A/N Sorry I haven't updated this in forever. Hope this was worth the wait!

Purification and Healing

Helios continued to watch the three boys, wondering if he should confess that he knew where Zoicite came from. Nephrite noticed his uneasiness and approached him, a concerned look on his face.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. Helios shook his head, trying not to worry the young boy too much.

"No, nothing's wrong at all. I'm just thinking." Nephrite didn't press the issue, and walked back over to Jadeite and Zoicite. Helios watched to make sure the three boys were distracted before slipping away to take a walk and clear his head. A sudden voice behind him startled him.

"Are you going to tell him the truth?" Helios jumped and turned around to find another acquaintance of his standing there.

"KunIte? What are you doing out here?"

"Looking for all of you" he answered, his voice serious. He was the fourth, and oldest, of the future kings advisors.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, worried. Kunzite's eyes flickered intensely and he waited a moment before speaking again.

"Zoicite's mother…I mean, guardian, if you could even call her that, was murdered. No one has been able to find you since it happened, so they've labeled you the prime suspect." Helios listened carefully to Kunzite's words, suddenly feeling nauseous.

"But I…I didn't.." he stuttered. Kunzite put a hand up to silence him, smiling calmly at him.

"I know you didn't. However, I can't tell them that. You'll have to. I can stay with the other three and keep them safe in your absence." Helios nodded and thanked him, then turned to leave. Before he was too far away, he turned to face Kunzite.

"Thank you." As soon as he was gone, Kunzite headed to where the three boys were. Hearing the bushes rustle, Nephrite turned, speaking before he saw who was there.

"It's about time you came back. We were getting worried" he said, suddenly falling silent at the sight of this new person. "You're not Helios…" Kunzite shook his head and turned his gaze to Zoicite, who was trying to sneak away unnoticed.

"Zoicite" he said quietly. The boy stopped and turned to look at him, his face pale and his eyes filled with both fear and amazement.

"Kunzite…how did you find me?" he asked, his voice quivering.

"It was easy. When you vanished, I knew you had to be with Helios. The same goes for all of you" he said, his eyes falling on each boy as he addressed them. "Jadeite…Nephrite…I know what happened to you both as well." The two boys looked at one another, then back at Kunzite, confused.

"You do?" they asked in unison. Kunzite nodded, smiling slightly.

"Helios told me. I know everything about the three of you, and I'm glad to finally meet you." Jadeite looked at him, confused.

"You seemed to already know Zoicite…why is that?" Kunzite looked at the ground briefly, then to Zoicite, then back at Jadeite and Nephrite.

"Gelios never told you, did he?" he asked.

"Told us what?" Nephrite wondered. Kunzite took a breath, then began to explain.

"Zoicite's mother had him at a very young age. Her mother pushed her to give him up, but she refused and ran away from home to prove she could raise him on her own. She soon learned that it was too much for her to handle, and begged Helios to take care of him. He did for a while, then…" he paused, and Zoicite urged him to go on.

"Tell us…I want to know."

"I don't know if you do…" Kunzite insisted. Zoicite begged him to tell, so he decided to do just that.

"Helios…placed you in the care of your grandmother." The look of horror on the boy's face was too much for Kunzite to bear, so he stopped talking.

"That awful woman…wS my grandmother? I can't believe this..." Without another word, he turned and walked off. Nephrite tried to stop him, but Kunzite kept him back.

"Let him have some time alone" he said quietly.

"What else happened?" Jadeite asked. "There has to be more than that."

"There is. Zoicite's grandmother was extremely abusive toward him, which led him to run away from home frequently. That's how I met him. I sort of took him under my wing and made sure he was safe when he did that."

"So, that's how you know him…" Jadeite murmured. Kunzite nodded. Nephrite looked at both of them, like he had just remembered something.

"I saw him by the river once…we talked for a while, then a woman called for him and I never saw him again, until now. I remember he seemed terrified of her…now I know why. If I had thought about it, I would have made him stay with me."

"Don't blame yourself" Kunzite assured him. "He's safe now." Nephrite nodded and smiled slightly. After a while, Zoicite rejoined the rest of them.

"Thank you for telling me, Kunzite. I'm sorry I got upset."

"Don't be. It's a lot to take in, but we'll help you through it" Jadeite assured him, smiling.

"That's what friends…I mean, brothers, are for" Nephrite agreed. Zoicite gave him a slight nod and smiled, looking around.

"Where did Helios go?"

"He had something he needed to take care of" Kunzite explained. "I'm sure he'll turn up again soon." Seconds later, a white and blue butterfly fluttered past them, giving the four of them a sense of peace.