So the Prince likes Serin?" She asked curiously.
"Likes? He was speechless after he first saw her. He is head over heels for her, and if she is as nice as a person as she seems, he will be even more in love after they talk."
"Really? Good. I told her that the two of them were going to end up falling in love and now I get to bug her about it." She said grinning.
"Would you really do that to her?" He asked.
"Are you kidding me? Of course I would! Do you know how much she would bug me if this was me?" She asked.
"Wait, she thought you and Endymion were going to fall for each other?" Jade asked, now confused.
"No! She thought that you and I were going to fall for each other." Rei said smiling.
"Now that would just be really strange." He said forcing a smile. 'So why is it that I think I am?' He wondered.
Rei looked at her watch. "I think it's time we got back to the palace. We still have to show you guys your rooms so you can get ready for dinner."
Jade agreed and the two started walking back.
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"Lady Minako are you all right?" Kunzite asked waving a hand in front of her face.
"What?" She asked snapping back to reality.
"I was asking if you were all right, you seem some what out of it." He said.
"I'm sorry, I have something on my mind." She apologized.
"No need to apologize. I understand." He said gazing at her. 'What is it about her that makes me feel like I would do anything for her? I mean come on, I have my job, I don't have time for love.' He scolded himself.
Minako, on the other hand, had her thoughts focused on someone else. 'I wonder why Rei never told us that Jeadite was so incredibly hot!' She exclaimed silently. 'I really hope she doesn't want to go for him, cause there is no way I can not go for him. Course, only if it doesn't bother her.'
The two walked down the path in silence for a few minutes. "So where are you from Lord Kunzite?" Minako asked finally.
"As I am sure you know, I currently live on Earth, but I am originally from Saturn."
"Wow, the other side of the galaxy huh? What is it like over there? Any different?"
"The girls aren't nearly as beautiful as you are." He replied, to both of their surprise.
"That is kind of you to say." Minako said blushing. "Wasn't it hard to move across the galaxy though to come live at Earth?" She asked, desperately wanting to change the subject.
"Well kind of. But it was for my job, and that is all there is to it." He replied.
"I feel the same way." She said.
"May I ask you, somewhat of a personal question?" He asked nervously.
"Of course."
"Do you, by any chance, have a boyfriend?" He asked, his face turning red, not usually this forward.
"Actually I don't." She said, 'But hopefully I will real soon.' She thought smiling as she thought of Jade.
Assuming that she was smiling at him, Kunzite smiled back.
Lost in her thoughts, Minako looked down at the flowers.
"Minako?"
She lifted her head, to find her face a mere inches from Kunzite's. She didn't have time to ask what he was doing, when he leaned over and gently kissed her.
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Serenity and Endymion were still kissing moments later when a gasp broke them apart. Blushing they turned to see a black cat, with a crescent shape on it's forehead, staring at them.
Serin started to blush even more as she looked down at the cat. "Uh hi Luna." She said.
"Well, I guess your mother will be happy about this at least." Luna said.
"Did that cat just talk?" Endy asked nervously.
She started laughing. "Yes. That is Luna, my guardian cat."
The cat glared at him for a moment as he stood there nervously.
Serin noticed and started scolding the cat. "Luna would you knock it off? You are my guardian and my mentor yes, but you are not in control of my life. I am allowed to kiss him if I want to. And I want to so there." She said.
The cat sighed. "You grew up too fast you know that?" She asked. "I remember when you used to hate boys."
"Not all boys. I never hated Travis." She quietly interjected.
Luna looked at her, surprised that she had mentioned Travis in front of Endymion.
"It's Ok Luna, he knows. I trust him." Serin said taking his hand. "Now did you come out here to tell me something, or just to spy on me?"
"Oh right. I came to inform you that it is almost time for dinner, and I am sure the Prince would like to go to his room first." Luna said regaining her composure as the three walked towards the palace.
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Minako pulled away in shock. "What are you doing?" She exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, I thought you wanted me to..." Kunzite said flushing.
"No! No I didn't!" She shouted.
"I apologize deeply Lady Minako. I must have misread you. I didn't mean to offend you in anyway." He said apologizing.
"Look I know I said that I don't have a boyfriend, and no offense to you or anything, but I am just not interested in you in that way. I mean you are a wonderful person, and very good looking, but right now I am interested in some one else." She explained gently. "Gomen."
"Might I ask who it is? If you don't mind telling me, that is."
"Jeadite."
"Oh I see." He said stiffly. "Look it's probably time we head back to the castle. I am somewhat tired from the trip." He said turning away from her.
"I really am sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." She said trying again.
"Yamate. You apologized, and your apology was accepted, it is not that big of a deal." He said stopping her.
She nodded as the two of them silently started back.
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As most of the palace slept, the princess and her court were still wide- awake, together in Serin's room discussing the events of the day.
"Soooo, who is going to start?" Rei asked.
"I think Serin should." Makoto exclaimed.
"Yeah come on tell us what happened between you and the Prince!" Ami added.
"Well not that much happened." She said blushing.
"Yeah sure." The others all said rolling their eyes.
"We saw the way you two were looking at each other during dinner!" Minako said.
"Yeah so spill." Rei demanded.
"We went for a walk, and we were talking, and I told him things about when I was growing up." She paused for a minute. 'And I told him about Travis. I'll talk to you privately later.' She thought, sending the message to Rei, who nodded in reply.
"Then what happened?"
"Then...he kissed me. And it was so heavenly!" Serin exclaimed happily.
"Awwww how cute." Rei said.
"Yeah, and what about you and Jeadite?" Ami asked.
"Yeah what was that whole thing about?" Makoto questioned.
It was Rei's turn to blush as she stalled answering the question.
"Ok what did I miss?" Serin wanted to know.
"Well while you were with Endymion, Jade asked Rei how her mom was doing. And she said she hasn't talked to her since she left. And he said is this because of--" Minako explained, stopping in the middle of her sentence.
"Because of what?" She asked in confusion.
"We don't know. Then Rei dragged him away telling him not to say anything." Makoto added.
They all turned to Rei. "Yes, what was going on?" Ami asked.
"And what I want to know is, did he kiss you yet?" Serin asked smiling at her.
"It's not that I don't trust you guys enough to tell you, it's just something that is really personal, and really painful for me to look back upon. I would rather not saying anything." She said quietly.
"Well what about my question?"
"No he did not kiss me, and I did not kiss him." She replied laughing. "I have a boyfriend already remember?"
" Yeah, Dave. Damn. I was so sure you two were going to get together." Serin said. "But, what about the rest of you?" She asked slyly.
"Nothing happened. Nephlite and I walked around for a while talking, and he is a really nice guy and I hope to get to know him better." Makoto supplied.
"Same with Zoisite. Nothing really happened, we just talked." Ami said.
Everyone turned to Minako. "I take it you showed Kunzite around?" Rei asked.
"He kissed me." She said softly.
"Is it just me, or do most people usually enjoy being kissed? You make it seem like it was terrible." Serin said.
"It's not that." She said sighing. "But I don't like him in that way."
"So who do you like, you know in that way." Ami questioned.
"Jeadite." She said finally.
The others all looked back and forth between her and Rei with surprised looks on their face. "You mean my best friend, the one who I grew up with, trust more than anyone in the Universe Jeadite?" Rei asked.
She nodded shamefully. "If you were going to go for him, or if you don't want me to ask him out, please tell me and I promise I won't do anything." Minako said.
"Regardless of what Serin thinks, even after seeing him, I have no intentions of going for him. I mean, I love him to death, but not in that way. Besides he is my best friend, I would never want to change that." She said smiling at Minako.
"But would it bother you if I asked him out?" She asked hopefully.
"As long as you do not hurt him, I don't mind." Rei said.
She smiled. "That means a lot to me, thank you."
"So when are you going to ask him out?" She asked eagerly.
Minako blushed. "I'm not sure. I'd like to get to know him a little better first."
"You should ask him to the ball!" Serin said her eyes lighting up.
"What ball?" Makoto asked.
"Oh I forget to tell you guys. Mother has decided to hold a ball tomorrow night to welcome Prince Endymion and his court." She explained.
"I feel kinda uncomfortable asking him that soon. Maybe I will dance with him there but...well anyway, what about the rest of you, are you planning on going to the ball?" Minako questioned.
"Maybe I should ask Nephlite." Makoto wondered.
"Maybe he will ask you." Serin said.
"Endy will surely ask Serin." Rei said as Serin blushed.
"I think I will just stay home. As long as my presence is not required, I can catch up on my studying." Ami said.
The others rolled their eyes.
"Come one Ami, like you really need to study anymore. Besides, how do you know Zoisite won't ask you?" Minako asked slyly.
"We are just friends, I doubt he will ask me to the ball." She said in embarrassment. "What about you Rei?" She asked trying to change the subject. "Are you going with Dave?"
"I don't think so. I will probably go to the ball anyway, but he is visiting some family on Saturn, and I don't think he will be back for a few days." She said, smiling at the thought of her current boyfriend.
"Rei, why is it that every time we have a ball, Dave either comes down with some strange illness, or is visiting some family on some other planet? I mean how much family can he have?" Serin asked.
"He can't dance for his life, and he is just to embarrassed to admit that." Rei said smiling.
At that moment Serin's clock beeped twelve and the girls all jumped in surprise.
"Wow it's twelve already? I gotta go I need some sleep. Night." Makoto called as she left the room.
"Yes I need sleep so I can be ready for the day tomorrow." Ami said as she walked away.
"Well I am going to bed so I can dream about Jade all night long." Minako said smiling. "Oyasumi Nasai!" She called as she left.
Serin turned to Rei who didn't move. "I take it you are staying?" She asked.
"For now. I want some details on what happened."
"You mean about how I told him about Travis right?"
"Well yeah pretty much."
"I'm not even sure why I did. We were just talking and he asked if I had any siblings. And I just had this feeling that I could trust him no matter what. Does that sound insane?" Serin asked.
"No." Rei said smiling at her. "It makes total sense."
"I just got the feeling that I could tell him anything."
"Is that when he kissed you?" She asked.
"Yeah. But the best part was, before he did it, he actually asked me whether he could kiss me or not!" Serin exclaimed.
"Awww how sweet!" Rei responded. "By the way, thanks for not saying any thing to the others. You and Jed are really the only people who know anything about what happened with my mom."
"No problem."
"Look, I promise I will talk to you more about this in the morning, but right now," She paused to yawn, "I am falling asleep. So oyasumi nasai." She said heading towards the door.
"Hey, Rei?" Serin called stopping the other girl. "Why do you think that I already feel so close to him, and like I can trust him with my life?"
Rei smiled at her and shrugged. "Maybe he is your soul mate."
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The next morning on her way to breakfast Makoto ran into Nephlite.
"Oh hello Nephlite." She said smiling at him.
"Hi there lady." He said taking her hand and kissing it lightly.
"I was wondering, would you care to escort me to the ball tonight?" She asked nervously.
"It would be an honor to escort a lady as beautiful as he." He replied.
"Arigato." She said blushing. "I look forward to tonight."
"As do I."
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"Good morning Lord Zoisite." Ami called a she passed him on her way to the training grounds.
"Good morning to you also Lady Ami." He said smiling at her.
"Please, just call me Ami? Lady sounds so formal."
"Only if you promise to call me Zoisite, Lord is a little too proper."
"Agreed."
"Where are you headed Ami?" He asked.
"Training grounds, is that not where you are going also?" She questioned.
"Actually I am. Would you mind if I walked with you?" Zoi asked.
"Of course not." She said as the two set off.
"I take it you heard about the ball tonight?" He asked.
"Yes, but I doubt I will attend." She responded.
"Why not?"
"Well I am not very big on balls, I find them time consuming. I could be doing much better things with my time like studying, or reading." Ami explained." Besides, no one would want to dance with me anyway." She added quietly.
"Ami!" Zoisite said in shock. "Are you crazy? Who wouldn't want to dance with you? You are a beautiful, intelligent, amazing women."
"Thank you." She said blushing once more. "But I still plan on staying home."
"What if I asked if I could escort you, would you come then?" He asked quietly.
She looked over at him in surprise. "You would want to go with me?" She asked. "That might not be the best idea, I am somewhat of a geek around here."
"That makes no difference to me. You are wonderful person and I like you a great deal." He said firmly, and with that he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.
"Well I guess I can't turn down and offer like that now can I?" Ami asked afterwards.
He smiled at her. "You better not. Now, I think we were on our way to the training grounds?" He asked.
********************************
"Well you two certainly took some time getting here." Serin commented as Ami and Zoisite finally made their way to the training session, where the others were all already waiting.
"Well now that you are all here, we can explain the purpose of this." Artemis, Minako's guardian and one of Queen Serenity's advisors said.
"You ten, are going to spar. General vs. Scout, in order of rank. Meaning Venus and Kunzite, Mars and Jeadite, Jupiter and Nephlite, Mercury and Zoisite, and Serin and Endymion. So ladies, if you would transform." Luna said.
"Transform?" Jade asked.
"Just watch." Rei said smiling at him as the girls called out their respective phrases.
"VENUS POWER!"
"MARS POWER!"
"JUPITER POWER!"
"MERCURY POWER!"
"MOON PRISM POWER!"
The guards watched in amazement as the girls were encased in water, fire, electricity, ribbons, and hearts. Within moments five girls in very short skirts were standing before them. One in light blue, one in dark blue, one I red, one in green and one in orange.
"Those are the uniforms Rei was wearing when we first met her." Zoisite realized.
"Yeah except now we are all wearing them." Sailor Moon said.
"And I have to say it looks best on you." Endy whispered to her.
"Be quiet." She said giggling.
"Ahem." Luna said glaring at the two.
"Gomen."
"Thank you, now if we could continue. First you need to show one another your powers, so as not to surprise someone in the middle of a fight. If the generals and the Prince would please go first." Luna said.
"Where are we aiming this towards?" Kunzite asked.
"You can hit any one of the targets over there." Artemis said pointing. "They were specially made not to let attacks pass them and destroy anything so don't worry."
Kunzite nodded and after whispering a few words that no one was able to hear, a large ball of energy and light flew forth from his hands and slammed into the target.
"You don't have to say anything to trigger your attack?" Mercury asked curiously.
"Not really. It just kinda happens." He replied, stepping back to let Jeadite do his attack.
"Mine's much cooler don't worry." He assured the girls.
After concentrating for a moment, "Phoenix Fire...ENGULF!" He shouted as a large ball of fire shot out from his hands.
"You got your wish huh?" Mars asked him softly.
"What wish?" He asked in confusion.
"When I first showed you my fire thing, the first thing you said was, 'I wish I could do that.'" She said smiling at him.
"Yeah and now that I can. I discover it isn't all that great anyway." He said laughing.
"Can I go now?" Nephlite asked impatiently.
"Oh yeah sorry go ahead."
"Ocean Winds...ENCASE!" He yelled, sending a freezing wind towards the target, knocking it over.
"Pretty impressive." Jupiter said.
"Yeah I know." He said.
They were interrupted by Zoi's attack. "Ice...Water...FREEZE" Everyone watched as two columns of icy water went straight towards the target, freezing it upon impact.
"Pretty good attacks." Venus said.
"Yeah but now we get to go." Mars said grinning.
"I am sure your attacks are so much better huh?" Jade asked her.
"Well they kinda are." She said.
"We'll see."
Venus prepared herself for her attack and after a moment shouted, "Venus...love chain...ENCIRCLE!" as a string of hearts wound their way around the target. The generals started snickering, trying to hold in their laughter at the wimpy attack.
"Be quiet, she isn't done yet." Moon scolded them. They all shut up as they saw her love and beauty shock slam into the target.
"There how was that?" She asked smugly.
The others were speechless.
"Are everyone's attacks that good?" Zoisite asked.
"Pretty much." She said.
"Not Rei's attack though. She just has the wousy stream of fire." Jade teased.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Wousy fire?" She asked. "Yeah I'll show you my wousy fire." The scouts started to laugh as they realized the attacks Mars was about to do.
"Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen, Akuryou taisan." She started softly holding up a small ofuda. "Mars...Firebird...STRIKE!" She shouted, turning the paper into a bird of fire that dove towards the target. "That wasn't even my most powerful one." She said laughing at the general's reactions. "Mars...Celestial..Fire...Surround! So, how was that for 'wousy fire?'" Mars asked afterwards.
"What happened to your little fire stream?" Jade asked.
"Let's just say it matured." She responded.
"K, my turn." Jupiter said. "Jupiter.Thunderclap.ZAP!" She yelled sending forth a large ball of sparkling lightning.
"I don't even want to see Mercury's attack." Zoisite moaned.
"Yeah do you realize how wimpy ours are compared to these?" Nephlite asked.
"Oh don't worry. My attack isn't all that amazing." Mercury said cheerfully, then focused her concentration and energy towards her attack. "Shine.Aqua.ILLUSIONS!" Everyone watched as a huge tunnel of water slammed into the target.
"Oh no, not amazing at all." Endymion said.
"Well now that you all have seen each other's powers, you are to spar. No using powers, and the first to fall, and stay down, loses and the match is over. Any questions? No? Good. Begin." Luna commanded as the scouts and the generals began to fight.
Within the first few minutes Mercury was knocked down by Zoisite.
"No fair. I was distracted." She said smiling.
He simply smiled and shrugged at her.
Jupiter was soon to follow after being knocked down by Nephlite.
"Hey Serin?" Endy asked.
She stopped her fighting for a moment to answer, "Yes?"
"I win." He said smiling as he knocked her down.
"Ohhhh you cheat!" She said smiling.
Venus and Kunzite were the next to fall, both landing down at the same time concluding their spar in a tie.
All that was left were Mars and Jade, and Mars was not winning.
'Luna said no powers, but that doesn't mean I can't use and ofuda. As long as I use it alone, it won't be cheating.' She thought with a smile.
"What are you smiling about, you do realize you are about to lose right?" Jade asked.
She just grinned as she whispered the words, "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen, Akuryou taisan!" And slapped the small piece of paper on his forehead, causing him to cease his movement.
"Hey!" He cried out, but momentarily later was knocked down by her.
"Ha. I win." She said smugly.
"So it seems the spars are over." Artemis said looking around.
Mars looked around and noticed that she was the only scout standing.
"Jade, how did you get beaten by a girl?" Nephlite asked laughing.
"She used and ofuda." He muttered.
"And what is so wrong with being beaten by a girl?" Mars asked glaring at him. "We all could have beaten you guys had the others not been distracted." She said, now glaring at the other scouts.
"Hey I didn't lose. Our match was a draw." Venus protested as she stood up.
"But the others still should have won." She said.
"Yeah yeah yeah. Stop complaining Mars." Moon said smiling at her. "We'll win next time. Besides we are going to be fighting with them, not against them, and we can always win that way."
"I guess."
"Well if you gentleman will excuse us, we have to go prepare for the ball tonight." Jupiter said.
"As do we. I shall see you there?" Nephlite asked smiling at her.
She giggled and nodded as they headed off.
****************************
"I am really really nervous. What if he doesn't show up? Or if he was lying and he doesn't really like me? Or if he doesn't want to dance with me?" Serin asked nervously after the scouts were all properly introduced to the rest of the ball.
"Serin, would you calm down?" Rei asked rolling her eyes. "You have nothing to worry about. He came, he is right over there. And he is headed towards you."
She bit her lip nervously and waited for Endymion to make his way over to where the girls were standing.
"Good Evening My Lady." He said bringing her hand softly against her lips.
"Oh yeah, he hates you." Rei whispered to her.
"May I have this dance?" He asked.
She nodded silently and was led unto the dance floor.
Moments later Nephlite and Jeadite made their way over.
"Excuse me, I believe I am your escort?" Neph asked a blushing Makoto. "I take it that entitles me to at least one dance right?"
"You are entitled to as many as you like." She said following him out to dance.
"Oh what's this? A beautiful lady such as yourself is standing all alone?" Jade asked teasing Rei.
"Would you be quiet." She said smiling. "Besides I don't see you dancing with anyone."
"Well would you do me the honors?" He asked bowing to her.
She laughed. "Only if you promise not to bow anymore, you look so foolish."
"Deal."
"Well I guess it's just you and me Ames." Minako said staring wistfully at Jeadite who was dancing with Rei.
"Actually it's just you."
Minako whirled around in surprise to see whom the male voice belonged to. "Kunzite?" She asked. "What happened to Ami?"
"She is dancing with Zoisite. Those two are quite fond of each other." He explained pointing the two out.
"Great so now I am here all by myself huh?" She asked.
"You are not all by yourself. I am here."
"I don't even deserve to have you talking to me. I was pretty rude to you the other day." She said quietly.
"You can't help the way you feel." He said, obviously embarrassed. "But how would you like to dance?" He asked changing the subject.
"Sure why not?"
************************
"Hey guys." Endymion said as he and Serin made their way over towards the refreshment table where Rei and Jade were sitting.
You know Rei; the two of you have been dancing all night. Maybe I should tell Dave he should be jealous." Serin teased.
"Would you be quiet?" She asked as the couple left.
"Who is Dave?" Jade asked.
"My boyfriend." Rei said.
"So do I get to meet him?" He asked trying to keep up his cool front. But inside he felt a small twinge of jealousy when he heard she had a boyfriend. 'Where did that come from? It's not like I am dating her.' He told himself. 'But you want to be.'
"Of course you will get to meet him. He is just not here at the moment. He is visiting some family on Jupiter." She explained. Suddenly her eyes lit up as she saw Minako walking towards them. "Come with me for a minute." She said grabbing Jade's hand and taking him to where Minako was standing.
"Jed I want you to meet my friend Minako. Minako, Jed." Rei said introducing the two.
"Hi." She said shyly.
"Hey." Jade said wondering what Rei was up to. He would much rather be dancing with her.
"Ask him." She whispered to Minako.
"Would you care to dance?" Minako asked.
"Sure." He said forcing a smile. 'Oh great this should be exciting.' Jade thought.
Rei smiled at the two as she wandered away. She noticed Kunzite standing against the wall looking incredibly lonely. "Hello Kunzite." She said approaching him.
"Good Evening Lady Rei."
She smiled at him. "Would you like to dance?"
"Why not?" He asked as the two started dancing.
While they moved their way throughout the ballroom, Rei kept sneaking glances at Minako and Jade to see how they were doing and it took her a moment before she realized that Kunzite was doing the exact same thing. "Oh my God!" She said putting a hand over her mouth.
"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" Kunz asked in concern.
"Oh no I didn't mean to frighten you. Gomen." She said apologizing.
"What is wrong then?"
"I am so sorry! I just remembered how you feel about Minako!"
"How do you know about that?" He asked.
"Well Minako told us how you kissed her and." She let her voice trail off.
He sighed. "Yeah I kissed her, she broke away asking what I was doing and then said she liked Jeadite."
"And I just hooked them up dancing and I completely forgot how you felt about her!" Rei said. "I am really sorry."
"No big deal." Kunzite said shrugging. "She is happier with him anyway."
She looked over to where the other two were dancing. "You know, I think you and Minako would make a better pair anyway."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well you are both very much alike. You are both very dedicated to your jobs and you love what you do. Plus, you are both very serious, in a good way." She added quickly.
He couldn't help but smile when he heard. "I can guess how you know all this about Minako, but how do you know all that about me? Is it that obvious?"
"No not at all. I only know because Jed told me all about you guys in his letters." She said.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Where did you get the name Jed?"
"When I first met him, I was only like five years old, and I couldn't pronounce his name right for the life of me. I said it every other way possible but I couldn't get it right, so I just shortened it to Jed." Rei explained.
"Oh I see." Kunz said. The two continued to talk as they danced around the ballroom.
***********************
Jade stiffled another yawn as the two continued to dance. Minako had to be the most boring person he had ever met in his life.
"And then I realized that it wasn't until 4:00!" She exclaimed laughing.
He forced a smile, feigning interest. 'I am going to kill Rei for this.' He thought.
"This is nice." Minako said.
"Yes it is." 'But I would rather be talking or dancing or doing something with Rei!' His mind exclaimed. 'I am so confused! Where are these thoughts coming from? Why is it that all of a sudden I get jealous if she has a boyfriend? I mean what is the big deal, I should be happy for her.' Another small voice popped up and answered him. 'As long as you are in love with her, you can't be happy if she is with someone else.'
*************************
The End of Chapter 7
Translations:
Gomen: I'm sorry, slightly casual
Yamate: Stop
Oyasumi Nasai: Good Night
Arigato: Thank you. I forgot to mention in the last chapter that Travis is just a random character that I made up. I'm pretty sure that when I originally wrote this story and came up with the idea for it, that Travis had an actually purpose for being in the story. His creating wouldn't have really had much to do with this story, but I think that it would have had a larger role in one of my following stories. Seeing as that was a good four years ago though, I really have no idea. So he's just kind of a random insert that is mentioned in a few chapters. Absolutely no one important and does not need to be focused on much. Also, the generals' powers I just made up, they are again completely unimportant and I think are only even mentioned one other time in the story. Thanks for reading, the next chapter will be out shortly. Thanks for all of the reviews, please keep them coming and let me know what think of the story.
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As the Tears Fell~Chapter Seven
By MCRK
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After following, or rather being dragged by, Rei through most of the palace grounds, the two finally came to a stop in the gardens and sat down on a bench. "Ok, start explaining." She demanded.
"You have just as much to explain as I do you know." Jade said angered by the way that she was acting.
"Me? What do I have to explain?"
"Well for starters how about why you haven't talked to your mom in over five years? Or why none of the other princess know about any of that?" He asked.
"Fine. I'll explain all that, and tell you whatever you want to know. But you have to promise to then explain stuff also agreed?" Rei asked now calmer.
"Agreed."
"I guess the first thing you want to know is why I haven't talked to my mom at all right?" She asked.
He nodded and waited for her to continue.
"Well first of all in the letter that I sent you, right after I got here, I did tell you that I was never going to talk to my mom again." Rei said.
"Well yeah you did but I didn't think you were serious! I mean you were 12, all 12 year olds say that." Jade exclaimed.
"Well I meant it." She said determined.
"Yeah but don't you think it's time to forgive her for that? She was doing what she thought was in your best interest." He said.
"Oh come on Jed! You were there; you saw what her idea of 'my best interest' was. She had no right to keep something so important from me for all those years. And come to think of it, neither did you!" Rei said glaring at him.
Jeadite sighed. "Look I'm sorry about that too and I'll explain that in a minute. But first you have to explain one more thing for me. Why is it that you never told any of the other guardians about this?" He asked.
"It isn't something I enjoy looking back upon." She said quietly. "And it's not that I don't trust them or anything, but I don't know, I don't share that much with them regardless of how close we all are. Besides, I did tell one person; Princess Serenity knows."
"You two are really close aren't you?" He asked softly.
"We are as close as sisters. There is nothing that we can't tell each other. And it makes sense that we are so close, seeing as she is my cousin." Rei said quietly.
Jade glanced at her with wide eyes. "You are related to Princess and Queen Serenity?" He asked.
She nodded. "Another thing my mom didn't tell me when looking out for my 'best interest.'" She said sarcastically. "Queen Serenity is her sister, making the two of us cousins. But enough about that. You have explaining to do too you know." She said changing the subject.
"Yeah unfortunately." He said.
"Tell me something, how could you know for seven years that I was part of Princess Serenity's court, and never tell me?" Rei asked, her voice proving that clearly she was hurt.
"Look Rei, trust me I wanted to tell you more then anything in the world." Jade said quickly.
"Then what stopped you?"
"Your mom." He said.
"How did my mom stop you from telling me something?" She asked confused.
"The same way she stopped me from telling you that I was one of Endymion's guards."
"What are you talking about?"
He sighed. "Maybe I should just start from the beginning. Do you remember, how the first time I met you, you showed me your fire?" He asked.
"Yes." Rei said nodding.
"As soon as I saw that, I realized that you had to be one of Princess Serenity's guards. But since you didn't seem to know anything about it, I wanted to talk to your mom first to find out why you didn't know." Jade explained.
"Did she give some stupid excuse about how she didn't want to lose me any earlier?" She asked sarcastically.
"Actually she never really gave me a reason." Jade admitted.
"So what stopped you from telling me?"
"The fact that your mom threatened me that if I ever told you anything about it before you had to leave, and she found out, I would never be able to talk to you again." He said.
"I wouldn't have let her know!" Rei exclaimed. "I was your best friend you couldn't trust me?"
"It wasn't that, but I was so afraid that somehow it would slip or something. I couldn't run the risk of never talking to you again. And trust me I have tried to get her to change her mind over the years. Man have I tried." He said rolling his eyes. "Like remember when she threw you that huge birthday party for your 11th birthday? And she was acting all weird and everything, and you wrote to me upset because you were afraid something terrible was going to happen? Well when I got that letter, I realized why Victoria was doing all that and I sat down and her wrote her a very nasty letter. First telling her that she should have told you a long time ago, and she should tell you now, but then just yelling at her. I told her that if she wasn't go to tell you until it was time for you to leave, then the least, the very least she could do, was stop acting like her daughter was dying. She was never a model mother from the start, and now was too late to start trying to be one. I told her that is she was going to miss you so much, then she should start appreciating the time the two of you had left, not scaring you to death."
"You did that for me?" Rei asked touched.
"Of course I did. She wrote back to. Apologizing and promising that while she wouldn't tell you about being a guard, she would stop acting weird and talk to you." Jade said.
Rei was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier and getting angry with you. I missed you a lot over the years and I'm sorry I ruined all this by getting mad."
He shrugged. "No big deal. Besides you did have some right. But let's start over ok? Hey dorkus, long time no see huh?"
She smiled. "Hey Jed. Haven't seen you in a while." She said. The two stood there for a moment before hugging each other tightly.
**********************************
"The palace grounds are beautiful Princess." Endymion said as he and Serin walked, hand in hand, through the palace grounds.
"Please call me Serin." She said.
"Ok Serin. So tell me about yourself."
"Hmm what do you want to know?" Serin asked.
"Everything."
"Well let's see. I was born here, on June 30th, and you met my mom, and I'm not sure where my dad is. My mom never really said anything about him. Then when I was 12, the others all came. Those are my friends that you met before." She explained.
"Right, Makoto, Minako, Ami, and Rei right?" He questioned.
She smiled. "Yeah that's them. They're the best friends I could ever have, especially Rei."
"She sounds like a wonderful person, Jade talks about her often too." Endymion said.
"She is. She has always been there for me. Through everything. She is also my cousin you know." She said looking up at him.
"No I didn't." He said in surpass. "Are your mothers sisters?"
"Yeah but I never met her mom. When Rei was little she had this big thing with never telling her that she was a scout, or that I was her cousin. And since then, Rei won't even talk to her." Serin said.
"That's terrible."
"Yeah I know. But let's move on to something happier." She said.
"Ok like what?" Endy couldn't help but laugh lightly at her bubbly personality.
'Tell me about you."
"You want to know about me? Ok, I was born on August 3, on Earth. I'm 19 years old; I have a younger sister, Terra who can be a major pain sometimes. Do you have siblings?" He asked, completely forgetting about the conversation between Rei and Serin that he had overheard before.
Serin was silent for a moment, not sure how to answer. "I...did." She said slowly.
He saw the hurt in her eyes and felt terrible. "If you don't want to say anything, I'll understand."
"No it's ok. It's just hard for me to say. I had a twin brother, but he died about seven years ago, and I miss him a lot." Serin explained as she started to silently cry.
"Oh Serin, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He said gathering her in his arms.
"I'm sorry for crying on you and everything." She said wiping her eyes.
"Don't apologize, I should have made you talk about it. But if you ever want to talk, I'm here. I may not have ever lost someone close to me, but I am always willing to listen."
Serin pulled away and looked deep into his eyes. "Thank you. No one has ever done that for me before."
Endymion tried to pull his gaze away but failed. "May I ask a favor of you?" He whispered.
"Yes."
"May I kiss you?"
"But that wouldn't be a favor. A favor is usually something one person doesn't want to do. And I assure you, I want for you to kiss me." Serin whispered smiling up at him.
"Wait, so I can?" He asked.
She laughed. "Yes."
Cupping her cheek with his hand Endymion leaned down and kissed Serenity. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, and he found his arms wrapping themselves around her waist and holding her tightly.
**************************
'What is wrong with me?' Jade wondered. 'These thoughts are kinda abnormal, I mean she is my best friend! That would be like going out with a sister, seeing as she is the closest thing to one. And yet, I never want to leave her embrace.'
'Whoa did I just say to myself that Jed is really hot?' Rei wondered silently. 'What is wrong with me here? First of all he is my best friend, second of all he is older then me, and third, I already have a boyfriend! This is probably just hormones or something.'
"I missed you so much." Rei said.
"I know I missed you too." Jade responded reluctantly letting her go. "You look so different." He said gazing at her. "And I mean that in a good way." He added quickly.
Rei stifled a laugh. "Yeah well I'm not exactly a gawky ten year old anymore am I?"
"Definitely not."
"But you didn't turn out to bad either. You look a little to much like someone else who isn't around any more, but that's ok."
"Serin's brother right?" He asked not really paying attention.
She gasped. "So you guys were spying on us!" She exclaimed. "I was wondering how you tell that Serin and I are so close. You guys were spying on us."
Jade blushed as he tried to come up with an excuse. "Well we only followed you guys because we where else to go, and we didn't really want to get to lost so we just followed you. We weren't planning on listening in. We just wanted to see if that would help us find our way, but then Endy like totally fell in love with the Princess. Are you mad at me?" He asked.
"You know I can't get mad at you. Even if you have a lame excuse." Rei said laughing.
He shrugged. "It worked though."
"So the Prince likes Serin?" She asked curiously.
"Likes? He was speechless after he first saw her. He is head over heels for her, and if she is as nice as a person as she seems, he will be even more in love after they talk."
"Really? Good. I told her that the two of them were going to end up falling in love and now I get to bug her about it." She said grinning.
"Would you really do that to her?" He asked.
"Are you kidding me? Of course I would! Do you know how much she would bug me if this was me?" She asked.
"Wait, she thought you and Endymion were going to fall for each other?" Jade asked, now confused.
"No! She thought that you and I were going to fall for each other." Rei said smiling.
"Now that would just be really strange." He said forcing a smile. 'So why is it that I think I am?' He wondered.
Rei looked at her watch. "I think it's time we got back to the palace. We still have to show you guys your rooms so you can get ready for dinner."
Jade agreed and the two started walking back.
******************************
"Lady Minako are you all right?" Kunzite asked waving a hand in front of her face.
"What?" She asked snapping back to reality.
"I was asking if you were all right, you seem some what out of it." He said.
"I'm sorry, I have something on my mind." She apologized.
"No need to apologize. I understand." He said gazing at her. 'What is it about her that makes me feel like I would do anything for her? I mean come on, I have my job, I don't have time for love.' He scolded himself.
Minako, on the other hand, had her thoughts focused on someone else. 'I wonder why Rei never told us that Jeadite was so incredibly hot!' She exclaimed silently. 'I really hope she doesn't want to go for him, cause there is no way I can not go for him. Course, only if it doesn't bother her.'
The two walked down the path in silence for a few minutes. "So where are you from Lord Kunzite?" Minako asked finally.
"As I am sure you know, I currently live on Earth, but I am originally from Saturn."
"Wow, the other side of the galaxy huh? What is it like over there? Any different?"
"The girls aren't nearly as beautiful as you are." He replied, to both of their surprise.
"That is kind of you to say." Minako said blushing. "Wasn't it hard to move across the galaxy though to come live at Earth?" She asked, desperately wanting to change the subject.
"Well kind of. But it was for my job, and that is all there is to it." He replied.
"I feel the same way." She said.
"May I ask you, somewhat of a personal question?" He asked nervously.
"Of course."
"Do you, by any chance, have a boyfriend?" He asked, his face turning red, not usually this forward.
"Actually I don't." She said, 'But hopefully I will real soon.' She thought smiling as she thought of Jade.
Assuming that she was smiling at him, Kunzite smiled back.
Lost in her thoughts, Minako looked down at the flowers.
"Minako?"
She lifted her head, to find her face a mere inches from Kunzite's. She didn't have time to ask what he was doing, when he leaned over and gently kissed her.
******************************
Serenity and Endymion were still kissing moments later when a gasp broke them apart. Blushing they turned to see a black cat, with a crescent shape on it's forehead, staring at them.
Serin started to blush even more as she looked down at the cat. "Uh hi Luna." She said.
"Well, I guess your mother will be happy about this at least." Luna said.
"Did that cat just talk?" Endy asked nervously.
She started laughing. "Yes. That is Luna, my guardian cat."
The cat glared at him for a moment as he stood there nervously.
Serin noticed and started scolding the cat. "Luna would you knock it off? You are my guardian and my mentor yes, but you are not in control of my life. I am allowed to kiss him if I want to. And I want to so there." She said.
The cat sighed. "You grew up too fast you know that?" She asked. "I remember when you used to hate boys."
"Not all boys. I never hated Travis." She quietly interjected.
Luna looked at her, surprised that she had mentioned Travis in front of Endymion.
"It's Ok Luna, he knows. I trust him." Serin said taking his hand. "Now did you come out here to tell me something, or just to spy on me?"
"Oh right. I came to inform you that it is almost time for dinner, and I am sure the Prince would like to go to his room first." Luna said regaining her composure as the three walked towards the palace.
**************************
Minako pulled away in shock. "What are you doing?" She exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, I thought you wanted me to..." Kunzite said flushing.
"No! No I didn't!" She shouted.
"I apologize deeply Lady Minako. I must have misread you. I didn't mean to offend you in anyway." He said apologizing.
"Look I know I said that I don't have a boyfriend, and no offense to you or anything, but I am just not interested in you in that way. I mean you are a wonderful person, and very good looking, but right now I am interested in some one else." She explained gently. "Gomen."
"Might I ask who it is? If you don't mind telling me, that is."
"Jeadite."
"Oh I see." He said stiffly. "Look it's probably time we head back to the castle. I am somewhat tired from the trip." He said turning away from her.
"I really am sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." She said trying again.
"Yamate. You apologized, and your apology was accepted, it is not that big of a deal." He said stopping her.
She nodded as the two of them silently started back.
********************************
As most of the palace slept, the princess and her court were still wide- awake, together in Serin's room discussing the events of the day.
"Soooo, who is going to start?" Rei asked.
"I think Serin should." Makoto exclaimed.
"Yeah come on tell us what happened between you and the Prince!" Ami added.
"Well not that much happened." She said blushing.
"Yeah sure." The others all said rolling their eyes.
"We saw the way you two were looking at each other during dinner!" Minako said.
"Yeah so spill." Rei demanded.
"We went for a walk, and we were talking, and I told him things about when I was growing up." She paused for a minute. 'And I told him about Travis. I'll talk to you privately later.' She thought, sending the message to Rei, who nodded in reply.
"Then what happened?"
"Then...he kissed me. And it was so heavenly!" Serin exclaimed happily.
"Awwww how cute." Rei said.
"Yeah, and what about you and Jeadite?" Ami asked.
"Yeah what was that whole thing about?" Makoto questioned.
It was Rei's turn to blush as she stalled answering the question.
"Ok what did I miss?" Serin wanted to know.
"Well while you were with Endymion, Jade asked Rei how her mom was doing. And she said she hasn't talked to her since she left. And he said is this because of--" Minako explained, stopping in the middle of her sentence.
"Because of what?" She asked in confusion.
"We don't know. Then Rei dragged him away telling him not to say anything." Makoto added.
They all turned to Rei. "Yes, what was going on?" Ami asked.
"And what I want to know is, did he kiss you yet?" Serin asked smiling at her.
"It's not that I don't trust you guys enough to tell you, it's just something that is really personal, and really painful for me to look back upon. I would rather not saying anything." She said quietly.
"Well what about my question?"
"No he did not kiss me, and I did not kiss him." She replied laughing. "I have a boyfriend already remember?"
" Yeah, Dave. Damn. I was so sure you two were going to get together." Serin said. "But, what about the rest of you?" She asked slyly.
"Nothing happened. Nephlite and I walked around for a while talking, and he is a really nice guy and I hope to get to know him better." Makoto supplied.
"Same with Zoisite. Nothing really happened, we just talked." Ami said.
Everyone turned to Minako. "I take it you showed Kunzite around?" Rei asked.
"He kissed me." She said softly.
"Is it just me, or do most people usually enjoy being kissed? You make it seem like it was terrible." Serin said.
"It's not that." She said sighing. "But I don't like him in that way."
"So who do you like, you know in that way." Ami questioned.
"Jeadite." She said finally.
The others all looked back and forth between her and Rei with surprised looks on their face. "You mean my best friend, the one who I grew up with, trust more than anyone in the Universe Jeadite?" Rei asked.
She nodded shamefully. "If you were going to go for him, or if you don't want me to ask him out, please tell me and I promise I won't do anything." Minako said.
"Regardless of what Serin thinks, even after seeing him, I have no intentions of going for him. I mean, I love him to death, but not in that way. Besides he is my best friend, I would never want to change that." She said smiling at Minako.
"But would it bother you if I asked him out?" She asked hopefully.
"As long as you do not hurt him, I don't mind." Rei said.
She smiled. "That means a lot to me, thank you."
"So when are you going to ask him out?" She asked eagerly.
Minako blushed. "I'm not sure. I'd like to get to know him a little better first."
"You should ask him to the ball!" Serin said her eyes lighting up.
"What ball?" Makoto asked.
"Oh I forget to tell you guys. Mother has decided to hold a ball tomorrow night to welcome Prince Endymion and his court." She explained.
"I feel kinda uncomfortable asking him that soon. Maybe I will dance with him there but...well anyway, what about the rest of you, are you planning on going to the ball?" Minako questioned.
"Maybe I should ask Nephlite." Makoto wondered.
"Maybe he will ask you." Serin said.
"Endy will surely ask Serin." Rei said as Serin blushed.
"I think I will just stay home. As long as my presence is not required, I can catch up on my studying." Ami said.
The others rolled their eyes.
"Come one Ami, like you really need to study anymore. Besides, how do you know Zoisite won't ask you?" Minako asked slyly.
"We are just friends, I doubt he will ask me to the ball." She said in embarrassment. "What about you Rei?" She asked trying to change the subject. "Are you going with Dave?"
"I don't think so. I will probably go to the ball anyway, but he is visiting some family on Saturn, and I don't think he will be back for a few days." She said, smiling at the thought of her current boyfriend.
"Rei, why is it that every time we have a ball, Dave either comes down with some strange illness, or is visiting some family on some other planet? I mean how much family can he have?" Serin asked.
"He can't dance for his life, and he is just to embarrassed to admit that." Rei said smiling.
At that moment Serin's clock beeped twelve and the girls all jumped in surprise.
"Wow it's twelve already? I gotta go I need some sleep. Night." Makoto called as she left the room.
"Yes I need sleep so I can be ready for the day tomorrow." Ami said as she walked away.
"Well I am going to bed so I can dream about Jade all night long." Minako said smiling. "Oyasumi Nasai!" She called as she left.
Serin turned to Rei who didn't move. "I take it you are staying?" She asked.
"For now. I want some details on what happened."
"You mean about how I told him about Travis right?"
"Well yeah pretty much."
"I'm not even sure why I did. We were just talking and he asked if I had any siblings. And I just had this feeling that I could trust him no matter what. Does that sound insane?" Serin asked.
"No." Rei said smiling at her. "It makes total sense."
"I just got the feeling that I could tell him anything."
"Is that when he kissed you?" She asked.
"Yeah. But the best part was, before he did it, he actually asked me whether he could kiss me or not!" Serin exclaimed.
"Awww how sweet!" Rei responded. "By the way, thanks for not saying any thing to the others. You and Jed are really the only people who know anything about what happened with my mom."
"No problem."
"Look, I promise I will talk to you more about this in the morning, but right now," She paused to yawn, "I am falling asleep. So oyasumi nasai." She said heading towards the door.
"Hey, Rei?" Serin called stopping the other girl. "Why do you think that I already feel so close to him, and like I can trust him with my life?"
Rei smiled at her and shrugged. "Maybe he is your soul mate."
*********************************
The next morning on her way to breakfast Makoto ran into Nephlite.
"Oh hello Nephlite." She said smiling at him.
"Hi there lady." He said taking her hand and kissing it lightly.
"I was wondering, would you care to escort me to the ball tonight?" She asked nervously.
"It would be an honor to escort a lady as beautiful as he." He replied.
"Arigato." She said blushing. "I look forward to tonight."
"As do I."
***********************************
"Good morning Lord Zoisite." Ami called a she passed him on her way to the training grounds.
"Good morning to you also Lady Ami." He said smiling at her.
"Please, just call me Ami? Lady sounds so formal."
"Only if you promise to call me Zoisite, Lord is a little too proper."
"Agreed."
"Where are you headed Ami?" He asked.
"Training grounds, is that not where you are going also?" She questioned.
"Actually I am. Would you mind if I walked with you?" Zoi asked.
"Of course not." She said as the two set off.
"I take it you heard about the ball tonight?" He asked.
"Yes, but I doubt I will attend." She responded.
"Why not?"
"Well I am not very big on balls, I find them time consuming. I could be doing much better things with my time like studying, or reading." Ami explained." Besides, no one would want to dance with me anyway." She added quietly.
"Ami!" Zoisite said in shock. "Are you crazy? Who wouldn't want to dance with you? You are a beautiful, intelligent, amazing women."
"Thank you." She said blushing once more. "But I still plan on staying home."
"What if I asked if I could escort you, would you come then?" He asked quietly.
She looked over at him in surprise. "You would want to go with me?" She asked. "That might not be the best idea, I am somewhat of a geek around here."
"That makes no difference to me. You are wonderful person and I like you a great deal." He said firmly, and with that he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.
"Well I guess I can't turn down and offer like that now can I?" Ami asked afterwards.
He smiled at her. "You better not. Now, I think we were on our way to the training grounds?" He asked.
********************************
"Well you two certainly took some time getting here." Serin commented as Ami and Zoisite finally made their way to the training session, where the others were all already waiting.
"Well now that you are all here, we can explain the purpose of this." Artemis, Minako's guardian and one of Queen Serenity's advisors said.
"You ten, are going to spar. General vs. Scout, in order of rank. Meaning Venus and Kunzite, Mars and Jeadite, Jupiter and Nephlite, Mercury and Zoisite, and Serin and Endymion. So ladies, if you would transform." Luna said.
"Transform?" Jade asked.
"Just watch." Rei said smiling at him as the girls called out their respective phrases.
"VENUS POWER!"
"MARS POWER!"
"JUPITER POWER!"
"MERCURY POWER!"
"MOON PRISM POWER!"
The guards watched in amazement as the girls were encased in water, fire, electricity, ribbons, and hearts. Within moments five girls in very short skirts were standing before them. One in light blue, one in dark blue, one I red, one in green and one in orange.
"Those are the uniforms Rei was wearing when we first met her." Zoisite realized.
"Yeah except now we are all wearing them." Sailor Moon said.
"And I have to say it looks best on you." Endy whispered to her.
"Be quiet." She said giggling.
"Ahem." Luna said glaring at the two.
"Gomen."
"Thank you, now if we could continue. First you need to show one another your powers, so as not to surprise someone in the middle of a fight. If the generals and the Prince would please go first." Luna said.
"Where are we aiming this towards?" Kunzite asked.
"You can hit any one of the targets over there." Artemis said pointing. "They were specially made not to let attacks pass them and destroy anything so don't worry."
Kunzite nodded and after whispering a few words that no one was able to hear, a large ball of energy and light flew forth from his hands and slammed into the target.
"You don't have to say anything to trigger your attack?" Mercury asked curiously.
"Not really. It just kinda happens." He replied, stepping back to let Jeadite do his attack.
"Mine's much cooler don't worry." He assured the girls.
After concentrating for a moment, "Phoenix Fire...ENGULF!" He shouted as a large ball of fire shot out from his hands.
"You got your wish huh?" Mars asked him softly.
"What wish?" He asked in confusion.
"When I first showed you my fire thing, the first thing you said was, 'I wish I could do that.'" She said smiling at him.
"Yeah and now that I can. I discover it isn't all that great anyway." He said laughing.
"Can I go now?" Nephlite asked impatiently.
"Oh yeah sorry go ahead."
"Ocean Winds...ENCASE!" He yelled, sending a freezing wind towards the target, knocking it over.
"Pretty impressive." Jupiter said.
"Yeah I know." He said.
They were interrupted by Zoi's attack. "Ice...Water...FREEZE" Everyone watched as two columns of icy water went straight towards the target, freezing it upon impact.
"Pretty good attacks." Venus said.
"Yeah but now we get to go." Mars said grinning.
"I am sure your attacks are so much better huh?" Jade asked her.
"Well they kinda are." She said.
"We'll see."
Venus prepared herself for her attack and after a moment shouted, "Venus...love chain...ENCIRCLE!" as a string of hearts wound their way around the target. The generals started snickering, trying to hold in their laughter at the wimpy attack.
"Be quiet, she isn't done yet." Moon scolded them. They all shut up as they saw her love and beauty shock slam into the target.
"There how was that?" She asked smugly.
The others were speechless.
"Are everyone's attacks that good?" Zoisite asked.
"Pretty much." She said.
"Not Rei's attack though. She just has the wousy stream of fire." Jade teased.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Wousy fire?" She asked. "Yeah I'll show you my wousy fire." The scouts started to laugh as they realized the attacks Mars was about to do.
"Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen, Akuryou taisan." She started softly holding up a small ofuda. "Mars...Firebird...STRIKE!" She shouted, turning the paper into a bird of fire that dove towards the target. "That wasn't even my most powerful one." She said laughing at the general's reactions. "Mars...Celestial..Fire...Surround! So, how was that for 'wousy fire?'" Mars asked afterwards.
"What happened to your little fire stream?" Jade asked.
"Let's just say it matured." She responded.
"K, my turn." Jupiter said. "Jupiter.Thunderclap.ZAP!" She yelled sending forth a large ball of sparkling lightning.
"I don't even want to see Mercury's attack." Zoisite moaned.
"Yeah do you realize how wimpy ours are compared to these?" Nephlite asked.
"Oh don't worry. My attack isn't all that amazing." Mercury said cheerfully, then focused her concentration and energy towards her attack. "Shine.Aqua.ILLUSIONS!" Everyone watched as a huge tunnel of water slammed into the target.
"Oh no, not amazing at all." Endymion said.
"Well now that you all have seen each other's powers, you are to spar. No using powers, and the first to fall, and stay down, loses and the match is over. Any questions? No? Good. Begin." Luna commanded as the scouts and the generals began to fight.
Within the first few minutes Mercury was knocked down by Zoisite.
"No fair. I was distracted." She said smiling.
He simply smiled and shrugged at her.
Jupiter was soon to follow after being knocked down by Nephlite.
"Hey Serin?" Endy asked.
She stopped her fighting for a moment to answer, "Yes?"
"I win." He said smiling as he knocked her down.
"Ohhhh you cheat!" She said smiling.
Venus and Kunzite were the next to fall, both landing down at the same time concluding their spar in a tie.
All that was left were Mars and Jade, and Mars was not winning.
'Luna said no powers, but that doesn't mean I can't use and ofuda. As long as I use it alone, it won't be cheating.' She thought with a smile.
"What are you smiling about, you do realize you are about to lose right?" Jade asked.
She just grinned as she whispered the words, "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen, Akuryou taisan!" And slapped the small piece of paper on his forehead, causing him to cease his movement.
"Hey!" He cried out, but momentarily later was knocked down by her.
"Ha. I win." She said smugly.
"So it seems the spars are over." Artemis said looking around.
Mars looked around and noticed that she was the only scout standing.
"Jade, how did you get beaten by a girl?" Nephlite asked laughing.
"She used and ofuda." He muttered.
"And what is so wrong with being beaten by a girl?" Mars asked glaring at him. "We all could have beaten you guys had the others not been distracted." She said, now glaring at the other scouts.
"Hey I didn't lose. Our match was a draw." Venus protested as she stood up.
"But the others still should have won." She said.
"Yeah yeah yeah. Stop complaining Mars." Moon said smiling at her. "We'll win next time. Besides we are going to be fighting with them, not against them, and we can always win that way."
"I guess."
"Well if you gentleman will excuse us, we have to go prepare for the ball tonight." Jupiter said.
"As do we. I shall see you there?" Nephlite asked smiling at her.
She giggled and nodded as they headed off.
****************************
"I am really really nervous. What if he doesn't show up? Or if he was lying and he doesn't really like me? Or if he doesn't want to dance with me?" Serin asked nervously after the scouts were all properly introduced to the rest of the ball.
"Serin, would you calm down?" Rei asked rolling her eyes. "You have nothing to worry about. He came, he is right over there. And he is headed towards you."
She bit her lip nervously and waited for Endymion to make his way over to where the girls were standing.
"Good Evening My Lady." He said bringing her hand softly against her lips.
"Oh yeah, he hates you." Rei whispered to her.
"May I have this dance?" He asked.
She nodded silently and was led unto the dance floor.
Moments later Nephlite and Jeadite made their way over.
"Excuse me, I believe I am your escort?" Neph asked a blushing Makoto. "I take it that entitles me to at least one dance right?"
"You are entitled to as many as you like." She said following him out to dance.
"Oh what's this? A beautiful lady such as yourself is standing all alone?" Jade asked teasing Rei.
"Would you be quiet." She said smiling. "Besides I don't see you dancing with anyone."
"Well would you do me the honors?" He asked bowing to her.
She laughed. "Only if you promise not to bow anymore, you look so foolish."
"Deal."
"Well I guess it's just you and me Ames." Minako said staring wistfully at Jeadite who was dancing with Rei.
"Actually it's just you."
Minako whirled around in surprise to see whom the male voice belonged to. "Kunzite?" She asked. "What happened to Ami?"
"She is dancing with Zoisite. Those two are quite fond of each other." He explained pointing the two out.
"Great so now I am here all by myself huh?" She asked.
"You are not all by yourself. I am here."
"I don't even deserve to have you talking to me. I was pretty rude to you the other day." She said quietly.
"You can't help the way you feel." He said, obviously embarrassed. "But how would you like to dance?" He asked changing the subject.
"Sure why not?"
************************
"Hey guys." Endymion said as he and Serin made their way over towards the refreshment table where Rei and Jade were sitting.
You know Rei; the two of you have been dancing all night. Maybe I should tell Dave he should be jealous." Serin teased.
"Would you be quiet?" She asked as the couple left.
"Who is Dave?" Jade asked.
"My boyfriend." Rei said.
"So do I get to meet him?" He asked trying to keep up his cool front. But inside he felt a small twinge of jealousy when he heard she had a boyfriend. 'Where did that come from? It's not like I am dating her.' He told himself. 'But you want to be.'
"Of course you will get to meet him. He is just not here at the moment. He is visiting some family on Jupiter." She explained. Suddenly her eyes lit up as she saw Minako walking towards them. "Come with me for a minute." She said grabbing Jade's hand and taking him to where Minako was standing.
"Jed I want you to meet my friend Minako. Minako, Jed." Rei said introducing the two.
"Hi." She said shyly.
"Hey." Jade said wondering what Rei was up to. He would much rather be dancing with her.
"Ask him." She whispered to Minako.
"Would you care to dance?" Minako asked.
"Sure." He said forcing a smile. 'Oh great this should be exciting.' Jade thought.
Rei smiled at the two as she wandered away. She noticed Kunzite standing against the wall looking incredibly lonely. "Hello Kunzite." She said approaching him.
"Good Evening Lady Rei."
She smiled at him. "Would you like to dance?"
"Why not?" He asked as the two started dancing.
While they moved their way throughout the ballroom, Rei kept sneaking glances at Minako and Jade to see how they were doing and it took her a moment before she realized that Kunzite was doing the exact same thing. "Oh my God!" She said putting a hand over her mouth.
"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" Kunz asked in concern.
"Oh no I didn't mean to frighten you. Gomen." She said apologizing.
"What is wrong then?"
"I am so sorry! I just remembered how you feel about Minako!"
"How do you know about that?" He asked.
"Well Minako told us how you kissed her and." She let her voice trail off.
He sighed. "Yeah I kissed her, she broke away asking what I was doing and then said she liked Jeadite."
"And I just hooked them up dancing and I completely forgot how you felt about her!" Rei said. "I am really sorry."
"No big deal." Kunzite said shrugging. "She is happier with him anyway."
She looked over to where the other two were dancing. "You know, I think you and Minako would make a better pair anyway."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well you are both very much alike. You are both very dedicated to your jobs and you love what you do. Plus, you are both very serious, in a good way." She added quickly.
He couldn't help but smile when he heard. "I can guess how you know all this about Minako, but how do you know all that about me? Is it that obvious?"
"No not at all. I only know because Jed told me all about you guys in his letters." She said.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Where did you get the name Jed?"
"When I first met him, I was only like five years old, and I couldn't pronounce his name right for the life of me. I said it every other way possible but I couldn't get it right, so I just shortened it to Jed." Rei explained.
"Oh I see." Kunz said. The two continued to talk as they danced around the ballroom.
***********************
Jade stiffled another yawn as the two continued to dance. Minako had to be the most boring person he had ever met in his life.
"And then I realized that it wasn't until 4:00!" She exclaimed laughing.
He forced a smile, feigning interest. 'I am going to kill Rei for this.' He thought.
"This is nice." Minako said.
"Yes it is." 'But I would rather be talking or dancing or doing something with Rei!' His mind exclaimed. 'I am so confused! Where are these thoughts coming from? Why is it that all of a sudden I get jealous if she has a boyfriend? I mean what is the big deal, I should be happy for her.' Another small voice popped up and answered him. 'As long as you are in love with her, you can't be happy if she is with someone else.'
*************************
The End of Chapter 7
Translations:
Gomen: I'm sorry, slightly casual
Yamate: Stop
Oyasumi Nasai: Good Night
Arigato: Thank you. I forgot to mention in the last chapter that Travis is just a random character that I made up. I'm pretty sure that when I originally wrote this story and came up with the idea for it, that Travis had an actually purpose for being in the story. His creating wouldn't have really had much to do with this story, but I think that it would have had a larger role in one of my following stories. Seeing as that was a good four years ago though, I really have no idea. So he's just kind of a random insert that is mentioned in a few chapters. Absolutely no one important and does not need to be focused on much. Also, the generals' powers I just made up, they are again completely unimportant and I think are only even mentioned one other time in the story. Thanks for reading, the next chapter will be out shortly. Thanks for all of the reviews, please keep them coming and let me know what think of the story.