Dark clouds covered the sky, omen of a rain that would not take long to fall; people came and went in search of shelter or rushing to get to their destinations before the storm came.
However, standing in front of the lake, gray eyes lost in the horizon, dressed with military boots, slightly torn jeans, a t-shirt of some Swedish metal band, long platinum hair stirring in the wind and a pair of long earrings in his ears ... Hiroshi Saito remained immobile despite that every second the weather worsened and that he would very likely end up drenched from head to toe.
He liked the rain, he could not deny it. He loved the feel of the water falling on his face, or how the wind tried to play with his hair, the cold that same wind caused him when sticking to his body his wet clothes, but for Saito ... the rain was a wonderful experience.
Moreover, walking in a storm helped him to think ... his best lyrics came amid stormy nights, the most intricate guitar solos had come to his mind same way ... however, what he liked the most, was the ability to clear his mind and help him to think.
Just that was the reason behind being there, standing in front of the No. 10 park's lake.
He clearly remembers when he decided to pursue a musical career, along with a business one. Something within him told him from a very early age, that he was destined for great things, so with that clever mind of his, he foresaw not only the required musical training, but also the knowledge for the management of the band.
They began playing in bars, first in little busy days like Wednesday or Thursday, but as they were gaining some popularity, they were getting more important and more crowded days like Friday or even Saturday.
It may sound arrogant of him to admit something like that, but they were really good... good enough that a year after the project started an agent approached them and offering a temporary contract to record a demo, and depending on its acceptance, a contract for a few years and the commitment to record at least two more albums.
In the environment in which they move, the demo was a success, and even outside this circle, their songs were fairly well known. With a smile, Saito recalled how difficult it was to finish his business career, and managing the band at the same time.
You'd think at that time, Saito had everything he wanted... and yet, something was missing in him.
For several years, for a long time during his childhood and some of his adolescent years, something deep inside urged him to look out for something... or someone, he never really knew what it was... he used to have dreams that developed in ancient kingdoms, where he looked himself as king and as a warrior; dreams that usually had no sense at all, but that left him in a very cheerful mood the next day. He had them several times, sometimes he did not remember much of what he dreamed... sometimes had them every night, but others there were weeks without having one of them...
It was a stormy night when the dreams became nightmares, which were stared by a sadistic redhead.
After that day, he did not have those strange dreams again, making him feel lost and leaving him with only a sense of emptiness, as if an important part of him had been taken away.
With the passing of the years he learned to live with it; or at least he thought so, until a week ago, when he again had one of those strange dreams, and that search feeling invaded him again.
Needless to say, because of this was a new guitar solo was born.
And now here he was, trying to decipher this strange feeling, trying to figure out what was what unleashed it again, and what was what his being urged him to seek.
He was walking slowly through the park, enjoying the rain. He was completely lost in his thoughts, with his eyes slightly closed... until someone crashed into him and brought him back to reality.
On the floor in front of him a cute girl with long golden hair with a funny red bow holding it in place...
He helped her to her feet, but when their gazes met, there was some sort of recognition...
Minako...
Kunzite...
No, the mutual recognition had not been at the same level because where he saw a nice young woman who he met during his high school years, she saw in his gray eyes the remains of a long lost love of a past life.
He greeted her in a friendly manner, taking her by surprise, causing that Saito interpreted it as if she actually did not recognize him, situation that he tried to remedy.
- Hiroshi Saito, we met some years ago in the road lined with Ginkgo trees, you were a student of Shiba middle high.
Yes, Minako remembered him... and that make her wince internally. Certainly at some point she had the suspicion that "Saito-San" was Kunzite's reincarnation... but being aware that the spirit of the old Shitennou lived in a stone resting on Mamoru's nightstand, she completely ruled out the idea.
Having him back, face to face, with her memories restored, she could not help but shudder at noticing one by one the great similarities between the man before her and the general of her memoirs.
The rain had begun to diminish, so he offered to accompany her to her destination in a small attempt to catch up with their lives.
No, he did not regret anything.
The rain of the previous day had been especially relaxing, plus the encounter with Minako had left him in a particularly good mood; they had even agreed to meet again the next week.
However, this time there was something that rarely happened ... he felt the beginnings of a cold. Maybe that was the only adverse consequence of that strange hobby of walking in the rain to think; even with it, he would not change anything of the night before.
He decided it was a good idea to seek medical care, after all, a sick musician does not perform well ... but it is even worse when said musician is the lead singer and guitarist of the band.
Fortunately, he did not have to wait long to being called to the office of the doctor on duty, who after a couple of knocks on the door authorized the entry.
In front of him there was a guy of about the same age as him, maybe even younger, with short black hair and who was currently reviewing what looked like his clinical record. A badge on his desk read "Dr. Chiba Mamoru ".
The young doctor reminded him of someone... someone important, but he could not pinpoint who or why. It was when the doctor lifted his head that something strange happened.
Sapphire met gray… Saito felt an absolute peace spreading within him. For Mamoru, the surprise of having before him a person who may very well be the carbon copy of his closest Shitennou was enough to make his heart race at incredible speeds.
Kunzite... was the almost inaudible sigh that escaped his lips.
Coming out from his stupor, Saito sat across from Mamoru, who reviewing his role as physician asked him again the reason of his visit.
As the appointment progressed, both felt more comfortable in the presence of the other, as if they were old friends and had not just met each other. Certainly it was obvious for one of them to connect the dots about the real identity of the other... deciding to keep silent and leaving everything to fate.
Finally, if fate was who had brought them together again, even though the future king had long since lost faith to at some point seeing any of his Shitennou again, that same fate would be responsible for crossing their paths again.
Even thought Kunzite is my favourite Shitennou, it was really hard to write this chapter…
Finally the First Heavenly king has appeared…
References: Saito is a Sailor V Manga Character that looks exactly like Kunzite… it was Minako herself who said that he reminded her of someone, but she didn't know who.
The road lined with Ginkgo trees is also mentioned in that chapter
Well… I hope you enjoyed reading this.
Special thanks to LoveInTheBattleField (I absolutely loved the sesshoumaru of your profile picture), Fai Gensou and Antoinette Veronica
Who would you like to read next?
See (or read) you soon!