Rei got off the city bus and started walking down the street to Minako's house. She saw both of her parents' cars where gone and figured they were still at work. She walked the familiar steps to the front door and found the spare key hidden in the potted plant sitting on the front porch. She had been over here so many times Minako had shown her where it was hidden in case she ever needed to get in. Rei opened the door and looked around as she stepped inside. "Minako? It's Rei. Are you down here or upstairs?" she called. There was no reply, but she figured Minako was asleep in her room. Rei left her shoes by the door as she turned the deadbolt back and headed for the stairs.

She knocked twice on the door before she opened it slowly. "Mina? You awake?" she asked softly as she walked into the room. She saw Minako lying on her bed with her covers half thrown off in the floor. She seemed to be still asleep. When Rei entered the room, she instantly felt her senses go on alert. She stopped about a foot into the room and narrowed her eyes as she scanned to see if anything was out of the ordinary. Everything seemed in order, but she couldn't relax as she walked the rest of the way to Minako's bed. Artemis popped his head up from where he had been curled up next to her as she approached them. Rei walked softly across the floor and pulled a chair up next to the bed. She looked at Artemis and noted the worry on his face as she turned her eyes to take in Minako's appearance.

She looked terrible. Her complexion was extremely pale and her bangs were stuck against her forehead from sweat. Her right hand was clenched in her sheets but her left one lay flat by her side. Her eyes were shut like she was sleeping but she looked anything but peaceful. Rei felt like someone was squeezing her heart as she took in the sight of the girl she cared so deeply for feeling so miserable.

She clenched her teeth and exhaled through her nose as she turned to Artemis. She tried to keep her voice even as she softly started talking to him.

"So how's she been doing? She doesn't look so great."

He looked at the sleeping Minako. "I know. I've been here a couple hours and there really hasn't been much change. She was having some kind of nightmare earlier, but it seems to have passed. She's just been sleeping all day really."

"Nightmare? What happened?"

Artemis frowned as he looked over at Minako. "She was whimpering in her sleep and she thrashed around for a bit. That's when she knocked all her covers off. I think it passed pretty quickly though, because after that she lay still and has just been sleeping quietly since."

Rei frowned as she looked back at Minako. She reached her hand over to feel her forehead. She felt hot to the touch and Rei's worry increased. She stood up and went to make a cold compress in the bathroom.

"I'll stay with her if you need to head on out Artemis. Aren't you meeting with Luna and Ami in a little while?"

He nodded as he looked at the clock. She knew he cared for Minako very much and was just as worried as she was. He had been her guardian for many years. "Yeah, I should probably start heading that way. I can't exactly take the bus. You'll call me if anything…happens..." he trailed off.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to her." Rei reassured him as she sat back down by the bed. She rubbed the white fur on his head gently with her hand and gave him a small smile as he jumped off the bed and left the room.

Rei turned her attention back to Minako. She smoothed her bangs away from her forehead and lightly ran the back of her hand along her cheek. She put the cold compress on her forehead and dabbed it on her neck. The blonde didn't move or flinch at her touch. She hated seeing Minako sick like this. Her best friend was normally so full of life it was quite distressing to see her so weak and pale.

Minako's spirit was one of the things Rei was most drawn too. She had a tremendous light and strength about her. It shone brightest when Minako was Sailor Venus. Rei had been in awe the first time she had seen the golden senshi, and had never once doubted following her leadership. She brought a steadiness to the team. It's no wonder she's the one who can wield the Silver Crystal sword with the most ease. The weapon of the Silver Millennium technically could be used by any of the senshi, but they all knew it was Minako's. It was an object of great power and great light in the fight against evil, despite the weapon's tragic history. Princess Serenity had taken her life on it in their past. Rei asked her once why she still used it when so much sadness clung to it. She remembered her response vividly. "I'm rewriting its history. This sword is forged from Silver Crystal and strikes fear into any evil that gazes upon it. It will be remembered as the weapon that saved Serenity instead of the one that took her life. I can't let fear and sadness be its legacy. Or ours."

Rei often carried the weight of the future on her shoulders due to her ability to see premonitions. There was always an opportunity to try changing things and possibly affect the outcome. They always had a chance to save the future. Minako carried the weight of the past. Rei knew she had the most memories intact of any of them and took responsibility for their failure to save the Silver Millennium. She didn't talk about it, but Rei could just tell from the way she acted when it came up. The difference between them was that Rei could lighten her burden if they were able to stop her visions of the future, but Minako would never able to change what happened in the past. And this broke Rei's heart.

She reached for Minako's left hand that was lying on the bed closest to her. Rei instantly dropped her hand when she touched her, recoiling in shock at how cold her hand felt. She was expecting it to be warm, especially with her fever, but it was cold as ice. She quickly reached across to feel her other hand that was balled in a fist, but it felt normal to the touch. Rei checked the rest of Minako's left arm and it was cold all the way up to the bandages. She pulled her robe back and ran her fingers along her collarbone. The chill seemed to be isolated to the left side of her body. Something was definitely wrong. Rei started to reach for her communicator to call for some help when it suddenly clicked in her brain what was going on. She looked at Minako for a split second before she jumped to her feet and ran to the bathroom.

Rei grabbed the candle she knew Minako kept in there as well as a lighter and hurried back to the bed. I could do this without a flame, but it always works better when I have a fire to focus with. She kneeled in front of her friend and placed the candle on the nightstand. She lit the wick and closed her eyes as she began to meditate. She took a few deep breaths to calm her racing pulse as she opened her mind to her surroundings.

She knew there had been something else in the room when she walked in, but she originally thought it was just her anxiety. Rei reached out around her, as her mind's eye surveyed the room. She focused on Minako in front of her and was horrified by what she saw. When Rei was in her meditative state, other people were recognizable to her by their auras. Minako's was normally a bright golden orange; warm as the sun. When she looked in front of her now, she saw only a dim glow and a darkness that covered the left side of her body. And it was slowly spreading.

She's been infected with an evil spirit.

Rei was breathing hard when she opened her eyes, fear having a firm grip on her heart. She took a moment to take a few deep breaths and get her composure back before she acted. She had helped many people infected with evil presences before, both as a priestess and sailor soldier, but this was different. This is Minako. She had to get it right.

Rei reached for her school bag and pulled out a white strip of cloth that she could use as an ofuda to purify Minako of the evil spirit. She used ink and a brush from Minako's desk and quickly jotted down the appropriate symbols on the cloth. She stood up with the finished ofuda and narrowed her eyes at the bed. Rei welcomed the fire growing in her chest as feelings of protection and righteousness coursed through her veins. She closed her eyes and held the talisman in front of her forehead as she started the ritual.

"I call upon the Power of Mars. Great Fire, purify this evil from its host. Cause her no harm and return her as she was. Release her soul back to the light. Akuryo Taisan! EVIL SPIRITS, BEGONE!"

The fire in the candle flared brighter as Rei swiftly placed the ofuda on Minako's forehead and stepped back. All was silent for a moment, then Minako's back arched and she screamed out in pain. The candle went out on the nightstand and light was blocked out from the window. Minako sat straight up in bed and snapped her head to the side to look at Rei. The miko held her ground as the possessed girl got out of bed and faced her. Her eyes were pitch black and her face was void of any emotion. A blast of dark energy surged from her body across the room at Rei. She was knocked to the floor with a grunt, but quickly got back to her feet. She stood still for a moment waiting to see if she would be attacked again. When nothing happened, Rei took one step closer.

"Mina? It's Rei. Can you hear me? I know you're in there." She said slowly.

Minako did not make any indication that she understood a word. She had ripped her robe and bandages off and stood naked in front of Rei. Blood was dripping down her arm from her injury. Fear started to creep in, but Rei pushed any insecurity to the back of her mind. She had to be strong for Minako.

She took another step forward. "Minako, I know you're here. You're the strongest, bravest, most loving person I know. There's no way this evil spirit can beat you." She slowly inched her way forward closer to her friend, being careful to make no sudden movements. "I won't let anything happen to you Mina, you're too important to me. I should have told you sooner, about my feelings for you. You bring out a side of myself I never knew I had, never knew I could feel. I felt a connection with you the moment we met. Don't you remember? You were disguised as the Princess to protect her. You were the only one who could pull the Silver Crystal sword from its pedestal. You were the one who killed Beryl. With you, we were finally a complete team. You were the missing piece." She had was only a few feet away from her now.

"It started as friendship between us, but it's grown into so much more. You're who I wake up thinking about in the morning and before I go to sleep. I'm a better person because of you. I've never been able to open up well to people, but I can with you. When I'm with you, I don't feel alone. I can't imagine my life without you in it… I love you, Mina." Tears were threatening to fall from Rei's eyes as she stood in front of Minako. The air was incredibly cold as she reached her hands out to take Minako's arms. As soon as she touched her, a shock went through her body as the spirit in Minako resisted.

Cold energy tried to push her back, but Rei held on. She managed to get her arms around Minako and pulled her into her chest. She closed her eyes as she felt her hair whip around in the cold wind that had begun swirling around the two girls. She felt cut marks sting her cheek and arms as the energy was ripping into her, but still she held on. "Mina, please, it's me Rei." She could feel the evil radiating off of her friend's body. She was terrified she was loosing her. No, I won't let that happen. She turned her head so her lips were right next to her ear. "Please Mina. Let me save you from this darkness," she whispered.

All at once the wind stopped. She felt Minako stiffen and then cry out in a high pitched scream as the evil spirit left her body. Rei shut her eyes as the sound tore through her like physical pain, but she refused to release her hold. Rei held Minako tight as she grew quiet and fell limp against her. She quickly lay her back down on the bed behind her and covered her naked body with a sheet. She saw the golden symbol of Venus starting to fade from her forehead, which meant her senshi spirit was in control again. Rei also saw the flame on the nightstand out of the corner of her eye had relit itself.

Rei placed both her hands on the sides of Minako's head, as she anxiously looked her over. "Mina? Please, open your eyes." She pleaded. Several minutes went by but Rei didn't move. Minako's skin was starting to feel warm again under her fingers. After what felt like an eternity, Rei was looking into the blue eyes she loved so much. Minako blinked several times as she tried to focus her eyes. "Rei? What…what happened?" she asked weakly. Rei smiled and let out a half hysterical laugh as she hugged Minako. She felt Minako wrap her arms around her and they held each other for several minutes before they finally broke apart.

"Oh, it's a really long story. How are you feeling?" she asked as she brushed Minako's hair away from her eyes.

"I feel tired, but that's about it I guess. The last thing I remember is when Ami visited me this morning. And then…" she trailed off as she tried to remember the gap in time. Rei offered her a glass of water from her nightstand and Minako took a few small sips before she continued. "I remember a forest. And darkness. Then cold and nothing." She frowned. "I saw a fire off in the distance, but I couldn't move towards it, even though I wanted to. There was dark fog everywhere and a voice in the back of my head telling me everything that I fear the most," she paused as she looked up at Rei for a moment with sadness in her eyes. Rei realized she didn't know what Minako's greatest fear was, and she wondered what it could be. Serenity being killed? One of us? The Negaverse destroying the world? What is that I see in her eyes?

Minako took a shaky breath and continued on with her recollection. "Anyway, I was starting to get pulled back into the dark when I heard a new voice coming from the direction of the fire. It was telling me all kinds of encouragement and I could feel warmth again." A ghost of a smile crossed her lips. She sat in silence for a moment before she snapped her eyes back to Rei. "Wait, the new voice, it was you wasn't it?"

Rei smiled as she nodded her head. It all made perfect sense to her now. "You were infected with an evil spirit. It had to be from the youma attack yesterday. The darkness was spreading from your left side which is where you were hurt. You must have passed through its essence without realizing it, and the spirit took advantage of your weakened defense from the injury. That's why your shoulder didn't heal properly. It turns out it was an infection. Not physical but spiritual. I felt something in the room when I walked in but I didn't realize it was the evil spirit until I was closer to you."

Minako lay her head back on her pillow as she let this new information soak in. She reached her hand up and brushed her thumb over Rei's cheek. The fire senshi felt a flutter in her stomach at her touch. "These cuts, are they from, me?" Minako asked with a pained expression. Rei grabbed her hand and her violet eyes burned as she looked at Minako. "No. It was not from you. It was the youma spirit." She said firmly. "Don't worry about it, they don't hurt. I'll be good as new by tomorrow." Minako's eyes looked away and Rei knew she was feeling guilty. She shouldn't.

"Hey," she said gently as she placed her hand on the side of Minako's cheek. She could feel the heat building in her chest as she leaned closer. "I would do anything in my power to bring you back. Every. Time. If it meant walking to hell and back, I would do it in a heartbeat. I wouldn't even blink. You're the most important person in the world to me, Mina. I love you." Her heart was beating a mile a minute as she bore her soul to the girl in front of her. It felt like the most right thing she had ever done in her entire life. She was only inches from the other girl's face now. Minako had tears forming in her eyes, but the weren't from sadness.

"Oh Rei, I've loved you for so long. When I first met you, I thought you were the most beautiful person I had ever seen. I still think you are. Sometimes it scared me how much I cared for you. I was terrified you could never love me back."

Rei shook her head. "It may have taken me a while, but I'm here now. And I'm not planning on going anywhere." She closed the distance between them as she shut her eyes and pressed her lips against hers.

Minako's lips were soft and warm as she returned the kiss. Rei had only been kissed a few times in her life, but none of them ever felt like this. Her entire body was awakening to the sensations. Heat was traveling from her chest down her frame as she let herself be lost in the hunger. She shifted her weight so she was laying mostly on top of Minako as she felt a magnetism in her body to be closer to her. Minako wound her fingers into Rei's hair and around her neck as she pulled Rei's body down on hers. Rei moved her hand up Minako's cheek and felt wetness on her face. She opened her eyes and pulled back an inch to look at her face. Tears were falling, but Minako was smiling. Rei wiped the tears away gently and kissed each cheek softly where they had fallen. She buried her head against the crook of Minako's neck and inhaled her scent. "This feels so right" she sighed.

"And so familiar." Minako added.

"What do you mean?" Rei asked.

"Have you ever had any dreams or visions of the Silver Millennium? Any that involved us? When I came to realize I had feelings for you, they began for me. They started out small, little glances we had shared or secret kisses. But they grew more intense as the feelings have grown. Last night, I had a really powerful one between us. We were actually in this same position at one point, except I was the one on top and nestled in against your neck." Rei sighed as she tried to picture the memory Minako was describing to her.

"And I had clothes on. Why am I naked by the way?"

Rei sprang off Minako so fast you would have thought she had been burned. Her face turned a deep scarlet, as she sat on the edge of the bed and looked straight up at the ceiling. She had forgotten that Minako wasn't wearing any clothes under the sheets. "Um, you ripped them off when you went all exorcist on me earlier," she said not meeting the blonde's eyes. Minako started laughing at Rei's reaction. "Hey come on! It's not like you haven't seen me without my clothes on before…" she said with a sly smile.

"Yeah, but that was before, ya know, I proclaimed my love for you and all…" she mumbled back.

A grin stayed on Minako's lips as she stopped teasing and grabbed Rei's hand and kissed her knuckles. She held it against her cheek as she took in how adorable Rei was at this moment in her shyness. "Yes, you're right." She said gently. "Hand me some pajamas and I'll make myself decent again. They're over there in the top drawer of my dresser."

Rei stood up and graciously walked to grab her some clothes. She handed the top and bottoms to Minako and sat on the opposite end of the bed. Minako smiled as she took the clothes and pulled the pants on. Rei looked away as Minako stood up but watched her out of the corner of her eye. Part of her wanted to catch another glimpse at the blonde's beautiful body, but mostly she wanted to make sure she was ok. Minako had been through a lot the last 24 hours and Rei knew she would still need a few more days to fully recover. Minako stood up gingerly as she got to her feet and seemed a little shaky. She finished pulling her pajama bottoms up all the way and quickly sat down, feeling a bit woozy. She turned her back to Rei as she started to pull her shirt on.

"Wait a second before you do that. Let me look at your shoulder first." Rei said from behind her. She slid across the bed behind Minako and looked at her bare back. The wounds seemed to have finally closed but they were still red. Rei suspected that when the youma spirit had been expelled from her body, the senshi healing had kicked in full gear. She ran her finger lightly over the area around the marks. "Does that hurt at all?" she asked gently.

"Not really. Just a bit tender"

Rei ran her fingers over the rest of Minako's back as she took in the sight of her bare skin. She had seen her so many times before, but today it was like she was really seeing her for the first time. Minako was quiet as Rei lightly trailed her fingertips all over her skin. She scooted closer to Minako and gathered all of her blonde hair over the front of one of her shoulders. She leaned forward and lightly kissed her uninjured shoulder. She ran her fingers up Minako's spine and felt her shiver under her touch. "You ok? I didn't hurt you did I?" she asked as she placed a another kiss on her back. "Mmmm, no not at all" Minako cooed in front of her. Rei smiled as she nuzzled her nose in small circles along Minako's shoulder blade. "Good". She placed her hands along the small of her back and ran them horizontally around Minako's sides and over her stomach. She joined her hands over her naval and pulled her gently back against her, resting her chin on her right shoulder. Minako sank back into Rei's embrace and let her hold her for a long time. They both sat in silence enjoying the closeness and love between them.

After a while, Minako leaned forward out of Rei's arms and finished putting her pajama top on. She turned to face the raven-haired beauty on her bed and put both her arms around her neck and leaned in for a soft kiss. "Ya know, you can spend the night if you'd like. My mom's out of town for a few days and my dad probably won't be home until late from work. Nothing has to happen, we can just keep doing this and cuddle all night." She said as she leaned in for another kiss. "Besides, I shouldn't be alone in my delicate condition and all." She sighed as she lay back on the bed dramatically with her hand on her forehead as if she was having a fainting spell in some old time movie.

Rei snorted at Minako's theatrics. "Well, I suppose I could be convinced to stay. After all we both know you can't take care of yourself on a good day, let alone in your 'delicate' condition," she laughed. Minako sighed as she threw her hand up on her forehead again. "Oh thank, you madam! Thank you! You will protect me from all the savage wolves that roam theses desolate streets at night." Rei shook her head as she leaned forward to kiss Minako. The blonde giggled as she pulled her closer and threw her hands around her neck. "I'm glad you're staying Rei. It means a lot to me," she whispered. Rei smiled as she pulled back and looked at Minako. "It means a lot to me too. I love you."

"And I love you. I think I always have."

Rei smiled as she looked at the girl she held in her arms. So much had happened in only twenty-four hours she could hardly wrap her head around it all. They still had so much to talk about, but for now she was happy to just be in the moment. Minako sighed and leaned her head back against her pillow, keeping one arm around Rei. She was having trouble keeping her eyes open as the exhaustion from the day's events were catching up to her again.

Rei put her hand on Minako's forehead and still felt the faint trace of a fever. It was much better than earlier, but she still needed rest for her body to fully recover. She leaned forward and kissed the top of her head as she snuggled close to Minako. It was still early in the afternoon so she figured they could sleep for a while before she woke up to make dinner. She also had to remember to put in a call to Artemis and the others so they would know not to worry anymore. Minako settled comfortably into Rei's arms as she finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Author's Note: Ok! So we finally have a full explanation about what was going on with Mina. Basically she did in fact touch some of that fog the monster turned into by accident but she had no way to protect herself from it. Now they know what they're up against. At least some what anyway. I hope it wasn't all that confusing. Leave me a comment and I can try and clarify anything if you have a question.

I thought Rei's reaction when she remembered Minako was in the nude would be really funny and go along with her inexperience in that type of situation. I don't want their relationship to feel rushed at all, especially because it's so new! Well, in their present life anyway. They still have lots to talk about and things to define in their relationship. Plenty of fluff and steam planned for upcoming chapters, so you can all look forward to that :)

As always, thank you for reading and hope you are enjoying the story! Leave a review if you would like, and I'll try and update again soon!