Is this what you call success? The demon roared. If a person was inside the closed office, all they would have seen was a very, very frightened man fidgeting on the spot from some invisible opponent. His eyes wildly darted around the office despite the fact that he knew the voice was resounding from inside his head. Sweat started to form as he felt himself become very warm from his racing heart. Lubb dubb! Lubb dubb! Lubb dubb! The gunman had failed. Now Manuke was left to deal with the consequences. "W-wait, I wasn't the one who failed, the man I hired did!" He tried to reason. Yes, the man YOU hired. You're incompetent after all! I have no such use for failures. "But- Argh!" Manuke's hands came up to his head. He hissed and clenched his teeth together. He could feel his head throbbing inside, the sensation quickly gaining momentum. W-what's going on! He mentally shouted. To him it felt like something was worming its way into his head, forcing its way through, cutting off his thoughts that soon left him with only one- PAIN. "Ahhhh...AH! Yah...hah...hah...S-stop it!" He fell to his knees, feeling as though his head was about to explode any second now. "ArrrrrRRRRRRRRGH!" Unleashing his final cry his body slumped to the floor in silence. Thud. ...So easy... The demon mused. Now that the first plan had failed it supposed there was only one thing left to do. The child was useless but... "This body is another matter." Manuke's eyes snapped open, although they weren't his eyes anymore. The demon stood up in its new body and flexed its new hands under a watchful eye. It then tested the rest of the limbs, stretching lightly before pacing over to the desk. Uncharacteristically it flopped down onto the office chair and leaned back, appreciating its new body. A young body was all the demon needed, beauty was irrelevant but was considered a sweet side bonus. "As long as I have this, I can use my power to the fullest," It grinned. "Now, let's see...I think... a visit is in order." The demon pushed itself out of the chair and stood up once more. It walked to the middle of the room where it snapped its fingers. Snap! POOF! In its place where Manuke's body once stood was instead a young woman. Her long black hair was tied up into a tight bun style and was dressed in a colorful kimono. She had been a soul whom the demon had taken in the glorious old days. Mockingly the demon used the body to put on a innocent face and flipped open a small fan in its hands making a girly giggle, "Who, little o'l me?" And then it burst out into evil laughter. "So perfect, so perfect!" It praised itself. "Hmm...Now, onto business shall we?" Hikawa Shrine, Night Hino Rei, Mar's reincarnation...Lived with her grandfather at the Hikawa Shrine. How...interesting. The demon thought. It had been paying attention to what its minion had been up to after all. While Manuke had been floundering about collecting information from his spies the demon had been secretly storing the information away. Perhaps it had expected the man to fail, was delighted by the outcome in fact. Not only did it gain one more soul to the pot, but also a body it could manipulate. Its revenge could be taken out through its own terms and plans. What could be more satisfying? The manipulated woman slowly walked up the steps without difficulty, which would seem strange to any passerby. It was dark outside, aside for the crescent moon in the sky. Any normal person would have tripped or stumbled at least once or perhaps twice. IF there was someone out at this time. The streets were completely empty. Tup...tup...tup... Upon reaching the front entrance the woman paused to study the archway. A smile played upon her face seeing that there were no talismans present. The things were always nuisances in the past. She continued forward into the front yard and rang the charm bells as if to make a wish. As expected, it had arisen the old man from his slumber. Rei's grandfather soon appeared around the corner to see who was here at such a time at night. "A young woman?" He asked himself. He blinked and rubbed his eyes but the figure was still there. "Hey there miss, is there something wrong? Are you lost?" The demon inwardly snickered at his kindness but replied, "Yes." Through the moonlight the old man eyed the woman. Something seemed off to him; she says she was lost, which was understandable, but she was dressed in clothing similar to the old era. No one walked around in kimonos these days unless there was a festival. The sight brought three options to mind. There was a festival he wasn't aware of, she was really out of town or she was a ghost. It wasn't uncommon for restless spirits to look for peace or eternal rest. Whichever the case may be, Rei's grandfather was determined to give aid. How could he not help a beautiful, defenseless woman in need? "Perhaps I can help." He offered, stepping towards her. His limbs were moving about stiffly and they ached from his increasing old age. Many times a day he would complain about his arthritis but never to his granddaughter Rei. She was a popular singer now. She shouldn't have to be locked up doing chores at a shrine where she could be having fun and making a more socialized future for herself. That was his reasoning anyway, not that he would ever tell Rei. As much as he would have liked her company and her help he was standing his ground with the issue. The two of them had argued over the matter before but he managed to convince the hot-tempered woman to leave. He entrusted his precious granddaughter to Rei's friend Minako whether the two of them knew it or not. After seeing how the blonde and his granddaughter have spent time together, all he could get was a good feeling. Besides, although he was old he refused to believe he had to sit in a nursing home and have people wait on him. The grandfather believed he could still live his life with independence and helping this woman now should prove it. Standing a meter away from the mysterious woman the old man outstretched his hand to see if she really was a ghost or not. "Oh...I'm sure you can...Ahaha..." The woman lowered her head and began to laugh. "Miss?" "AHAHAHAHAHA!" The last thing he thought was, Red eyes... "AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Rei and Minako's apartment, Rei's POV Ping! "Ah!" I suddenly shuddered, feeling as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped over my head. My eyes were now open, searching the room for some explanation. Did I just feel remnant emotions from a dream or some horrible memory? No, it's from the present. It's definitely much closer. I frowned, thinking in thought. Tilting my head up slightly I shot a glance over at the clock to see it was 4:00 a.m. Mina was still in my arms and I was still here, but there was something missing. It felt as though I had lost something precious to me. Briiiiiiiiing... Briiiiiiiiing... Someone was phoning us at this time of day? I stopped myself short of grumbling when Mina gave out a long sigh, making me flinch from the tickling feeling. I shouldn't wake her... Carefully I shuffled backwards from the sleeping woman, allowing her to slide off of me and back onto the pillow with some of my assistance. Once that was done I slowly transferred my weight along the mattress little bits at a time as to not make any sudden loud noises. Mina and Venus were different people, who knew what the woman's sleeping habits were like in this life? Tup. As soon as my feet touched the floor I quietly dashed out and answered the damn machine, not bothering to pick up an article of clothing to cover myself. It was our apartment after all, who would be watching? When I finally answered the persistent ringing, I had almost ripped the cord out in both irritation and hurry. If my exit hadn't awakened my partner then the phone surely will. "Hello?" I whispered into the line. Whoever it was, they better have a good reason for getting me up. "Rei, are you up yet?" I blinked. "Grandpa?" Why was he calling now? "Is something wrong? Are you okay?" There was a small pause from the other end. "Come home." "Wait-!" Click. Beep. Beep. Beep. "Come home...but why? Why did he just hang up like that?" Slowly I put the phone back down and walked back to the bedroom in silence. That feeling I had earlier... was it trying to warn me? My feet had led me to stop beside the bed where I looked down at Mina's sleeping form. She looks so peaceful, much more relaxed than I've ever seen her awake. My eyes trailed down one of her exposed arms before I noticed the goosebumps. She was shivering a bit. In a matter of seconds I fixed that little problem by pulling up the covers over her. That should do it. I should probably also let her sleep for now... The phone call startled me but it couldn't be anything too serious. Grandpa might've needed some help with the shrine duties and was just being his stubborn old self. He'll probably hand me a broom as soon as I get there instead of just asking for help. He knows I would say 'yes' if he asked. I resisted the urge to get back into the warm bed and turned away to dress myself. Besides the usual under garments I put on a casual shirt and pants. Nothing too fancy; I'll probably have to change into my old miko uniform once I get there. "I'll be back soon..." I quietly whispered at the doorway and then left. Click. Hikawa Shrine, outside the steps "Grandpa?" I called out. I expected him to be waiting for me at the entrance but he wasn't there. It's cold. I cautiously walked forward up the steps, watching my own shadow lead the way. Behind my back the sun was only rising. When I used to live at the shrine, I'd sometimes get up early just to see the dawn before I went to do my daily chores. It mainly was to free up time for our old Senshi study sessions in the afternoons. But there was no time for that now. Tup...tup...tup... Maybe grandpa and Yuuichiro just wanted to see how I was doing. As soon as I get up there they'll probably jump out of hiding and try to scare me. It would be so typical of those two to do something like that. Grandpa was always dragging Yuuichiro around with his antics. I finally reached the top of the steps and scanned the area. It appeared deserted but... Ping! "What? Where did that come from?" ...Bad feeling... "Who's there? You better show yourself!" "Rei..." A voice echoed through the area, repeating my name. It sounded like grandpa's but creepier. It was so hard to explain. Distant? I just...couldn't stop shaking. "Over here..." I turned my head to see a figure dart past a bush and into the woods, leading back towards the archery grounds. If this was a joke, it wasn't very funny. Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup! Trees and shrubs shuffled as I ran by them. It was still relatively dark in this area, as the sun had not yet risen enough to reach here. But it didn't matter. Who needed to see? I just ran after the voice and followed my senses. I made a large leap into the open archery grounds, a flat field. TUP! Shiff... Automatically I felt my eyes squint. Wait a minute. What... was ahead of me? I-Is that a body? Ugh... The smell of rotting flesh drifted towards my direction with the wind. My hands pulled up my shirt up to help block out the smell. There was so much blood and the clothing material was tattered to shreds. If I hadn't noticed the clothing I would've guessed that what I was seeing was an animal that met an untimely end. But since that wasn't the case...What was I going to do? Call the authorities? Seeing a dead body didn't seem to bother me so much as I thought it would. As Mars, corpses would litter the battlefields. There were many worse mutilated bodies than the one in front of me but I doubt I would be able to identif-- Crunch I bent down to pick up a small, soft material and held it up to my eyes. There were minor specs of blood staining it. "A blue cloth? It looks like apart of our shrine's male uniform. But only Yuuichiro and grandp-" DOOOM Inside the city Usagi was walking along the sidewalk outside of the Music Company's building with a frustrated look reflecting in her eyes. In her hands she carried a small device that was now dormant. The fact that is wasn't bleeping as it had minutes before worried her. "It's not here anymore..." She frowned. But I know I saw it! It's definitely on the move... I've got to get to 'their' apartment. Rei and Minako's apartment, Minako's POV Knock, knock... "Mm..." Lazily I rolled over onto my back and took in a deep breath. Was it morning already? Knock, knock! "Mina, open up! It's Usagi!" I opened one eye. Usagi? I can't believe she's still around. Now I know there's no way it would take this long to sample all those foods. "Rei, Usagi's at the door...Rei?" She's gone? I kicked off the covers and quickly slipped into something decent before I ran to open the door. It doesn't look like Rei is around here at all... Click. "Usagi, what's wrong?" The serious expression on her face startled me. I was already surprised that she would come this early in the morning being the sleepy head she was. But with that death look on her face... "Where's Rei?" She nearly demanded. "R-Rei? I don't know...To be honest, I only woke up when you knocked. She must have left while I was asleep." Wait a minute... "There's something wrong isn't there? What does it have to do with Rei?" When Usagi looked down I gripped her by the shoulders and forced her to meet my eyes. "Do you remember when I told you...I was staying here for sample foods?" I nodded. "That's not the real reason is it?" She took a deep breath. "I've been trying to track down a demon. In our past lives we trapped it within an amulet but it cracked from old age. I...I think its come back here for Rei. She was the one who trapped it after all." I wanted to ask why it had to be Rei but I already knew why. "Because she was Mars in her past life." I mouthed. But where could she have gone? Where could she be at this time of day? Did she even know there was something after her? While I was panicking inside I silently resented how calm Usagi looked as she was telling me all this. I felt myself frown. "You said it came here for Rei right? Then why now, we've been more than popular for awhile now...and I know you've been here for at least a month. Isn't that how long its been around?" A guilty look filled Usagi's eyes. "I couldn't get a reading on it until now." She bit her bottom lip. "I'm not a psychic like Mars or have the heightened sixth sense like Michiru. I've been using a tracking device that Luna lent me. If the demon is in someone's body the machine won't read it. I can only detect it when it changes. As for why it's moving now I don't know. I...I just don't know..." "Changes?" "You don't remember? Never mind, forget it, we need to find Rei NOW! It's on the move!" My mind plunged into battle mode. The answer immediately came to mind. "The shrine. We've got to go there. The enemy will attack her weakness..." Archery grounds, Rei's POV Ping! "N-no way...It can't be!" I fell to my knees, feeling shock grip me hard. It was just another dream right? Another memory, it's not real right? Before I knew it I had crawled close to the bloodied mess and stared at it for a long time. "Why...Why can't I even recognize him?" If I hadn't seen that clothing piece I wouldn't have... "Who could have done...something this horrible..." Hot tears rolled down my cheeks. Desperately I tried not to lose it. Plip plip... You took me in after no one else wanted me...you put up with my temper and joked with me as any good friend would. We would get into a lot of arguments wouldn't we? I'd accuse you of being the pervert you were and they you'd ask why'd I always acted like I had a stick up my rear end. Not to mention that you were always SO stubborn! Why couldn't you put yourself ahead of me for once? If only you hadn't shooed me away when I made it into the music industry...if you would've let me visit...idiot...you idiot... Silence I...feel so tired. Unconsciously my knees had come up to my chest and I hugged myself from the cold. Why do the people I care about disappear? Why...can't I just disappear? With that thought a flame ignited in the air and wrapped itself around me in a cocoon of fire. It never touched me but circled ever so close over my huddled form...I don't want to think...I just wanted to watch the fire dance before my eyes. Alone. Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup! "Rei!" Mina-ko...? That sounded familiar. "Oh no, we're too late!" "Usagi, what's happening to her?" "Luna once said...That our...our powers are controlled through our transformations...but it really comes from our soul. If she keeps this up...she'll eventually kill herself." "NO! Rei, snap out of it!" I heard a flash footsteps and then another scream. The flames had shot up for a split second... "Leave me alone." Don't get near me. "Rei!" "Stay away!" The flames rose up into a column of fire. It was very warm... An occasional flame would suddenly flicker and brush against my skin, burning it. But...I still felt so cold. Do you feel pain child? Whoever you are, get out. Don't be so hasty...I'm someone who can take that pain away. "Venus Crystal Power, Make-UP!" "Moon Eternal, Make-UP!" Feeling lonely? That's none of your business! I snapped. The pain started to sting again. ...What about the girl? Don't you have someone still? Minako...Mina chan...She's all I have left. She's everything to me... Unfortunately the voice had picked up on this. Tell me, do you really love her? Lubb dubb! You don't know do you? Pity that burdens of the past are forcing you to love her. That's not true! Isn't it? Your soul isn't your own. It's two. How do you know those aren't your true feelings? Maybe it's...your other self. Shut up! How do you know about all this? I demanded. Imagine it. You both thinking you're in love until that faithful day when you remember your true self. The poor girl will be crushed to hear that you really don't care for her. 'It was my past self'. She could go as far as to commit suicide. Suicide? My imagination brought up the image of a dead Mina sprawled on the ground. She wouldn't do that! You can't tell the future. But... I can help you find out if your emotions are really as pure as you think them to be. ...How? "REI!" SHHhHHhHhhhhhhHhh... Minako's POV The column of fire suddenly died down into nothing. Terrified I watched Rei's body come into sight and slump to the ground. "REI!" In a matter of seconds Usagi and I had de-transformed and were by the woman's side. "Rei, speak to me." I pulled her onto my lap and shook her. "This isn't good..." I heard Usagi mutter. There was a dark look on her features. I couldn't tell whether it was a shadow from the sunlight or if she was really angry. "What's not good? You don't think...you don't think it's just like that time do you?" In our pasts when the demon had stolen a piece of Mar's soul the soldier fell dormant. "No." "Then what?" If Rei hadn't been positioned on my lap I would've jumped to my feet and hit Usagi for being so cold. Becoming mature doesn't mean you have to hide all of your emotions, future queen or not. Here I am ready to cry my eyes out and she's-I paused. Crying? "The demon's taken it. Mar's soul..." Tears started to roll down her cheek. "Can't you feel it? Do you realize what this means Mina chan? Every battle she's done as Sailor Mars, everything we did together when we fought evil...she won't remember it." "What?" That can't be... "All that time we've spent together...she won't remember it?" "O-only...as...part of our t-team..." My heart stopped when I heard, "Mm..." Rei's eyes slowly opened. She looked so tired and yet somehow different. I could already see what Usagi meant. There was that calmness she didn't have before. The intensity she used to have has dimmed significantly. It was like she was suddenly a different person. "Rei, how do you feel?" I cautiously asked. "Why am I here?" She blinked and scanned the surroundings. A frown immediately washed over her face. She...doesn't remember the attack? To my side Usagi stepped over a few steps to block the sight of her dead grandfather. Goddess knows if Rei remembers that episode as well. "Ah...you collapsed." "Usagi?" Rei tilted her head. "I thought you went back home." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "And why are you crying? Don't tell me you tripped and fell again." Well at least she's still as blunt as ever. "I...umm..." She fumbled for an excuse. Hastily she brushed aside her tears. "I just came to see how you were doing and you treat me like this? Some friend you are!" She stuck out her tongue, bringing Rei to do the same. The former fire senshi jumped up from my lap to argue with Usagi. "Stupid Odango!" "Short tempered witch!" ...I'm happy Rei woke up but...How different will she be if she doesn't remember battling at all? ...It'll be like she never was Sailor Mars... ...how will that change the way I feel?
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