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Chapter Six: One Day of Serenity

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'Oh, gods, what have we done…'

'We have done nothing wrong. Our heart and soul is guiltless of any wrong doing.'

'But Rei, she is hurting so much…'

'It cannot be helped…She brought this to herself, by insisting in being with someone, who will never love her back…'

'…How would you know? You never even knew about Mamoru before this.'

'Do you really want to know the answer to that?'

'……'

'…So, you still want to forget…'

'Who is Endymion?'

'…Why…why would you… ask of him?'

'When-when Mamoru-san kissed me…I felt, I felt my heart whisper his name…'

'…You are smarter than you let on. You were right…about needing to forget…'

'I don't understand.'

'Sometimes, it's better not to know your destiny…At least, until you know the one you…truly love.'

'Endymion?'

'…No, little one…He-he died…a…long time ago.'

'Did you love him?'

'…Very much.'

'You- we don't need to talk about him, if, if it hurts you…I can't explain...but a part of me hurts too, when...I say his name...'

'It hurts indeed. However, that was a long time ago. Long past. You need not concern yourself about him…For Endymion is like me now. A memory…A ghost of the past…'

'No! Don't say that. You…are me. I feel it. We are the same…just different, somehow.'

'Arigato…Yes, we are the same, but not. Remember what you said? I am a memory who without you, will cease to exist. But you can live without remembering me, because you don't need me…And I think, that maybe, that is the best course…'

'Ie, I made a mistake…'

'No.'

'…..'

'You were always right.'

'What of you? I can't – I don't want you to disappear…just, I'm just not sure if I want to know want you know…Something painful…something that shadows your eyes…'

'We will discuss that when the time is right. Our problem now, is the Fire Guardian.'

'…Please, I just can't handle her, right now…my mind's confused…I still hear his name.'

'Your heart calls…Or rather, my heart calls for him…'

'But you said, you said he died…And, I- well…Mamoru…'

'Yes…your heart calls him, too.'

'But I hate him! I do! When I see him, something in me cringes in pain, as if I'm afraid of getting hurt…As if, I'm…'

'Afraid to lose him…'

'…again,…I don't understand...Mamoru, he was...he was never mine.'

'Its all right, there is no need for you to worry about my heart's desire. Follow your heart. And know why you fear…and why you despair.'

'……'

'I am glad you smile again. It is true, you know. You are stronger than me.'

'I'm very weak. Rei calls me worthless, sometimes. She's right too. I am pretty much good for nothing.'

'I'll handle her. Will you let me? You can stay here…and think about what happened.'

'I-…Yes, thank you…But, don't hurt her too much, alright?'

'I won't. I love her, too, once, a long time ago. And you, stay put…and remember what I said.'

'I forgot…Sorry…'

'Oh, you! Well, do not forget again…Destiny was not the one who chose the man you love…Love chose your destiny for you.'

'For us you mean?'

'Iie. For you. Only for you. Because mine…mine died along time ago…My destiny had long been gone. But yours, yours is just beginning…'

"It is fine Mako-chan." Usagi said softly. There was a different tone in her voice. An assuredness that was never there in all the time that the four had been friends. In that instant, her presence was the most dominant. Something in the way she held her head, the way she stood. "I will talk to Rei, and she will talk to me."

Rei gasped. Usagi's aura was now a brilliant steady pulse of crystal. Gone was the silver, the metallic shade seeming only to coat the outer edges of her shining light. Rei felt a moment of fear, as if Usagi had become a person worth fearing…respecting. But the solemn look that the blonde gave her, made Rei stiffen in pride. She had never been one to back down form her fights with Usagi. She won't be starting now.

"Well, what have we here? Usagi, you don't wanna wail a little bit?" Rei sneered. "Get that out of your system?" She didn't want what she was feeling. But it hurt so badly when she saw that it was Mamoru who had kissed Usagi first...and that Usagi kissed back. 'How could she? She knows how I feel about him...Besides, she already has Tuxedo Mask.' Rei thought bitterly.

Makoto's hand slapped Rei so hard; the black haired girl fell down to the ground. Ami, shocked by the events, turned towards her fallen friend and quickly helped her up.

Rei was crying. "You bitch! I told you to sta-"

"Enough!"

Three eyes swung in surprise to the smallest of them. Usagi's eyes were sad, but the command in her voice was a whiplash. "Makoto, I appreciate your need to reprimand. But that is my position to take."

Makoto, Rei and Ami looked at Usagi in surprise. It was Ami, remembering what she had figured out at the arcade, who spoke, hoping to dispel the tension in the air. "Demo, Usa…Are you feeling alright? You seem, to be forgetting a few things..."

"Hai…You guessed?" she asked, her head tilted slightly in her question.

Ami was confused by the query. "Anou, guessed what?"

Usagi laughed a little, her face becoming the same face that the girls knew and loved. "It matter's not. Now, release Rei, and let us talk. I want this cleared, because we are no longer children, and this can be done diplomatically."

"I'm not leaving you here." Makoto said.

Usagi gave her a nod of acknowledgement, and then turned to Rei, as if asking her opinion.

"Fine. But if you touch me again, you'll regret it. I don't care how strong you are Mako- I can still hurt you." Rei said, her voice quiet.

The golden haired girl before them lifted a restraining hand as Makoto made an advancing move toward the miko. "Maybe so, Rei-chan...But if you do that, I can most assure you, that I shall hurt you back." Usagi's words were low and disquieting in its sadness. "You will not want that..."

Ami, from her position near Rei, moved toward her other two friends. Something about Usagi was changed. And she had a feeling, that the girl before them expected her to back up all that would be said, regardless of Ami's opinion in the matter. Usagi was now more a leader of the senshi, than the good-natured friend of yesterday.

Even Rei felt it. Standing and doing her best not to be cowed in front of Usagi, she sensed that a wrong move and the younger girl would strip her of her powers. And there will be no questioning her decision. Usagi's new confidence was not arrogant…It simply was.

"Now," Usagi said calmly. "What have you against me, Hino Rei?"

Behind her, Ami and Makoto exchange uneasy glances. Never in their whole lives would they have imagined Usagi speaking in such a manner.

Rei took it all in stride. "First of, you're attitude towards Tuxedo Mask is appalling!" '

A moment of silence. All three girls wanted to hear the blonde's answer. Tuxedo Mask's involvement with her had prompted a huge amount of questions...and jealousy, though only Rei had been openly resentful of it.

Usagi was taken aback. "Who?"

Ami and Makoto almost fell down flat. Makoto had a pained expression on her face. "I just knew it was too good to be true…," the brown haired girl said.

Rei was furious. The stupid blonde was actually playing with her! "I'm not standing here just so you can start joking me around, you ditz!"

"But I really have no clue what you're talking about!" Usagi said, flustered. She tried to rack her brain for the name, but it came out blank.

'Oh, damnit! What the hell is wrong with me?' She thought, fighting a furious blush. 'One moment things are perfectly clear, the next, I'm as clueless as a blonde…'

Ami's eyes held tears of frustration. For a moment there she had actually felt that Usagi was about to give Rei the most royal of thrashing. She turned towards Usagi, fully intent on scolding the girl, when she remembered something. She gave herself a mental slap and turned towards Rei.

"She isn't doing it on purpose, Rei! Remember what I said? I think she truly has no recollection of him," cried the blue haired girl.

Makoto was holding her now painful head. "I'm getting a migraine. Usagi, you dolt! You almost had me convince there!"

"No! Really, who the hell is Tuxedo Mask?"

Rei saw red. "I don't care what you remember or not! I'm going to kill you now!" For a moment. her true reason for being mad at Usagi was lost. Now she just felt frustrated. Usagi had seemed, well, almost regal in her address of them.

To have her reverted to her normal self was just too much.

Ami instantly went to protect Usagi. Rei's fist connected with Ami's jaw in a large crunch. Utter silence. Then Makoto, when she saw that the confrontation had gone to more familiar grounds, promptly joined in with her arms swinging.

Rei saw stars. Makoto's fist had jabbed her left ear so hard, she felt deaf. Ami, still holding her bruised jaw, refused to be dragged into the mayhem that had erupted.

Hands on hip, the genius turned toward her confused friend and gave Usagi an evil glare. "I hope you're happy, Tsukino-san!"

"But I really do not know any Tuxedo Mask!" Usagi yelped.

A loud screech came from the miko's mouth when she heard Usagi's defense. With a vicious oath, she slapped Makoto's face and blindingly tried to grab Usagi's hair. Ami yelped herself when Rei's claws started yanking her short tresses.

"Let go of my hair, you!"

"Look here, Rei, I'm the one you're fighting! Get with the program and concentrate!"

"Ooof! Usagi, when I get out of here, I'm gonna beat you black and blue!"

Usagi's blue eyes were starting to tear because of the mayhem that was happening before her. Her best friends were about to kill one another, and her swirling mind had now added a new name to the whisperings in her heart…Mamoru…Endymion…Tuxedo Mask…Mamoru…Endymion…Tuxedo Mask…

She turned to the tangle of limbs and arms before her and decided nothing could make the situation any worse. "Forgive me, but I have to ask…Do you think it is a possibility that this Tuxedo Mask you mentioned is my Endymion?"

Rei, her right arm finding an opening from the blockade of torsos, saw Usagi's feet still clad in her mary jane shoes and grasped it. With a hard yank, Usagi promptly joined her best friends as they kneaded themselves into human dough.

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They were a sorry sight indeed. Each girl occupied a corner of the small room were Grandpa Hino had dragged them still dripping wet from head to foot. No one dared to look up, knowing that Rei's grandfather was still standing in the middle of the room, a bucket of water, a few degrees below scalding, clutched in his old hand.

It had been a shock when the water was thrown at them. Makoto herself had been so busy swinging by that time that she had no clue anymore who was hitting who. So when the old priest had seen the girls, no one had seen him. And when he begun pelting them with paper charms, Ami merely thought it was Rei summoning evil spirits to take possession of them. The genius had been so offended with the idea, she had zoomed in on Rei's arm as it was about to slap Usagi and promptly bit it.

Needless to say, the fight lasted a good eight minutes, until the joint effort of Grandpa Hino and Yuichiro each holding the other side of a barrel of recently boiling water, drenched them to quiet. The only reason they weren't scalded was due to Yuichiro's love for Rei. The young man, realizing the danger that by scalding the love of his life, he might not get a chance with the black haired beauty, had added a large block of ice in the water.

It had cooled the water just enough not to burn them. But hot enough that the girls were too shocked to make any possible action for a good minute.

This was all that the priest of Cherry Hill Temple really needed.

He had herded them inside an empty room with a twig broom, promptly whacking his own granddaughter when she idiotically started arguing. Makoto, still intent in getting the last punch was dragged by the ear and Usagi had to follow because the old man had tied one of her pigtail around his waist.

Only Ami, mortified at being caught fighting, had followed silently and meekly.

So now, there they are. The famous Sailor Senshi of Japan, dripping wet, making four large puddles of water from where they are each standing, ruining the lovely tatame mats that Rei's grandmother had weave herself. Rei, seeing this, was about to yell in outrage when a bucket of water was promptly thrown at her.

Surprised, she raised purple eyes at her grandfather. The old man's own eyes were sad, but he promptly started snapping his fingers, and Yuichiro came in, bringing in another bucket of hot water.

"I know, Rei-chan," Hino-sama answered his granddaughter's unspoken question. "But I happen to think that mending a friendship is more important than my wife's weaving. If your grandmother is alive, she will agree with me, too."

Sighing, he stared hard at girls and was torn by the desire to laugh at the sight of them, and the need to be sympathetic to whatever had ignited the problem. He knew why, of course. His little Rei had been ranting for nearly two hours before the fight had erupted and she had not been bothered of not keeping her voice low.

Poor Yuichiro had been sniffing and bawling in the back courtyard as Rei's tirade had gone on and on about a young man named Mamoru and another person she had simply dubbed as "That two timing rat faced Odango".

When the loud screeching of rubber tires had interrupted her litany, Hino-sama went on a dead run to try to tell the visitors to come another time. The temple was not a safe place with his granddaughter so mad.

And he had seen the kiss that the two passengers of the car had shared.

With sad eyes, he looked at his Rei-chan, and almost wished to spare her the heartache.

But she needed to accept that whatever she had imagined between this Mamoru and her, it was simply all in her mind. There was no way that that young man could have any feelings for his precious miko, and share a kiss like that with someone else.

So with a stern voice, he address his granddaughter, hoping his words will penetrate against Rei's pride and humble her enough to accept the truth.

"Granddaughter, answer me this," he begun with a sad smile, "Who confirmed that this Mamoru and you were, if ever, a couple?"

Rei's eyes lowered down. Her hands, clenched tight, clenched tighter. With quivering lips, she gave a frustrated look at her grandpa and stayed silent.

Hino-sama continued, hurting for the girl, but needing to drive the point home. "Did he ever, in any way, showed any interest of wanting to be with you?" he asked, this time his voice harder.

"They knew I liked him! Usagi, she knew how I felt! She knew!" Rei couldn't contain herself any more. Her heart felt betrayed by her own grandfather. 'Why must he, of all days, be serious?' she thought, feeling more and more depressed.

The priest shook his head. "That wasn't what I asked. Did he ever, if any, show any interest in you, mago?"

Makoto, from her corner, snorted loud and flipped her hair that had been released from her ponytail.

The snort has barely ended when she was splashed with the second bucket of hot water.

Within seconds, Yuichiro had brought in another pail, this one hot enough to scald.

Hino-sama gave an evil grin and said, "Now, let's see who is brave enough to speak when not spoken to, shall we? And snorting, hmnphing, and any sound remotely not related to simply breathing will be regarded as talk." Turning to his granddaughter, his voice lost its malice and he asked with a sad softness. "Granddaughter, did this Mamoru ever showed any remote interest to you at all?"

When the young miko still refused to answer, he turned to the one girl he knew would always be just in her reply.

"Mizuno-san, can you answer that question?"

Ami's head bowed low. Her left eye was beginning to bruise, and her left foot seemed to have been sprained. Nevertheless, she dismissed the pain and took in a deep breath.

Raising her head, she regarded the priest with clear and honest eyes.

"Iie, sir, Chiba-san never asked Rei in any of the two dates I know they had. It was always, to my knowledge, Rei-chan's idea. It was always she who asked for them to go out." Ami answered clearly.

In her corner, Rei wiped her bleeding nose and started weeping. Hearing the words did not make her sadness go away. What was worse was that she herself knew the words to be true. A part of her, one that had hoped deeply, that eventually, Mamoru would fall in love with her, cried out in pain, because now, that dream is broken. Against Ami's impersonal observation, her daydream of Mamoru and her was laughable, after all.

Hino-sama was not finished. Despite Rei-chan's weeping, he knew there were more important things to address. "And how is this Mamoru related to young Tsukino-san?" he asked Ami again.

The blue haired girl gave a small bow, in thank you for accepting her words as truth and answered the next question in the same even tone. "Usa, she and Mamoru has known each other the longest amongst us all, Hino-sama." In this Ami looked straight at Rei. "In fact, it was through Usagi-chan that Rei met Chiba-san."

"And are they dating, Mizuno-san?"

"Iie. But they always insult one another when they see each other."

Makoto couldn't help it. Rolling her eyes, she let go of a comment in a muttered breath.

"Insult…yeah, right. More like a human form of cockfighting, if you ask me."

Grandpa Hino sighed sadly and threw the third bucket of water at Makoto. Ignoring the dangerous glint in the tall girl's hazel green eyes, he turned towards the smallest member of the posse.

Tsukino Usagi's right pigtail was out of the confines of her pins and rubber. It was snarled and slightly dirty from her rolling on the ground. A few scratch marks but nothing serious marred her skin. Of the four, she was the only one who had managed to not sport any form of black eye what so ever.

The priest smiled in humor. He had always thought that the blonde child was the one most gifted with the charmed life…and one who possessed a sad and trial ridden destiny.

A contradiction that he had been surprised to sense, but one he had never let on he knew. Not even his little Rei's continues questioning on the sacred fire had prompted him to reveal what he had found out. It was Tsukino-san's destiny…He had no right to interfere.

Looking at the quiet child, he gave a fatherly smile and asked, "Tsukino-san, is this Mamoru-san your boyfriend."

Shaking her head vehemently, the old man almost feared it would snap off. His next question was slightly unsure, afraid how Usagi will answer it.

"And who kissed first, when you and this young man in question were in the car together, just minutes ago?"

Usagi raised her large eyes at the priest. The blue in them was swimming with tears, but they promptly glazed at the remembrance of the kiss. Bowing her head again, it was nevertheless obvious that she blushed a furious red. Her ears were burning a deep pink and all the way to her neck. The answer she gave was a barely heard whisper.

"He kissed me, sir…."

From her corner, Rei gasped in pain. She had kneeled down, as the interrogation has continued and now all she wanted was to lay down and forget this day ever happened.

The old priest bit his own sadness. He needed to be a priest first, a man who followed the law of his religion, and heal this friendship. Only when his robe is stored would he comfort his granddaughter. "And will you forgive Rei her anger?"

Usagi's smile was lovely in its warmth. "Yes! I could never hurt Rei, nor not forgive her. It was all a misunderstanding!"

But Rei still wanted to hold on to her pride. With a defiant stand and hate in her lovely face, she turned to Usagi and asked, "And what if I don't want anymore of your friendship? What if I still insist in being angry? What of that, Usagi!"

The happiness in Usagi's eye vanished. A look came over her eyes, the same that was in her before the whole rumble had started. Almost unconsciously, Ami and Makoto straighten, suddenly looking like they were in front of someone important and must show respect.

Rei, from her corner, once again felt that unease, as if she knew she had crossed a line that separate Usagi the friend, from Usagi the leader. It made no sense, because there were many times when she and Usagi had fought and she had even hit the other girl with a broom many times before. Her hands circled her waist, as if warding herself from the quiet disapproval of the blonde.

Usagi turned towards the priest and with a grateful smile said the next words. "Arigatou, sofu- Hino, you have been most diligent of your post. However, I believe it is now best that we, the four of us, deal with the situation alone. I hope you do not disapprove of this…"

Grandpa Hino ignored his surprise at the sudden strength that emanated from the child. It was as if Rei, in her anger had lashed out and struck a rod of steel in the young girl. It was there now, demanding acknowledgement. With a bow, he left the four friends, his small body leaving the room with silent steps. The girl, Usagi, for the briefest of moment, had given him a glimpse of the woman she was to become. With a hopeful heart, he wished that Rei would still be her friend when that time of full maturing had come.

As the door closed, Ami and Makoto made a beeline for Usagi. But Usagi halted them with a hand gesture. Her blue eyes on Rei, she spoke with more calm than Ami had ever managed.

"You are a fool, Rei, if you think I will appreciate the company of someone who harbors resentment towards me, when I myself have not done any wrong." Usagi begun, ignoring Rei's stiffening.

Moving nearer, she continued with her words. "I do not pretend that there is no tension between us. I am glad it was this day that it was revealed, for reasons only I will know. There are many, that is still unclear to me. What is clear," Usagi said as she advanced closer, "was that I had treated you fairly and had always been your friend."

The miko's hand clenched. Her anger was slowly leaving her. Usagi's words were true. But her pride refused to make her accept it. "And what of Mamoru?" she asked bitterly. "How can you justify your action towards him?"

The smaller girl gave Rei a penetrating stare. "Mamoru was, and never will be your concern. Do not delude yourself that you were ever anything to him." A memory, as if trying to help came to Usagi. "I was there when you maneuvered your way to have that 'first date' with him. Do not force me to be cruel."

"Rei, would you really give up my friendship for an illusion that you had created?"

Rei's eyes snapped purple fire. "You think you are so special? Just exactly what will I lose if I stop being your friend?"

Usagi's eyes were pleading yet her voice was firm. "You will lose a lot. Everything you have ever gained, since you met me. Including Ami-chan and Mako-chan."

The two girls turned their head towards Usagi. A part of them wanted to refute Usagi's claim, that despite thiis they were still Rei's friends, but Usagi's next word stop them.

"For I have the opportunity to force them to alienate you, by my order. Lest they lose what is theirs as well. That is not a threat Rei. It simply is." she said with quiet sadness.

"Now, if you refuse to ask forgiveness, hear mine."

Usagi controlled her own pain before continuing. "I am sorry that you have been hurt. I am also sorry that I cannot make you see nothing you have claimed of me is true. Perhaps, if I were who you accused me of, I would plead for your friendship. But unlike you, Rei-san, my pride is not misplaced."

So saying, Usagi bowed low to her raven haired friend, gave a sad smile to Ami and Makoto, and left quietly the room. Her footsteps were light and guilt free. She had said her piece and she knew them to be right. Though she would missed Rei if the priestess insisted on keeping her grudge, Usagi knew now was not the time to try to make full effort of friendship. It will only be wasted due to Rei's anger. Perhaps later, when time has done its magic and deadened the sadness. Then she will try again.

Her other two friends stood uneasily for a few seconds. Makoto, her eyes angry and sad at the same time, moved quickly and with purpose. Hugging Rei tight, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Rei, but Usagi is right… Please do not be so stubborn and come back to us. I don't know what she remembers, but I think she was serious with what she said. She will strip you of your power. And she will stop us from seeing you. Don't ask me how I know. I just do."

With another tight squeeze, Makoto gave Rei a quick kiss on the cheek, and promptly followed Usagi. Ami, still inside the room, walked slowly to Rei, and taking hold of the other girl's hand, gave it a gentle pat. Then, she too left the room, leaving a stunned girl, her long black hair hiding the rest of her face as she bowed and allowed herself to be cloaked by her tresses.

No one noticed a black cat that had been hiding at the corner rafter of the room. Nor did the sobbing girl sense when the cat left via a hole in the upper wall, her agile body making an effortless climb up the roof.

The cat's grey eyes held a quiet sadness for what she had witnessed inside the room. Even now, outside, she can hear the broken crying of Sailor Mars. But she had a more nagging need that she wanted to soothe. She moved quickly, jumping from the roof and with grace landed to the ground. She turned quickly, stopping at the very top of the stairs of the temple.

There, her shadow elongated by the setting sun, the cat's eyes followed the descent of a young girl, her blond hair half in pig tails, the other half cascading almost to the floor. The suspicion left…and was slowly replaced by a tentative hoping…