Power Transcendent
Sailormoon fanfiction by Jessica
-------------------
Chapter 27
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.
Deviant Hearts Archive | Back to main index