Rick sat down in his usual seat next to Mamoru in class. While that felt normal to him, the realization that Mamoru was the King of the Vampire was an odd fact for him to assimilate. "Have five minutes to talk after class today?"
"I do," Mamoru replied. He found he looked forward to talking to Rick. He found it restful for someone at the University to know the truth about him, and he trusted him.
After class, they found an empty room, and Rick asked, "Can anyone overhear us?"
Mamoru listened and shook his head. "No."
Rick relaxed and began by saying, "My mother is driving me crazy. She wants me to try to be the head of the family now that we are actually in contact with Usagi. Before, it was just a group of us in the know. Now we have a task."
"Why tell me?" Mamoru asked.
"Because it's your fault," Rick said, laughing. He then sobered up. "She watched you talk to me before the meeting, and then she made me tell her about how we used to be lab partners. So, I'm asking you to ignore me at the next meeting."
Mamoru furrowed his brow. "You don't want to head The Order of Usagi?"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Rick said, "I don't want to use my acquaintance with you as a way to promote myself in the family. Wouldn't you find it offensive?"
"If I remember right, your mother is an attorney."
"She is. She can seem calculating at times, but in her mind, she's being-"
"Practical," Mamoru finished. "I happen to agree with your mother. It would be best if you worked to try and step in as the head of the family as we move forward. What she's saying assists me, too. I'm comfortable with you."
"What would Usagi think?"
Mamoru was glad he couldn't blush, or he would have. "She would say she trusts the whole family. And she would add that she would welcome anything that helped me feel more comfortable. She knows I struggle to trust anyone where her safety is involved."
Rick frowned. "It still feels like I'd be taking advantage of knowing you."
"That might be true, but I would be too. The decision belongs to you and the family, but you have my support."
Suki hung up her cell phone and rubbed her temple, trying to work out her stress. Her younger sister had called and pushed the idea of Rick heading up the family meetings since he knows Mamoru so well.
It didn't matter to her sister that she had immediately agreed and said she would support him. Her sister had still kept extolling the reasons why he would be the right choice.
She shook her head and slipped her phone into her purse. She always knew her sister had made the right choice to become a lawyer. She loved arguing —she couldn't help herself. And at times like this, it didn't matter if the one she was talking to agreed with her. She had prepared her argument, and she never let them go to waste.
Suki then placed the jade pendant Usagi had given them on its necklace around her neck, ensuring it was secure. It held a lot of value, both monetarily and culturally. And when she told the family she knew a Shinto priest, they all pressed her to take the necklace and show it to him.
Since a great majority of the cultural artifacts in Japan are preserved at Shinto and Buddhist temples, the family had worked to figure out what to do with the pendant. They all asked her to see if it was something the family could donate. While there wasn't anyone left to claim the pendant, they knew it might be possible to prove it had been stolen. The gift of the necklace from the Emperor would have been recorded at the time. Holding onto it as a family could make waves and get them noticed. Donating it would be a more subtle way to handle the necklace, and if the names of the ones who donated it weren't published, it could be assumed the original family line had. Not to mention, they wouldn't have to insure it.
She checked her appearance in the mirror and blushed. She had gone the more traditional route and worn a Kimono as Saeko had suggested. She had the necklace tucked under her robes. Suki hoped he appreciated the effort she'd put into her clothes. Working to tie the Obi perfectly had been a chore.
Thirty minutes later, she was walking the grounds of the temple that he was the priest of. When she turned on the path, he came into view, and she was glad she'd put so much energy into her appearance. She loved the look of appreciation in his eyes when he saw her.
Hino suppressed his first urge to say, "You came." He thought it would appear that he was upset over her canceling their date. He was, but he didn't blame her for it. Instead, when he reached her, he said, "You look stunning."
She blushed and smiled at him, "I would pretend I didn't put a lot of effort into this, but you'd know it would be a lie."
He chuckled. "I prefer the effort. It just shows me this matters to you, too. That pleases me." He then took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "I have been looking forward to showing you around the temple."
Suki said, "I am sorry I had to cancel. Family things came up that I needed to attend to."
Hino got her to start walking by his side, and he said, "I would like you to meet my granddaughter Rei. She's been my world from the moment she was born. My son…" he sighed. Thinking about his son still to this day made him feel the bitter sting of disappointment. "I raised my granddaughter after her mother died. I assure you I understand the importance of showing up for family."
"Your son isn't a good man like you?" she asked rhetorically.
"He's that Hino, the politician."
"Oh," Suki said, trying to sound neutral.
"Did you vote for him?"
"Honestly —no."
"Good," he replied. "He ignored his wife and then his daughter for his political career. It would make me happy if people stopped voting for him. I did —long ago."
She took the arm he offered as they walked and said, "I'm glad we both value family so highly."
They spent a lovely hour together as he showed her around the shine, and then they walked the paths together.
Still, Suki knew she was wearing a small fortune around her neck, and she needed to ask him about how to go about donating it to his shrine. "Can we talk in private for a bit? I have something important to discuss, and I don't want to be overheard." She didn't want to be robbed either.
"Of course." He then led her into his private room in the shrine, where he prepared for ceremonies.
Once they were in the room and he locked the door, she pulled the pendant from under her clothes and removed it from around her neck. She then laid it down on the table in front of them. "It's even more valuable than it looks. It was gifted by an Emperor."
Hino felt shock radiate through his body. He knew that pendant. As she said, "It was gifted by-." He held up his hand to stop her from talking.
"Your nephew texted you, and you had to cancel our date. Is his name Rick?"
She cocked her head and stared at him. "Yes. How in the world do you know that?"
He laughed and shook his head. "Usagi showed me this necklace and told me about someone named Rick calling a family meeting."
"You know Usagi!?" Eyes wide, she added, "Wait, you're the Shinto priest she mentioned?!"
"I am."
She found a chair and sank down on it, unable to support her weight at the moment. She was just so surprised. "I'm relieved that I won't have to hide this from you," she said happily.
"I feel the same way," he replied. "I didn't like hiding so much from you either. Don't get me wrong, though, I would have. Just like you would have hidden it from me."
She nodded, "It was the right thing to do."
"It was," he confirmed. "But now we don't have to keep that secret anymore."
She looked up at him from her seat. "Can I ask how you got involved? I figure you know I'm involved because my family founded The Order of Usagi."
"Yes, based on your pendant, I can surmise the history and the current circumstances, but obviously, Usagi didn't share any names. I just know of Rick's because of the shock that it was to us all that Mamoru's classmate knew of Usagi. As for how I got involved, that story includes someone else, and it's not my story to tell."
He chuckled when the door unlocked; he knew magically, and Rei and Jadeite walked in. "He's interfering, Grandpa," she said, sounding mildly miffed. Then she saw who was with him. "Is this Suki?"
Jadeite looked impressed and said, "She looks more than ten years younger than you —Gramps. Way to go!" He then noticed that Rei had gone very quiet. "What's wrong?" he asked her.
She drew his attention to the jade pendant. "We just saw this recently."
"I thought she gave that too…" he trailed off and looked nervously over at Suki. "Other people," he finished.
Suki said, "Usagi gave this to The Order of Usagi. My family. We were all looking to donate it, and I told them I was seeing a Shinto priest."
Jadeite bumped Grandpa Hino with his hip. "She's pretty and can be let in on the secret. Good going! Saeko's going to flip out that her friend knows about us all."
"Saeko knows?" Suki asked, gasping in surprise.
"She does," Hino confirmed.
Rei then said, "Mars said you were trying to protect me, and you didn't need to. That's why I'm here."
"I wouldn't tell her what you are, Rei. That's your secret."
Rei then spun and faced Suki, ready to let Suki in on her part of the story. She trusted her Grandpa and Mars. "I'm Usagi's witch, the one who made five hybrids." She then pointed at Jadeite, "This is Jadeite. He's my mate and one of the hybrids."
Suki wondered why her lungs burned and then realized she had stopped breathing. "The most powerful witch to ever exist and one of five hybrids in existence. That's who I'm talking to?!" She then paused in thought and added, "Mars?"
"The god Mars," Jadeite replied, enjoying overwhelming her. "He calls Rei his daughter."
"Sure, why not," Suki mumbled. "The best man I ever met is part of supernatural royalty. How did this happen?"
"Best man you ever met?" he asked, bragging.
She looked at him confused, "You focused on that? Your granddaughter is the most powerful witch in existence —ever! This is astounding!"
Hino just replied, "She's been amazing to me her whole life, just for who she is. But a beautiful woman saying that I'm the best man she ever met, that's never happened before."
She looked at him in confusion, "Your wife?"
"Our son takes after her in every way. We never divorced because she didn't live long enough for that to be necessary. She died in a car accident with her lover."
Jadeite watched Rei to see if that shocking statement was news to her. He could tell she wasn't surprised, but he couldn't read her feelings on the subject. He furrowed his brow and decided that manners didn't matter to him in this situation.
Pulling Rei to his body, he bit her neck and drank. The now-typical experience of the tingle of magical power flowing through her blood zipped through him as he worked to look deeper and feel her emotions. He made himself ignore the tantalizing thrill that her magic gave him.
As he listened to her blood, one thing became clear: reminders of instances like that only made her want to erect her walls again. Yet still, he looked even deeper and saw he was one of the ones on the inside of her heart as the walls went up. Her walls didn't keep him out.
Despite how flattering that fact was, Jadeite had to remind himself that he needed to help her learn to trust others. Yet, he knew now wasn't the time for working on that, and he would have to bring it up to her later on.
Grandpa Hino asked, "Well?"
Suki was confused by that question as Jadeite said, "I've joined you on the inside. She and I will talk about it tonight."
Hino nodded and turned to look back at the now very puzzled-looking Suki. "What?" He asked, trying to figure out what had a surprised look plastered to her face.
"He bit her."
"He did. Are you telling me The Order of Usagi is bothered by that?" He challenged.
She shook her head. "No. But something happened that I didn't understand. She's a vampire, so I assume he can't feed from her like he can a human. I don't understand what just occurred."
Rei replied, "Sharing blood between vampires… or well, between a vampire and a hybrid, is different…." she looked at Jadeite, begging him with her eyes to continue. Really, what he had just done was very sexual, and it was the first time they met Suki.
"Lucky us," He continued. "If you did understand, you'd be wondering why Grandpa wasn't beating me for getting so intimate with his granddaughter." Rei was glad she couldn't blush. But that didn't stop her from widening her eyes in surprise over how forthcoming he was. He chuckled, knowing he had mildly embarrassed her. Being part werewolf, he couldn't help how much he enjoyed showing she was his. He admitted he probably could help it, but he didn't care to try. "I can sense her emotions when I drink her blood. The mention of her grandmother's betrayal is…" He looked at Rei and said, "I was checking how she was doing. Grandpa was asking me how she's doing."
Suki smiled softly. Rei and Jadeite's obvious devotion and love for each other impressed her. "I won't pry and ask further. That's between the two of you. Thank you for explaining that much to me. I do have one related question, though."
"That is?" Jadeite asked.
"Is feeling her emotions unique to you?"
"No. Vampires can sense emotions through the blood of another Vampire."
"So, werewolves can't?" She added
"I never tried. Werewolves don't drink blood-"
Bushing, she cut him off, "Sorry, I must seem so ignorant. Of course, they don't drink blood. I should have thought of that."
Jadeite scoffed, "You don't know how much I like you. Ask any questions you want. The first man that Rei loved and trusted in this world is dating you. The fact that we can trust you with the knowledge of what we are and that you accept it all is a blessing I didn't dare hope for."
She cocked her head and looked at Rei appraisingly. "You could accept me as his girlfriend?"
"Why wouldn't I?" She questioned.
Suki let out a long breath and said, "I don't know if I fully get how powerful you are magically. I'm ignorant in that area. I do understand Usagi's point that the witch she knew wasn't the strongest witch alive. She's the strongest witch that ever existed. You're hugely important all on your own. Add in Jadeite and then your close association with the Queen and King of the Vampires, and it feels to me like you might have higher aspirations for your grandfather."
Rei gave her a flat look in response. "You mean like marrying him off the way high society used to marry off their sons and daughters?"
Blushing, Suki nodded, "I guess that's what I mean."
"I don't want anything from my grandfather that he wouldn't want from me. I just want him to find someone he can love and respect." Rei then added, "And I will point out that you're the top cardiac surgeon in all of Japan. You aren't without your own accomplishments."
Hino chuckled, "Ah, I'm but a debutant with nothing to me but my family name."
"What?" Suki asked.
"Those are all accomplishments of Rei's. What do I bring to this equation? I'm thinking I'm very much like a simpering young lady born into a strong family," he teased.
Suki laughed, "Fair enough. I'm just trying to establish where I stand. Marrying for power still exists in every culture."
Rei smirked, "I consent to let him marry for love. Too bad though," she sassed. To her grandfather, she said, "I had a marriage interview all set up for you in two days with a pixie."
"Pixie's exist?!" Suki asked in shock.
"No. But to be fair, neither does the marriage interview," Rei responded.
Suki shook her head in amazement. "This is just all so much to take in."
Feeling like messing with his future step-grandmother, Jadeite said, "Just wait until you meet our son."
"You have a child?"
Hino placed his hand on his forehead and tried to suppress hysterical laughter. "No. He's older than them."
The four of them stayed sequestered in the small room for hours as Suki was brought in on their secrets.