Until You 16

“No…” Lita whispered through her white-lipped and unconsciously retreated a step. A blast of fear and anger surged through Lita’s body. Fear because Ian had managed to enter her reality and created a very real looking illusion even when he was far away from her. Now that he was standing in front of her, Lita didn’t want to think of what Ian was capable to do. Angry because this was the man who took Nephrite away and hurt him. Hurting Nephrite mean hurting her too. These two contrasting emotion clashed inside her and Lita didn’t which one was stronger. For a while, the sailor scout seemed too shock and they weren’t able to move.

“My sweet Jupiter,” Ian curved up a smile as he started to move toward Lita. Lita seemed to shock to even move away. Rei was the first to snap out from her trance and saw this. She knew that even if Ian grabbed Lita now, Lita wouldn’t even notice. Transforming back into her sailor uniform, Rei posed an attack and shouted, “Mars Snake Flame!” The angry, reddish energy flew to Ian and to Rei’s surprise; Ian didn’t even take his eyes from the shock Lita. He just raised his right arm and blast out a black energy to counteract Rei’s attack. It was as if all the wounds that the generals had inflicted upon him earlier didn’t affect his power at all. The first attack had awakened the rest of the sailor scout and they all transformed.

“Lita! Move out of the way!” Venus shouted as she threw another attack. She would have pushed Lita away from Ian’s path but since Lita’s body was still conducting electricity from previous battle, Venus decided against it. She would not let herself lose consciousness as long as Ian was here. “Rolling Heart Vibration!” Again Ian blocked out the attack using the same black energy and again the sailor scout was amazed at his power.

“Mercury!” Serena whispered to Ami. “Can you open the portal?”

“What makes you think they are alive?” Mercury raised her eyes, full of unshed tears.

“If Darien ever left me, I would have feel it in my heart…you would have in your heart. They are our soul mate, Ami.” Serena’s tears fell softly to her cheeks. “A love that lasted even through death was not that easy to be broken…”

Ami looked downward and let out a shuddered sigh. She nodded her head and took out her mini computer. “I think you better help Venus and Mars, Serena…They are already injured from previous battle and you are the only one who was capable of fighting.” Serena nodded her head in agreement and lunged forward into the battle. Ami took a deep breath and started to open the portal. It would some time because she had to send signal through the vortex to reach the transponder on the other side and wait for the transponder to send back the signal together with its location. Only then, she would be able to open the portal.

Serena stopped beside Lita that was still in her trance. Knowing that she couldn’t let Lita like that while they were off fighting and she couldn’t shake her because of the fear of being electric shot, Serena shouted at her. “Lita! Snap out of it!!” Lita drew in a swift breath and looked at Serena. Serena knew that Lita hated to receive pity- she had that enough for the past few days-, so she gave Lita an order instead. “I want you to protect Mercury while she tried to reopen the portal.” Lita gave back Serena a hesitant nod and went to Mercury.

“Now!” Serena said with determination, as she watched Ian fighting two of her guardians. “I’m going to slice you into two!”

* * * * * *

Ian overheard them when Serenity told Jupiter something about reopening the portal. Though Ian knew that opening a portal without determining its position was impossible and he supposedly not to worry about them succeeding, his instinct told him otherwise. If Mercury fulfilled her task, the one with the trouble was he. He didn’t know why, every time he tried to release his power to its maximum in front of the generals and the prince, he failed. All he managed to draw out was a sufficient power to protect himself, like he always did in his past life. He knew that when he was fighting them in his own dimension and he wouldn’t let the source of his weakness to be let loose.

Switching his main target from destroying those two annoying sailor scouts, who relentlessly charging their power against him, to Sailor Mercury who was busy trying to reopen the portal. When he realized who was guarding her, Ian’s eyes widened in disbelieve and smiled in anticipation. The fact that Jupiter was guarding Mercury was something that he wasn’t expecting and yet like it. Returning his attention back to the fight that he was having right now, Ian knew that he could take these two scouts down easily but he wasn’t sure about Princess Serenity, since she owned and inherited the power of Silver Crystal. After thinking for a while, Ian hardened his will and set to do what he planned earlier. What was he worrying about, didn’t he also had a crystal with the power nearly as same as Silver Crystal? After all, he could see that the two scouts who were fighting him were already tired from previous battle.

When the Venus drew in a deep breath and threw her chain towards Ian, Ian finally saw the opportunity that he had waited. He purposely let his arm to be tied up in the strong grip of Venus’s Chain and acted like Venus had him completely at his disadvantage. He saw Venus sent over a signal to Mars to attack him, like they did earlier in the battle with the speedy monster. Mars posed out an attack…” Mars Flame Sniper!”

Ian braced himself as his eyes watched intently to the flaming arrow that flew quickly towards him. Then, he began to tug hardly the chain and the tired Venus staggered forward, making her as his shield. Serena saw his intention and quickly raised her staff. “Oh no, you don’t!” Ian looked back and saw Serena prepared an attack for him. “Moon Spiral Heart Attack!” The brilliant energy rushed forward and Ian, thinking that the attack was for him, raised his free hand to block the energy but it went past him and hit Mars’s attack instead. The wave of pulse from the clashing of two attacks burst out, causing Ian and Venus to be thrown away.

Ian stood up unhurt but angry as hell while Venus knew that she was too worn out to even focus. However, Venus was conscious enough to know the danger of passing out very near to Ian. Mars knew too. That was why she ran forward to protect her friend even though she also was in no condition of fight. God know how many attacks she had charged today. Ian looked down at Venus and decided to finish her once and for all. Ian raised his hand again to blow Venus, who had no energy left to run away. Mars came a second before Ian’s attack hit Venus and pulled her away. The missed attack, however hit on Mars’s shoulder, causing Mars to fall unconsciously onto Venus. Thinking that he had killed Mars and Venus, Ian fixed his eyes to Serenity.

By looking at Serenity’s face, Ian knew that she was desperate to go near her guardians and healed them. He had wasted his time enough playing with those guardians and his time was running out. His instinct told him that Mercury will open the portal any second now. Making up his mind, Ian vanished in front of Serena’s wary eyes and for a while, Serena was surprised at the sudden act from Ian. She thought Ian had gone for good and started to run to her friends to heal.

Jupiter stood beside Ami, who was busy typing the location of the dimension, with her eyes looking around warily. Surreptitiously, Jupiter regained her strength and bravery back and was ready to fight off Ian if he threatened to disrupt Mercury’s works. When she saw Mars and Venus fell, Jupiter was torn between her princess’s order to stay and protect Mercury and her screaming conscience to save her friends. However, when she saw Ian vanished in front of Serena’s eyes, Jupiter had this very bad feeling that Ian was going to make her or Mercury as his next attack. Slowly raising her antenna from the golden circlet on her forehead, Jupiter waited in suspense for Ian to suddenly appear and attack them.

“Are you finished, Mercury?” Jupiter asked without taking her eyes off the surrounding.

“Just a bit more…the transponder didn’t work as fast as we thought it would be,” Mercury bit her lips in impatient. The whole plan was ruined and she hoped that her success in opening the portal could make up for all the failure that all of them had made.

“Well…” Jupiter’s next word was choked back in her throat as Ian appeared in front of her. Spontaneously, Jupiter raised her hand towards the sky and shouted, “Jupiter Thunder Attack!!” A bolt of lightning shot down from heaven down to Ian. Again Ian vanished, making the lightning hit the ground, and reappeared so close to Jupiter, making her used her marital art instead the power that was given to her.

Her first startled punch hit squarely on Ian’s jaw but the second one missed. Ian swiftly reached out for her hand and pushed her dismissively. Jupiter fell not far away and it took her a while to clear out her mess-up mind. Seeing Ian’s attempt to attack Mercury, Jupiter rose up quickly and shouted angrily at Ian. “Get away from her, you bastard!” Lunging forward, Jupiter hit Ian with her flying kick, causing both them rolled together away from Mercury.

When they stopped rolling, Ian was on top on Jupiter. For a while, both of them were just looking at each other. I love this woman… Ian thought as he drown himself in her huge emerald eyes, looking apprehensive at what Ian might do in this position. But she didn’t even care about me! Ian’s eyes hardened in anger and hurt that he felt. All she cares about is Nephrite! Jupiter’s drew in a shaking breath when she felt Ian’s power increased. She knew something horrible was about to happen. Something in the corner of her head twitched and began to pound repetitively.

Mercury had finished typing the location and let her minicomputer did the rest of the operation. When she saw Jupiter’s endangered situation, she rose up to separate Ian from Jupiter. She knew how much Jupiter hated Ian. Ian saw to this and began to build up a golden energy shield around him to prevent any of the scouts’ attack to disturb them. “No…” Jupiter let out an inaudible protest. “Not now…” Her brain tumor had chosen a very bad time to attack her.

But Ian just stared at her intently, as if ordering the pain to grow more painful. Jupiter couldn’t take it anymore. The pain was nothing like she had ever experience before. It slashed her brain and rip off her mind. She began to writhe and slowly her sailor uniform dissolved back into her ordinary clothes. Then, she screamed it as she clutched her head.

“Jupiter!” Ami cried as she tried to penetrate through the shield. “No! Leave her alone!” Immediately, her harp appeared as she attempted her last effort. “Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!” The blast of energy hit the shield with vengeance and Mercury almost cried in utter frustration and desperation when her attack didn’t affect the shield at all. Her fear increases when Jupiter’s cries of pain began to sound louder. “Serena!” Mercury shouted on top of her lung as she called Jupiter’s last savior. Before Serena could even turn her head at Mercury shouts, a portal started to open and to Mercury utter relief, she saw Zoisite came out from the portal. Tears of relief sprang in her eyes when she saw the rest of the generals and Darien followed his lead. “Zoisite!” Mercury ran toward him, trying to force his attention to Jupiter’s predicament.

Zoisite didn’t need Mercury to enlighten the situation. At the sight of Mars and Venus’s unconscious figure and the sound of Jupiter’s scream, he knew something have to be done soon. Nephrite’s heart tightened in fear and unbearable anger when he heard Jupiter’s scream. “That son of a bitch!!” Nephrite shouted and started to withdraw his arms around Jadeite with every intention to go towards Jupiter. “Nephrite! No!” Jadeite strengthened his grip on Nephrite. He knew that if he lost his grip upon Nephrite, with his condition right now, Nephrite could lose his life.

“Do something!” Mercury was on brink of hysteric as she watched helplessly. “I’ve tried every attack that I’ve possessed to break the shield but none of them could even break through!” Zoisite slipped his strong arms around Mercury’s waist in order to calm her and his eyes watched the shield as he was thinking.

“Something is not right…” Kunzite spoke up and Darien turned his head toward him. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure but Ian’s shield is gold color…”

Darien watched and began to step forward, bringing himself closer to the brilliant gold shield. “Like Golden Crystal…” he breathed in recognition.

“Prince Endymion!” Kunzite shouted in anxiety but Darien just moved forward and he stopped at an inch close to the shield. Slowly, he raised his hand and tentatively touched the surface of the shield. To everyone’s utter amazement, the energy shield was rapidly sucked into Darien’s palm as if Darien intentionally absorbed the power of the shield. When it was over, Darien was so shocked that he staggered back. The energy that had just invaded his body felt so familiar…

Ian’s eyes were so angry that he could hardly see straight. He was only a breath away in accomplishing his perfect plan and Endymion screwed it big time. He immediately released Jupiter and stood up, leaving Jupiter still lying on the floor. Lita felt her pain began to recede as soon as Ian broke his eyes contact but the pain was still there nevertheless. Ian knew when to retreat. He was badly outnumbered this time even though Nephrite, Venus, Mars and Jupiter were in no condition to fight.

“This isn’t over, Nephrite!” Ian shouted. Letting out an impatient and irritating sigh, Ian abruptly disappeared.

For a while, the remaining standing people stared at the spot where Ian was standing before he transported. Serena slowly stood up and looked around. She saw three of her guardians were down and the generals were badly wounded. But then, Serena thought as she curved up a small smile, they did save Nephrite after all. “Well…” Serena broke the silence.

“That went well…”

* * * * * *

As soon as Darien laid Lita down the bed in the generals’ penthouse, Lita opened her eyes and groaned as a blast of headache attacked. She adjusted her eyes against her pounding brain and saw Ami and Darien were standing beside her. Fighting off the pain, Lita eased herself up against the headboard and smiled reassuringly at both of them.

“I’m fine…” Lita said. “You have others to take care.” With that Darien turned around and exited.

“Yes…I know,” Ami said. “But Nephrite insists me to take a look of you first.” Lita’s heart ached with unbearable pleased and happiness at Ami’s words that she couldn’t wipe the smile of her face. Ami laughed and then sobered quickly. “Many are injured today and Serena was already fatigue in healing. I told her to rest and let Darien, Zoisite and me take care the rest. We cannot take care of so many people at once and they need that.”

Lita swung her legs to the floor and stood up. Ami raised her eyebrows in puzzled at her action. Reaching out for the first aid box, Lita explained, “I’m not injured at all and I can help.” Ami opened her mouth to protest but Lita dismissed it with a wave. Then, she hesitantly asked, “Is anyone tending Nephrite now?” Ami’s lips twitched in amusement and shook her head.

Silently, Lita turned the doorknob and peered into the room. Blood rushed to her face when she saw Nephrite was clad with nothing except a bed quilt that covered from his waist to his upper thigh. She hadn’t seen him for a long time and seeing him like this made her wanted to cry. His wounds were everywhere and he was paler and thinner. When she saw Nephrite massaged his cramp and aching thighs and calves, Lita reminded herself of her duty and quickly hid her blushes and walked in.

Nephrite was pleased to see Lita and was vastly amused when he saw the blushes on her cheeks, reminding himself of how innocent she was when he first met her. “You should be resting…”

“No, I’m not!” Lita said haughtily as she put the box that she had been carrying on the bed beside Nephrite and went to get a basin of warm water together with a few of clean clothes. “I’m perfectly well to tend you and you are the one who need resting!”

Resting his back against the headboard, Nephrite enjoyed himself with the sight of Lita climbing into the bed and sat beside him. “I wanted to rest…” Nephrite teased her huskily as her faint perfume surrounded him…tempting him. “But you greatly disturbed me.”

Lita’s eyes quickly flew to meet his blue ones to see whether he was serious about her disturbing him. Then she saw the mischievous twinkles in his eyes and she blushed profusely. Nephrite laughed, feeling happier than he had ever felt in days. “Laughing up, you brute!” Lita said in mock angry. She was smiling as she dipped the cloth into the warm water. Then, carefully and gently she dabbed it to his forehead to clean the blood that smeared all over his face. Nephrite’s eyes never left her face as he studied every expression as she intently cleaned the wounds.

Suddenly, Nephrite let out a very small wince but since Lita was so close to him, she could hear it. “I’m sorry…” Lita said and put away the cloth. Unable to stop herself from touching him, she raised her right hand and touched the cut on his forehead. She couldn’t imagine the things that Nephrite had gone through and her heart pained whenever she saw the evident. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she whispered the tortured words. “How he’d hurt you…” Then, she slowly lowered her fingertips to the ugly bruise on his cheek. Nephrite couldn’t take his eyes away from her. He used to reject every sign of sympathy that his friends had shown him but now, with Lita, he wanted it. He wanted all that Lita offered to him. Her compassion, her touches, her sympathy…her tears.

Gradually they were both deeply in each other spell and Lita leaned forward with her hands braced to each side of Nephrite. When her lips softly touched his injured lips, Nephrite felt so warm and so cherished that all the hurting that he had endured had vanished. Lita used her lips to nibble softly the hurting spot on his lips as if she was trying to take away all the pain. When she felt his hand came up and cupped her cheek, Lita knew that he liked it and she leaned closer to kiss every cut and bruise until both of them were breathless with unconcealed desire. Eager to please him more and to take his pains away, Lita tentatively touched the wounds with the tip of her tongue. Nephrite could feel her soft breath mingled with his and his desire was amounting for each kiss she gave him. He had dreamt about Lita this way a thousand times when he was standing in the dark but the reality was hotter and he didn’t want this to end. She knew that Nephrite wanted more and she wanted it too. But she wasn’t selfish enough to ignore the fact that if she give in, she would end up hurting Nephrite.

Lita pulled away from him and kissed the palm that had been holding her cheek. Nephrite can hardly bear his desire and was frustrated because he knew Lita wouldn’t do anything that would hurt him but he managed to let her go. When she had finished bandaging all his wounds, Lita’s face went red as she eyed his muscular legs. She felt like she was doing something exciting forbidden that even though she couldn’t help admiring them, she couldn’t stop this damned blush from tainting her cheeks. “I…I saw you massaging your legs earlier,” Lita was so embarrassed at her reaction towards the virile male body that was sprawled in front of her. “Do your legs hurt too?” She asked as she tentatively touched his knees as if she thought they would fall apart if she touched roughly.

Nephrite couldn’t help but thinking that he had died and went to heaven. He wanted to say no and not wanting to give Lita his full account of his hellish experience. “Yes,” he answered instead. “I couldn’t feel my legs because they are cramp for I had been forced to stand…all day.” Lita frowned as she was thinking what she could do to ease the cramp. Then, she got out of the bed, went out of room and came back with something that she held tightly in his hand. She climbed back on the bed, where Nephrite was looking at her with both his eyebrows raised in puzzlement, and settled beside his legs.

“Lita…” Nephrite spoke up at last and Lita raised her eyes to meet his. “What are you doing…?”

“Shush…” she whispered softly, putting her index finger on his lips. Then, she kneeled at the end of his feet. “I’ve never been able to do anything for you.” Slowly, she opened her palm and Nephrite saw a flask of massaging oil and his eyes widened in understanding. Lita squirted some of the oil in her small palm. “You have given me everything that a woman could ever need and more and I…” Lita started her ministration from Nephrite’s ankle; slowly and lovingly stroke his stiff legs and moved up to his hard calves. Nephrite had never felt anything so content and relaxing before that he gradually started to loosen the tense that had been gripping his muscle. “…I haven’t done anything except to hurt you again…and again…” Lita’s voice shattered a little and Nephrite suspected that Lita was holding back something.

He leaned forward and softly caressed her cheek and pulled her face to meet his. Lita reached up for the hand that was holding her cheek and moved it so he could wipe away the tears that fell so easily these days. Their eyes met and for the very first time in days, Nephrite couldn’t take his eyes away because she captured him with a mere heartbreaking gaze, telling him something. She was telling him that she was hurting… Nephrite suddenly realized. She was hurting from the look of the horrendous wounds that he had to bear because of her. She was hurting from the love that was too great for her to bear it alone. She was hurting because he was hurting… And she couldn’t put those in words.

“Lita…” Nephrite’s whisper was fierce as he pulled her close to him, spilling the scented oil across his legs and bed sheet. “Lita…” Her name anointed his lips like honey and he couldn’t stop calling her name. He ignored the pain he felt when he crushed her soft body to his chest and buried his face into her neck. “My Lita…” He whispered again as he reached for the clip that held her hair into a ponytail, letting it cascaded down to her back and over her shoulders. Lita, too, was caught into the spell that Nephrite wove around her and she showered her kisses to his temple, cheeks and strong jaws. The smell of roses from the oil surrounded them, igniting the atmosphere and for a while, they were so lost in their own world. They were so attuned to each other that they forgot everything except the feeling of their body against each other.

“I don’t want you to do anything…” Nephrite spoke up after a while, still holding Lita closed to him. After days without Lita by his side, his reluctant to let her go whenever he got her this close to him was hard to break. “Knowing you struggling to live on, so you can be with me is the greatest gift you have ever gave me and I don’t want you any other way.” It was true. He remembered the time when Lita was fighting with the pain, she held him so close as if she was afraid that if she lost her grip on him, she would lose her life too. And how he embrace her, sharing his strength and was humble by the courage that she had shown. The moment was so sweet that Nephrite had totally forgotten to tell his friends about the green sphere.

Lita was so still when she heard his words. “I never know…”

“That I felt so blessed that you’d rather fought the illness than submit to the pain?” Nephrite cut in. He stroked her hair, loving the smell and the feel of it under his callous hands. She felt so alive right now and Nephrite didn’t know what he would do without her. “Everything you do, Lita,” Nephrite murmured to her ear. He smiled when he felt Lita shivered slightly when his breath touched her sensitive ear. “You’ve never failed to amaze me…”

Lita was undone. She was the one who should feel so blessed…

* * * * * *

Sunlight sneaked its way through the satin curtain and softly caressing Kunzite cheeks. Shifting his position in the sofa that he had been sitting for the last two hours, Kunzite tried to rub the sleep away from his eyes and realized that Ami had bound his left hand. He slowly opened his eyes and realized that morning had finally arrived, leaving the longest night that he had ever experienced before. They had been fighting with Ian, killing more monsters than they had ever killed before and managed to get various kind of wounds in just one night that Kunzite just couldn’t believe that it was done and Nephrite was probably sleeping in his room right now. He pushed a lock of his silver hair away from his eyes and instantly his eyes fell to the sleeping figure on his bed.

When Mina was brought down to his bed, he asked Serena what was wrong with Mina. She didn’t suffered from that many injuries, so why she looked so drain and pale? From what Serena told him, Mina and Rei had used their power too much and when their body protested, they pushed themselves further, ignoring the fact that their body probably couldn’t take the burden of their overused power any longer. It was a fortunate incident that they had passed out before both of them could launch any more attack. Kunzite didn’t know whether he wanted to strangle her when she opened her eyes or to admire her for her astounding courage. Mina took her responsibility as a leader so seriously that if her mission were to stop any of Ian’s monsters from exiting the park, she would die completing the mission. And that scared Kunzite.

He stood up and sat beside Mina, contented just to watch her sleeping. Reaching out his hand, Kunzite touched a golden strand that nestled against her cheeks and gently moved it from her face. Her color was getting better now, Kunzite decided as he comparing it with when Mina was first brought in. Both Jadeite and him was frantic when they saw Rei and Mina’s face was as pale as death and now, when he saw she was back to normal, the relief that he felt was overwhelming.

As if Mina began to aware of the figure that was looming beside her, Mina, thinking that it was Ian, quickly opened her eyes and raised her hands to attack the figure. It wasn’t surprising though because the last thing she had ever seen before she passed out was Ian, preparing to kill her. Kunzite instinctively caught her hand before she hit his face. “Mina!” Kunzite called her softly but firmly. Mina, still hazy from the sleep, used her other hand instead and again he caught it. “Shush! It’s me, Kunzite!”

When Mina heard his name, she blinked her eyes and gradually she saw Kunzite’s face instead of Ian. She sighed in relief when she realized that the fight was over and she was safe in his bed with Kunzite sitting beside her, alive. Mina started to struggle to sit up nut found she was too tired to even haul herself up. “Just lie down, Mina,” admonished Kunzite. “You’ve just been sleeping for four hours and you need another day of rest before you fully recovered.”

Mina opened her mouth to protest that she needed another sleep, but when she saw the lines of fatigue along Kunzite’s face, she realized that he, too, needed rest. Sliding her gaze to the sofa not too far from the bed, Mina knew that he had been sleeping uncomfortably in that sofa. Slowly, Mina curved up an inviting smile. “I’ll lie down quietly if you lie down next to me,” she said softly.

Kunzite’s breath caught when suddenly an overwhelming emotion consumed him. The way Mina looked at him when she asked him to lie next to her and the way his heart responded to every little thing she said or done made Kunzite amazed that after all he sins he had committed, his jaded heart could still feel things that he never thought existed. Unable to speak, he nodded his head softly and lay next to her. He offered his right arm but Mina raised her eyes, questioning him, afraid that she would hurt him and Kunzite just nodded his head. Tentatively, Mina drew her small body close to his, presenting her back and rested her head on the arm that was offered to her. Protectiveness and possessive suddenly surged through his body and he automatically wrapped his other hand around her waist. Words were unnecessary at that time because every of their touches and kisses told each other how they treasured the precious time alone that had been denied for the past few days.

Kunzite tenderly pushed the golden locks that he loved so much and tucked them behind her ear, exposing it for his kisses. He then leaned forward, showering his kisses around her ear and seductively trailed them down to her slender neck. She was precious to him and he treated like one. Mina closed her eyes and her hand reached out for his nape, pulling him closer. She loved the moments like this. Moments where Kunzite set aside his mask as a leader of generals and showed his vulnerability and deepest feeling to her. Moments where he wasn’t ashamed of showing how much she meant to him. Moments where both of them forgot everything that existed in this world- duty as guardians and leaders. She loved his way of loving her and she didn’t want him any other way.

“Don’t do that ever again…” Kunzite whispered through his kisses. Mina opened her eyes as the spell that wove around them slowly disappeared. She didn’t understand and she slowly turned her body around, not wanting to hurt his injuries with her sudden movements.

“What…?” Mina looked up and she reached up to pull his face down to meet hers.

“Pushing yourself over the limit…” Kunzite voiced out his worries. “I never want to come home from any kind of mission and only to find you exhausted to death.” He caught the hand that had been holding his jaw and kisses the blue life vein at the wrist.

“Ian told us that all you were dead when he came out from the portal alone. I lost all my control and all that I saw was blood-red vengeance. I…I kind of forget our plan and…” Mina hastily explained. How could she describe the horror and the sudden pain that she felt when Ian heartless announced the generals’ and Darien’s death? She felt as if their world that torn apart and for the first time, she tasted unbearable vengeance upon her lips. All that her mind able to think was to kill the bastard in front of her.

Kunzite wanted to change their conversation. Why would they waste their time alone discussing something that was too painful to recall and explain? “I don’t know you cared about me that much,” he teased her and watched her eyes changed from sorrow into something so intense that her sapphire eyes turned into dark blue velvet.

“You have no idea…” Mina’s whispered words entranced him.

“Yes, Mina…I do,” Kunzite said fiercely back. “I do know the way you felt when you thought I was dead. I know exactly how much I meant to you…” He saw Mina opened her mouth to fling out a retort about his words earlier. He took the opportunity to plant his mouth into hers, robbing Mina all her ability to speak and to think. She could only feel every pleasurable and wicked thing his mouth did to her. And she realized that all she wanted to do was to feel…

As Kunzite lifted his lips away from hers, he tenderly stroked her swollen lips with his thumb. “I do know all that because…I love you too. You mean more than anything in this world to me and when I saw you lying there pale as death, I went crazy with worry.”

Mina couldn’t think of any word to give back to Kunzite. She always knew that Kunzite loved her but she didn’t know how much. And now, here he was, answering every question that had been spinning in her mind ever since their declaration of love. She thought she was the one who was afraid of the thought of losing him and kept telling herself that if it was true that in each couple one of them must loved more than the other, she was the one who loved more. That was the consequences of trying to get involved in a relationship of former womanizer.

She had ventured everything when she accepted his love. Risking that she might fall so deep in love and when he moved on, she could never regain herself back, Mina placed her love, trust and heart in the hand of Kunzite. And the reward for her unbreakable faith on him was this. Being able to love him without ever worrying if he loved her as much as she loved him was the closest heaven that she knew she could ever get.

“Kunzite…” Mina whispered as her eyes shone with love. “You…you don’t know how much those words mean to me. I’m so glad that you say them…”

Kunzite didn’t say anything but his arms tightened around her, drawing her closer than he had ever let anyone before.

* * * * * *