Authors Note: Sprained my wrist in a fall. The chapter is short because I didn't get to finish it, but I wanted you all to have it. Going to use voice typing on my phone to do next chapter and then edit it on the computer. Sorry the chapter is so rough. I promise to come back and edit it later.
Devotion: A Valentine's Story
Holiday Series: Book Three
Chapter Three
***Rei's POV***
The girls were sitting around the table, all of them busy with various projects. Rei found it interesting that there was so much they had been taught by the four adults in all of their lives.
Doctor Mizuno had been working with Ami, who wanted to be a doctor, on various medical terms and Minako had been sucked into the study. It seemed she had secret dreams of being a nurse.
Grandfather Hino had taught Rei much in the way of divination and she was currently working with Setsuna and young Hotaru, who seemed to have natural proclivities. Setsuna was linked to time and because of that had a sense of the future. Hotaru however was a mystery. Reid didn't understand how she had such a clear understanding, but it was true that she did.
Makoto seemed to have found a kindred spirit in Ikuko, who did several types of crafts, loved to cook, and raised various plants. Ikuko had several girls working on various crafts she had taught them, everything from creating their own candles to scrapbooking. She thought it was adorable how Michiru and Haruka had taken to the last project and were documenting everything about Hotaru.
Usagi and Natsume were both working on a project for Kenji. Both had shown inclinations towards an activity Rei wasn't sure was very good for them, but that Kenji insisted would be helpful for at least a few of them to know. Lockpicking. Rei shook her head about it, but she found it rather interesting that both girls seemed to enjoy their project so much.
Rei herself was worried about other things. Namely being on time for the cultural festival at her old Catholic school. She'd been away less than a month, and had promised to help as many of the girls had no idea about fortune telling in its various forms in Japan. Rei had been taught along withher miko duties.
She had made a promise to be there an hour before the festival began to set up, but if they had to wait for the guys to get out of school, she might be late.
Usagi apparently noticed that she was distracted. "What's wrong?"
Rei turned to Usagi. "You know how I promised to help with the cultural festival at my old school?"
Usagi nodded. "Of course. We all promised to go."
"I want to get there an hour early like I promised. Do you think we should have the guys meet us there?"
Minako moved in and put arms around both girls' shoulders. "As long as we stick together," she warned. "None of us should be alone."
"I just want to make sure everything is set up for my booth," Rei explained. "I said I'd do it and I don't want to break my word."
"Then we'll go right after school," Usagi said.
"At least Seijoru would be there," Natsume said. "Some of the girls are in different schools, but if we all stick together we should be fine."
"The only ones I really worry about are Hotaru and Shingo," Minako said. "I like the larger groups. It's harder to get close that way."
"Well they stick together," Haruka interjected. "I worry too, but they've both promised to stay close to each other on the way there and back. If it's still a concern we could always walk with them."
"We can talk about that at a meeting," Usagi said. "Right now, we need to focus on Rei's issue. Do you need any of us to do anything, or bring anything?" she asked.
***Haruki's POV***
"No. No. No!" Kunzite said, sounding frustrated. Haruki looked up and met his eyes, unsure what he was doing wrong. "Both hands on the hilt. Now spread your legs. Good. Good. Okay, now focus on your posture. You have to be loose, but upright."
Haruki nodded and tried to follow the instructions. It was difficult to get it right. Kunzite at least had access to parts of his memory. Haruki only had vague images. It was frustrating. He knew he needed to work harder because of it, and he was trying, but the other man seemed frustrated that he wasn't remembering what he had known before.
He met Shingo's eyes, wondering what his young cousin thought of the lessons. They had both been working with the others men, Usagi, and Minako most of the evening. He wasn't sure why Usagi and Minako needed sword practice, but he hesitated to ask unless it brought up bad memories from their previous lives, or what had happened with Beryl and Metallia.
Mamoru was a bit confusing as well. His hero form didn't use a sword. At least not that he had seen. He wasn't sure why the prince was so determined to learn. Haruki realized he had more questions than answers, but as much as he wanted to find out, he didn't want to ask.
"Why do you want to learn the sword Usagi?" Shingo asked beside him. The boy was panting.
"I have to to use my birthright," Usagi explained.
"And Minako?"
"The Holy Sword," Minako said. "To be used in defense of the Royal family. I am the leader of the Princess' Gado. Her personal guards. As such, and because of my bloodline, I am the only one trained to use the sword."
"And Mamoru?" Shingo asked.
Mamoru grinned. "Several reasons. My birthright for one. I also use a sword in my princely form. And I enjoy it."
"Oh."
"Enough gabbing," Kunzite said, moving toward the younger boy. "You need to work on your balance."
Haruki hid a grin. He wondered though. What did Usagi and Mamoru mean by birthright?
***Usagi's POV***
The girls and Seijoru made their way to the T*A Girl's Academy. It was a bright and sunny afternoon and all of them were in a good and happy mood. Minako was busy telling them all about her date with Kunzite.
Usagi thought it was sweet that Kunzite planned to take her to the park where they had met the day they remembered who they were. The boy had been seeing her there for weeks before they finally both felt the pull that afternoon when Usagi, Mamoru, and the twins were all in danger. He just hadn't gathered the courage to introduce himself before then.
They arrived at the school and Rei went to change into her fortune teller garb, while Usagi and Makoto were sent to grab the candles Rei wanted.
Suddenly they stumbled upon a girl who was sobbing uncontrollably. She was in one of the booths, wearing the school uniform, so she wondered what was wrong.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
The girl shook her head. "She said I'm going to die. That I'm going to get cancer and die."
"Who said that?"
"The fortune teller." The girl was sniffling.
"Rei just got here, and she would never say something like that," Usagi insisted.
"Not her. The other one. We told her we already had a fortune teller, but she didn't listen. She said she could do it better and started telling all of us how we were going to d-die." The girl whimpered.
"What is wrong with her?" Usagi asked angrily, listening to the sobs of the teenage girl. "Here, come with me. We'll go talk to Rei and she'll fix this. Don't listen to that person. She's just trying to scare you," She wrapped her arms around the girl and led her to the tent where Rei was set up. Makoto followed, a growling shadow.
"This is so wrong," she said. "No one should do that!"
Usagi continued to comfort the weeping girl. "Get the others to stop people from going into her tent. Rei can talk to her."
Makoto sent a message to Ail and An and Usagi nodded, thankful they had the others to help until the other Senshi and the guys arrived. She walked the girl past several booths before scratching on the outside of the tent where Rei had just finished setting up.
"Rei, someone needs your help," Usagi said, and explained that the new girl had been predicting other student's deaths. Rei growled angrily and pulled the girl in to sit in the comfortable chair.
"First," Rei said. "No one can predict your death, as that is quite likely to change. Second, no one should predict your death. But, let me take a look, okay?"
Usagi watched as Rei checked the cards, then used the flame. She was frowning and obviously very upset. She gave the girl long words of comfort, then she patted her on the back and stepped out of the tent.
"Where are you going?" Usagi asked.
"I'm going to stop that witch before she causes any more harm."
***Rei's POV***
Rei entered through the doorway of the tent, knowing Minako was going to go in through the back while Usagi went to talk to one of the nuns about removing Koan from the festival.
"I've come to talk to you about what you're doing," Rei said as she entered.
"What do you mean?" the other woman asked.
"If you do have the ability to read the future, you also have the responsibility of knowing what should and should not be told to your customers," Rei hissed. "You can't go around telling people when they're going to die. That's not how fortune telling works. You can only focus on what can be changed or what should be known. No one needs to know how they're going to die.
The girl smiled. "She was annoying," she said. "I was just getting her out of my hair."
"I'm shutting you down," Rei said. "You don't deserve the name fortune teller. Your booth is closed."
"And what gives you the right to tell me what to do?" the girl asked.
"I know how to tell fortunes. We don't need two booths. I'm trained and won't scare people. You are not wanted."
"You're trained? Shinto?"
Rei nodded.
"I am Koan," she said. "I've come to recruit you as the newest member of the Black Moon Clan," she continued, giving Rei a sickeningly sweet smile.
Rei glanced at Minako, who was standing in the shadows at the back of the tent. Koan hadn't noticed her arrival. As she watched, Minako sent a silent signal to the others through the communicator.
"I'm sorry. Who?" she played for time.
"The Black Moon Clan," Koan said. "You are Sailor Mars. We want you to join us."
"I'd rather not," Rei told her.
Koan laughed. "I don't remember giving you a choice. Why do you think you were the first to be targeted? You're all alone here. You can come willingly, or I can take you. Either way, you are coming. The only choice you have is how much pain you endure before you become one of us."
Minako raised her eyebrows, indicating the others were ready. That meant they were already transformed. She slid her own transformation pen out of her subspace pocket on her legs. "I hate to disappoint you," she said. Looking at Koan. "But you've miscalculated."
She raised the pen. A moment later orange and red flames had surrounded her and she became Sailor Mars. She saw that Venus was now standing behind Koan.
"I'm not alone," she continued.
Koan's outfit had also changed, becoming a pink and purple pinstriped onesie with a purple tutu around her waist. Mars thought she looked a bit ridiculous. But Koan threw out an attack the moment she changed and the tent caught fire.
Mars threw herself at Venus and knocked both of them out of the tent and into safety. Koan rushed out behind them and stood over both girls. "Do you really think two Senshi can defeat me?" she asked.
"There aren't just two," Sailor Moon said, moving forward. Sailor Jupiter was next to her, and flanking them were Ail and An.
Mars gave a grim smile at Koan. "I think you miscalculated," she said grimly. "I won't be joining the Black Moon Clan, and now you've tipped your hand. Your mission is a failure."
Venus stood and moved to stand with the others to give Mars the chance to speak for herself.
Koan growled, then lifted her hand and waved at the ground. A wall of flame erupted between Mars and the other Senshi.
"We don't need their intererence," she said with a wicked smile.
Mars felt a sliver of fear. She wasn't used to fighting on her own. She'd always had the others with her. She pushed the panic away and stood tall, shoulders straight. She would not back down. And she most certainly wouldn't let this girl defeat her.
***Jadeite's POV***
Jadeite was frustrated. It seemed like the class had gone on forever and he wanted to get to the cultural festival. He had promised Ikuko he would take some photos, but more than that he wanted to see Rei himself.
He suddenly felt a powerful urge to get to Rei. He didn't understand why, but he wasn't going to ignore it. The bell had just rung. He didn't wait for the others, simply hurried to the bathroom and transformed, then teleported to where she was.
West Knight saw a wall of black flame.
***Rei's POV***
She lifted her hands and threw her attack. "Burning Mandala!" she shouted. She felt the strength of the flames filling her before they burst out from the circles that had formed.
A moment later she felt the dark fire hit her and was knocked back. Koan surrounded Mars with the dark fire. She screamed as it cut her off from the rest of the group even further. She felt it closing in over her and knew she had no escape.
Panic threatened, but before she could give in, she felt the impact of another body hitting her own. It was likely her rib was broken on contact, but she felt herself flying through the air, a pair of warm, familiar arms wrapped around her.
She landed on top of West Knight, who grunted as he hit the ground. His clothing was singed and torn and there was blood on his chest where the dark fire had burned him. His eyes were closed, his face scrunched in agony, but his hands continued to clutch at her convulsively.
Something inside Mars broke. Anguish filled her. West Knight was her soulmate, and her fire would not harm him. That dark fire could have killed her too then. And he was injured. She saw burns over his face and neck. Heat welled up in her chest and she pulled carefully from his arms and turned to look at the young woman who had tried to kidnap her and had hurt her mate.
A scream tore from her lips. "Mars Fire-Bird Strike!" she screamed and watched as the other woman was blasted backwards.
Sailor Moon had broken free and rushed to heal West Knight, but once it was done she moved to flank Mars.
"Do you think she can be healed?" Mars asked her.
"I have to believe anyone can," her friend said, a determined look on her face.
"Do it," Mars said, keeping the bird of flame hovering over the woman who had attacked them.
The Moon Wand was out and Sailor Moon was silent as a silvery light flowed from the scepter toward Koan. The others had joined them, having finally passed the wall of flame.
West Knight made his way to her, fully healed now, and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Are you alright?" he whispered into her ear, making her shiver.
Mars nodded. "I'm okay."
"You've changed?"
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.
"Your choker and earrings changed. And that attack was far more powerful than your old ones."
"I didn't realize," she whispered.