Disclaimer: Ireshai masen! Thanks for stoppin by to check out my first Rei fanfic. I’m not sure if it’s gonna be a one shot, or a chaptered fic, so... yeah, but enjoy anyway! Oh yeah, this fic is dedicated to a good friend of mine. My lil sis, Leslie!

(Drags Leslie out and hugs her)

BloodRose: ^.^ “ Now, the legal jargon. Sailor Moon’s mine! Takeuchi Naoko is just a name they use to try to fool you, when it’s really ME who--”

(Enter doctor wearing gas mask)

Doctor: o. “Sleep!!!”

(Sprays Bloody with a strange yellow gas)

BloodRose: -...... “Gleh...”

(Faints)

(Orderlies appear and drag body away)

Doctor: -_-;; “Sailor Moon belongs, as always, to Takeuchi Naoko, Kodansha and Toei Animation Ltd. All rights reserved, I’m sure. Ah, I need an asprin...”

Christmas time has come again, bringing home painful memories with the muted snowfall. With amethyst eyes veiled and ears closed to present reality, the only melody playing in Hino Rei’s fractured heart is Apassionata...

A BloodRose Creation}-;-

Apassionata:~ Visions of Yesterday

Take this kiss upon thy brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow—

You are not wrong, to deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone?

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

It was a cold winter this year, one of the coldest Tokyo had seen in many a year. This fact did not stop or phase the lone figure standing upon the bridge that overlooked the Kohaku gawa this night. As the snow fell softly around her, Hino Rei’s amethyst eyes reflected scenes of the past; dry of tears, yet overflowing with a nameless sorrow. With a sudden blink, those same gems became hard as they returned to the present and Rei pulled her coat tighter around her. With a brisk step, she turned and strode from the bridge without looking back.

* }-;- *

‘

“She plays divinely,”

“Absolutely exquisite!”

“Beyond words, my dear. Beyond words,”

At center stage in the Tokyo Dome sat a beautiful black Steinway grand piano, from it spilling the most beautiful rendition of Greensleeves anyone attending had ever heard. Though most were silent, some couldn’t help but comment on the hauntingly beautiful melody flooding the auditorium, or the hauntingly beautiful woman creating it. Her ebony hair cascaded down past the piano bench in all its shining splendor, long lashes brushing alabaster cheeks as her eyes closed. Long fingers glided over the ivory, crimson polished nails shone in the spotlight. Her crimson and black strapless silk gown shone slightly in the harsh light, flowing down to her matching heels.

With an inaudible sigh, Rei ended the song and rose, a slight smile on her blood colored lips. After a slight pause for a quick bow and applause, she launched straight into her next song, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. With each cord, a wave of emotion could be felt rippling through the auditorium. With each note, Rei swayed slightly, feeling the music in her heart and soul. Soon a profound feeling of melancholy and loss filled the large enclosure through music that was almost painfully beautiful.

Soon it was over and Rei stood, receiving the standing ovation gratefully. She accepted the bouquet of red roses handed to her and after a final bow, left the stage.

* }-;- *

‘

The air by the river was bitingly cold, but to the ebony haired pianist it was a welcome relief. She smiled as the chill air stung her cheeks, tinted bright pink. As her eyes watched the frigid water flow below her, they once again filled with that far away quality, as if gazing upon the past...

You look at me

And you smile.

I take that smile

And pretend it's a jewel.

I tuck it away in the small treasury

Of jewels that I have received from you.

“Rei-chan, I...”

A seventeen year old Rei waited with a small, knowing smile on her lips as Yuichiro lowered his shag covered eyes to his shoes, blushing slightly.

“Hai, Yuuichiro-kun?” His blush deepened, and he turned away abruptly, missing the disappointment in Rei’s bright eyes.

“Nothing, never mind.”

You don't know it yet,

But I adore you.

I adore every single hello,

I adore every conversation we shared,

I adore being looked at by you,

I adore the knowing glances we gave,

Most of all,

I adore you.

“Yuuichiro!” A broom was in one hand, the other set in a fist at her hip. Yuuichiro immediately stiffened, fear tickling his spine. When his emerald eyes fell upon a furious Rei, sharp eyes narrowed into angry violet slits, his unshaven face flushed with color. Gods, she was beautiful...

“I told you to sweep the shrine steps an hour ago! How many times do I have to tell you?!”

Her harsh tone snapped Yuuichiro out of his reverie and he immediately took the broom. As he scurried away to fulfill the forgotten chore, Rei dropped the facade and allowed herself a small smile.

“He really will do anything I say, won’t he?” She mused, and a sweet giggle tickled the air and watched Yuuichiro work with a “critical” eye, barking a harsh comment now and then.

You still don't know,

Three years,

And you still don't know.

A now eighteen year old Rei sat smiling as she played her first concert, Yuuichiro sitting front row, center in his best suit. It was the third anniversary of the day he had come to the Hikawa Jinjaa, and the song she had selected for this night was solely for him. With her very soul, the fiery miko let spill into the night the embodiment of her love.

Apassionata.

You are leaving now.

Half way cross the nation.

I can't see you anymore.

“Okinawa?”

Sparkling amethysts clouded with a film of unshed tears which Rei fought hard to hold back. She gripped Yuuichiro’s arm tightly and turned him to her. He refused to meet her eyes.

“Hai. Okinawa. I’ve completed my ronin training... I’m no longer needed here.”

These words struck Rei like a blow to the chest, and she had trouble drawing breath.

Don't you think that

This single moment,

When we're staring into each other’s eyes,

That I would reveal my most kept secret,

That I would tell you that I love you.

That I can't live without seeing you smile at me.

At least once.

That I can't hear your voice

Making a point in a heated argument between us.

“Why... why Okinawa? Why so far?”

As he gently extracted his arm from Rei’s grip, Yuuichiro turned away fully, showing her his back. Her heart thumped loudly, seeming to echo in the muted snowfall of early December.

“To forget.”

Those arguments that I adored.

Those conversations that I adored.

The smiles, the glances, the looks,

I adore all of that.

In fact, I love all of that.

“Forget...? Yuuichiro-kun, you can’t leave, you haven’t completed your training! Ask Jiichan if you don’t believe me,”

The beleaguered girl grasped at the first thing that came to her mind, knowing it was a feeble attempt, but willing to try nonetheless. She grasped his arm again and turned him around, forcing him to look at her.

It's hard to believe

That you can't see

The love shining in my eyes

Every time I saw you.

Gazing down into those sparkling gems gave him some pause, as he wondered how he could ever live without looking into those eyes every day, but his determination was too great. He trailed the back of one calloused hand over Rei’s smooth alabaster skin, wiping away some of the snowflakes that had landed there, and cupped her cheek for a moment. Closing his eyes to savor the feeling caused him to miss the way Rei closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his gentle touch. If he had seen it, he might not have said what he did.

“Sayoonara... Rei-chan.”

Ears deaf to the sound of her crystal heart shattering to so many shards of sorrow, Kumada Yuuichiro walked away from a love he didn’t know he had, and out of Rei’s life forever.

She stood motionless as she watched him walk away, eyes spilling small drops of despair onto her reddened cheeks. Her soul felt much like the city, she thought as she watched the sky. A barren wasteland, frozen by the falling snow.

Soon he was gone, his room empty of everything save the futon and small table, and it was as if he was never there.

Now, that I can't see you anymore,

You will never know this.

Where does that leave me?

Alone with love for a man who never knew that.

* }-;- *

‘

‘It’s been two years since then,’ A now twenty year old Hino Rei thought. During her reverie, it had begun to snow. Large fluffy flakes were drifting toward the ground in slow, lazy circles as she watched, a sad smile touching her lips. She brushed a few flakes off her cheeks and the scarce light of the street lamps glinted off the ruby and rose gold bracelet she wore as she did so. Her hand stopped half way as she realized this, and her eyes softened.

“When did I...?”

She turned her hand slightly, causing the light to glint off of the perfect rubies and shine brilliantly. Her other hand came up to caress it lightly, slowly tracing the ruby hearts. She dropped her hand suddenly, pain flashing across her features.

‘This is... this is the Christmas present Yuuichiro gave me before...’

With a sigh, Rei turned her attention to the bouquet of seventy two long stemmed red roses she held. She traced the shape of a petal with the tip of one long, crimson nail and sighed. She took hold of the rose just under the blossom and separated it from the rest of the bouquet. She gazed at it for a moment before tossing it into the river below, watching as it was quickly washed away.

“Merry Christmas, Yuuichiro-kun,”

Without a glance back she walked away, leaving naught but a few rose petals to show she was ever there.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand—

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep—while I weep!

O God! can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

Apassionata:~ Visions of Yesterday:~ End

BloodRose: ^.^ “Well, I guess that settles it... it’s gonna be another chaptered fic. But I promise, it’ll be short! I’ll try to finish up before Christmas ( it IS a Christmas fic, after all). Well then... on to the thanks! Many thanks to Edgar Allan Poe for writing the wonderful poem, “Dream Within A Dream”, and thanks soooooo much to my lil sis, Leslie, who wrote the poem that pretty much wrote the flash back scene, “I Adore”. I couldn’t have done it withoucha! And as always, thanks to my fantabulous editor, silver bubbls. Where would I be without you?

All questions, comments, whatever can be sent to bleeding_

E-mail me, I love feedback!

And don’t forget...

All flames will be used to roast the marshmallows!

Ja ne, minna-chan! Come back for chapter two!”

~:~EXEUNT~:~