“…Fine. Then tell us what you know about Apollo and the key…”
Rei’s request hung heavily in the air but when no one said anything, everything lapsed back into an uncomfortable silence. Haruka looked absolutely rigid; Hotaru, who had crawled out of Minako’s lap and was now sitting idly by Michiru’s foot, curiously stared up at the adults. Were Auntie Rei and Papa going to fight? She tilted her head quizzically at them. The atmosphere was so tense that no one noticed how the girl’s dark eyes dimly glowed as the name of the Sun God was uttered.
“Well?”
Haruka glanced over at Michiru, and saw her partner nod back. She had to inwardly groan-- this was going to be embarrassing.
“Kay... I know this is going to sound really bad, but... seriously? Your guess is good as ours...”
Everyone aside from Michiru and Haruka nearly fell over.
“WHAT?!”
Rei’s right eyebrow was twitching dangerously. “Grr…Haruka... if you’re trying to make a joke out of this, it’s not a very good one.”
“I’m not joking.”
“So then, let me get this straight. Basically, what’s you’re saying is... after all of this time, and a huge hassle later, you guys found nothing? How in the name of Mars could you have found ‘half’ of the key if you don’t know anything about it? I mean, if either of you didn’t notice, Hotaru can walk! And that’s another thing! Why are you two so sure that she’s part of the key? She’s human! We did a bio scan of her on Mercury and nothing came up.”
The mention of a bio scan prompted a frown from Michiru. Haruka, on the other hand, feigned a thoughtful look. As tempted as she was, the wind ruler decided to be good and resisted teasing her friend.
“Hmm...Well, it’s just like you said. It’s kind of complicated. But...if you don’t mind, can we talk about this later? I’d rather not talk about it in front of Hotaru.” Everyone turned their gazes to the cheerful ball of sunshine on the floor-- right, they had almost forgotten about that. Haruka saw the Martian Commander scowl, but from the series of emotions that flitted across her face within those two seconds she knew the woman wouldn’t press it. “Heh, don’t worry! I’ll be sure to tell you all about it later! Anyway, as for our research on Apollo... you see, we would have made huge progress by now if it weren’t for a little problem.”
“What kind of problem?” Rei arched an eyebrow sarcastically. She highly doubted it was ‘little’ given the woman’s nature.
“Hmm...How to put it? Okay. First of all, you all know about the detection spell right? The one we learnt how to do when we were kids?”
“What about it?”
“...Well, what’s so special about it?”
“...”
“It’s the most basic skill we learned?” Makoto proposed.
“Yeah, there we go! You got it.” Haruka nodded. “It’s so basic that even little kids can learn how to do it. But that isn’t the point. What I’m trying to get at, is... it’s a very useful spell, but there are a bunch of limitations on it. First of all, it has this dinky little range,” She emphasized by making a small ‘air box’ with her hand, “so you can’t find the spiritual trails very easily after a certain point of time. But let’s say you still want to but the trail is already gone. What do you do?”
Rei rolled her eyes. “Leave it and look for another way. It can’t be done.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a smile forming on Michiru’s face.
“Well, not necessarily,” Ami thought aloud. “Hypothetically, it may be possible if she managed to amplify the spell enough. But at that point, it would likely become an entirely new spell altogether.”
“That’s right.” Michiru patted Hotaru on the head and then stepped forward. Her sharp eyes trained on the Martian. “Perhaps you’ve never heard of such a spell, but it does exist.”
“Stop speaking in riddles. What are you getting at? As far as I’m concerned, none of you have answered my question yet.”
“Yes, well, it seems that sometimes, things need to be spelled out a little slower for some.” Rei twitched. “In any case, what Haruka neglected to mention is that we’re not looking for human spiritual trails. For our purposes, we wish to navigate through time.”
The comment had seemed to throw everyone for a loop.
“Through time...?” Ami’s eyes couldn’t have gotten any wider. “But if such a spell existed, then undoubtedly it would have been banned.”
“It was.” Michiru heard her friend gasp. “Any knowledge regarding it was hidden away from everyone except for a few individuals. My Mother was one of these people.”
“The Goddess of Neptune...” Makoto whispered under her breath; it saddened the group to be reminded of the deceased woman.
“That is why I’m not surprised that none of you have heard of it. Even I wasn’t aware of its existence until recently. But yes, for our purposes, we wish to look through time to gather information on the Sun King. Unfortunately, after a certain incident, this is the only alternative left available to us.”
Ami shook her head. “Wait, no... Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to carefully consider the situation; this is a forbidden spell that we’re talking about and a very dangerous one at that. It’s dangerous as it is to separate your consciousness from your body, but sending it potentially centuries into the past on top of that?” Her voice trailed off.
“Ami...I can assure you that I’m more than capable of it.”
“But that isn’t the point. Are you absolutely sure that there isn’t any other way of going about this? Perhaps there may not be enough information in Neptune’s libraries, but there may be something in one of the other planetary libraries. I mean, I’ve already found a few articles; they’re stored in my computer’s database at the moment, oh, if my mini-computer weren’t broken, but... if you would like to review them sometime, you’re more than welcome to. Perhaps we can go to the other libraries and work together on this.”
Ami... Haruka watched the blue-haired woman from the side. You’ve figured it out already, haven’t you? Out of all of us, the only one capable of performing a spell at that magnitude is Michiru.
She recalled how she tried to stop the woman the first time she suggested the spell to her. It was a futile attempt, and soon the others would realize it as well.
Michiru shook her head. “Thank you, but I’m afraid that’s not the kind of information that we need. In the past, instead of writing about the Sun King in our history, many of our predecessors chose to keep his memory alive as a children’s myth. While there are some truths in these stories, many of the facts have become severely distorted over the years. Now that there are so many versions of the same tale, which version is truly the correct one? What I’m searching for is the truth.”
“But, Michiru...!”
Rei frowned; she couldn’t help but feel that there was something else to the woman’s madness on the matter.
“Why are you being so stubborn about this? You just heard what she said! The spell is essentially a death trap. Are you really that keen on throwing your life away?”
Michiru’s aquamarine eyes flashed. “For your information, I’ve already performed the spell several of times already. And as you can see, I am perfectly fine.”
Rei opened her mouth, and then shut it. She wasn’t going to waste her time arguing with her on this.
Yeah, but how far have you actually gone into the past? She was tempted to say. Ami seemed to understand this minor detail as well because the young ruler had gone fairly rigid. Although she had stopped her crying habit a long time ago, there were always the little signs that told everyone when she was upset-- and there was no mistaking it, she was upset.
A little gentler, Michiru looked at her friend and said, “I’m sorry... I would have told you sooner, but before we knew what was happening, things had become very hectic for us.”
“That’s right.” Haruka agreed, and turned to look at Rei. “Honestly, we didn’t mean to keep things a secret from you. But as soon as we started looking for information on Apollo, we were attacked.”
“You mean...?”
“Yeah...by those shadow things... Actually, to be more exact, Michiru was attacked first. That’s why I came to Neptune in the first place.”
“It’s a bit complicated.” Michiru tried to explain. “You see, it all started because of something I read in one of my Mother’s journals. It appeared that, while other planetary rulers decided to forget about Apollo, she had written and stored away many of her own detailed accounts of the past within a secret archive in the palace. After reading a bit more, it piqued my curiosity enough to go and search for the place myself.”
Liar... Rei secretly thought to herself. If you really had no interest in all of this, why would you still be reading through her journals after all of these years?
“Oh... So, there really were historic documents?” Ami asked.
“Yes. But unfortunately, by the time I found the archives one of those creatures had already infiltrated into the place.” There was anger bordering her tone now. “I eventually managed to drive it off, but by then it was already too late. It had destroyed virtually all of the records pertaining to the Sun God.”
“I see. I’m sorry Michiru, I didn’t know.”
The Goddess’s eyes softened. “Why are you apologizing? It wasn’t your fault. These things sometimes happen, and we just have to accept them and move on. After the encounter though, it’s just as Haruka said. I contacted her and notified her of what happened. After some discussion, that was when she decided to come to Neptune and help me while I conduct the spell. I understand that it poses a danger to my consciousness, but it would hardly matter if something were to happen to my body first. Since we were being attacked almost constantly by then, I needed someone to watch out for me while I concentrated.”
“I see...” Rei said tensely.
“It was pretty exhausting.” Haruka laughed. Her expression suddenly turned serious. “But... now that they know that we’re all together, things will likely become tougher for us from now on. We’re all going to have to stick together.”
...All of us? Minako found herself staring at her feet. She felt like she was being left out of the conversation as it was, but the comment really made her think. While everyone was worrying and busy fighting, what was I doing? I only got involved in the first place because of the mission.
In comparison, she would hardly call her task worthy of the term ‘mission’; it made her feel so shallow and ashamed. She was distracted when a prod into her side made her turn her head, and she found herself staring Rei in the face.
“Hey, didn’t you just hear me? That includes you, too.”
Lubb dubb.
“What?” She blinked.
“Yeah, it’s just like she said. You’re a part of the group too.” Makoto beamed.
“But Venus is...I mean-- we’re still a neutral planet. I-I don’t know what my Mother would say about all of this...”
“I wouldn’t worry about it. I highly doubt Lady Aphrodite will reject our proposal, but we will speak with her.” Michiru assured her.
“Yeah! I mean, we’ve never met your mom before, but she must be a nice and enchantingly beautiful person if she’s anything like you.” Haruka joked. This earned her a hard elbow to the side from Rei. “Oof! What-did-you-do-that-for?!”
“Flirt.” Michiru also gave her a quick jab from the other side.
“Ouch! HEY!”
This drew a laugh from everyone, and even Minako found herself laughing.
“Hahaha...” Makoto took a deep breath. “Okay guys, I don’t mean to be a mood breaker, but Haruka... You still haven’t told us about this little problem of yours yet.”
“Huh?” She stared at the woman for a second before it clicked. “OH! Right! Yeah, yeah...well, you see, it’s more of Michiru’s problem than mine. I mean, all I do is fight the bad guys while she’s concentrating.”
She violently flinched when she thought Michiru was about to elbow her again.
“What Haruka meant to say... is that there is someone else who can apparently use the same technique.”
“Who?” Minako blinked.
“The Witch!” Haruka blurted out.
There was a long pause.
Haruka... Rei and Makoto both thought together, while everyone slowly backed away, you do realize by calling the other person a witch, you just called Michiru--
Bam!
“Ooooooouuuuchhh!!!”
“As I was saying…” Michiru continued. “...there is a cunning individual who is repeatedly getting in my way whenever I try to research the past. I can’t say that we know who the identity of this person is, but she is being rather stubborn.”
“Is it another God?” Ami proposed.
“Thought of that.” Haruka wheezed from the floor.
“We thought about it, but aside from Lady Aphrodite, I don’t know of any other Goddess who is not standing here with us.”
“Hmm... that’s true...”
“Then, what if it’s a Goddess that we don’t know of?” Rei suggested. This earned a frown from the other woman. She could see the reluctance there but it hadn’t been entirely ruled out yet. “You said that there were a lot of things hidden from us in the past, right? Then what if there are individuals that survived from there, just like the previous Gods and Goddesses? Unless... you are suggesting that there is a human strong enough to beat you at your own spell?”
Everyone could almost hear the air crack at the remark. It was true-- as far as they were aware of, no one had ever came close to touching Michiru in a magic match. This mysterious stranger was a first, and undoubtedly a source of unspoken humiliation for the proud Goddess.
“I highly doubt that.” Michiru remarked coolly. “But we should keep it in mind in any case. What we really should be concentrating on is the fact that we are making progress, even if it’s small. While we haven’t delved deep into the past concerning Apollo, we have discovered more about Planet Power. If you would all recall to our earlier battle today with the shadow creatures, both Haruka and I have used it.”
“Yeah, I remember that! It was pretty impressive!” Makoto said. “How did you guys do that anyway?”
“We’ll show you later,” Haruka promised.
Makoto leaned in to whisper, “Umm...Is there any possible way to avoid the mini skirt?”
“...No promises.”
Ami’s face had turned a deep crimson and Michiru coughed. “It’s not about how it looks that matters.”
Funny, I thought it looked fashionable. Minako thought quietly to herself. Her eyes slowly drifted over to where Rei was, and, once she sensed the undeniable feel of a stare, she found the woman indignantly shooting daggers back.
What do you want? Rei hissed back. But Minako merely smirked, turned away and giggled to herself. Now she couldn’t get the image of a certain Martian prancing around in a mini-skirt out of her head. It was too cute; she would have to make a reminder to draw a sketch of it later.
Twitch.
Would you cut that out?!
“Unfortunately, we have also discovered a few other things.” Michiru continued. “Some of which, are not quite as pleasant.”
This sent a shiver running down the group’s back. Haruka’s eyes also darkened a shade at the mention of this.
“This may come as a shock to you guys... but we think our enemy isn’t a normal God. He may actually be something more than that, maybe, a ghost even.” She scanned everyone’s faces and saw the flicker of fear in their eyes. Rei, especially, recalled the sight of the malevolent being behind her mentor before he vanished. “This was later confirmed by Michiru, but shortly before I left Uranus I met up with the former Uranus and he said something that was very interesting. He thought that Apollo was hunting down the bloodlines of those who betrayed him.”
Haruka...
The mention of the deceased God made Rei, Ami and Makoto shoot uncomfortable glances to one another. Haruka didn’t know about him yet. How were they ever going to break this to her?
“It makes sense, doesn’t it? I mean, why Gods and Goddesses have been suddenly going missing? A lot of us have lost people precious to us because of him. But he might not stop there. Once he’s done with our predecessors, he might even start to come after us.” Haruka paused. “Well, actually... if Apollo is only going after bloodlines then I guess Rei and me would be safe ‘cause we’re not royal born. However, I doubt any of you would have much trouble either!” She stated with confidence.
Gee, thanks Haruka… The majority simultaneous thought, especially after knowing how Makoto was almost killed on Jupiter.
“And why would you think we’d be safe?” Ami questioned, coughing softly.
“Hm? Oh, for two reasons actually. One, it’s obvious that Apollo must still be building up his power. Those shadow assassins haven’t been around for too long, so it must be taking him some time to summon them. And besides, if he was all powered up, why doesn’t he just bust down here and kill us all himself?”
“Okay, I’d buy that,” Makoto replied, having somewhat relaxed her composure. She did feel a little more secure now. “So then, what’s the second reason?” She smiled despite herself.
“We don’t have any siblings.”
Minako felt her heart skip a beat.
Rei shook her head. “Really Haruka, what kind of reason is that?” The woman crossed her arms over her chest, looking rather unconvinced. “How can having any siblings have anything to do with this? I mean, if any of us did, it just means he’d have to kill more people to get his revenge.”
“Wooooow, you’re really an optimist, aint’cha Rei?”
“I try.” Rei smiled back. She heard a few snorts in the background, but said nothing of it.
“Heh, okay, lemme ask you this then. If what you say is true, and it really doesn’t matter how many children a God can have... then why do Gods and Goddesses only have one child, despite the fact that having more children would increase the chance of passing on their bloodline?”
“You mean there was a reason?” Makoto blinked back. She peered down at Ami, hoping her friend would know the answer. Unfortunately, she didn’t either and only offered a shrug. Did Rei know?
“Why would I know?!” Rei exclaimed when she spotted her two friends obviously staring in her direction.
“Okay, then I’ll tell you why,” Haruka smirked. She was rather proud that she knew something the rest of her friends didn’t. “The power that a God or Goddess can pass onto the next generation decreases as they have more children...! Meaning, the oldest would receive the maximum potential for power growth, while the second would receive a range slightly smaller, and etc… Do you get it now? Because none of us have siblings, we don’t have to worry about all that! Makoto, Ami, Minako and Michiru, all of you inherited the ability to hit max potential. While myself… well, since I wasn’t a royal to begin with, when I inherited the throne I automatically gained it all. It would be the same for Rei when she does it too. Soooo... all we have to do now is train up! Problem solved!”
Minako was getting a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Suddenly, she didn’t feel very good.
“Minako? Is everything all right?” Rei whispered.
“I, uhh... Ummmm...” She was really beginning to panic for an excuse when a loud beeping attracted everyone’s attention.
Bleep… Bleep…Bleep!
As everyone moved to check their communicators for incoming transmissions, Minako remained frozen in place. There was something bleeping in her pant pocket but she felt like she couldn’t move-- deep inside, she just wished for the noise to go away. But it wasn’t about to. After everyone shook their heads at one another they looked in her direction; the blonde Venusian was finally forced to lower her eyes to the insistent communicator. Reluctantly, she pulled it out and saw the orange screen blinking urgently.
It’s a transmission for me? Minako’s face went pale when she recognized that the sender code was from Venus. Calmly, Minako said, “I guess it’s for me… Sorry about this, but can I slip out for a moment to take it? If you don’t mind, that is.”
“Ah. No, not at all.” Haruka briefly glanced over at Michiru. “Actually, it might be better if we all took a break. It’s been a pretty long day after all.”
“Yes, and we still need to raise the planet shield,” Michiru pointed out.
“I can help you with that.” Ami offered.
“Thank you, dear.”
“So, just to get this straight... you guys lowered the shield for us, right?” Makoto double checked.
“Yes.”
“Oh, okay... Well! If you think you could use an extra hand, I help too.”
Haruka laughed. “Hah, that’s great! Now that you’ve got three people, I don’t have to do it.”
“Haruka...”
The tall woman look mortified when she thought she might get a beating from all three of them, but she slumped in relief when they all just walked away.
“Hey, I was fighting all day!” Haruka yelled to them, and waved. As soon as they disappeared from sight, her arms dropped to her sides and her smile faded somewhat. The fatigue brick fell from the sky and nearly smashed her head in.
Ugh, damn, I’m tired...! She felt like she could drop to the floor and sleep right there, but there were still a few things that she needed to take care of. And Michiru had seemed to understand this as well.
Oh well, first things first!
Without looking, she threw her arm back and grabbed hold of someone’s arm HARD.
“OUCH!-What the--what do you think you’re doing?! Let go!” Rei yelped in surprise. Haruka’s nails were digging into her arm awfully hard.
“What were you trying to pull back there, Rei?” She asked quietly.
Rei turned her head away. “What are you talking about? You better let go of me before I break that arm of yours!”
Haruka reluctantly released the woman’s arm, but she wasn’t so willing to let the subject drop.
“That’s so not funny, I almost forgot to laugh. C’mon! You know what I’m talking about. That human remark wasn’t very funny...”
Rei balked for a second. “Look, all I did was point out the alternative to her reasoning! If there was something that powerful that could interfere with her powers, and it wasn’t a God, then what else could it be?!” She hesitated to say more when she saw the disappointment playing in her friend’s green eyes. Rei glanced around for a moment, making sure that Minako had left with the others. When it seemed to be clear, she sighed. “Look, Haruka, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just... a little frustrated, that’s all.”
Haruka’s ears perked up at the rare confession. She almost had to laugh. “You’re frustrated? About what...?” She tilted her head. “Waaait a minute... I know what this is about. You’ve finally hit puberty and developed hormones like the rest of us!”
“NO!” Rei couldn’t have possibly turned redder.
“Hah. You’re so red, it’s true! Does it have anything to do with, oh, I don’t know... a blonde? What was her name aga-”
“Haruka! I’m trying to be serious! There’s something important that I need to tell you, and I can’t tell you what it is unless you shut up and listen to me!”
“Umm...okay? Okay. I’m sorry. You’ve got my attention. Go ahead, shoot. What is it?”
Rei looked very uncomfortable, but she steeled herself and pressed on.
“Like... I’m not even sure how to tell you this. Do you remember when you were talking about leaving Uranus? And that you saw him just before you left?”
“Yeah...? What about it?”
“Well... I hate to tell you this Haruka, but he’s... during the civil war on Uranus, he passed away.”
“Oh.” Haruka fell silent, and her gaze fell to the floor. As the silence droned on, Rei was really beginning to get nervous; she wouldn’t know what to do if the other woman started crying or did something else crazy like that. “Yeah, actually...I kinda already knew about that. But thanks for telling me anyway. I really appreciate it.”
Rei did a double take. “You already knew? But how? You were on Neptune the entire time, weren’t you?”
“Well, let’s just say that when you become the wind, you have so much more freedom.”
Rei pondered her words for a moment, when she suddenly remembered something. “Wait a second! In the prison cell! That was you, wasn’t it?!”
On Uranus, I thought the wind was acting strangely. It was also the wind that killed the shadow assassin in the prison cell! I remember thinking, just before I was rescued, that I thought that I sensed...
“You were sneaking around and spying on us the entire time, weren’t you?!”
Haruka chuckled. “What can I say? It’s my planet. Besides, someone’s gotta look after you guys. Do you even realize what a handful you all can be even when you’re a planet away?” She cracked a grin.
“I could’ve handled it myself.” Rei huffed.
“Maybe...”
Rei shifted on the spot and they averted each other’s gazes. The Martian Commander didn’t like the way her childhood friend was acting--she was clearly skipping around something. If the Goddess had been spying on them during the civil war, then was it possible that she caught a glimpse of that as well?
Rei thought back to her brutal fighting ways when the bloodlust took over. When she thought about it, whether her friend knew about it or not she still felt somewhat indignant that she had been spied on.
“A-Anyway...If that’s all you wanted to talk about, then I’ll let you get some rest.” Rei said as she began to head towards the chamber exit.
“Wait, umm... Rei?”
“What is it?”
Haruka seemed to ponder hard on her words, but it seemed that she decided to change the topic at the last second.
“Thanks for not getting into a fight with Michiru today. I know the both don’t get along, and I know that things can’t change over night... but really, I hope the two of you will be able to get along someday. It’s kinda hard sometimes to see friends fight. What happened that day, all of those years ago... it wasn’t our fault.”
“Of course it wasn’t. It’s was Ares and Apollo’s doing.”
Before Haruka could stop her again, Rei without out of the room without as much as a backwards glance. She knew what Haruka would have said- ‘it’s not Ares fault either’, that she wasn’t truly guilty by association. But deep inside, she still felt a thorn prick at her heart.
(Minako, Outer Corridor)
Minako quickly glanced down both sides of the corridor. It was empty, good. Carefully, she lifted the communicator to her line of vision and re-read the screen.
It really is a call from home... The words were finally beginning to sink in. Minako sighed; there were so many possibilities, and many of them were not pretty. What if it’s from Mother? What if she wants to ask why I haven’t completed the mission yet? Or, what if she heard about what happened on Uranus? Is it even possible that she knows? Minako recalled her Mother’s viewing orb, how she could see the War God, Ares from a distance away. It was giving her stomach butterflies.
The communicator kept ringing insistently in her hands. Minako flipped the screen up, and felt her blood run cold. She could almost laugh, but she was too scared to.
What will she see when she lays her eyes on me? Goddess, please give me strength.
With shaky hands, Minako gathered her courage and completed the connection.
…Channel secured… opening transmission…
Bleep!
Instantly, the projection of Aphrodite burst forth into the space in front of the young woman. Minako was so startled that she nearly dropped the machine.
“M-Mother,” She stuttered out. Minako felt her heart racing in her chest as her mother’s gaze settled upon her. The Goddess Aphrodite, even at such a great distance away her presence still imposed an enormous influence. It made the young woman feel so self-conscious, and insignificant in that moment.
“Minako.” Aphrodite answered the weak greeting with a strong voice. “What is taking you so long? I had expected the mission accomplished and you back at home by now.”
W-What should I say? Her eyes… it feels like she’s seeing right into my soul! She gulped. No! C’mon, Minako, snap out of it! You’re...you’re...
“Is there something wrong?”
Minako opened her mouth, and then shook her head. “No. Everything is all right. Umm...As for the mission, I apologize for my tardiness. Regrettably, there have been... a few, foreseen difficulties.”
“Difficulties?”
Minako resisted the urge to shiver. “Y-Yes! But it’s nothing that I can’t handle. It’s just-- I need a bit more time.”
The Goddess frowned. “I am afraid that I cannot grant that request. Minako, you are to return home immediately. We will speak of this later.”
“What? B-But Mother! I know I can do this! Please, just give me another chance!”
“Did you not hear me? I said, come home immediately! I will deal with you then!”
“WAIT!!”
Aphrodite abruptly cut the connection at the start of her daughter’s screech, clearly not interested in debating the topic any longer. It took an even shorter amount of time for that feeling of dread to sink in.
Minako stumbled back against the wall in shock.
“Goddess...what should I do? I have to go back home? Now...?”She leaned her back against the wall and sunk to the floor, allowing her knees to rise up to her chest. The communicator lay limply in her hand.
Mother said that she would ‘deal’ with me. So, she means to punish me. Why am I even surprised? I blew it. I failed at my first and ONLY mission, and now she’s mad at me. It was enough to bring her close to tears. I just-- I just wanted her to be proud of me. And now look what happened! Minako thought about the moments before the call. Everyone was smiling at her and telling her that she belonged with them, and, for an instant, she had almost deluded herself into believing it. That was, until a stupid phone call ruined it all. A crack rang in the air when the communicator bounced off of the wall opposite of her.
“This is just so stupid!” The Venusian growled. “It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this!”
She felt like she was becoming hysterical as her mother’s last command still boomed loudly in her mind. It felt like she was being torn apart inside.
If I go home, I’ll be punished. But if I go through with the mission, I might be forgiven, but then Rei would hate me forever! Can’t I... just forget about everything and stay here?
The rebellious thought even surprised herself: To disobey her mother, the Goddess of Venus? Frustratingly enough, the only thing stopping her from analyzing this approach further was the very thing that pushed her into this position in the first place. Minako suddenly leapt to her feet and angrily swiped up the infuriating piece of machinery.
I’ve got to see Rei! Now! She decided. Unconsciously, she threw out some threads of her power and began to search for the woman. If it’s the last thing I do...
Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup!
(Rei, Guest quarters)
Since Rei had left the accursed cavern, she had been in a terrible mood. The moment she had stormed into the guest chamber she began to rid herself of her armor. The pieces were tossed in every which direction, but even without the extra baggage she still felt burdened. Rei knew it was a spiritual thing, but those types of wounds were pests as far as she was concerned.
“Tch, I don’t get this at all!” She paced hurriedly around the bed, occasionally lashing out at an invisible opponent with a snarl. She was feeling anxious and irrational; what was this affliction--a bad joke? The Martian Commander was supposed to be an unfeeling, unemotional being. But at this very moment, she was Rei Hino. She was human.
Rei finally stopped at the foot of the bed and sat down with a tired groan.
“Argh, this is ridiculous!” At this point, she didn’t even care about Michiru or the past. And with Haruka’s earlier teasing, it didn’t help in the least.
“Are you just angry because I’m finally trying to stand up for myself? Have you ever thought, even once, that maybe, just maybe...I don’t want to always be protected?”
If she doesn’t want to be protected, then what am I supposed to do?! Rei thought, growing increasingly frustrated. How else could she possibly interact with Minako otherwise? She was used to shouting out orders, and having people listening on her every word. But she couldn’t deploy this tactic with the energetic Venusian. Minako never listened to her and to an extent, she, often, blatantly defied her. Even now, when she thought back to the first time they met the woman was full of surprises. Rei wasn’t aware of it, but her cheeks were becoming somewhat flushed.
She’s changing. I should be happy, relieved even, that she doesn’t want to be protected anymore... but, if she doesn’t need to be protected then, does that mean that she doesn’t need me anymore?
For some reason, the thought really stung. Rei leaned back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
Does that mean she’ll be going home soon? She could see herself standing beside Minako’s bed when she was injured, and hearing Makoto asking when Minako would be returning to Venus. At that time, she didn’t know. And, truthfully, she still didn’t. She almost laughed at the next thought that crossed her mind.
Heh. Well, it would be better than being dead. Exactly what she’ll end up to be if she stays near me... The woman’s amethyst eyes stared at her sheathed sword by the room, the one she had swapped with her officer a long while back. It seemed like such a long time ago, but she never did get an answer to that question:
Why did she come to Mars anyway?
As the woman continued to ravage war against her emotions versus her actions, she failed to notice the rapidly approaching spiritual presence.
Blam!
The room door was flung open.
“?!” Rei instinctively jumped off the bed, but she relaxed when she recognized the familiar blonde figure gasping for breath at the doorway. “Oh, Minako... it’s just you.” She was about to laugh and hide her nervousness until she took a closer look at the woman.
“Huff…huff…”
“Minako? What’s wrong?” All of the sudden, her previous worries were thrown out the window. Is she crying? Automatically Rei started to move towards her. “Why were you running so hard? Is everything okay? What happened...? We aren’t being attacked again, are we?”
Minako shook her head, further confusing the Martian. Rei hesitantly placed her hands on the woman’s shoulders, and was greeted by an unexpected, tight embrace. The next thing she knew, she had been knocked right off of her feet and was on the floor. Awkwardly, she lay there frozen as she was slowly coming to the startling realization that Minako was pressed up right against her; a head was lying on her chest, and a mess of blonde hair had practically obscured her vision. A handful of her shirt was tightly gripped in one of the blonde’s fists. It was for an instant, but Rei nearly placed a hand on her head but thought against it at the last second. The reaction came out of nowhere, it was unnatural, and as far as she could tell Minako had already started to calm down anyway.
Instead, Rei sighed. “So...We aren’t under attack. Are you going to tell me what’s wrong now?”
Minako had stopped crying, but the Venusian found herself caught in a bitter storm of emotion. On the way here, she blasted through the corridors as if she was on a war path. But as soon as she threw open the door and caught sight of Rei, the tears started pouring out from nowhere. Instead of saying what she meant to say, of doing what she meant to do, she blindly abandoned everything just to feel the other woman. Sure, Rei lay there like a dead fish but still she hadn’t thrown her off. Minako knew that she had a good heart, and it was reassuring to hear it beating beneath her.
It’s a bit fast... She felt Rei squirm slightly when she nuzzled her. But that’s because, I startled her.
It stung to think Rei’s heart was beating fast because she was simply surprised. It had been like this when they met on Mars, wasn’t it?
Am I the only one who changed...?
“Umm, Minako...?”
She found herself sighing.
Lubb Dubb.
What is there to say?
I was sent to Mars by my mother to seduce Ares... but instead, I ended up finding you .So technically, I was supposed to have seduced you and then go home.
Lubb Dubb. Lubb Dubb.
But...somewhere along the way, something went terribly wrong. But you’d get angry if I told you that, wouldn’t you?
Rei’s heart-rate skyrocketed when Minako lifted her head and looked her straight in the eye. Why was she looking at her like that? Awkwardly, Rei began to shift her weight and Minako, reluctantly, allowed her to sit up. However, she did not allow her out pull out of her reach--a minor detail that didn’t go unnoticed by the Martian Commander.
“C’mon Minako... seriously, what’s wrong?” You’re kinda freaking me out here... “If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, I can’t help you.”
Minako bit her bottom lip. “It’s... kind of complicated.” She finally said.
Rei felt a little relieved to hear her speak. “Yeah, I kinda figured. It’s not every day that you run into my room and beg me for a hug.”
“Heh, I didn’t beg for it. You did.” She reached forward and tapped her nose.
Rei smacked her hand away. “Excuse me, but if I recall right, you barged into my room and tackled me to the floor.”
“So? You know you liked it.” She saw Rei blush, and giggled. “See, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. That kind of face is just begging for a hug and a-”
“A what...?” Rei suspiciously eyed her. She didn’t like the thoughtful expression playing on Minako’s face. Where was she looking? “Look, you aren’t getting out of this that easily. What are you trying to hide from me? Obviously something bad happened and it was bad enough to make you cry. It doesn’t have anything to do with that phone call, does it?”
Minako smiled softly to herself.
“Actually, it doesn’t.” Rei arched an eyebrow. “You don’t believe me? Well, believe it or not, it really doesn’t. This is all...your fault, you know?”
Rei was taken aback. “What? But that can’t be-”
“Oh, but it is.” She giggled. “So, you’re going to have to make it up to me. I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now, but... can I have it Rei?”
As Minako crawled forward, Rei quickly found herself making a hasty retreat.
“H-Have what? What are you talking about?”
“If you don’t remember, then that’s your fault for falling asleep.”
“W-What? Falling asleep? Okay, this isn’t funny, Minako. Cut it out alread-” She heard a thud, and quickly realized she hit the foot of the bed. She whipped her head around only to gape at the other woman as she began to stroke her cheek-- which was now rapidly turning a deep crimson.
After speaking with Mother, I was so angry because everything seemed so complicated. But... after coming here, and seeing you again, I can see that it isn’t the case after all. It’s amazingly simple...
If Rei thought she was nervous before, she had been sadly mistaken. The entire time Minako had been stroking her cheek, she had been slowly leaning in. Her face was so close now-- Rei could feel her shallow breaths on her face. There was a slight pause and their eyes met once again. Unconsciously Rei felt her arm twitch and came into contact with another arm. In her moment of distraction, she failed to notice that Minako had effectively barred her movement with one of her own hands placed purposely by her waist. She had also, as infuriating as it was, slipped between her legs and made it impossible for her to stand up. Rei genuinely looked scared now. As her amethyst eyes bore into Minako’s blue, she was shocked to see a strange haze in her eyes.
Their lips were mere centimetres apart now.
The truth is... I’m just a failure.
When Rei didn’t move, Minako wordlessly closed her eyes and closed the final distance between them.
Time stopped.
The softness that pressed against her lips, Rei couldn’t quite describe it. She couldn’t think; she could only hear her heart pounding faster and faster in her chest. She couldn’t move; when those lips began to move against her unmoving ones, she could only close her eyes and let herself be swept away by the strange sensations. As it continued on, she wasn’t sure if it was from the lack of oxygen but she was beginning to feel light-headed. Her knees were quickly becoming weak. Minako pressed her lips more insistently against hers, urging her to kiss back but instead, to her horror, something of a muffled whimper sounded in the back of her throat.
When Rei felt something wet press up against her lower lip, she gasped and her eyes snapped open in shock. Everything came whirling back into sharp focus.
Slap!
“Wha- What do you think you’re doing?!” She demanded.
Minako fell back with the blow and landed on the floor in front of her with a thud.
Both of them stared at each other, red faced and breathing heavily. Rei had brought up one of her hands over her mouth, where her lips still tingled from her first kiss. There was surprise, confusion and frustration carved into her wide eyes. Minako on the other hand, remained on the floor, gazing up at the woman with her unfocused blue ones. The blonde’s lips were slightly parted and swollen from her actions.
When Rei dared to meet Minako’s eyes, she shivered; she couldn’t quite identify the feeling that inhabited them now. Wonder? Longing? She couldn’t place a word to it, and had no desire to even try. She had been badly startled. She was so confused.
Minako was the first one to move. She turned her head away and stood up so that her back faced the other woman. She didn’t dare to speak.
I should have expected that… Although she wouldn’t let Rei see her cry again, she still wanted to hold her head high. It wasn’t fair to her and, I know that she’ll probably hate me forever now... but I, for some reason, I don’t regret it at all. The only regret I’ll have now... is...
“You’re right, that was inappropriate.” Minako spoke once she had found her voice again. Using every ounce of willpower that she had, she resisted the urge to turn around and give the Martian another tackle as she crossed the room to the door.
“Minako…?” Rei didn’t know what to say.
However, when the blonde reached the door, she suddenly whirled around and flashed a great big smile.
“I stole Rei’s first kiss!” She laughed and made a ‘V’ for victory pose. “Definitely one of a kind! So until next time, I’ll see you around!”
Rei couldn’t stop her as she ran out the door.
Do you remember what I told you back then? If I’m going to be punished for what I did, then I’ll accept it when the time comes...
So, I’ll go home, and accept my punishment. If I never see you again, then, I’m sorry...
...and...
“...”
...Good-bye.
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