Hmm. I don't have anything to mention. Except that I answer no questions concerning plot lines. ^_^ - Kirika ****** "What are we gonna do, Rei?!" Usagi cried out in distress. "We don't know where they could have taken her!" Rei watched stoically from where she sat on Usagi's bed as her princess paced back and forth across the bedroom, occasionally turning to face the Fire Senshi and state her concerns about her future daughter's welfare. The pair had just learned that Chibi-Usa had been taken from the Outer Senshi residence, and that Setsuna had been nearly killed in the process. Usagi was understandably upset. "They won't hurt her," Rei said, trying to keep the uncertainty out of her voice, "the youma will probably want to use her as a hostage." Usagi once again whirled around to face her bodyguard. "You don't know that, Rei! What if they do something just awful to her as, like, an example or something!" she wailed, gesturing pointedly with her hands for added emphasis. Rei let out a slow breath. After the assassination attempt at Minato General Hospital, all Sailor Senshi present had agreed it was prudent to assume that the recovering Sailors' identities had been compromised, which meant Rei, Haruka, Michiru and Makoto had to get into hiding as soon as possible -as well as Setsuna and Hotaru- to be on the safe side. The miko had proposed that she could stay at the Tsukino household, to which Usagi had readily agreed, much to Rei's delight. The Senshi of Fire would be able to keep an ever-watchful eye over her true love during the night and the majority of the day now. Since the youma appeared to know where Haruka and Michiru lived, Ami had suggested that the two women and Hotaru stay with her; the blue-haired girl had assured them that her mother wouldn't mind, even though it would be cramped in her apartment. Michiru had fortunately recovered enough to be able to be moved, albeit in a wheelchair. Living with a doctor would be beneficial for her. Rei had wondered what story Ami would tell her mother; the woman had to be getting suspicious by now with most of her daughter's friends being hospitalised and with all of the strange happenings going on. Unfortunately, Makoto was still unconscious and it would be extremely dangerous to move the girl in her unstable condition. Ami had sworn that she would stay by the fallen senshi's side twenty-four hours if necessary to defend her from further youma attacks. Usagi had offered to help Ami in protecting Makoto, and had suggested that they should take shifts in doing so. Minako could take part in guard duty also, and Rei and Haruka could as well once they had rested up for a couple of days. It meant missing a lot of school, but Minako and Usagi hadn’t seemed to have minded much, and Ami had been sure she could keep up with her classes by studying. Rei obviously couldn't return to the T*A Private Girls' School, since it was likely the youma were lying in wait for her now with her true identity known. She didn't know what excuse she was going to feed her Grandpa for her absence. The Fire Senshi was going to have to also try and persuade her grandfather and Yuuichirou to leave the Hikawa Jinja for a while, since it wasn't out of the question that the youma would assault the shrine, believing her to be there. Damn, how *did* they find out? It had been a fairly simple matter to answer the hospital staff's questions about what had happened; the youma's corpses had rotted away quickly. But the throwing knives in the walls had been enough to have the nurses post a security guard outside Makoto's room, just in case. While a normal human wouldn't stand much chance against a youma, the added protection had been welcome, especially in Ami's view. Soon after Rei and Usagi had arrived at the Tsukino residence, Minako had called them on their communicators. The Senshi of Love had informed them that Setsuna had been taken to Minato General Hospital in a critical but stable condition, and under a false name to hopefully throw off the youma. After finishing reporting on Setsuna’s condition, it was then that a reluctant Minako told the other two Sailor Senshi the bad news about Chibi-Usa. "The youma will want to draw us all out if they can using Chibi-Usa," Rei continued, attempting to reassure her princess that the pink-haired girl wasn’t already dead. "They'll contact us soon enough." Usagi looked at the Fire Senshi sceptically with misty eyes, seeming vulnerable and as if she really wanted to believe her bodyguard's presumptions. Rei got off the bed slightly unsteadily due to her sprained ankle, and then drew her unresisting princess into her arms. She soothingly rubbed the blonde's back with one hand. "I know you're worried about her," Rei whispered softly in Usagi's ear, "and you have every right to be. But I'll get her back somehow... I got your prince back, didn't I?" Rei felt her true love nod her head in agreement where it rested on her shoulder. "That's right," the miko went on. "I promise I'll get Chibi-Usa back too. And I always keep my promises..." She finished her oath by turning her head and kissing Usagi's cheek gently. "I know you do, Rei..." Usagi murmured, snuggling her head closer to the crook of her bodyguard's neck, "it's just that, well, she can be such an annoying little brat sometimes, but when she's not here... I just, I... miss her." Rei could hear the blonde's voice starting to get thick. Rei sighed wistfully. "It's only natural, she's your d-daughter," she replied, her voice cracking, "...your's and Mamoru's..." How could Rei have forgotten that Chibi-Usa was Mamoru's *and* Usagi's child? How could she forget *that* reminder of destiny? The Fire Senshi had been so happy that Usagi finally appeared to return her feelings that the pink-haired girl from the predetermined future hadn't even entered her mind. Was Rei merely kidding herself? Was there any future with her and Usagi together? What would happen to Chibi-Usa if Rei's princess left the prince? Would the young girl simply vanish without a trace? Simply cease to be? Did Rei even have the right to pursue a romantic relationship with the future mother of Chibi-Usa? Rei held the young girl's very existence in her hands, didn't she? So many questions... but no easy answers. Rei knew one thing, however: she couldn't let Usagi, her true love, go... not now. Maybe she was being selfish, but she just couldn't. She would have to ask Setsuna what would happen to Chibi-Usa, and the timeline for that matter, if she continued on her present path. That was, if Chibi-Usa made it through her current predicament all right... Usagi tensed when Rei mentioned the prince. "Mamoru... I still haven't told him what happened!" the blonde gasped, raising her head to look at the miko with concern showing in her eyes. Rei paused for a second, trying to break the hypnotic hold of her princess's sparkling blue eyes. "You can tell him in the morning; you have to get ready for bed. One of us has school tomorrow, and it isn't me," Rei said quietly, giving a small half-smile. "I guess..." Usagi replied, and then smiled faintly. "We're not all slackers like you, I suppose," she joked. Rei merely gave the blonde a withering look. Usagi giggled and turned towards the bedroom door, leaving her bodyguard's embrace. She then stopped and appeared to hesitate for a second, before turning back to Rei, giving the Fire Senshi a light kiss on the lips. Rei blinked at the blonde. "What was that for?" she said after a moment. Usagi shrugged, a mild blush coming to her cheeks. "I just... felt like doing it, I guess." Rei grinned mischievously. "Be my guest, anytime you get the urge again," she rakishly offered. Usagi lowered her head and simply stood there for a second, before proceeding to walk to the bedroom door and leave the room. Rei's princess was so easily embarrassed. The Fire Senshi returned to Usagi's bed and sat on it, waiting for the blonde girl to finish using the bathroom so she could use it herself. Rei didn't have any clothes other than the ones she had thrown on after getting Sailor Mercury's call for help on the night she had been hurt. And the night Usagi had confessed her love. Rei would have to borrow some of her princess's sleeping garments, or perhaps simply sleep naked. That would definitely make Usagi embarrassed. Rei's mischievous grin returned at the thought. Usagi's parents had been pretty angry but relieved when their daughter and her friend had arrived at the house, apparently all right. After some begging on Usagi's part, the Tsukino couple had agreed to let Rei stay at their place for a while; the blonde and the miko were best friends after all. Rei would pick up some clothes and toiletries tomorrow from the shrine, and also let her Grandpa know that she would be staying with Usagi for the foreseeable future. She hated abandoning her miko responsibilities at the Hikawa Jinja, but there was really no choice. While she was waiting for Usagi to return, Rei idly wondered where Luna was, her eyes scanning her princess's bedroom for any sign of the black cat. She imagined that the feline must have been visiting Artemis or something. After a half an hour or so, Usagi came back into the room dressed in a towel. "Alright, the bathroom's all yours," she said, motioning with her thumb back the way she had come. Rei raised an eyebrow, and raked her eyes over her true love's towel-clad figure, obviously taking her time checking out the blonde. Usagi quickly caught on to the reason her bodyguard was leering and folded her arms prudently over her chest. The towel wrapped around her body wasn't the widest piece of material in the world. "You hentai, go take a cold shower!" Usagi wailed, reddening and pointing sternly in the direction of the bathroom with one hand. She then swiftly returned the hand to its spot over her chest to hide her ample display of cleavage. Rei chuckled unrepentantly and limped off to the bathroom, looking at Usagi over her shoulder with smoky eyes all the while. The blonde merely blushed more and turned her chin up indignantly in response. ****** After Rei had finished in the bathroom, she returned to Usagi's bedroom with some bandages in hand and a towel around her body. The raven-haired girl was disappointed to see that Usagi had prepared a futon for her, but in truth, Rei hadn't really expected anything more. Rei saw the blonde girl sitting on the bed dressed in pink pyjamas. "Here, Rei," Usagi said, "I have some pyjamas for you to wear." She pointed to a sky blue set of clothes decorated with white anime-style cats lying nearby her on the bed. "Not usually my style, but when in Rome..." Rei replied, eyeing the clothes dubiously. "I could just go naked, it’s not like you haven't seen everything already." She smirked at Usagi, waiting to see her no doubt amusing reaction. Usagi swallowed a little nervously, the miko noticed, before clearing her throat. "I think it would be better if you wore them," she then said with controlled calm. Rei shrugged indifferently and then parked herself on the bed beside Usagi. "Could you help me with this?" she asked, holding up the bandages in one wrapped up hand and gesturing to the other, bare, one. Usagi nodded and took the white strips of cloth from her bodyguard's grip and proceeded to wrap them with great care around the raven-haired girl's bruised and cut hand. Rei found herself blushing at her princess's delicate touch, ridiculous, considering Usagi had touched her before much more intimately on other areas of her body. Soon Usagi finished the job, leaving the Fire Senshi's hand and wrist bound in bandages while her fingers remained bare. "Thank you," Rei said quietly, and slightly shyly, though she had no idea why she felt that way all of a sudden. Rei had already put on an elastic, but loose, tube-like bandage over her sprained left ankle for support, so it was time to change into the bedclothes Usagi had left out. She stood up gingerly, and unwrapped the towel she was wearing without preamble, swallowing down her shyness from earlier. Usagi graciously turned her head away from the sight of her bodyguard's revealed form and twiddled her fingers nervously. Rei changed into the blue pyjamas. "All done," she said cheerfully afterwards, her usual happy mood when around her true love beginning to return. Usagi nodded again and then turned her head back to Rei. "We should go to sleep now," she suggested, climbing into her bed. "I'm going to be so tired in the morning..." she mumbled absently to herself. Rei got off the bed and went to her futon. She lay down on it, pulling a blanket over herself. Once she had heard that Rei was settled, Usagi switched off her bedside lamp. "Goodnight, Rei," the blonde said. "Night," the Fire Senshi replied from the floor. A short time later, Rei was tossing and turning on her futon, unable to get to sleep for some reason. While thoughts on how to find and rescue Chibi-Usa were on her mind, that wasn't why she was so restless. At least, the Fire Senshi believed that wasn't the cause. Rei sighed into the dark. She wondered if she dared risk asking. The miko thought she was fairly brave, as much as the next person at least, but when it came to affairs of the heart, she could be a coward hiding in a closet. Rei gathered her courage and decided to just go for it. "Usagi, are you still awake?" she asked carefully. "Yeah..." Rei heard the girl in the bed reply. Rei took in a deep breath. "Do you mind if I sleep with you?" she started, before quickly blurting out the rest, "I mean this futon is all lumpy, you know, and I just can't get to sleep on something like that, heh heh..." Rei punched the futon a few times for effect, and then bit her lower lip, stifling a cry of pain. She had forgotten about her sore hands. There was silence from the bed for a moment. Finally, Usagi spoke. "I dunno, Rei... what if my mom comes in or something? How will I explain why you're in my bed?" she said, apprehension lacing her voice. "What are the chances of your mom coming in?" Rei said, waving off the concern. "Even if she does we can use the lumpy futon excuse. Not that it *is* an excuse or anything, I mean, not an excuse I'm using. On you." The miko finished babbling, forcing a couple of coughs at the end in an attempt to make her justification sound more casual. "I guess..." Usagi said, sounding unconvinced, "...but there's not enough room for you anyway." "That's a *bad* thing?" Rei replied rather incredulously before she could stop herself, and then hastily clapped a hand over her mouth. She then quickly removed her hand and tried to save the situation. "I mean; I'll try to squeeze in somehow..." "But what if I elbow you in the side while I'm asleep?" Usagi said. "I might hurt you." "Ahh, I'm fine, everything's healed," Rei exaggerated. She then tore the blanket off of herself and got to her feet before her princess could think up any more excuses. The Fire Senshi clambered up onto the bed and crawled under the covers on the left hand side. She felt her princess's warm body to the right of her. "See? Plenty of room," Rei said, obviously pleased. Usagi rolled over so that her back was to her bodyguard. "Okay. Now let’s go to sleep. I probably have to get up in like three hours or something..." she yawned. Rei lay on her back for a while, acutely aware of the heat against her right arm. Throwing caution into the wind, she rolled over to face Usagi and slipped an arm over the blonde, spooning her. Rei held her princess tight and began placing butterfly kisses all over the back of her neck. All of Usagi's muscles suddenly tensed. "Rei..." Usagi said in a patient tone. "What are you doing?" Rei stopped sucking on a particular part of the girl's neck. "Nothing..." she replied innocently, then resumed her kissing. Rei traced her hand in slow circles over Usagi's taut stomach, gradually moving higher and higher. The blonde didn't make a sound as Rei began to suck harder on the nape of her neck, leaving wet trails on her smooth skin as she lapped at it with her tongue. The miko felt her forearm come into contact with the twin swells that were Usagi's breasts, and then stopped, enjoying the sensation. She pressed her body closer against her princess's back, her own breasts pushing up against the blonde. Rei let out a small moan as she started to rub her body slightly against Usagi’s. "Stop..." Usagi said softly, and then more loudly, "stop it, Rei... I can't, I'm not... I just can't do this!" Rei abruptly ceased her ministrations and looked at the back of her love’s head in confusion. "Huh? What are talking about?" she said, sitting up on one elbow, attempting to see Usagi’s face. "I can't do this, Rei. It's just going too fast... but- but that's not the only thing," Usagi started, stuttering over the words. "I... I still love Mamoru; I haven't stopped. And I'm not comfortable doing... *that*, with you, yet... we're both *girls*, Rei..." Rei merely stared at the back of Usagi's head in sheer disbelief. Someone could have knocked her over with a feather. The raven-haired girl took a couple of short breaths and then shook her head, trying to restart her shocked mind. "'We're both *girls*?'" Rei parroted, completely dumbfounded. "Are you kidding me? You're telling me you're uncomfortable because we're both girls?? I thought you didn't care! You accept the others! Ami and Makoto, and Michiru and Haruka! Are you telling me that you don't?! That you're pretending or something?!" The miko finished in a near shout, her fiery temper getting the better of her. "No! Of course I accept them! It doesn't matter who they want to be with, it's just... it's just different when it involves me, personally! Did you expect me to automatically be attracted to girls? I've been with Mamoru for ages now! I don't like girls that way, at least, I never used to! I need time to adjust!" Usagi yelled back as loudly as Rei, her head turning over her shoulder slightly as if trying to see the Senshi of Fire. "What are you talking about?! I seem to recall *someone* starting several make out sessions," Rei said sarcastically. "Hell, you kissed me not too long ago for the gods’ sakes!" "I know, I know. God, I'm... urgh, so confused. It's just not right; we shouldn't be doing this. Mamoru, I still love him, it's like I'm cheating on him, you being a girl doesn't change that. This is just... wrong," Usagi finished, before sharply turning over to look at Rei with wide eyes, as if only just then realising what she had said. Rei rolled onto her back and stared up at the dark ceiling. "I can't believe you're doing this to me again," she said, her voice without emotion. "After everything... how can you toy with me like this? Were you just stringing me along, so you wouldn't lose one of your 'precious' senshi?" Rei sneered out the last several words with sarcasm dripping from them. The Fire Senshi focused her mind on her anger, the red-hot flames inside of her. The girl knew that if she let the barrier of rage fall she would lose herself. "No, Rei, I-" Usagi began, but the words were talked over by her bodyguard. "I can't believe it's happening again," Rei continued unabated. "You should have just told me earlier, why did you let me think we had a chance?! WHY?!" It was no use; no level of anger could stand up to this. Rei felt her fury slip away into the recesses of her mind. She felt totally numb. No, not totally... there was a despair she had never experienced before in all her life. Similar to when she had thought Usagi had died, but different somehow. This pain burned deep inside her. It was worse than gut wrenching; it was like her very soul was being tormented. She was also absently aware of another pain, akin to the first, somewhere else inside her broken spirit. Rei turned away from Usagi and curled into a ball, burying her face in a pillow. She broke down in uncontrollable sobs, her body shuddering with each one. The senshi heard Usagi saying something distantly, but she ignored her. She wanted to crawl into a hole and just die. "I-I thought y-y-you felt the s-same way I did," Rei blubbered, soaking the pillow with her river of tears. "I do, Rei, I do!" Usagi declared vehemently. "Please don't cry, Rei; I hate seeing you cry." The blonde put her arms around the sobbing form of her best friend. "I didn't mean that I don't care about you, Rei," she went on, "I'm just not used to these feelings; I'm not ready to do certain things yet. Please understand..." Usagi rocked her senshi back and forth, trying to sooth her. "Y-You're j-just saying that," Rei stammered, still with her face buried in the pillow. "I'm not, Rei," Usagi said, her voice breaking a little. "Believe me, please..." Rei rolled over onto her back, looking up at her princess with a tear-drenched face. She saw that Usagi looked nearly as distraught as her. "I told you before, you're very special to me, Rei," the blonde stated, stroking her fingers through the miko's long hair comfortingly. Rei merely nodded, blinking up at her true love with moist eyes, appearing like a small, vulnerable child. Usagi sighed deeply, and wiped away her bodyguard's tears tenderly with her free hand. "How can you care so much about someone like me?" she said, confounded, shaking her head slightly. Rei sniffled and gazed up at her princess with starry lavender eyes. "How could I not?" she whispered. "You're everything I've ever wanted in life. You're kind, compassionate, innocent... how you kept you're innocence after everything we've faced as Sailor Senshi is amazing, but that's what makes you special. You're perfect." Usagi's face burned hotly at Rei's words. "I-I'm not perfect," she stuttered, looking down at the Fire Senshi as if she had lost her marbles. Rei smirked a little, feeling the pain inside her lessen greatly. "Well, alright..." she said, becoming somewhat playful again, "you're also annoying, whiney, never on time for anything, lazy, you eat too much and too fast, you-" Usagi held up a silencing hand. "I think I liked the first description better," she groaned. Rei grinned adoringly up at her true and only love. "Yeah... but I like you just the way you are, faults and all." Usagi gazed down into Rei's eyes. She then straddled the raven-haired girl, and leaned downwards, her body pressed over the miko's until their faces were close. "I meant what I said, Rei. I just need some time to get used to things; it doesn't mean I want you to stop touching me or anything. What we do now is fine. We just need to take it slowly," Usagi murmured, staring into her bodyguard's eyes, still stroking the girl's raven locks. "But... but, while I have feelings for you, I still have feelings for Mamoru as well. I don't know what to do... but I'll figure something out, is that okay with you?" Rei nodded, not breaking her princess's gaze. Usagi smiled at her then leaned down the rest of the distance between them, connecting their lips together in a firm kiss. Rei moaned low in her throat as her tongue duelled with her true love's, both girls’ eyes now closed. Her hands reached up to slide over Usagi's back as the blonde's body squirmed against her own delightfully, their breasts only separated by the two layers of thin material of their pyjamas. Rei's hands slid lower on her princess's back, and yet lower still, until her hands gripped two fleshly globes. Usagi's eyes shot open in surprise, but soon closed again, giving in to the sensations. After a long time, the kiss finally ended, with each girl stealing a few more pecks as they parted. Both Sailor Senshi were breathless, and each stared deeply into the other's eyes, as if gazing into their soul. Usagi eventually broke the look, and rolled off Rei and onto her back. "Come on, miss grabby hands, now I really have to sleep," she panted, pulling the Fire Senshi next to her firmly and putting an arm around her. Rei squeezed as close as she could to her princess, resting her head next to Usagi's on the pillow. One of Rei’s hands reached under the blonde's pyjama top, and slid across the girl's bare stomach until the miko was holding on to her tightly. She slung a leg over Usagi's, nestling it between her princess's thighs. Rei resisted the urge to use her knee to rub any place she shouldn't, but that didn't stop her from rubbing herself a few times against Usagi's leg. Of course, all she did was make the tension she was experiencing worse. Rei was going to have deliciously wonderful dreams tonight. If she could get to sleep. Usagi didn't seem to mind her bodyguard's close proximity, or the positions of the miko's arm and leg. She simply kissed Rei on the forehead and told her to sleep. Rei took a deep breath, breathing in her princess's scent, and then readily obeyed her. Unbeknownst to either of the girls, a black, furry, distinctly feline mass under the bed also decided that it was time to sleep. The apparent problem would be better handled in the morning, after a good night's rest. ****** To be continued... Author's ramblings: Okay. So the contest is on, Mamoru V.S. Rei, who will win? Beats me, I haven't decided yet. ^_^
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