AN: I apologize in advance for any typos. I know how pesky and annoying those can be. Anyways, here's Chapter 2 as promised. Hope you all enjoy :)
Chapter 2
"Fuck!" Rei threw up her arms and covered her face as she felt tears sting her eyes. She couldn't help but feel used as she heard the front door close. 'Why would I say that? Where did that come from?'She thought to herself as she paced back and forth, bewildered at her own words. Everything had just felt so right and so weirdly familiar as if they had been doing that for years. The words just kind of slipped out of her mouth before she even realized what she was saying. 'Everything was going so well . . .' The distraught priestess threw herself onto her bed, staring up listlessly at her ceiling, wiping away her stray tears as she got lost in thought. She stared at the ceiling with such intensity as if it would magically provide all of her answers. Things had been starting to feel weird between her and Minako for a while, but she couldn't place her finger on why. "Do I really love her?" The miko asked herself out loud, thinking on the past couple of weeks. Sure Minako flirted with her, Christ, she flirted with anything that breathed, but it wasn't until recently that it started leaving the fire senshi flustered when she would make a provocative statement or wink at her.
"Ugh!" Rei suddenly jumped back up, realizing she would get no sleep tonight and the only thing that would maybe bring her some comfort and answers would be a long session meditating in front of the fire. Walking down to her meditation room and settling herself in front of the flames Rei could only hope maybe she would gain some insight on these new feelings and whatever had just occured between her and the senshi of love.
-Minako's P.O.V.-
What the hell was that?' Minako frantically thought to herself as she speedily walked home. 'Where did that come from? Why did she say she loves me? Why did I run away? And why did I . . . almost say it back?' Sure Minako fancied her comrade, she knew she liked Rei as more than a friend the moment she laid eyes on her, but these feelings that were coursing through her recently were strange. Her feelings for the fire senshi had somehow developed into something much deeper without her knowledge or approval.
As Minako quietly crept into her house and laid down in her bed she couldn't help but feel guilt fill her gut as she remember the way that Rei looked at her when she walked away, leaving her hurt and exposed. As the blonde slowly started to drift off to sleep, trying to push these concerning thoughts and events from her mind, the only thing she could see was the hurt look in Rei's eyes.
-Flashback-
Venus stood at the landing pad with her subordinates Mercury and Jupiter waiting for the much anticipated arrival of their final member. 'The Martian is running late.' She thought to herself irritably as she fidgeted in place. She hated standing still and all of this waiting was getting on her last nerve.
"What do you think is taking so long?" Jupiter sighed, looking up at the sun. It was a hot day on the moon and she would much rather be in the shade enjoying herself.
"Maybe the Martian didn't want to come with or got bored on the shuttle and killed everyone. I hear they're quite a savage race." Minako grinned over at her friend.
"I doubt that." Ami looked over at her captain wearily, the sun taking it's toll on her as well.
Before the group could continue on with their theories they saw the shuttle starting to land, causing the Venusian's long gold cape to blow in the wind. 'Finally.' The blonde thought with a sigh of relief. The shuttle landed with a soft thud and with a low hiss the door slowly opened. The blonde watched with great interest as she saw long legs descend down the steps. Her eyes slowly traveled up tan legs, perfectly shaped hips, a tight stomach, perfect breasts, and then finally she came face to face with the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. Her hair was as dark as night and her eyes sparkled as if the gods themselves had stolen the stars and put them in her eyes. Her lips were in a tight line and her posture was perfect, her crimson cape flowing behind her, giving her the look of a serious soldier. Getting lost in the Martian's devastating features the senshi of love almost forgot why she was there in the first place until she received a light nudge from Jupiter.
"Welcome." Minako's Venusian instincts took over as she smiled the most charming smile she could muster in the Martian's direction, holding out her hand for her new subordinate to shake. "I'm your commander and captain, but you can just call me Minako."
Minako couldn't help but feel perplexed when the Martian looked at her hand with distaste and simply nodded. "Commander." She said dryly before she looked to Mercury and Jupiter. "And you must be my comrades." The foreigner walked up to the two coolly, shaking their hands with a light smile.
"I'm Ami." The blunette shaked her new comrade's hand politely.
"And I'm Makoto." Juptier stepped forward, shaking the Martian's hand as well.
"I'm assuming you're from Mercury." Rei tilted her head in Ami's direction. "And you're from Jupiter. Correct?" The dark haired girl looked over at Jupiter as both girls nodded in unison. "I'm Rei. I look forward to working with you."
"And we do as well." Venus chimed in, trying to gain the newcomer's attention.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I traveled a long way and I'm quite tired. Would you mind showing me to my chambers?" Rei completely ignored the blonde's statement, directing her question at the Jovian and Ami.
"Of course you are. Here, your quarters are this way." Mercury sent an apologetic look in Minako's direction as she and Makoto lead Rei to her room.
When the girls were out of sight Minako let her pent up frustration out. "What the hell was that?" 'She didn't even look in my direction!' The blonde thought furiously to herself. As one of the descendants of Aphrodite she wasn't used to being ignored. It was unheard of. Whenever she put the charm on she always got what she wanted and yet the Martian acted as if she didn't even exist. Storming into the dining hall Minako was met with the sight of Ami and Makoto sipping on some water as she took her seat at the table. "What the hell is her problem?" Minako mumbled grumpily as she grabbed a glass of water herself, chugging it down. "I was nothing but charming and nice to her and she treated me as if I was diseased."
"She's probably still just sore. A lot of Martian's are." Ami commented, grabbing some grapes.
"Sore? About what?" Minako raised an eyebrow.
"The fighting pits in Mars." Jupiter chimed in.
"But that was over a hundred years ago." Minako sighed. "I'm not responsible for my ancestors actions. I didn't go and spectate. I didn't pit the Martian's against each other for sport."
"No, but I don't think the Martians care. You must know that since Aries pledged his love to Aphrodite and offered his people as mere servants for Venusians as a token of his undying love for her that there has been civil unrest between the two civilizations. There hasn't been much communications since the Martian's betrayed Arie's wishes between any of the other planets. The only ones who stay in contact are those from Jupiter, because they share similar interests." Ami shrugged. "I'm sure she'll warm up to you. It will just take time. I mean, she seemed pretty nice to me."
"Well that's because you don't have blonde hair and your people didn't overstep their bounds." Makoto grinned.
"I didn't do anything." Minako sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. This was going to be tough.
-End Flashback-
Minako jolted awake, her eyes wide as she processed the vivid memory of the first time her and Rei met. Even back then she was immediately attracted to the Martian, but received very little attention from the girl. "That was odd." The blonde mused to herself as she slowly got out of bed. 'I didn't realize Rei didn't like me at all when we first met . . .' Even though it was just a memory, she couldn't help but feel hurt at the raven haired girl's reaction the first time she saw her.
When she looked over to the clock Minako let out a groan and flopped back down when she realized it was 10:30 and she was already late for training. To say things would be awkward between her and Rei would be an understatement.
-Rei's P.O.V.-
The fire senshi stayed up all night in front of the flames, the flashback running through her mind over and over again. 'Well that was no help at all.' Rei let out a frustrated sigh as she looked over at the clock and saw it was 8 am. 'Looks like I won't have any time for sleep.' She dragged herself up out of her sitting position and headed into the shower, thinking back on the flashback. 'I sure didn't like Minako when I first met her. Maybe I had the right idea back then.' She smiled a little to herself, remembering the blonde's reaction to her indifference, but frowned at the memory of the fighting pits. 'Martians fought to the death just for the Venusian's amusement. To them death was nothing more than a sick game . . .' Getting herself dressed in the proper attire for running and fighting Rei looked over at the clock and saw she still had an hour before training would begin. "There's no harm in getting a jump start on things I suppose." With that said the fire senshi grabbed her ipod, blasting her music, trying to drown out the awful thoughts of death and gold hair as she headed to the abandoned track the others would eventually meet up at.
The Martian arrived at the track 30 minutes early and immediately started running laps, hurtling over object strategically placed in the way as thoughts of the past and last night plagued her mind. 'I still don't get it. Why would she just leave like that? Why did I blurt that out? It's not like I liked her in the past so that can't be why I said it . . . There's no way I could possibly love her. She's careless, stubborn, opinionated, overly flirty, pretty . . . nice, smart, caring . . ." Rei stopped in her tracks the moment her thoughts started turning on her. 'No, no, no. I can't think like that. I can't love her. I mean even if I did why would it matter? She made it very clear last night she doesn't feel the same way.' Rei looked bitterly down at the ground and was about to start running again before she got too lost in her own thoughts when she heard her friend yell out to her.
"Oi! You're here early Rei-chan!" Makoto smiled jogging over to her comrade, but frowned when she saw the look on Rei's face. "Hey Rei . . . is everything alright?"
"Peachy." Rei threw an obviously fake smile in Jupiter's direction before she started to take off in a run, unfortunately for her Makoto was just as fast as her. She was one of the only people that could actually keep up with the Martian.
"Well you don't seem 'peachy.' Did something happen?"
"No." Rei kept it short.
"Did Usagi do something stupid again?" Makoto raised an eyebrow, keeping pace with her comrade.
"Nope."
"Your grandpa?"
"No."
"Is it Minako?" Rei remained silent and slowed her run down to a walk when Makoto mentioned the blonde's name.
"I don't want to talk about it." Mars sighed as she looked back to the ground.
"Ah, so I was right. Something is wrong." Makoto smiled and poked Rei in the ribs. "Does it have anything to do with that flashback to the silver millennium last night?"
"You saw it too?" Rei looked at the brunette incredulously.
"Of course, we all share the same memories, well not all of our memories. Some are private, but yeah, I saw it too last night. You were priceless." Makoto laughed. "I don't think in all of the years I've known Minako I've seen her so flustered."
"Well seems like she can handle herself just fine now." Rei grumbled.
"What I don't understand is why we had the flashback. Usually something has to happen for our memories to be triggered . . . wait!" Makoto grabbed Rei's arm, turning her friend to her. "Something happened last night didn't it?"
"Nothing happened." The Martian narrowed her eyes at her friend.
"Something happened." Makoto grinned knowingly.
"Nothing -"
"Sorry I'm late guys." Ami came running up to her two comrades, a light smile on her face.
"It's not like you to be late Ami-chan. I think you've been spending too much time with Usagi." Rei grinned, thankful for the welcome interruption.
"Sorry." The blunette blushed. "I was up later than I thought I would be so I had to catch up on my studying this morning."
"What kept you up so late Ami-chan? If I remember correctly you and Makoto left the party early last night." Rei's grin grew wider, her eyes shifting between her two blushing comrades.
"I uh . . . well you see . . ." Makoto and Ami stammered simultaneously.
"Why do we have to have training so early in the morning." Came Usagi's whine as she grudgingly made her way over to the group.
"It's 10:30 dumpling head!" Rei scowled at the approaching blonde. "And you're late . . . again!"
"It's uncool to show up on time Rei-chan." The princess chided. "Besides, I'm here before Minako. So you can't be angry at me."
"Speaking of which, where is Minako?" Ami looked around confused. The blonde was a bit of a ditz, but she took training seriously and was usually on time.
"Maybe she decided to skip training today after that horrible memory of Rei-chan being a jerk to her." Usagi stuck her tongue out at the guard.
"How do you know anything about that? You weren't even there." Rei narrowed her eyes at her princess.
"Well . . . you see . . ." Usagi started to sweat.
"You were spying on us weren't you!?" The pyro started stalking towards Usagi.
"I wouldn't say spying. Spying is such an ugly word." Usagi put up her hands defensively as she started backing up nervously.
"Now Rei-chan, don't do anything you'll regret." Makoto warned.
"Oh, I won't regret it." Rei was about to start chasing the blonde when a familiar voice interrupted them.
"Sorry I'm late." Minako blushed. "I accidentally got too much beauty sleep last night."
Rei stopped dead in her tracks when the cause of her lack of sleep hit her ears. She turned around to see a sheepish looking Minako, blushing lightly, refusing to make eye contact with her. "It sure doesn't show." Rei sent the blonde a glare.
"Rei . . ." Ami started, but before anyone could say anything else the raven haired girl took off running again.
'Guess I kind of deserve that.' The senshi of love thought to herself.
"What's her deal?" Makoto looked at the retreating form of her friend. "What happened last night Minako? Rei has been grumpy all morning and won't tell me anything."
"Nothing." The blonde answered a little too quickly, blushing as memories from last night came flooding into her head.
"Something obviously happened." Usagi lurked over to Minako, poking her friend in the ribs a couple of times. "You're obligated to tell me everything since I am your princess. Did you do something bad?"
"Nothing happened." Minako snapped and then took a step back, feeling bad for her outburst. "Just . . . drop it. Ok guys?" Minako looked sadly over at Rei as the Martian furiously ran, skillfully hurtling over boxes with the grace only the Martian could posses.
The three friends stood there dumbly as Minako took off in a run herself. "So we're definitely not dropping this right?" Usagi smiled over at her two guards to which they just rolled their eyes.
"We'll come up with a game plan later." Ami smiled before she took off running too.
"But-"
"Stop stalling and start running dumpling head." Rei hissed in Usagi's ear as she lapped her princess. Makoto couldn't help but laugh as she caught up with her raven haired friend, Usagi's cries and protests slowly fading further and further behind them.
A couple of hours later Rei leaned over the water fountain, greedily drinking down the water it provided as the rest of the group sat in the grass catching their breath.
"Hey . . ." Rei stood upright when she heard that familiar voice again behind her. "Can we talk?" Minako bit her lower lip, looking at the Martian's back.
"What's there to talk about?" Rei turned around, casually leaning against the wall, eyeing her commander suspiciously.
"About last night . . . I just wanted to -"
"Save it." The archer interrupted, pushing off the wall as she felt the fire that had been burning in her chest grow. "I don't want to hear it. You were drunk or you didn't mean it or you were tired or you weren't thinking right. Whatever half-assed apology you've come up with just save it. If there's one thing I've learned in all the years I've known you it's that everything is one big fucking game to you and the only way to win is to not play. So I'm out."
Minako felt tears sting her eyes as she opened her mouth to reply when she was interrupted once again. "Hey guys, we're over cardio today. Do you guys want to go get some shakes or something?" Makoto smiled, but it fell from her face when she saw the look her commander bore. "Is everything ok? What is going on?" The brunette looked back and forth between her friends.
"Nothing worth noting." Rei shot Minako another glare. "I'll skip on the shakes today. I think I need to be alone for a while. Later guys." The fire senshi started to walk away, pausing when she crossed the blonde's path. "Commander." She said curtly before she disappeared around the corner.
"Rei-chan is being especially mean today." Usagi frowned, crossing her arms.
"And for once it's not all directed at you." Ami noted before she placed a hand on her commander's arm. "Seriously Minako, what's going on?"
Minako just shook her head, barely hiding the tears that were threatening to spill over as she ran off by herself.
"I don't like seeing those two so upset . . ." Usagi looked distraught as she watched the retreating form of Minako.
"I know . . ." Makoto placed her hand on the shoulder of her princess to offer some sort of comfort. "We'll get to the bottom of this."
When Rei arrived to the shrine she immediately sat back in front of the flames, hoping to quell the growing anger and hurt she felt towards her almost lover.
-Flashback-
Mars hastily made her way to the training grounds in the palace, already running late. She cursed herself for being too tired and irritated at the sight of the Venusian to want to get a tour of the palace, making it seem like a maze and making it too easy for her to get lost in such unknown territory. She rounded the corner and when she arrived she was greeted with the sight of a very irritated looking Venus.
"So nice of you to join us." Minako smiled, sarcasm dripping from every word.
"Commander." The Martian dryly responded as she stood upright, hands behind her back, awaiting instruction as Jupiter and Mercury stopped sparring to look at their new member.
Minako had to remind herself to stay calm and not lose it when her subordinate showed up late and only responded with indifference when addressed. "As you can see we're sparring. We'll pair up and continue on since you decided to grace us with your presence." Rei had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes, she was trained better than that, as she started to walk towards Makoto. "Oh no, you won't be sparring with her." Minako couldn't help the glee she felt when she saw Rei falter, turning her confused gaze towards her. "You'll be sparring with me." Rei caught the sword her captain tossed to her on instinct, looking down at the blade and then back up at the blonde, seeing a confident, challenging gleam in those blue eyes.
The raven haired girl couldn't help but laugh. "You?"
"Yes. Me. Is that a problem?" Minako raised an eyebrow.
"I just think I'd be better matched against the Jovian." A small smirk formed on those lips Minako was so fixated on when she first met the girl.
"Better matched? We'll see about that." Minako pulled out her own sword, getting in her fighting stance, waiting for the Martian to attack which only seemed to amuse Rei even more. The raven haired girl stood there relaxed, seemingly unworried by the Venusian. It appeared as if Rei wasn't going to attack at all and the girl's attitude had finally gotten on the blonde's last nerve. Deciding she had had enough Minako went running at her subordinate, jumping to the left and then pushing off her left leg to go to the right at the last second, leaping with her sword over her head to smash it down onto that smug face. At the last second Mars took a quick step to the side and grabbed the blonde's wrist that held her sword. Minako's eyes widened as Rei used her own momentum against her and flipped her onto her back. The blonde went to stand up, but was stopped by Rei's foot on her chest. She looked up to see the Martian's sword pointed at her neck and her own a couple feet away from her.
"You attack boldly to hasten victory showing your lack of proper training." Mars looked straight into those blue eyes, her amused look gone and replaced with one of a hardened warrior. Minako didn't respond to Rei's backhanded comment, instead she just grabbed her sword and hastily stood up when the Martian stepped back. Feeling even more enraged than before Minako lifted her sword again, swinging at the pyro quickly. Rei deflected her attack and when she went to cut her head off the raven haired girl ducked and moved behind the blonde, kicking her in the back, sending the blonde stumbling forward. Venus turned around in time to see Mars coming at her swinging her own sword. The blonde barely deflected the attack before another came her way. The two were in a lock when Minako stopped the second assault, both pushing as hard as they could against their swords, waiting for one to lose their footing; Minako grit her teeth as she felt her strength leaving her. The blonde looked confused as she saw a smirk form on the Martian's face. Before she could figure out what was happening Rei headbutted the blonde, sending her stumbling back again.
Rei kept the smirk on her face as she once again took a step back, allowing her commander to compose herself. Minako closed her eyes and let out a deep breath as she tried to control her rage and focus on the task at hand. When she opened them she went running at her subordinate, swords clashed as she swung down diagonally, jumping away when Rei swung back at her. Rei jumped back barely avoiding a swing the blonde sent towards her midsection. Seeing the pyro stepping back Venus dropped to one knee, stabbing her sword forward, trying to aim for where Mars would jump next. When Rei dodged her second attack Minako jumped back up and went for another downward swing, but once again Rei was one step ahead. Ducking down and grabbing the blonde's ankle Rei flipped her commander onto her back again.
"A true warrior embraces pain and suffering until life leaves her body." Rei looked down sternly at the blonde.
Ignoring the screaming pain in her back and head Minako got back up, glaring at Rei. She went running at her subordinate one last time and was pleased when she saw the Martian running away. When she thought she had the archer cornered Mars jumped up, pushing off the wall with one foot to the next corner, pushing off again to land behind her. Minako stopped dead in her tracks when she felt the tip of the other's sword in her back. "How many times do I have to kill you before you're dead?" Rei laughed, lowering her sword, beginning to walk away.
Minako couldn't control herself anymore as she felt her Venus love me chain form in her hand. She quickly sent it flying at the raven haired girl, aiming to wrap it around her smug neck when Rei suddenly turned around and caught it with her wrist. They were caught in a weird tug of war as the chain hissed against the Martian's skin. "How fitting . . ." Rei growled. "For a Venusian's weapon to be a whip." Both girls silently struggled for control of the chain as they stared each other down. Before too long Rei pulled her arm back and sent Minako flying forward. When she rolled onto her back she was met once again with the sight of Mars standing over her. "You should stick to what you're best at Venusian. Lying on your back."
The blonde stood up quickly as the Martian left the training ground. "Fucking savage."
AN: Well there it is folks, I hope you all liked it :) I appreciate all the awesome feedback from you guys and I hope to receive more.
: Thanks for the feedback, talking to you really got the ball rolling on this story :) I'm glad you like the banter and the action. Hopefully I didn't disappoint in this chapter Thunderfall: Poor Rei is right, but I think Minako got hers in this chapter. Karma is a bitch lol Reinako1: Thanks for noticing the chemistry I tried to show between Rei and Minako on the battlefield. I thought the chemistry would go unnoticed :) Salvasti: The whys and hows of everything will come up in time :) I can only hope my story will be as crazy and sporadically awesome as yours. Nice to see you're reading it :) Sky King Haruka Tenoh: I love that you liked the banter as well between characters and are questioning who "he" is. I really want to say something about "him", but I hate spoilers so you'll find out about "him" in time :)