Orokid: So… I'm soooo happy to have finished this story. It's not like I didn't enjoy writing it or anything, but I was glad when I finally believed that the story was completed enough without adding another page of action and description. It only took me about four hours to write most of it, and an hour to figure out how the heck to end it. Haha. ^^

I'm not going to say much this time (sorry to those people that like my randomness) so it's on to the disclaimer time! XD

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I barely own my life, so I sincerely doubt I own anything that has to do with this story, the original storyline(s), or the characters. Sorry to break some hearts out there! ^^

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Return

It was seemed so quiet, lonely, in the wake of the third restruction of their lives, that it almost seemed impossible for it all to be real. There was no evil intent in the air whenever ease would set itself in, no premonition of destruction that haunted her eyes as she would stare into the flames, and she could sense no monsters lurking beneath the surfaces of human desires. The world was unperturbed from the demonic evils that had once roamed within it, and she should have felt similar because of it. She should have felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, granting her the ability to be free from the guilt of her past life, from the mission that was left behind for her new form to overtake again. She should be happy to be normal again.

Oddly, as she stared down at the cement clearing with her sweeping paused, she couldn't make herself be content about the easiness that surrounded her. Around her, the people of the Earth seemed to be getting along with their lives, unknowing of the disaster that had occurred not that long ago. With the planet technically saved from it's ultimate destruction, the ones she had once called her closest friends seemed to not to care anymore what each of them did, once more separated by the division that had been there since before their meeting. Once more, they were all alone, forced by that same fate that had thrown them all together.

The quiet priestess leaned against the bamboo broom she had been sweeping with, thinking about on how they were doing last she had heard. Their princess of the moon that they had fought so hard to protect was with her prince, the apparent cause to all of their problems to begin with. Their friend, a brainy young woman who was once the soldier of Mercury, had graduated from high school a year earlier than the rest, now schooling at a medical university in America, chasing her dreams of being a doctor. Their strong companion, the soldier of Jupiter, was in the midst of a relationship with the karaoke's front desk personnel, having finally committed to it after months of wishful glances that both of them had shared. And, last of all, their talented leader once called Venus had returned from her untimely grave, only to return to the idol circuit as if she had never disappeared.

All in all, she was the last one of their group have moved on from their shared pasts. It struck her as ironic, remembering how she had refused to allow anything that had to deal with the past stop her from living the life she had now. The world had halted around her, the soldier of Mars, while it passively twirled for the others, and she wanted nothing more than to return to those days of laughter where no one was caught in the loneliness of their current lives.

Biting her lower lip, the miko knew that was the reason for her unhappiness. She had been left alone again, left behind by those that she had once thought would be there for her after everything had come and gone. No longer did she have those other people beside her to help her as she fell, to make her smile no matter how gruff her exterior might be, and she didn't have that certain person to listen and talk to whenever she just wanted to be around someone that wouldn't see her as weak if she displayed her emotions.

She had been left on her own by the one person who she had thought wouldn't turn her back on her.

"Minako…" The woman's name had slipped from her lips, and the wind brushed against her uniform once again, causing a chill to run down her spine. Her memory was returning, haunting the young woman like a ghost would to a person or place it was once close to, and she was soon losing herself in them. From the moment they had first met, something within her had exploded in excitement, and she wasn't able to tell just why every fiber within her wanted… needed… to be around the stranger. Perhaps it had been because she had found someone who would play into her needless games, never wanting to be beaten yet always looking for a challenge. Maybe it was because her long lost memories had called out to the person only they knew it was, happy to have found solace in an old friend.

Or possibly it was because there had been a something within her soul that had called out for her. Not as a friend. Not as a soldier fighting for the same cause. There was something within her that may have demanded more.

Sighing, the young priestess found herself reliving the final memory of when they had been last together, opening her eyes to gaze out into the quiet emptiness of the shrine's courtyard.

In her mind, she could remember how she had been called out from the inner chambers by the loud cawing of the ravens that circled her home, telling their tranquil master how a person was coming. She had stood up from the flames that she had been sitting before, quietly walking out to greet the one that was more than likely near the crest of the hilltop. It wasn't long until she had seen the all too familiar cap that the young idol wore whenever she was using her precious time to escape the clutches of her manager, and a smile couldn't help but cross the lips of the miko that remained in her place, waiting, wondering why she had gotten the surprise visit from her friend.

It had become too apparent as to the reason, offering the comfort of coming inside and having it declined in a gracious manner unbefitting to their usual bouts. Their conversation had been brief, and the words that were between them had come out comfortable, opting not to fuel an argument as they usually ended up doing. The singer had asked for her blessings on her renewed career, apologizing for things that the miko believed no one had the need to ask for forgiveness over. The silly things that they had fought over, the ways that they had teased and forced one another outside of their comfort zone… Those things were what made their friendship different than the others that she had experienced, and she wouldn't trade those memories for anything in the world. But the woman wanted to know that she had been forgiven for them all, not wanting bad blood to be left between them just in case.

And though she hadn't meant the words, she had given the woman what she had wanted, accepting the apology. Something inside of her knew why the woman was asking for such things, and she dreaded the idea that this exact moment was their last time together, talking as the friends they had been for the past year. The moment she would walk away, they would once more have that invisible barrier that was between her and all the others, estranged by the separation of lives that had occurred within their group. No more would they have a reason to talk, to hang around each other, for an idol would never likely have become friends with a Shinto shrine's miko.

Tears stung painfully at her eyes, remembering the times she had shared with the woman that had been her reason to try harder to become a welcomed replacement to their dying leader. So many times, she had felt her heart beat in a unknown quickened pace, laughing together, becoming the only thing either of them had outside of their normal lives. So many times, she had words at the tip of her tongue, on the verge or saying the things that she was so scared to share, but now her chance had disappeared with the woman who had cursed her to this life of solitude.

It seemed so unfair now to yearn to a person who couldn't care less about your existence outside of the mission. The mission had been completed, and yet… there was no place for a soldier who only knew how to fight. She couldn't fight for something that only she wanted anymore. She didn't have the will power to keep going. Not anymore.

"Minako…" Once more, the name was whispered to the wind, a heavy sigh escaping soon afterwards. Again, she had taken to leaning against the broom in her hands, her body lethargic as she closed her eyes and allowed her memories of the past to repeat within herself on non-stop. Perhaps it was better this way. As long as the woman she cared so deeply for was happy with the life that she was living, then who was she to complain about the way things were going? She had no reason to be bitter about moving on from their lives as soldiers for the princess of the moon, and she had to be rational about how she couldn't hold her secret romance back from the dreams that she called for.

"Reiko?"

The voice had caught her by surprise, having not heard the crows that had usually been keen to warn her of visitors. Had they sensed her desperation and left her to her thoughts in the quiet courtyard of the shrine? It was a possibility that she found her mind playing with silently, musing over it briefly as she gazed helplessly with wide dark eyes toward the one who was watching her with interest.

"Venus?" The priestess's tone had roughened out of habit, her body tensing, pretending as though she had not been caught with her mind wandering. She could feel her fingers tighten around the hilt of the broom that she held, biting on the inside of her bottom lip as anxiety overcame her each and every nerve.

A small laugh had exited the idol's lips, and the dark haired holy woman watched as singer attempted to hide her obvious amusement behind one of her hands. Something within the miko's body couldn't help but tremble in delight, and her hands only held tighter to the household item, hoping only to calm her ecstatic nerves. "I'm not Venus any longer, Reiko," the woman finally said through her giggles, watching with the same old eager and mischievous look that was within her dark, beautiful eyes.

"And I've never been Mars Reiko, Minako-chan," the stern young woman shot back, her usual glare her response to the gaze that she was getting from the beautiful idol.

It was then that the smile on the woman's lips and eyes seemed to dissipate, and she turned to gaze at the sky that hovered above the small Shinto shrine on the hill. The woman's form was tense, and it was obvious from the stance she was in that memories of the past were returning to haunt her as they had the former soldier of fire. Softly, she spoke the words that both of them knew was coming. "Once upon a time, you were, Rei…"

Gnawing softly on her lower lip, the miko allowed a gentle silence to envelope them, hoping to find something, anything, to move the subject along. There were things that she wasn't ready to admit to knowing, having remembered more of their accursed past than she had back when they had made their final goodbyes.

There were parts of her past life's memory that were hazy, but the moments she could remember clearly were the things that she had found herself suffering from in her second life as Hino Rei, the granddaughter of the shrine's owner, daughter of a disciplined politician. As Mars Reiko, she had yearned for the touches of Venus Mina, yearned to feel the heartbeat of the beautiful siren in the midnight hours, and loved the woman from afar so not to scare the woman away. Her past life had shown many similarities with her current life, but she was determined to show that there were several things that she had of her own- and no one else could deter her from that thought.

The miko lessened her grip on what she was holding, not wanting to break the bamboo shaft as she knew that she was about to do. "So why has Aino Minako returned?" There was a sense of bitterness within the question, biting at the person who was the cause to her apparent loneliness. Her heart ached with the memories of the last few months, remembering how she had found herself more alone than she ever had back before she had met the other former soldiers of the moon. "The last time we met, I had the impression that there was no reason to stay in contact because the mission was over."

She watched as the other girl flinched at her remarks, and, even with her back turned to the priestess, she could tell that the words Rei had spoken had done something to her that she would probably never admit to feeling. The mission… It had always been such an intricate part of their lives, and, at times, the brusque young woman felt as though she was the only one that was protecting the princess out of their shared friendship than a mere 'mission' that forced them to do it's bidding.

Minako inhaled deeply, taking in the clean air that one could usually find in the peaceful lands near the shrine, and the gruff woman watched the singer with interested dark eyes. "Manager-san believes that I write music better whenever I'm with the ones I care about most."

It made sense to her now. There really was no reason for the idol to return other than the fact that she was having trouble with her career. She was a fool to hope for anything different.

Standing still, she felt a gentle breeze pass through the hilltop, brushing through the two women in near silence. Once more, the once leader of the Moon Kingdom's soldiers had taken in a breath, turning to face the miko with cautious dark orbs. "And I wanted to see Rei-chan badly." A small nervous smile found it's way across her lips, her features painting on a slight blush on the woman's cheeks. "Because Rei… has always been the most precious to me."

"So precious to leave behind?" She knew that her emotions were getting the best of her, and she felt a crack from the bamboo shaft beneath the strength of her grip. Her inner agony from the past few months were coming out and striking the one person whom she had thought could save her with the few words that she wanted, needed, to hear

"Reiko, I can't say what I did was right, but the words I'm saying now are true." The woman's features had straightened, only a frightened glance left behind in her beautiful eyes. There was a pleading within them that made the young priestess want to believe everything that the woman was saying, whether her wounded pride liked it or not. "The mission…" The idol's hands tightened together, creating fists on either side of her form. "The mission wasn't as important as you."

A stunned silence came between them, and another breeze passed though the shrine, and the small pile of leaves spreading across the pavement as though there had been no effort to wrangle them at all. Memories once more returned to her, and she recalled how the woman that was before her now had made many a comment about how protecting the princess was always their top priority.

"I know I always pushed the mission, Reiko." The woman's words were soft, speaking slowly so not to break the silence that had fallen between them, picking her words carefully. "I felt like that was the only purpose to my life. I had been given a year to live, and I had been so lost. My music would be forgotten. I would be forgotten. I had no family beside manager-san, and… I couldn't bare to tell him about it." The woman inhaled, stepping forward carefully toward the priestess with hope in her dark eyes. "And then Artemis had come and given me a chance to at least live the rest of my life without any regrets." She paused, and the usually grumpy miko awaited the words that were to come, hanging on them as though they were her the strings of life being plucked away. "And then… I met you." Rei could feel her face heat up as she watched her so tentatively, afraid to look away and find that these words were a figment of her imagination. "You were the first person I met who didn't know me, and… I suppose that made me happy. A little bit." She giggled slightly, enunciating her words with her fingers as she showed how little it made her feel glad, pausing her steps as she stood a few feet away from the former soldier of Mars. "You were also the first person to ever get to know the real me… and you never asked for anything in return. Manager-san wanted me to work harder, to make him more money. Usagi-chan, while kind, wanted me to be the public's Minako. You… allowed me to be me." The girl lowered her head, and Rei could see her as she visibly nibbled on her bottom lip, anxious about sharing her information like she was. "You were my first true friend, Rei-chan, but you started to ask me for things I couldn't give as well." A confused look crossed the priestess features, her eyebrows scrunching together as she attempted to remember what she had asked of the woman. "You… demanded that I get the surgery. Even if the chance was near one percent, you wanted me to get it. By then, I had given up on life itself, so… your demand had been like a slap in the face."

"I just wanted you to live, Minako!" the former soldier of fire declared, sadness and ferocity in her eyes as she prayed that the woman understood. "It was always about the mission with you, and… you weren't looking forward to anything but death. How could you have expected me to stay quiet about it?"

"That's the thing- I couldn't." A kind smile moved across the idol's lips, and the miko could feel her heart thud happily within her chest. "You demanded that I should do it… because you were selfishly kind." The fiery woman once more felt her features become contorted, confused by what the singer was saying. How could someone be selfishly kind? "For the first time since I became Sailor V, my priority wasn't the mission, Rei-chan…" Another step forward, and Rei could feel the other's hand gently pressing against the skin of her cheek, her thumb rubbing once over the satin lips of the miko before resting beside the rest of fingers. "… You were. I never wanted to see that look on your face again, Reiko."

Surprised etched across the once Martian warrior, and she could feel her knees buckle as her heart pounded within her chest. Still, she knew that she couldn't admit defeat just yet, couldn't throw herself at the mercy of this person's advances. "Baka!" Rei had stepped back, pushing the woman's hand away from her face- and she prayed inwardly that she wasn't as red as she thought that she was. "If you wanted that, then why did you leave again?"

Sighing, the idol slowly wrapped her arms around her waist, looking off into the distance so not to stare into the eyes of the woman before her. "Because… Aino Minako couldn't just stop singing. I had to tour because that was what was expected of me. Manager-san would have found a way to murder me if I didn't." Softer, she continued to give her excuses, hoping that the enraged woman would understand her actions enough to forgive her. "Besides… I was ordered not to come see you."

The former soldier of the flames glared at the woman who was only trying to get her point across. Anger and frustration poured from her, and she could only demand answers. "By who?"

Calmly, the young idol inhaled and exhaled, trying to find the words to calm herself and the one whom she was speaking to. It was obvious that the answer was difficult, and the woman was definitely fighting with herself over what to say. Finally, she gazed at her once comrade, painting on a more forward appearance so not to appear as though she feared the outcome of her words- which she did. Greatly. "Senator Hino."

The shock of Minako's words brought the miko out from her fury, and she stared at the past soldier of Venus with wide eyes. "Why would my father..?"

"He believed that his daughter was getting too close to a woman," the singer announced lowly, tightening her jaw as she awaited the reaction of the priestess. "He… felt that being close to you would ruin my career… and I had believed him at the time." Minako's hands tightened at her sides, holding her body firmer as her own frustration toward herself came through. "After I had come back, I thought that singing was all that I really had left of myself. Usagi-chan had Mamoru-kun. Ami-chan had school. Mako-chan had Motoki-kun. And you… you had the shrine." Rei watched quietly as the woman's body began to tremble, her words losing the strength that it once had, thinking back to her own lonely thoughts from earlier on that same day. "If you didn't feel the same, then I would truly have nothing, having turned my back on my career to follow after you."

The young miko held onto her broom gently, thoughts cascading through her mind like water, trying to find a thought to hold herself to. "What changed?"

"Mako-chan had called me one day, asking if I had heard from you." A bittersweet smile crossed the idol's features, and her arms tightened around herself ever more. "In the conversation, we immediately had begun talking about you, and I had attempted to find out any information that she had about you. In that time, she started to ask me questions, wondering if I had thought that maybe I…"

"Maybe you..?" Rei felt her hope rise, gripping the broom handle harder once again.

"… that maybe Aino Minako was 'that type' as well, like Rei-chan." As though they had done it on purpose, they had let loose to what they had been holding onto. The singer's arms had fallen to her side, gazing at the floor, while the broom in the young miko's hands had fallen to the cement floors of the courtyard. "For Rei-chan." The young woman took in a deep breath, hands tightening at her sides as she fought of her worries and fears. "And… I wanted to tell her no, but… I couldn't, because…"

Trembling fingers reached up as the former solider of Mars stepped forward, closing in the distance between them, taking the tightened hand of the once Venutian warrior. The two pairs of deep, dark eyes gazed into one another, one with surprise and the other with hope, and the prideful miko offered up the only thing to the performer that was trying to hard to come to terms with the things that were flowing from her own heart- a small hope-filled smile, conveying all the things that couldn't yet be said between them. "It's alright. I understand."

Slowly, Minako's hand had unfurled, her fingers sliding between the former Martian's digits. The priestess gave the other woman's hand a squeeze, offering comfort in the unknown feelings that moved within the popular Japanese icon. It was the least she could do, knowing that emotions were at times hard to control let alone figure out. "Rei?"

Their eyes met once more, a soft, gentle gaze shared between them as small, happy smiles moved across both of their beautiful features. There was something in the idol's eyes that frightened the former soldier of fire, knowing that mischievous gaze all too well after all the time that they had spent together. "Yes, Minako?" the wary young woman answered, watching the girl carefully.

She had barely recognized the movement when the once Venutian had leaned in, pressing her lips softly against the miko's, her other hand pressing against the moon kissed skin of the one that was trying to be so understanding with her. Rei felt her own hand move on it's own, pressing her fingers lightly against the idol's waist and pulling her closer as she had dreamed of doing for so long. The chaste kiss brought back all of the things that she had once thought of, remembering the daydreams that she had seen in the fires that she stared into whenever she wasn't focusing. So many thoughts that were in her mind dwindled mysteriously until one thought seemed to remain- she didn't feel like she had been forgotten by those that were once her friends any longer.

Minako was the first to pull away, although only centimeters between their lips as they attempted to grasp hold of what personal strength they may have stored within them. Both were struggling with an inner conflict, unsure what to say or do as they held each other in the silence of the Shinto shrine.

Carefully, words slipped from the idol's lips, a small smile upon them as she spoke the words that would open the flood gates of emotions within each of them. "I do, Reiko. For you." The wind blew through the shrine once more, lightly billowing the hair of the two women that stood there, transfixed in one another's gaze. Once more, the idol inched her lips closer, whispering words that were meant only for the priestess ears. "Only you."

Smiling only a partial smile, a twinkle in her dark eyes, the shrine's miko pulled a step away from the idol, keeping their entwined fingers together. "Baka. Took you long enough."

"How can you say that after everything I just said?" A grumpy idol questioned, following behind the former soldier of Mars without question, taking her time to enjoy the feeling that it caused within her body.

Shrugging, the young woman in charge of the shrine merely continued to lazily pull the singer along, holding on with her beloved's hand as though it were her most precious possession- gentle yet overprotective. "I just did, didn't I?"

-

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Orokid: Okay… this is actually something that I had started because I couldn't get the idea out of my head. Three pages later, I realized that it probably wasn't going to end any time soon, and that I was spending A LOT of time on the inner thoughts of Rei in the beginning. Usually, I would have jumped ahead and the like, but… for some odd reason, I didn't want to rush it this time. I let it unfold as I thought it would in the show. It might be a little out of character, but I have done my best to keep it to the point that I think they would more than likely cross into the human behavior of acting a little not like themselves. Technically, that is all I have to save myself, but eh. Haha.

Other than that, I'm really happy how it had turned out. I haven't written this much in so long! ^^ I'm proud that I wrote up to seven and a three-fourths pages. There's nothing that can pop my little bubble of happiness. =^.^=

So please, if you could, review and tell me how I did regardless of my personal happiness. Constructive criticism, thumbs up, etc are all good to me. ^^

Notes:

baka= idiot

miko= priestess of a shrine