ACT 11 – JADEITE, THE KNIGHT OF PATIENCE AND HARMONY
"I can't believe it! Jadeite! The guitarist!" Minako wrapped her arms around her chest and shivered, despite her heavy coat. She glanced at Mamoru, "Are you sure the band is going to come out the pub using the emergency's exit?"
Mamoru nodded, "Yes. Motoki told me they usually use this exit."
Usagi whined, her breath becoming a white cloud of vapor in the icy air, "It's cold."
Mamoru smiled and placed his arm around her shoulders.
"And it's going to snow." Satoru slipped his hands in his jacket's pockets and stared at the sky.
Minako glanced at door, "I hope they are going to come out soon. It's freezing." She walked closer Kazuo, leaning against him and enjoying his warmth.
Makoto walked to the center of the empty service area and turned round, smiling, "The show was great! Don't you think? And we have found Jadeite! A perfect evening."
Nobuo smirked, "That moron! A musician. I am not surprised, after all."
Mamoru shared a knowing smile with Nobuo, "Now, thanks Motoki, we know everything about him. His actual name is Jun Higashi, he lived in a orphanage, he attends Pedagogy at Tokyo University, he has a part time job as kindergarten's teacher, and he is also a musician."
Minako grabbed Rei's hand, winking, "Are you ready to meet Jun, Rei-chan?"
Rei gently squeezed Minako's hand and covered her mouth with her red scarf, remaining silent, her eyes focused on the emergency's exit like if the intensity of her gaze could open the door.
And the door opened, the members of the band finally coming out. First, the singer, wrapped into a heavy black coat and a white scarf; she complained about the cold and started skipping, trying to get warm. Then, the drummer, laughing and teasing the singer. The guitarist, his long and dark hair tied in a ponytail; he smirked, a cigarette in his hand. Finally the bass player; he scratched his short green hair and closed the door.
The door remained closed as Mamoru shared a confused look with the others. He walked to the band, "Please. We are looking for Jun Higashi. Is he still inside the pub?"
The singer turned round and observed the group. She finally had a brief and amused laugh before to answer Mamoru, "You are the noisy group near the stage, aren't you? Sorry, but Jun has left the pub soon after the show. He was in a hurry."
Mamoru gently bowed and thanked the girl for her answer. He looked at the band walking away and finally had a disappointed sigh.
Minako muttered, "I can't believe it! How unfair!"
Ami walked closer Rei and had a sweet smile, "Don't worry, Rei-chan. We are going to meet him tomorrow. We know his name, his Department at University, his part time job."
Kazuo folded his arms and snorted, "We are going to meet him if he wants us to meet him."
Minako bent her head toward her right shoulder, "What?"
Kazuo smirked, "You and Usagi were too busy to make a scene during the show to notice what was going on."
Minako and Usagi blushed and lowered their head like scolded children, their voices in unison, "We were just trying to draw Jadeite's attention."
Kazuo's sarcastic smirk changed into a calm smile, "And you got it, unfortunately. I observed him: when you started shouting, he looked at us, he studied any of us, focusing mostly on Rei," he glanced at Rei and his smile turned sweet when she blushed, "on Nobuo because of his past meeting with him, and on Mamoru. Mostly on Mamoru. He was confused; I read confusion in his eyes. So he averted his attention from us and avoided to look at us for the rest of the show."
Satoru supported Kazuo's statement, "He closed his eyes, freezing out everything around him. He has always been good in freezing out everything around him, when he wants to."
Nobuo grumbled, "OK. It means he wants to cut us out. And he'll do it until he'll finally decide to open his fucking eyes. And the more we'll try to approach him, the more he'll keep his eyes closed."
Kazuo cleared his throat and finally growled, "Nobuo!"
Minako's lips curled into a disappointed frown, "So, what? Shouldn't we try to meet him?"
Mamoru sighed, "Jadeite prefers staring at things from the distance, studying everything, before to act. I guess he'll study us through Motoki and, when he'll be ready, he'll finally decide to meet us in order to understand why he feels so confused."
It started snowing.
On his way home, Jun stopped and watched the white flakes dancing around him.
Those guys and girls at the show, Nobuo Akanishi and Motoki Furuhata among them: again that sense of déjà-vu.
He closed his eyes and visualized them, any of them, trying to catch the feelings evoked by those guys and girls.
The blonde girl with strange pigtails, dressed with a white dress, and the blonde girl with a big red ribbon on her head, dressed with an orange dress: they started shouting hysterically since the beginning of the show. Crazy girls, but funny and warming. Sense of serenity.
Nobuo Akanishi, his arm around a tall brunette's waist. He was smirking at him while the brunette was looking at the two blondes with a mix of embarrassment and amusement. Sense of warmth and comfort.
The raven hair girl with that sexy red dress, her purple eyes on him, no visible emotion on her face. It was the first time he saw her but he felt so attracted to her; strong attraction. She was beautiful, but it wasn't her beauty and her innate elegance that attracted him (he wasn't the kind of guy falling for a girl just because of her beauty); unintelligible attraction.
The guy with long silver hair trying to stop the blonde girl with the red ribbon, his hands pressed on her mouth in his vain attempt to shut her craziness out. Familiar and pleasant scene knocking at his confused mind. Sense of protection.
The guy with a loose ponytail and the blue haired girl by his side: calm and sweet couple. Sense of peace.
And the guy with short raven hair and piercing blue eyes. Those eyes. Absolute devotion.
Jun rested his hand on his eyes; a moan escaped from his mouth as he thought of the confusion provoked by that guy and how he missed a chord, the first time he missed a chord during a show. The crowd didn't even notice it but Yasu did, friendly reproaching him at the end of the show.
He was pretty sure that Nobuo Akanishi was waiting for him outside the pub, the others with him. He couldn't be sure about it, but he felt it.
He wasn't ready to face him. He wasn't ready to face them. He needed his confusion to settle down before to face everything.
He decided to have a pause from everything in order to avoid that Nobuo Akanishi and the others looked for him and found him. He decided to disappear for a while.
TWO WEEKS LATER
It was snowing. Again.
Mamoru stared at the night, enjoying the magic sight made of lights reflecting on the white blanket that covered the city.
No sign of Jun Higashi during the last weeks, and Mamoru wasn't surprised about it: Jadeite was the elusive and mystic element of the foursome, and he was showing his nature. The way Kunzite was now showing his role of guide, balancing Nephrite's impulsiveness and Zoisite's pragmatism.
When the doorbell rang, he glanced at the forgotten book on the living room's table and smiled, "Usagi is back to keep her math book."
He walked to the door and opened it, pretending to be angry, "I guess you wouldn't forget your favorite manga, Usa, but since it's just your math – " he stopped, confused.
He didn't recognize the face hidden in the dim light of the hallway and in the shadow of the black hood.
"Mamoru Chiba, please, I need to talk to you."
But he recognized that voice, husky and gentle voice.
Mamoru nodded and let him enter, repressing a shout of joy. He observed him removing the hood of his hooded top and showing his pale blond hair. He looked into his blue-gray eyes.
He closed the door, "I was waiting for you, Jun Higashi."
Jun remained calm, "How do you know me? Who are you, exactly?"
Mamoru smiled, playing, once more, the magic of his transformation.
"MASTER!"
When Jun finally collapsed into his arms, he held him close, "Jadeite, finally!"
OK, just a couple of chapters left to the end. Stay tuned for Rei and Jadeite's meeting. ;-)
Waiting for your opinions.
THANKS to you all.