Until You

Lita walked in nervously to the doctor’s room, anxious about her current health. She was kind of confused about her brain tumor. Before Ian showed up, the pain penetrated her head endlessly and unbearably. But when Ian had came, the pain had mysteriously disappeared and last night her head was throbbing slightly as if the pain wanted to attack her but it was reluctant.

Lita shook her head. She almost laughed out loud at her ridiculous thought. Her brain tumor was effecting her brain that she was thinking crazily.

The doctor looked at her pale face and nodded his head indicating that she can sit in front of him. The file in front of him was flipped tentatively and he kept peering at Lita as if comparing the information that he held in his hand with the woman in front of him.

“I think you know that your illness had grown worse.” He watched her beautiful transform into painful expression.

Lita impulsively put her fingers on her temple, unable to believe that there was a tumor growing inside her head. “How long…” the words seemed to choke her throat. The question of how much time left for her seemed too unreal and scary. There are so much plans that she had lain in front of her and now everything was impossible to achieve.

“I’m not sure. Six months…a year top,” he said calmly and unemotionally. Lita wanted to strangle the doctor alive.

“What do you suggest me to do?”

“An operation would be an answer but the chances are low.”

“You want to split open my head and prodded my brain but you know that I probably die from that?” Lita felt her blood risen and her head started to pound from the anger.

“But in my opinion that it will be better way than just wait for death,” he argued in a professional way. He observed Lita’s flushing face, knowing that if she didn’t calm down now, her anger would hurt her head.

“Do you have someone that I can talk to, so that he or she can influence you to go through the operation?” The doctor asked impatiently when Lita refused to speak any further. He watched Lita biting her lower lips as if she was thinking.

Lita didn’t want to go through anything. She knew that any cancer will ended with death and the thought of leaving Nephrite too early while she was given time to spent her precious time with him. If she told that cold doctor that she had a lot of friends that cared for her more than anything else did, he would surely tell them and within a day, they would have her convince to go through the operation. She didn’t want that to happen.

“No, I don’t.” The doctor noted the finality in her voice, exasperated and reluctantly admired for her stubbornness.

“Miss Kino, look…”

“No, you look, doctor. This is my brain that you’re talking about! This-“ Lita pointed to her temple as she rose from her chair. “-Is my head that you are trying to prod. When I said I don’t want an operation, I DO NOT want an operation.” Lita turned her heels and closed the door behind her.

“Stubborn woman,” he muttered under his breath before summoning another patient.

* * * * * *

Serena absently toying and twisting with her engagement ring. Lately, after their encounter with the generals, things happened around them. Not that Serena wasn’t used to have things happened around her but the things that happened around them weren’t this constant as if meeting the generals was a curse. Curse!? Serena gave herself a hard shake. Stop being ridiculous, Serena!

“Why are you shaking your head? Having a headache, like Lita?” Darien teased his fiancé as he leaned down to give her a soft kiss at the corner at her lips. Serena looked at him smiling. She too noticed that lately Lita had being seeing the doctor too much.

“I noticed that too. Do you think she‘s hiding something from us again?”

Darien sat beside Serena and pulled her closer to him. As if, sensing his need to be near her, she put her head at the soft spot on his neck, inhaling the fresh cologne he used. “I doubt that, sweetheart.”

“How can you be sure?” Serena challenged.

“I think the Planet Jupiter incident had taught her a lesson.”

“I hope so…”

* * * * * *

Ian looked at the crystal ball that showed an image of Lita ran along the street. His icy blue followed every movement Lita made.

For two milleniums, he had loved this woman. From the first day she had ever raised that glorious emerald eyes for him to see and admired, he vowed to do anything to make Jupiter his.

Perhaps if Jupiter fall for other man than Nephrite, he wouldn’t be so damn angry. Perhaps if it were not Nephrite that had challenged him over Jupiter, he wouldn’t be so damn determined to have Jupiter. Maybe…maybe he loved Jupiter because that was Nephrite wanted. He was thirsty for his revenge for Nephrite instead love for Jupiter…STOP IT!

Ian furiously paced. He came back life because of his love for Jupiter and not because of Nephrite. He didn’t give a damn about Nephrite and if he tried to stop him from getting what he wanted, he would be gladly to kill that bastard! His thirst for revenge was unquenchable. Who wouldn’t? Nephrite had always been his challenger past life and this life.

Silently he sat on the chair, thinking and contemplating his plan. In his eyes he saw his planning and scheme as a way to claim what was supposed to be his in his past life, Jupiter and the vengeance. Believe me, Jupiter. This time I will not fail…

* * * * * *

“I think that cream gown is perfect for your wedding, Serena,” Mina pointed at a picture of a flowing and rich wedding gown in a catalog. Ami and Rei peered at that the picture that Mina had pointed out. Instantly critics and approvals came out of their mouth. Five of them were sitting on Serena’s living room, discussing which gown fit to Serena. The catalogs and wedding brochures scattered on the floor and tables and it seemed that all of them were having fun in choosing and commenting each gown.

“How about this one?” Lita hold up the catalog that showed a simple velvet gown in soft spruce-color. It was simple but the luxurious pearls and jades chains that hung elegantly at the hips and shoulders made it fit like a queen.

“If you wore that dress, it shows what a materialistic bride you are,” Serena giggled. Lita looked back at the picture and reluctantly agreed at what Serena had said. Still, it looked beautiful!

They continued arguing over the gowns and after three hours of endless discussion; Lita started to feel the slight pounding in her head. At first, she ignored the warning and continued talking and laughing with her friends. But then the pounding started to get harder and painful that she had to press her forehead with her fingers. Please…please…please not here…not now…not in front of them…

She knew she had to get away from her friends before they noticed that she was massaging her forehead. “Guys, I want to go to the toilet for a moment,” Lita hid her pain and stood up.

“Sure, but be quick because we still have dozens of catalog to look through,” Mina called out, oblivious of Lita’s staggering steps. They continued they conversation.

Lita looked ahead, trying to clear her aching head. She hoped her friends didn’t noticed how sluggish she walked. Her vision blurred and her hearing only heard the insistent pounding of her head. And the headache…God! The pain was nothing like she had ever felt before! It pierced her head mercilessly, repeatedly and she knew within the seconds she would collapse in front of her friends.

Lita tried to quicken her pace to the toilet but it seemed like that headache had frozen all her body systems. She felt cold and she realized with alarm that she was losing her consciousness. Fast. As if to end her struggling to stay awake, the pain shot through her brain in one powerful thrust. Instantly, Lita lost the battle. She grasped her temples with both hands and fell onto her knees, letting out a cry that brought her friends to her.

“Lita!” They said in unison, rushing toward her. Lita, who was now lying on the floor, looked blankly at her friends as she tried to stay in focus. The pain quickly consumed her and Lita fell into deep unconsciousness.

“What had happened to her?” Serena asked as her tears flowed easily out. Ami quickly in action, rushed to the telephone as Rei gently raised Lita’s head and put it on her laps. They looked at each in worry and anxious.

“Help is on the way. I think we should call the guardians and Darien too,” Ami said breathlessly.

* * * * * *

Nephrite drove like crazy, dodging every vehicle. His mind was centered to one thought, Lita. When Ami called him, he was in the middle of international meeting and the news of Lita fainted had shocked him. For the last hour he had abruptly walked out of the meeting and out of the well-respected committee, rudely crossing and cutting each vehicle and dangerously pushing the car to its speed limits.

This shouldn’t be happening. She still has a year to go and he thought he had two or three weeks to persuade the mule-headed woman to go through medical treatment and have an operation. But he was wrong. It was either that the doctor was wrongly predicted the timing or…or Lita had lied to him. Again.

The thought hurt him so deeply. The night when she told him about Ian’s kiss, he thought she finally learned to trust him and finally to stop deceiving each time she had a problem. Obviously he was wrong. If what he thought was true, Lita had lied to him, when he arrived there he wanted to shake her out of unconsciousness and wrung the lovely neck of hers. Anger and fear made him doubled the speed.

When he finally entered the road that would take him to the hospital, three monsters came out from nowhere and stood in front of Nephrite’s accelerated car. The appearance was so sudden that it took Nephrite by surprise that he thought that there were people tried to cross the road. With all his might, he pressed the brake and the screeching tires cause a cloud of dirt behind. As Nephrite regained his composure from the shock, he heard the annoying sounds of honks and people’s shouting from behind.

As the cloud of dirt cleared out, his vision became clear. The sight in front of him, made he clenched his grasp onto the steering, his jaw tightened and his eyes ominous. Stood there were three monsters snarling with vengeance. Nephrite slowly got out of the car, knowing that if he didn’t finish them off, they would interfere the rest of his journey to the hospital. He was oblivious to his surrounding and the people that were clamoring around him.

“Cowards…” Nephrite hissed when he saw that Ian was not among the hideous monsters. Then he prepared to transform into General.

He never got the chance as one of the monster flung towards him, unleashing his first attack. Nephrite quickly dodged the unexpected attack and it hit him slight on the shoulder. He staggered back in surprise and took out his sword that he could use even without changing into general, preparing the battle that he knew deep inside he could not win.

* * * * * *

“Where the hell is Nephrite?” Kunzite ran his hand through his silver hair. Jadeite said nothing as he looked over the window with his hands braced on the window frame. His eyebrows furrowed in worried.

“I called an hour ago, and he should be here by now even if he couldn’t teleport from the international meeting. Something’s up,” Jadeite let out his worries.

“You mean he’s in trouble?” Zoisite said slowly, not wanting the scouts to hear it. They were worried and curious enough by Lita’s condition and the news that Nephrite was in trouble was something that the general themselves could take care.

“If he was, he should call us by now,” Kunzite reasoned.

“But if the attacker was Ian, I’m afraid that he’ll let the vengeance rule his head instead the brain itself,” Jadeite bit his lips.

“He’s not that stupid.” Kunzite pushed out the possibility but deep inside he knew that the hatred that he saw in Nephrite’s eyes was deep enough to make Nephrite lost his rational.

Their conversation was interrupted as the doctor came out from Lita’s room. People who were very anxious about Lita’s health soon surrounded him.

“Any of you is Miss Kino’s family?”

“We are her family.” Serena said firmly.

“I think you all already know that Lita is suffering from brain tumor and now she…” the doctor’s sentence was cut down by Rei’s shock.

“B…brain tumor? As in cancer?”

The doctor knew that Lita had not told her family about her illness and he let out a resignation sigh over his most stubborn patient. “I gather she didn’t tell you.”

When he got no answer from anybody, he decided to tell them what he had planned to tell them when he walked out of Lita’s room. “Miss Kino was very resistant when it comes to medical treatment for her illness and when she asked the time that is left for her, I predicted wrongly. I don’t realized that her illness would grown this worse within weeks.”

Mina raised her teary eyes as apprehension penetrated her brain. “What are you saying doctor?”

“I’m saying if you failed to make Miss Kino signed the agreement for an operation anytime soon, you better be prepared for commiserating.”

With that the doctor walked, leaving the scouts stunned and the guardians itched to strangle the doctor.

“Nephrite…come on where are you?” Jadeite mumbled exasperatedly.

* * * * * *

Nephrite rolled on the ground skillfully evaded the endless attack from the monsters. As he stood, readying himself for the next attack, he became aware of her losing strength and energy. The monster had given him any chance to transform into general and now he was fighting with his human energy.

Earlier he had slay a monster and killing one monster had rewarded him a cut on his temple and bloody wound on his shoulder. That monster didn’t even give him chance to call his friends for help because they keep releasing attacks and receiving each of his sword swaying.

“Come on guys…help me out here,” Nephrite whispered and braced himself for another attack from the monster.

* * * * * *