The morning light streamed in to Ami's bedroom, effectively moving her to shade her eyes. Instead of springing out of bed like she usually did, the blue hair girl groaned and turned on her side. She didn't feel like getting up, she knew if she got up she'd have to go out, and if she went out she'd see Makoto, and if she saw Makoto... Well she'd either spontaneously kiss her or run away, both of which she accomplished the night before. Ami groaned again, remembering the scene fully for the umpteenth time. She came to the conclusion that she was either under the influence, or suffered a total mental melt-down. It was neither, she knew exactly what was happening, it was just too hard to stop herself. Makoto standing there in the moonlight, her green eyes telling Ami what she couldn't say, it was irresistible. She sighed and wished she could kiss her again. Ami sat up quickly, having a profound thought. Since when did she think things like that? She laughed at herself, and started to wonder what would've happened if she hadn't ran away... "Kami, I can be so stupid sometimes. I shouldn't have done it. She has a boyfriend, she has... him." "Ami, who are you talking to?" Her mother stuck her head inside the room and gave her daughter a strange look. "I'm pretty sure schizophrenia runs on your father's side. Anyway, talk to a real person, your friend is on the phone." Ami sighed and reluctantly took the phone from her mother. "Thank you Mother, but I wasn't talking to myself!" Her mother left with an amused smirk and Ami cleared her throat, praying that it wasn't who she thought it might be. "Um, hello?" "Ami-chan, it's me, Usagi." Ami breathed a sigh of great relief. "Oh. Hi, Usagi-chan." "Ami-chan I need you to tell me what happened last night. I can't really remember anything past going in to Mako-chan's bathroom." "Well, I know you were ill, so Mamoru-kun and Mina-chan took you home. But I was never told why." Ami's foot started to tap lightly on the floor. "Um, did you speak to Mako-chan... about last night?" "Kind of. She said she really didn't want to talk about it, so I called you instead. Do you think something might've happened?" Ami sighed, her foot's tapping speed increasing. "I can't think of anything." "D'you think she got in a fight with Freddy-san?" "I don't know." Ami felt herself losing some self-control, as she kept thinking about the previous night. "You should try one of the others to help you Usagi-chan." "Hmm, Mina-chan's not answering, so I guess I'll call Rei." "Why isn't Minako picking up her phone?!" Rei demanded of Usagi, practically choking her telephone receiver. Usagi held the phone away from her ear so her hearing would stay intact. "Jeese, I dunno, she didn't pick up for me either. Rei-chan, I need to know what happened to me last night, I-" "Can't help you, Mako-chan didn't tell me much. I have to go see what's up with Mina, bye." Usagi frowned as the dial-tone sounded, indicating that Rei had hung up on her. "Am I ever going to know?" She complained to herself. Despite the calming, beautiful weather, Rei's walk to Minako's house was swift and impatient. Ever since the night by the sacred fire with Akako, Rei was on edge about every single nuance of Minako's moods. Her guilty conscience wouldn't allow her to give Minako a reason to even frown. But that very own conscience also didn't allow her to stop seeing Akako. She had become a paradox. She couldn't stop yielding to Akako, yet she desperately wanted things to be perfect with Minako. Rei cursed her regrettably confused thinking as she rang the doorbell. Despite this weakness in her moral fiber, she always concluded that she'd probably die if Minako ever found out. That was the feeling she got when Minako opened the door. Nothing seemed very wrong, just the apparent feeling of unease. Her eyes were blank and stared aimlessly at Rei, a thin line where her usual cheerful smile would be. Rei blinked at her, her palms became cold, something was definitely wrong. "Hey, sweetie." At the sound of Rei's voice Minako's blank eyes stirred and a fire that Rei never saw, nor expected to see burned in them. The burning eyes narrowed and shot in to Rei's, her mouth formed in to a disgusted scowl, and her hands balled up tightly in to fists. Rei was getting scared, the worst had happened but she didn't want to assume anything. "Mina?" Minako's palm seared against her face in a flash. She staggered back from the impact, cursing from the sting of the slap. Minako looked at Rei, holding her cheek, and looked at her hand. She balled it up again and tried not to regret what she just did. Rei's own hand moved from her red cheek to her forehead. She looked at Minako, pain clearly painted on her face, tears steadily streaming out of her eyes. She shakily breathed, "I... I'm sorry." Minako seemed hurt by the statement more than anything else. She swallowed back some tears, deepening her sickened frown. Blood rushed through her veins, her arms and legs became tenser. She shook her head at Rei, absolute contempt in her eyes. "I can't believe you." She barely whispered, emotions affecting her voice. Rei didn't know what to do. She stepped closer, outstretching her arms. "Mina, I love you-" Minako pushed her away viciously. "Get away from me! You're a god-damned liar! I hate you! I fucking hate you!" Rei stepped back momentarily; Minako's words were hurting more than her physical abuse. "No, no, you love me-" Rei forced her arms on Minako despite her slapping and resistance. "I love you, I love you, you don't hate me..." Rei whispered to her, holding the girl's head to her shoulder, stroking her back soothingly. Minako all but collapsed in to Rei, sobbing hard in to her chest. "No. No, you're not going to-" She pushed Rei away suddenly, wiping her tears. "Mina!" "No, Rei! I knew it, I knew something... Just get away from me, I can't even look at you." Minako's voice was clear and cut through Rei like a knife. Rei's knees felt like they'd give out. She stared at Minako, agony in her deep purple eyes. "It was a mistake! I'm sorry, Mina, you know I lo-" "Don't even say it... Save it for her." Minako's voice finally gave in to the sobs and through tears, her and Rei's eyes connected painfully one last time before she turned her back and closed the door. Rei stared blankly at the door, feeling her life slip out of her hands. Her breath was lost and hot tears stung her eyes. "Minako." She cried for a time after that, walking home. She took the long way, needing to relieve the stress in her body somehow. The tears stopped eventually and she walked slowly with her head down, wondering if it was all a dream, desperately hoping to wake up. She ascended the shrine steps dolefully, spotting Phobos and Deimos when she reached the top. She looked at them and they looked at her, flying away quickly. Upon entering her room her body sagged against the door, not knowing what else to do. "Hey you," An unwanted voice greeted her from the bed. "Jeese, you look like crap." Rei didn't have the energy to get angry, or the will. Her head swung to look at the girl, sprawled across her bed, smiling naively at her. She averted her gaze before those alluring brown eyes trapped her. "Get out." Akako looked at her disbelievingly. "What?" "Get out of my room." Rei told her plainly, firmly but with no anger. The other miko studied Rei's face, a smile dawning on her as she came to a conclusion. "I see. Your little hottie caught you, didn't she?" Rei's hands flexed at her sides. Akako continued, knowing how vulnerable she was at the moment, and absolutely loving it. "Poor, poor Rei-san. I bet you're awfully sad, aren't you?" She mocked Rei with a sultry giggle. Rei's temper finally caught up with her. "I said get the hell out!" Akako was taken aback, for once, by Rei's fury. "My, aren't you angry, considering you're the one who did the cheating. Kami, you act as if you're so innocent." Rei bit her lip, wanting to lash out. She held back though, knowing Akako was not wrong. "Akako..." She began, through clenched teeth. "Don't be so upset, Rei-san. Perhaps it's all for the better. Life goes on; she'll probably be underneath some guy by tomorrow." "Don't you dare talk about her like that!" Akako laughed, "You didn't seem to care that much last night." Rei's blood boiled, but she was no longer enraged with Akako, rather with herself. She turned away, banging her forehead into a wall several times. Akako rushed to her, stopping her from injuring herself. She huffed, tears springing from her eyes. "Why did you come here? Why did you make me do this?" Akako removed her hands from Rei's shoulder. "Rei, stop lying to yourself. I didn't make you do it." "Then why? I love her... What's wrong with me?" Akako looked away. "I don't know. Maybe you don't love her as much as you think you do." Rei looked at her suddenly. She didn't want to believe it. "No. That's not it." Akako shrugged. "If you say so. But hey, don't get too upset, she trailed a finger over Rei's jaw line, lifting her chin. Her lips closed in on Rei's, who submitted, but she stopped, smirking at Rei and her pitiful duplicity. "You can save the tears too. You're sorry you're going to jail, but you aren't sorry you stole." She abruptly left Rei to ponder that by herself. Ami sighed sullenly as she stared at the window at the Crown, listening to Usagi's chattering. She turned slightly agitated eyes to her friend. "Why don't you just ask Mamoru-kun?" Usagi was still trying to figure out what exactly happened to her the previous night. "I tried that. He won't tell me a thing, only laughs to himself and says that it isn't important." "Then why don't you listen to him for a change?" "Ami-chan..." Ami frowned, taking her misery out on Usagi. "I'm sorry Usagi-chan. I'm not in the best mood." Usagi smiled, she didn't even take it that seriously in the first place. "It's okay. You'll probably feel better when Mako-chan gets here." Ami suddenly looked at her. "Mako-chan?" "Yes, Mako-chan, who else? Well besides Rei and Minako, but I can't get in touch with either of them. They're probably together or something." Ami returned to staring out the window, her gloom growing. At least Usagi would be there to make things less uncomfortable than she knew they would be. Suddenly her eyes caught sight of a streak of white trying to cross the street outside. "Isn't that Artemis?" Usagi and Ami found the cat across the street, unable to get to the Crown due to the traffic that wouldn't stop for him. Usagi picked him up. "Artemis, what are you doing here?" Wary of conversing with the cat out in the open, they went into a discreet alley-way. The lunar cat wasted no time. "You have to come with me, it's an emergency." Ami gasped. "Where's the youma?" "It's much worse than a youma. Minako, she's... She needs you all right now; I can't help her by myself." Usagi nodded. "Okay, we'll come with you. Did you get Rei?" Artemis looked away. "Um, no. That's the whole problem actually." Usagi and Ami looked at each other, confused. "What do you mean? Did they fight?" Usagi asked worriedly. Artemis shook his head. "You should probably find out from Minako. " "Okay, we'll-" Usagi slapped her forehead. "I forgot about Mako-chan. We have to wait for her." "Please, she needs you now." Usagi knew she had to help her friend out. "Okay, I'll go with you Artemis. Ami-chan, stay here and wait for Mako-chan, then you two come to Mina-chan's house." "What? Why me? Can't I go with Artemis?" Ami's words were wasted as Usagi already started sprinting in the direction of Minako's house, the cat leading the way. Ami wandered back to the Crown and slumped down into a booth. A few minutes later Makoto slid into the seat opposite her. Her green eyes looked cautiously at Ami, who sat up straighter and played nervously with her hands. Makoto cleared her throat. "Hi-ohh." She had no idea why her voice squeaked, but it made Ami chuckle. They stayed quiet for a few anxious seconds. Ami's foot tapped as fast as Makoto's heart was beating. She tried again to speak, hoping she wouldn't squeak this time. "Where's Usagi-chan?" "Oh she went with Artemis to Mina-chan's house, there's an emergency. I forgot, we're supposed to be there right now." Ami talked fast and low. She got up from the table and quickly headed for the exit. Makoto took a few minutes to catch up. "Hey, hey wait-up." She reached for Ami's hand to slow her down. Ami's eyes locked to hers. She let go right away. "Sorry." She smiled sheepishly. "You just don't have to run away from me." Ami took a shaky breath before she dove in. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that; I might've been slightly intoxicated or something... It was just something stupid that won't happen again, and doesn't reflect," she paused here, knowing she was about to lie, "and doesn't reflect my feelings. I was probably hallucinating." One corner of Makoto's mouth turned up in a dubious smirk. She looked at her shoes then slyly at Ami. "Must've been a pretty vivid hallucination." Ami looked at her strangely. Why didn't she sound angry, or distant, or freaked out? "Yes, it was. Very. Anyway, I'm sorry." Makoto shrugged. "It's okay, I didn't mind." Ami looked away so she could hide the smile that was forming. She didn't know what to make of that last statement, though it felt like a good sign. She looked cautiously at Makoto, who peeked back at her. "And if it happened again?" Makoto's heart rate soared at the smoldering look Ami was giving her. She licked her lips, unable to respond in words, only shy laughter. She wondered if she had ever imagined the day that Ami made her blush. Ami giggled, she had no idea where that had come from. "We should get going." "Um, yeah, let's go." Makoto panted as if she had been worked out, and gladly let Ami lead the way. Usagi had always put her friends first, the four other senshi were put on a higher pedestal than even her family. It disturbed her deeply to find Minako in the state that she did, the girl was a complete mess. Dark circles hung under her eyes which were bloodshot, making it obvious that she had been crying for a long time. Minako was now sobbing into her shoulder while she tried not to cry herself. The only words Minako had uttered were two names, giving Usagi enough information to accurately guess what had happened. Anything even vaguely reminiscent of Rei was destroyed, making Usagi close her eyes in disappointment and sympathy. She couldn't comprehend why her friend would do such a thing to another friend. She thought they were in love, she believed that, like hers, their love would last forever. She comfortingly stroked Minako's hair, realizing not all relationships were bonded in past lifetimes and meant to last for eternity. She shook her head, it hurt her immensely, she couldn't even imagine what Minako was going through. After some time Minako had ceased crying and the two just sat silently next to each other on the floor against Minako's bed, Usagi not wanting to push conversation. Fortunately Minako spoke first. Her voice was a barely audible whisper. "What did I do Usagi?" Usagi put a consoling arm around her shoulders. "Nothing, Mina-chan, you didn't do anything." "Then... why?" Minako put her head into her hands to fight back the oncoming tears. Usagi shook her head sadly. "I don't know Mina-chan. I really don't know." When Ami and Makoto arrived Minako had run out of tears. She lay on her bed listlessly staring at the ceiling, a deep frown marring her fine features. Usagi sat by her side, biting her lip, wanting to say something, but not the wrong thing. Makoto carefully came to her friend's side, while Ami looked around the room, fearfully picking up a scrap of a destroyed photo. She studied the scrap carefully, dread consuming her. "Mina-chan, what happened?" Minako inhaled shakily, but wasn't able to answer. Usagi patted her leg, deciding to inform them for her. "You guys, um... Mina-chan, she, well, you see, Rei..." Usagi tried to calm herself, finding it difficult to complete the sentence, emotion bubbling in her throat. "Rei and... Rei did something..." She broke off, unable to finish, the disappointment she felt bearing down on her. "What?" Makoto probed, deep concern showing on her face. "What'd she do?" "She cheated on me." Their heads snapped to Minako's clear whisper. "W-what?" Makoto let out a disbelieving chuckle. "You're kidding, right? Rei wouldn't do that." Minako's agonized expression told her the truth. "Apparently she would." She whispered in reply. "Oh my God..." Ami's hands went to her face, shaking her head dubiously. "Rei-chan? How could she possibly...? Are you certain, maybe you're just being too suspicious-" "I saw them! With my own god-damned eyes!" Tears streaked her face again, but she wiped them away roughly. "In Mako-chan's kitchen, yesterday..." They didn't ask who, they didn't have to. Ami sat next to Minako, all of them surrounding her comfortingly. Usagi took her hand and squeezed it, unsure of what to say or think. "I'm sorry Mina-chan. I really am. I don't know what else to say." Minako shook her head. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, praying that she wouldn't cry anymore. "Even with her... What a great a fucking Venus I am." The rest of them looked away. Their own minds were jumbled in confusion, not knowing what to think. If it had been anyone else in the world, they would've banded together and extracted their revenge by any means possible, for hurting their friend. But it was unknown to them on how to deal with a friend hurting another friend. Makoto got up and began to pace around the room, trying to ease her blood pressure down and ward off her immediate anger. She didn't like being mad at her friends. But right now it was very, very easy to be angry with Rei. Makoto knew what it felt like to be betrayed, to have your heart completely destroyed. She hated the idea of someone doing that to one of her closest friends. It stung even more knowing that it was Rei, not a stranger. Ami watched Makoto stomp around, clearly identifying what was going on in her head, because much of the same was going on in hers. The level of disappointment she felt in her friend hurt her as much as she knew it was hurting Usagi and Makoto. They would've never expected it from Rei. She was supposed to be loyal, she was supposed to take care of Minako forever, and she was supposed to have better judgment. Much better judgment. "Don't say that Minako," Artemis spoke up, suddenly. "You are Venus. Nothing will change that." They all looked at him, his statement raising questions in their minds that they would dread finding the answers to. "Kami," Minako breathed, distress overcoming her as she came to a tormenting conclusion. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't see her friends' faces. "I can't be Sailor Venus anymore."
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