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Usagi's mouth dropped at the mention of her beloved Ami-chan. She had obviously missed something somewhere. And then it clicked, as if a lightbulb inside her mind had turned on. "Oh! I forgot... Nephrite is Nephikichi-kun..." she said, speaking mostly to herself.

And then an impish smile made its way to her face. "Does Ami-chan knowing that you love her, Nephrite?" she called, loud enough for the Tennou to hear. Though she knew the answer, she wanted to hear it for herself. "And have you told her yet? I bet I could set you two up on a nice romantic date!"

"Ah... Kunzite... are you jealous?" Usagi asked innocently. That was the only reason she could imagine him being so odd about Ami and Nephrite. In her mind, it had to stem back to the days when Kunzite had her under his dark influence. Had something developed between them that Ami had forgot about when she broke free of his control?

At the same moment Jadeite took to the parks, Osaka Naru had decided to do the same, hoping to get home faster that way. She had ended up leaving Crown well before her friends had arrived, due mostly to the fact that Motoki had been completely distracted with Kino Makoto. That memory made Naru sigh. It seemed everywhere she turned someone was in love. Usagi, Makoto, and even Ami seemed to have a secret crush these days. It just did not seem very fair to Naru. She was the only one who didn't have a guy to gush over.

Lost in her thoughts and worries, she barely noticed that she was about to walk into another person. And when she did realize it, it was much too late. She crashed into the hidden Jadeite and fell backwards, a little surprised by her sudden clumsiness.

Rei stood up from her chair and started pacing. "You're right of course. But what can we do right now? I don't want to just sit here and do nothing...." Some of Rei's frustration had subsided but she wasn't one to sit still and do nothing. Especially in this situation.

Startled, Jadeite fell over too. He stared at the girl who had knocked him over. The girl looked familiar to him. He remembered now! She was Usagi's friend and he knew her from when he had been trying to steal the energy from her mother's jewelry show. He turned his head hoping she wouldn't recognize him, and also to hide his sudden blush. "Wha....what are you doing? Be more careful!" He spoke quietly so he wouldn't alert Zoisite and his friend to their presence.

"Go...men..." Naru managed to stammer out. She had not been able to get a good look at his face. He trned away too quickly for her. She supposed that was fine, though. She was flushed from embarrassment at what she had just done.

Naru just half gaped at him. At the vdery least, he could have offered to help her up. Of course, she could see that he would be of no use in that manner. Most boys her age wouldn't be so considerate. With a sigh that sounded almost wistful, she managed to pull herself back to her feet. However, she began to dust herself off before making any attempts to leave. If he was going to be rude, she would be annoying.

Kunzite just stared at Nephrite as he spoke.
...the Dark Kingdom...
...influenced by Kunzite...
...protected her from...
...didn't want to see her hurt...
...dare lay a finger on her...
...You did enough to hurt her...
The anger he was feeling began to escalate quickly, Kunzite's body actually began to shake from the intensity of the emotion. "You," he growled at Nephrite, "You should know as well as anyone that I am not the person I was then." He hated being reminded of the Dark Kingdom, of the way he thought, of the way he acted while there, but most of all, he hated that Nephrite would dare say that he was the same person he was then.

He grabbed the front of Nephrite's jacket and shoved him back against the wall. Kunzite's eyes blazed in fury.
...I...love her...
...You don't know what love is...
"You think that just because you've had more opportunity to live as a regular human in this life, that you somehow know more about love?" Kunzite didn't like to talk about his emotions in front of others, but dammit, he was not going to let someone else do it for him either. "Yes, while I was in the Dark Kingdom I was a cruel, heartless, sadistic b*****d. Everyone in this room knows that. But you know what? I remember my past as well. I remember more than twenty years living in the Earth Palace, before the Dark Kingdom was even known. I knew Mercury then, and I saw her angelic smile and her kindness then, but I knew that nothing could come of it because she was from the Silver Millennium, and we are from the Golden Kingdom, but those borders don't exist now.

"You know what else I know, Nephrite?" Kunzite continued, making sure that Nephrite was not going to move from that spot until he was finished speaking. "I know of many different kinds of love as well. The Master was like a younger brother to me, there was love there. And you three? I had a role in raising you. Possibly the closest thing you, Jadeite and Zoisite had to a parent then." Kunzite lowered his voice at this point. "Do you have any idea what happened to me then the palace fell? When I found the three of you lifeless, staring blankly. Don't you dare tell me that I don't know what love is. Not when I've seen the people I care the most for ripped away from me like that."

Kunzite gave Nephrite one last good shove against the wall and then released him. He was keenly aware of the other two sets of eyes on him, and of his own emotional state at that moment. He hated that memory, the Dark Kingdom was nothing compared to it. He needed space. He needed to get out of this room. He turned and pushed passed the Master heading straight for the door outside.

Not that he was thinking of it, but the fence bordering the property as well as the thick foliage of the garden would conceal him from the public eye. Kunzite placed a hand on the trunk of an older tree for support while he waited for his emotions to come back under control and his thoughts to become more ordered. There were tears in his eyes. Tears that no one else would be permitted to know about.

((Beat that for length!))

(( crying poor Kun-Kun))

"Usagi" Mamoru whisper gently to her as he pushed her close to him.

Mamoru looked over towards Nephrite who was standing there in shock. All of them were after what Kunzite said. He wanted to go and comfort his friend. His only big brother he had. Heck all the Tennous were brothers to him more then friends, warriors that swore to protect him that very day. But Mamoru knew its best it leave him alone for awhile, at least til he calms down.