Rei stood in the doorway, saying nothing and chewing on her lip until she could feel blood dripping onto her tongue. Kumori stood on the other side of the threshold, burning holes through her with his deep amber eyes.

"So, this is where you've been keeping yourself" he mused. His voice was calm…too calm. Rei sucked in a breath and looked at him, furrowing her brow.

"How did you find me?" she demanded. Jadeite and the others stayed out of sight, but kept their guard up in case they needed to intervene.

"Your friends told me" Kumori said softly, never taking his eyes off of her. "I was so worried about you…why would you run off like that?" Rei glared up at him, using her sleeve to wipe the makeup off her eye.

"So this wouldn't happen again" she hissed. Kumori reached out to run his thumb over the bruise, but Rei backed away from him. "Don't touch me!" Kumori drew his hand back and sighed, turning his gaze to the floor.

"I'm so sorry I did that to you…I just had a hard day, and I was tired…"

"That's no excuse!" Rei yelled. Kumori frowned and took a step toward her with his hand raised slightly, and Rei raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you going to do, hit me?" She wanted to prove once and for all that his scare tactics would no longer work on her.

"Of course not" Kumori whispered, placing his hand on her cheek. "I swear, I'll never hurt you like that again."

"That's right, you won't. You know why?" Kumori tried once again to intimidate her, stepping forward until his body was almost touching hers. He opened his mouth to respond, suddenly lowering his face to Rei's collar.

"You smell like another man…" Rei swallowed hard, realizing that Jadeite's scent must have rubbed off on her when he was holding her earlier.

"Well, this is a man's apartment" she said casually.

"Is anyone else here?" Kumori demanded.

"Yes…" Rei answered. Before she could say anything further, Kumori grabbed her roughly by the wrist and pulled her out the door. She struggled to get away, but he was too fast and too strong for her. "Let go!" Hearing her plea, Jadeite came out of hiding and raced out the door in search of them. After having no luck, he went back inside and closed the door, hoping Rei would return safely.

Kumori had somehow managed to get Rei downstairs and into his car, where they could talk without any interruptions. Rei feared that he might decide to drive off with her, and the others would have no way of ever knowing. The pair sat in silence for several moments, until Kumori finally spoke.

"Tell me, Rei…do I make you happy?" Rei thought for a moment, and decided against her better judgment, to lie.

"Of course" she said softly, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that" Kumori pleaded. Rei slowly turned her head until her eyes met his, and she spoke again.

"Of course you do."

"You're thinking of someone else" Kumori said quietly, his voice laced with disappointment. "Who is it?"

"I don't know how to explain it…" Rei sighed. Kumori angrily slammed his fist against the steering wheel, causing her to jump. "It…it's someone from my past…he recently came back into my life, and I've been confused…"

"I see" Kumori muttered, staring down at his hands. After several moments, he finally looked up at her. "Do you love him?" Before Rei knew what was happening, her mouth opened and the words that came out nearly made her heart break, not for herself, but for Kumori.

"More than anything" she admitted. Kumori nodded slightly, then sat up straight and looked at her.

"I see" he repeated. "Well, I won't be the guy that stands in the way of true love, so he's welcome to have you. I just hope he treats you like I did" he said almost mockingly. Rei resisted the urge to punch him in the face and gave him a slight nod. He'll treat me better than that, you scumbag.

"Goodbye, Kumori" Rei said quietly before turning to get out of the car. He silently watched her leave, mentally cursing her as she walked back into the building.

"Until we meet again" he snickered before speeding out of the parking lot.

Rei returned to Mamoru's apartment visibly shaken by what had just happened. Jadeite took notice and instantly pulled her to him, hugging her tightly.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No…but I have a feeling I hurt him worse than what he ever did to me…" she said numbly.

"What do you mean?" Mamoru asked curiously.

:"I left him" Rei murmured, leaving the others speechless.

"Then why are you so upset? You're free…" Jadeite asked, pulling back to look at her. He reached forward to wipe her tears away.

"I hurt him…"

"He'll get over it. He deserves worse than a breakup after what he did to you" Jadeite muttered, holding her tighter. "Do you think he'll bother you again?" Rei thought for a moment before she answered.

"Knowing him, he'll be back. He's extremely persistent" she sighed. She leaned into Jadeite's chest and closed her eyes, feeling as if she could melt into him. Jadeite smiled and draped his arm around her, never taking his eyes off her. He nestled his face into her hair and inhaled, taking in the subtle coconut scent of her shampoo. She fell asleep shortly after that, so Jadeite carefully took her to the bedroom and laid her down before coming back out so he and the others could talk.

"You two seem to be closer than you were the other day" Zoicite teased. Jadeite chuckled softly and shook his head, sighing.

"I can tell she's still leery of me, so I'm being careful. I'm not concerned with earning her love back right now. I just want her to be happy, you know?" The others nodded in agreement, while Rei silently listened from the bedroom.

"Good for you" Mamoru commended him. "You've really grown up since the last time I saw you."

"You mean five seconds ago, or back when I was trying to kill you?" Jadeite joked, smirking a little. Mamoru rolled his eyes and got up from the couch, deciding to give Usagi a call and explain everything that had happened to her.

"Wait, so you mean Rei was hiding at your apartment so her boyfriend wouldn't find her? I had no idea…did anything happen?"

"Yeah…Rei ended up breaking things off with him. She's afraid he might come back, though."

"Do you want me to take her in?"

"I don't think Jadeite would allow it. He's hell bent on earning her trust again, so he wants to protect her." Hearing these words made Rei chuckle softly. Didn't Jadeite know he had already done that? She gave up on sleeping and emerged from the room, approaching Jadeite and reaching for his hand. She pulled him up and led him out to the hall, giggling at the expression on his face.

"What is it?" he asked, somewhat worried.

"I just wanted to give you something…" she said softly. Before Jadeite could ask, Rei's lips were on his. After a few moments, she pulled away and smiled.

"What was that for?" Jadeite asked, blushing slightly.

"I…just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. I'm so grateful to all of you…" Jadeite raised an eyebrow and chuckled slightly.

"You're not going to kiss the rest of them too, are you?" he joked. Rei giggled and smacked his arm playfully.

"Of course not…those are all for you." Jadeite smiled and pulled her closer, leaning in to kiss her again. Rei felt her knees weaken slightly, and she grabbed onto him for support. This is just like the first time…

Princess Serenity had snuck off to Earth again. The fours sailor guardians stood in the throne room, ready to decide who would go after her this time.

"I'll go" Mars insisted. Mercury, Jupiter and Venus eyed her suspiciously.

"Since when are you so eager to 'play fetch'?" Jupiter joked. Mars blushed slightly, trying to regain her composure before anyone else noticed.

"I know why…she smust have met one of the generals!" Venus squeaked excitedly. She had become acwuainted with Kunzite, the eldest of the four, and talked about him constantly. The way Mars squirmed at her words told her she was right. "I knew it! You did! Which one was it?"

"I don't know his name" Mars murmured.

"Well, what does he look like?" Venus prodded.

"He's tall, he has blonde hair-" She frowned as Venus interrupted her.

"Short or pulled back?"

"It was short. And his eyes were like…."

"It was Jadeite!" Venus announced.

"How do you know that?" Mars questioned her.

"I've met all of them" Venus boasted. "Jadeite seemed interested to hear about you…" Mars blushed again, this time not bothering to hide it.

"He's cute…a little smug, though" Mars muttered, replaying their meeting in her head. The two senshi were interrupted by Mercury.

"If you're going to bring Serenity home, you might want to hurry before the queen realizes she's gone." Mars nodded slightly and headed off to earth, trying to stay focused on her mission. It didn't take long before her plan was disrupted.

"Back so soon?" Mars turned, finding herself face to face with Jadeite once again.

"I'm afraid so…have you seen Princess Serenity anywhere?" Jadeite shook his head and gently took Mars by the hand, leading her up the hill.

"You can look for her later. I'd like to show you something first." Mars followed him curiously, though she was annoyed by how easily he had swayed her from her mission. After walking for some time, the pair arrived at a gorgeous rose garden. In the center was a large marble fountain.

"It's beautiful" Mars whispered.

"I come here to think a lot…would you like to know what I've been thinking about lately?" Mars turned her head to look at Jadeite, and she found herself being drawn into his eyes once again. She nodded, too intrigued to deny him. without another word, he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. Normally, such a gesture would have angered her, but this time, it felt okay…it felt right. She returned the kiss eagerly, forgetting about why she had gone to earth in the first place. After a moment, she pulled away and blushed slightly.

"Just like the first time" Rei murmured before walking back into the apartment with Jadeite.