AN: I know it's been around two and a half weeks since I updated, but I have two reasons. 1) I got a grand total of one review last chapter, and that annoyed me. 2) I was at a complete loss on how to continue this. So I'm still annoyed, but I'll get over it. Hopefully the next chapter is ready a little more quickly.

Disclaimer: The owner probably got more than one review and I didn't. Conclusion? Not the owner.

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"Wait, you're telling us that you've been refusing to speak to him or even look at him for a week?" Usagi asked.

Rei nodded sharply. "He comes by at least once a day, but Yuuichiro gets rid of him for me."

"Rei, that's ridiculous," Makoto said.

Ami frowned. "Even if you don't want to deal with him, someone needs to if you're so certain he's Jadeite."

Kunzite's voice came from the entry. "I would be highly surprised if her conclusion was incorrect."

He and Mina had been delayed, and the other blonde hurried to join the circle of girls. The men were arrayed around the room as well, but they were saying very little. As much as they wanted to include their last team member, they had decided quietly that until Jadeite remembered they would allow the Senshi to proceed in whatever way they decided.

"Rei-san is very astute," Zane agreed. "If she is convinced that this man is Jadeite, I am inclined to believe her."

"Can't you just shout at him and get it over with?" Minako drawled.

The miko stared daggers at her. "He doesn't remember me or anything else. I could tell just from seeing the way he reacted to my ignoring him. You know we won't involve him in our troubles like that."

"Oh, so you're looking out for him," Nephrite commented, ignoring the glare now aimed at him. "That makes sense."

Usagi rolled her eyes. "Rei, stop being so mean to them. When does he generally come by?"

She glanced at the clock. "Any time now, why?"

"Simple. I'm going to go talk to him."

"What? Usagi, no. Until he remembers or ends up involved in a battle, we leave him alone. You're the one that wanted it that way."

"I didn't say I was going to tell him anything about being Jadeite or who we are. I'm just the friend of the girl who keeps slamming doors in his face."

She strolled out of the room whistling as Rei shouted after her and the others quickly corralled the fiery priestess. The blonde waved Yuuichiro away as she plopped down at the top the stairs leading to the shrine.

The young man appeared at the bottom moments later, looking baffled and a little bit worried. He all but ran up, only slowing a few steps from the petite teen.

"Hi," she said cheerfully.

"Hello," he answered with a smile and a gentle drawl.

She realized in a second that he was feeling a bit flirtatious and nearly laughed. "None of that. You're not interested in me, after all."

One golden brow arched as he took a seat next to her. "Am I not? You're quite lovely."

"I appreciate the compliment, but you wouldn't be coming here everyday to see Rei-chan if you didn't like her."

"Like her?" he repeated. "I don't even know her."

"So? She intrigued you. For someone like you, that's a big deal. You're probably too used to women falling at your feet."

He laughed and extended a hand. "Miyamoto Jomei."

Usagi shook it. "Tsukino Usagi. I'm a friend of Rei's."

"I work for her father."

The little blonde winced. "I don't suggest repeating that where she can hear you."

"Why?"

"I don't know the details, but Rei and her father… don't get along."

"I see."

They sat in silence for a few moments as Usagi covertly studied the man from under her lashes. He certainly bore a striking resemblance to Jadeite- the inclusion of magic altered appearances to a degree, so there wasn't an exact match- and his mannerisms were very close to those she remembered from the Silver Millennium. Any differences there could easily have resulted from the changed environment. More, he had been immediately intrigued by the standoffish Rei, something that happened only rarely. Most men found the priestess intimidating.

"So, Tsukino-san, tell me about Hino-san."

"Please, call me Usagi. What do you want to know about Rei-chan?"

"Why does she keep slamming doors in my face or having me run off?" he asked with a smile.

How like Jadeite to start with the question that would be the most difficult to answer. "Rei doesn't like men much, and you look a lot like a guy from her past," Usagi responded cautiously.

"If she doesn't like men, why is it that the aid here is a man that she seems to have no trouble with?"

"You wouldn't say that if you had seen the two of them initially. It takes time for her to be accepting."

"And the head priest?"

"Her grandfather. On her mother's side."

He nodded. "The old man is kind, but a bit…"

"Odd?"

"As suitable a word as any."

Usagi sighed. "Rei's a great girl, but people don't like her much because she's different. She's left alone most of the time with only her grandpa and Yuuichiro, so she doesn't trust other men. Especially not her father."

"You're being pretty free with my feelings, Usagi."

The blonde only leaned back enough to see her. "Well, you weren't talking to him."

"I didn't want to talk to him."

"Did you say 'didn't'? Does that mean you will now?"

The miko growled, fists clenching around the broom in her hands. "Go away."

"Me or him?"

"Usagi. Leave."

Just to be contradictory, the blonde slowly stretched and got to her feet, making a production of brushing herself off. Rei growled again before she finally ran off to rejoin the others. The priestess watched her go with both annoyance and amusement.

"Your friend cares a great deal about you."

She turned to face him. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"I'm Miyamoto Jomei."

"Great. Now that I have your name it'll be easy to fill out a police report on you stalking me."

He just smiled as he got to his feet just as casually as Usagi had. "Stalking? Don't be absurd. This is a public place."

"This is a place of worship. I've yet to see you do any worshipping."

"I imagine it would be easier to do so if you didn't keep having your gorilla run me off, but if you insist…" He shrugged and walked to the altar before bowing his head. He continued to pray for several long moments before his gaze went to her again. "Satisfied?"

She was, but she certainly didn't intend to admit it. "So why have you been stalking me?"

"I wasn't stalking you."

"You've come to my house every day for a week. Sounds like stalking."

"You live at a shrine. A lot of people come here on a daily basis."

Rei considered taking a swing at him, but she remembered that Kunzite was still in her room and wouldn't take it well. She settled for a slightly strangled scream. "Stop avoiding the question!"

"You asked why I've been stalking you. The answer is that I haven't."

"Fine," she said through gritted teeth. "Why do you want to talk to me?"

"Oh. I don't, really."

On second thought, what Kunzite didn't know wouldn't hurt her. It took a great deal of willpower to keep from hitting him upside the head. "If you didn't want to talk to me, you wouldn't have approached me in the first place, and you certainly wouldn't have kept coming back."

"Well, I had a reason that first time. It doesn't matter now."

"Try me."

He walked off into the trees, forcing her to follow if she wanted answers. "Your father sent me." Judging by the slightly violent sounding mutters and the way he could sense her about to hit him before she drew back, she didn't like the sound of that. "Usagi-chan said you wouldn't want to hear it. I was just taking her advice."

"What did that man send you to see me for?"

"He wanted me to escort you to a soiree he was hosting."

"Why?"

Jomei shrugged. "I'm just an intern; I don't get the details."

"So that's why you came the first time. Is he the reason you've been here every day this week?"

"No," he answered cheerfully. "I decided to do that all on my own."

She paused to take him in- the well cut navy blue suit that only served to accentuate his blond hair and sparkling blue eyes, the way his hair curled so delicately across his forehead. And he was teasing her. There was no way he could not be Jadeite.

"Well, you've told me what you came to tell me, so you can leave now."

He paused. "Why would I do that?"

"You delivered your message."

The young man shook his head again. "That's why I came the first time. Now I'm here for my own enjoyment. You've made me curious."

"So satisfy it and leave anyway."

"Satisfy it?" Jomei laughed. "My curiosity is never satisfied. Once I'm interested in something, I stay interested. You're not going to get rid of me so easily."

"Interested?" she repeated. "Interested how?"

His smile became almost wolfish. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Just ask your stupid questions! I have other things to be doing, you know!"

He seated himself beneath a tree, paying no attention to the mess he could be making of his suit. Once comfortable, he patted the ground beside him, still grinning. She snarled at him, but reluctantly complied. She then proceeded to yelp in horror when he put an arm around her and pulled her close.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked as she struggled to disentangle herself.

"Cuddling always makes serious talks so much better, I find. Are you comfortable?"

"No!"

"Oh well. Now, my questions…"

"I'm not answering anything until you let go of me!"

"Your call, of course, but I think that means we'll be here for a long time."

"ARGH!" Rei screamed before subsiding sullenly.

"Feel better? Good. So like I was saying…"

"I hate you."

"I'm sure you do, firebrand. May I ask now, or do you intend to bite next? If so, I prefer you target the ears."

"Pervert."

He chuckled. "Yes, yes. So why did you slam that door in my face the first day?"

"What did Usagi tell you?"

"You're not supposed to answer questions with a question. Try again."

"Tell me what Usagi told you."

"I don't think that you're supposed to answer with a command either, but it's fine. She said you don't like men and that I reminded you of someone from your past."

"Well, that's your answer."

"Oh, I know it's entirely true, but it's also entirely evasive. There's more to it than that."

"No, there isn't."

"Liar."

"Maybe I just didn't like you. Did you consider that?"

"I hadn't even said a word. Are you so shallow that you would hate me simply because I'm handsome?"

"Shallow?" the priestess sputtered.

"That must be it," he continued, pretending to have not heard. "I'm just too handsome, so you hated me because it was easier than admitting you were attracted to me."

"Attracted to you?"

"You are. I can tell."

"You self-centered, egotistical-"

"Ah-ah," he smirked, covering her mouth. "Don't be insulting just because I forced you to confront the hard truth. Now will you answer the question prop- ouch!"

The smirk was on her face now as she licked her lips. "Did I mention that I don't bite unless I want to, and certainly not where requested?"

Jomei was still smiling, and that only annoyed her more. "Feisty, I see. How… delicious."

Rei was sure her face was bright red by this point, but she certainly wasn't going to admit it to him. "I'm certainly feisty enough to deal with you."

"You're blushing," he whispered in her ear.

"Shut up and ask your next question." He didn't say anything, and she tried to squirm away again to no avail. "Well?"

"You told me to shut up."

"Now you're just trying to annoy me."

"Only now? I must be slipping. My apologies."

"Just ask the question!"

"You didn't answer the last one properly."

"I've said as much as I'm going to say on the subject. Move on or I'll leave."

"How? You can't even get up."

"I can call Yuuichiro to get rid of you again."

"He won't hear you from this far."

"I can scream really loudly." She also had friends that could teleport, but she knew they wouldn't help on this one, and she couldn't tell him that anyway. Rei gave Usagi a mental shove, but she only got a sense of the blonde laughing before she was shut out. "Or I can just hit you until you give up."

"If you were going to hit me, you would've done so already."

Another fact she would never admit to. "You don't know that."

"You started to take a swing at me several times as we were walking here and didn't follow through. You would have then if you actually intended to."

"How did you-?"

"I'm a master in both judo and aikido, and I dabble in various other martial arts. It's a hobby of mine. You move like you're trained, but your motions made enough noise that I was aware of them," he explained

She was good, according to Kunzite, but there simply hadn't been time to reach mastery yet. "Fine. Next question."

"You're sure I can't persuade you to tell me the real reason?"

"No."

"Oh, all right. Why are you at odds with your father?"

"Do you enjoy torturing me?"

"Only a little. I'm actually confused by this one- your father's not the nicest person in the world, but he's not the worst either."

Rei sighed, not noticing that she was beginning to relax against Jomei's chest. "I only see my father once a year. I prefer it that way."

"Why?"

"What business is it of yours?"

"You want to get out of here eventually, don't you?"

"That doesn't mean I need to share my life's story."

"Rei. Please tell me."

The 'please' managed to undo her. "I… Fine. My mother was in the hospital dying when I was five, but my father never came to see her. Not even at the end as I screamed for her to come back. It was my grandfather that came and comforted me and took care of the arrangements."

"Was he out of town?"

Her laugh was hollow and bitter. "No. He was working the entire time, even as his wife died in front of his only child. He just never came. So I came here and I've lived with my grandfather ever since."

"And you see him once a year?"

"For my birthday. He gives me a dress and a bouquet of lilies, we have lunch, and I leave. That's all it ever is, which is why I don't know what prompted him to send you after me. My birthday was months ago."

Jomei had a few guesses, but he kept those to himself. It would do him no good to frighten her off now. "Last question and you're free to go. Who is this guy I reminded you of?"

Rei frowned and pursed her lips. "I'm not discussing that with you."

"You will if you want me to let you go."

She was enjoying his embrace entirely too much, actually, and because of it she reluctantly gave in. "He was… an old boyfriend of mine. You're practically his twin. But he betrayed me, and it killed me."

The words provoked a deep sadness in him he couldn't explain, as well as an undeniable certainty that she wasn't telling the whole story again. It was enough though, and he released her with a sigh. "There. Was that so hard?"

Rei shot to her feet in an instant. "Yes."

She dashed away, leaving him sitting under that tree thinking it all over.

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"She's grumbling and smiling at the same time," Makoto whispered to Nephrite. "It's scary."

"Rei-chan?" Usagi called, waving a hand in front of her friend's face. "Rei-chan? Reeeeeeiiiiii?"

The miko blinked. "What?"

"Usagi-chan's been calling you for the past five minutes," Minako said dryly.

"Oh. Sorry."

"I take it your conversation with Jadeite went well?" Ami asked.

The smile quickly warped into a frown. "No."

"How so?" Mamoru asked curiously.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Did something happen?" Nephrite asked.

"Not that I'm telling you," she responded a bit rudely.

Zane got to his feet, clearly fighting to keep his face straight. "I think we should leave the girls alone for a few minutes. I want to show all of you a fascinating- a fascinating…"

"A fascinating what?" Kunzite asked, raising one brow.

The younger man flushed. "A fascinating- moss specimen!"

"Fascinating how?" Nephrite asked, toying with him.

Emerald eyes narrowed. "You will see when I show you, will you not?"

Kunzite took pity on him and quickly ushered the others out of the room, leaving the five Senshi alone.

"How can any specimen of moss be fascinating?" Makoto speculated mildly.

"Maybe it has previously unheard of medical qualities!" Ami said, getting excited.

Minako stared at her. "You realize he was making that up, right?"

It was Ami's turn to blush. "I- yes, I did realize."

"Right…"

Usagi focused on Rei. "So spill. What happened?"

And the whole story came flooding out of her. "And he asked if it was so hard and I said yes and ran away," she finished.

"…Wow," Makoto said. "He's good."

Minako nodded, eyes wide. "He was flirting with you!"

"Really? I didn't catch that," Rei said irritably.

"Don't you think that's a good sign?" Ami asked. "He's already very interested in you despite not remembering our past."

"I know. But he works for my father and only came here on his orders."

"Well, you had to meet somehow," Usagi commented.

Someone knocked, so Rei got up to answer. "What is it, Yuuichi- you!"

"Me," Jomei answered a little cheekily. "I was about to leave and thought I would say goodbye first. Bye, firebrand!"

He hurried off before she could think of a response. The instant she shut the door, three of the other girls burst into laughter and even Ami was chuckling slightly, though she at least tried to be discreet about it.

"He… called… her… 'firebrand'!" Makoto cackled.

Minako. "Had to stop and say goodbye first!"

Usagi was too busy laughing to say anything.

"I hate all of you," Rei informed them, flopping onto her bed with a huff.

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Jomei continued to return each evening, close enough to closing that the shrine was all but deserted. He enjoyed trapping her in his arms and making her talk to him, and he found it fascinating to watch her become less reluctant each time. It was clear that the aid didn't like him, but since he didn't much care for the other man either he didn't pay much attention.

"What do you want now?" she asked without looking as he mounted the steps several days after that first close encounter.

It occurred to him how tired Rei looked that day, color drained almost to nothing and movements far less fluid than usual.

"Are you all right?" He hurried forward and wrenched the broom from her hands, resting one palm against her forehead to check for fever. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"I'm just not sleeping well." She snatched the broom back and continued with her task. "If it's all the same to you, I'm not up for your weird behavior tonight."

He took it again. "You're too drained to be working. Shouldn't you get some sleep? I know you have school in the morning, and you can't go if you feel so horrible."

The priestess tried to once again secure the broom, but he wasn't relinquishing it. She frowned up at him. "What does it matter to you? I've managed through worse."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you pushing me away when I'm trying to help? Why are you forcing yourself when you're not feeling well? Can't Yuuichiro finish the work tonight?"

"Yuuichiro is spending a few days with his family, and Jii-chan had to go to the store."

"Well, that settles it."

"Settles what?"

"You're going to bed, and I'll take care of it."

"What? Why? I can take care of myself, thank you, and I'm more than capable of finishing my chores."

"Rei, please, you look terrible. Go and rest."

"No," she replied stubbornly.

His eyes narrowed. "Fine. We'll do this the hard way."

He swung her up into his arms, dropping the broom as he did, and carried her to her bedroom. She shrieked and flailed, but he refused to let go. Jomei nudged her bedroom door open with one shoe and carted her inside, setting her on her bed and holding her there.

"Will you cooperate now, or do I need to tie you down?"

"Try it and I'll kill you."

"With what strength?" Her struggles were already weakening, and her eyes were slipping shut. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Just sleep, Rei. I can finish cleaning up for you."

She knew he had won and managed to spit a few more curses at him as sleep began to take hold. "I hate you," she murmured as she finally drifted off.

"Sure you do," he said with a smile before standing up and heading back outside. He left the door ajar so he could see her as he picked the broom back up and set to work.

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Rei jolted back to consciousness swallowing a scream, her newest premonition searing her mind. He was in danger. He was in danger right that instant. She fumbled for her communicator.

"Guys, I think something's going to happen here any time now. Something bad. I don't know what, but someone needs to come!"

There was no chance for a response.

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Jomei glanced up, startled, when a large white van shot up the stairs in front of him. He took several steps back, but it swerved in a wide arc and came to a stop. The window began to roll down and he thought he should check to see if the driver was hurt or needed help.

He came face to face with the barrel of a bizarre gun.

Rei tore out of her room just as it fired.

"JADEITE!"

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AN: Muahahahaha! Don't you just love cliffhangers? I know I do! So bear in mind: if you want quick updates, like maybe cliffhanger resolutions, you should review. Till next time!