Moon: Tsukino Usagi
Venus: Aino Minako
Mars: Hino Rei
Jupiter: Kino Makoto
Mercury: Mizuno Ami
Endymion: Chiba Mamoru
Kunzite: Seishou Kouseinou
Jadeite: Tabiki Kasen
Nephrite: Kousei Kyosei
Zoicite: Kouseki Yosouya
Chapter 4-Memories, Truths, Love
Rei sighed, her dark hair covering her shoulders like a protective cape. She had often wondered what it would be like if she had short hair, like Ami's. The few times she had tied her hair in a ponytail, she had always sworn afterwards never to do it again when she discovered how cold it made her neck and ears. She hated feeling unprotected and vulnerable... It was late at night, and she leaned over the windowsill slightly, looking out at the glowing full moon. She was pretty sure her grandfather was asleep, and there was no one else at the temple. After sundown, it tended to be deserted... Sighing, Rei looked up at the satellite. Looking at it made her recall a memory from when she was fifteen, three years ago...on a warm midsummer's night.
~flashback~
Turning her face to him eagerly, Rei urged, "Hurry up, Kasen-kun! You're so slow! I've seen turtles move faster than you."
Laughing, he complied willingly, then sat down beside her on the riverbank. "Don't be so impatient, Rei-chan. The best things in life are yet to come."
Wrinkling her nose at him, the raven-haired girl drew her knees up to her chest, leaning her chin on them. Exhaling quietly, she asked, "Have you ever seen the moon look this beautiful? It's wonderful...a perfect circle."
‘You're beautiful,' he thought to himself but dared not to say it out loud. Instead, he chuckled softly to himself and put an arm around her–a friendly gesture, not romantically. "Have you ever heard what they say about a full moon?"
"Besides that men turn into werewolves?"
"Well–"
"Don't you dare try and play any tricks on me!" she squealed, noticing the mischievous glitter in his eyes. Rei paused to admire them herself; most peoples' eyes were dark pits in the night, but his glowed effervescently.
Ducking her playful punch easily, the blonde laughed and replied, "I won't. Anyway, they say that on the second full moon of July, when there _are_ two full moons, loves meet again, wherever they are or what happened to them, in dreams. And for those who haven't found love, they dream about their soulmates...and receive future visions in their sleep."
Yawning sleepily as she leaned her head on his shoulder, she murmured tiredly, "You're joking again. I bet nothing like this ever happened to _you_ last time there were two full moons in April. You're just playing a trick on me. I may be younger than you, but I'm not _that_ gullible."
Raking back his hair in a practiced gesture, Kasen shrugged tolerantly. "Believe what you like, Hino Rei. But if you really want to know, two years ago, there was a full moon in April."
"My birthday," she smiled.
"Hai," he nodded, "demo, are you going to interrupt or let me tell the story? It's a true occurrence, you know."
"Okay..."
"Good." Smirking slightly at her petulant tone, the blond-haired boy glanced at her, watching the moonlight shine on her hair and bringing out the luminous amethyst of her eyes. She had the most amazing eyes, and he had never met anyone else with eyes quite the same shade.
Lifting her chin up to stare at him, meeting his gaze, Rei blushed slightly when she saw that he was staring at her. "Are you going to get on with it? Ojii-san _does_ want me to get home sometime soon, you know."
"Oh, right. Gomen nasai. So, two years ago, it was April seventeenth, your birthday. I'm not kidding. I swear it's true–you can ask Souya-kun for proof. Anyway, it's strange, but it was actually Kousei-kun who told me the legend. I laughed at him for a long time, but Souya-kun was looking thoughtful about something. So they shared their stupid secret glances and knowing looks, and I went to sleep that night peacefully. It's strange: I know I had really long dreams, but I can't remember most of them except that I saw a girl who appeared to me...and I knew that she was the one. Like Mamoru-kun's one. But she was more realistic, this angel. She was fiery but tranquil at the same time, and she was so beautiful. I knew the beauty came from her soul, though, and that influenced her looks."
Feeling a strange sadness rise in her heart, Rei pushed it aside and tried to smile, still looking at the silvery ribbon of river before them. "What did she look like? Have you met her yet? Or are you going to search for her?"
Smiling to himself, he shook his head. "I think I've met her...demo, I'm waiting for her to come find me."
"You're a chauvinist pig."
Laughing, he stood up and stretched, groaning when a few bones cracked. "Come on, Rei-chan. You don't want your ojii-san making perverted jokes about us."
Standing at the door to the temple, Rei sighed softly and hesitated for a minute, her head on the door. "Kasen-kun...we're good friends, right?"
"The best of friends," he affirmed, looking more than slightly puzzled. Nodding, she turned to go but stopped when he laid his hand on her arm gently. "Rei-chan...would you mind if I gave you a kiss? Just between friends, of course...for luck, so you'll see your soulmate tonight."
"No...I don't think I would mind," she breathed gently.
Looking down at her, Kasen felt a smile spread over his face. Leaning down, he touched his lips to hers gently. Pulling away after a second, he whispered, "Oyasumi nasai."
"O–oyasumi nasai," she stammered, shocked by the feelings that had traveled over her.
"By the way...good luck. Rei-chan."
"Nani?"
"On finding your soulmate."
~end flashback~
Opening her eyes, Rei realized that her eyelids had closed peacefully during the memory. Closing the shutters decisively, she thought, ‘I told him Kaidou-san gave me my first kiss...demo, it wasn't true. He kissed me almost a year after Kasen-kun did."
~ * ~ * ~
"Hey...is that Kyosei-san? Kyosei! Kyosei!!"
The brown-haired boy turned around and smiled when he saw the blonde girl walking towards him. Bowing elegantly, he greeted, "It's nice to see you again, Mina-san." Straightening, he stopped abruptly when he saw her friend–a brunette girl with brilliant emerald eyes. "Who's your friend?" he asked, raising an eyebrow almost rakishly.
Smiling at him, she replied, "It's so nice to see you again. I was hoping I would. Oh, forgive me for being rude. Mako-chan, this is Kousei Kyosei. I met him on the plane trip back here. Kyosei-san, this is Kino Makoto."
Warmly, the brown-haired one said, "Onegai, call me Makoto-chan or Mako-chan. Any friend of Mina-chan's is a friend of ours."
Blushing slightly, he said, "Then you'll have to call me Kyo-kun."
"So, Kyo-kun, are you busy with anything? Any plans?"
"Not at the moment," he answered, rather dazedly.
Beaming happily, the vivacious blonde grabbed his hand and towed him along. "Good. We're all going to the Crown Arcade–then you can meet Kousei-kun, Usa-chan, Mamoru-kun, Rei-chan, Kasen-kun, and Souya-kun. You _do_ want to come along, ne?"
Looking at her pleading, cornflower blue eyes, he sweatdropped and gave him. "Sure. So, is this Kousei-kun the Seishou Kouseinou you told me about?" Frowning slightly to himself, he thought, ‘Souya-kun? That sounds familiar...could it be–?'
"I guess Mina-chan's told everyone about him," Makoto laughed. After exchanging a quick, questioning glance with Minako, she nodded and asked, "Do you know a girl named Ami? Mizuno Ami? Pretty girl with blue hair and eyes?"
Smiling, he nodded. "Hai, she's one of my best and oldest friends, Ami-chan. Why?"
"Oh...Mina-chan and I, we just saw her meeting you at school one day. Are you her boyfriend?"
Chuckling at first, his snickers became gales of whoops of laughter, and he had to clutch his chest and exercise some control to stop. Still gasping with mirth, he replied, "No, sorry. It's just–the idea of Ami-chan and I...is very strange to both of us. We're very good friends, best friends, but we've never been romantically interested in each other–thank kami-sama. Besides, she's looking for this guy she met ten years ago."
Minako smiled brightly. "Well, it's possible for her to find him. After all, I met Kousei-kun again."
Before she could go on, her friend groaned loudly and teased, "Mina-chan, do we have to hear about that–again? I think someone likes Kousei-kun."
"Mako-chan!!"
Smiling to himself, Kyosei looked towards the doorway of the Crown Arcade with raised eyebrows. "You have quite a few friends."
Looking towards the five gathered, Makoto smiled and replied, "Hai. It's lucky that they're such great people. Konnichiwa, minna!"
"Hey Mako-chan. So, who's this? A new recruit? You guys have a habit of picking up poor, unfortunate people off the street."
Glaring at him, Minako said, "Quiet. Everyone, this is Kousei Kyosei. I met him on the airplane back here. Kyo-kun, this is Chiba Mamoru, Mamoru-kun."
The brunette girl took over then, rather evilly, "That's the famous Kousei-kun by him, ano. Seishou Kouseinou, as I'm sure you know, having heard his name about ten thousand times. Tsukino Usagi, Usa-chan, Hino Rei, Rei-chan. Matte...where's Kasen-kun?"
As the black-haired girl glanced away rather guiltily, the last member of the group eyed her with a raised eyebrow, then said apologetically, "He couldn't make it, gomen."
Meeting his eyes straightforwardly, Makoto shrugged, then introduced, "This is Kouseki Yosouya, Kasen-kun's otouto-chan. You can call me Yosouya-kun or just Souya-kun."
"Souya-kun??"
"Er...hai?"
‘Hm...the description matches.' "You wouldn't happen to be from Hokkaido, would you?"
"Actually, I am," the blond-haired boy answered readily, although he was containing his more than acute jealousy.
Grinning, Kyosei exclaimed, "You must be Ami-chan's guy! Great! I can't wait until I tell her I've found you. She's been looking for you ever since you taught her how to swim, and then you left her a photograph of her at championships. She really appreciates all the advice you've given her, you know. She's been looking for you ever since."
Slyly, Usagi asked, "Souya-kun, is this the girl Kasen-kun told us about? And how you have pictures of her in your room?"
Sighing, he buried his face in his hands, hoping he would live this all down somehow. "Yes, yes, yes, I admit to everything. I'm guilty as charged. Okay? No further questions?"
"Well, actually," Minako smiled, jumping at the chance, as the other two girls also gained predatory looks in their gazes...
~ * ~ * ~
Walking through Juuban Park, Minako relived blissful childhood memories. Smiling when she caught a glimpse of long, shoulder-length silver hair, she tiptoed up behind her unsuspecting victim. Covering his eyes lightly, she sang out, "Guess who!"
"Ohayo, Mina-chan. You're up early."
Removing her hands, she asked indignantly, "What, you think I sleep in until noon? Do you think I'm lazy??"
Taken aback, Kouseinou shook his head hurriedly, facing an enraged goddess. "No, I just that you might have problems with jet-lag."
"Oh, right. Sorry, I didn't mean to jump on you or anything... Ano, I adjust fairly well to time differences. I got up around seven, actually." Indicating the empty seat beside him on the bench, she asked rather shyly, "Can I sit?"
Raising his eyebrows, he nodded mutely and looked off into the distance. After a minute of bird calls, splashing from a nearby fountain, and children's shrieks and giggles, he looked at her and smiled when he saw that she was wearing a bright yellow sun dress–it suited her nature. "What are you doing here, Mina-chan? I'm surprised you aren't with Mako-chan, Rei-chan, or Usagi-chan."
"Just thinking about the past. I love working with children..and I started coming here every Saturday ever since I've been home to help moms and babysitters with their kids. What about you?"
"Wandering around, thinking...nothing much."
"Thinking's something. Without thinking, this world wouldn't have been invented. People wouldn't have been created. The sound of laughter required someone to think about how a sound could be produced with such loveliness and humor. What were you thinking about?"
Looking into her trusting, sincere blue eyes, the silver-haired boy exhaled deeply. "A long time ago. Basically, you told me I was insufferable, arrogant, and bratty–and that with my cold heart and manners, I wouldn't make any friends if I kept being so rude."
Blushing darkly, she murmured, "I didn't mean it–"
"Really? Do you mean that? I think you did mean it, at the time."
Minako looked down, away from his penetrating gray gaze. He was smirking slightly, sadly, as if expecting her answer already. "Yes," she whispered apologetically, "yes, I meant it."
"I thought so. I've tried to follow your advice, you know. I tried to make friends–and it was both a lot harder and easier than I expected. Every night, I used to try and make sure that I had acted like a person the entire day. I wanted to be a worthy person, and I didn't want to be alone in the world because of my stupidity."
"Demo, Kousei-kun....gomen nasai. I never meant to make you feel this way about yourself, so upset and miserable. You're really a wonderful person," she cried, distressed that she had brought such sorrow to him.
Her lovely cornflower blue eyes were filled with tears, and Kouseinou reached over to brush one onto his finger gently. He stared at the glowing drop on his fingertip, rays of sunlight shining through to create prisms and rainbows with all the colors of the spectrum... "No, Mina-chan. You were right. One day, I met Kasen-kun, and he changed my life forever. You and he changed me for the better and made me who I am. If I really am a wonderful person, it's all thanks to you. Arigato gozaimisu." Barely breathing, he cupped her face gently in his large hands, turning it towards him. As her eyelashes fluttered shut delicately on her cheek, he kissed her with a love, strong and everlasting with renewal.
Pulling back from him for a minute, cheeks and lips flushed a brilliant cherry red, she looked into his eyes and whispered, "Aishiteru, Kousei-kun."
Smiling, he gathered her in his arms and replied, "Aishiteru, Mina-chan."
~ * ~ * ~
Jikai: The Next Meeting
The Present
Infinite Ice
