By the end of the day, the whole school knew that, less than a week after being dumped by her boyfriend, Osaka Naru had been caught making out in a storage closet with the handsome new boy in school. As she and Nephrite walked together through the crowded halls to the principal's office to receive their detention assignments, Naru was uncomfortably aware of being the center of attention. Nephrite placed himself slightly in front of her, as though trying to protect her from the gossip and stares.

When all of the day's detainees were assembled in the principal's office, the school secretary handed out cards printed with the detention chores. Naru was assigned to help grade first-year math quizzes, while Nephrite pulled wastebasket duty. Naru looked up at Nephrite, who was looking at his card in dismay. "Wastebasket duty is pretty gross," she said.

He gave her a brief smile. "It isn't that. I was just hoping, well, that we'd be together," he answered, sounding almost shy.

For a few seconds, Naru couldn't say anything. As far as he was concerned they had only met a few hours ago, but he wanted to spend detention with her. "It's okay," she said. "Wait till we get out into the hallway. We can trade."

In the hallway outside the principal's office, the scene was like a scaled-down version of a stock market floor. The detained students were jumbled together in a crowd, pushing against each other and waving their arms as they shouted. "Second floor boys' rooms!" one boy called out. "Who wants to trade for second floor boys' rooms?"

"This is permitted?" Nephrite asked in a low voice.

"Sure. They--" Naru jerked her head towards the principal's office "--don't care who does what, as long as the jobs get done and you stay for your full time."

"Ah." Nephrite's blue eyes narrowed, then he took Naru's card from her. "Wait here."

He worked his way into the middle of the crowd. Since he stood half a head taller than anyone else, Naru was able to keep her eye on him. After talking to about a dozen people, he pushed his way back to Naru. "Okay," he said. "I had to make five different trades, and you owe him--" he pointed to one boy "--a plate of homemade cookies, and I promised three people rides on my motorcycle, but I've got us both on eraser duty." He showed Naru the cards.

She beamed up at him. "Great!" Detention was actually going to be fun, if she could spend it with Nephrite. The supply closet down the hall from the principal's office was open, so Naru grabbed the basket for carrying the erasers, and she and Nephrite set off on their task.

Eraser duty consisted of making sure the blackboards in each classroom had been completely erased except for items the teachers had labeled "Save," and collecting the erasers in the basket, to be taken outside and clapped clean. The first few classrooms they came to were occupied by students or teachers who were staying late, so they went about their job silently for a while. When they finally came to an empty classroom, Nephrite said, "Talk to me. I want to know all about you and your world and what it was like when we knew each other before."

"Um," Naru said, not knowing where to start.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"I'll be seventeen in a few months. How about you?"

"I'm eighteen."

"When I knew you before, you looked about twenty-five. It was hard to tell. Of course, you were a lot older than that. Usagi told me you'd been living in the Dark Kingdom for a thousand years." Nephrite narrowed his eyes a little, as he appeared to think about what she had said. "Sorry. Maybe I shouldn't talk about stuff like that," Naru said.

His face relaxed and he smiled at her. "That's okay. Usagi--that would be Princess Serenity, right?"

"Yeah, I guess, although it's hard to imagine Usagi-chan as a Princess. I mean, we're really good friends, but she just isn't very... princess-like, you know? Maybe she's a lot different in the time you came from."

"In the time I came from, she's five years old, so it's kind of hard to tell how princess-like she is."

They finished with that room and collected the erasers, then went to the next room. No one was there, so they continued their conversation. "I assume you have a family," Nephrite said.

"I live with my mom. It's just the two of us. My dad died when I was little. He was a lot older than my mom..." She smiled. "I guess the older-man thing runs in the family. He owned a jewelry store, and now my mom has it. She runs it, too, and I work there sometimes on the weekends." Naru remembered the night she had stolen a jewel from the store, thinking it was the crystal Nephrite needed, but decided not to tell him about that. Lying, stealing... What would he think of her?

"You're lucky to live with your mother. When Prince Endymion was born, ten years ago, I was chosen to be one of his Guardians and adopted out of my family into the House of Guardians. I haven't seen my parents since then except at big Court gatherings, and even then they don't act like my parents, because they aren't, any more. I don't even remember what my real name was. 'Nephrite' is a traditional Guardian name."

"That's kind of sad," Naru said. "So you're alone."

"Not exactly. There are three more Guardians, and we're very close friends. Plus we have our teachers and our own guards and servants, so it isn't like we've had to raise ourselves."

"Yeah... It isn't the same as family, though."

"I guess. I don't really remember what it was like to live with my family."

They worked their way from room to room, talking as they cleaned the blackboards and collected the erasers, then went outside. Laughing and coughing at all the dust, they clapped the erasers clean. After returning the erasers to the classrooms, Nephrite looked at his watch. "We've still got twenty minutes before we can leave. What do we do now?"

"We go to Detention Hall and work on our homework."

Nephrite and Naru collected their school satchels from the office, then went to the large classroom that was used for Detention Hall. The room was about half-filled with students who had finished their jobs, and they were able to find two desks together at the back of the room. They did their homework in silence.

After a while, the monitor stood and announced the names of the students who were allowed to go home. Naru and "Miyake Akeno" were dismissed, along with most of the others in the room, leaving behind a handful of glum two-hour detainees. Hand in hand, Naru and Nephrite followed the others to the office to sign out.

When they went out the front door, there was a small crowd gathered. Naru was uncomfortably aware that they were there to gawk at her and Nephrite, but Nephrite seemed not to notice them as he led her by the hand to where his motorcycle was parked by the parking lot fence.

"Here." Nephrite put their satchels in the side compartments on the motorcycle, and handed Naru his helmet. He straddled the bike, and Naru climbed on behind him. A great, happy shiver went through her whole body as she wrapped her arms tightly around his chest and snuggled up against his back. How many times in the last two years had she dreamed of being this close to him?

Nephrite kicked the bike into life. He steered into the street and drove past the school, then slowed down, made a U-turn in the light traffic, and roared past the students gathered in front of the school again. To Naru, it seemed almost like he was making a statement--She's my girl and I don't care what anyone thinks.

They rode through the city and onto a highway that climbed along the coastal cliffs. Some kilometers outside the city, Nephrite pulled the motorcycle over into a scenic overlook. He stopped the bike, then turned to sit sideways on the seat, looking out over the ocean. Naru took off the helmet and shifted to sit the same way.

After a few minutes, Nephrite said, "I want to talk."

Naru looked up at him, but he kept his gaze out to sea. "Okay," she said.

"Naru, I can't stay here. I'll only be here for a month. And when I go back, I won't be able to take anything back or remember anything that happened here."

"I know, Nephrite. You already told me that."

Now he looked at her, and brushed his fingers gently along her cheek, then rested his hand along the side of her face. Naru closed her eyes; the gesture was so like when he had touched her face right before he died. "I can tell you've been very sad for a long time," he said softly. "While I'm here, I'd like to give you some happy memories, so maybe you won't be so sad any more."

"You don't have to do anything for me--I mean, you don't know me from anyone, and we only just met today so I can't expect you to feel anything in particular for me--"

"But I do," he interrupted. "I like you very much already, and it just feels right, being with you."

Naru felt her cheeks grow warm, and she smiled up at Nephrite. He was smiling too, but the smile quickly faded into a more serious look. "Still," he said, "I think it would be best for you if you didn't get too attached to me."

Naru looked out to sea, letting the late afternoon breeze lift her hair. "It's about two years too late for that," she finally said.

"I see," he said quietly.

The silence stretched out, until Naru, on an impulse, asked, "Is there anyone, you know, special, in your own time?"

"Special to me, you mean?"

"Yeah," Naru said, looking down at her feet.

"No. The truth is..." He paused, as though reconsidering what he had started to stay, then went ahead. "There isn't supposed to be anyone. The Guardians don't marry, and we're supposed to be, um, celibate, but it usually doesn't work out that way, in practice."

Now Naru looked up at him. He was blushing. Nephrite blushing wasn't something she had ever imagined seeing. "You haven't been..."

"Celibate? No."

"But no one special."

"No."

There was another silence. "Nephrite," Naru said after a while, "I don't understand how it is that you're here, or why, and I know I've got all these memories of you that you don't have and I can't expect you to share my feelings, and I know you can't stay very long. But I want to make the best of the time we do have. And when you leave, I'll deal with it. I've done it before," she added softly.

He stared at her a moment, his eyes unreadable. Then, some barrier or reserve inside of him seemed to dissolve. "Naru," he said, then kissed her. His jaw worked against hers to deepen the kiss, and she opened her mouth to him as shivers ran up her spine. Umino had never kissed her like this; it had taken him over a year to work his way up from a quick peck on the cheek to a quick peck on the lips. Timidly at first, then gaining confidence, Naru returned the kiss, trying to memorize the taste and feel of Nephrite's mouth.

After several minutes they reluctantly pulled apart, then, by wordless agreement, they started back down the highway into the city. It was dark by the time they pulled up in front of the OSA*P shop. Naru climbed off the bike, took off the helmet and handed it to Nephrite, and got her satchel from the saddlebag. She stood in front of him, not quite sure what to say. He watched her, waiting for her to speak. "Thanks for the ride, and for--everything," she finally said. "I'm really glad you're here. I missed you."

She started to turn away, but Nephrite grabbed her hand and pulled her close to the bike. He slid his hand up behind her head and pulled her down to him for one more kiss. Then he smiled up at her. "See you tomorrow," he said as he put the helmet on.

Naru stood watching as the bike roared off down the street. At the corner he looked back once, and she waved at him. Then he turned the corner and disappeared into the night. Naru stared after him. She touched her fingertips to her lips; she could still taste him. Smiling, she let herself in the door and ran up the stairway to the second-story apartment, knowing that her mother would be mad at her for being so late, and not really caring. Nephrite was back, and nothing else mattered.

* * * * * * * *

In his one-room apartment, Nephrite phoned for a pizza, along with a couple of bottles of beer. Some of the best things about this time, besides motorcycles and pretty red-haired girls in short skirts, were the telephone, an eminently useful device, and pizza, which Setsuna had recommended to him as being delicious, convenient, and filling. The combination of the two was more than adequate compensation for the lack of servants.

While he waited for his order to be delivered, he put some loud music on the player that had come with the apartment. Then he changed and worked some more on his homework, thinking that he ought to carry out his masquerade as conscientiously as possible. The mathematics was easy, of course; the history and physics work introduced him to some ideas that were completely new to him. He wished that when he went home he would be able to remember what he was learning here.

The pizza and beer arrived. He ate half of the pizza, then put the other half into the refrigerator for his breakfast. The rest of the evening he sat on his futon, listening to music, nursing along the second bottle of beer, and wondering what the hell Setsuna was up to. He hadn't seen her since the day he came here, had heard nothing of the message he was supposed to deliver. He didn't even know who he was supposed to deliver it to.

And now it turned out she had sent him to the same school that the reborn Princess Serenity was attending. Coincidence? Nephrite seriously doubted it. Maybe it was Princess Serenity to whom he was supposed to deliver the message. That sounded likely. Or--here was a thought--if Serenity had been reborn in this time, what about the other Princes and Princesses of the Silver Millennium? Was Prince Endymion here, too? If so, maybe he was the intended recipient of this alleged message. But then, why hadn't Setsuna arranged for Nephrite to meet him right away, instead of Princess Serenity?

Even more puzzling was the matter of Naru. Why on Earth hadn't Setsuna told him that he would meet someone who had loved him? He wondered if he was permitted to get involved with Naru, or if he should stay away from her. If that was the case, though, then why hadn't Setsuna warned him about her? With a rare feeling of rebelliousness, he decided that if Setsuna couldn't be bothered to give him more specific information and instructions, then he would just do whatever the hell he wanted to.

Strange, he thought, he had only met Naru today but already she seemed to be part of him. Her sweet but practical nature seemed to balance something inside him. He had always been very serious, almost to the point of surliness, some would say. He was honest enough with himself to grant that those who said so were probably right. At the same time, though, he was fascinated, almost obsessed, with the unimaginable mysteries of science and magic, especially where the stars were concerned. Naru, on the other hand, had a way of making life seem brighter, while at the same time keeping his feet more firmly planted on solid earth.

And though there was a deep, vast sadness in her eyes, she smiled so readily, at least at him, and sometimes when she looked at him the sadness seemed to disappear altogether, leaving in its place a joyous sparkle. He could spend the next month, no, he could spend years and years, learning all of her depths and moods and thoughts. Nephrite wondered what kind of man he had been--would be, he reminded himself--to have inspired such love in this girl.

A month, and then he would leave, and forget everything. In the meantime, he decided, he and Naru would have the best month of their lives.