(Rei)
The next morning, Rei awoke to the sound of an insistent knocking at her door. It was still dark outside, so she hadn’t slept in to her knowledge.
Who could it be at this time of the day? She grumbled as she got up from her bed and stumbled over to the door. When she opened it, she saw blue eyes and instinctively jumped back in shock.
Usagi giggled. “Good Morning! Did I scare you?”
Rei slowly relaxed when she realized who it was. “Uhh... No! Of course not! Don’t be ridiculous! But for a second there, I thought you were someone else...” She mumbled.
“Hm?”
“Never mind. Anyway, what are you doing up so early? Did everything go well with Hotaru?”
“Yes!” Usagi beamed. “And it’s all thanks to you!”
“Ahh...well, I didn’t actually do anything...”
“Don’t be silly! I wouldn’t have gotten the courage to talk to her if it weren’t for you. Oh! And guess what? I have a surpriiiiise you for.”
Rei watched as the blonde begin to rummage for something in her dress. “What?” She asked suspiciously.
“Take a look for yourself!”
A piece of paper was shoved into the Martian’s face. She had been caught off-guard, but she took the paper nonetheless. Is this... a test paper?
“Oh, that’s right. I remember now... the re-test was scheduled for this morning, wasn’t it?” Her amethyst eyes trailed up to the red, circled score on the upper-right corner. Usagi was practically bouncing on the spot. Despite herself, Rei couldn’t help but smile. “Well, it’s not rocket scientist smart, but I’ll suppose it’ll have to do. A pass is a pass.”
“Pfft. Thanks a lot! It wouldn’t kill you to say something nice, would it?” She ripped the paper back in feigned anger. “But...I am grateful for your help. I’m so happy I think I could hug you. Actually, I think I will!”
“What?! Gah!” Before Rei could react, she was knocked right over and off her feet. In her mind she was glad that Usagi was happy, but she thought this was a bit excessive; it was the second time in her life when she thought she was a mistreated teddy bear, and this time it really bothered her.
“H-Hey, get off!” Usagi was surprised when she was roughly pushed off. “I’m glad you’re happy you passed, but please keep your hands to yourself!”
The blonde blinked back. “Oh! I’m sorry... It’s just...well, I was just really happy.” She smiled. “I guess it’s just something I do when I’m with my friends. But, if it bothers you, then I will try to refrain from doing it. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“It’s just... no, never mind.” Rei sighed. She was looking somewhat flush in the face, something that Usagi found adorably enduring.
“Hey, Rei...?”
“Hm?”
“Do you like anyone?” The words had slipped out before she could stop herself. It completely threw Rei in a loop.
“What?! W-What are you talking about?”
“So, you do?”
“NO!!” Usagi leaned back on her heels and was looking thoughtful, but Rei was close to sweating bullets. “Besides, what kind of question is that?”
“Oh. Well, it--it’s nothing. I was just curious, that’s all. Anyway, I also came to tell you that Haruka also passed as well. So we’ll be starting the next stage of our training today.”
Tup!Tup!Tup!Tup!Tup!Tup!
They both paused when they heard a storm of footsteps coming closer.
“WOOOHOOOO! I FINALLY PASSED!”
“Uranus, would you please sit down and be quiet! You’ll wake everyone up!” Luna thundered after her. In the distance, the footsteps began to die down again.
“So...I see.” Rei sarcastically remarked.
“Eh heh...Well, I guess it’s a good thing that she’s so energetic.” Usagi smiled. “It’s never boring when she’s around. And besides, I think it’s a good thing for Luna. She’s been asleep this entire time just like me. So it’ll be good for her to get back into things.”
“I see.”
Usagi nodded and then stood up. Rei stood up as well.
“Well, that’s all I came to tell you. And, I’m very sorry for waking you up. I was just so excited that I couldn’t wait to tell you.”
Rei suppressed the urge to yawn. “Don’t worry about it. What are friends for, right?”
The comment made Usagi beam. “Well, I suppose I should be going now. There’s something else that I need to take care of. So...I’ll see you later? Remember, we’re all going to meet in the Great Hall an hour from now, so don’t be late!”
“Yeah, yeah...” Rei finally yawned as the girl left. But as soon as she stepped back into her dim room and shut the door, she collapsed to her knees with a huge sigh of relief.
What was that about?! She could feel her face burning, and her heart was racing for no absolutely no reason. She couldn’t get the feeling of being hugged out of her head—it almost made her want to squirm and bury her head underneath a pillow.
When she hugged me... it felt weird. I just didn’t want to be hugged by her.
“Do you like anyone?”
She could see Minako hanging onto her arm during their adventures, how she hugged her all the time, the way she used to smile at her. It almost seemed silly not to let Usagi hug her simply because the Venusian custom between friends went farther than that.
Rei sighed to herself and hid her face in her hands. Why did she have to say something like that?! What’s wrong with me...? She took a deep breath and let her hands fall to her side. She doubted she could get back to sleep even if she wanted to. Well, moping around won’t get me anywhere. I might as well get ready. Training starts in an hour after all. She got back onto her feet and went to get dressed.
Sometime later, Rei heard a knock at her door again. It was about time that she needed to leave for the Great Hall so she assumed it was the over-enthusiastic Moon Princess again.
I guess that must be Usagi. Doesn’t she even know when to quit? Rei walked over to the door and opened it. “Again? You’ve really got to stop doing this--” She stopped; the world seemed to stop spinning. There was a blonde-haired woman standing there, but it wasn’t Usagi.
Only one thought came to mind and her body did the rest.
Mina.
Slam!
Sweating profusely, Rei leaned her full weight against the door in an unusually rigid position. She couldn’t look the Venusian in the face, not now, not yet. There were so many thoughts flying through her mind at that moment. Things were happening too fast and she was nowhere near ready; the way that her cheeks were burning now made her want to hide her face in her hands and sob in some isolated corner at the ends of the universe.
This isn’t my day. She whole-heartedly cursed any higher power who had such a twisted sense of humour to torture her like this.
“Rei?! Come on Rei! Let me in!” Minako banged persistently on the door.
“Why?” The Martian tried to say with a steady voice.
“Why? What kind of question is that? Why else? I just want to talk to you, of course!”
“At this time of the day?” Rei was beginning to regain some of her cool. “It’s still dark out!”
“Well, yeah, but—Hey! You’re up too, you know? What’s your excuse?”
Creeeeak.
The blonde started a little when the door suddenly swung open; Rei glared at her with an ‘I am not amused’ expression.
“I was--” Rei started, but she found her heart caught in her throat.
She was nearly face to face with Minako now, with only a few tempting inches separating them. All right, so maybe opening the door to argue back wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Momentarily her eyes fell to the soft pink lips that were so close and the vow that she’d ‘get it right next time’ boomeranged back and effectively bashed her in the face. There was no one else around. It was just the two of them. But with that fact, topped with her current distress, it was then that realization performed a hit and run:
I can’t do this!
“I-was-so-excited-about-training-that-I-couldn’t-sleep-alright?” She blurted out in one breath, and then went stomping off down the corridor with Minako following closely behind.
“Doing what? Hey! Where do you think you’re going?”
“Away.” Rei increased the pace.
“Where?”
“To the Great Hall.”
“Then I’ll go with you.”
“No.” Oops, that just slipped out.
“What? Why not?”
“Umm… just cause.”
“REI!” Minako threw up her arms in frustration. Any faster and they would be jogging! “What is wrong with you? I just want to talk to you for Goddess’s sake!”
Yeah, but I don’t want to talk to you! Rei silently protested; her blush, to her dismay, still hadn’t faded. Even from their proximity she could feel Minako’s influence on her. What would I say? Sorry Mina, I can’t face you right now because you’re making my body act in ways that I don’t want it to?
“HEY!”
Minako was left gaping slack jawed when the Martian broke out into a full out sprint without warning and was quickly leaving her behind in her dust. The blonde stood there for a moment, rooted in place. Then slowly, after a few seconds, her brain started to function again. Rei was running AWAY from her?
The hell?! That didn’t just sting a little bit. It stung a lot. In fact, she was feeling a little annoyed right about now. Oh no you don’t! Not after I took forever to drag my sorry butt out here at this Goddess forsaken time of morning!
Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup---ZOOOOOOOOOM!
Rei finally reached the stairway at the end of the corridor, thinking that she had successfully ditched Minako.
Sorry Minako. I-I just… I can’t… Not right now… She panted and tried to catch her breath. But, now I’m going to have to apologize later...
“Hm?” Her ears perked up. Did she just hear something? The wind...is it just me or did it suddenly just get quiet?
Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup!
The Martian whirled her head in the direction of the sound and was horrified by what she saw. There was a golden fireball headed straight at her! Or that’s what it looked like to her anyway; Minako was downright scary with that determined gleam in her eyes!
“I… said… I wanted… to talk! So… we… are… going, TO TALK!”
GAAAAAAAAH! Rei silently screamed at the declaration. What’s wrong with her?!
The raven-haired woman leapt down to the next floor, and dared to stop and meet the indignant glare that stared back at her from the top of the stairs. There were only twenty precious stairs and a wall that separated them now.
Minako placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot impatiently. “Well?”
“Well what?” Rei frowned back.
“I haven’t got all day, you know. Come. Here!” She pointed at her feet.
Rei turned her back to the blonde and crossed her arms in an equally stubborn pose. “Hmph.”
Oh, that’s reeeeeal mature. Minako griped to herself.
From the back angle Rei appeared to be her usual detached self. However, that was far from the truth. In reality, Rei was having an extremely difficult time keeping a straight face. Actually talking to Minako again and knowing that she wanted to talk to her was making her infuriatingly happy. No matter how hard she tried to keep focused on the seriousness of the situation, her mind kept creeping back to how much she wished Minako would wear less revealing clothing.
The first time she had met Minako and they were trying to figure out her measurements, the ‘what ifs’ said it all.
ARRRRRRRGH! What the hell?! Why am I acting a teenager who just hit puberty?!
“Hey, are you even listening to me?! We have to get to the Great Hall soon! If you don’t mind, I’d like to get this done and over with before then!”
“You can wait.”
“What did you just say?!”
“It’s not like you’re going to grow older anyway.” Rei turned around and waved at her casually. This earned her another dangerous stare. If Minako had ‘anger gauge’ from one to ten, with ten being the worst, Rei figured she just hit level seven.
“Maybe not, but you will.” Minako countered.
“…Point taken. BUT if I grow old waiting down here, I just might lose my hearing and you won’t be able to talk to me, now, would you?”
Rei barley registered the golden streak dashing up the stairs before she could take off down the corridor. Now she had done it. There was no way Minako was going to give up now, and, secretly, it was exciting. She was almost giddy.
The Martian cut through the corridor and down the stairwell at the other end to the lower level. She could almost hear the swarm of questions that were surely waiting for her if she was caught before then: Why did you run from me? Is there something on my face? You don’t like me anymore? Rei squirmed at the very thought of a Minako styled interrogation. Up ahead she could just make out the opening where the others were surely to be waiting.
Just a little further! She had nearly made it to the exit when Minako’s footsteps suddenly stopped. Her footsteps—they just...
A shadow loomed overhead.
“Oh no you don’t!”
“Huh?!”
Before the Martian yelp a heavy weight crashed down atop of her and roughly dragged her to the ground. Both her and Minako were sent tumbling-- dark and blonde hair being tossed everywhere-- as they slid to a halt in the Great Hall.
When the world finally stopped spinning, Rei released a long, regretful groan; Minako was on top of her, pinning her arms down at her sides and straddling her. There was no escape now.
This isn’t good… She didn’t even need to look. She knew everyone was looking at them right now and she wished that Minako would hurry up and notice it too.
Minako breathed heavily for a moment, trying to catch her breath. She finally had Rei where she wanted her, but the way she had pinned the woman nearly made the blonde forget why she had sought the Martian in the first place. It was a sin the way Rei was so damn cute: The way her hair sprayed across the ground, how her lips were slightly parted as she breathed, and how her face was flush. The ‘Oh shit!’ in the woman’s amethyst eyes was also a nice bonus.
Hah...that’s right. You should be scared.
“Now, we’re going to talk.” Minako stressed ‘talk’ and Rei’s eyes widened. There was a strong pressure on her lower half—nearly making her squirm.
No. No. No. No! Minako!
“Ahem.” Someone delicately coughed.
Rei and Minako whipped their heads in the direction of the voice to see that Luna, and the others were all watching them with amused expressions. Beside them stood a white haired man who, unlike the others, was trying to look anywhere but at the two young women.
Minako’s grip automatically slackened and Rei was finally able to pull free. Together they both staggered back onto their feet as they awkwardly tried to ignore the snickers (mainly from Haruka).
Luna checked off Rei and Minako’s names from her list and lowered her clipboard.
“Now that we’re all here, let’s get started. First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you for passing your exams. Although it took some of you longer to pass than others, what matters the most is that you all may progress to the next stage of your training as a group. That said, since the next stage is not within my area of expertise, you will be instructed by Artemis.” She gestured to her companion. “If you girls remember from Setsuna’s meeting, he was the head of our combat division.”
Luna started to side-track into other details of their training, but Haruka wasn’t interested in listening. She stepped over to the Martian and saw her shoot a suspicious look back.
“So Rei, what was that just now, hm?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Haruka arched an eyebrow. “You’re telling me THAT was NOTHING? I’ve got to admit, that was sure an interesting position for ‘talking’.”
Rei glared at her, clearly losing her patience. “Drop it, Haruka.”
“What? Why? You don’t have to hide it from me, you know? I think it’s great that you two are finally together!”
“We aren’t together.”
“Oh sure, sure---”
WHACK!
“OUCH!” Haruka grimaced when Luna clobbered her with the clipboard. “Why you--”
“As I was saying,” The vice advisor continued, “Artemis, can you take it from here?”
The man grinned and then nodded.
“Sure thing. Leave it to me!”
“Then I will entrust them to you. And! No slacking off,” She reminded him as she passed by. He gulped nervously, drawing a few giggles from the women.
Once Luna had disappeared from sight, Artemis breathed a sigh of relief before he shifted his attention back to his new charges.
“So, did you girls have a nice rest?” He inquired in a light-hearted tone. The tired looks he was receiving from the majority of the group indicated to him otherwise, but he thought it would be polite to ask anyway. “What? Don’t tell me that three days wasn’t enough?”
“Three days of rest? I wouldn’t exactly call it relaxing… we were writing tests for most of the time.” Makoto pointed out. Not exactly the most stress-free thing to do…
“Only because some people kept failing,” Rei muttered.
“Hey! That wasn’t my fault!” Haruka rose to her own defence. “That woman was trying to fail me!”
“She’s right.” Artemis agreed in a cheerful voice.
It took the group a second to realize what he had just said. He had said it so casually and naturally that they had almost missed the statement altogether.
She’s… right?
“I-I am?” Uranus blinked at him. “So, this entire time... you mean?”
“Yup, she purposely failed you.”
THUD!
Haruka felt like a ton of bricks had fallen atop of her head.
“Now, with that out of the way, I should warn you that from here on out things will get tough.” Artemis continued. “Being mentally prepared is a crucial aspect to fighting, but so is the physical aspect. Unless we build up your stamina and your spiritual control, you may never even reach Apollo. By now, it’s very possible that he has amassed an army of shadow assassins... or perhaps he has created a new adversary for you to face. Whatever the case may be, as I am sure that you all are aware of, there is always the risk that any of you may perish on the battlefield. That is the reality of things. So if you want to live and continue to protect what’s important to you, keep that in mind as you train! Train hard so that does not happen!”
Looking at the group, he could sense that his words were stirring nervousness in them. However, at the same time there was an equal surge of determination.
“Now, shall we get started?” Artemis led them all out into the courtyard out back. It was a clear field, exactly what many of them had come to expect for a physical session. “Before I begin I would just like to clarify something. Do all of you here know how to use Planet Power? What…? None of you have?” He was taken aback by the blank stares.
Are they really that far behind?
“We have.” Haruka raised her hand. “Myself and Michiru have, but I don’t think the others know quite yet.”
“Hmm…”
“Haruka, what is he talking about?” Rei whispered to her.
The blonde turned her head and whispered back, “Do you remember back on Neptune when I…” Her voice trailed off and smacked her forehead.
Oh great. How can I remind her that I went prancing around in a mini skirt during battle?
“When you what?”
“…Never mind, I’ll just show you,” She grumbled. Haruka raised her hand up and cried,
“Uranus Planet Power, Make-Up!”
FWOOOOOOOOSH!
The others blinked back as the golden light faded away, leaving behind a very irritated soldier of the wind.
In a skimpy outfit.
In a mini-skirt.
“This!” Haruka pointed and growled at the others.
“Oh.” Now I remember. Rei suppressed a snicker, promptly earning her a threatening glare.
“I see.” Artemis pondered as he analyzed his student’s attire. “Yes, there is no doubt about it. That is it.”
“What exactly is it though?” Makoto asked. She continued to stare at Haruka with wide eyes.
“Well, how to put it?” Artemis posed thoughtfully. “I suppose to start off you should know that it’s a very powerful technique that only the planet rulers can access. But since all of you meet that requirement, it shouldn’t be a problem to tap into it.”
He never noticed Rei turning a little pale at the information.
“Basically, for those who have never used it before, you may have noticed that your spiritual attacks are somewhat unpredictable.” He raised his hand and a bolt of white lightning shot out, somewhat startling the girls. “You see? When you summon your powers, it comes out as a strong blast of raw energy. There’s just no specific form to it. That’s why...we’re going to teach you how to use Planet Power. When you tap into it, your powers are going to condense into a concentrated, clearly defined attack. The sort of attacks you’ll be able to use, however, will depend on your planet’s affinity and the capacity of your spiritual power. Now, you might be wondering what I’m talking about. Since you’re already tapped in Uranus, would you please demonstrate?”
Still grumbling, Haruka unleashed a world shaking across the empty field.
“World…SHAKING!”
Wham! WrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRrRrRRRRR---
The ball of energy vanished into the air a distance away.
“See?” Artemis inquired. “Between having a lightning bolt thrown at you and that, which do you think would be harder to counter?”
“That’s very interesting, but… how can one access planet power?” Ami spoke up with piqued interest.
“I think I will leave that lesson to the ones who have already figured it out. Uranus, would you mind taking over for a moment? I’m afraid that there is something that I must check up on.”
“Hey, why me?! Aren’t you supposed to be the one teaching us?!” She argued back at his retreating form.
“I will. Later,” He waved from a distance.
Artemis plopped himself down on the outer perimeter of the training area and proceeded to watch them intently. Haruka allowed herself to glare at him a little longer, finding herself very unimpressed with this acclaimed instructor of theirs.
Okay, so maybe I do know how to use Planet Power, but really, can that guy get any lazier?! What’s so important that he has to sit there and watch us like a stalker? Hmph. He better not fall asleep.
The wind ruler reluctantly re-directed her attention to the group of expectant stares. She found it particularly odd that Michiru was giving her the same questioning expression as the others.
“Hey, you know how to do it too! You don’t expect me to do this all by myself do you?!” Haruka crossed her arms. Transform already!
“But I am helping.” Michiru said sweetly.
“What?”
“Well, someone needs to be the role model. And besides, you look adorable in a skirt!” She giggled.
Haruka gaped back at her.
“…Okay! Never mind then. So…umm… I guess we were going to have to tell you guys about Planet Power sooner or later. I guess this is a good time as any.”
“Hey, didn’t you say it was the reason why you disappeared from Uranus in the first place?” Rei pointed out.
“Yeah... It’s just like that guy said. Planet Power a great technique for concentrating our aura. Even though it might look silly, it’s insanely powerful. Do you guys remember when Setsuna showed us that vision about the war against Apollo? Believe it or not, that’s exactly the power that our mentors used when they overthrew him.”
That’s true, but I could’ve sworn that I’ve seen that outfit from somewhere else… Rei recalled. In the vision that they saw from Saturn, the day that the Moon Kingdom fell, there was one individual who donned the same outfit. Cautiously, her eyes were drawn to where Hotaru calmly stood. Was that Planet Power as well? Could it really be a power that’s so strong that it could potentially destroy an entire civilization...?
“I see.” Ami readily absorbed this information. “I did note such a thing her vision. However, I find it strange that my father never mentioned it once. Did Sir Uranus ever mention anything about it to you?”
“Nope, my mentor said shit all about it too.” Uranus remarked with a shrug. “I actually heard about it from Michiru, so I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m guessing that the old folks might’ve gotten around to mentioning it someday, but with the predicament that we’re in now, we don’t have the luxury to sit around and wait. So yeah, that’s why I went to Neptune. So I could learn the technique from Michiru. We just got it down when you guys finally showed up,” she added. “And theeen...we were attacked and you know the rest. With everything going on there was really no time to explain to all of you.”
“As Artemis has already mentioned, as far as we know of, Planet Power is restricted to those who are planetary rulers.” Michiru explained. “Haruka and myself have been successful in calling upon it, however, we cannot guarantee if the rest of you will be able to call upon it as well.” She particular looked to Rei and Minako.
“…”
“But... I suppose that is why we are here. To get started, I would like you to form a circle around Haruka and myself. We shall try this together as a group.”
She waited until everyone had ample space before moving on.
How to call upon it…
“Now, how can I describe it? Planet Power... comes from a bright, warm light within oneself. When I close my eyes and look deep inside, there is a glowing sphere of my aura. To be able to call upon that power, you need to understand that it is a part of you, but at the same time is it not. When we are all born, we’ve inherited a piece of the planet’s life force. This forms a bond between one’s soul and the planet’s spirit, like an unbreakable thread that stays with us as long as we are alive. All living beings possess a bond of this type. However, those who were ‘chosen’ by the planet to be the guardians of its people are granted greater access to this light if they so wish. In essence, the technique draws upon all of these connections and the planet’s very spirit itself.” She paused. “Now...when you wish to call upon it, close your eyes and find that light inside of you. Will yourself to reach for it, and embrace it. You may a feel a strong tug at first, but don’t try to resist it. Let it envelop you…”
When Michiru’s words died away there was a peaceful expression upon her face. In a matter of seconds an aquamarine light began to radiate around her form.
She whipped one of her hands out and cried:
“Neptune Planet Power, Make-Up!”
FWOOOOOOOOSH!
The light erupted into the area and then faded away, leaving the woman in an identical outfit to Haruka’s but in a different colour.
“So if we transform, we will look like THAT?” Makoto questioned Michiru’s new appearance.
“Correct.”
“Mini-skirts in battle...?” Seriously? Makoto shook her head. I wonder how the men dealt with it.
“Believe it or not, this form is more useful than you think. For one, it’s easier to move around in than it is in a suit of armor. And two, because it gives you a substantial boost to your spiritual powers it counters many of the disadvantages that one would expect.” Michiru pointed out. “With stronger powers, you should be able to fend off a majority of attacks.”
“So basically, you’re saying that if you avoid getting hit, it should be fine.”
“Essentially.”
“And if that’s not possible?”
“Revert back. It’s as simple as that.”
“Hey, I think we should have less chit chat and more action,” Haruka interrupted. “C’mon! Let’s see you guys give it a try!”
There was a moment of awkwardness as the rest of the young women fumbled to initialize the technique; there were many questions, re-explanations, and demonstrations. Until, finally, one other succeeded.
So, I’m supposed to be looking for a sphere of light? Ami repeated Michiru’s words to herself. I do feel something... But it’s so far, deep down. Wait, what’s that? I can see something! A ray of blue light blinded her vision. She followed the warmth to its source, to a small glowing sphere within the dark well.
Is that it? Is that…?
She reached out for it.
“Mercury Planet Power, Make-Up!”
FWOOOOOOOOSH!
To Ami’s amazement, after the light receded she was suddenly clothed in a new outfit similar to that of Haruka and Michiru’s.
“O-Oh my…” Her face reddened as she pulled down at the front of her skirt. Although she had been expecting it, the actual accomplishment still terribly embarrassed her.
“You did it.” Michiru smiled in her ‘Congratulations.”
“T-Thank you…”
There were other unsuccessful tries until Makoto also joined the group (although, her reaction was rather timid as well, much like Ami’s).
“It’s so short!” The brunette squeaked. She couldn’t believe how much leg was showing!
“Deal with it!” Haruka grinned evilly. Now if only Rei would do it too and I can… The thought brought her to pause. Her green eyes peered over at the frustrated Martian a distance away; the woman’s back was stubbornly turned away from the rest of the group as she continually growled to herself in growing frustration.
“…Make-Up? Oh, come on!”
I… I just can’t feel anything! What am I supposed to be looking for again? Some kind of light...? Rei stared at her hand in annoyance. All thoughts of earlier this morning flew out of the window as her frustration mounted. Why can’t I do it? Even as a substitute leader, I…
The words finally registered.
It won’t work because I’m a ‘substitute’... If that’s true, then it would make sense. I guess only a real planetary leader can use this power, like Ares. Her stance suddenly straightened up and disappointment flickered in her dark eyes. All of her efforts up to now had been doomed to failure before she had even begun.
So, that’s it, isn’t it? The way I am now, I can’t get any stronger... It almost felt ironic. Then that means...the only way I’ll have a chance of surviving this is...
FwoooooOOOOOOOoooossssh…
“Hey buddy!” A hard hand clapped down hard on the Martian’s shoulder. Haruka leaned in close by her ear and whispered, “Don’t worry about it, all right? It seems like you aren’t the only one.” She indicated to the twins at distance away.
Another flash lit the area, and Minako had transformed.
“I’m not worried.” Rei growled, and shrugged her hand off. It didn’t matter if Hotaru and Usagi couldn’t summon the technique. All she was interested in was Minako. It stung that the Venusian was able to do it and she couldn’t.
At a distance away, Artemis observed the girls with interest—especially the twins and the Martian.
Hmm... It appears that Lady Usagi and Lady Hotaru cannot utilize Planet Power quite yet? That’s rather strange... and the girl from Mars as well? He glanced at Rei arguing with Haruka. There shouldn’t be any problem for a ruler to access the technique.
At last, Artemis stood up. However, instead of approaching his charges he left to report his observations to another authority.
(Artemis, Entrance to the city)
“So, this is where you are. I thought you were supposed to be resting.”
“You aren’t going to watch them?”
Artemis cautiously approached her comrade. Setsuna stood motionless against the wind, her crimson eyes never leaving the vacant city. It appeared that the city only lit up during the night-time.
“Well, we seem to have a problem, Setsuna. Not all of the young women can call upon Planet Power. When you told me that they needed some training, I didn’t expect them to be this far behind. Did you know about this?”
Silence…
…fwoooooOOOOOoooooshhh…
“Lady Usagi and Lady Hotaru… and the woman from Mars--”
“The Martian is human.”
Artemis was taken aback. “She is?! But, I thought you said that they were all rulers of their respective planets. I don’t mean to sound rude, but...how is it possible that a human could inherit a throne and not become a God?”
“She is the substitute ruler. The real ruler is still at large, and is now our enemy.” Setsuna clarified.
“You mean...Sir Ares is...?”
“As for Lady Usagi, it is quite possible that she will require some additional time to awaken her powers. While Lady Hotaru… there is no need to worry about the child.” That one has already…
“Wait, hold up a second. This is all kind of important information, don’t you think? Why am I only hearing about it now? Did you foresee any of this? What do you know that we don’t?”
“…”
“You were... always like this,” he said, with disappointment evident in his voice. “You’re always keeping everything to yourself. Why? Even after you joined Queen Serenity’s court... At first, I thought that you were quiet because you needed some time to adjust. But after awhile, I came to realize that you preferred to be left alone. To be honest, it was a bit disappointing, but I could respect that. But now...”
“…”
“Everyone else is gone. The three of us is all that is left now! I don’t know if I’m asking for too much, but...can you try to be a little more open with us? You don’t have to do everything alone anymore.”
Artemis...
“...I understand.”
“Do you really mean that? I mean, we’re here for you.”
“Yes. And it means a lot to me, thank you.”
Artemis was surprised that Setsuna admittedly something so openly, but any progress was good in his eyes.
“Then, that’s good.” I was worried for a minute there. “So, what are we going to do about the girls? There must be something we can do…”
She finally turned to face him. “The dilemma that we currently face is the strength of their spiritual powers. Although the majority of them are Goddesses, they are still young and inexperienced. Their spiritual strength is relatively undeveloped in comparison to their predecessors.”
“That’s true. But, as much as I hate to admit it, increasing their spiritual strength is a factor that relies heavily on time rather than effort. Even if I drilled them continuously non-stop for months, or years even, their aura capacity will not expand by very much. Unless we can miraculously come up with a way to increase their spiritual energies, we will be at a significant disadvantage in the upcoming war.”
“That is true.” Setsuna contemplated. “Apollo is no longer trapped within a physical body. The fact that he still lingers on this plane indicates that he is in all likelihood a mass of spiritual energy. No matter how many weapons one acquires, a metal blade will not be able to overcome him alone.”
“So then, that means...”
“We will require a miracle.”
The confidence in her tone prompted the man to wonder. “Do you have a plan?”
“Perhaps...”
(Artemis, Courtyard)
When Artemis returned to the field he found that the twins and Mars remained the last to make any progress. It appeared there had been no significant change in his absence. Ah well, that was about to change very soon.
“Rei, listen to me…” Uranus tried talking to her friend.
“It’s not going to work Haruka, I know. You don’t have to say anything.”
“…”
“Is there a problem?” Artemis approached his two charges.
“Well you see…” Haruka sighed. She was about to explain it in the least humiliating way possible to their instructor, but Rei beat her to it.
“I can’t do it.” She said bluntly. She saw the knowing look in Artemis’s blue eyes and unconsciously braced herself for the snide remarks, but to her surprise none came.
“I see. Well, you gave it your best, so... I wouldn’t worry about it.” He saw Rei looked stunned at the comment. “I bet you’re one of those late bloomers. So, try not to be too hard on yourself. It’ll come with time. In the meantime, try to concentrate on what you can do now and sharpen those skills. Regardless of what lies ahead, I’m sure you will continue to be an important part of this team.”
Rei didn’t know what to say. She just stood there and watched as he proceeded to call the others in.
“All right everyone, gather ‘round” Artemis called out. Once everyone had assembled, he told them, “I see that most of you have awakened your powers. That’s very good. For those of you who haven’t, don’t worry about it,” He noted Usagi especially. “You will all be able to participate in this next activity regardless.”
“And that would be?” Ami questioned.
“Something that Uranus has been waiting for all this time. Fighting,” He remarked with a glint in his eyes. Haruka remained strangely silent at the news. “Normally, it’s best to worry about the little details first and then work our way up, but because we don’t know how much time we have to prepare, we have no choice but to go hard from the start.”
“You mean to play by the chances.” Rei quipped.
“Exactly,” He nodded. “You can practice a technique as many times as you’d like, but in the battlefield your opponents will fight back. They won’t stand by and let you attack them. Also, if you somehow mess up during a fight and are unprepared, you will find yourself at a severe disadvantage. That’s why you will all pair off and spar against one another. The goal of this exercise is to learn how to read your opponents movements and to quickly adapt to their actions. Since you all should be approximately evenly matched in power, use anything at your disposal to get the upper hand. Obviously, I do not mean to go as far as killing your partner, but I want you to push them to their limits. None of you will improve if you slack off and go easy on one another. In fact, that little bit of mercy may cost you your friend dearly in actual combat. Do you understand?”
He paused and scanned the faces to make sure they were paying attention. It was pleasant surprise to see he had their undivided attention.
“Wait a minute.” Uranus interrupted.
“Yes? Do you have a question?”
“You bet I do! Were you really the combat specialist for the Moon Kingdom?”
This prompted a muttering amongst the group.
“First you just walk off to who knows where and make someone else teach your lesson for you. And then when you finally get back, you tell us just to fight one another. What have you actually taught us? I say you should lead by example! Don’t go telling us not to slack off when that’s all you’ve been doing all this time!”
“Ah, I see. So you would like a lesson?” Artemis asked calmly.
“Why not?” Haruka’s green eyes flashed back. “Unless your skills have rusted over time…”
“Wait Haruka, don’t do this! He’s really strong!” Usagi tried to warn her.
“Is he really? Or is that just some title he carries around for show? I came here to fight dammit! I want to get stronger! I didn’t come all this way to write some lame tests, so there’s no way in Hell I’m going to waste my time taking orders from a lazy slacker!” Her angry eyes trained on the Moon Princess and Usagi flinched back. “Besides... what would someone like you know about fighting? Where were you when the rest of us were sweating about whether we’ll survive or not?! I don’t even know why you’re still here! Everything about you, your eyes, your attitude, just-- everything is screaming ‘why do we have to fight?’! Look Princess, if you don’t want to fight, then don’t! Tch…Just the sight of you makes me sick.”
Usagi gasped.
“Haruka please—! That’s enough.” Hotaru spoke up on her sister’s behalf. However, she was unable to say more in her sibling’s defence as much of what Haruka said was true. She only wished that Haruka wasn’t so harsh with her words.
“Haruka, that was out of line!” Michiru scolded.
“Now, now, there’s no need to worry. It seems to me that Uranus is just a little frustrated, that’s all.” Artemis smiled.
“What did you just say?!”
But her angry didn’t bother the man in the least. Artemis flicked his wrist and a long spear materialized into his waiting palm. The fact that their instructor suddenly had a weapon in his hands startled many of his young students.
“I have no problem with accepting your challenge. However, why don’t we make this a little more interesting?” He asked Haruka. As he said this, the spear began to glow with a white light.
“What do you mean?” She eyed him suspiciously.
“You said that you didn’t want to listen to a slacker, so... how about a wager? If you can defeat me, you can do whatever you like. However, if I win... all of you will have to participate in my sparring activity. Does that sound fair?”
“Heh. Fine.” This will be a piece of cake.
“Also.”
“Hm?”
“If anyone else wishes to join, then they may. In fact, I encourage it. You may find...that I’m more formidable than I look.”
PING!
FwooooooOOOOOSH!
Artemis held up his spear and the energy erupted into the area. Strong winds shot up around the entire field, followed by an intense pressure. The magnitude of his spiritual force was daunting, but it didn’t end there. It was steadily growing.
“Arrrgh!!” Everyone shielded their eyes from the light. The wind was actually pushing them backwards.
Is that really Artemis? His power is enormous! Rei shielded her eyes from the light.
“Now this is more like it!” Haruka smirked. She then raised her hand.
“World… SHAKING!”
Wham! WrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRrRrRRRRR---Whack!
Artemis swatted the attack away with ease.
“What?! No! That’s impossible!” Haruka cried out. He swatted it away like it was nothing!
She leapt to the side as a bolt of his power shot her way. It harmlessly hit the ground as Michiru sprinted forward to try her luck. The man watched her close the distance and entered into close hand to hand combat with the young lady. Michiru lashed out at him with carefully coordinated strikes, but Artemis evaded them all with equally deadly precision. After a few seconds of fighting with him, Michiru realized that her efforts were no more but child’s play to him.
He’s evading all of my attacks as if they were nothing! Why isn’t he forcing me back with his spear? She punched at him a few more times, all just narrowly missing. When she glimpsed the smile on Artemi’s face it was then that she realized: He’s not taking me seriously!
A break in the air to her far side alerted her of her partner’s approaching presence.
“Haruka, don’t get too close!” Michiru shouted over the wind. “He’s stronger than you think he is!”
But Haruka had already closed the distance.
“HaaaaaaAAAAAAH!” She leapt into the melee and unleashed her own series of punches and kicks. “Let’s see what you’ve got!”
Whup, whup, whup, blam!
Artemis knocked Haruka’s leg upwards and swung his weapon around. The butt end of his spear jabbed into her mid-section, temporarily winding her. But before Haruka could straighten up, one of his hands were in her face; a blast of wind sent her flying back.
BLAM!
“Arrrrrgh!” She hit the dirt ground and rolled hard along it for over five meters, limps flailing everywhere, until she came to an abrupt stop. When she did, it felt like her brain had been rattled. There was an intense ringing her in ears.
“Haruka!” She could hear her friends shout from the sides.
“Haruka!” Michiru turned to look. However, Artemis wasn’t about to let her rest. He brought down his spear, purposely giving her just enough time to evade it. The weapon crackled as it contacted the ground, and created a small crater where it touched only seconds before.
Did you see that?
Such power!
The group of women thought.
“D-Damn it...!” Haruka groaned and struggled to prop herself up onto her elbows. With one of her hands she wiped away the blood from her cut lip.
W-When did he become this strong?! Was he always like this? I-I thought I had him... but then, out of nowhere! She remembered glimpsing his hand before she was hit. She hadn’t even seen it coming. It was so fast--I couldn’t move!
He’s so strong. Minako stared hard at the two combatants, and watched as Michiru continued to struggle. And he’s our ally? So, does that mean that our enemy is even stronger than this? She tensed up and remembered her earlier promise to help win the war. She didn’t realize it until now, but the fear of the war suddenly felt that much more real. She nervously looked over to Rei and saw the same look of astonishment in the Martian’s dark eyes.
“Min---Minako?!” Rei shouted when the blonde suddenly charged into battle. “What are you doing?!”
She was tempted to run after her, but the rational side of her advised against it. She was painfully aware of the gun pocketed in her clothing more than ever. She narrowed her eyes in frustration.
...Shit!
Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup!
“Hah, Hah, Hah!” Minako stopped a short distance from her new opponent. Without any thought, the words came to mind and her body was wrapped in golden light.
“Venus… Love-Me Chain!”
A chain made of hearts lashed out towards their new enemy. Artemis barely raised one hand and the attacked was repelled by an invisible force field.
“What?!” No! I can’t... give up! Minako quickly took the alternative and materialized both of Venus’s chains at once. She had barley raised them when she heard Rei cry out,
“Minako, look out!”
Crackle!
Minako’s eyes widened when a bolt of white lightning suddenly hit her square in the chest and sent the Venusian flying back like Haruka before her. “Augh!” THUD! She crashed to the ground and rolled. She was vaguely aware that her chains were trailing behind her and came to lie messily on the ground around her battered body.
Usagi and Hotaru both tensed as they watched Minako violently cough when she came to the stop. The whole world was spinning.
W-What happened? Vaguely she could sense that their opponent’s power was still growing.
“Deep…SUBMERGE!”
“World…SHAKING!”
KABOOM!
Crackle—crackle!
KABOOM!
…CRACKLE!
She was startled when she suddenly felt another presence rush past her. It couldn’t be.
“Wait, Rei...! Don’t do it!” He’s too strong for you!
Rei didn’t hear the protest and went straight for her opponent’s backside while Michiru and Haruka distracted him. All she could see was the bolt of lightning hitting Minako. The moment it happened, she thought her heart had stopped.
“HaaaaaAAAH!!” The Martian brandished her sword. “Take this!”
Rei threw her weight into a downward slash and hit Artemis’s barrier. It flickered upon impact but it did not shatter.
WOOOOOM!
“Hm?” Artemis cocked his head. He never realized so many of his students would join in.
To the raven-haired woman’s surprise the man simply turned his head away and ignored her.
“Geh...! Hey!” Don’t-- ignore me! She summoned up her aura and forced it into her blade, strengthening her attack. However, Artemis continued to invest his attention towards Haruka and Michiru. This bruised Rei’s pride, re-opening many sore wounds that fed the dangerous power within her.
“Rei! Get out of there!” Haruka shouted to her. Artemis’s shield was beginning to expand in a circular radius, but Rei refused to budge.
I don’t like that look in her eyes!
“Rrrg---!!!” I won’t...let you...beat me! The crimson flames around her sword grew brighter.
“Rei!”
“Forget it Haruka! She’s not going to listen!” Michiru cried over the explosions. That foolish woman!
“Deep…SUBMERGE!”
KABLAM!
Rei winced when a bolt of Artemis’s power sliced her left cheek and drew blood. Her heart quickened at the smell and her pupil’s constricted.
Lubb Dubb!
Oh no! That feeling! If this keeps up, I’ll--!! But the winds were so strong now that she feared that they would tear her apart if she tried to run away, and there was no way she would be able to administer the medicine in this position. She was stuck.
“Hang on Rei! Sparking…Wide Pressure!”
“Shine…Aqua Illusion!”
“Venus…Love-Me Chain!”
BOOM!
WoOoOoOSH!
Shiiiiiiiink--!
“!”
Artemis’s barrier flickered. What? More of them have joined? His thoughts were interrupted when he saw peculiar dots appear in the sky above. Before he could contemplate on it, purple lightning rained on the field. The man’s barrier was weakened considerably.
“Ugh--! So, even Lady Hotaru is intrigued enough to join in.”
Usagi watched from the side as her twin sister entered the fray, clearly hesitating to take part herself.
Hmm… if Lady Hotaru joins, then this will have to end sooner than I anticipated. What a shame. They were all doing rather well.
“Barrier, disperse!” Artemis cried. Briefly his shield flickered and shattered! Its power washed over the area in waves, momentarily paralyzing all movement towards him.
There was no warning before he leapt forward and struck his charges down with lightning speed.
Whup!- Whup!-Whup!-Whup!-Whup!-Whup!
THUD!!
“OOF!”
Each woman had been knocked to the ground except for Hotaru.
With a nervous smile, Artemis pointed his spear towards his former student. “Well, isn’t this unusual? Do you intend to fight me as well?” For a second his will wavered when he briefly sensed a strong surge of power in the young Lady. He knew that if she was serious, she could not only win but kill him.
But Hotaru seemed to have no intention of raising her blade against her teacher. “I think...this lesson is over. It seems clear to me who has won. Don’t you agree?”
Artemis looked surprised for a moment, but he eventually yielded. With an understanding smile and dismissed his weapon.
...Very well.
“That was very good!” Artemis praised his battered students and clapped. He heard them all groan as they picked themselves up off the ground. “Although all of you still need a lot of practice, I have to admit, for a first try I am impressed! With time, you all could be formidable opponents alone. However, I do believe that I’ve won our wager, Uranus. That is, unless one of you would like to have a second round!”
He laughed when he heard them all groan again.
(Training Yard)
As Artemis had requested, everyone split up into pairs. Ami and Makoto, Usagi and Hotaru, and Haruka and Michiru all paired off, leaving both Minako and Rei left behind. Rei wasn’t sure whether she should consider herself lucky or cursed.
“So...I guess we’re partners.” Minako tried to say casually.
“I guess.” Rei shrugged.
They both began to walk across the field where the last open space remained in awkward silence, but Rei was stopped briefly as she passed by Haruka. The tall woman caught her by the shoulder and dragged her back.
“Wha--!” She gave an exasperated sigh when she saw who it was. “What do you want now?”
She was surprised when Haruka placed both hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye with a serious expression.
“Hey, I don’t want you getting mad at me, but... is everything okay?”
“Huh?”
“During the fight, you just suddenly stopped. When I told you to get away from him, why didn’t you?” That look in her eyes...For an instant, it looked like she was really afraid of something. “Your condition isn’t bothering you, is it? If it is maybe you should sit out and rest for a bi--”
Rei forcefully pulled out of her grip before she could finish, and shot her a glare. There it was again: That pitying look.
“Rei.”
“There’s nothing wrong with me! So just—back off already, okay? It’s none of your business...” With that, she whirled around and marched purposely over to where Minako was patiently waiting. But she quickly found out that perhaps Haruka’s observations were quite obvious.
As Rei and Minako took their respective positions across from each other, she found Minako staring at her with a peculiar expression.
Why is she staring at me like that? She didn’t really like it, well, she did, but it was complicated.
“Is... something wrong?” She asked tentatively.
“Well, I could be wrong but...No, it’s, never mind...”
“No, what were you about to say?” She saw the Venusian hesitate again. But she patiently waited until she got an answer.
“...You just... look a little pale, that’s all.”
Rei felt her heart skip a beat, and the feeling in her chest clenched.
“I think it’s just you,” she remarked in a sharp tone. When she saw the hurt look in the blonde’s face, she added, “Besides, we’re supposed to be sparring, remember? You’re supposed to treat me like the enemy! Are you going to stop a fight because they don’t meet your expectations?”
“Well, that’s—Look, if you aren’t feeling well, I just thought--”
“Well you thought wrong. I was just running this morning, remember?” She huffed.
Minako heard the note of finality in her voice, but as much as she wanted to yell at the Martian for being so rude and inconsiderate she felt that there was something seriously wrong. Rei was sometimes blunt, she was never this bad. She was on the edge for some reason. Not only that, but there was something deep inside that was against this entire exercise. In truth, for some reason that she couldn’t explain, she really didn’t want to fight against Rei even if it was just a light match.
“Are you ready?” Rei drew her sword and bent down into an offensive position.
Minako was strangely quiet. All around them she could hear everyone else beginning their matches, and to the side she could feel Artemis looking their way. They were the only ones who hadn’t started yet.
Well, I guess we might as well get this over with. The sooner I beat her, the sooner we can just sit down and talk. But... it seems like an awful lot of work just to talk to someone.
In the back of her mind, she wondered if Rei would even give her the chance to speak her mind after it was all over given the Martian’s current mood.
Minako materialized her chains just as Rei ran forward. It was a predictable strike; she swung her sword at her, but the Venusian evaded her strikes without too much trouble. However, Rei continued to press forwards until Minako swung her chains and forced her back.
As their matched continued on, Rei noticed something that nearly made her blood boil. Minako was only jumping around and dodging. It was like she wasn’t putting any effort into the fight at all.
Swing—
Swing---
Swing---
Finally, Rei smashed her blade against the ground and shot Minako and angry look. “Would you stop running away?! Why aren’t you taking this seriously? I know you can do better than this!”
Minako was silent for a moment. She had originally intended to whip her partner down and end the fight quickly, but somewhere along the way she found that she just couldn’t. The very thought of hitting her was making her hands tremble. Still, that didn’t excuse the way that Rei was treating her.
Wow, someone’s sure grumpy today.
“Maybe I’m just tired.”
“Somehow, I doubt that.”
The sarcastic comments were really starting to get on her nerves.
So! Let me get this straight. If I fight for real and beat her, then she’ll probably throw a temper tantrum and get angry. If that happens, then she probably won’t want to talk to me. But...if I don’t fight her and spar lightly, she’ll get angry anyway. She sighed. Jeez, this woman!
This time when Rei lunged forward, Minako’s chain whipped back so hard that it actually shoved her back.
There we go!
Rei kept pushing it, and as she did she was inspiring stronger strikes from her opponent. Before she knew it, Minako had begun to throw out bolts of her power as well. The Martian responded in kind and soon they both had slipped into a rhythm.
Slash-slash—Crackle!
Crackle!
Shink---Ting!
Crackle!
They tore up the ground around them. Soon, they were going harder than any of the other pairs in the area and were drawing a few curious gazes. One of these was from the twins nearby who were nearly hit by one of Minako’s stray bolts.
Crackle!
“Yipe!” Usagi jumped when something loud blasted the ground beside her. She hadn’t been watching for that at all.
“Usagi, are you all right?” Hotaru asked.
“W-Well...I think so. But, what was that?”
The other pair to the other side of the battling pair was also not unaffected. Rei and Minako were moving so quickly that their movements were spreading out across the entire side of the field. When Rei threw another string of blasts in Minako’s direction, the Venusian leapt back directly into Ami and Makoto’s fighting area. Their friends shouted in surprise when the blonde landed between them and dragged a range of fire along their way. This drew a frown from Artemis.
As the fight continued, Minako’s concentration was beginning to become side-tracked once again.
That’s strange... why does this feel so familiar? She whipped her chains in Rei’s direction and watched her evade them in slow motion. For a brief second, she thought she saw the scene replaying itself, but in it her opponent was torn up and bloody. She gasped; it startled her so much that her next attack was far off target.
Shink—
Silently, Rei watched the chain fly into the air at nothing. She didn’t give the peculiar behaviour a second thought though. Without thinking she did something that she normally wouldn’t have done. She extended her hand, wrapping it around the links despite the energy burning her flesh, and yanked forward with an inhuman strength. Minako yelped in surprise when she was brought down onto her hands and knees, but she was forced to quickly counter when the Martian threw her sword at her.
Slash!
“Agh!” Minako felt the blade dig across her right arm and stumbled back in shock. She couldn’t believe that she had been hit. But more importantly...
What—what’s going on? If I hadn’t moved, then she would have... In her mind, there was no doubt that it was a move aimed to kill.
She brought her blue eyes up and looked the Martian in the eye. A very strange look had entered Rei’s dark eyes. They almost looked cold and hollow somehow.
“Rei...?” She whispered.
Her opponent charged forward again, and Minako stumbled back in a rush to fend her off. As the seconds dragged on, she felt everything spiralling out of control. Every attack she threw, Rei was taking it head on. She was allowing herself to get hurt.
Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!
“S-Stop it!” Her frantic shouts drew everyone’s attention.
“Minako?” Haruka turned her head just as Artemis narrowed his eyes at the sight.
Crackle!
Minako threw another bolt of power and this time it hit the woman in the leg. Rei tripped and hit her head against the ground fairly hard. Suddenly, the pain in her leg registered.
O-Ow! She grabbed at her foot instinctively and bit down on her bottom lip. W-What...?!
Minako felt her heart pounding in her chest as she saw Rei slowly lift her head and looked at her. Seeing Rei the way she was now, it was all coming back to her: The mission part of her memory. The images flashed in her mind one after another, as if they were articulating the brutality of an enraged Goddess.
Goddess...! Is that what happened? She remembered when Rei hit her with something in her neck. Was that why Rei refused to tell her what happened after they had left Venus?
Rei stared back and saw the horror in Minako’s face. The pain that she was in, it dawned on her. The blood drained from her face, and suddenly it was difficult to breathe. The memory of her nightmare came back full force, but at the moment she didn’t want to see Minako look at her like that.
“Mina...ko.” Rei staggered up to her feet. “I--” She winced when the blood from the Venusian’s arm stirred up her instincts again. For a brief moment, the gold light in her eyes flickered.
“N-No...stay back.”
“Minako.”
Unknown to Rei, one of the chains twitched at the side.
“Don’t come any closer!”
“But--”
“I said...DON’T!”
In that instant, the chain leapt to action. Rei had barely turned her head when she realized that she was being attacked. Both combatants were shocked when Usagi suddenly leapt in the way.
“Usagi!”
“Don’t do it!”
Minako saw the Princess and in that instant her concentration broke. The chain diverted to the far side, swinging widely and missing the pair altogether.
Swiss—Kablam!!!
“Please stop fighting!” Usagi said again. “She can’t fight back!”
Realizing what was happening, Rei’s eyes widened. “Usagi.” She shouted to her.
“Because...”
“Usagi!”
“...She’s sick!”
Minako thought her heart was about to stop when she heard those words. “Sick?” She repeated. It felt like an eternity when the word finally sunk in. She saw the Martian turn her head away when she looked at her. “What do you mean...sick? You said you were fine.”
“...It’s not like that.”
Minako was strangely silent for a moment.“...I think that’s enough for today. C’mon, we’ll get someone to look at you,” She stepped forward and extended her hand, but there was a loud smack when Rei slapped it away. Minako was in shock.
“...Just...leave me alone.” She mumbled.
“But--!”
“Just go away!”
“Rei!” Haruka ran up just as the Martian stormed off. Usagi considered running after her, but Haruka caught her. “Wait. It’s not a good idea for you to go after her. I’ll go.”
After she ran off, Minako just stood there looking stunned. She was just so angry and confused.
“Well fine!” She shouted and then ran off in the opposite direction.
“Uhh...” Artemis looked left and right, but now they were short two people. “I guess that’ll be it for today everyone. Please consider the rest of your day free time. You are dismissed.”
(Rei, Palace Gardens)
The sun was setting outside when Haruka finally approached her friend. She found Rei hidden on the other side of the palace, tucked into the corner of a hill that begun to slump down towards the city. She didn’t even turn to look when she walked right up to her.
“Mind if I sit down?” When the Martian said nothing, Haruka just took a seat beside her. For a moment, they both stared out at the city, watching it being bathed under the pink and yellow light. “You know, I guess we both came out as losers today,” Haruka finally said. She leaned back on the grass and stared up at the sky. “I mean, I got beaten up by that guy in front of everybody...It was pretty embarrassing.”
She turned and looked at Rei, but she could see that she was still sulking.
“Hey...I’m... really sorry about earlier.” This time she got a reaction.
“Sorry? What do you have to be sorry for?”
“Well, I guess for everything. Lately, it feels like you’ve been withdrawing from everyone...and I can’t help but feel like some of it is my fault. When I teased you earlier, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’m sorry...”
She heard Rei sigh. “It’s not your fault...”
“Hm?”
“It’s just...There’s a lot on my mind at the moment. I didn’t mean to snap at you either.”
“Hey, it’s not a problem. Don’t worry about it. In fact, I think I get like that sometimes too. Now that we aren’t constantly fighting for our lives, I’ve been thinking... Like, how will this war will turn out...How many might die for this cause, because, so many have already died fighting and there’s no way we can take on a huge army by ourselves. It’s almost overwhelming when I think about it.”
Haruka...
“Do you remember when you told me on Neptune that the old man died? Even though I already knew that, I didn’t really grieve, you know? But now...It’s all kind of sinking in. I think I almost miss him...”
“Really?”
Haruka chuckled. “Yeah, I think it’s strange too...but, I guess what they say is true. You never realize what’s important to you until it’s gone.”
Rei looked away. “To be honest... I never really thought about any of that. Wow, I’m selfish...”
“What do you mean?”
“Because these last few days, while you were worrying about everyone else, I’ve been worried about myself.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“No, really--”
“No.” Haruka said firmly. “Rei, you’re really a good person...but I think, sometimes you’re too dishonest with yourself. Just because you worry about yourself once n’ awhile, it doesn’t make you selfish. You’re a person like the rest of us.”
“Haruka...”
“But, you’re also one of the closest friends that I have. So, if there’s something bothering you, then I’d really like to help, even if it’s just by listening... But if you don’t want to tell me, I’ll respect that. I just want you to know that, no matter what happens, if you ever need someone to talk to... I’ll always be here for you, okay?”
“Thanks. That means a lot...” She looked at the determination in Haruka’s eyes and almost smiled at that. “Pfft, you really want to know, don’t you?”
“Well, maybe a little...” Haruka admitted bashfully. She was surprised though because Rei actually smiled.
“Well, how can I say it?” Rei finally confessed. “It seems so complicated, but then again...maybe it’s only complicated to me. I was just thinking, that you may be right. Lately, all I’ve been doing is running away. I don’t know why, but ever since you guys arrived, Minako has been avoiding me. At first, I thought I was just imagining it... but then I realized that she was really angry at me.”
“Do you know why?”
“Well... at first, I wasn’t sure. But now, I think it’s because I’ve been avoiding her too.”
Haruka nearly slapped her head. “Huh? Come again...?”
“I’ve been having this dream lately, Haruka. Every time, I lose control of myself...and then, I end up hurting someone.”
“It wasn’t Minako was it?!” She saw the look in Rei’s eyes and realized that it was. “And what happened in the training yard today...”
“Mm...I took the medication this morning like I always did, but for some reason it just acted up again. Before I knew it, I woke up on the ground all confused, and Minako...the way that she was looking at me. You should have seen it.”
“Rei...” She was surprised when Haruka nudged her shoulder. “Well, that’s an easy enough problem to fix. Just take the doses more frequently.”
“But--”
“That’s how Ami designed it. If you think you need it then you should’ve just taken it.”
“But Minako would have seen it.” She said in a flat voice.
The statement startled Haruka. “You mean, you haven’t told her yet?” Rei shook her head. “But why not? I thought you guys were really close.”
“Because...!”
“Hey, I know it’s a big deal to you, but... I don’t think she’d think any less of you if you told her.”
“You don’t know that.”
“That’s true.” She saw Rei look up. “But, the way I see it, she’s probably has her share of suspicions after what happened today. If you don’t try to talk to her, then it could get worse. Besides, it’s always hard to find these kinds of things out by accident...especially, when it concerns a friend.” Haruka remember how she felt when she confronted Rei about it on Neptune. It hurt that she hadn’t been told about something that important, that her friend had to struggle with it by herself for who knew how long. “Why were you avoiding her anyway?”
She blinked when she saw that Rei was blushing.
“W-Well... If I tell you, then you have to promise that you won’t tell anyone.”
“Oh, okay... I promise. So, what is it?”
“...Well, I think...I think that I... l-like her.” She squeaked out.
Haruka stared at her wide-eyed. You mean... you just realized that?! She noticed that Rei was beginning to go into a ramble now.
“I-It’s just really complicated! I like being around her, but when she’s away I’m always worrying! It’s like I was losing sleep over it! But then when she came back and started avoiding me--I didn’t know what to do...” Her friend couldn’t help but feel sympathetic towards that look. The Martian looked like a hurt puppy. “Then I had that dream, and I thought that if she stayed around me, I might accidentally hurt her...like today...”
Just like Setsuna said. She said the medication wouldn’t be enough.
“So, you were worried that you might hurt her.” Haruka pondered. “But, she’s a lot stronger now, you know? I think, today, you just caught her off guard. I mean, she wasn’t even aware of your condition, so you couldn’t really blame her for being scared. Don’t you think it’s more dangerous that you didn’t tell her about it?”
Rei felt her heart skip a beat. She had never thought of it like that before.
She was trying to talk to me this morning, but I ran away. I thought that I was running away for her sake but maybe...it was for mine.
I like her. But she...
“Hey, Haruka...? Do you... think she’d ever talk to me again? It feels like I really messed things up this time.”
“Yeah, I don’t see why not. But first! I think it would be a really good conversation starter if you told her how you felt about her.”
“W-What?! But—I can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
Rei couldn’t stand that pointed expression the other woman was giving her. She knew Haruka was comfortable with herself, but she wasn’t Haruka.
“W-Well...what if she doesn’t like me back?”
Haruka could have sworn a mountain of bricks just fell on her. She was so close to slapping Rei upside the head.
You really are a piece of work, Rei!
“A-And why would you say that?” She brought herself to ask out of curiosity’s sake.
“...Because...she’s a naturally affectionate person. She’s nice to everyone... and she just lost her entire family not too long ago.” She’s a Goddess now... “Besides, there’s also that Venusian custom.”
“What custom?”
Rei pointed to her lips. “The one where you kiss your friends.”
“...On the lips?”
She nodded.
Haruka just stared at her like she was crazy. I don’t know any Venusian custom like that!
“Did she tell you this? She didn’t k-k-kiss you did she?” She saw Rei turn away and blush like she were an embarrassed school-girl.
AND YOU BELIEVED HER?!?!
“Look. Do me,” and everyone else, “a favour and just do it.”
“Huh?”
“After today, you’re going to tell her how you feel, got it?!” Rei flinched back, and then coughed when Haruka suddenly slapped her across the back. “Ahhh...you know, I’m feeling pretty good!” She remarked as she stood up and stretched.
“Really...?” Rei eyed her suspiciously with teary eyes.
“Mhmm...I mean, don’t you also feel better to get all of that off your chest?”
Rei had to blink at that. Now that I think about it... Her heart did feel lighter.
“Umm, yeah...I guess...”
Haruka laughed. “You know, we still got some daylight left. You wanna train a bit more? I promise I’ll try to go easy on you,” she winked.
Rei jumped up and gave her a great big shove. “Pfft! You’re so full of yourself!”
“Haha! That’s more like it! C’mon! I’ll race you to the practice area!!”
As they ran around the palace, Rei couldn’t help but feel more hopeful about the future.
Maybe, she’s right.
...Maybe...I should just tell her how I feel.
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