"You almost got me that time, Reiko," Venus said with a smirk, her hand lazily wiping the red liquid that had seeped from her mouth away. Her sailor fuku was torn just about everywhere—or rather burned almost everywhere. Mars grinned smugly. "Almost? Look at you!" she mocked. "Face it, Venus. I won this time." Venus scoffed. "Hardly. But tell me, why is it you tone it down for Mercury and Jupiter, but when you and I are matched up against each other, you throw all of your strength into it?" Mars shrugged. "I can't stand seeing you walk around here, gloating about how you beat the Princess of Mars at her planet's specialty." "And that would be?" Venus wanted to annoy the Hell out of Mars now. Winning in the ring wasn't enough; she had to win in the mind games as well, even though she had to admit, Mars was rather good at them. She always had been since the moment she arrived on the Moon. Today was different, however. Even during the battle, Mars seemed distracted by something, or maybe even...someone. Mars sighed. "Not today, Venus. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to do a bit of fire reading before bed." Mars powered down from her senshi uniform and was returned to her normal state. Venus quirked an eyebrow at her best friend. Had she finally gotten to the Princess of Mars with all of her childish taunting? Mars turned her head only slightly and said, "Goodnight, Mina." As she walked off-presumably to her room- Venus watched her closely. She knew exactly the way Rei walked, the way she spoke, and the way she carried herself. However, today her walk had been off a step, her speech minimal and dull, and her confidence lacking. What was so wrong, and why couldn't she tell Venus about it? She owed it to Venus not only because she was the leader, but because they were close friends as well. Venus dropped her transformation, returning back to being her mortal self, Minako. As she started walking to her room, she played over every moment and detail that she remembered from that past week. Rei seemed perfectly normal, albeit still a bit cruel to Serenity, but normal nonetheless. However, there were a few things the seemed out of the ordinary. She'd gotten lazy during training sessions, and her aiming with her attacks was completely off. Even Mercury, who mainly had all the brains but less power managed to tire out the senshi of fire. But what really stuck out in Minako's mind was the way Rei purposely avoided Minako's glances to her at breakfast, lunch, and dinner times. Usually as soon they made eye contact, they'd make jokes and mock each other, even if Rei was all the way down the table near Luna, while Venus was closer to Serenity at the head of the table. The pain from just those little avoidances hurt more than Rei would ever know. "Maybe she's figured it out," Minako pondered to herself. "Maybe she's figured out that I'm completely in love with her, and she has no clue how to react. She's probably...disgusted with me. I've seen the way that general from Earth, Jadeite, looks at her. Even though she refuses to dance with him so she can stay by Queen Serenity's side, it seems as if she has some sort of feelings for him." She smiled sadly to herself as she closed the door behind her. "I should give up on her. Endymion's first general in command seems to like me a lot. Perhaps I'll give him a try." She walked over to her bed and did a belly flop onto it, her body bouncing up slightly from the force. She could still smell Rei on the blankets, the sheets, and the pillow cases from when she'd stayed overnight a week earlier. Usually all of the bedding was changed each new week, but Minako asked the maid to prolong the life of the sheets for just one more week. Even if Rei was not there, it reminded her of the bond they shared. Sure, Mercury and Jupiter were close as well, but not like Rei and Minako. Mercury was with Princess Serenity more than anyone else, even Jupiter. Jupiter didn't seem to care too much, though. But how could anyone blame the blue-haired senshi of Mercury? Princess Serenity was just too darn hard to resist! Even Minako fell under the girl's spell sometimes, but that was mostly because they got together and schemed. Minako loved practical jokes, so she and Serenity were always up to something. Their main victims? Luna, Artemis, and of course, Rei. Minako smiled to herself as she thought of Rei's numerous reactions. She was usually really livid with each new prank, but calmed down and eventually laughed at herself...well, sometimes. Sometimes she'd even go as far as to skip meals to avoid Serenity and Minako. "Rei-chan," Minako pouted, her voice muffled by the gold blanket on her bed. "Why can't you just make things easier and love me back, huh?" She turned over and grabbed a pillow. She covered her face with it and let out a stifled "Argh!". Minako stared at her rather boring-looking ceiling. Although her eyes really saw the ceiling, her mind was playing out different scenes from her life on Venus and the Moon Kingdom. Most of the time, her thoughts were focused on Rei and the time they'd spent together, whether that be in a group or just the two of them, alone. "Artemis." The plushy cat awoke reluctantly and looked to his owner, even if she couldn't see him. After a few seconds of debating with himself over whether he should answer or just pretend to be asleep still, he decided to give in and answer. "Hai, Minako-chan?" he said sleepily. "Mars, or rather Rei... Do you think-" she paused for a few moments. "What if I tried to get closer to her? Do you think she'd-" Artemis cocked his head to the side. "She'd what, Minako?" When there was no answer from his female companion, he sighed. "So you've fallen for this Mars as well, huh? Hmm, that's not really a big surprise to me. But you should know Venus, that even though she is the reincarnation of Sailor Mars, she's not who she once was. Hino Rei is very similar yet very different from your Mars Reiko. While the Princess of Mars was perceptive, Rei is- well, she's dense." "Dense?" Minako inquired. "I'd say she's still perceptive." "Dense when it comes to people who care about her. Dense when it comes to who and what she believes real friends are." Minako turned over in her bed, now facing the window looking out onto the Tokyo streets. Rei's shrine was only a ways away from there. "I think she trusts me. It's just... I've never been able to tell her...how I feel about her." Minako covered her face with her blanket and grunted in frustration. "Why, Artemis? I'm supposed to be the one who's the least confused about this sort of thing." Artemis gave a small chuckle. "You're definitely the same Minako from the Moon, that's for sure. You are a bit crueler, however." A pillow came flying at Artemis, and since it was dark, he couldn't dodge it. "You're just proving what I said to be true, Minako-chan!" he cried out from under the heavy pillow. Minako giggled. Artemis could always make her feel better...even if he was being mean! And, for the first time in days, her eyes closed. Sleep would come that night, and hopefully bring plenty of good dreams from her time spent on the Moon Kingdom. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ami sat at her desk, tiredly flipping through what seemed like thousands of files and prescription slips. She wondered why none of her tight circle of friends barely ever bothered her about being too busy with work like they did with Minako. Maybe it was because Ami made valiant efforts to see at least two of them once, and sometimes if she was lucky, twice a month? Minako tried to make efforts (or so she said), but still, she hadn't visited for years. The person Ami saw most frequently was Usagi, and that was mostly due to the fact Usagi wouldn't let any of them escape her for more than a week. Even Minako was bombarded with phone calls every couple of weeks from her. Next to seeing Usagi most was of course Makoto. She and Makoto had grown very close over the years, mostly due to the fact it was only the two of them sometimes. Usagi was off with Mamoru, and Rei was always in Kyoto on business. However, after medical school began to pick up speed, they didn't see each other nearly as much. She half-smiled. At least Makoto and Motoki had finally gotten together. It was about time! Rei was a different story. While the two of them would always be bonded by the night they'd stayed alone together when they were teen-agers- Ami running from her mother and a new school, Rei from her politician father who wanted nothing more than to fill surveys out with Rei to gain publicity- they'd never reach the closeness that Rei and Minako had. Those two were alike, though, and maybe that's what made them forever bonded. That, and they'd been the best of friends during the Moon Kingdom period. Ami recalled always seeing them together in her memories, constantly poking fun at each other and training 24/7. Minako always had Rei's back in battle simulations, and vise-versa. Even in real battle, Minako would step out of her leaders boundaries and take blows for Rei. Sadly, that led to their deaths in the battle with Earth, or rather Queen Beryl and the Shinnetou. It was tragic that Rei saw Minako die so many times, even if it was only twice. Having your best friend die once is horrible, but then it happening again in another life—that's something different, alright. Just then, her phone rang. She clicked the green button on her speaker phone. "Dr. Mizuno speaking," Ami said, her fingers still flipping through papers at a rapid pace. "Ami-chan! Guess who!" Ami smiled and set the papers down. "Usagi-chan, how are you?" "Great! The girls want to get together tonight. Can you make it? Please! You have to come! It won't be a party without you!" Ami giggled at her odango-haired friend. No matter what the situation, the girl always managed to make her feel important and wanted. Ami's smile fell short when she looked at the papers piling up on her desk. It would already take about half a day to get all of them done, and leaving would make it a day and a half. She rubbed her forehead and kept in a sigh she'd been wanting to release all night. "Ami-chan?" came Usagi's voice. Ami ran her hand through her jet-black hair, which was left hanging just a little past her shoulders. "Hai. I can make it. Where will it be tonight?" "Yay!" Usagi exclaimed happily. "We're meeting at Minako's hotel. She said she rented the V.I.P. room out just for us! There's going to be TONS of food!" "Just like Minako-chan to spoil us. She's so generous," Ami remarked, sounding almost ashamed. Usagi hadn't noticed however, and kept on ranting. "I know! She's so nice! All that money and she's wasting it on us; wow! Ooo! I wonder if they'll have pizza! I've been wanting pizza for so long!" After Usagi gave Ami directions, they hung up. Ami sat back in her black, comfortable leather chair and put her thumb to her lip. She started nibbling on her nail, gradually biting it off. She knew it was a bad habit, and she hadn't even done it as a child or a teen-ager. But ever since she got into the medical field, she found herself doing it more and more. There was always the whole 'chewing-on-a-pen' thing, but she'd once read somewhere that 1,000 deaths occur a year because people choke on their pens. Why anyone would actually shove a pen that far down their throat, she didn't know. Ami stood up, taking a last glance at her heaping mounds of files before she grabbed her jacket and headed out the door. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Minako stood at the hotel entrance, waiting patiently, or rather impatiently for her friends to arrive. She was so anxious, but luckily she was hiding it very well. Well, from just about everyone besides Artemis, of course. He shifted uncomfortably under her arm. "Minako, you're squeezing me so tight!" "Oh, sorry. Here you go," Minako said and set him gently onto the ground. Artemis shook his head and took a seat on the concrete. "Everything will be fine, you know. You're always so nervous when she comes around." Minako sighed and crossed her arms. "You'd think I'd be over that by now. I'm a grown woman, for Kami-sama's sake!" "Excuse me, Aino-san?" one of the hotel clerks asked, pushing in a rack full of suitcases. His eyes were wide, and he seemed entirely confused. Minako took a quick look at Artemis, who'd went completely still. "Oh," Minako giggled. "Talking on my phone, that's all." She hurriedly pulled her ear piece from her phone out of her pocket and waved it around. The man smiled back, nodding in understanding. He bowed. "Gomen." Minako tipped her head slightly. "That was too close," Artemis remarked after the man was gone. Minako rolled her eyes. "I don't know why I even bothered. Those trashy tabloid writers have already written full-page articles on how insane I am. They write about how I talk to my stuffed dog." "I'm not a dog!" Artemis cried out defensively, his ears raising much like a dog's would. Minako laughed. "I know, I only said that to make you upset." "Minako-chan!" Usagi yelled out of the window of her car, swerving all about. "We're here!" "We won't be for much longer if you don't stop the car, Usagi!" Rei shouted. "Makoto, why did you let her drive?! Better yet, why does she have a license?!" "My license was suspended for speeding, didn't I tell you?! You don't have a license anyway, so you shouldn't be complaining!" Makoto retorted. Usagi came to an abrupt stop as they pulled up to Minako. Makoto luckily had her seatbelt on, so she was only jolted forward. Rei however, thinking the stop was going to be a bit more stable, had taken her seatbelt off moments ago. Boy, was that a mistake. Her head smacked into Usagi's seat, and that's when her lip split open. She instantly brought her hand up to her mouth, trying to cover the wound so Usagi wouldn't get upset. "Baka!" she managed to get out, but it sounded more like "Bafka!". "I'm definitely taking a bus next time you offer to drive." Makoto opened the door and stepped out, Luna fussing under her arm. Usagi pouted as she too climbed out. "Hey! You know how good of a driver I can be. I was just so happy that we finally made it!" Minako walked over to the car. "Finally made it?" "Yes. Usagi's been driving us around for about two hours now. We wanted to show up a little early, and seeing how it takes an hour already to get here, she decided we should leave early. Now I know why you were chosen to be the leader of the senshi, Venus," Luna said. She jumped down from Makoto's arms and swished her tail at Usagi, who was on the verge of attacking the plushy. After a couple of minutes, Rei stepped out of the backseat. She had her hand up to her mouth, but in a inconspicuous manner. "Rei? Are you alright?" Makoto asked, her eyes full of concern. Usagi looked horrified and Minako seemed worried. Rei rose an eyebrow. "Hai. Why? Is something wrong? You're looking at me like I have a thousand heads." "There's blood all over your hand!" Usagi exclaimed. Rei hadn't even noticed how bad the wound really was. But Usagi was right; Rei's hand was completely covered in crimson red liquid. Minako was the first to rush over to her. She attempted to pry Rei's hand away from her mouth, but to no avail. "You have to let me see it. Put your hand down," she demanded. Rei looked at her and grimaced. "I don't have to do anything for you." Minako furrowed her eyebrows. "Now's not the time to be defensive, Rei." Rei shuddered when Minako actually spoke her real name aloud. All of her invisible walls fell and she dropped her hand, allowing Minako to examine the wound. Minako squinted her eyes, trying to get a good look at the cut, but the lights were too dim. "I can't see it." "Maybe you should take her into your room's bathroom. That way you have more light and water," Luna suggested. "That's a good idea. Mind taking a walk? Or would you rather stand here and bleed to death?" Minako smirked. Rei clenched her teeth together and started walking on her own. The automatic doors slid open and she headed to the elevator. "Wait! You don't even know where my room is!" Minako hollered, chasing after her dark-haired friend. "I can find it on my own," Rei replied, her arms crossed. She looked as strong-willed as ever. Minako half-laughed as she jogged over to the elevator and then stood next to Rei. "Without a key? Not even you can pry a door like that open alone, Mars." The elevator doors opened and the two women walked inside. "I could always knock it down. I do remember some of our senshi moves." Minako sucked her teeth at Rei. "Yeah, I'd like to see you kick a steel door down. I don't even think Mako-chan could do that." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Did I do that to Rei-chan?" Usagi asked into the air. "Probably." Usagi leaned down and glared at her plushy Luna. She reached her arms out when Makoto pulled her back. "Easy does it, Usagi. You've already caused enough bloodshed tonight." Usagi spun around and looked Makoto in the face. At first she appeared to be angry, but then her eyes immediately welt up with tears. She jumped into Makoto's arms. "I didn't mean to do it!" she wailed. "I ruined the whole night, didn't I?!" Makoto laughed nervously and patted Usagi's back as the hotel clerks looked the strange group over. "Is everything alright?" came a smooth, high voice from behind Makoto. Makoto turned her head slightly, just enough to see that it was Ami. Ami clutched her purse firmly, looking very worried. "Yes. Usagi just gave Rei a bloody lip, that's all," said Artemis. Of course, that made Usagi cry even harder. Ami gasped. "Nani?" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Minako slid the key card into the door's lock, the red 'locked' sign turning a light shade of green. She opened the door and waved Rei in to follow her. She took her white jacket off and threw it onto the bed, revealing a tight white t-shirt underneath which read "Rocker Bunny" over her chest. She dropped the key card back into her purse, and dropped the purse next to the bed. "Here's the bathroom." Rei gaped when she saw how big it was. There was not only a shower and a toilet in the bathroom, but a hot tub and not only one, but three sinks! What normal person would need more than even one sink?! "Surprised?" Minako questioned, a smug look on her face. Rei frowned, but winced at the pain from her lip wound. "Eeeep!" Minako grabbed a hand towel from the rack hanging above the toilet and went over to Rei. She went to wipe the blood from her lip when Rei pulled away. It was Minako's turn to frown this time. "I only want to help. Why do you always refuse help, even what it's something so small like this?" "Help is a lie. People only help others because they have some other intention," Rei explained. "What? That's not true. People help because they care about the other person's well-being, that's all. There's not always some dark, secret intention." "Teh." Rei turned her head, arms still tightly crossed. "You took help from Usagi when I tricked you into singing for the hospital patients, didn't you? Good came from that, did it not? Not only did you show Usagi you trusted her, but your powers awoke as well. See? Not all help is given due to an ulterior motive." Rei sighed in response. "I can't believe I thought we'd actually become good friends over the past couple of days. I guess I was wrong," Minako said, her tone a mix between hurt and anger. "Gomen ne." Her eyes grew from surprise. She looked to Rei. She seemed genuinely sorry. Was this for real? Not only had the girl apologized, but it was within a few seconds from when the words had left Minako's mouth. "I'm being immature. We are friends, and I realize...that I should accept help. Especially when it's from a friend." She smiled, and it was obvious it was forced. "Especially when it's from you, Mina." Rei heard a voice echo in her head. She sucked in her breath anxiously, wondering where the heck that had come from. Minako had to smile at Rei, even if it was out of pity. At least she was trying, right? She brought the towel up to Rei's lips and gently wiped the blood away. It was mostly dried up, thankfully, but the remaining crimson pouring out was no small amount. All of the sudden, she felt sweat threatening to spill down her temples. She was so close to Rei, just like the night she'd been bold and tried for a hug. She could smell the incense again, and the faintest metallic smell of the blood. Rei was watching as Minako vigorously worked on her lip, wincing only every now and then. Their faces were so close, only inches apart... "Minako, stop! You couldn't do that to her! That'd be like throwing everything you said about help right back into her face. She'll think you're trying to pull off some other intention, some other aspiration." Her conscience was right. What else would Rei think? Minako couldn't possibly... Minako slowed her hand down, her eyelids ajar. Rei noticed and upturned her eyebrows at the girl. "Minako? Daijobu?" Minako snapped out of her trance and looked at Rei. "Oh, sorry. I was day-dreaming." "About...?" "Random stuff. You know, I never noticed how nice your lips are. Especially when you make that cute, little grumpy face—like you're making right now!" Rei blushed and looked away. "Whatever." Minako smiled and leant in for one last look at the gash. "Looks good! Just don't mess with it too much and it should seal up within a few minutes." She nodded her head once with satisfaction and headed out of the bathroom, Rei following close behind. She gathered her jacket and her purse under her arm, deciding to keep the jacket off due to the fact the room had grown rather hot all of the sudden. Minako reached for the door handle but stopped and turned on her heel when she remembered she'd forgotten her cell phone on the desk. However, right behind her was Rei, and they collided. Rei tripped over her feet and fell right onto Minako, pinning her up against the door. Minako's heart sped up, and she was finding it hard to breath. Rei found herself unable to move, and also...not wanting to move so much. "What's going on with me? Why aren't I moving?" No matter how much Rei or Minako tried to make themselves move, they simply couldn't. Someone had to do something. That's when their eyes met. They stared at each other for a while, Rei's lips parting every now and then, struggling to get at least a noise out. Minako gulped nervously when Rei moved closer to her. She could see just about every emotion run across the girl's face. Rei looked like she was fighting a battle and losing horribly. Minako closed her eyes. She'd envisioned this moment so many times, and it was hard to believe that it could actually be happening! Rei's breath played across her lips, and her cheeks flushed. "Minako...chan," Rei whimpered. She sounded frightened... But why? Minako reluctantly opened her eyes, only to see Rei holding back tears in her own. She was trembling. "Reiko?" she asked, placing her hands on the sides of Rei's soft, delicate face. Rei sniffed and turned her eyes to the side. "Are you okay?" Rei shook her head. "It all...It all just hit me. You and I, Makoto, Ami, the past life, Serenity, the moon, Mars... Why? Why has all of this been triggered all of the sudden?" She gave Minako a desperate look. Minako frowned. "I...don't know." "How do you 'not know'? You seemed to know just about everything 8 years ago. What's changed?" Rei pushed herself off of Minako. Minako furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm beginning to see why everyone hates the past life. It ruins EVERYTHING." "Everyone's memories are triggered by different things. It could be at random, but it could be because-" she cut herself short. "Because we almost kissed, much like that night we almost did in the past life? Yeah, she'll really like that." "It's probably just random. Come on, let's go. It'd be better to talk to the girls about this, since like me, they also regained their memories years ago." Rei nodded slowly, agreeing. "Take the elevator to the first floor. I'll be there in a few minutes." Rei didn't say anything in response, but she walked out of the room, letting the door shut itself behind her. Minako watched as the door slowly closed, squeaking as it made its way to its final resting place. After it closed she took a seat on her bed. She raised her hands to chest-level and stared at her palms. "...But you should know Venus, that even though she is the reincarnation of Sailor Mars, she's not who she once was. Hino Rei is very similar yet very different from your Mars Reiko." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rei looked over her shoulder at Minako's hotel room, the tears still in her eyes and a pained expression on her face. "Why do I feel as if...perhaps...we were something more?"
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