“Speechless? Well, welcome to your first war... Princess.”
Both Minako and Rei took notice of the change in the flute’s tone. The sound came as a single, piercing blast.
Tweet!
So, she’s finally getting serious! Rei inwardly smirked. On the far side of the battlefield she could also see her opponent openly smirking back. It was obvious that the Uranus leader had no intention of concealing her excitement.
Minako, on the other hand, wished she could say she was as enthusiastic about the battle as the two commanders were, but, sadly, she wasn’t. The woman unconsciously shuffled her weight between her feet.
I have a bad feeling about this… She secretly hoped no one could sense her uneasiness. She knew full well that she would look ridiculous amongst the fearless Martian Army if they knew. In fact, it would be considered down-right insulting; even though she was from another planet, she was still wearing their armor and was walking alongside these great soldiers. If she flubbed this up, she feared that she would never live such an embarrassment down. The prospect of being ridiculed or having other people point fingers at her in a taunting way just didn’t appeal to her.
Perhaps it was the suit of armor or perhaps she had been standing in the sun for too long, but the Venusian was starting to feel light-headed and dizzy. As Minako tried to bat away the oncoming nausea, her thoughts began to wander in her moment of weakness; they burrowed deep inside her soul, delving further and further against her wishes but she couldn’t stop it. She suddenly felt lost and confused, until, finally, all concern about how sick she felt was swept away like a leaf in the wind. Her conscious thought had reached the door of its goal, the very thing that the woman had kept locked away in the furthest recesses of her mind.
This is… Minako blinked and she found herself in front of a tightly bolted, metal door.
Back on the battlefront, Rei’s eyes flickered back over to her new charge only to see a vacant expression plastered all over her face.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. After you’ve seen one war they’re all the same.” Rei tried to tell her. But when Minako didn’t respond, Rei grew suspicious that the condition was inspired by more than simple fear. “Minako. Minako!” The raven-haired woman called sternly. Again there was no response other than light trembling.
Rei glanced back at her troops behind them, seeing them all watch her silently. Their outward appearance hadn’t changed since they had set off for the battle but Rei could sense the mild pique of curiosity.
They aren’t concentrating on the battle! Rei mentally scolded, then looked back to Minako. Because...of her.
She needed to resolve the problem and quick. That was when a solution sprung to mind.
SLAP!
“Wha--?” Minako blinked and her hand reflexively came up to touch the bright, red mark imprinted on her left cheek. She looked to Rei for some explanation, and shivered at the icy, detached gaze directed at her.
“Don’t… ignore me.”
Despite the stinging on her cheek, Minako felt like she had been hit with a bucket of ice cold water.
I…
TWEET!
Uranus’s Army suddenly bolted into a full out charge, drawing Rei’s attention back to the field. She noted how Haruka wasn’t wasting any time to send out all of her soldiers into the first wave.
What is she planning? Why is she sending them all at once?!
It wasn’t an uncommon strategy in war. It was easier to wear the enemy down by sending soldiers out in waves, weakening the other side down until a final wave could completely wipe them out. What Uranus was doing was completely illogical. However, even as the golden army barrelled down towards them, the Martian soldiers steadily remained at their posts. Minako couldn’t understand why no one was doing anything. The ground was practically vibrating beneath her boots.
Wait a minute. Rei’s ears pricked up upon hearing something else in the wind. So, that’s it!
Rei lifted her right hand into the air and gestured to the troops behind her. Next, she withdrew her sword. Its long, sharp blade reflected light as it was drawn out, right down to its hilt. The hilt was made with the same color of the Martian Army’s armor and it bore the planet’s insignia as virtually all else on the planet. However any bystander would immediately notice the difference of the two comparisons; the massive power that the blade radiated, it surely couldn’t have been made from ordinary scraps of metal.
Still in shock, Minako wasn’t prepared for the next thing she saw. Rei suddenly broke towards the sea of gold alone!
“Rei!” Minako shouted.
What is she doing?!
When she tried to take off after the woman, three Martian medics cut off her path and shook their heads at her in disapproval. Despite the humiliation she suffered at the hands of the Martian leader moments before, she certainly didn’t wish for her death!
“What do you think you’re doing?! Get out of my way! You can’t possibly expect her to fight them all by herself!”
“Lady Venus, please calm down…” One of the male medics nervously said.
“Don’t you dare tell me to ‘calm down’ you-” she paused, and then did a double take at the man in front of her. “Wait, you’re… you’re that attendant who showed me in when I first arrived.”
He’s the ‘Ares fan boy’. She realized (though, she doubted she would ever forget something like that).
“Yes, that’s right! I’m happy that you remembered me.” The man beamed. “My name is Zen. Although, I’m guessing that introductions are probably the last thing you want to do right now.”
“RAAAAAAH!”
Minako’s ears were nearly deaf with the roar of soldier’s cries.
“Who in their right mind would?!” She snapped back. “This is serious! Don’t any of you have any common sense? Even if Gods and Goddesses are immortal, they can still die in battle!” There was an uncomfortable silence amongst the troops and the three medics. Thinking that she was perhaps making progress, Minako pressed on. “Is that what you want? Do you want your leader to die?”
They turned their heads away.
“Hey, I’m talking to you!”
TWEET!
This time it was not the flute but a whistle that hit the air, and it came from the Martian leader. The two sections of the army that had split off just short of the battlefield now re-appeared atop of the sand dunes on either side of the opposing army. Surprised shouts and shocked warnings flew through the air, but the golden-clad soldiers were having difficulty stopping their momentum. They were virtually sitting ducks as the Martians pierced their ranks from both sides.
“It…it was planned?” The words stumbled out of Minako’s mouth. Oh man, did I just make a fool of myself again? I am really, really bad with this war stuff. She groaned.
“That it was.” Zen laughed. “But I wouldn’t let our guards down quite yet…”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Just do as Commander said and stay close to us.” As soon as the words left his mouth the central Martian army then formed a circle around them. All of the soldiers faced outwards in various directions.
Down on the main battlefield, with a rare smirk Rei gave another signal and a wave of her outermost troops from the central group joined the fight. If one were to look down from the sky above the feuding armies, the three sections of red resembled something like the jaws of an animal closing down upon its prey. And they clashed.
Clang!
“Damn it!” Haruka yelled. She too then moved to join her troops below. I was hoping that if I stayed above I would be able to pick this sort of plan up before it happened! She then took a course of immediate action to aid her soldiers.
“Taaaaake, THIS!” She cried.
WOOOOOOOOOSH!
Haruka swung down her sword and a stream of wind ripped a path through the red soldiers. But they kept on coming and with them, Rei.
Rei closed the distance between herself and Haruka fast. “HAAA!”
CLANG!
Haruka had parried Rei’s attack split seconds before they brought their swords together again.
Ting! Ting! Zwip!
“That was quite the stunt you pulled there!” Haruka grunted out through a grimace as she pushed back against Rei’s attack. “Grrrah!”
Rei shuffled-stepped back as her opponent lunged and made five consecutive swings in a row, each narrowly missing the Martian. The sixth and last one however nicked Rei’s cheek and drew a small trickle of blood.
Zwip!
“That’s one!” Uranus’s commander proudly grinned.
Geh…! Rei slid back against the sand and fought for balance. Haruka may be impulsive and reckless, but she was still taller than she was and had quite a bit of power to spare.
“Hah!” Rei counterattacked the charging blonde by swinging her sword in an upward vertical motion and forced the woman to leap back. By the time her opponent re-established contact with the ground, the raven-haired woman had already lunged in pursuit and promptly made a diagonal side slash. Unfortunately for Haruka the attack hit its mark and made a cut into her arm through the small break in her armor. The attack, however, had also hit a fundamental strap, knocking the arm guard clean off.
Zwap!
“Even!” Rei declared with a huff of breath.
Haruka maneuvered into a safe distance between herself and Rei before she narrowed her dark green eyes. Both leaders were aware of their troops battling all around them but they both held their positions and stared the other down.
Nice accuracy. As I expected, she’s gotten better. “Heh. Perhaps I took you too lightly after all!”
Rei immediately grew suspicious of Haruka’s attitude. Did I hear right, or is my hearing going? Why did she just admit to a fault? Not only is it against her nature but a leader should never admit a mistake!
“Your point is?” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“Oh…It’s nothing.” The woman waved nonchalantly. “But I do hope your blonde friend up there will be all right.”
TWEEEEET!
The wind picked up and another series of clashing rang through the air. Rei whipped her head around just in time to see her main central group mingling with a color of gold.
“A second squad?” Rei whispered.
Where did they come from?!
She could barely make out Minako in the crowd. The woman was being guarded by the three medics as planned but she was looking extremely stressed. Briefly their eyes met.
Rei gritted her teeth; Haruka wouldn’t go that far would she? Did she even know that she was planning on attacking a diplomat from another planet?
“Pay attention, I’m right here!” Rei barely had time to lift her sword against the tall blonde.
Ting!
“Augh!”
“You shouldn’t be turning your attention away from your opponent!”
“And you shouldn’t be going after a diplomat!” Rei spat back.
“What?”
“That ‘blonde’ you were talking about isn’t from Mars. She’s Aphrodite’s daughter, you impulsive, dim-witted moron! She’s here on a visit!”
“Is that so…?” Haruka darkly muttered. “Oh well.”
Huh?!
“Then I guess you’ll just have to do something about that now, won’t you?”
Both combatants’ faces drew close as they leaned into their swords.
“You won’t stop them?” Rei hissed between exhausted breaths.
“I can’t.” Haruka whispered back. “You should know that better than anyone else. If there is no apparent reason to withdraw then it’s all over. Uranus’s people take great pride in their strength. With our long-standing rivalry and all, these fights with Mars are especially important in their eyes! Simply withdrawing won’t cut it.”
“Hmph, like you’ll need to worry about that! Do you even know how much longer you have to live? It can happen at any time. HER too! Anyone could be next!”
Haruka lowered her gaze. “I know that, but…”
“But what?! What kind of excuse did you make up this time? You can’t keep running from this, Haruka!”
Rei involuntarily bit her tongue when her friend looked her straight in the eye.
“Rei. Hino Rei, my long time friend… We’ve found it-- one half of the key.”
The Martian flinched. “What? What in the name of Mars are you babbling about now?”
“You know what I’m talking about. It’s not just a rumour, we can do this! This isn’t some wild dream anymore.”
Rei felt her heart skip a beat. “A-Are you serious Haruka?”
(At the Second Front)
Rei... Minako nervously glanced back at the two leaders caught in a deadlock. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the glint of gold behind her.
“I’ve got you now, Martian SCUM!”
“Watch out!” Zen shouted. There was a quick flurry of movements before the enemy’s corpse lifelessly slumped to the ground. Small droplets of red hung in the air as the body fell, seeming to fall in slow motion before Minako’s eyes.
Thud.
“Z-Zen,” Minako was having difficulty finding her voice. “But you’re a medic, aren’t you...?”
The Venusian Princess felt a chill seeping into her as she watched her enemy’s blood stain the pale-red sand. The image disturbed her. Seeing so much death, even as it was happening all around her, it never really sunk in. But now that she was seeing it up close, it was very real.
“I don’t understand. Aren’t you supposed to…?”
“Save lives?” He finished her sentence and gave a slight bow his head, willing his long dark-brown hair to fall over his shadowed eyes. For a moment his face was twisted in pain.
“A medic in the Martian army isn’t just a healer. We are also elite killers. Normal soldiers are trained to have impeccable fighting skills, but to be a medic, or also known as part of the elite soldier class, we must be strong soldiers with knowledge of healing as well.” He took a deep breath as if to strengthen his resolve. “Sometimes... we must kill to save lives. I just saved yours. Isn’t that good enough?”
Hearing the partially concealed pain in his voice calmed Minako down a bit. She understood now.
Watching someone killing another being, and doing the deed yourself, are two completely different things…
“And please. I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but I’m begging you to forgive the Commander for laying her hand on your cheek earlier! I’m not sure what the situation was, but by military code, if a soldier shows disobedience and they are not disciplined, the troops may lose confidence in their leader. Since you are dressed like one of us, many expect you to abide by our customs. That’s why the Commander did what she did. It was a show of respect- not just to us, but to you as well.”
Minako gave a slight nod of her head, and then stood up to face the battle once more.
“…I understand. Thank you for telling me that.”
(The First Front)
At a distance away, Rei was still caught up in Haruka’s words.
She actually found it? ...But how?
Before Rei could inquire about the matter further Haruka grunted, “I can only hope... that you’re up for some more babysitting! YaH!” She gave a final push into her sword to once again create a distance between them.
Snapping back to reality, Rei dug her back heel into the sand and shot instinctively forward for one final blow. Haruka followed the action with equally vicious intent. They crossed paths and passed each other.
SLASH!
The air around them warped and stilled as if time itself were frozen. The two combatants held their finishing movement and waited for the blow to make itself known.
Splut- SHHHHHHHH!
“Gah!”
“Ugh!”
Rei was the first one to discover her wound. She felt the warm blood staining her hand from her side, but she was not ashamed; Haruka was a good fighter, and she had received a similar wound.
“It’s a draw.” Rei coughed.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Haruka closed her eyes as she tried to hold back her own painful gasping of breath.
With that both leaders simultaneously whistled and commanded their armies to retreat.
The soldiers all looked up to see the end result of the day and saw that they would surely meet again for a final outcome in the future. As Uranus retreated the Martian soldiers honourably obeyed their end of the deal and allowed their opponents to walk away with their backs turned.
“Haruka,” Rei winced from her wound.
“I’ve left it in that place. You know where it is. Please take care of it until the next time we meet. Until then, I’ll see you later.”
Rei waited until Haruka was out of sight before she trudged back with her own troops, back to where Minako was waiting.
That place huh?
“Commander!” Zen nearly tripped over himself to rush to her side.
Minako also gasped. “Rei, you’re hurt!”
“Hm?” Rei blinked twice before looking back down at her wound. Instead of the usual pain that came with it, Rei couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.
Haruka…she really got me good this time. That troublesome woman…
“It’s nothing serious.”
“But---!” Zen tried to protest.
In a firmer voice Rei growled, “Forget about it. There are more important matters to take care of! What’s our estimated casualty count?”
“We think one to two hundred.” The medic reluctantly answered. I hate it when she does this! Even though she says her wound is fine it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. Leaders!
“I see. Well, you know what to do with the bodies. Please see to it that they receive a proper burial. You are dismissed.”
“Yes ...Sir.”
Minako quietly watched Zen walk away before she whirled on Rei. “Okay, what the hell did you do that for? All he wanted to do was help you!”
I don’t have time for this.
“There’s something that I need to take care of. I’ll have a few of the medics guide you back to the palace.”
“Hold it! You aren’t going anywhere until I get an answer.” She caught Rei’s arm stubbornly, to which Rei immediately pulled out of the blonde’s grip.
“An answer? For what?!” She glared.
“Look, maybe you’re putting too much of yourself into this whole leader image. If someone offers you help, then take it! That wound isn’t going to go away by itself.”
“No thanks.”
“Listen, you! I’m not leaving until you give me a GOOD answer.” Minako persisted.
Rei coughed again before she wearily relented.“Then I guess you’re stuck with me for a while longer. But if you insist on coming along then you better be ready for some exercise!”
Oh, I’ll get an answer from you yet! Minako vowed. With everything that’s happened though... I think I’m finally starting to learn something about her.
(Desert)
The pair walked away from the dissipating army and ventured far into the desert. All around them, as far as the eye could see, they were surrounded by miles of sand dunes. What were they supposed to be looking for out here? What was important enough to make the stubborn Martian commander wander off into the desert wounded?
From one glance Minako could tell that Rei wasn’t fairing as well as she had so boldly claimed earlier.
“Hey, Rei...? Maybe you should slow down and try to take it easy.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” The Martian snapped back.
If it is what Haruka says it is, then I’ve got to find it. Fast.
“What are we doing out here anyway?”
Silently Rei kept leading them further through the hot sun. It was becoming so hot that, at one point, Minako even considered shedding her armor. Tentatively she began to tug at her arm guards.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Rei muttered off-handedly.
“Eh? But why not? It’s boiling hot out here!”
“Becaaaussse... that armor is especially made for desert-like conditions. If you take it off, you’ll quickly find this place to be three times hotter than you think it is now.”
“Irk.”
“Anyway, we’re almost there.”
Minako glanced around. “What do you mean ‘we’re almost there’? Almost where? I don’t see anything. All there is is sand, sand and more sand.”
“You didn’t notice them then.” Rei uncharacteristically chuckled.
“Notice what?” Minako huffed. I hate it when she treats me like a kid!
“The flowers.” Rei bent down and shifted aside a handful of sand to reveal a small, red flower. It was even redder than the sand surrounding it.
Ooooh, I see it now. Minako silently awed as she bent down for a closer look. It surprised her at how gently Rei treated the plant.
“These flowers grow in paths that almost look like rivers. In a sense, they ‘flow’ all around the planet. In Martian lore, it is said that they are the souls of fallen warriors because they flourish especially after battle. Other than that... no one has been able to come up with another explanation of why these flowers are able to grow in a desert like this.”
“They’re so pretty...”
Rei nodded. “Mhm. The place that we’re going to is at the heart of this stream. It’s still a bit of a walk from here but if we hurry we’ll be there in no time.”
Again the two moved forward, passing more of the flowers as they made distance. It wasn’t until sometime later that a figure came into view. Rei was the first to notice it.
Gesturing with one hand, the woman motioned Minako to stop. “I’ll need you to stay here, all right? I’ll go check it out.”
“What? By yourself? No way! I don’t care if you’re this planet’s leader, you’re still injured!”
“But I have more experience with surprise attacks than you do. Even if I’m…inhibited, I’ll still survive. Besides, if you were forced to fight do you really think you could take a life?”
The comment caught Minako off-guard. Unable to answer the question, the Venusian reluctantly found herself left behind as Rei went off to inspect the figure up ahead.
She was able to momentarily distract her frustration by watching flower petals that had been swept up by the light breeze.
The wind...It feels so nice! Where did this breeze come from? She wondered.
Tup…tup…tup.
Up ahead, the Martian commander’s footsteps slowed to a stop.
...What? Is this a joke, Haruka?
Rei’s eyes were widening in shock as she analyzed the curled up figure in the bedding of flowers.
“You left me a kid?”
From what Rei could see, the child was a young girl- barely five, perhaps. She was wearing a set of dark, slightly baggy clothes and had short, dark hair to match. Within a few seconds, sensing Rei’s presence, the girl opened her eyes to reveal a pair of dark, purple eyes.
The Martian Commander eyed the child warily as she pushed herself up into a sitting position and stared back at her, tilting her head at her with great curiosity. She didn’t know what to think.
This child… Could she be an orphan?
Surely Haruka wouldn’t abduct a kid on a simple whim; the Martian highly doubted that the wind ruler had the heart to tear someone away from their family, especially a child.
“Do you have a name?”She asked the girl.
“Hotaru.” The girl said cutely. She looked like she was about to fall asleep any minute. “Where’s papa? Are you... Auntie Rei?”
Rei felt a few strands of her hair stick out of place again.
“W-WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!”
Haruka... the next time I see you, I’m going to kill you for real!
“Awww, she’s so cute!” Minako squealed. Before Rei could blink the woman was hanging all over her shoulder. “You can call me Auntie Minako.”
“What a second. What do you think you’re doing? We still don’t know anything about her!”
“Oh, pish posh Rei. She’s only a kid. What harm could she do?”
“...”
Hotaru gave a big yawn. “Sweepy…”
“Awwww! You’re so cute that I could just give you a big h---OOF!” Minako tried to give Hotaru a large hug but she tripped over Rei’s foot (which had been conveniently placed in her way) and did a face plant with the ground.
“Ouch! Okay, what did you do that for? I wasn’t going to hug YOU, you know?”
Since you’d probably just throw out your hand at the last minute again. My nose is still sore from that last attempt!
“What have we learned about armor?”
Minako blinked back at her. “That running into it isn’t safe?”
“Yeah, and?” Minako gave her a dumb stare as Rei bent down to pick up Hotaru. The small girl readily accepted Rei’s presence and almost instantly fell back into a slumber. The woman sighed.
“Lesson number two, child: Hugging a person that isn’t wearing armor, when you are, will C-R-U-S-H them. Especially if it’s a small kid.”
“Feh…” I knew that, sorta…
“If you’re done with sitting on your rear end, then let’s get going. We can’t stay out here for much longer without experiencing some sort of problem.”
With that resolved Rei and Minako started to re-trace their steps when Minako suddenly asked,
“Can I hold her?”
“No.”
“Mm... how ‘bout now?”
“No!”
“Pleeeease? She’s so adora-!”
“I said, NO! Shit, now look what you did! You woke her up.”
“...Your fault.”
“Wha--My fault?! Why you-”
Rei had a funny feeling that it was going to be a looooong walk back.
Back to Heartfelt Desires Index - Back to Sailor Moon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction