Divinity: The Fates and the Afterlife
Chapter Seventeen
A/N: I am surprised by how fast this is going. It's chapter twelve already Oh God! I hope you like this one. I know some might feel going a little slow but, I guess I am not a fan of those who put everything out there in just one bunch.
A special thank you to Become's one with the story, kera69love, TropicalRemix, Guest and SerenityMorrison for your reviews and support. Let's keep the good vibes going, have an awesome weekend!
A couple of days of deep thought and deciding, Rei finally armed herself with the necessary courage to take the phone and call Minako for a girl on girl talk. Since that night at the shrine, she hadn't had a chance to speak to her blonde friend and the way she left had been torturing her all these days. She turned and looked outside at the people walking with such hurry and wondered, was she part of that vibe where everyone tends to forget the simple things in life? Was this a normal life?
What was normal anyways? —she asked to herself with sarcasm. A girl who has the power to control and read the fire, who has two crows as companions and who actually fought many times to keep this planet safe? Yes, call that a normal life. With a soft sigh, she took out her phone and looked at the hour, the blonde was 10 minutes late as usual and began to wonder if her slight tardiness was because her boss was keeping her at the office without telling her exactly what to do next like he usually did.
A soft knock on her window startled her, making her turn and smile when she saw the blonde waving her hand at her and walking with slight hurry into the chic restaurant where they agreed to meet for dinner. Minako went straight to her friend already apologizing for her tardiness and wrapped an arm around her apologetically, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she pulled back and gave her a small but smile before taking a seat on the opposite side of the table, "Your boss?" Rei simply asked. Minako pursed her lips and rolled her beautiful blue eyes "My boss."
The lightness in her voice made Rei feel comfortable "I'm sorry you have to deal with a man like him."
"I'm used to it." Minako waved her hand dismissively, "If the job pays my bills I just have to suck it up. I think of it as a platform for me to find something better in the near future." she smiled. Before Rei could say anything, a young girl came to their table and gave the girls a menu, "Hello, welcome. How are you doing today?"
Minako turned to the girl and smiled "Wonderful."
Rei looked at her friend and felt a tug in her chest while analyzing her, wondering if she really was wonderful as she said. Her face and demeanor said one thing, she was good old Minako but she knew deep down she was still hurt by what happened the other day at the shrine and with the rest of the girls. Her red cheeks and swollen eyes couldn't be easily forgotten, this was Minako—the girl who always had a smile on her face, no matter the situation so, to her, it was really mortifying to see her sad. The waitress' voice prevented Rei from going too deep into thought and made her turn to pay her more attention.
"My name is Nikki and I'm going to be your server for today… can I offer you something to start? An appetizer? Something to drink?"
Minako smiled and looked at her menu, "Everything looks good. I'll have the green apple and cranberry salad with vinaigrette dressing on the side and an iced tea."
"Perfect," the young waitress turned to Rei who ordered a creamy noodle soup with veggies and sparkling water with lime. With a smile she dismissed herself and took the menus from the girls, leaving them alone again, "I'm so happy you called," Minako put her purse aside and looked at her friend "I must admit, it was a little unexpected—I actually was planning on calling all of you to see if we could hang out and see more details for the wedding."
Rei tilted her head and waited until the waitress put their drinks and left them alone again, "I took the day off, Yuiichiro took care of the shrine for today so I went to do some shopping and I saw this place, it's nice, right?"
"Super chic." Minako smirked, "We should totally come more often."
Rei looked at her chilled drink and looked at her "How are you?"
Minako smiled softly and nodded. She knew why she called her and could not help but feel humbled by Rei's humble and sisterly gesture. Both girls were always blunt to each other and despite being incredibly close to Usagi, Minako knew Rei was more open with her than to anybody else. "I'm alright," she simply said. Minako and Rei were truly close friends; it was different from how she got along with the other girls despite being all super close to one another. Minako knew that with Rei things were straight to the point and without too much icing on the cake and she liked that. Since she can remember, their friendship has been based on true and raw honesty and maybe her character was perfect to accept Rei's brutal choice of words, but despite being so strong, she worried and right now, she was worried about her. She looked at her with a smile and tilted her head as if she knew what the Miko was thinking about, "Really, I am okay."
"You left me worried the other night."
"I know, I'm sorry." Minako took a sip of her drink and put it down slowly, "I don't know what happened, I supposed I had a moment of weakness. I got too emotional, the wine—the wedding,"
"Come on." Rei gave her friend a skeptical look. Minako sighed and leaned back on her chair, extended her hands and tapped her fingers on the impeccable wooden table "I really don't know what happened. I used to be confident; I used to be a believer of love."
Rei put her drink down and frowned "You don't believe in love anymore?"
"Yes—" Minako breathed and shook her head "—And no at the same time," she looked at her friend "I guess it is because I had a terrible break-up."
"Minako," Rei sighed, "The man was an idiot—come on."
"Yes—a complete idiot." the blonde pursed her lips and lowered her gaze "But, he was an idiot I loved very much and the way he left really hurt me." The words hit a very special spot in Rei's heart. Pressing her lips in a tight line, she nodded "I know how you feel—trust me."
"I mean, I wasn't expecting a ring or anything just…" Minako trailed off and smiled at the waitress that finally brought their meal "Thank you."
"Anything else I can—"
"Where fine—thank you." Rei turned and gave the young girl a forced smile. She normally wasn't this rude to people except when she was talking about something important and didn't want any more interruptions. The young waitress bit her lip and rolled her eyes before she turned to leave them alone. Minako picked her fork and shook her head "God, you're brutal,"
"We were in the middle of something important." Rei sighed, "And she rolled her eyes at me—which means she just cut her tip in half." Minako took a bite of her chicken breast and looked at her friend while chewing "You amaze me."
Rei shrugged her shoulders and tasted her soup "I know," she smiled softly and jumped back into their previous conversation, "You were treated like a criminal. Everything was your fault; he left you with this immense guilt."
"Exactly." the blonde followed, nodding in acceptance of her friend's words. Rei took another sip of her water and looked at her, "Then, if you know… why do you care?"
"Maybe because I still care for him."
"What?"
Minako put her fork down and rested her elbows on the table. Her hands came together with her fingers intertwined "I saw him the other day."
"When?"
"The day we got together, I saw him on my way to the office—he looks good."
"And?"
"He got a part on a play." Minako shrugged her shoulders and looked away, "Nothing big or extraordinaire but it probably fills his need of attention—at least for the moment. Still, he's in a better place than I am."
Rei arched her brow, "Please Minako, you cannot compare to him on any level."
Minako sighed and grabbed her fork again, "I don't know—I am not doing what I was supposed to do." she looked at her friend with disappointment "I am stuck working for a horrible man and I did it because I had to take charge of that relationship and make it work. I thought it would be a job that would let me grow in the media or as an actress but well, it obviously didn't."
Rei put her spoon down and looked at her blonde friend with sad eyes, "I never ever thought you had feelings for him—still. You never talk about it; when the break up happened you just mentioned it, shed a few tears and that was it." Rei said softly and frowned, not really understanding why they were this way. Why did they have to be so apprehensive with their past when it was about something like love when it was something that was clearly making them stand still in time. Minako sighed and leaned back in her chair, "What, you wanted me moping all the time? —I highly doubt it. With your brutality I would be devastated by now—no, I had to act with intelligence and to me, that was the best way to go."
"To deny the situation? Come on Minako, you know that's not right. That night at the shrine after you left, Usagi felt guilty for even mentioning Mamoru-kun or something wedding related."
Minako looked at her friend with wide eyes "Why could she feel that? Come on, Mamoru-kun is one of us, he's my friend too and I couldn't be happier for them."
"Well, she doesn't see it that way and it didn't take long before she decided to call it a night too. She was really sad and drunk." Mars leaned forward and patted her friend's hand, "We were all left worried, it's not like you.
"Exactly," Minako interrupted, a hint of annoyance ignited inside her, "It is not like me to be sad. I am always good old Minako, the one who despite dating a bunch of assholes, she is still smiling and believing in love, looking always for a silver lining on everything." she sighed heavily, "Rei-chan, I am a human being—I suffer too, I know what sadness feels like and I cry you know? That night I had a moment of weakness... that's all."
Her cathartic process and the way she was making herself heard surprised Rei because again, it wasn't like her. When realizing what she had said and done, Minako shook her head and exhaled "Things will get better. I will find something soon and everything will be right on track." Rei half smiled and looked down at her half empty bowl of soup "Yeah…"
Minako leaned forward, "What's the matter?"
Rei took a deep breath, "I need to tell you something," she gave Minako a very serious gaze, "I put a lot of thought into this but it is so hard for me to even speak about it—but I think it is necessary, it is consuming me."
"What is it?" Minako frowned and pushed her plate aside, Rei bit her lower lip for a split second and fidgeted in her seat, "I don't even know if I should tell you, with that has been happening to you, you scare me."
Minako laughed, this was the silliest thing she has ever heard coming from Rei "I am already here and I already splattered my feelings to you. Come on, tell me—trust me, I can handle it."
"Are you sure?"
Minako narrowed her eyes at the obvious question, there was a deeper meaning in that question. Was she sure? —Not quite, but her friend's voice showed concern and her eyes were reflecting hints of desperation. She knew there were words ready to be said and that she had to brace herself for whatever was coming her way "I can handle it." she reassured the Priestess.
Rei looked at her and pursed her lips, here it goes—she thought. "It is something I have been seeing lately,"
"In the fire?" Minako immediately was into the conversation. This was no ordinary topic when it came about something related to the other part of their lives it could never be taken too lightly. Her frown deepened and leaned a little closer, making sure nobody was coming their way, "What is it?"
"A couple of weeks ago I saw a reflection in the fire and I was attacked by a strange, evil force." Rei said softly, she continued despite Minako's pale face, "It was something or someone I could not recognize, but this person, this... being, was saying something I couldn't understand. It was talking to me in another dialect, but it was so dense—I cannot even describe the feeling."
"H-How did it attack you?"
"There was a very strong smell of sulfur and decay, black smoke began to fill the prayer room. Phobos and Deimos were outside trying to help me—I barely managed to cease the fire and escape to breathe fresh air."
Minako shook her head in disbelief, "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?! Rei-chan, this is serious!"
"I know it's serious, but I didn't want to worry you—I don't want to be the one to break the peace we've been having. I don't want to hurt you or Usagi."
"Is this why you have been asking us if we miss being a Sailor Senshi?" Minako whispered, after looking both sides to make sure nobody was listening. Rei pressed her lips for a moment "No," she sighed softly, "I asked that question because it is something that has been ringing in the back of my mind. Because it is something we cannot deny and just ignore from our lives," she looked at the blonde "I would be lying if I wondered if this is our time to come back and with this..." she made a pause and shook her head, "I don't know anymore."
"Has something else happened after this incident?"
"Not until the other day I saw you," Rei took a breath, "I saw a girl in the fire—a young girl and a man that seem to have powers of some kind." Minako narrowed her blue eyes, "A girl and a man. Could they be connected to this other thing that happened to you, the attack?"
"I thought so too but then I a voice coming from the fire saying 'my child'."
"My child?"
Rei nodded "And no, my father isn't dead, I just heard from him a couple of weeks ago." she shrugged one shoulder dismissively. Minako gritted her teeth and shook her head, not expecting anything like this to happen out of nowhere. "What could it possibly mean? Who are those people?" she looked at Rei and frowned, "I will have to talk to Artemis about this," she pointed her finger at her quizzically and a little hopeful, "Do you think it might have something to do with a lost girl or something?"
"I thought about that possibility but why I was attacked? It spoke in this tongue I could not understand, no kidnapper speaks like that—it felt different, ancient." Rei sighed heavily, she hated being the bearer of bad news or at least of what could become bad news. "I thought about calling everyone and explain this but Usagi—I can't do this to her. The wedding is so close..."
Minako shook her head, "We won't tell Usagi-chan or any of the girls about this—at least not yet."
Rei pursed her lips, "Mamoru-kun has similar powers to mine; he might have felt something too. Do you think he might know something?"
"Well we have two options, either he has sensed something and is doing the same thing we are doing right now or, he hasn't felt anything at all." Minako bit her lower lip "Maybe we should talk to him, asking if he knows or if he has felt something though, it will be a little tricky to get the truth out of him."
"I thought about Michiru-san as well…" Rei suggested; Minako nodded "I think the same goes for her if she has seen something in her mirror either she is keeping it a secret or hasn't witnessed anything out of the ordinary. I think for now all we can do it wait."
Rei looked at her friend and nodded, "I'm sorry."
"Hey," Minako stretched her arm and reached for her friend's hand "It's better to be one step ahead than to be in the loop. You don't have to be sorry about anything." she gave her friend a reassuring smile "Actually, speaking of this… peculiar topic, I was reading a magazine the other day and saw this article about us—apparently, we are still on the radar."
Rei widened her eyes and chuckled, "Really? What did it say?" Minako pursed her lips and turned to pick another lettuce leaf "Well," she took a bite and swallowed "It wasn't that big of an article but it was about where we must be at this particular time. It kind of ends with a question dropped in the air of what kind of life we might be leading right now, you know if we are normal or not." she rolled her eyes.
"Normal…" Rei muttered.
"Exactly." Minako let out a soft chuckle "Artemis was there with me when I read it, he was pissed."
Rei arched a brow, "Why?"
"Because the article didn't mention him or gave him credit for his contribution," the comment lightened the mood of the conversation and made the two girls laugh "Poor Artemis." Rei said between light chuckles, Minako nodded "I know, poor thing. He deals with my weird mood every day; him and Luna. God bless them."
"Tell them to go visit me at the shrine." Rei suggested while pushing her plate aside and looked around for the girl that took their orders, "I think I scared the waitress… she never came back for our plates."
Minako leaned in her chair and chuckled, "Well, Rei-chan, you are vicious."
Rei laughed and leaned her elbows on the table, "Ugh… what am I going to do?"
"You are not going to do anything alone, we are a team." Minako said softly, "How many times have you had this vision?"
"Two times… but each one has been different."
Minako pursed her lips "Let's wait, maybe it has nothing to do with… that." the mention of that scenario that once was predicted made Rei widen her eyes with wonder, "Do you think that maybe—"
"Be related to what Setsuna said once? —I don't know." Minako pursed her lips and exhaled. Minutes later the young waitress decided to return to pick up the girl's plates and to leave the check; Minako turned to grab her purse but was stopped by Rei, "What are you doing?"
Minako blinked "Um, paying for my salad and drink?"
"No, no, no." Rei waved her hand, "It's my treat." she smiled. Minako shook her head "Oh come on, it's not fair!"
"Hey," Rei raised her hand "I was the one who called you to give you the news. It's the least I can do, if it makes you feel better, next time we come, you pay for my meal, deal?" Minako smiled and stood up, "Alright, alright-deal."
Rei followed her blonde friend in silence and until they reached for the door. The raven-haired girl turned and tuck a strand of her dark hair behind her ear and gave Minako a soft smile, "Don't be a stranger, please?"
Minako shook her head and wrapped her arm around her troubled friend "I promise I won't." she stepped back and tilted her head, "Whatever it is, please let me know okay?"
Rei nodded and turned to walk away, "Oh and hey," she heard Minako called her, making her look over her shoulder "You need to start thinking where do you want to go for your birthday!" Minako said out loud "And don't tell me you don't want to celebrate!"
Rei chuckled and waved her hand, "Okay, okay."
Minako waved her hand and with a smile, she walked back to home. Her smile slowly faded as she began thinking about what Rei just told her and considered the possibility of having to return to their previous life as Senshi. As she waited to cross to the other side of the street, she began thinking about it for a moment. The light turned green and she began crossing the street when she saw someone familiar in the distance. She saw the same girl from the other day running from the same alley towards a small park across the block followed by a group of men. Minako frowned and felt the urge to go and help her, she ran after them in the hopes of doing some good this time.
The girl ran desperately, looking for the nearest bush big enough for her to hide from the three men that were coming after her. With a horrified look on her face, she tripped over a rock and fell to the ground brusquely, making it impossible to move before they were around her "Hey little girl… why so scared?" one of them said. She looked up and shook her head, silently pleading them to leave her alone. Her eyes began to gleam with tears while trying to free from the man's grasp "Where are you going? We just want to have some fun. No harm in that."
"Hey!" Minako yelled, catching the men's attention "Leave that girl alone!"
One of them turned to look at the blonde and licked his lower lip like a hungry wolf, "Well hello there, you ain't bad yourself either,"
"Too bad you are." Minako hissed and walked closer to them, with no fear shadowing her beautiful face "Leave her alone or I'll call the police." Megumi tried to look up at her defender but she was already too weak to focus her sight on her, but there was something that made her feel at ease, like if she had heard that sweet voice before. The man holding her arm frowned, "Mind your own fucking business, bitch!"
"Excuse me?" Minako arched her brow and frowned, "Bitch? —Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? You cynical bastards—I am not going to repeat it again, leave her alone!"
"You are getting on my nerves; if you don't go away I'll take care of you as well."
Minako smirked, "Like if you could."
The man walked towards her, cracking his knuckles and ready to attack her. Minako reacted quickly and spotted a hose irrigating some plants and bent quickly to grab it, in a quick and surprising move she twirled the hose and with an extraordinaire force she whipped it at them and threw them against the ground. The one remaining, who was holding the girl watched surprised and let go of his victim, "How did you—"
Minako looked at him sternly and prepared to attack him the same way when she heard one of the guards coming their way. The free man looked both sides with desperation and fled, leaving his other two comrades almost unconscious on the ground. Minako walked towards the girl and kneeled in front of her "Hey—are you alright?" she combed her bangs to the side to take a better look at her face. The girl slowly opened her eyes and widened them in shock, "Per omnes caelos" she whispered. Minako widened her eyes when she noticed her whole body began shaking, startling her.
"Are you okay? What is happening?"
"Hoc non potest esse…" Megumi's eyes began to tear as she looked at her with disbelief, "Venus." she whispered and seconds after fainted in Minako's arms. The blonde tried to help her regain her consciousness but the echo of her chosen words still ringed deep in her mind, there was no mistake, she called her Venus.
The blonde looked up and saw the guard coming closer to them taking it as her cue to leave, looking down at the girl she decided to put the thought aside for the moment and help her, the best she could do right now was to take her to her apartment and see more into it tomorrow with Artemis' help. She managed to place one arm around her neck and slowly helped her stand up; very much surprised with that newfound strength, Minako slowly walked home.
o.o.o.o
Artemis was reading the newspaper silently while Luna took a nap when the sound of keys and a soft cursing let him know who was behind the door. After a few failed attempts to open it, the feline started to think that maybe she went out with the girls and had a few drinks because it normally didn't take her that long to open the door and come inside. The door finally opened, revealing a very tired Minako carrying a girl as best as she could. She threw her heels away not minding where they landed and stomped inside the living room. Artemis frowned and jumped down from his usual resting spot by the window frame and walked closer to Minako, his green eyes widened as soon as he saw the girl on the couch, dirty and unconscious "Minako…" he said in a warning tone. Minako sighed and looked at her feline friend while shaking her head, "I didn't do anything! She fainted!"
Artemis moved closer to the girl and studied her appearance. Her clothes were outdated, dirty and torn "Who is this girl?" he asked, puzzled. Minako hushed the white cat, "I found her at the park on my way here," she whispered.
Stealthily, he walked around her and noticed she had been carrying something heavy and big on her back "Where did she come from?" he muttered with curiosity. Minako sighed and sat on the coffee table in front of the couch where the girl was resting, "I saw her like a week ago in the alley near the mini market, I tried to help her but when I arrived there she was already gone—this time, I saw her running away from some jerks that were trying to hurt her."
Artemis stayed silent while watching the girl. There was something about her that made him feel like she has seen her before "But the main reason of why I brought her here is because of something else that caught my attention," he was distracted by Minako's voice, "When I helped her, she spoke in a very strange way—like in another language." she turned to cat and pursed her lips "—She called me Venus."
"What?" Artemis' green eyes widened with shock, Minako nodded "Right before she passed out."
Artemis frowned and looked at her, it was hard to take a good look at her face with all the tangled hair covering most of it but he sensed a different vibe coming from her. "Where's Luna?" Minako asked softly, trying not to wake the girl. "Sleeping," Artemis sighed, "What are you going to do? Are you going to let her stay here?"
"I need to know why she called me that Artemis," Minako said softly "You should have seen her face, she was shocked, horrified," she turned to her advisor and friend with a worried expression on her face, "Like if she had seen a ghost." the blonde tilted her head, "Do you think she might be some kind of an enemy?"
"Minako, we don't know anything about this girl." Artemis muttered, "But you are right—this whole situation is very strange," he sat next to her and took a moment to continue, "Maybe you misunderstood what she said."
Suddenly her meeting with Rei and everything that she said made sense to this situation. "A girl…" she whispered with wonder and surprise. Could it be related to what Rei-chan said? —she thought. Minako took a deep breath, crossed her legs Buddha style on the table and rested her elbows on her knees "I saw Rei-chan."
"When?"
"Today, before this—" she waved her hands in front of the girl "—Happened."
"How is she?"
"She's… okay." Artemis frowned, "You took five more seconds to answer my question."
"She's worried." Minako looked at him with a serious gaze, the white cat frowned, "Why?"
Minako sighed and leaned back on the table this time, her arms resting behind her as a support "I wasn't going to say a word about this but, I would be failing you if I don't tell you, plus, it is very hard to keep secrets from you."
Artemis sweat dropped "Right,"
"She saw something in the fire, the sacred fire." she pursed her lips, her playful glare was completely gone by now and was replaced by a serious face, "Something strange."
"What do you mean by strange?" Artemis looked at her and waited for Minako to continue, "The first time she was attacked by what appeared to be a man. The second time—she saw a girl and a man that called her his daughter."
"Wait, the first time?" Artemis frowned, "Since when this has been happening? How long have you known this?"
"She just told me about it today, an hour ago, to be precise. This is also all new to me." Minako blew her bangs, "She has been having these visions for a couple of weeks now and it had been these two incidents. She didn't want to say a thing because she didn't want to worry us, especially Usagi-chan—you should have seen her face Artemis, she felt guilty about all this."
Artemis took the new information in and stayed silent while watching the girl "We need to tell the girls."
Minako turned with a deadly glare "Why did I just tell you?" she shook her head in denial and decided it was better for her mind to pace around the room, "We are not going to tell anyone, especially Usagi-chan."
Artemis frowned "What is the matter with you?!"
"How can you even suggest it? This is why I didn't want to tell you in the first place. I knew you were going to come up with something like this." Minako shook her head again, "Artemis, have you forgotten everything we went through?"
"No, but have you forgotten how we used to be prepared in case anything happen?"
"You are being unreasonable, go call Luna."
"Minako." Artemis sighed, "This is not a game."
"I know it's not a game but…" Minako sat on the coffee table again and covered her face with both hands "We feel it's unfair for Usa-chan to go through all that all over again while preparing for her wedding."
"She is stronger than you think."
"I know, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have feelings, this is her wedding." Minako looked at him; her features softened "She's more than just our friend Artemis," Artemis sighed and hung his head low for a moment "At least we should tell Rei about this, after all, she informed you about the visions."
Minako looked at the girl and nodded, "I will call her while you go get some alcohol."
Both girl and cat walked away, leaving Megumi alone in the living room. Her eyes snapped open and quickly looked around the small but cozy place. In a flash of anxiety, reality sunk in and sat immediately while looking around at her surroundings again. She turned and saw her precious possession next to her and held on to it tight for a moment and before they came back she exited the room and found her way out of the apartment.
Minako returned with her first aid kit, followed by Artemis who was carrying a small plastic bag with cotton balls when they realized the girl was gone. The blonde cursed under her breath and went to look around but found nothing else but the front door open, "She escaped!"
"She must have been awake all this time." Artemis frowned, "She listened to everything!"
Minako widened her eyes and turned to Artemis, "Do you think—?"
"Call Rei, I'll go after her!" Artemis ran out of the apartment in search for the girl, while Minako ran up her purse to get her phone, with trembling fingers she dialed the number she knew by heart and waited for an answer. "Rei-chan!." she said in a hurry.
"Minako-chan," Rei widened her eyes when she heard the slight strain in her friend's voice, "Are you okay?"
"About that girl…" Minako trailed off and turned to the door, "—I think I found her."
I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters.