Memory 15

Nephrite walked in slowly and quietly closed the door behind him. Lita hadn't noticed his arrival since she was soundly sleeping. Nephrite sighed in relief. He needed some time to think what excuses should he tell her. If he told her truth that he once was a Dark Kingdom's general, Lita would surely accuse him for having some intention for bringing her to an island and demanded to know what was it. Something told him that she would be hard to convince if he told her it was all coincidence. And he had made the wrong move, she would never trust him again.

Nephrite sat on a wooden chair beside her and secretly watched her vividly lovely feature. Then, his gaze wandered downward to her body and reverted to her full and soft lips. As sweet as her lips appeared, he knew how well she'd used it to snap or retorted back every insulting comment he had gave her. His chest ached with admiring and amusement. He couldn't let her hate him now. Not when his feeling was so close to its surface. Never in his life, had he felt something so powerful to a woman. Usually, he felt only amuse and lust but never ever care and jealous. He did not even know what care and jealous really mean!

Women threw themself at him but Lita had shouted at him for the first time they had met and she had even slapped him! Oddly enough, he did feel furious at her but at the end, when he was alone in the dark, he would smile in hilarious that sweet and outrageous woman can transform into enraged and passion woman! Add to that, he could not take her out of his mind and the need to own her was so intense when he watched her siren smiles and her sweet melody laughs. Lita was different from any woman he had ever met and he would be damn if he let her go because of some stupid misunderstood. He would speak the truth or she would be more suspicious and distrustful to him. From the day they had met, he'd told her thousands of lies and he wasn't intended to add more.

"Maxfield?" her soft voice brought him back to reality. lita rubbed her eyes for a better view and she saw the familiar handsome face that had haunted her dreams. Lita slowly eased up and rested against the pillow.

"How are you feeling?" Nephrite asked, trying to assuage the uncomfortable feeling.

"Much beeter than the first time I woke up. For a second, my headwas spinning and I was imagined that I was in the hospital," Lita answered and then looked at him, waiting for something. "But it turned out that I am in a hospital."

Nephrite knew that look. She was waiting for him explain why she was in the hospital, very much alive instead of on island and had already dead. He had expeted this but not this fast. He was hoping to distract her for a while and secretly told her who he really was without facing her rage and anger.

"Well?" Lita said impatiently.

"Look..." Nephrite ran his hand through his thick hair, which Lita thought was very beautiful and extraordinary shinning. "...perhaps we should start from the very begining."

"Sure," Lita lifted her chin proudly to meet his sapphire eyes, daring him to lie at her.

"I know something about you...about your biggest secret but you don't know nothing about me," Nephrite began.

"Straight to the point," Lita cut off. His words really gave her an uneasy feeling. What does he mean he knew something about me? Does he know I'm Sailor Jupiter?

"This is the point," Nephrite pressed. When Lita gave him a snort which mean she didn't believe him, he said,"You said you wanted an explaination about how you get here."

"Yes, I do. But since you didn't start off with 'Lita, you are in the hospital because I...', I know you are trying to change the subject," Lita retorted.

Nephrite sighed in frustration. He tried to control his anger because he knew a part of this mess was his fault. "Don't you you want to know what I know about you?" Lita stiffened at his question and Nephrite knew he had ask the correct question.

"Let me if you get that so-called information about me correct," Lita scowled at him. Nephrite smiled in admiration.

"Does the so-called information about you being Sailor Jupiter is correct?" his quip made Lita almost jumped up and shouted the word 'What!!'. Instead she managed to look confuse and innocent but Nephrite could see the fear and anger through the mask she had been wearing.

"I don't know what are you talking about," Lita shifted uncomfortably. As calm as she appeared to be right now, her mind was whirling fast, thinking who would possibly told him her greatest secret.

"Yes, you do," Nephrite still smiling. But Lita thought he was mocking at her and she longed to slap that irritating smirk off his face. "Your friends told me about it," Nephrite told conspiratorially.

"My friends?" Lita's eyes widened in disbelief. Without thinking, she blurted out her words in anger. "My friend would never told anyone about my identity of being one of scout even if they are forced to do..." For a second, Lita realized that she had been trapped. Seeing Nephrite sat back with his arms crossed over his broad chest and he was smiling like a man declaring his victory, was enough to tell her he was trapping her and he had succeed.

"See," he grinned triumphantly. "I told you, you know what am I talking about,"

"For all the low and filthy tactics, it's amazing a conceited bastard like you have fans all over the country," Lita muttered but loud enough for him to hear.

"Considering how bastard I am with filthy tactics, don't you think that I'm qualified to be your former enemy," Nephrite carefully formed his sentence.

"What do you mean you are my former enemy?" Lita asked irritably, still angry at her stupidity to admit who she really was.

"One of the generals of Dark Kingdom?" he provided.

"One of the general..." her words were abruptly stopped. Her eyes were narrow in anger a second ago, then they widened in realization and, of course, shock. "Who are you, really? Either you are Nephrite or Jadeite, I don't really care. Tell me now!" her eyes were darkened with the same disgust and suspicious that he had expected earlier.

"Lita..." Nephrite put his hands on her shoulder but Lita angrily shove the hands away. She was hurt and angry. She felt he had been using her for certain reason which she suspected vengence and she had fallen into his manipulation by falling in love with his charming and handsome face that had hidden his vile and black-hearted disposition! The anger and hurt she had felt right now was nothing to compare with the disgust she felt for easily to be used and manipulated by their enemy. Now she was hopelessly injured in bed, which he could just kill her swiftly and silently. She didn't know which one of her mixed up emotion felt the strongest but she hope it wasn't hurt because she didn't want his pity!

Nephrite, in other hands, thought Lita was disgusted at him and it tore his heart apart. It also made him furious at her for not letting him had the chance to explain everything. He had tried to control his anger from the very first they had started this conversation when she had answered his sentences with either mockery or in the insulting ways. He told himself many times that the whole mess would look entirely his fault if he lost his temper and did something that beyond his control. But when she shoved his hands away, his patient snapped and the urge to punish her was increasing.

He grasped her shoulder tightly and firmly, which made Lita winced in pain and surprise. Lifting her chin courgeously, she opened her mouth to say scathing thing. Unaware that Nephrite was letting anger was controlling his mind, he clamped his lips against her soft lips roughly and hurtfully. He wanted her to know how he felt by her rejection and disgust. His tongue thrusted inside her mouth, savoring the sweetness and at the same time the bitter of her reaction.

Expertly, he rubbed his upper lips against hers and he ran his hands upward from her shoulder, feeling her shapely neck against his rough hands and cupped her cheeks, holding her lips securely locked against him. He tried to make her kissed him back. But she was so still and rigid, which he exactly that she tried to resist him. Nephrite, had never turned down any challenge and he wasn't about to turn down this sweet challenge. His fingers tracing the hollows of her ears, Lita lost the battle to resist him. She slidded her hands up to his chest and kissed him back with all the confusion and helpless love she had felt to him. When the kiss ended, they were both breathless.

"You sure are expert in kissing women!" Lita bit it out. Lita had been kissed before but they were always the eager and unexpert boys. But when she knew Nephrite, knew the way he kissed a woman and knew the unexpected things he'd capable to do, she realized how much she needed him and how frighten she felt when she learned his identity and knew she was about to lose him.

"Haven't you read my thousands of affairs from any magazine lately?" Nephrite answered nonchalantly. He was getting really frustrated from argument and not being able to continue what they had done just now.

"Get out," Lita ordered quietly. She was too upset, too angry, too confuse and too tired to think of anything.

"That's a good idea. I'm tired of this game anyway," Nephrite said coolly. He stopped briefly at the door and looked back at her. "If you are wondering..." Nephrite said. Lita looked at him, eager to see him leave. "...I am Nephrite," He slammed the door behind him.

Lita drew her legs to her chest and buried her face between them, feeling both desolated and isolated. He merely used her for his game. He'd made that very clear by saying I'm tired of this game anyway... Lita felt tears started to fall down her cheeks. If you are wondering, I am Nephrite. He actually admitted that to her, right to her face.

"No more...I'll never let that egotistical and heartless bastard near me ever again," she swore. But deep in her heart, she'll never forget the way he looked at her as if she was the most special woman he had ever met or the way he kissed her either to comfort her or to punish her. And she would always loved him forever...

* * * * * *

"Are you sure he's coming?" Darien demanded at Zoisite. He wasn't fully believed that Nephrite could suddenly appeared after 5 days disappeared without any trace.

Zoisite looked clearly uncomfortable at his prince demand. Since he also was surprised by the news that Jadeite had told him and he hadn't seen Nephrite yet, he felt maybe Jadeite was imagined things. But the fact that Kunzite was with him when Jadeite saw Nephrite, convince Zoisite to tell their prince about Nephrite arrival later that afternoon. "I'm sure that I heard Jadeite correctly. Our talk was so brief that probably I was hallucinating."

Watching his watch, Zoisite groaned in dismay. "I am late!" When his prince looked at him in bewilder, Zoisite urgently explained to him. "I was supposed to be in a meeting to discuss what to say in a press conference about Nephrite appearance tomorrow with Jadeite and Kunzite. It seems that you have to meet with Nephrite alone, I guess." Picking up his coat and his briefcase, he turned to face Darien, smiling apologetically and vanished into a thin air. Darien was always amazed how his guardians could do that and he couldn't.

Lost in his thought, he didn't hear the sound of Nephrite opened the door and walked in. But he did jump in surprise he heard Nephrite slammed the door shut and swearing under his breath. Darien watched Nephrite's angry face...no, frustrated face and listened to every swearing word he'd said.

"What's bothered you?" Nephrite turned around in surprise and saw the person he'd intended to see later this evening. Tossing away his coat, he walked towards his prince. Darien was a bit nervous when he saw his grim feature and decided this was maybe wasn't the perfect time to meet him.

Sighing deeply, Nephrite sat on the sofa. "Everything is bothering me. The press conference tomorrow, tons of work that had been waiting for me at the office and..." Nephrite hesitated at the last thing.

"Does it involve a woman?" Nephrite lifted his head slowly and looked at Darien, which made he knew exactly it did involve a woman. "Who?"

"A woman," Nephrite answered dryly which made Darien threw his head back and laugh. "You seem reluctant to say who is she but you opened your feeling wide enough to know you had a problem which involve a woman."

"I don't know you are here," Nephrite said defiantly.

"I've heard about you from Zoisite. Unlike the other, you take a full responsibility on your company. I was thinking, while I was waiting you, how little I know about you all," Darien started a conversation after decided that he should drop the subject.

"Zoisite prefers something that had to do with knowledge. You know such as Mathematic, Medical, Science and much more. Kunzite is a bit distance from us that we barely knew what he fond of but I am aware that he was popular around women whom were overfond of his unusual silver hair," Nephrite stopped briefly.

"Yeah, I've heard Serena told me that Kunzite's silver hair was attractive. Although I can't see what so special about that," Darien sounded a little scornful.

"I believe you are jealous, my prince," Nephrite smiled broadly. Darien seemed overly protective about Serena which probably made Serena was Sailormoon. "No, I'm not jealous. I'd just wondering why women are squealing when Kunzite's around," Darien informed him firmly but Nephrite could still heard a jealous tone in his prince's voice.

"Jadeite, likes to study historical things which I thought is boring. Once, he'd spend almost a hundred thousand dollar on things like that," Nephrite smiled at those memories. "But among them, I prefer to have Jadeite as my partner wherever we go." Leaning forward, Nephrite whispered," But don't tell Kunzite or Zoisite or even Jadeite about this. I'm afraid Jade will be modest and you don't know how irritating he could be,"

Chuckling softly, Darien leaned back. "I've spent almost half of my life, not knowing who I am," When he saw Nephrite raised his eyebrows questionly, Darien hastily expalined,"I'd had an accident when I was six years old and ever since that I'd lost my memory. I was...blank for nearly 11 years until I meet Serena. She's the most wonderful woman I've ever met."

"Things change. Once I was an evil general, who was stupid enough to believe I could conquer the world. When I think back, I felt...foolish and...I don't how to describe the feeling when I alive. That's why I worked nights and days to forget what I've done," Nephrite smiled at his prince. The familiar feeling of talking to his prince, telling each other problem and exchanged stories brought him such a happiness that he couldn't describe.

"It's too good to see you back, Prince Endymion," Nephrite hold out his hand, indicating to have a handshake.

"Same to you, General Nephrite," Darien grasped his hand to Nephrite's.