The snow that began falling the night of Minako and Ami's first date did not stop falling until late the next morning, resulting in a thick white blanket over the city of Tokyo. The day after that was Monday and when school let out Minako and Ami ended up at Ami's apartment to study. Given that Dr. Mizuno was at the hospital and would remain there until late evening, relatively little studying was actually taking place. Ami way laying on her back in bed, and Minako was laying crosswise, her head resting on her love's stomach and her hand in Ami's. Ami sighed deeply. "We should really study...exams are in just a couple of weeks." Minako had her eyes closed. She turned her head and burrowed a bit into Ami's belly, prompting a little tickled squeak from the blue-haired girl. "It's too cold to study." She said, her voice muffled in Ami's shirt. Ami giggled and placed her free hand between Minako's face and her person. "Stop that, it tickles. And we decided it was too cold to study outside, not at all." Minako looked up at Ami with an impish expression. "Well, could we decide that it's too cold too study at all?" Ami smiled faintly. "Okay...but the next thing on the list is talking about telling the others about us." With a groan, Minako turned to stare at the ceiling again. "Ami, have mercy! Couldn't we just make out for a while?" Ami slowly turned pink. "Mina-chan!" She exclaimed, her tone exasperated. The corners of her mouth kept twitching upward, however. "We did that when we got home. Don't you ever get enough?" "Of you?" Minako shifted quickly until she was lying on her side next to Ami. She poked the other girl's cheek. "Of course not, bite your tongue." With a wicked little smile she leaned in and brushed her lips against Ami's. "Or should I?" Ami's resistance abruptly crumbled, and there was no further talking for several minutes. Finally Ami took hold of Minako's shoulders and pushed her gently away. She smiled at her and shook her head. "Mina-chan...we really have to do something, okay?" Minako sighed deeply. "Okay Ami." Ami's smile got a bit wider and she leaned in to give Minako a quick peck on the lips. "Thank you." They pulled themselves into a sitting position, smoothing out their hair and straightening their clothing. Ami leaned over the side of the bed to get her bookbag. With another, smaller sigh, Minako did the same. She was beginning to get the feeling that Ami, in her new role as girlfriend, was going to make Minako a better student and a more efficient person in general...whether or not Minako wanted to change. "I wonder what the others are up to, anyway?" Minako murmured as she cracked open her math book. "The sooner we tell them about us, the sooner we'll be able to hang out more often." Ami pointed out. Minako sighed and Ami smiled. "I know, it's huge. But we really need to do it...this won't be a secret for long, and wouldn't you rather tell them than have them find out for themselves?" "You're always so logical." Minako made a little face, then smiled a little. "But you're right. We'll tell them...soon." "How soon?" Ami persisted. "This week, okay?" Minako replied, fighting to keep a hint of irritation out of her voice. Telling the other senshi was important, but what was the rush? Couldn't they just let things be for now? "Okay." Ami said, smiling brightly. She opened her math book and began looking through it, her eyes flickering over the pages and her brow furrowed in the cutely thoughtful expression that Minako had always been fond of. Minako smiled back, and it felt as if something that had tensed inside her suddenly relaxed. How could she ever have been irritated at this girl? Minako reached out and lightly brushed her fingers against Ami's cheek. Ami blinked, then smiled and softly pressed her cheek into Minako's caress. "Mina-chan." She murmured, leaning forward and giving Minako a small, gentle kiss. Her lips moved closer to Minako's ear, and she began to whisper. "What's your math homework?" Ami sat back and began to laugh softly. Minako made a sour face and then began to laugh as well. The blonde senshi had never found homework as small an inconvenience as it seemed right now. ------------------- Rei rang the bell to the Outer Senshi's front door and waited, trying not to fidget too much. Haruka and Michiru often liked to spend a little time with one or another of the Inner Senshi, just to keep things close, and this time the invitation had fallen to the Senshi of Fire. After a moment, Michiru opened the door. "Rei-chan." She said warmly. "Please, come in." "Thanks Michiru-chan." Rei stepped through the door, mentally cursing her luck. She hated being alone with Michiru. Well, she didn't HATE it, obviously...she just never had any idea how to act. Michiru smiled apologetically. "I'm afraid it's just going to be the two of us today. Haruka said to say she was sorry, but Setsuna just had to get out of the house." -Oh, perfect.- Rei groaned in her thoughts. But she forced a smile and a nod. "Is she alright?" "She is, for the most part." Michiru led Rei into the small dining room next to the kitchen and saw her seated, then retreated into the kitchen. "She's...fraying." She said, raising her voice slightly to be heard through the open doorway. She returned in a moment, carrying a silver tray of small cakes and an elegant teapot. "You'd never know it to look at her, but she's getting more and more frustrated at her lack of knowledge about our enemy. It's never happened to her before, and she's feeling very lost right now." "Oh..." Rei picked up a cake and nibbled the corner. She noticed Michiru smiling at her out of the corner of her eye and developed a sudden interest on a random point of the wall across the room. "How do you feel, Rei-chan?" The question took the dark-haired miko by surprise. She choked a bit on the cake she was eating and took a big gulp of tea to wash it down. The tea, unfortunately, was extremely hot and scalded Rei's mouth badly. She jumped up, clutching her mouth and forcing Michiru to make a grab for the tray to keep it from falling over. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Rei exclaimed, blushing furiously. It took a moment to realize that Michiru was laughing softly, hiding her mouth in her hand. Rei looked down, her blush becoming even fiercer as she wished the floor would open up and swallow her on the spot. Michiru smiled and stood as well. "No, I'm sorry Rei-chan. I shouldn't have laughed...but the look on your face..." She chuckled again and Rei felt herself smile a little. Michiru pushed the sugar towards Rei. "Here, sprinkle a little of that on your tongue, it should make the burn feel better. I'll get you some nice cold milk." She left, gently brushing Rei's shoulder comfortingly as she did, and making Rei's whole arm feel as if it were tingling. Sprinkling sugar on her tongue did seem to soothe the burn, and the milk that Michiru brought out helped as well. Michiru kept looking at her expectantly, forcing Rei to put down the cup. "Sorry, what was the question again?" Michiru smiled a bit. "I was just wondering how you were feeling...about not being able to see anything about our enemies as well. I know it's hard on Setsuna, but it can't be easy for you, either." -Way to go, spaz.- Rei mentally berated herself. "Oh, I see..." She considered the question for a moment, then shrugged. "It makes me nervous, but I think it's way worse for Setsuna. We talked once about the different ways we see the future. I just get vague visions and symbolic images in the fire, and it takes a lot of effort to get those. It's a lot more complete for Setsuna, and it must be a lot more disorienting for it to fail so completely." "That's true, I suppose." Michiru said thoughtfully. "I admit, seeing how Setsuna has been affected by this has made me worried about you, as well. Particularly after you exhausted yourself a couple of weeks ago." The warm flush that had spread through Rei at hearing that Michiru had worried about her was replaced with a hot flash of true embarrassment. "Oh...you heard about that." Michiru nodded. "Of course...you know things don't stay secret in our little society." She smiled. "Besides, I could have seen it coming. When you are challenged, you throw yourself into it with no hesitation. It's a very courageous quality." Rei felt herself blushing again at this compliment, and wished she could stop before Michiru noticed. She could think of nothing to respond with, and there was a long pause that Rei felt was growing deeper and deeper by the second. Fortunately, the doorbell rang at that moment, making both of them glance towards the front door. "I'll get it!" Hotaru called from upstairs, and soon she could be heard descending the stairwell quickly and opening the door. "Chibi-Usa!" "Hi Hotaru-chan!" The two girls entered the dining room, and Hotaru paused in the doorway, looking at bit surprised to see Michiru and Rei sitting there. Michiru closed her eyes and took a long sip of tea, not turning to look at her adoptive daughter. Rei suddenly felt like the temperature of the room had dropped dramatically. Chibi-Usa must have felt it as well, because the small pink-haired girl hovered nervously just outside the room. Hotaru smiled very slightly. "Hi Rei-chan." She said, moving towards the kitchen. Rei smiled and nodded. Michiru didn't so much as twitch. Chibi- Usa and Rei shared the strained smile of someone who didn't quite get the situation, and Hotaru emerged again a moment later with two drinks and some snacks. "We'll be in my room." She said shortly, and Michiru gave an almost imperceptible nod. The two young girls departed, and the icy aura slowly fled the room. "Sorry." Michiru finally said apologetically, setting her cup down with a rather embarrassed smile. "What was that all about?" Rei asked, softly. "Oh...Hotaru and I aren't on speaking terms at the moment, I'm afraid." Michiru replied ruefully. "I was very unhappy with Usagi when she brought Hotaru to the last battle, after we had all decided to try to keep her out of danger. Hotaru leaped to her defense, and before we knew it we were screaming at each other. Hotaru thinks I'm being too protective and getting in the way of her duties as a Sailor Senshi. But she IS still young, and I don't see any reason to put her at risk while Muon seems to have his sights set on her." Rei thought that Hotaru actually had a point, but she was wise enough to keep that to herself. "So..." She finally said, after wracking her brain for a topic. "What do you know about Minako and Ami?" Michiru smiled mysteriously. "I know about many things." She said, taking a sip of tea. "But much of what I know, I was told in confidence." Rei's face, which had suddenly become hopeful with the promise of new gossip, fell again. "But," Michiru continued, "I can always help you speculate, even if I can't say anything definite." Rei's face slowly turned into a grin, and she leaned forward across the table, eager to wrangle whatever information she could from the Senshi of the Sea. ------------------- "I don't know about this, Haruka." Setsuna said as she tied the belt around her gi. "Come on, you wanted to get out of the house, right? And you needed to let off some steam. This will be perfect." Haruka replied, already standing on the mat, holding two staves. Setsuna bowed and joined her, taking one of the weapons. They bowed to each other and began some light sparring. Haruka was a skilled and talented fighter, well trained and with excellent reflexes. Nevertheless, centuries of experience with her weapon had made Setsuna a staff fighter like no other. In less than half a minute Haruka found her staff whipped out of her hands, and the butt of Setsuna's resting against her throat. "Okay, maybe you need a little more of a challenge." Haruka said, swallowing. Setsuna gave her a small, genuine smile, and the short-haired senshi took that to be a good sign. This had been Haruka's idea, of course. Setsuna had seemed utterly content to simply sit in the passenger's seat and look out at the snowbound city, but Haruka had determined that the Guardian of Time needed a serious shot of adrenaline to work off some of her stress, so she'd driven to her favorite dojo. Haruka set the staves back on the rack where they had come from, and she and Setsuna squared off, barehanded this time. As this fight lasted beyond the first engagement, their differences in style became apparent. Haruka had an incredible amount of inborn talent, and fought with passionate precision. Setsuna, on the other hand, was not the natural fighter that Haruka was, but had the benefit of centuries of experience and a keenly analytical mind. As they traded blows, Haruka could see the mind at work behind Setsuna's eyes, analyzing Haruka's moves and responding with the bare minimum of movement required. -Still have time to think, huh?- Haruka said to herself. -Well, we'll see about that!- She pressed forward suddenly, her arms and legs blurring as they sped through the air. Setsuna's eyes widened at the sudden assault, and she had to jump back to give herself time to recover. Her movements became more fluid, and Haruka nodded to herself in satisfaction as Setsuna loosened up. They fought at top speed for several more minutes, until they finally separated, panting and sweating. Haruka leaned forward, placing her hands on her knees, and smiled up at Setsuna, who had done the same. "How do you feel?" "Better." Setsuna replied with a smile. "I do feel better. Thank you Haruka, this was a good idea." "Sure." Haruka straightened and ran her fingers through her hair. "I know this has gotta be hard for you Setsuna. I can't even imagine what it must be like. But I'm glad I can help you work out the stress." "Again, thank you." Setsuna stood up. "It's a little like being blind. No...that's not quite right. I guess it's like what amnesia must feel like." "Amnesia?" Setsuna nodded. "My seeing through time, it's like remembering things, even things that haven't happened yet. But with these enemies, I feel like I'm seeing things I should remember, but have no memory of. It's quite disconcerting." "I'll bet. Don't worry though." Haruka said with a confident smile. "We'll beat them." "I have no doubts." Setsuna replied. A sound made them both pause. In the next room over, they heard the cry of a familiar voice. Curious, they both went to check it out. Makoto was there, also in a gi, and going to town on a hanging bag. Her face was set in an angry look, and her feet and fists lashed out at the poor object unmercifully. A final, massive hook kick made the bag detach from the hanging chain and sail several feet across the room, leaving Makoto standing alone, fists clenched and shoulders heaving with exertion. Setsuna gave a polite cough, and Makoto spun around sharply. "Haruka-kun? Setsuna-chan?" She said, relaxing a little. "Um...hi." She glanced around the room, her eyes falling on the much abused punching bag. "I was just...training." "So I see." Setsuna replied with an enigmatic smile. "You okay Mako-chan?" Haruka inquired, raising an eyebrow. "I'm fine." The brunette almost snapped. She took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from her brow. "I'm fine." She repeated, mostly to herself. She looked over at the other women again. "So what brings you out here? Weren't you supposed to be with Rei today?" "Oh, Setsuna needed to get out of the house, so I'm afraid I left Michiru to go it alone." Haruka said, clapping Setsuna lightly on the shoulder. Makoto blinked. "What about Hotaru?" Haruka and Setsuna shared a look. "That's another reason we were so eager to get out of the house." Haruka finally said. "They're having a bit of a fight at the moment, and it's a tense, quiet and cold place to be right now." "They're too alike for their own good sometimes." Setsuna observed. "Agreed." Haruka smiled, looking over at Makoto again. "So, you sure you're okay?" "Yeah...I just needed to let off a little steam too, I guess." Makoto replied, rubbing the back of her head in an embarrassed gesture. "I guess I should fix it." "Here, let me help you." Haruka started forward, but Makoto had already picked up the heavy, sand-filled bag. Once again, the Senshi of the Wind was surprised at Makoto's sheer physical strength. Haruka held the hook steady while Makoto hung it back into place. There was an impressive dent in the bag where Makoto's last kick had caught it. "Nice." Haruka observed. "We should have another match one of these days." "Think you can still keep up?" Makoto replied with a brash grin. "I guess we'll just have to see." Haruka replied with a smile. "At any rate, I think Setsuna and I were going to get something to eat before we braved returning home again, right?" She glanced at Setsuna, who nodded. "Want to come?" Makoto closed her eyes and took another deep breath, letting it out slowly. As the breath left her, she seemed to lose a good deal of tension, enough that when she opened her eyes and smiled, it was genuine. "Sure." Makoto and Haruka left the training room, headed for the lockers. Setsuna let them pass and then fell in behind them, looking at Makoto with a faint, thoughtful smile. ------------------- Muon stood in front of the large, violet cylinder, watching the writhing creature trapped inside. He made some subtle adjustments to the blue symbols circling the thing, the magical sigils that directed his creation's development. The thing in the tube began moving even more violently, a sign that its agony had increased to a dangerous level. With a quick gesture, Muon shifted the symbols again and the creature quieted. Most of the blue-haired sorcerer's attention was split between this and his constant studies of the Sailor Senshi. He was more interested in the Senshi, and his eagerness to see his creation finished had momentarily overcome his patience. He had no compunction about causing the thing pain...the process of its development was agonizing no matter how he carried it out. But it would do him no good, and prove somewhat irritating, if he allowed it to die of shock before it could be used. Given the incredible amounts of pain it was feeling, Muon idly wondered what shape its mind would be in when it was finally ready to be released. He would have to take steps to make sure it did not attack prematurely. Muon suddenly became aware of Gylax's presence behind him and to his left. The daeva had made herself useful in a thousand little ways Muon had never considered, and one of her better qualities was keeping her presence utterly unnoticeable. "If your tasks are complete, I have nothing more for you to do at the moment." Muon said. "Remain here for a time and observe. If anything seems to be going wrong, tell me at once. I will be going over my information on the Sailor Senshi again." "Yes Muon." Gylax said. There seemed to be a certain hesitancy about her. "Is there anything else?" "No, Muon. It's just that I..." Gylax stopped talking. Muon turned to the daeva, noticing her nervous posture. "You are still concerned that I have not shared all my information about the Senshi with Hadron." "Y-yes...I apologize." "Hm. Hadron and I have an understanding, as you know. I aid his efforts, and he aids my studies. Neither is beholden to the other. I keep this information secret because it suits me to do so. If Hadron was to discover my suspicions, that these Sailor Senshi are indeed the ancient guardians of the Moon Kingdom reborn, it would likely make him all the more focused on their destruction. As they still require much more study on my part, I would find that inconvenient." "Of course, Muon." Gylax agreed quickly. "But isn't Lord Hadron focused on that anyway? I mean, they are the only ones standing in the way of his conquest of this world." Muon gave the silver daeva a long look. "Hadron's efforts towards this world are not based on conquest." He finally said. "There will be no further attempts to activate World Anchors on the Earth." He began to walk into the shadows of his lair. "But..." Gylax's voice made him pause. "If Hadron doesn't want to conquer this world, what does he want?" "His ambition necessitates the expedited completion of my studies, that is all you need know." With that, he was gone. Feeling an inexplicable chill, Gylax turned to the tube, watching the helpless creature within writhe and struggle against its invisible bonds. ------------------- The sun was setting as Minako left Ami's aparment building, and where its light made its way through the looming Tokyo skyline it painted the snow gold and pink. She walked down the crowded sidewalk, singing to herself with a smile on her face. As she turned a corner, the street cleared out, and she thought she heard a voice calling her name. She turned back and saw two odangos popping up and down in the press of humanity. With a grin, Minako leaned against a wall and waited. A minute or so later Usagi left the crowd and skidded to a halt in front of Minako. "Hi Minako-chan!" She chirped. "Hi Usagi-chan." Minako replied. "How's it going?" "Great! I just got back from Mamoru's apartment, and I'm going to pick up Chibi-Usa now. What are you up to?" Minako smiled and shrugged. "Just heading home." "Oh yeah?" Usagi said, coyly. She held her hands behind her back and leaned forward with a huge grin. Minako blinked and took a step back. "What were you up to? On a *date* maybe?" Minako blinked again, blushing. "Um..." Usagi jumped up and down gleefully. "I knew it! I knew it! That's why you and Ami have been so weird lately!" Minako looked wildly from side to side, hoping an escape would suddenly present itself. "I don't know what you're talking about...we just...I mean we're only...um..." Usagi giggled. "I knew it!" She suddenly began pouting. "But I'm kinda surprised you didn't tell the rest of us yet. I know you and Ami are like best friends now, but I don't know why you'd keep it a secret from the rest of us for so long...unless..." She paused thoughtfully. Minako, who had been about to breathe a sigh of relief, froze again. "You're dating two guys at once again, aren't you?" Usagi exclaimed, pointing accusingly at the other girl. Minako stared at her for a second and then began to laugh, a laugh only slightly tinged with hysteria. Fortunately, Usagi didn't seem to notice. "Oh Usagi-chan!" Minako laughed, clapping Usagi on the back so hard the pig-tailed girl stumbled forward a couple of steps. They began walking down the sidewalk, in the general direction of their destinations. "I promise, I learned my lesson the last time. I'm not dating two guys again." Usagi rubbed her back painfully. "Um...okay. But am I right? Is that why you and Ami have been acting so funny?" "Yeah...that's it." Minako said, smiling. "So? Can you tell me who it is?" Minako grinned a bit. The adrenaline rush of thinking she'd been busted had gone a bit to her head. "You know Usagi-chan, if you try to peek in the cookie jar, you'll always end up getting bit." Usagi blinked. "I don't think I've ever heard that before." "It doesn't matter." Minako replied, smiling and shaking her head. "Look...I'll tell you soon, okay?" "Okay...but I'm still a little confused. I mean, you've never had a problem talking about any of your other dates." Minako shrugged, avoiding Usagi's eyes. "It's...different this time." "It is serious?" "Yeah..." Minako looked up at the sky. "Yeah, I think it is this time." Usagi offered a small, bright smile. "You know that whoever you're going out with, if you really like him that much, we'll support you, right?" "I know that." Minako said softly. "That's not it." "Well, hurry up then!" Usagi said. "I know how hard it is to keep something like that bottled up. Every time I think about Mamo-chan I just want to shout our love from the highest mountains!" Usagi swooned a bit, and Minako chuckled despite herself. A moment later Usagi had to turn off onto another street. "Well, I'll see you later Minako-chan!" She said, waving. "Bye Usagi-chan." Minako smiled. Minako's steps were slow on the way home. Usagi had inadvertently given her a lot to think about. "So, she wants to shout it from the mountains, huh?" She murmured to herself. "I guess Ami probably feels the same way. Do I?" She had to be honest with herself and say no. Actually, Minako would be just as happy if she and Ami could keep their relationship a secret forever. Far from wanting to tell *everybody*, she was terrified of letting *anybody* find out. It was, frankly, bad enough having Haruka and Michiru in on the whole thing. She arrived at her house, the windows all dark and the driveway empty. Mother was out again, so no surprises there. Her hand rested on the round stone gatepost at the entrance to the yard and she closed her eyes. "So maybe I don't want everyone to know." She said softly. "But I still love her. I do." She had wanted that to sound defiant. Why did it sound so much like she was trying to convince herself? ------------------- AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, this was a chapter as much for me as it is for all of you. After taking such a long pause in the story, I needed to do this chapter to make sure my thoughts were all in place for the rest of the story. Still, I hope you found it entertaining enough. ^_^ The characters of Sailormoon are not mine, but the bad guys are. Maybe someday I'll use them to conquer Sailormoon, but not yet. Until then, I'm making no money from them.
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