A ghost of her former self, she blinked and found herself wordlessly standing outside Ami's room number. She couldn't begin to place how she got here, nor was she even slightly prepared for what lay in wait for her on the other side. It loomed before her regardless, so she gulped and pushed through the door with a brave hand.
The room was empty of people aside from her lover and her mother.
She had been so strong when Rei had first arrived, giving orders and controlling the room. Now, she sat next to the bluenette, a limp hand held in her own, sobs racking her body.
The thought never occurred to her to turn away. Instead, the sight before her only pulled her closer, despite the dread that hung about the room. She didn't know how or when, but she had a bond with the woman now, and it seemed this weight was theirs alone to bear.
Her own feet were silent on the tile, and for moments that seemed like an eternity she stood in silence, listening to the woman's tears.
Outside the whitewashed walls, she could hear the rush of feet as the hospital went into bedlam around her, the news of the fall spreading fast. She couldn't begin to find words, the how or who. She didn't know how to begin or for whom she cried. Did she know at all? Where could she begin, and how could she accuse the man whose ring she still wore?
The requiem silence continued on, and when Ayune did speak her words were hollow, shattering the stillness of the room.
"Naku could solve the most impossible cases."
Her waterlogged eyes raised from behind her hands, and they fell to the silent body between them.
"He worked in the morgue when I met him. The more we talked, the more he appeared on the floor. I asked him why, and he told me, 'why not?"
Her features bloomed, and she smiled as the memory surfaced.
She turned shining eyes to Rei, and as she spoke the tears still ran unhindered down her face.
"Naku did the impossible. No case escaped him. He could solve the riddles after death and save them before they got there. And he could keep up with me. No matter how hard I tried, he could always keep up with me."
She laid a kiss on the hand held in her own.
"Naku was a genius. Just like my Ami."
When she turned her eyes back to Rei, there was so much pain and loss in them that Rei's own heart broke.
"I didn't see the signs. She tried to tell me. She tried. And I didn't see it."
The woman fell into a flurry of sobs in front of her, and Rei found herself moving to hold the woman, to give her comfort that she didn't have.
"I wasn't looking. She tried to tell me and I didn't see it."
She expected the woman to lean into her touch, but she pulled away, wrapping forearms in a desperate grip. The tears seeped out even as she spoke, but her voice never wavered and her grip was iron.
"You took care of her."
The miko gulped, trying failingly to pull breath into dry lungs as she kneeled down to better see the woman.
"H-Hai."
The hands on Rei's forearms moved until they cupped her face, the soft pull of hand guiding until they met eyes. The woman's eyes were grave, shining with their tears and Rei felt as a child before her.
"Take good care of her."
And Rei knew, this was her challenge as much as it was her command.
This time, it was Rei's soft features that took on a grave look. She gave an acute nod, her back straightening against the weight that had just settled upon it.
"I will."
The doctor nodded back, the exchange heavy and grim between them. With that she leaned down, laying a kiss on the woman's head as Rei leaned into it, accepting. The two woman stood, Rei's head still bent as she listened to Ayune fuss over her daughter. When they met eyes again the features of the doctor had slid over her face, business-like and professional.
A soft hand fell on her shoulder, and suddenly Rei knew where Ami got all her years of wisdom from. Though her eyes were still puffy, her face was dry, a cold sober blanketing over her features.
"You take good care of my daughter, Rei."
The miko nodded, and for the first time a single tear crawled its way down her cheek The woman had to tiptoe, but she laid a soft kiss on cheek. A soft, comforting hand trailed down her back as she walked away, and then Rei was alone in the room with her grief.
She didn't try to stop the tears when they poured out of her.
"Ayune... I need you to sit down."
The words of a female voice pulled Rei out of her fitful sleep. She opened them to see the silhouette of yet another new doctor, massaging a painful neck as she tried to shake the sleep from her eyes. She immediately stood to hear better, but the doctor was already casting her a wary look.
Ayune's voice was steely and left no room for argument.
"She stays."
With an uncomfortable cough she nodded, pulling open the folder below her. "Are you sure you don't want to sit down?" A pause, and an uncomfortable silence followed.
"You already told us there were no fluids found."
The stranger nodded.
"I know. But Ayune.."
A sigh as she tried to gather her words.
"I did an internal check... She has some slight scarring. Her... Her been hymen's broken."
The woman immediately grasped the frame of bed. Her figure straightened but she refused to move. Instead, she brought questioning eyes to Rei, the doctor following suit. A momentary pause as Rei felt trapped, the ultimate messenger in the end. Her eyes shining, she shook her head. A breath of air left Ayune, and this time she retreated to a chair as the stranger moved to help.
A sad, grief-stricken voice that Rei recognized as her own cut through the air.
"...I would never have left scars..."
The two of them nodded but otherwise did not respond. Once she was seated, the doctor's words were gentle, light against the tension in the air. "I'm sorry, Ayune. Not this time... But its happened before."
A pause, as Ayune tried to fight for breath.
"Did you find anything useful under the fingernail?"
The woman nodded.
"Hai, I did a swipe. The sample you gave me.. the hair."
Ayune's eyes were shining, but she did not turn her eyes away.
"Hai?"
"It was a match. A dead-on match."
Rei lived at the hospital.
After 16 hours by her lover's side, she was finally sent home with the combined prodding of the girls and Ayune. With a promise that her mother would not leave her side, she finally relented and headed home for a shower.
It was 2am when she appeared in the doorway of Ami's room, drawing a sharp gasp from the woman sitting by Ami's side.
"What happened?"
Rei's own eyes were bleary with exhaustion and tears.
"Couldn't sleep."
After a shower, a failed fire reading, and an hour tossing in a cold bed she had thankfully caught the final bus line. The nurses had tried to turn her away, claiming visiting hours. Rei had settled stares of deep daggers at each of them, proclaiming she was here for Ami, and had not waited for an answer as she disappeared behind the swinging doors.
The miko gulped, gesturing to the bag held in her arms.
"I brought some of her things. She might want to read..."
A warm smile blossomed on Ayune's lips, unshed tears behind her eyes. She patted the empty chair next to her.
"Come sit."
Rei had a hand held in Ami's own and feet propped up on her bed when she first opened her eyes.
It was a ghost of a twitch at first; they had slowly been getting stronger. This time when she tightened her grip it gripped back. Rei was on her feet in an instant, the book in her lap clattering, forgotten to the ground. The bluenette's eyes cracked open and focused on her immediately, and she could only see the fear and confusion in them.
"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay."
She could hear the room moving around her, but she didn't care. The woman tried to speak, but the panic in her eyes grew when she felt something obstructing her throat. Her eyes fell down to the angry blue tube sprouting from her mouth and she could see the silent scream in her eyes. Ami instinctively tried to grab it, but Rei's hand caught it in a tight grip.
And then Ayune was there with a tight grip on Ami's other side, fussing at the binding straps around her chin.
"Easy, easy, easy..."
The confusion in Ami's eyes grew tenfold as her eyes fell to the woman in front of her. Her momentary quest forgotten as her eyes fell to the familiar form of her mother's face, questions on her eyes. And then Ayune was sliding out the alien tube, the tip triggering Ami's gag refex. Ami's own eyes widened as the foreign object was pulled from her body, the pain and revulsion of it clear on her features.
Rei pulled the woman's attention back to her with a soft hand against cheek.
"You're safe. No one can hurt you here."
The bluenette turned eyes to her. She could see the word form concisely on cracked lips but no sound came out.
Who.
"Naku. He's not going to hurt you."
She laid a kiss on forehead and when Rei pulled back again the panicked eyes had softened for the first time.
"He's gone."
The panic left her eyes and her neck settled back against the pillows.
"Go back to sleep, I'm right here."
And before the words had left her lips her eyes were already falling gratefully back shut.
"Naku called me that night. I'd been with him for two years. For two years, he was the kindest, gentlest thing I had ever known. But that night, he was angry. He was... someone else."
The tears were threatening her features, but the doctor pushed on.
"He.. knew. I don't know how he knew, but he knew Ami had been to see me. And I was stupid. I pushed it to the back of my head. I was working Emergency, and there was a car crash. But then... I thought, how did he know? And why, why was this his first rash of anger?"
The fork was poised in her hand, and she waved it in dialogue as a weapon more than an eating utensil.
"Why was he so protective of my daughter? Why was he insistent on tearing us apart? And then I realized. How long? How long had he been slowly wedging us apart?"
"I should have seen it."
A plastic fork clattered and lay forgotten. Having being kicked out by the entire senshi team, neither had had the heart to leave the hospital. Now they sat in the cafeteria, picking at full plates.
The miko let out a sigh, realizing there was no other way. She placed her fork down neatly trying to make the words right.
"Ayune... I.. Ami..."
She sighed. Tact had never been her strong point. With a sigh, she gave up and plunged in.
"Eventually, you will grow old, and die. Ami will not."
The look the woman gave her was so incredulous that she had no choice but to plunge on.
"In a thousand years time, the Moon Kingdom will rise. Ami will take her place in the Royal Guard, as Sailor Mercury."
The woman's jaw dropped, but she was otherwise wordless. She swallowed, trying to wet a bone-dry mouth.
"...And I will take my place beside her as Sailor Mars."
Rei's eyes closed, and she could feel the warm trail of tears slide down her face.
"That is why you have to believe me when I say it's not your fault, but mine."
She opened her eyes to the wash of the table in front of her. Her knuckles gripped the table white. "Naku threatened her life, but he inevitably threatened her Other's as well. I think... I think that he played with her fear, so that she submitted to silence. We know that he could have easily covered up her death. Ami... Ami made a choice. She chose to bear that weight to insure the safety of Mercury, not of herself."
For the first time Ayune spoke, her words a harsh whisper that she barely heard.
"But what of my daughter?"
"Our duty supercedes our life."
She heard a gasp, but she continued on.
"It is my duty to keep her safe in this life and her Other.. It was my job to watch over her. I thought.. I thought she'd be safe with me. I thought.. I thought we had caught him..."
She could bear the blue gaze no longer and her eyes fell shut, the tears returning. She forced herself to see her again, to face this.
"I'm sorry."
And before she knew it, she was being wrapped in a hug, aquas boring into her own eyes.
"You saved her. You took on the whole world to save my daughter."
The girls were there when they weren't at school. Rei hadn't so much as considered the option, and Grandpa hadn't questioned. The visit of the others gave Rei a chance to stretch her legs and grab a bite to eat, even if it was only for a short amount of time.
She recognized one face, then another outside the door. She was positive that Minako had pointed out these faces to her at some point or another. Were they guys she was chasing? Or more likely, people that were chasing her? She stopped dead in her tracks when she turned the corner and happened upon a door laden with flowers.
The teenagers milling around the hallway only piqued her interest more, and she couldn't help but draw closer to peek her nose around the corner.
She nearly jumped out of shock when it was Setsuna that turned the corner out of the doorway, laden in a white coat and stethoscope. The woman was not nearly as surprised as Rei, who placed hands in pockets naturally as she seemed to assess the woman in front of her.
"Ah, Rei. I was expecting to see you eventually."
"I-ah-ahh. Y-You.. work here?"
A smile fell to her lips that Rei found quite unnerving. It glittered all the way to Setsuna's eyes and she could almost hear, mockingly.
I know something you don't know.
Instead, the woman wrapped a loose arm around her, effectively pulling her away from the room and all its occupants. They spoke in hushed whispers, Setsuna smiling casually to onlookers as Rei desperately tried to keep up.
"I have my hand in few pots... It's useful for my duties."
The gears in her head ticked, trying to put the pieces together, the image of dark skies and heavy air thick on her memory. Her eyes were unfocused as she tried to process, but they did catch the varsity jacket that swam before her and disappeared again.
"Makoto..."
The guardian smiled, and here they leaned against wall.
"These boys seem to be having a particularly bad run of luck this year. It seems they were just caught at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Rei's eyes widened, the pieces clicking into place.
"Will they li-"
She chuckled.
"They will wake very soon in quite good health. For some reason, none of them will have any recollection of that night. Their missing wallets will point to a midnight mugging." Here, the woman's features dropped into a deep frown, though the sarcasm in her voice did not match the them. "How quite unfortunate for them."
"How did you kno-"
She didn't bother finishing the question, as the guardian flashed her a smile that held a thousand secrets. With a sigh, she pushed herself from her resting spot to follow in her stead.
"Sets... The roof... You weren't supposed to-"
The time guardian cast her a sideways smile but kept walking.
"Ah. A question of consequence. To lose one soul or lose one of our guardians over an inconvenient action? The incarceration of a senshi would not help anyone."
"...but you knew what I was going to do."
Setsuna's voice took on a lecturing note, but she had a distinct glitter in her eyes.
"Unfortunately Rei, I am not at liberty to take any interference into your normal lives. My job is to protect the gates, and to watch over your Other."
"What will happen to you?"
The guardian's eyes rolled thoughtfully. She played the role of doctor perfectly. She already had the natural brooding look of one, so the uniform fit like a glove. By now, she was bouncing on toes as her eyes rolled in thought, her hands passively locked behind her.
"They are not very happy with my decision. Unfortunately, They are at a loss for other suitable candidates at the moment. Besides, They have no argument that I actually acted against their wishes."
For what seemed like the first time in a while, Rei smiled. She hadn't realized she had wrapped her in a grateful hug until she felt the woman's mane of hair brushing against fingers. Usually a cold woman, she surprised Rei by returning it full force. Before breaking the hold completely, Setsuna knelt to whisper. "I get a get-out-of-jail-free card every few centuries."
She pulled away with a wink, and when Ayune turned the corner, Rei was grinning. The elderly bluenette smiled pleasantly at both of them. "I didn't realize you two were already acquainted."
Rei's face fell, but Setsuna recovered immediately.
"I'm a frequenter of the shrine. I have some very old ties with her Family."
The two mystics smiled at each other as Rei continued.
"I've known Setsuna for a long time."
As if remembering, Ayune's eyes widened.
"Ami's awake again. I told her I would come get you."
She wanted to ask a million questions, but instead her feet took off without her. Instantly, her feet were pounding against the tile as she raced back towards her room. Her senshi hearing barely picked up Setsuna's words before she dropped out of range.
"I have a feeling Ami's going to be just fine..."
As she ran she could hear the soft titter of Ami's laughter, the rest of their team joining. As her heart beat into her chest, the echo of Setsuna's words followed her.
Ami was going to be okay. She was going to be fine!
Rei hit the door with so much speed, she was barely able to make the turn. She barreled into the room, stumbling at the door and fighting to brake as her sneakers skid along the tile flooring. For a moment, time stopped and she caught eyes with her.
They were Ami's eyes. Bright, clear and lucid.
She stopped as a huff of air escaped from her. A struggle for breath as Ami's gaze fell to her.
A smile laid across soft lines of lips. Aqua eyes that shined at her.
"Hey."
And then Rei was upon her, covering her in a deep kiss. Grateful tears were running down her features and the music of Ami's laughter was filling her ears.
"Hey back."
She laid forehead against the woman's own, memorizing the gaze there. The words came out at a whisper, oblivious to the room around them.
"Rei."
"Hn."
"I fought him. He tried, but I fought back."
And then the tears were rushing down her face again, and soft, cool fingers were wiping them away. "I know, baby. I know."
A/N: It's here! Rejoice, it has arrived! Special thanks to my beta, Kue-chan. She is amazingly patient and puts up with all my weird OCDs. Also, she rather enjoys the story, so I have a push to get it out sooner.
Any mistakes herein are of my own. Next chapter, Homecoming.
