With All of My Heart

Once it was a more reasonable hour in the morning, the phone rang. Kunzite picked it up and wasn't surprised to hear the Master on the other end.

“I don't suppose the three of you could come over here to discuss Jadeite?” he asked.

“I can,” Kunzite said, “and I will pass the word onto the others. When would you like us there?”

“Whenever you are able,” he replied.

“I assume you want us to take more normal means of getting there?” Kunzite knew that the Princess would likely be home right now, so it would probably be best to keep up the appearance of normal human behaviour.

“That would be ideal.”

The call ended, and Kunzite began wandering through the house looking for the other two residents. Zoisite was easy, he was where he always was. Nephrite however was not answering the knocks at his door. “Nephrite, open up.”

“Go to hell.”

Kunzite raised an eyebrow. “The Master wants us over at his place. All of us.”

Nephrite didn't reply right away, but Kunzite could hear movement in the room. What had him bothered this early in the morning? The door swung open and Nephrite stood with his arms folded. “I'm hardly interested in what you three have planned,” he said.

Kunzite resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “It's about Jadeite, and the Princess is home as well.”

It was Nephrite's turn to raise an eyebrow, but this wasn't done out of confusion, it was more of a challenge. “Really? You two must have balls to show your faces around her.” Without waiting for a response, he pushed Kunzite out of the way and headed towards the door. Kunzite knew he was looking for a fight, but refused to give it to him.

Zoisite had also made his way to the door, and had assumed his human guise. Regular street clothes and shaggy brown hair now covered his true appearance. He was still attractive, but Kunzite preferred him in his true form.

He waved away his appearance as well, immediately feeling the pull of his cape vanish, along with his long hair. He never felt comfortable like this, almost naked in a sense. It was warm, but he still chose to wear a jacket.

Nephrite was out the door before any of them, and they had to walk quickly to keep up. “Any idea what's wrong with him?” Zoisite asked quietly.

Kunzite shook his head. “He made it clear he doesn't approve of us being with the Master, but I'm not sure what brought on this sudden anger.”

There was no reply, and the rest of the journey was in silence. Nephrite made it to the apartment first of course, and by the time the door opened, Kunzite and Zoisite had managed to catch up.

It was the Princess who opened the door.

She smiled happily and let them in. Kunzite noted that he was the only one who said a word of thanks. Rude behaviour could be expected of Nephrite, but Zoisite confused him. He wasn't even looking at the Princess.

He and Zoisite accepted seats on the sofa, but Nephrite refused, saying that he preferred to stand. He stood on the far side of the room, his arms folded, making it obvious he was only here by the Master's request and that he would have no input into the meeting.

There was an uncomfortable silence instantly. The Princess tried to break it by offering tea, and Kunzite accepted. Zoisite just silently shook his head, his eyes on the floor whenever the Princess was near. His head rose a bit to look at the Master while she retrieved cups from the kitchen, but it was down again the second she returned. He was refusing to make eye contact.

Coward.

Kunzite smiled and thanked her as she handed him his cup. He was about to ask the Master what he would like to discuss, but noticed that he was looking from Nephrite to Zoisite and back again, concern on his face. Kunzite always had been able to read the man like a book, and it was no different now. As odd as it seemed, he was thinking that the two were in a fight of sorts. Strange, because the Master should know as well as anyone that Zoisite doesn't let Nephrite's temper tantrums bother him.

“Master?” Kunzite said, hoping to draw his attention away from the other two. “You wanted to discuss Jadeite?”

The Master nodded and looked at his wife for a moment, who had sat in a seat beside him. “If it's a bad time...”

“Nephrite's often like this, Master, I wouldn't let it bother you.”

“Oh, shut it you son-of-a...”

The entire room turned and gave a warning glare at Nephrite, who managed to stop himself in front of the Princess at least.

The Master looked to Zoisite. “Zoisite, is something bothering you?”

He shook his head. “No, it's nothing, Master. We should discuss Jadeite.”

“Well, we've all heard the short version, so why don't you give us the long?” Kunzite prompted him. He suspected that Zoisite was going to continue leaving things out, and he was fully planning to call him on it once they left the Master's home. The room was too tense as it was, and the Master wouldn't allow him to in any event.

Zoisite shot him a sidelong glare before starting. “I appeared in an empty street, with the exception of Jadeite and a woman he was travelling with. I appeared behind them, so I was able to follow them as far as an apartment building without being seen.”

“What did this woman look like?” the Master asked. Kunzite smiled to himself; he was asking the same questions Kunzite had, except Zoisite would answer the Master.

Zoisite shook his head. “I could only see the back of her. She was taller than him, with long dark hair.”

“How far did you follow them?” Kunzite asked next.

“As far as the apartment.”

“You didn't go in? You could have in that form.”

“No. The spell ended before I had the chance.”

A lie. Kunzite made a note of it. He had followed them into the building, perhaps as far as to find the exact apartment number. What was so worth hiding in this?

The Master believed it; after all, Zoisite wouldn't lie to him. “Maybe you could try again? Get some more information?”

Zoisite bit his lip nervously and Kunzite watched him like a hawk. “I will, if that's what you want, but if I may... perhaps we should just let Jadeite be. I don't feel comfortable spying on him like this. He's allowed to make these decisions, is he not?” Not revealing Jadeite's whereabouts, suggesting they just leave him alone, Kunzite could barely keep his mouth shut. He wanted to grab Zoisite and somehow force the information out of him if he could.

The Master sighed and looked down for a moment. “You're right. He'll probably contact us after a few days or something anyway. I'm sorry I bothered you all.”

“So we're done?” Nephrite asked gruffly from his spot against the wall.

The Master looked over at him for a moment before speaking. “I wouldn't mind you telling me what's bothering you.”

Kunzite watched as Nephrite's eyes travelled from the Master, to himself and Zoisite, and then to the Princess before returning to the Master. “I'd rather not discuss it here.”

“Kunzite, Zoisite, would you mind?” the Master asked. Kunzite nodded, but wasn't sure he trusted Nephrite as it was. He was free to disagree with the Master, but it most certainly was not his place to voice his concerns, especially about these matters.

“I'll walk them out,” the Princess added, picking up on the cue that she wasn't going to help matters by remaining. Kunzite saw Zoisite visibly tense up on his way to the door.

The Master thanked them, and Nephrite appeared content to remain alone with the Master. There wasn't much Kunzite could do at this point, and so he left.

“Things have been... difficult for you?” the Princess asked as they rode down the elevator. Kunzite was confused by her question, and so she elaborated. “Adjusting to living in this time?”

The Master's 'reasons' for visiting so often. Zoisite wasn't contributing to the conversation, so Kunzite did his best bit of acting. “It's more difficult for some than for others,” he said, looking at Zoisite, “and things can be tense.”

The Princess nodded and then looked over at Zoisite. She managed to catch his eye for a brief moment, before he found the floor again. “Is something wrong?” she asked, leaning her head down as if to try and reclaim that eye contact.

“Nothing, Princess,” Zoisite replied quietly.

She pouted. “You know I don't like being called that.”

The doors opened, and Zoisite obviously hurried out of them. Kunzite was ready to slap him for being so damned obvious. “I should apologize for both of them,” Kunzite said, “they are both being quite rude. To both you and the Master.”

The Princess shook her head, causing her pigtails to wave. “It's not your fault, and I'm sure that things will be better once everything is resolved.”

Kunzite agreed, and then excused himself. He had to catch up to Zoisite who was already heading home.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked, jogging to catch up. “Great way to act as if everything is right with the world. You just-”

“Shut up, Kunzite.”

It wasn't often that Zoisite used harsh language, so Kunzite was caught a bit off guard. “Excuse me?”

“I want to be left alone. Can you manage that for a couple hours?” He continued walking at a quick pace towards the home, which meant that Kunzite should probably find something else to occupy his time with if he wanted Zoisite in a better mood tonight.

“Yeah, fine.” He stopped where he was and watched Zoisite disappear into the busy side walk.