Rei tried not to slam the door when she came home late that night, but Jaedite was up and in Rei's arms before she could get her jacket off. "Rei, I was worried!"
She smiled and patted Jaedite's back. "I'm sorry, really."
He looked up at her. "Good. So, what happened?" Rei threw her jacket on the rack and sat down on the couch. She stretched out and yawned. "Well?" he asked again, "See anyone you wanted to see?"
She smiled, then bolted up, looking into Jaedite's sparkling eyes. "...You knew Yuuichirou was going to be there..."
Jaedite smiled and winked. "Naw. Maybe he heard that you were going there from someone else."
Rei wanted to burst into tears of joy. She always had a hard time with thanking people, so she just jumped up and threw her arms around Jaedite's waist and hugged him tightly. He smiled, and took it as a thank you.
---
It was late at night when Rei and Jaedite heard the doorbell ring. Rei groaned and tapped Jaedite. "Jaedite, get the door..."
He opened his eyes and kissed her cheek. "'Kay." He got up and walked down the hallway after grabbing his robe. Once by the door, he opened it and stared at the two girls outside. "Hello,"
he said politely, "may I help you?"
He was surprised to see the second step up onto the steps and towered to his height. The slower girl clinged onto the woman's leg and soon, she smiled. "Jaedite!"
Jaedite cocked an eyebrow. "Hotaru?"
She giggled and paraded inside. "Yup. Hi!" Jaedite watched Hotaru hop over to the couch and look around. "Where's Rei?"
"She's in the bedroom. Knock first."
"Okay!" she said, and skipped to Rei's bedroom as she hummed a song.
"Hello," the woman said as she stepped inside. "My name is Setsuna Meioh, guardian of Hotaru Tomoe."
Jaedite smiled at her. "Nice to meet you." He looked surprised; Setuna looked like an older Rei with dark green tinted hair. Her eyes looked much colder though, and she had a hypnotizing gaze. "Please, sit down."
Setsuna nodded and took a seat on the couch. She set her purse on the table and crossed her legs. "I am here because Hotaru told me that the Senshi rejected Rei for running away five years ago. I do not know if this is true, because you can never get a story straight from a little girl, even if she is twelve years old."
Jaedite smiled and waved a hand. "No, that is true."
"May I hear the entire story please, Mr. Jaedite?" she asked.
Her gaze sent chills down Jaedite's spine, and he guessed she could have been thirty or so. She sure was beautiful, he thought. "Well, the girls thought I was going to betray Rei in some way, so they were against our relationship. Rei ran away, because you couldn't stand her best friends telling her to break up with me and that I was bad news. Usagi said Rei didn't know what true love is."
"I see," Setsuna said, eyeing the bedroom door. "She ran away from fear and anger, to stay with the one she loves." She sighed. "She can't run away from things, though. But I can understand her pain and wanting. That's pretty hard, knowing your best friends hate the person they love most." She gave Jaedite a tearful glance. "Tears humans apart."
Jaedite gulped and nodded, then Rei walked into the room with her yukata on and Hotaru in her arms. "Setsuna!" She walked over to Setsuna and bounced Hotaru in the air. "So Hotaru wasn't telling fibs!"
Hotaru laughed and Rei set her down. Hotaru loved being treated like a baby. "I told you! But nooo, you didn't believe me." She laughed and sat next to Setsuna.
"How is Hotaru your daughter?" Jaedite asked. "She looks nothing like you, and doesn't even have the same last name."
Setsuna closed her eyes. "Her father was killed in an accident five years ago. I took her in, because I have raised her many times before. She's," she looked at Hotaru, "one of the Senshi." Setsuna continued. "And Rei, I can't easily understand why you ran away from the Senshi. That is really terrible. And I understand that the Senshi are unable to transform?"
"Yes ma'am," Rei said.
"That's strange," Setsuna said, then stood up. "Well, I am sorry to wake the both of you. It was really lovely to see you again, Rei."
Hotaru frowned and jumped up and down. "Are we leaving already?"
"Yes, Hotaru," she said and picked up her purse.
"Do you have somewhere to stay?" Jaedite asked. "If not, you are welcome to stay here. The couch folds out into a bed."
Setsuna looked around. "Well, we were going to go back to Pluto today to stay or rent a hotel, but staying here would be lovely."
"You came all the way from Pluto?!" Rei asked, stunned.
"Hotaru here told me it was an emergency." Setsuna winked and for the first time, Rei saw her smile. She looked much more like Rei when she smiled, and Jaedite was amazed.
"Well, you are welcome to stay here!" Jaedite said as he clapped his hands together. "I'll go get the blankets." He grabbed the house key and walked down the apartment hallway to the storeage room just down the hall.
"He seems like such a nice man. Why did the scouts reject him?" Setsuna asked as she and Rei pulled out the couch bed.
"I don't know. They just didn't trust him. I can't stand people who judge people before they know them." Rei frowned and sat on the bed once they were finished. "But he treats me great and is a wonderful and caring person. I love him."
Setsuna sat up straight and looked around the room. Hotaru was staring blankly at pictures that lined the room and pointing and laughing. "I also heard," Setsuna began, "that Grandpa Hino passed away. Is that true?"
"Yes."
"You don't seem angry," Setsuna said.
"I'm over it now..."
"You can never be over loss, Rei, never."
Rei looked at Setsuna. If Setsuna said something, it was true, final, without a doupt: correct. She nodded and rocked her feet. It was going to be a long visit, Rei thought. And Setsuna would probably try to get the Senshi back to together and maybe even comfront Usagi for her stubborn attitude toward her own scout. That was not leader-like, she explained with a frown. Setsuna seemed mostly offended that no one told her and also guilty that she didn't know. But one thing was for sure, she was going to visit the Senshi tomorrow and say something to them. And whatever Setsuna said was final.
So, Setsuna now arrived to Tokyo to take care of some unwanted business. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it was quick.