Light music was playing in the background; quiet laughs were being shared by the people walking around the gallery and by the ones that were just arriving; there was also a play of lights that, while illuminating the paintings that were being displayed, it also kept the visitors in some sort of darkness, that only added to the already magical environment of the evening.

If you were to ask, critics and art curators would tell you that it was the perfect setting for a magnificent set of works.

And, in the middle of all this, the stars of the night were sharing few, polite smiles and kind words with all of those that had decided to approach them with praises or criticism for their work.

Standing in a corner, you could easily spot the now veteran artist Yumeno Yumemi, near the table holding the appetizers, surrounded by some of the people that had been following her career from the beginning.

On the other side of the gallery, and just beside one of the great windows showing Tokyo's nightscape, you could see the new promise of the art world, a young, blond haired, green eyed man that answered to the name of Matsumoto Yuki.

A young man that, even while offering smiles to the people surrounding him, singing him praises on his art, was feeling nothing but contempt towards them.

To be completely honest, he mostly felt nauseous about them. He could barely stand all of their fake words and supposed admiration for his art. But most of all, he could almost feel his blood boil every time one of them told him that they "understood" the message he was trying to convey with his beautifully deep and marvellous works.

Fake. All of them were, all of their words, all of their smiles.

Because Yuki knew that none of them truly understood, none of them were really who he was trying to reach with his works. None of them could really get what he was trying to tell.

And he also knew that his message still had not been received. That it was still waiting to get to its final destination and that he had to continue until it was acknowledged.

It had been this way since several years ago when he went to that trip to the cursed forest.

Answering the idle chatter of a black haired woman with a vacuous smile, while trying to cover a wince both because of the horrible laugh the woman possessed and the memories that threatened to surface, he let himself become lost in his own thoughts.

Aokigahara is a place that every native and non native that had heard of it had come to respect and avoid to a certain degree, because even if they do not really believe in the stories shared by the Japanese oral tradition about youkais, and other supernatural events, anybody could feel the strange atmosphere that permeates the forest, and that could easily be a consequence of the multiple deaths that had happened inside this place.

Yuki however, decided that he was a brave and intelligent boy, and that he could surprise his mom by finding a shortcut to get to the end of the forest, before the rest of the tourist group his family was part of reached it.

And he certainly found something, thought it was not what he was looking for.

The moment his eyes left the road that the tourists were using, a strange feeling settled in the pit of his stomach; soon, he started to hear things that were not normal for a forest and, on the periphery of his sight, he could almost make the shapes of what appeared to be warriors and soldiers not unlike those found inside a history book.

He tried to look for them more than once, however every time he turned around to see them properly, they vanished as if they had never been there in the first place.

After a while, the previous noises began to morph into voices; he could almost distinguish the voices of what he thought were men and women alike, even some of what appeared like children voices were thrown into the mix.

And when he lifted his gaze he saw how some sort of castle was taking form just a little further inside the forest.

Little by little, and without Yuki noticing it, a thick fog started to creep out on him, covering everything in view but allowing the ghostly apparitions to finally take form in front of the boy.

Before him, Yuki witnessed several images and fantastic scenes that seemed out of a fairy tale; these were telling a story about a time long forgotten, about a now unknown land. He saw the life of a boy that strongly resembled him; saw him play on the gardens of the castle he saw earlier, and how other four boys soon joined him in his games.

He saw those same boys growing up, trading innocent games to escapades to a local bar and how they moved from playing with wood swords to actually train with real weapons. He also saw how four of these boys swore fealty to the fifth one.

He also saw how all the happiness this group of friends got interrupted by a horrible war led by a strange red headed woman.

By the end of this vision, Yuki had already forgotten most of the details of the story, its settings and the appearance of its protagonists. By the end of the vision, two weeks had already passed; he was found by a rescue team that had been looking for him non stop.

After that, nothing was the same for Yuki. He was in a constant state of confusion and distress, feeling like his head was full of static and white noise that was preventing him from thinking clearly. It was as if there was something stuck there, something that needed to be released somehow.

Something that needed to be expressed one way or another.

And suddenly one day, for no reason at all, Yuki took a sketching block and began to draw. His first attempts were not exactly smooth ones; on the contrary, they made no sense at all, and were quite messy instead. However, the more he drew, the more he cleared his mind.

It was then that the images started to come to him with better clarity.

Movement from the corner of his eye let him know that someone was slowly approaching him, shaking him out of his reverie. Glancing briefly in that direction, he saw that the one approaching him was his friend and co-host, Yumeno Yumemi and that she was talking animatedly with a couple that he had not noticed until that moment.

Think about it, Yumemi and her artworks were still a mystery to him, even after knowing her for a time now. He somehow knew that she was no ordinary painter, that there was something more about her and that she, just like him, was trying to convey a message that was not that different from his; then again, the one time he got enough courage to ask her about it, she smiled in a knowing way and told him that her message had already been received.

At the time, he did not fully get what she was saying, but now, watching her with them, smiling in a way he had never seen before, he suddenly thought that perhaps, the couple she was talking to, had something to do with that cryptic answer.

Finally after a couple of minutes, his friend was finally at his side, inserting herself flawlessly into the conversation and quickly dismissing the black haired lady that Yuki had even started to forget was still there.

She somehow managed to engage him in a way that left no room for anybody to try and interrupt whatever the artists were discussing, before she pointed to where the couple was watching and waiting. She told him that she wanted to introduce him to some old friends and asked if he was open to meet them.

"Yuki-Kun, these are some really dear friends of mine" she pointed then first to the woman and then to the man, "this is Tsukino Usagi and this is her husband, Chiba Mamoru. They were one of my first models and they are also the inspiration to some of my paintings"

Yuki felt a myriad of emotions the moment he saw them. First, he finally understood that this couple, specially this young woman, was the one to receive Yumeno's message. But then, when he posed his eyes on the black haired man, he felt how his world shifted on its axis in a completely unexpected way.

It felt like an out of body experience, where he was witnessing everything that happened to him without really being there. He saw the surprise that crossed the young man's features, and how that expression quickly morphed into understanding, familiarity and even a bit of the kind of love you usually give to close friends and family.

Yuki could also see how the man extended his hand in a rather strange way that was by no means, similar to the western custom of shaking hands. However, the strange thing was when Yuki's body answered the greeting as if it had always known how to do it.

It was then when Yuki finally got it. His message, the one that he was still unsure of its contents, was being finally received by its intended recipient. And for said recipient, the message was loud and clear.

The moment was broken once their strange handshake ended, and with it, the control over his body was returned to Yuki.

He still wasn't sure what happened, however, he knew that a great weight had just been lifted from his shoulders; so, giving the couple a huge, blinding but sincere smile, Yuki offered to give them a special tour along the exposition, prompting them to give out their opinions and answering them in return.

The smile never left his face.

And if the smiles the other two had were just as bright, that was no one's business anyway.

The call had been… unexpected.

But even if it was unexpected, it doesn't mean that it was completely surprising, mostly because the moment she agreed to give him her phone number, she offered the option of one day receiving a call. To be honest, what surprised her was that it did not happen sooner.

The call was not exactly a brief one, even if it started with the typical awkwardness of first calls. Its first couple of minutes were filled with all the courtesies and politeness of first calls, fairly resembling the kind of call you make to a distant relative whenever you remember their existence and wonder if they are still alive.

However, once they finally lowered their guards a bit and started to relax, the conversation turned out really pleasant.

They started to joke with each other, sometimes with Yuusaku making a silly comment and then Rei answering the joke with something equally witty. Soon, they were bantering like good old friends, and not like the pair of strangers that met some weeks ago at a wedding.

Before they knew it, an hour was already gone, and they suddenly remembered that they still had other things that required their attention. For her, it was some unfinished temple related things; for him, the call he was actually supposed to make when he found Rei's Number.

"You know, we should meet someday for lunch so we can talk freely and without interruptions"

And if not because Rei Knew better, she would have thought that she just agreed to have a date with him.

Usagi had never really been a fan of Coffee. She had always been a Chocolate milkshakes and sugary drinks kind of girl, so the bitterness of a cup of coffee was not exactly a thing she would willingly choose. Then again, if you were to present her with a neatly served cappuccino with a few cookies on the side, she would be glad to accept them.

That day however, Usagi ordered a cold cappuccino with a shot of Irish cream. She was comfortably seated in a booth near the entrance, waiting for the arrival of her best friend.

She had always liked this particular Kissaten; ever since the first time Naru brought her here, Usagi fell in love with its warm atmosphere and the gentleness of the people working there.

What actually closed the deal was the amazing chocolate cake they served there.

Usagi knew that Naru had a special place in her heart for this specific Kissaten; whenever she wanted to have some of her work done, or to have a good time with her most important people, she would come here; when asked, Naru said that for some reason, this place made her feel like home.

And that was the exact reason why Usagi asked her to meet her here, after the somewhat distressed call she received the day after the Mori Tower exhibition.

Usagi had a gnawing feeling about the call, and her friend's agitated state; she knew that it was a matter of time before it happened, though even if she had some time in advance to think of a solution, she was still unsure on how to approach the problem.

Just as she was contemplating if she should order a slice of the infamous chocolate cake or not, Naru arrived. Her appearance was not the neat one she always presented when outside her home, but it was still composed. In Usagi's opinion, it was the desperate attempt of someone about to fall apart, but trying not to look the part.

Usagi waved her hand to gain her friend's attention; afterwards she signalled for a waiter to come to their table to take their orders. Usagi ordered the Chocolate cake, Naru a cold Oolong tea with a shot of milk.

Once their orders were on the table, they exchanged the expected pleasantries; when those were over, a heavy silence settled between them.

For just a moment, Usagi considered to be the one to shatter the uncomfortable silence, one that she knew was the result of the inner turmoil her best friend was experimenting. However, in the end, she decided to let the girl sort her thoughts alone and at her own pace.

It finally happened.

"Usagi-chan… I think that I finally lost my mind". And ok, those were not the words that she had been expecting. She was preparing herself for a complaint, or a demand for explanations… she never imagined that her dear friend would end blaming her own mental health.

"No, you have not." Was her sharp answer. Naru tried to contradict her words, but with a small wave of her hand, Usagi managed to silence her, while encouraging her to take a sip of her drink.

This helped both girls to order their thoughts so they were not a blabbering mess trying to explain things that were not completely clear in their minds.

When Naru spoke again, she did it without making a clear reference to whom she was talking about. Her voice was reduced to a mere broken whisper. "How can you say that? Usagi-chan, I saw him die in my arms; I saw him bleed and stain my clothes with his blood before disappearing. And now, several years later I find myself in front of a physically identical guy that I could have swear was him, if not for the lack of recognition I saw in his eyes".

Naru took a breath, trying to calm herself a little. Her eyes filled with confusion and a bit of desperation tried to find the ones of the girl in front of her. "Usagi please, say something… I don't know what to think anymore."

Usagi understood her fully. Oh! But the irony! She could still remember her own confusion and hurt when "Endo" appeared after Kunzite kidnapped Tuxedo Mask from the Starlight Tower. And she still remembers the silent support her friend offered even if she had no idea of what was really going on.

And now, Naru was in that same position, but not quite. She knew that Naru genuinely loved Nephrite, and that she was really devastated by his sudden dead. She also understood that this was causing her something like a phantom pain that was making her remember all the good and bad things they experienced together.

Usagi thought again on how to approach the issue at hand. If she was completely honest, she was not exactly sure what really happened with the old Shitennou. They all thought they were lost for good, until Mamoru encountered Hiroshi and they stumbled upon Satoru.

They discussed several theories trying to explain their "re-appearances" their first thought was about the restoration of the Galactic Cauldron after the defeat of Chaos, but that theory was quickly discarded since the Shitennou were killed long before the arrival of Sailor Galaxia. They then considered an alteration of the time flux as consequence of Chibi-Usa's time traveling. This theory was also discarded because of the time frames and Setsuna's refusal to confirm or deny it.

However, the fact that the stones that contained their souls stopped to answer Mamoru's calls gave them a hint of a different power at play.

They obviously hesitated, this theory sounding as illogical as the other ones. There's no way that a mere rock, even if it contained a powerful soul, could create a new body out of thin air… let alone fabricate and insert their background stories.

That left them with one last theory, one that Usagi was about to explain to her friend as best as she could.

"The one you encountered is not completely who you think he is. You know, a few months ago Mamoru found himself in the presence of a guy that was the exact copy of his most trusted and cherished General in another life. Later we learnt that this guy was not only Minako's middle school's partner but also that he lived his life in apparent normality while we were fighting with his double"

"Ever since then, we have been encountering some of the other generals; all of them seemed to be experiencing the same circumstances, and even if they have similar personalities, the fact that they do not remember their past roles had lent them a lightness in their souls that was not there before."

Usagi noticed the lost expression on her friend's face and how little by little she was making mental connections and conclusions. Usagi knew her friend was smart, and that she did not need all the facts to reach the right conclusion. Usagi hid a small smile behind her drink.

"But… how could they be and not be the same person and still exist in the same plane? What happened to them?"

"We think that those that fought against us in the past were just the manifestation of a fragment of their souls that was stolen from them in times past. We think that, when Beryl came back to life, she reclaimed those fragments, giving them a new body and twisting them until they were but a mere shadow of their original selves"

Sighing audibly, hesitating in what she was about to say, Usagi gave Naru a long, searching look. She knew her friend was still struggling to comprehend everything that was just said, but unlike earlier, she seemed a bit calmer and even a bit more centred.

"The one you first met as Nephite is, as I just said, a twisted version of the old Shitennou; that being said, the Nephrite you fell in love with was someone that was closer to his original self, so in a way, you already know him"

Seeing the surprised look Naru gave her, Usagi decided to finish what she started. "So, if you want to, I may be able to arrange for you two to meet again"

"Are you sure about this?" was the first thing Mamoru said once his wife told him about her lunch date with Naru. He didn't outright rejected the idea, though he decided to analyse her proposal and all the possible ramifications that could come with it.

"Don't take me wrong, you know that I really care about Naru too, but I don't really want to see her hurt because of something we could have prevented from the start"

And even if he didn't spelled it out, Usagi knew what that was about. Nephrite, just like the rest of the Shitennou, used to have a close relationship with her own inner Senshi; and even if she was not exactly sure if all those relationships would resume again during this new life, she understood that there was a big possibility of it happening.

Either way, Beryl's Nephrite managed to take an interest in young Naru, even though he was not supposed to be able to develop those kind of feelings.

Usagi decided to press forward, thinking that that past development could possibly led to something positive between them.

"Mamo-chan, we have been reminded constantly that nothing is really set on stone, the future more than anything else. We can't know if Naru and Satoru will even develop a friendship, or if they will love each other eternally. But I would like to let them decide it themselves instead of us interfering with something that is theirs to experiment."

Mamoru finally accepted, trusting his wife's instincts and hopping for the best. He even offered his help in setting them together so it was a smooth meeting.

"What will we do about Makoto?"

"WE will cross that bridge when we get there… if we ever get there"

To be completely honest I've been translating this since September, so much that I am kind of hallway on chapter 8 of the Spanish version. (but time is not always kind, and there's a time of the day my brain can barely think in my own language)

Anyway, I really hope you liked this, I'd love to hear/read our opinions.

In case you didn't know, I participated on the Mamoru week this year with a drabble series called "Drizzle". It is connected to this same universe, so if you haven't yet, I'd recommend you to go there and read them.

(They're also at ao3 as part 2 of the 'Eternal Rains Will Come' series)

References:

* What happened with the Shitennou is based on what happened to Mamoru during the Ail & Anne arc, where Mamoru and the Moonlight Knight were the same but separate entities.

* Chapter's title comes from Iron Maiden's song 'Remember Tomorrow'

Thanks for reading! See you soon!