Disclaimer: The concepts from SM, the characters, and this song do not belong to me.

A.N: The song in this fanfic is a translation of 'Fire Soul Love', the actual image song of Rei.

Heart's Songs - Rei's Song

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The Senshi of Mars, patron of War, the firebrand of the Senshi, thinned her lips slightly as she gazed coolly at the five kneeling Earthlings. Queen Serenity was welcoming them, and next to her Highness was the Princess Serenity, a slightly more enthusiastic smile pasted on her face. Next to the Princess and to Mars' direct right was Senshi Venus, the leader, then to her left was the Senshi of thunder and lightning, Jupiter, and after Jupiter was Senshi Mercury, the wielder of fog and ice.

Mars fought to keep the disapproving frown from her face. After all, protocol was protocol. It was no secret to the Senshi of the newly revealed love Serenity held for the Earth Prince, Endymion. They all held mixed reactions to it. She herself didn't like the idea at all, rumors of the Earthlings' barbarous nature were well circulated in the Moon Kingdom, and although the five men looked civil enough, she was still on guard.

All rumors had a grain of truth in them, after all.

What bothered her the most about all of this was not Serenity, but Venus. As the leader, Venus was expected to set an example, but it was also no secret that the stern leader had fallen for First General Kunzite, a most disturbing fact in Mars' point of view.

*What sort of allure do these Earth men hold for one of them to snag the patron of Love herself?* she wondered.

The endless sky blue eyes of Second General Jadeite suddenly caught her intense purple gaze, and she began to learn the answer to her silent question.

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He noticed her from the moment he had walked in, a few steps behind Kunzite. Her long purple hair, a unique color never before seen on Earth, caught his attention, and she kept it there. Her expression was bordering on a frown, the corners of her mouth fighting to stay neutral. He assumed that her frown was for the liaison between Endymion and their Princess. Or maybe the one between Kunzite and her leader Venus.

Perhaps it was both, for it certainly bothered him. His Prince deserved to be happy, as did the Lunarian Princess, he was sure, but in their love, they were forgetting their duties to their respective people and kingdoms. As for Kunzite, the man certainly needed to loosen up a little and work less, and the Senshi Venus was rumored to be a good warrior who knew how to have fun, so perhaps she could help him, but in the end, it all came back down to duty. Senshi Venus had a duty to not only her planet, but to her Princess as well. And Kunzite has his duty to his kingdom and to Endymion. It had been drilled into all of them from the beginning that nothing was more important than duty, and he wondered if they had forgotten.

*What sort of women does the Moon Kingdom breed for them to make strong willed men loose their resolve towards duty?* he asked himself.

Then, his eyes met a luminous pair of purple eyes that shone with knowledge and pride, and he knew.

In love, extremes are all right

I don't want any sweet words

Before drowning in dreams

Light up your eyes, and go mad love

"This is wrong."

He tightened his hold on her waist and turned his eyes away from the horizon and to the woman he loved. It wasn't a time where he should be dallying with her like this, he knew, it was a time near war with the Dark Queen Metallia, where he should have been checking the weapons, the troops, the land...but he could not tear himself away from this firebird of his.

"What is?" he asked her, knowing what she was talking about but wanting to ignore it.

She looked up at him, and he marveled for the millionth time the love for him he saw in those purple depths. Her eyes had always amazed him, always filled with the knowledge she received from her psychic powers.

"Us, being here. I should be preparing for the upcoming war. So should you."

"Yes, I should, " he nodded, and the planted a light kiss on her forehead. "But you cannot say that this is wrong. How can being in love be wrong? How can we not be together?"

"Questions I ask myself everyday, love," she sighed, and tucked her head under his chin.

He captured one of her slender hands in his and asked, "Do you ever find the answers?"

She smiled, something that had been a rarity before he had come along, "No. And I'm glad for it."

"So am I, Firebird, so am I," he smiled back, and they shared a deep kiss.

The scars of the past hurt

When time passes, they'll disappear

Live without telling lies

Break your body, and go for break

"It's time for me to go," he said to her, her hands held in his.

What had always been calmly accepted was now strangely filling her with distress. Something in her screamed at the thought of parting with him to go their separate ways; he to Elysion, and she to the Moon. She didn't want to be separated with him tonight, and something in her fancied running off somewhere and hiding together...even as a larger part reminded her of her duties, of the Dark Army that had taken Uranus, Neptune and just recently Jupiter, passing over both Pluto and Saturn with no sign of hostility.

"What's wrong firebird?" he asked her, sensing her distress.

She threw herself into the warmth of his embrace and sighed, "I have this feeling. That we'll never be together again. Like this is our last time."

He pulled back slightly, and tilted up her face to meet his gaze, "Firebird, I promise you, no matter what happens, I'll always love you."

"And I you," she answered, her eyes still filled with sorrow and fear. "Please be careful Jadeite."

"I will," he promised, and with one last kiss, he was gone.

She stood for a minute, staring at the spot he was just a minute ago, and slumped down. Ultimately, it had been an image of Serenity, innocent and bright, which had stopped her from mentioning her desire to leave behind the war. Sobs wracked her frame for reasons she didn't know...and emptiness filled her as she bid farewell to her love, for what felt like the last time they would part in such amiability, the last time they would share a kiss.

The city is a broken necklace

I won't give in to loneliness

Throw off the decorated clothes

Gracefully, fighting pose to you

Her stomach clenched in anger as she saw the legions of men and monster alike, some allied to the Dark Queen and the traitorous witch Beryl, and some fighting for the peace of the Moon Kingdom. She felt every fiber of herself reach out to the battlefield; her blood pumped solely for the thrill of war. Although the peace had been a blissful time, she could not deny that her passions lay in the art of war, could not deny the fury in her that called for her to take up arms and fight.

She was truly the patron of War.

Denying her instincts was not an option, instead, she accepted it, and charged out into the battles. Those of the Dark Queen's troops that were human had strong ofuda slapped on them, to remove the taint of evil. Those that were monsters were burned painfully by her attacks. She did not hesitate to initiate hand-to-hand combat, and although she was not the best of the Senshi, she was no slouch, and went for the blows that were meant to cripple, and sometimes even to kill humans if the ofuda failed to work.

A flash of gray uniform informed her that it was a human who was making his way to her from the side, a Dark Queen human. From the little bits of color on his shoulders, one of the famed Generals.

Her heart felt cold as she realized this. A day ago, which was only a few hours before, she had received an important vision, one that had filled her with more sorrow and heartbreak than she had ever imagined. She had seen, through her link with the Sacred Fire, the four Earth Generals turned by forceful means to work for the Dark Queen. The thought that they had gone down fighting was a comfort, however small.

Dispatching the monster she was fighting, she whirled around, just in time to dodge the vicious punch he sent her way. His physical appearance was the same as before, making her heart ache, but her spiritual senses were honed more than enough to 'see' the dark and evil aura that tainted his soul.

"You would be the Senshi Mars," he smirked, handsome as always. "The firebrand of the group."

The War in her called for her to push back her emotions and smite the evil servant of Metallia. As much as it hurt her to do so, she listened, and pulled down a mental block.

Fire soul bird in love

Fire soul bird in love

Stand up tall! Oh oh oh

Fire soul bird in love

Fire soul bird in love

Seek after tomorrow! I love passion

"How did things end up this way?" she asked the stars in the sky.

The blood - her blood - was pooling underneath her now, thick, and warm, it leaked out faster than she had ever thought it would. Her breathing was uneven, but that was natural when she was dying. Her long purple hair, once soft and silky, was now matted with the blood, turning darker and darker as the blood dried. Her once fathomless eyes, eyes that saw what happened at the far ends of the galaxy, were now dull with exhaustion and pain.

Jadeite, equally wounded and equally dying, lay only a few feet away from her. His blonde hair, the hair she used to run her fingers through, if only to try and tame the somewhat wild curls, hung limp now, sweat and blood mixing. And his eyes, the eyes that had first captured her interest and then her heart, had lost the initial deadly gleam. Now, there was only regret. Not regret for his actions, for she could still see the dark aura - fading with his death, but still there - but possibly regret that he would not live.

"You were an oppressive people," he must have thought she had directed her question at him. "You hated us because we were not of your Silver Alliance."

It was almost as if he were reciting a boring poem, the tone of his voice was so flat.

"We were a peaceful people," she spat back, blinking back tears. "We did our best to protect you. We watched over you, and loved you...I loved you."

His eyes held confusion, "Love?"

She smiled bitterly, "Yes, love. I loved you, as you once loved me."

"What happened?" he asked almost childishly, honestly having no clue what love was.

She hated and pitied him, but thought that perhaps he was the lucky one in the situation, "You betrayed your Prince, you betrayed your kingdom, you betrayed me. You broke your vows to your liege, and you broke my heart."

His eyes widened in genuine shock, and he asked, "Why would I do that?"

She realized then, that this was not Second General Jadeite of the Earth, nor was it Dark General Jadeite of the Negaverse. This was the man in between. This man was not a General; this man was not good or evil. He simply was, in the delicate state between life and death. She supposed that this was a side effect of the Dark Queen's thrall.

"I don't know," she told him, and then turned her head away. "But I will never forget this."

In love, I want excitement

Forget things like simplicity

I will catch dreams in my hand

Make your spirit boil, and go mad love

She cried without tears for her lost innocence, for her lost pride, for her lost love.

"Kaidou-san," she whispered.

An image of him appeared in the Sacred Fire, and she gave a small start. He seemed different to her now, slightly more human, more imperfect...more male. She saw, finally, what he really was.

He was a man.

After her father, she had vowed not to trust any men, only her grandfather. But in a span of a few minutes, the light-haired man had gotten her to not only trust him, but to like him as well. Love came later, after a while, when she had found him kindred.

But he wasn't a real kindred spirit; he had never had his mother leave him alone, he had never had his father abandon him, he had never felt the pain she had.

Then what had made her feel so trusting towards him? Why had she loved him? Why had she even liked him?

The Fire felt her distress, heard her questions, and provided an answer. It flared up, and for one brief moment, she saw another, similar face. The man in the fire had light hair, just like Kaidou-san, but a darker, more sun-kissed shade of blond. And he had kind eyes as well, just like Kaidou-san, but a sparkling endless blue. And with the image, for a brief moment in time before her grandfather called her outside, came a name.

"Jadeite..."

On the street, a dropped earring

I won't pick it up miserably

Throw off the red high heels

Foolishly, fighting pose to you

She ran outside, her heart pounding as she tried to stop the 'haunted' bus. In the fire, just moments before, she had seen the face of a man...a familiar man. Something in her had jumped at the sight of his handsome face in her Fire, but right after that, she had seen him attack Usagi-chan.

The bus slowed, and the doors opened.

She looked at the driver's seat, and there he was, the man from the Fire. Suddenly, she recalled a time when she was younger, more naive, a time she had fallen for Kaidou-san. The time after that, the brief image she received of this man...

...and a name.

Fire soul bird in love

Fire soul bird in love

Start running! Oh oh oh

Fire soul bird in love

Fire soul bird in love

Seek after happiness! I love passion

He didn't understand the effect she had on him, even when knocked out by his sleeping spell. She was extremely pretty and attractive in an exotic way, this girl, with her long, silky, purple hair. He had caught a glimpse of her purple eyes, filled with wisdom and understanding, as she stumbled onto the bus and promptly fell asleep. He dimly remembered seeing her for only a moment before, but it had been enough to pique his interest.

"So beautiful," he murmured. "I've wanted her since I first saw her...this girl."

He reached down and lightly brushed her smooth cheek with his fingertips. Suddenly, something in him clicked, and he saw her in a different light.

He remembered touching her cheek like that before, except she wasn't unconscious. He remembered the feel of her long hair, how soft they were and how proud she was of the lustrous mane. He didn't know why, or how, but he vaguely remembered her laugh, tinkling and melodious; he recalled the way she had looked at him, so full of love and trust, and how he had marveled at that.

//He pulled back slightly, and tilted up her face to meet his gaze, "Firebird, I promise you, no matter what happens, I'll always love you."

"And I you," she answered, her eyes still filled with sorrow. "Please be careful Jadeite."\\

"Firebird...?" he whispered hesitantly, questioningly.

Fire soul bird in love

Fire soul bird in love

Stand up tall! Oh oh oh

Fire soul bird in love

Fire soul bird in love

Seek after tomorrow! I love passion

She couldn't sleep.

For an hour, she had tossed and turned, knowing that she had to sleep if she wanted to get up at 4:00 in the morning as she always did. But it was impossible, because a part of her heart, long buried, kept tugging, persistently and increasingly as the events of the day played over and over in her mind.

The mysterious bus, the kidnapping, the missing people, becoming Sailor Mars, and more importantly, the man.

Jadeite, a Dark Kingdom General.

Or was it Second General Jadeite?

Her mind was confused. She clearly recalled the way his aura glowed, dark, swirling with evil. But she also remembered, vaguely and yet more persistently, the way his eyes had shone with wonder and love as he looked at her. The way he laughed, deep and rich. The way he held her, encircling her in warmth and protection. The way he had kissed her forehead lightly; remembered the gentle way he had played with her hair; felt again the incredible feeling she always got when he kissed her, warmly, deeply, and lovingly.

The way she had loved him, and trusted him.

And there were more, images of a man who was not the dark man from today, nor the light man from before. Instead, there was a confused man, who had needed to know what love was, who had asked so innocently why he had betrayed her, who had wondered what had happened to love.

To their love.

And she remembered what she had told him.

"I did forget. If only for a while. It is true that I can never completely forget, Jadeite," she said aloud.

Her eyes glimmered slightly with unshed tears as she smiled.

"But I know I can forgive, because I already have."