What had she done? Minako ran toward her house, cursing herself for her
stupidity. What now? She couldn't go home after what she did, not now at
least, while Artemis was watching like a hawk. How could she ever face
Usagi again? Maybe she should just pretend that it didn't happen. Yea,
like that would work. She left an energy heart in Usagi's palm!
"Damn it, Minako, you idiot!" She cursed herself, hiding in the bushes
near her window. All she had to do was jump through the window to her
room, grab her transformation pen and diary, and leave. Of course, doing
that while Artemis was watching was no easy task.
Minako crept through the shadows, climbing the tree closest to her
window. She crawled out on the limb, peering into the deep shadows of
her room. Artemis was lying on her bed, right next to her diary and
transformation pen on her nightstand and watching the door. Just great.
Now what?
Minako bit her lip, then closed her eyes and focused on her palm. Her
palm grew hot and another energy heart appeared in it. This one, though,
was explosive. She threw it as hard as she could into the street and
watched Artemis take off from the room. With a satisfied nod, Minako
jumped through her window and sprang to her dresser. Quickly, she
grabbed her ribbon and tied her hair up. One had to keep up appearances,
even when running from all that had been your life.
Her eyes scanned the room, and fell on the picture of herself and Usagi
when they had gotten their exams returned, saying that they had passed.
Usagi's face was alive with laugher as she threw her arms around a
laughing Minako's neck, their tests in their palms. Minako smiled and
took the picture out of its frame, folding it and sticking it in her
pocket. With a final sigh, she grabbed her diary and stuffed her pen in
her pocket.
Without looking back, she jumped out the window and ran from the house,
not knowing where she was going or when she would return.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~{~~@
Birds cheerfully chirped outside Usagi's bedroom window as the sun
peeked its flaming head up in the sky. The sight would have been
beautiful, if Usagi had not been so exhausted and confused. She had not
slept a wink since her encounter with Minako, and had done nothing but
think about what the senshi had said, the way she had acted, the
crumbling heart she had given her, and of her own strange reactions to
the goddess.
Never before in her life had she wanted to hold a girl before, to just
hold her close and touch her, comfort her. The only one she had ever
wanted to hold like that was Mamoru, and making this comparison, Usagi
became increasingly more disturbed. She wasn't sure weather she liked
these new feelings or not.
And yet it had felt so natural, so warmly intimate, when Minako's hands
had rubbed her arms. When she had held Usagi's hand to her breast,
Usagi's heart had skipped a beat. But no! She couldn't be thinking these
things about Sailor Venus, her closest, dearest friend. Of course not,
she had Mamoru to love and cherish.
But Minako's eyes, their azure depths so sad and intense as she trained
them on the princess and whispered her poem, flashed in Usagi's mind.
She closed her eyes and remembered the floral scent of the goddess hair,
the way her hands felt so gentle and soft as they caressed her flesh and
held her fist. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself and
opening her eyes to stare at the picture of all the senshi on her
dresser, faintly smiling as she saw Minako's beaming smile.
Usagi was shaken from her thoughts when she heard a cat's frantic mewing
and scratching at her window. She sprang to the glass, confusion and,
shamefully, anticipation lighting her eyes as she opened it for Artemis.
He sprang into the room and looked around the room, worry on his feline
face.
"Usagi, is she here?!" He asked, turning his frantic eyes on the
confused princess.
"Who? Luna's downstairs eating breakfast." She said, frowning at the
cat. Artemis scowled, restlessly prowling the bed.
"No, not Luna! Minako! Is Minako with you?" Dread swelled in the pit of
Usagi's stomach. Minako was missing? Oh god, no! This couldn't be
happening! Not now, of all times for the golden senshi to come up
missing!
"No...she's not. Have you tried the other senshi's houses?" Usagi's
voice was hopeful, her hand already reaching for the phone. Artemis
kneaded the bed with his claws in worry.
"Yes, I did. None of the inner or outer senshi has seen her and neither
has Mamoru. She left last night, for a walk she said. While I was
waiting for her I heard something explode near the house and left the
room. There was nothing there but a heart-shaped crater in the sidewalk
and when I got back into the room her transformation pen, a picture that
was near her bed, and her diary were gone."
Usagi's heart seemed to stop. She ran away? But why would she do that?
Maybe...but no! Why would she run away because of what happened the
night before? Usagi had prompted her to speak of her heart, had pushed
Venus into revealing her deepest secrets. Had not only urged her to
recite the poem, but secretly cherished it. Surely Minako was not afraid
of her reaction?
"You mean Minako ran away?" Usagi sank to the bed, staring at the
picture of Minako at the modeling contest the year before, at the
triumphant gleam in the senshi's eyes and the aurora of beauty around
her. "But...this can't be! I-I need her! She can't leave, she just
can't!" Tears welled up in Usagi's eyes, her shoulders shaking as she
clasped her hands in her lap in a vain attempt to stop their shaking.
Artemis walked over to Usagi and rubbed his head against her hand,
purring. "I know, Usagi. I can't think of a reason why she would run
away, but it looks as if she has. I don't know where she could have
gone, but I've called for a senshi meeting tonight at five. Did you see
her at all last night?"
Usagi looked away, guiltily. Should she tell him what happened? She
really should, the senshi had a right to know why Mina would have ran
away...but no. Their encounter last night was a personal thing,
something that she didn't want to share with anyone just yet. Not even
Artemis. "No," she whispered, not meeting his eyes. "I was asleep." She
could feel Artemis stare at her, not believing her. But if he saw the
lie, he didn't comment on it.
"Well," he finally said, "I'm going to tell Luna and see if we can find
any clue to where she might have gone before the meeting. If you hear
from her, contact us." And he slipped out the door, slinking down the
stairs.
Usagi had seen Minako last night. Not only could he see the lie for what
it was, he also saw the bags under her eyes and the way she had been
staring at Minako's picture before she let him in. He didn't know what
happened between them, but if Usagi had chosen to lie to him about it
then he guessed that it was something big, and the reason for Minako's
sudden flight.
He also had a hunch what it could have been centered around. He knew
that Minako's feelings would get the better of her at one point or
another. He just hoped that whatever confession his charge had made was
not going to affect the future of Crystal Tokyo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~{~~@
Sailor Venus walked the sandy slopes of the land of Aphrodite, her
Venusian body unaffected by the sulfuric atmosphere and storms of Venus.
She didn't come here often, but it was the only safe haven she could
think of. She wouldn't stay long, but she felt that she needed strength.
She squinted her azure eyes, peering through the storm to find her
bearings. A smile slowly lit her face as she saw her goal just ahead,
Aphrodite's Temple of Prayer, where the royal family came to pray to the
Great Goddess. This place was her last hope. If ever she wanted to be
rid of her love for the Moon Princess, only the Goddess of Love could
help her.
Minako sighed and shook the sand from her hair as she entered the
temple. The temple was built of white marble and gold trim that curved
and wound in elegant shapes and textures throughout the temple, built by
Venusian architects millenniums ago to withstand anything. Although the
gold was tarnished and the stone was cracked and scratched, the temple
stood strong and proud, an elegant testimony to the people of Venus.
There was only one object inside: a statue of Aphrodite carved of pure
Topaz. The goddess smiled down upon Minako as she kneeled at her feet.
Minako squeezed her eyes shut tightly, laying her hands on the Goddess's
stone feet. A golden-orange light enveloped her body, caressing her
flesh like the hands of a lover as it replaced her senshi uniform with
the elegant robes and tiara she had worn all those years ago, when she
had been Princess Minako of the planet Venus. Those peaceful days were
long gone, lost in the rubble of the past. Yet the memories of her
planet, alive and teaming with life and love, filled her memory, brought
more tears to her eyes.
"What have we done to this planet, oh Great Aphrodite? Our once thriving
society of love and pleasure, reduced to this...desert. These ruins of
what once had been the place where my heart resided. It was my
planet...I did not need love then. I had my people, my planet, and my
duties as a Sailor Senshi. I was not plagued by this love that
overwhelms my heart now.
"I love her, Aphrodite! I always have. I've known her for so long, so
many lifetimes. Did I love her in each of them? Or am I just cursed with
hopeless, impossible lovers? First Kunzite, then Adonis, then Alan and
Yaten...and now her. She is the Princess of the Moon Kingdom, the
silvery goddess who lived on the glowing planet. The heart and soul of
that magical land. But she is so much more than just beautiful, just
powerful. She is filled with kindness and generosity, she sees me like
no other has ever bothered, she's ditsy and lazy and a cry baby...but
she's innocent."
Minako opened her eyes, gazing up and the loving face of her goddess.
"Please! I don't want to love Usagi any longer! She loves Mamoru and
they are destined to be together for all time! Where is there room in
her heart for me? I cannot fit into their perfect picture in any other
role than that which I am currently in. And seeing her with him tears me
apart. Usagi...just hearing her name is like digging a knife into my
heart. I used to mask it, this terrible longing, my hidden fantasies,
who I really am, but I cannot hide it any longer!"
Minako hung her head, a tear falling from her eyes and onto the
Goddess's toe. "I love her more than anything else, Aphrodite, and I
cannot. For her, for the future, for my destiny, I cannot love her any
longer. Please, take it away. Destroy this forbidden passion; rip my
heart from my breast and destroy the half that belongs to her so that I
may live as destiny commands of me, with but half a heart so that I may
never love again. Please...it hurts so much...please help me."
Minako's shoulders s she cried, her body draped over the statue's feet,
pleas falling from her lips. A warm pair of arms slid around her
shoulders and Minako sobbed, knowing exactly who had come. She threw
herself into the arms of Aphrodite, bitterly weeping into the soft robes
of the glowing goddess.
Aphrodite held her close and stroked the girl's hair, her smile knowing
and happy. "My child," she whispered, her voice like sex in the air,
"dry thy tears. I know of thy strife and of thy love, for it is I who
granted thee love when it was bidden of me." Minako wiped the tears off
her cheeks and turned her gaze up to the face of her goddess, a face so
akin to her own. "Yes, thy destiny is cruel to thee, my child."
Aphrodite continued. "Many hath thee loved and many hath the killed,
despite thy love."
Minako frowned, struggling to understand what the Goddess was leading
to. These things she knew, and was ashamed of. She had loved, deeply and
truly, and then en she loved. But she stayed silent, awaiting her
Goddess's words and clinging to her warm comfort. "Thrice over hath thee
killed thy lover, and twice hath thee given thy lover away to another.
Pondered I, why? For thy heart was true and thy love was deep. So I hath
watched thee, and guided thee, and endowed thee with my power. But thy
hath not used my power for thy own love."
The Goddess touched Mina's cheek with her hand, smiling as she spoke.
"And so I saw thy Princess. I saw thy affection for her, thy loyalty to
her; thy willingness to die for her, kill thy true loves for her ten
fold if she bid thee. It had not been for love then, but for deep
affection, respect, and friendship. And so I saw that it was good, and
that thy love for her would be long and deep and everlasting.
"Because I love thee, because my child thee are, I broke two most
important rules. I broke the chain of true love between the Moon
Princess and her Earth Prince, tying him to another whom he is yet to
meet and created a bond between thy heart and the heart of thy princess
that will last longer than that between any man and woman. For thee, I
hath made a forbidden match and faced the wrath of the gods, but they,
too, saw that it was good and blessed thy love.
"Thy princess is confused, for thy poem of truest love and truest pain
has stirred her love. She dreams of thee even now as the sun rises over
the earth. She longs for thee." Oh sweet gods above...had Aphrodite just
said what she thought she said?! But how could that be, breaking a bond
that had spanned time and death and space and lifetimes to give her an
angel to love and hold close?
Words would not seem to form on her lips, so Minako threw her arms
around Aphrodite's neck and kissed her perfect cheek. "Thank you,
mother!" she managed to whisper as the Goddess held her close.
"Gratitude is not needed, for thee hath defended my honor many times and
hath used my gift of power wisely and unselfishly. To ease thy suffering
is my gift to thee. Now go to her, my child. Go to her and be gentle, be
patient, for she still loves her prince. Wise would it be to not reveal
our encounter until thy wedding night."
Minako's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "W-wedding?! I-uh-um...holy
crap! You think far ahead, don't you?" Aphrodite laughed, hugging her
child once more.
"Ah, darling Minako, thy hath much to learn. I love thee my child.
Return to this place and visit me again, for I hath missed thee sorely."
And the Goddess faded away, the warmth of her embrace and the smell of
gardens on her skin lingering around Minako for a moment. Truly smiling
for the first time in many months, Minako turned from the temple and
ran.
Ran to the arms she knew were awaiting her return.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~{~~@
The silence in the temple was tangible. The senshi sat in their meeting
room in Rei's temple, staring at one another in confused silence. They
had discussed every possibility as to why Minako left, including a new
enemy that kidnapped her, an unexpected trip. Maybe she was going back
to England to talk with the model agency there? But one by one, each
hypothesis came to one answer: no, their friend would have told them,
would have contacted them, would not have left in the middle of the
night with what she had left with.
Usagi stayed silent, gritting her teeth and focusing on the carpet in
front of her. She knew why Minako left, and guilt ate at her. She really
should tell them, but her heart ached for Minako. She couldn't look
Mamoru in the eye, because when she did she thought of the tears that
had swam in the golden senshi's eyes the night before. When he held her
close to him, Usagi's heart ached and she longed for Minako's arms
around her, not her boyfriend's.
Mamoru could sense that Usagi knew more than she was saying, that
something was eating at his lover's conscience. But he decided not to
comment on it, not in front of the senshi. He wanted to hold her, to
comfort her, but she pushed him away. Why would she push him away unless
something so big, so dramatic happened the night before that the blond
didn't want his touch?
Artemis caught his eye from across the room. There was a look in the
feline's eyes, a knowing look. Mamoru nodded, slightly, as the cat
glanced at Usagi and back at him. Maybe the guardian knew what was going
on. Maybe someone could explain to him why Usagi pushed him away.
"Well, it seems that there is nothing more to say." Ami jotted down a
few last notes on her notepad and turned her quiet eyes on the group as
she spoke. "If anyone hears from Minako or finds a clue as to the reason
for her disappearance or her whereabouts, then they can contact one of
us on our communicators. Goodnight everyone."
Usagi waited until everyone began talking until she made her quiet exit.
There was no reason to stay that night, as she normally would have done.
Staying and participating in mindless chatter would do nothing to help
her find Minako. And she had to find her, had to ask her why. Why did
she leave? What was the poem about? Why did looking at her make Usagi's
heart skip a beat?
She thought she knew the answers, but no. That could not possibly be the
true reason. Please, God, don't let her suspicions be true! But what
other explanation was there for it all? Had the Princess of the Moon
Kingdom fallen in love with her Senshi guard and closest friend with one
simple encounter? Because of a single poem, a tender touch, a few tears.
Discarded a love that had lasted countless lifetimes for one that could
never possibly be returned.
"Usa!" Usagi snapped from her reverie, cringing at the voice. She
stopped and turned around, pasting a smile on her face as Mamoru ran
toward her. He slowed as he reached her, smiling his handsome smile as
his dark black hair brushed his forehead. He was so handsome, so loving
and sweet, so perfect for her. Why, then, did his smile fail to strike
love in her heart?
"Hey Usa, why'd you leave? That's not like you." He draped an arm over
her shoulders, a gesture that would have been comfortable, would have
made Usagi turn into him and hold him close. But she couldn't bring
herself to hold him close, couldn't bring her heart to pound with love.
All she could think of, all she could long for, was Minako. But why?
"I'm very worried about Minako." She admitted, forcing herself to wrap
her arm around his waist. "I want to find her, to find out why she ran
away from us. But how can we do that if we're all standing around
talking, ya know what I mean?" She looked up at Mamoru and saw his eyes
darken and the smile that curled his lips was obviously forced.
"Yes, I understand. I hope we can find her." His arm fell from her
shoulders and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. Usagi clasped her
hands, staring at the ground as an uncomfortable silence fell between
them. He knew. She didn't know how, but he knew something.
"Mamo..."
"Hey, Usagi, I've got to run over to the lab quickly. I'm sorry, but
I've got to go." Without waiting for a reply from her, he turned and
strode away in a direction that she knew for a fact was the opposite of
his college laboratory building. She stood frozen, as if he had slapped
her. Oh god...what now?
"I'm sorry Mamo...I'm sorry!" Her feet seemed to move on their own,
taking off running as she covered her face with her hands. Ran for her
soul, for her life, from the confusion and guilt in her heart. Sobs tore
through her body, and she pleaded for forgiveness from people that would
never hear her cries. "I love you! Forgive me!"
Back to Bleeding Hearts Index - Back to Sailor Moon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction