Until You 11

“May we come in to see her?” Serena asked the nurse that was checking the tube attaching to Lita’s arm. She was oblivious about surrounding and thought only about Lita’s condition. She didn’t notice that the guardians of Earth were no longer concerned about Lita but they were anxious about Nephrite long overdue arrival. Kunzite looked over the window, hoping to find a glimpse of Nephrite or his black Porsche.

The nurse looked up and smiled. “Of course. She’s still unconscious for this minute, so please don’t disturb her so much, okay.” The scouts and Darien nodded their head. Ami gasped in shock to see how pale Lita looked.

Not wanting to alert the scouts or their prince about their worries over Nephrite, he signal to the other guardian to go the part that was far from the frantic group. “I don’t want to alarm them,” Kunzite nodded his head toward scouts. “But I’ve this bad feeling that Nephrite is in danger.”

“Well, you didn’t alarm them but you alarm me,” Jadeite furrowed his eyebrow. “He probably just stuck in the traffic. You know how worse traffic be in Tokyo.” Jadeite tried to brush away his leader’s statement but the instinct that was nagging his gut was something that he shouldn’t ignore.

“Just think about it. If he was stuck in the traffic, don’t you find it odd that Nephrite didn’t just teleport here instead happily sitting in his car?” Kunzite whispered anxiously, trying to bring out some sense over Jadeite’s mind. “This is Lita that we are talking about and you know how crazy Nephrite will be whenever it comes to Lita.”

“What are suggesting us to do, Kunzite?” Zoisite finally gave him undivided attention as fear overwhelmed him.

“I don’t know. Perhaps we should make up some excuses and leave. I don’t think dragging the scout from this for something that we didn’t certain of is a good idea.” Kunzite watched intently Mina placed her hands on the glass that connected to Lita’s bed and her head sadly leaned against it. He wanted to comfort her so much that he was hesitant to go. He didn’t know if he was right. Nephrite would have called them if he were really in trouble.

“That’s right, but still, we don’t lose anything if we just go and take look, do we?” Zoisite ran his hand through his thick blond hair. He looked like he was ready to go out. Jadeite nodded his head in agreement.

“Let’s go. What are we waiting of?” Jadeite urged.

“First, let me acknowledge them our absent,” Kunzite moved towards the group and from far, Zoisite and Jadeite watched Mina looked at Kunzite in utter disbelief. They hid a smile when Mina started to put her hand on her hips and lectured him. “Have you ever seen our dear fearless leader look so fluster?” Jadeite grinned at Zoisite, who was unsuccessfully hid his amusement.

“I heard that Jadeite,” Kunzite’s eyes were glittering with irritation but he couldn’t help the smile that was tugging at the corner of his lips with admiration for his lady.

“You should have your face when you’re so defensive, leader.” Zoisite was laughing as they ran out of the hospital and jumped into Jadeite’s red sport car. But as soon as Zoisite realized that who was driving the car, his laughter vanished. Jadeite disrespectfully screeched the tires and caused several cars honk as he reversed the car.

“Can you drive decently? I’m afraid that it’s us that needed help instead of Nephrite!” Zoisite yelled over the deafening sounds of the honks and screeching tires. Jadeite just grinned and deliberately took a sharp turn, which made Zoisite glared murderously.

As Zoisite opened his mouth to gave Jadeite what exactly he deserved, Kunzite grabbed Jadeite’s hand, forcing him a full attention on the road and what had happened there. Jadeite turned his head in surprised. “What is it…Oh my God! Nephrite!” Jadeite pressed the brake with all his might before he crushed the wounded Nephrite, who looked vastly relief, when he saw his friends.

Nephrite pulled a lock of his hair off his bleeding forehead and watched his friends ran towards him in anxiety. Jadeite immediately hold Nephrite by arm, helping him stood on his wobbly legs. “What took you so long? I thought I’d be dead by now,” Nephrite gasped for air after the painful and long exertion.

“Why you didn’t call us for emergency? You think you’re tough enough to handle two monsters by yourself?” Jadeite demanded but at the same time winced at the sight of Nephrite bleeding shoulder.

“That hideous thing didn’t give the chance to transform, let alone to call you guys. And there were three monsters, I slay one before you arrived.” Nephrite tore off his shirt’s sleeve to stop the bleeding.

“Then, you’ve done enough! Sit here while we finished of what you’ve started!” Jadeite then joined the other guardians while Nephrite bound the injury tight with the sleeve that he had torn off earlier.

Three powerful guardians against two monsters were an absolute triumph for the guardians. Nephrite didn’t have to glance up to see how they were faring because he knew so well that they were capable of defeating the monsters in a blink of an eye. He busied himself with tending his injuries, which wasn’t very serious for the man who had confronted three monsters without transforming. Only when he securely pressed a clean cloth over his bleeding forehead, he looked up and saw that Zoisite had killed the last monster. His eyebrow quirked knowingly.

Kunzite went towards the sitting Nephrite and followed by the other two guardians. They sat facing each other, watching Nephrite wiping the last trace of his blood from his face. The bleeding on his forehead had stopped, leaving a nasty bruise. “Can you quit watching me? I feel like a jewel being examine in one of those auction that we went.”

Three of them broke into smile. “Then you flatter yourself by comparing you to those expensive jewelry,” Jadeite said mischievously. “Whatever, okay?” Nephrite grinned.

“Want to tell me what happened back there?” Kunzite asked, nodding his head over the remaining sticky globes of ooze splattering everywhere.

“I rushed to the hospital after you called about Lita’s. I fear that the international trade committee had kicked me out from the list of committee because I rudely walked out from the meeting,” Nephrite let out a sheepish smile.

“What?! Do you know how hard we work to be one of that damned committee?” Zoisite folded his arms over his broad chest in irritation. “You easily said that you rudely walked out?”

“Oh, come on Zoey. You said yourself that that meeting is dead boring,” Jadeite teased and at the same time defending Nephrite.

“Don’t call me Zoey. I hate that name and I hate the way you drive that car!” Zoisite said in annoyance.

“Whatever, alright!” Kunzite thundered, ceasing the usual and endless argument. “Go on.”

“I speeded through the heavy traffic. Don’t ask me how, I just did it. When the meter reached 170 km/j…” Nephrite’s words were cut by glaring Zoisite. “Yeah, just like Jadeite,” His piercing green eyes penetrated Jadeite’s grinning blue ones. “Then the monsters appeared, I think the brake broke after the pressure that I put just now, I got out from the car. I thought I could called you guys for help but that monsters wasted no time to attack me.”

“But Ian never appears?” Kunzite asked. Nephrite’s shaking head satisfied him. “Why did he make this attack?” Kunzite asked in confusion. “He knows that this is a futile act.”

“Well, whatever his intention is, I think we should get back to hospital. You can get a medical attention as you take a look at Lita.” Zoisite grasped Nephrite to help him stand.

“Ouch, watch out for that shoulder!” As the guardians laughed and argued all the way to the red sport car, they weren’t aware of a pair of icy blue eyes that were watching them so intently on one of the tall building that was situated near them. Then a slow and sinister smile curved up and he prepared for the next step of his plan.

“How’s Lita?” Nephrite finally voiced out his fear. “Is she alright?”

“I don’t know if you know this, Neph but the doctor says that Lita has…” Kunzite’s words were cut down by Nephrite impatient ones. “Yes, I know that Lita has brain tumor. Has it grown worse?”

“You knew?” Jadeite and Zoisite said together with disbelief and accusation filled in their voice. “Yes, I do. But believe it or not, Lita had been keeping this illness from me as well. I just knew it days ago.” Nephrite defended himself. “I don’t think Lita thinks that we are not strong enough to embrace the truth.” Bitterness filled his tone.

Jadeite noticed the tone. His heart ached for his brother and resentment for Lita suddenly spurted. But deep down in inside he knew that he wasn’t hate at Lita but what had happened lately around this couple. Why it was only Nephrite who was hurting? “The doctor says that he predicted wrongly for Lita’s timing,” Jadeite told him and added the next words softly, hating to twisted the knife in Nephrite’s heart but he knew that he should tell him. Nephrite is the man who could take the truth and it was something that he should and will tell Lita later. “We must persuade Lita so that she can have an operation soon.”

Nephrite closed his eyes, trying to swallow down the pain that suddenly too painful to bear. “She’s going to die, isn’t she?” He sounded too vulnerable and felt like that.

“No, Nephrite. She is not going to die.” Zoisite heard the resignation tone and he would be damn if he let Nephrite gave up all the hopes. “We are going to squander all our money to make sure of that, do you hear that?” Nephrite looked away as he refused to let the hope soar. He had been so convinced that he was being able to save Lita that he had never once let the hope died. But after he had heard that Lita’s illness had worsened that even the doctor had predicted wrongly, he knew that even the doctor couldn’t help her to recover.

Zoisite grasped Nephrite, forcing him to face him. “Do you hear that, Nephrite?” he said once more in louder tone.

Nephrite looked back at him and let out a breath. At least Lita didn’t lie to him about her illness as he thought before. “Yeah, I heard that.”

“Good.”

Nephrite grinned a little at Zoisite. This bond of brotherhood, even it wasn’t real, make him felt a little protected. He hoped that none of them would have guessed about his sentimental feeling about them or they would laugh their head out at him for the rest of his immortal life.

The happy atmosphere that was created among the guardians was suddenly interrupted as Kunzite’s silver-gray eyes suddenly narrowed at the sight of something that made him cursed soundly. It brought a full attention from the rest of guardians

“Ian.” Nephrite hissed as he threw away the piece of cloth that he used to press the wound in his head.

The Earth guardians quickly readied themselves to face Ian. Their eyes never left each of Ian’s movement. Ian smiled a grim smile as he lowered himself and touched hi feet gingerly on the ground.

“Nephrite, like the taste of sudden attack?” Ian let out a bitter laugh when he saw Nephrite narrowed his eyes hatefully at him. “Your transformations are too damn slow and I almost got you dying there.”

“Not bloody likely,” Nephrite spat.

Among the four guardians, three of them had transform into generals due to their earlier fights but Nephrite still wasn’t a general yet and all the generals had forgotten about that, including Nephrite himself. He was so consumed with hatred for Ian that he wasn’t aware of anything except the enemy in front of them. It also took Ian several minutes to notice that. He smiled at the rare opportunity that lay in front of him.

Ian held out both of hands to his side and four sphere balls glittered around him appeared. The four generals immediately braced themselves for the attack and drew out their swords. The sphere balls converted into four different monsters and Nephrite gritted his teeth at the sight of the monsters. He hated monsters because those were the only things that he had fought for the last few days.

The two monsters lurched towards the three of the guardians, leaving Nephrite alone to face two monsters. This was when the guardians realized that Nephrite had not yet transformed into guardians.

“Damn it!” Nephrite raised his sword to brace the attack. He knew that it was hopeless. He had fought before and that battle took almost all of his human energy. This was a losing battle.

Seeing Nephrite’s predicament, Jadeite immediately abandoned the other two guardians to help Nephrite and he could see that Nephrite was grateful for his arrival. “Why didn’t you transform?” Jadeite whispered furiously. He never wanted to see Nephrite died again. The former experience was enough to make him realized how deep his affection to this man. His lack of care of himself made him angry.

“How am I suppose to know? I can’t see myself,” Nephrite tried to pass it as a joke because he knew that Jadeite was angry. Just as Jadeite tried to make a scathing remark the monsters had attack them and both of them dodging and attacking with the skills that they had master for milleniums ago.

Ian smiled when he saw that things were going so smoothly according to his plan. He deliberately made Lita suffered from the brain tumor so that the scouts would not be here to help the Earth guardians with this battle. Even if they were willing to come here, he knew Kunzite too well that Kunzite wouldn’t want to disturb the scouts from their grieving. Now, he had attacked Nephrite by sudden so that Nephrite would become weak and tired from the previous fight. But the fact Nephrite that Nephrite had forgotten to transform was something that Ian called as a blind luck. Then, he had planned it all so that the guardians would be here to watch what he would do to Nephrite.

Ian waited until the opportunity that he planned so carefully, emerged. He then readied himself to lurch towards Nephrite. Then it appeared. The opportunity appeared. Jadeite was so busy fighting with the monsters and so did Kunzite and Zoisite that none of realized that Nephrite had retreated wearily. He never knew that fighting with non-humans would be so tiring. His energy was enough only to stand up and stay awake. But not enough to stay alert for he didn’t see that Ian had moved behind him.

“I shall get my revenge, Nephrite!” Ian said. The voice was so satisfying that Nephrite turned around to make a quick slash. Nephrite’s speed was considered slow for Ian for he was so weary and Ian delivered a powerful kick to his stomach, making him flung across the road and the wound in his forehead started to bleed again. His sword flew and stuck in front of Kunzite. Kunzite immediately notified of his surrounding. What he saw made his blood boiled and felt the rage that he never thought he would feel.

Ian was taking advantage for Nephrite’s condition and now he was trying to claim the victory in the most deceitful way. Where was the prideful Ian? “The leech!” Kunzite roared and killed the monster in front of him in one powerful and angry slash and ran towards to save Nephrite.

Ian saw the captain of the guardians coming towards him, he knew that he wasn’t being able to play with Nephrite anymore. Cursed loudly, he disappeared and reappeared at the back of Nephrite, who was trying stood up after the sudden and strong blow from Ian. At that time, both of the guardians had finished the monsters and looked menacingly at Ian, daring him sent more monsters.

Brutally, Ian wrapped his muscular arms around Nephrite’s neck and tightened it until Nephrite couldn’t breathe. His vision was blurred as the result of losing energy and blood. He couldn’t think anything except for the pain.

“Nephrite!” Jadeite shouted and started to run towards him. Kunzite grabbed Jadeite arms.

“Stay exactly where you are, Jadeite. If I put a little bit more pressure on his human neck, you’ll carry home a corpse,” Ian laughed evilly.

“What the hell do you want?!” Kunzite asked trying to surpass his terrible rage.

“Lita. Give her to me.”

Jadeite was so anxious by Nephrite condition. He was losing blood and from hearing to Nephrite’s ragged breath, he knew that Nephrite was struggling to stay conscious. He also knew Nephrite too well that Nephrite would be damned if Ian saw him unconscious. “Fine, take her and let him go.”

“Jadeite!” Zoisite wasn’t surprised at Jadeite bluntness. They only knew the scouts for only a few months and it was hard to be loyal to them yet, except for the one they love. If Jadeite was given choice to choose between Nephrite and Lita, he would certain choose Nephrite, the one who he had spent the last of two milleniums and the one that he had built and strong and deep affection for. But he didn’t expect Jadeite to be so cold.

“Why not?! I rather it is Lita, who Ian takes than Nephrite.” Jadeite gritted his teeth. He knew he sounded callous but his fear for Nephrite was so real that he was hoping it was he who Ian captured instead of Nephrite because Nephrite’s wound was serious. Ian hated him so much and who knew what he would do to him.

“Think about Nephrite! How would he feel if Lita was taken away?” Zoisite jerked Jadeite arms, trying to put some sense in Jadeite’s mind.

Jadeite bit his lips and tightened his grip around his sword. As much as he wanted Nephrite to be free, he knew that Zoisite spoke the truth. Nephrite would rather to be one who was being captured than Lita and he would blame him for giving Lita away. Letting all his fear, hate and tense out in one long breath, Jadeite looked back at Kunzite, hoping that his leader knew what to do. “What are we going to do?”

Ian retreated with Nephrite. Nephrite was so weak from losing blood and pain that he barely knew what was happening around him. “I see that you con do nothing right now.” The three guardians watched cautiously at Ian and Jadeite was trying with all the control he possessed not to flung towards Ian and snatched Nephrite away.

“I’ll come back and you better have Lita with you!,” Ian warned and together with Nephrite, they vanished into thin air.

“NEPHRITE!!” Jadeite shouted. “No!” He fell down to his knees and Kunzite kneeled beside him wrapping his arms around his brother shoulder. Even though Jadeite never told them but he knew that Nephrite was the closest among them and he knew exactly how he felt right now. That was why he never said a word when Jadeite said so callously just now.

“We are going to get him back, don’t worry.”

* * * * * *

Kunzite slowly walked out from Jadeite’s room in their penthouse. Zoisite looked at his leader’s face in worry. When they came back from the bitter fight, Jadeite refused to talk and to confront the other scouts, especially his prince. He left the other two guardians to say anything to satisfy the scouts curiosity about their wounds and Nephrite’s absent.

Rei wanted to see Jadeite, somehow trying to soothe his pain. But Kunzite firmly told her that Jadeite needed time to be alone for some time and to his admiration, Rei understood and asked him to tell her if Jadeite was ready to see her.

“How’s he?” Zoisite asked.

“He blames himself for Nephrite’s capture. He told me that if he wasn’t too into the fight, he would have noticed that Nephrite was not beside him anymore.” Kunzite let out a sigh in frustration and buried his face into his hands.

“Did you tell the scouts about Ian’s demand for Nephrite’s release?” Zoisite asked. Kunzite didn’t answer, instead he shook his head. “I couldn’t find the strength to face another argument.”

Zoisite leaned his head back at the sofa, silently agreed with him. “Well. Just look at the bright side.”

Kunzite let out a snort. “There is bright side?”

“At least Lita isn’t really suffering from the brain tumor.”

“That’s really assuring,” Kunzite managed a weak smile. Everything was going wrong and nothing was right. He wondered when the nightmare was going to end. He just hoped that it didn’t end with a really bad ending.

* * * * * *