Rei sat on her bed, in the same place she had been in when Michiru had left her. She held her communicator in one hand and her transformation pen in the other, and looked at them gloomily. When Pluto had related the truth about Muon's trap to the other Senshi, the miko had brought out her pen, thinking to give transforming another shot. But she couldn't...she didn't think she could bear trying and failing again. Besides, she knew for a fact it was useless. After what Tachyon had done to her... Anger suddenly flared in Rei's eyes, and her hand clenched around her pen. The memory of Tachyon's smile as the knife went into her shoulder; of her cruel, insane laughter fading in her ears as she lost consciousness...it filled Rei with rage. How could she let that little psycho beat her like that? But the feeling drained away just as quickly. What was the point of getting angry if she couldn't do anything about it? She fell back against her mattress, closing her eyes tightly. She could feel tears building behind her eyelids, and she didn't want to give into another display of weakness like that again. Even if she was weak. That was what hurt more than anything...how weak she felt. She'd been beaten before...there had been many, many enemies that had been too powerful for her to beat on her own. That was why the Sailor Senshi operated as a team. Together, they were invincible, able to take down threats that would annihilate them separately. No, what hurt was that she was now no longer part of the team. Oh, she was still friends with the Sailor Senshi. She wasn't so steeped in self-pity that she thought for an instant that they'd forget about her. But she wasn't one of them anymore. And she wouldn't be until they defeated Tachyon and rescued her. Even thinking that brought a loud groan of frustration out of Rei's lips and forced her to curl into a ball on her bed, her hands over her face. Her humiliation was overpowering...she longed for the earth to open up beneath her and swallow her up. The fiery miko's pride had been delivered a deathblow at the thought of the others putting themselves in danger for her sake while she waited safely at home. Hino Rei...proud, strong and beautiful. Fiercely independent. What happened to her? "Her power was taken away and she became a demure little shrine maiden, quietly staying behind while the warriors go out to fight for her." Rei answered herself, throwing a pillow across the room in a gesture of disgust. She suddenly wondered if Michiru was coming back. That thought brought her back into a sitting position. As much as she wanted to see the Senshi of the Sea...she also didn't want Michiru to see her in this state anymore. Rei was getting a bit tired of her own company...she didn't see any reason to inflict it on the one she loved. So she emerged from her room a few minutes later, fully dressed and bundled up against the winter chill. She passed Yuuichirou, who was now hard at work cleaning the wooden walkway around the shrine. "Yuuichirou- kun...if anyone comes looking for me, please tell them I went out." "Um...sure, Rei-san. But where are you going?" "I'm just taking a walk." She said impatiently. "Don't worry about me. Just get back to work." "Yes, Rei-san!" Yuuichirou said in a chastened tone, returning to his cleaning. Rei hurried across the courtyard and down the steps to the street below. She could feel the cold seeping through her coat and stiffening her injured shoulder already, but it was a small price to pay. The Sailor Senshi were doing enough for her. She didn't need them to be her emotional crutch as well. ------------------- Ami and Makoto walked down the sidewalk in the general direction of Minako's house. They had left the hospital shortly after the Outer Senshi, minus Hotaru. Setsuna had taken Haruka and Michiru with them to the site of Tachyon's attack, saying she wanted to take a closer look at the area. Hotaru had stayed behind with Usagi and Mamoru to see Chibi- Usa safely home. That left Makoto and Ami. It was Ami's thought to go see Minako before she went home to confront her mother. Minako had been so tired after the fight with Tachyon that it worried the blue-haired girl, and she wanted to make sure her girlfriend was really alright. And she wanted to talk about what had happened at the hospital as well...as the leader of the Inner Senshi, Minako needed to know what Ami planned to do, and she might even have some ideas how to handle all this. She sighed deeply, and Makoto, who had been lost in her own thoughts as well, glanced over at her with a smile. "Worried?" Ami nodded softly and then smirked a bit. "Yes...but it isn't as if I didn't know this would come eventually. She's been acting suspicious for weeks...and, for all I know, she's had an idea of the truth for much longer than that. But at least over these last few weeks, I've definitely gotten the feeling that she's getting an idea...about everything." "What are you going to do?" Makoto asked softly. Ami just shrugged slightly. "I honestly don't know...I guess I'll just have to see what happens." They came to an intersection, and Makoto hesitated. "I think I'll take off here..." She said, looking down the street. "I'd like to go talk to Rei for awhile." "That's a good idea." Ami agreed. They had sent the word out on the communicator that they had won, but there hadn't been a reply from Rei. Makoto paused. "I was thinking...I know we usually do anyway, but I think it's important that we have all our meetings at the Shrine now." Ami chuckled a little. "That's another good idea." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Poor Rei...I was so caught up in my trouble that I almost forgot about her. What are we going to do?" "It's pretty obvious." Makoto said with a shrug. When Ami looked askance at her, she smirked. "We have to track Tachyon down. Think about it...every time she's attacked us, even though when we her, she still has the upper hand. She's able to escape. So we have to find her hideout...take the fight to her, on our terms." "That makes a lot of sense..." Ami said, nodding thoughtfully. She looked up at Makoto again. "But how?" Makoto smiled and closed her eyes, holding a hand to her chin in a wise- looking gesture. "I have no idea." Ami blinked and smiled helplessly, and Makoto laughed. "Sorry...but I'm sure *you* can figure something out, Ami-chan. You and Setsuna." Ami blushed a bit. "Well...maybe." She winced a little as Makoto clapped her on the shoulder. "Of course you can!" Makoto winked. Her brash smile softened into a gentle one. "But don't worry about it right now...you've got a lot to think about. Good luck, Ami-chan." "Thank you Mako-chan...tell Rei I said hello." "I will!" Makoto turned and headed off in the direction of the Hikawa Shrine, leaving Ami standing in the intersection alone. She waited for the light to turn and crossed the street, her face pensive. What was she going to do? Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach as she considered how badly this could all turn out...all the times she had lied to her mother, all the times she had kept things from her...Dr. Mizuno could be very, very unhappy with her, and Ami didn't think she could blame her. This wasn't right...it wasn't how she planned it at all. She had planned to tell her mother about her relationship with Minako before long, for Heaven's sake! She had privately thought that that news might occupy the older woman enough that she'd forget about any suspicions of her daughter being a Sailor Senshi. But doing it the other way around? -Mom, I'm a Sailor Senshi...I put myself in lethal danger on a semi-regular basis, along with all my friends. Oh, and I'm gay.- Ami shook her head. No...that just didn't sound right at all. She groaned softly, so as not to disturb any of the other people walking down the street. This was going to be a disaster, she knew it...she stopped suddenly and took a deep, steadying breath. Wait...panicking before anything had actually happened wasn't going to do any good at all. Besides...she smiled as she saw Minako's house come into view. It was time for a more pleasant diversion. A quick look showed her that Minako's mother wasn't home, which was all to the good. She sped up her stride and was soon at her girlfriend's doorstep, where a familiar white, furry bundle was curled in sleep. "Artemis?" Ami asked in surprise. There was no movement from the cat, so Ami nudged him with her toe. "Artemis? Why are you sleeping out here?" With a murmur of displeasure Artemis uncurled, stretching and yawning hugely. "Why?" He finally asked in a bleary tone. "Can't you hear that?" Ami paused. Now that he mentioned it, she could hear something...kind of a low, rhythmic growling. She blinked. "Artemis...that's not..." "Yeah, it's her." Artemis said, sitting up and lapping at his paw. "She snores like this when she's exhausted...you might want to keep that in mind for later." He said slyly, turning one eye up towards her. Ami blushed deeply, looking up at Minako's balcony overhead. "I didn't know she was that tired." She murmured. "Whatever she did to break Tachyon's hold on her took more of her energy than I realized." "Well, you have to admit it was quite a trick." Artemis said. "And pretty lucky that she did it just then, or you two would have been in a lot of trouble." Ami looked down at Artemis again, hearing something odd in the white cat's voice. He continued to bathe himself obliviously, but something in his overall bearing suggested an insufferable level of pleasure. But before Ami could ask, Artemis had a question of his own. "So what brings you out here again?" "Oh...well..." Ami quickly sketched in the story of what had happened in Chibi-Usa's hospital room. "...So I was going to tell Minako and maybe ask her for some advice, but if she's that tired, maybe I should just go..." "No!" Artemis said sharply, bouncing to his feet. "Believe me, Ami-chan, Minako would want you to wake her up for this." Now he looked and sounded terribly worried. "I'll hop up there and wake her, then you come in..." He paused. "Ami-chan...I just have to warn you...she may not be very helpful about this. This sort of thing is very hard for her...but please, please try to understand." Ami nodded a little, and Artemis was off, jumping onto her shoulders and then up into the balcony above. A few moments later and the sound of Minako's massive snores was cut off. Artemis hopped back down and twined around Ami's legs. "Okay." He said. "Go on up...and please be patient with her." Ami gave a small smile. "I'll try." She promised, wondering at the cat's reaction. She knew that telling her mother anything made Minako terribly nervous, but it wouldn't be as bad as all that...after all, if she was that paranoid, Ami doubted that Sailor V would have taken such a risk as coming to her home that night. She quickly headed up to Minako's room and pushed the door open, only to stop dead in her tracks. Minako was sitting up in bed, the covers gathered around her waist. She had a small, tired smile of welcome on her face, and her hair, free from its bow, cascaded down her shoulders and pooled all around her, the late afternoon sun catching it as it shone through the window and setting it alight with golden fire. In that moment, she was so beautiful that Ami's breath left her entirely. Then Minako winked playfully, and the spell was broken. "Miss me?" She asked softly. She held her arms out entreatingly, and Ami felt her feet carry her to the bed so that she could sink into them, sliding her arms around Minako's waist and pressing her face into her shoulder. "How are you feeling?" She asked, her voice muffled. Minako chuckled and Ami felt her hand running through her short hair. "Much better...I'm still a bit tired, but I think I'm functional now. Artemis said something important happened?" "Yes..." Ami sighed, pulling away from Minako. Her hand rested on the other girl's leg through the covers, and Minako placed her own hand over it, giving it a small squeeze. "You see..." Ami quickly related the story of everything that had happened since she and the other Senshi had dropped Minako at home, the hospital, and her mother's appearance. "I'm due at home pretty soon now, and I think it would be a good idea to be right on time." Ami finished. "I just thought...you should know." Minako was quiet, and Ami glanced over at her to see her looking down into her lap with an odd expression on her face. It seemed worried, but at the same time...relieved. She looked up, and the expression vanished behind a bright, somewhat empty smile. "Thanks for letting me know...Artemis was right, I'm glad you woke me up." Her face became more serious, and Ami was relieved to see it. This expression felt a lot more...real...than the smile Minako had shown before. "If I were you, I'd let her say everything she wants to before you offer anything." Minako was saying. "No sense counting the horses before the cart, right?" Ami chuckled softly and squeezed Minako's hand. "Right." "I mean, she might not really *know* anything, and might just be waiting for you to give something away." Minako said thoughtfully. "But...if she does know...what do you think she'll do?" "I really don't know." Ami said softly, shaking her head. "But she didn't seem too happy at the hospital." She sighed again, feeling the weight of her own scattered plans pressing down on her again. "It really wasn't supposed to be like this." Minako puffed out her cheeks and sighed. "I know...I guess I'm just not used to dealing with a mom as observant as yours." She chuckled. "I'm a little relieved, though." She admitted. "For a second, I was afraid she'd found out about the two of us." Ami felt a little prick at that, and looked hard at the other girl. "Mina-chan...she's going to find out eventually." Minako was temporarily oblivious to her girlfriend's expression and gave a small, resigned laugh. "Yeah, I guess she'll find out eventually." "No, Minako." Ami said softly, and Minako looked over at her, noticing Ami's demeanor for the first time, her smile dying on her lips. "I want to tell her myself before she finds out on her own." The blonde girl's expression made her look somewhat as if she'd hit a wall. "I...I don't see why you'd have to do that now." She said quickly, in a slightly panicky voice. "I mean, with everything else it doesn't seem..." She stopped as Ami lifted a hand. "I didn't say anything about telling her right now." She said. "But I do want to tell her. It's been hard enough keeping the truth about being a Sailor Senshi from her...I don't want to lie to her about the person I love." Ami felt herself getting irritated, and seemed to sense a similar emotion coming from Minako. They were getting into dangerous ground here, but neither one seemed able to stop it. "Ami..." Minako said, giving her a smile that struck Ami as a little patronizing. "I know it's hard sneaking around her, but we can handle it. We managed to sleep together without her finding out, remember?" She gave a short laugh, but stopped when she saw that Ami wasn't returning it. "It's more than that." Ami said quietly. "I wish you understood..." "What don't I understand?" Minako actually snapped at her, and Ami jerked, her back stiffening. "That I want her to be a part of my life. That I actually *like* my mother!" The words left Ami's mouth before she could stop them, and her hands flew to her mouth. Minako's eyes widened slightly, then just seemed to shut down. She pulled her hand away from Ami's and looked at the far wall. "Maybe you should go." She said in a quiet, toneless voice. "Mina-chan, I'm sorry..." Ami said. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded..." "Please, go." The words seemed to hang in the air. Ami slowly took her hand from Minako's leg and stood up. She bit her lip tightly, feeling terribly torn. She was still angry at Minako's reaction, but she felt horrible about what she said...and more than anything, she loved Minako, and she didn't want to leave her hurt. "I'll...I'll go." She finally said, swallowing to keep herself from crying. "I'm sorry Mina-chan." "Ami..." Minako's voice was shaking as well. "I'm sorry too...I really am. But I just need to be alone right now." Ami nodded, not caring if Minako could see her or not, and rushed out of the room and out of Minako's house, leaving the blonde girl sitting on her bed, clenching her hands in the blankets until her knuckles turned white. Ami left so quickly that she never noticed Artemis crouched just outside Minako's door, the tip of his tail twitching back and forth. After Ami rushed past, he stood up, shaking his head back and forth. "That was a mistake..." He whispered. The sounds of muffled sobs emanated from the open doorway and the white cat sighed deeply. "Oh Minako..." Artemis crept into the bedroom to offer his charge some comfort. ------------------- Ami ended up getting home late after all. After leaving Minako's house, she walked very slowly, taking the long way to her apartment building. She was still terribly upset, but she no longer felt like she needed to cry. She was trying desperately hard to do as Artemis had asked, to understand, but it was very hard. Growing up as she had, shy, intelligent and very lonely, she had, to a certain extent, learned to harden her heart against the hurt she received. But she couldn't do that here...her feelings for Minako had become too deep. Instead she felt a raw painful ache in her chest that she didn't know how to deal with. She wondered if Minako felt as hurt as she did, and hated herself for it. She'd never questioned Minako's feelings before, but if she really didn't understand why Ami thought it was so important to tell her mother about their relationship...Ami sighed deeply and looked up. She had put it off for as long as was conceivably possible, but she had arrived at home. Putting Minako out of her mind as best she could, Ami now concentrated on the task ahead, dealing with her mom. When Ami entered her apartment, she was momentarily relieved. Her mother was still in the process of putting her things away, a sure sign she had arrived mere minutes ahead of Ami. She hadn't been waiting for her long. "You're home late." Dr. Mizuno said, giving her daughter a gentle smile that seemed to drain some of the tension out of the room. "Yes...I had to think some things over." Under the circumstances, it felt good to tell her mother something that was absolutely true. Dr. Mizuno nodded and sank into a chair at the kitchen table. After a moment's hesitation, Ami did the same. Silence reigned for several minutes as Ami watched her mother looking off into space with a thoughtful expression. Ami began to wonder if she shouldn't speak first after all, when her mother spoke again. "Ami...I've had some time to think some things over myself." She paused and let out a great sigh, her pensive face almost a mirror image of her daughter's. "I've known...I've known for a while now that there were things you couldn't tell me about. Things about you and your friends, who you are and what you do. And it hurt Ami...it hurts then, and it hurts now, because I don't understand why you feel like you can't tell me these things." The blue haired girl bit her lip and looked down at the table, unable to think of anything worthwhile to say. After a moment, Dr. Mizuno continued. "But, I trust you Ami. And I believe that if you won't tell me, there's a good reason for it. Something I don't know. And I was ready to leave it at that." She sighed again, and Ami looked up cautiously. Her mother was running her fingers through her short, dark hair, a sure sign that she was feeling very stressed. "But today, with Chibi-Usa...she's Usagi's cousin, isn't she?" Ami gave a tiny nod, and her mother returned it. "Ami...I had never imagined that...what you do...would put a child like her in danger. And if it does, then it isn't just about you and I anymore. It can't be, if innocents like Chibi-Usa are involved and at risk...you know that as a doctor I can't just turn a blind eye to that. I have to know more. "I just told you that I trust you, and I meant it. So what you say next will be very important. I need you to tell me that innocent people are not put in danger by what you do." Ami took a deep breath and looked into her mother's eyes. This, at least, was easier than she had feared it would be. "Mom, I...all of us...we all do our best to make sure no innocent people ever get hurt, no matter what we do. That's really the point of what we do." Dr. Mizuno studied her daughter's face for a moment, then broke into a smile. "I hoped you would say something like that." She tilted her head slightly. "Is that all you can tell me?" For a wild, breathless moment, Ami had an almost overpowering urge to tell her everything, about her, the Sailor Senshi, Minako...-Mina-chan!- The sharp mental cry went through Ami's heart again and made her close her eyes tightly, turning her head away from her mother. "Ami?" Dr. Mizuno asked, suddenly sounding concerned. Ami forced herself to open her eyes and turn back, a small, sad smile on her face. "That's all." She finally said in a voice just above a whisper. "I'm sorry..." She continued, her voice gaining a little more strength. "I know it must seem sort of silly at this point. But there's more going on than just this...and I need to sort it all out for myself first." Ami's mother nodded a little, still looking worried. "Take as much time as you need, Ami." She said softly. "But if you think talking might help, you know I'm always ready to listen." "I do..." Ami said, standing. She felt perilously close to tears all of a sudden without knowing exactly why. "Thank you Mom...I think I should go study for awhile, okay?" She smiled, hoping her voice didn't reflect how shaky she actually felt. "Okay." Dr. Mizuno's voice gave no sign whether she noticed or not. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour." "Great!" Ami forced herself to walk to her room at a casual place and gently close the door behind her. Once inside, she hurried to her desk and opened her bookbag, finding the most fiendishly difficult problems that she had to work on. As her brilliant mind kicked into gear, her wounded heart faded to a dull, throbbing ache that could be hidden behind the cool, soothing panacea of her pure, unsullied facts. ------------------- Later that night, Minako lay on her stomach on her bed, staring at her phone where it lay on the floor. Artemis had left her alone at her request after she had cried herself out, and was most likely at Usagi's house visiting with Luna and Diana...or just out in the neighborhood finding trouble. Minako, still weary from the days experiences, had fallen asleep again and it was quite late when she awoke. As late as it was, she knew Ami would be awake as well...the girl liked to stay up late to work. She'd be there, if Minako called. But would she call? Minako pressed her face into her mattress and sighed. She should...she really should. But she felt so hurt, so betrayed by what Ami had said to her. And even that was unfair, because Minako knew that this whole situation was her fault. -And do *you* have anything to say?- She asked inside her mind. But the voice, whoever or whatever it was, had been silent since it forced her into action against Tachyon. Minako was just as glad it was gone, anyway. She wasn't entirely convinced it's presence didn't mean she was going crazy. And if she wasn't, the other possibilities weren't any less disturbing. She extended her arm and let her fingertips rest against her cell phone's case, drumming at it lightly. What would she say to Ami? What could she? What was Ami thinking about right now? How had her talk with her mother gone? Maybe she told her everything just to get back at her! That was an incredibly petty thought, and it made Minako ashamed of herself. Ami wouldn't do anything like that, not ever, and Minako knew it. Still...Minako took her hand from the phone and rolled over, gathering her blankets around her. Ami probably needed a little time to process everything that had happened, Minako decided. Trying to talk to her now might just make things worse. She'd give her a little time...that would probably be best. But as Minako continued on into a lonely, sleepless night, she found her heart still gnawing at her, making rest impossible. ------------------- AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have horrible luck with relationships, personally, but if I have one piece of wisdom on the subject, it is this; Never leave angry, never go to bed with things unsettled. The tiniest argument can explode all out of proportion if bad feelings are allowed to fester longer than necessary. Sailormoon and all associated characters belong to their respective owners. All original characters belong to me, excluding any versions of said characters which may exist independently in alternate realities. They belong to the alternate versions of myself, who surely rule said realities.
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