Chapter Thirteen: Mixed Emotions

Yuuichirou closed the door to the mansion behind him as Rei stepping inside, just like the night before. Without waiting for the butler to take her coat, Rei threw it furiously at the couch and it slipped down the arms. Yuuichirou chuckled and picked it up firmly. "The coat didn't do a thing to you, Rei. Calm down and stop making a scene."

Rei turned around sharply. Her fists were tightened and her knuckled glowed white. Her face and eyes were a bright red, as if ready to cry at any moment. "You have no idea how much this hurts, Yuuichirou! So don't tell me to calm down!" She walked up to him, kicked his ankle, and swiftly turned away. She burst through the door. Three seconds past. She came stomping back. "Give me my coat!" She said, snatching it away from him and stomping back out through the kitchen doors.

The butler walked quietly behind Yuuichirou and faced the doorway. "She takes more energy trying to seem upset than to be happy," he said while shaking his head. "And you say she is the Senshi of Fire? How unprodictable."

"Hey," Yuuichirou said with a slight grin on his face. He looked down at the butler. "That is a secret. You can tell no one. Remember that."

"Yes sir," the butler said with a sparkle in his eye. "I just love to know who is who now-a-days. I feel so special." He bowed slightly and walked off singing lowly, "I'm not an ordinary butler. I'm better than the rest...!"

Yuuichirou grinned and sat down on the couch of the huge house. He brushed his hand through his shortened hair and sighed. "It's been... so long since Rei has yelled at me." He smiled.

---

Rei sat on her bed of the huge bedroom in her yukata. She held the note that was found in the apartment house and read it over and over until she memorized it. It didn't seem to click to her. In the letter, Silver Maiden mentioned that "her so-called friends" helped with her discovery. She couldn't have meant Usagi and the gang, could she? No. That's impossible. Why would Usagi do such a thing to help the enemy? She may be breathing down my neck with hate, but when it comes to the loving Ami, she would never put her at risk.

Rei sighed and looked up to the doorway when the door slowly creaked open. The butler appeared through the crack of the door, then knocked. "I'm terribly sorry to bother you, Ms. Rei, but I brought you some tea and cookies."

Rei turned and let her legs hang from the bed. "Come in."

The butler nodded and slowly walked over to the bed. He laid the tray on the small table in front of her and faced her. "May I sit down?" When Rei nodded, he sat down beside her and sighed. He wasn't an old man, but he was well in the age of his late fifties. And unlike most butlers, he was very funny when he wanted to be. "Ms. Rei, I can't help but notice the feelings Sir Yuuichirou has for you."

Rei closed her eyes. "Please. Call me Rei. And Yuuichirou isn't that important to have a nice 'sir' stuck before his name. Around me, you can call him Big Head."

The bulter laughed and moved around a little in his seat. "Well, Rei, I can't help but notice the feelings 'Big Head' has for you." He looked at her, serious now. Rei stopped grinning. "He has always talked about you when he came back for a visit. This is his parents' old house, but they moved away about five years ago, around the time you left."

Rei hung her head and put her hands on the bed covers.

"Yuuichirou ... eh, Big Head... really has feelings for you and when you left everyone behind that day, he was really torn apart. On top of his love running away, his parents suddenly move out and leave him to live alone. He feels everyone that he truely cares about has left him in the dust." He stopped for a moment and took a breath. "He was worried about you everyday. He wondered where you were and how you were. It's been five years, and you couldn't imagine how many times he told me the story of your return to the Hikawa Temple." He smiled and stood up.

"So what are you saying?" Rei asked. "That I should live here with him and just abandon Jaedite?!" She formed a fist. "He NEEDS me!"

The butler walked slowly over to the door, turned the knob, and stood on the opposite site. "No. Just tell him you are thankful. You don't know how he feels. He really loves you, Rei. Tell him you are thankful. He loves you." With that, he closed the door behind him tightly and walked down the hallway.

Rei stared out the window shortly after he left. It was just about lunchtime now and the silent breeze from the window was gentle and sweet. She eventually closed her eyes and let the smell of the tea fill the room. "Everything is messed up now. It's all gone. I've been running for five years and finally thought I was happy. Happy in the warmth of his arms. Now everything is messed up. Jaedite is captured. Ami is dead. Hotaru is held captive. Setsuna hasn't returned. Makoto is gone. And here I am. Staring out another window. I need to stop. I need to stop running. This isn't a movie anymore. This isn't just my sweet dream. I need to stop."

As a tear rolled down her cheek, like a trigger, the door swung open and Yuuichirou stood in the doorway. "Rei. Lunch is almost ready," he said, making his way over to her. "Hey," he repeated, shaking her shoulder, "lunch is almost ready."

Rei quickly wiped away her tears and nodded. "Okay."

He sat down next to her. "You... you were crying, weren't you?"

"No I wasn't..."

"Yes you were!" Yuuichirou said and pushed her face to meet his; each hands were on her cheeks. "Why were you crying?" Once he saw Rei's hurt eyes, he quickly drew back, letting go of her face. "I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me."

Rei shook her head. "No. Forget it. I'm fine." She stood up and brushed her damp hands on her yukata.

"Um... thank you, Yuuichirou," she said as they walked down the hallway to the main lobby. She walked close enough to him to have her shoulder sleeve brush against his arm.

"For what?" He asked, looking down at her.

"For everything." She stopped and he turned around. "I'm sorry if I always treated you like nothing but a child or just a lovesick puppy. You were such a big help at the Temple. You did all your chores and you did them on time. You never complained and the Temple wasn't the same when you went on your short vacations." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "What I really mean to say is... I'm glad I met you."

Yuuichirou stared at her, half in shock, half in denial. They stood there for a few seconds in silence; the heavy breeze zipped past them, blowing their hair. And when Rei hugged Yuuichirou quickly, he didn't even move. He just stood there with his hands gently stroking her back.

---

Lunch was a very quiet time that day. Rei ate politely and slowly, maybe thinking about everything that happened in the past three days and trying to soak up all the hurt and feelings. Yuuichirou would look up at her every once in a while; he could tell by the saddened look on her face that she wasn't happy. She had every right to be upset and depressed. He twirled around the salad in his plate and took tiny bites. 'Rei, why are you still here?'

Rei sighed and took a bite from the salad. Yuuichirou dropped his chopsticks on the table. "I can't take this anymore, Rei!" He said, standing up from the table and making his way over to her.

Rei looked up at him frightened and put her chopsticks down next to her plate. "...what?"

"I can't take you moping around my house anymore!" He turned around her chair, faced it toward him, and he plopped his hands on the wooden chair next to her legs. He looked dead in her face, eyes pounding. "Rei! You know are you are dying to find out what happened to Ami and everyone else! Jaedite is waiting! So get outta here, go back to Scouts, and stop running away from your fears!"

Rei sat back in her chair, half frightened and half in disbielf that Yuuichirou would actually yell at her. She saw the hurt in his eyes and realized what he was trying to do. ::He's not trying to kick to me... he's trying to get me to come to my scences...::

He grabbed her shoulder tightly. "Rei! You can't waste anymore time. Go!"

Rei stared at his sadden eyes and the butler inched closer to the exit door.

---

Makoto threw the keys to her apartment on the couch as she closed the door behind her. She stepped across the floor and walked over to the window, completely ignoring the blinking red light by her telephone. Frowning, she plopped down on the window sill and opened the window. She stared outside. "I can't believe... Usagi would do such a thing." Her eyes narrowed and filled with tears. "Because of that... Jaedite, Ami, Grandpa Hino, AND Kunzite have been taken. And we can't forget about little Hotaru..."

After a few minutes of silence, Makoto stood up and turned around from the sunshined window and closed the shade. The apartment house went suddenly dark as she made her way to the couch, feeling around so she won't bump into any of the furniture. Sitting there, she reached over and pressed the button on the answering machine.

"You have nine new messages. To play your messages, press one...," Makoto reached over and pressed the key, sat back in the couch with her eyes closed, and listened to the robotic voice, not really paying attention to the date and time.

"Message One: Mako? --sigh-- Mako, please pick up. .... I'll try again later.."
"Message Two: Makoto! Pick uppp!!! --groan-- Come on, Makoto!! ...."
"Message Three...:

Makoto closed her eyes and tuned out the voices of Usagi until she heard a different voice.

"Message Seven: Hi Makoto. Um... It's Rei. I just wanted to tell you... I'm safe and sound. So is everyone else. Well, except Ami and Hotaru. I think you already know that but.. um... Jaedite says he's sorry. Sorry about everything. About your lose and what not. sigh Just call me back when you can. I doupt you will, so I won't wait around for it..."

She sat up in her chair and faced the answering machine. The tape kept playing.

"Message Eight: Makoto? It's me, Minako. Where are you? If anyone is worried about you, it's me. I'm sorry you got caught up in everything. ...you probably know about what Usagi did. She's sorry. Please come back and fight. Oh, and don't tell Rei. ...Bye."

"Message nine: Sailor Jupiter, why did you talk to me like crap earilier today? And after all I've done for you! Killing Kunzite was one of the best things that happened in your life, so don't deny the happiness. Hehe. I love messing with your heart. I have your loved ones... catch me if you can."

Something in that message made Makoto smile. "Idiot... actually calling the enemy." She pressed the button a second time and walked back over to the window. "They want me to come back and fight." She closed her eyes. "Well I can't, even if I wanted to. They all deserve what they got. Each one of them. And Usagi... will be getting hers soon."

She took a deep breath and rushed for her coat by the door. She quickly put it on. "Even if she IS sorry..."

---

Rei ran swiftly down the sidewalks of the deserted town, not stopping to look back at Yuuichirou mansion that was still in the vast distance. He might be standing there, watching her run, so she didn't want to look back. Her jeans brushed up against her legs and her raven colored hair flew behind her like a cape. And the only thing on her mind was to fight once again.

It wasn't long before the rush of the traffic and bodies swept across the town, and Rei found herself dodging everything in her path. People would stop and yell for her to watch where she was going, but none of them would convince her enough to listen. She could've ran past Ami and wouldn't even stop. She wanted to do one thing: see Usagi.

As she swiftly turned the corner, she found herself in a collision with a passing girl with a dark green woody. They both fell to the ground and groaned almost at the same time. "I'm sorry," Rei said looking at the girl from one eye; she rubbed her leg rapidly. "I was in rush to see- Makoto?!"

Makoto opened one eye and looked at Rei. "Gosh, Rei! Have you gotten stronger-"

"Mako! Where have you been?!" Rei asked, now standing up and helping her up.

Makoto brushed off her pants and stood up, fixing her brown hair back into a ponytail. "That's none of your business." She looked at Rei's expression after saying so and sighed. "Well... where are you in such a hurry to?"

"I was going to see Usagi. Something tells me she is linked up with everything!" Now she was shouting, and the passing people all stopped and stared. Makoto was silent for a while. She just stood there, pretending to fix her already pretty hair and then looked around. Rei's eyes widened and began to water. "You know something, don't you Makoto?!" When Makoto didn't answer, Rei jammed both fists to her sides. "Tell me!"

Makoto closed her eyes and walked past Rei. "Don't go blaming your princess just yet, Rei. It seems to me you already forgot your place."

Rei frowned and rushed in front of Makoto. She looked up at her with teary eyes. "And what place is that, Makoto? Huh? Being the one everyone stomps over and accuses my Jaedite of being a villan? Wake up! That was years ago!"

"Your PLACE is pretecting Princess Serenity. Your place is BELOW her! So don't go pointing fingers at Usagi! You don't have a clue why what happened, happened!" With a shove to get Rei out of the way, Makoto continued to walk past her and disappeared into the crowd of people.

Rei stood there, fists red and still jammed to her side. ::She's right,:: Rei thought. ::Everything she said was right. I AM just Princess Serenity's protector from the Silver Millenium. I AM just a warrior to keep her safe. No wonder no one can transform. We all seem to have ... lost sight of that.:: Rei sighed, quickly turned around, and continued to run. She didn't even notice Makoto who stopped and watched her disappear.