Naru called in sick for work early the next morning, then called Thetis's cell phone and asked her and Yumemi to meet her at the Gallery. The other two women were both waiting by the time she got there. "Did you think of something?" Yumemi asked.

"Can you paint something I describe to you?" Naru asked in response.

Yumemi led the way back to the gallery office. "Yes. The more detail you can give me, the better. And if you can describe any emotions associated with the scene, that would be even better. It's important to get the emotional aura correct as well as the physical appearance."

"I can tell you exactly what it's like. I was there."

In the office, Yumemi went to a stack of blank canvasses leaning against the back wall and took one, unfolded an easel leaning next to them, and put the canvas on the easel. She set a tray of paints and brushes on the conference table, and stood the easel next to the table. Thetis stood off to the side, watching. "I don't usually paint in here," the artist said. "Sometimes I like to paint in the gallery when the light is right and no one's there. But it's too dark today." She finished setting up her supplies. "There. I'm ready now."

Naru began describing Nephrite's death. She described the park, the thorns, Nephrite's injuries, the crater in the grass from the explosions. She told Yumemi about the moment when Nephrite's body sagged lifelessly in her arms and began to dissolve into sparkling dust. As Yumemi rendered the scene in the park, Naru could sense the grief and despair and loneliness, she could feel the peculiar sensation of Nephrite lying so heavily in her arms yet at the same time not existing there any more. She described her feelings to Yumemi, who made slight adjustments in the lines and colors of the painting to reflect the emotions. Naru had to stop herself from crying out in grief as Yumemi added the first few sparkles floating up to the sky.

"That's good," she said, fighting to remain composed. Somehow, Yumemi had managed to perfectly capture not only the sights, but also the horror and sorrow of that night. "Now, up here, where the dust rose up to the sky, it's all gray and misty, not light, not dark, just... misty." Pausing periodically to give the painter time to catch up, she described her dream, the colors of Nephrite's hair and clothing and eyes as they showed faintly through the mist, how he had spoken to her and reached out for her.

Finally, late in the morning, the painting was complete. Yumemi placed it on the table, then Naru took the old bandage out of her purse and laid it, along with the note that had been buried in her desk drawer all these years, on top of the painting. "Sorry, Yumemi-san, I know I'm going to smear it." She smiled apologetically at the artist.

The brown-haired woman smiled back. "This is what it was painted for."

Naru placed her hands over the bandage and the note, her fingertips resting on the still-wet paint. She fixed her gaze and attention on the painting, filling her mind with the moment when she had lost him, with the place where he had gone when his substance floated away in a cloud of glittering dust. It seemed to her that she could feel him in her arms, she could almost see Yumemi's beautifully-rendered image of herself moving, trying to gather him in closer, to hold him to her and not let him go. The painted bandage, with no arm inside it any more, floated to the ground, but Naru's sight and senses rose upward, high above the nighttime city, past the sky and into the misty place.

It was colder there than she had noticed the night before. There was nothing beneath her feet; this caused her stomach and heart to lurch in panic for a few seconds until she recalled how, last night, her feet had been firm and steady against the nothingness. There was a darker shape in the mists far ahead of her; she began walking towards it.

The shadow separated itself into four vaguely human-shaped forms. That must be the four Shitennou, Naru realized. Including the one who had killed Nephrite. She would have to bring him back too, even though she didn't want to. But she didn't let herself hesitate. All four of them would be needed, and bringing them back with Nephrite would be the easiest way. Besides, in her dream, Nephrite had asked her to bring the others back. For Nephrite's sake, and for the sake of what needed to be done, she could take a cue from Thetis and leave her revenge for later.

"Nephrite-sama," she said as the first shadowy form resolved into him.

"Naru-chan. You found us."

"I'm sorry it took so long."

He smiled, the crooked, uncertain smile she remembered from when they had sat together under the tree and talked about going for a chocolate parfait together, and held out his hand. Naru reached forward and this time was able to grasp it. His hand felt surprisingly warm and solid; she had expected it to be cold, or for her own hand to pass right through it as though he were a spirit. "Come on," she said, gripping his hand more tightly and glancing at the other three. "There's something you guys need to do."

Pulling Nephrite by the hand while the other three followed by holding on to his shoulders, Naru stepped backwards and drew him along with her. The mists rose up and covered them, and Naru lost her sight and her footing -

-- And came to herself slumped over the cluttered conference table in the office of the Crystal Sky Gallery. She gasped for breath and turned around, frantically wondering if Nephrite had really followed her. He and the others were collapsed on the floor, Nephrite on his knees, hunched over, clutching at his right shoulder and moaning in pain. The smallest man, the one who had killed Nephrite, was lying on the floor, wisps of smoke arising from the singed edges of his uniform. The silver haired man was also bent over on his knees, clutching at his chest. Only the fourth man, the one with short blond hair, appeared uninjured.

Naru hurried over to Nephrite and fell to her knees beside him, pushing his hands away from his shoulder, expecting to see bleeding wounds. But there was no blood; under the tattered shirt, his skin was healed. She ran her fingertips over the scars. "Nephrite," she said, taking his face in her hands and meeting his eyes. "Nephrite, you're all right. You're alive. I found you and brought you back." Suddenly overcome with the enormity of what had just happened, she burst into tears and threw her arms around his neck, burying her head against his shoulder. His arms came around her, gently and hesitantly. He didn't say anything, he just held her while she cried.

Eventually, embarrassed at making such a spectacle of herself in front of everyone, Naru got hold of herself and sat back, wiping away her tears. She looked at the others; the youngest man, Zoisite, was sitting up in the circle of the silver-haired man's arms. Someone actually loves him? she thought. The man with short blond hair - Jadeite - and Thetis were staring at each other; Naru couldn't begin to guess what they were thinking, though Thetis definitely did not look very welcoming. Yumemi sat calmly at the table where she had been all along. "I'm sure you're wondering why we've brought you back," the artist said.

The Shitennou all looked at her. "Actually, I'm not," Nephrite said. He stood and drew Naru up to stand with him. "I'm back, and that's enough for now." Without warning, he lifted Naru up in his arms, and the world suddenly dropped away. There was a dizzying moment of nothingness, a brief sense of dark and cold.

* * * * * * * *

The world took shape around Naru again. She and Nephrite were in a dark room with a high pitched ceiling. The walls in front of her and to her left had elaborate leaded-glass arch-shaped windows in them. What little light there was outside was barely able to make its way through what appeared to be a thick growth of trees outside and the heavy, dirty glass of the windows. The room was furnished with a king-size bed, a desk and chair, and a chest of drawers. Everything was covered with a thick layer of dust, but not as thick as Naru would have expected after eight years of vacancy. Because, of course, this must be his house. His bedroom.

Before Naru could start to wonder why he had brought her here, he set her down and walked unsteadily to the bed where he collapsed with a long, low moan. Then he lay still.

After a moment, Naru walked over to him. She sat on the heavy, dark bedspread next to him, then hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder. He covered it with one of his own hands, but otherwise didn't move.

"Are you all right?" Naru asked.

"Tired," he said. "I feel like I've been sick for a long time, and I'm just starting to recover. Which I guess I have been. Dead instead of sick, though."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Just sit here with me. That's all I need."

So she sat with him. After a few minutes his hand, still clasping hers, slid down to the bed. His breathing was slow, deep, and steady. Naru's back started to hurt from the awkward position she was sitting in, so she lay down too, curled on her side, facing him. She looked for a long time at the face she had thought she would never see again. She had thought she remembered it perfectly, but something had been missing from her memories: the life, the shifting of expressions, the humanity of it.

She barely knew him, really. There had only been that one time when they had had an honest, genuine conversation with each other. All the other times, she understood now, had been part of his act in order to find the Silver Crystal and to learn Sailor Moon's identity. But she was sure, deep inside, that there were other reasons why he had sought her out all those times. She believed that, on some level that he probably wasn't even aware of, the things he had said to her at the department store, at the Diamond Embassy ball, at the park, in her room that last night, were the truth.

Now she could find out for sure. Not knowing for certain how he really felt about her, or what it would be like to kiss him, had made her grief even worse. But now, miraculously, she would have the chance. She didn't know if they would be able to do the thing they needed to do to save Sailor Moon and the world, she didn't know if disaster lay ahead, but at least in the meantime she would have the chance to get to know him better and find out how he really felt about her. And maybe even what it would be like to kiss him.

More tired than she realized after her fitful night and the long morning at the gallery, Naru dozed off. She awoke with a blanket pulled over her. Nephrite was propped up on one elbow, looking down at her. She reached up and brushed his hair back behind his ear, out of his face.

"You were tired too," he said.

She smiled. "Yeah. Not any more, though." He moved aside so she could sit up. Suddenly she felt shy, and had no idea what to say to him.

"I do have a lot of questions," he said. "I remember Thetis from the Dark Kingdom, but I don't know the other woman who was there, and I want to know why you brought us back and what it is we're supposed to do. But first, there's a promise I want to keep. Wait here."

He got up, rummaged through the wardrobe and chest of drawers, then disappeared through a door in the corner of the room. Naru heard water running, and then after a while he emerged, dressed in a pair of dark trousers and a dark silk shirt and carrying an overcoat. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Naru jumped up from the bed and followed him down a curved flight of creaking wooden stairs. The lower level of his house was mostly taken up by one large room with a high arched ceiling. One of the end walls had a great, elaborate stained glass window set high up in it. The room was empty except for a cluttered worktable at the opposite end from the window. Nephrite led her through a huge, heavy wooden door across from the staircase. Outside, the house was surrounded by tall pine trees which almost completely blocked the weak late-afternoon sun. The air wasn't as cold as she would have expected it to be, given the extremely cold conditions lately, and there were no signs of the recent snow on the ground.

His red Ferrari was parked on a patch of dirt near the entrance to the house. A gesture of Nephrite's fingers called up a gust of wind which blew the accumulated dirt and pine needles off of the windshield. He opened the passenger-side door and Naru got in, then he went around and got in to the driver's seat. "I hope it still starts," he said. "Depends on if my guard-spells lasted. How long has it been?"

"Eight years this past autumn. Did it seem that long, where you were?"

He shrugged. "There was no sense of time passing there. It seemed like it could have been forever. Nothing to mark the time, just endlessness." He glanced at her. "That probably doesn't make any sense, does it."

"No, I think I know what you mean." The last eight years had been the same for her. Endless, the passage of time not meaning anything.

Nephrite turned the key in the ignition, and the powerful engine came to life. He smiled, then shifted the car into gear. With a squeal of tires the car roared down the long, winding dirt driveway. At the end of the driveway there was a brief moment of disorientation, almost like the earlier teleport, then they were driving through the crowded streets of Tokyo.

"Is the café you told me about still there?" Nephrite asked.

"Yes," Naru said. She looked around, trying to get her bearings, then realized they were very close to her own part of town, the Juuban district. Gasping at his speed and sharp cornering, she gave him directions, and soon the Ferrari screeched to a stop at the curb outside the café.

He held the door open for her while she climbed out. Then she stopped, standing still on the sidewalk. "Is something wrong?" Nephrite asked. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"No," Naru said. "I just can't believe this is really happening. Am I having a dream?"

Nephrite reached for her hand and held it firmly in his. "If you are, then so am I. Come on."

Hand in hand, they walked into the café and sat at a table for two by the window. Naru ordered her favorite chocolate parfait with two spoons, and it was even better than she had imagined it would be all those years ago.

"That was good," Nephrite said, dropping his spoon into the tall glass which was now scraped completely clean. "Thank you for making me promise to take you for one."

Naru smiled. "I seem to remember I didn't have to try very hard to talk you into it."

He smiled too, the hesitant smile that seemed to be his true smile, not Sanjouin Masato's confident grin or the Dark Kingdom general's cruel smirk. "I guess you didn't."

Looking at his face in the light coming through the window, Naru realized that although he had seemed so much older than she was eight years ago, when she was fourteen, he didn't seem nearly as old now. Perhaps only a few years older than she, maybe twenty-five at the oldest. In appearance, anyway. His true age, she realized now, must be far, far older than that. "How old are you?" she asked suddenly.

"I'm not sure," he said. "I was about... 24 or so when I and the others went into the Dark Kingdom. We were there... I don't know. Centuries. A thousand years. Longer than that, maybe. I don't know. We didn't age during that whole time. Plus eight years since... I don't know if we should count the last eight years."

"I think you're twenty-five," Naru said. "And I'm twenty-two now, so that's just right." She smiled, feeling a little silly. Their age difference, whether real or apparent, had never mattered to her.

He laughed a little. "Thank you. At least now I know that much." He patted his mouth with his napkin, then pushed back his chair. "I think I'm ready to talk about things now."

"Should we go back to the gallery?" Naru asked. She wondered what Thetis, Yumemi, and the other Guardians had been doing all this time.

"In a minute. But first I need to know whether you brought me back because you wanted me back, or just because there's something I'm supposed to do."

Naru was a little taken aback at his bluntness. But she could understand why he was wondering. "For the last eight years I've just been trying to move forward and not think about the past and what could have been. I pretended I was in love with someone else, I pretended I had things I wanted to do with my life. If I had known it was possible, I would have brought you back a long time ago. It just happens that right now, there's something that needs to be done."

"I wanted to come back," he said. “When I was... dying," he seemed to struggle to get the word out, "that was the moment in my life when I wanted to live the most. I finally had something to live for. I thought you might be able to bring me back from where I was trapped - for some reason, I couldn't move forward - but I couldn't reach you. You were so distant, sometimes I didn't even know if you were still alive or not. Or if you remembered me."

"I'm sorry," Naru said. "I was just trying to move on with my life, and protect myself from the pain."

"Were you in love with someone?" Nephrite asked.

"I was in love with you, but since I couldn't have you, I was trying to be in love with someone else. He was a friend, he kept the worst of the loneliness away, he seemed grateful for any attention I gave him. We were together for eight years, and we talked about getting married, but I wasn't sure that was what I wanted. We broke up yesterday."

"So you're free, then."

"I'm yours. I always have been."

"All right," he said. "Now I'm ready to talk to your friends at the gallery." He put down a handful of cash to cover the bill, then they left the cafe. Naru shivered as the bitterly cold air outside hit her. "We left my coat at the gallery," she said. Nephrite took off his own coat and draped it over her shoulders. At his gesture, a warmth filled her that didn't just come from the coat.