Acts 19 & 20

Scene 1

Rei moved back as an errant flame shot out from the fire. It was never a good idea for her to meditate while entertaining angry thoughts. She had lost many hairs by making that mistake.

It didn't seem like the fire would be offering up much help in her Minako situation tonight. Rei couldn't figure the strange girl out at all. She might as well be walking around with a sign that said 'I am the Princess of the Moon Kingdom come and get me.'

She was sure that the media would just excuse it as customary idol behaviour, and it surely would attract the attention of their enemies very efficiently. So as far as Rei could see it was a win win for Minako.

It was the reason for this behaviour that was beyond her understanding and that is what had driven her to sit in front of the fire tonight. There was one thing that she knew for certain though, and that was that she would not be letting the idol out of her sight for a second, even if that was the kind of conduct that could bring about restraining orders.

Rei looked over at the clock hanging low on the wall opposite the fire. She hadn't realised that it had gotten so late. She was already losing sleep over this, a couple more days and it could be classified as clinical insomnia. Rei decided that she would just have to talk to Luna about it tomorrow.

Getting ready for bed she attempted to banish all conscious thoughts of Minako from her mind, all too aware that she couldn't control what her unconscious brain did. But at least she was making an effort at staying sane.

Scene 2

"Minako… Please." Artemis shook his head at his mischievous ward affectionately.

Minako laughed at the plush cat. "This one is safe I promise." Artemis eyed the box suspiciously but attempted to open it nonetheless. He was extremely relived when nothing shot out at him, made a loud screeching noise or spontaneously burst into flames.

Minako had owed Artemis for all the stress she had been causing him with the Sailor Mars situation, but she still couldn't resist playing a little prank. She did by him the extra fancy chocolates after all.

She looked once more at her homepage layout and smiled in satisfaction. She was sure that this would be more than enough to lead the Dark Kingdom to her. She also knew it would be enough to lead her new found stalker there as well. But she wouldn't tell Artemis that.

Minako fully expected to see Mars tomorrow. If she knew Mars at all she could guess that right now she was probably mulling over everything and losing a considerable amount of sleep over it. She also knew that Mars would be too stubborn to just respect her wishes and stay away and that the girl would begin searching her out as soon as tomorrow allowed her.

It would make things much easier if she just went ahead and invited Mars to join her. But this wasn't about making things easy. Nothing about this was easy.

Fire shot through her eyes and she braced herself against the desk as her knees threatened to give out.

"Minako!"

As quickly as the pain came it disappeared again. "I'm okay. But I think I should call it a night. We have a big day tomorrow." She felt sorry for Artemis, this couldn't be very easy on him. She would give anything to have the arms she remembered wrap around her right now.

But that was a thought she wasn't allowed to have. It is truly unfortunate that she has never been one to follow the rules too closely.

Scene 3

"Minako, are you okay?" She barely managed to get out a nod. The fight with Nephrite had been bad enough but adding the emotional turmoil that always existed around seeing Mars was too much to bare.

"I knew she would come." Mars was too predictable, just like in the past life. It was easy to put herself in situations that would bring the other girl out.

Artemis followed behind his charge as she made her way to a waiting car. "I don't understand why you keep creating situations to run into Mars when it causes you so much pain."

She was doing it on purpose. She knew that in the end she would always come out worse for wear. That's what happens when you want something so badly and all you're allowed is a glimpse at it from a distance. It hurts everywhere, and it is very similar to what Minako thought hitting herself with a sledgehammer would feel like. So why didn't she want to stop?

"I can't help feeling how I feel Artemis. You know that." She felt like she was leading a double life. Part of Minako was grateful to have Mars chase after her, even if Mars had no idea why she was chasing. The other part of her had to be angry at the fire Senshi so she could successfully put up a wall between the two of them. It was what she and Artemis had agreed upon. Her feelings had to come second to the mission. If only Artemis could understand how strong her feelings were.

Minako picked up the stuffed cat and ducked into the car. "This isn't easy."

Artemis put a gentle paw on Minako's arm. "I don't think it's going to get any easier either."

Scene 4

Rei was starting to sense a trend. This was the third night that she had walked home alone after an encounter with Minako. On the plus side she was getting better at paying attention to where she was going and didn't anticipate anymore unpleasant meetings with the concrete.

She was frustrated with the other girl once again. She couldn't understand why it was so important for the princess to fight alone. It only seemed logical that it would be safer in a group. Nothing that girl did made any sense at all.

Rei sat down on one of the benches outside of the shrine. She was still too worked up to go inside and concluded that it might be beneficial to her sleeping pattern if she took the extra time outside to calm her thoughts.

Sharing the princess' identity with the others was out of the question. But it was clear that she was just as visible to the enemy as Minako as she was as Venus. This wasn't going to be easy. And she had a feeling Minako wanted it that way.

But if the princess wanted to fight alone, then it only seemed to make sense that she would have to as well. Rei knew that she was the only one who could fully protect the princess. She could tell the others, but maybe it would be simpler if they didn't get involved because of all the Aino Minako hype.

Rei stood up from the bench and let out a self satisfied sigh. It was settled. She would have to sharpen her stalking skills to do it. And if Minako wanted to fight alone she would just have to live with having a shadow.

Scene 5

"Just Mars. If I can awaken just her." Everything would be perfect.

"There's that, but just don't force things." Maybe not so perfect. Artemis could always be counted on to bring her back to reality.

She had so much pressure to deal with right now. She needed Mars by her side. There was so much that Mars could do for her that no one else came close to touching. She knew she was being selfish. But she has found herself caring less as her time becomes shorter.

"I'm not so sure I could force things even if I tried." This version of Mars was decidedly slow. She was far too methodical. It made her even more predictable, but it was beginning to become an irritation.

"I know how much you want your Mars back Minako, but don't you think it might be time to give up on the fantasies?"

Minako smirked. "I'm a teenage girl living with the memory of an epic love." Underneath the cloth on her forehead she raised her eyebrow at Artemis. "Do you really think I'll be able to give up on the fantasies?"

They both knew she never would. So instead of arguing the point further Artemis looked over Minako once more and then left her to rest.