Also some of you pointed out that I haven't explained stuff clearly -. I know I do it often but I'll try to be more straightforward. I'm just so used to talking in circles that writing in circles only seems natural.
Chapter 4 - A Firebird is trapped in the glaciers
Shibuyaku - National Noh Theater
"Aino-san, we hear you're taking a hiatus from your acting career soon. How true is this rumour?" said the woman wearing a "Tokyo Daily" reporter's badge. Minako sighed. She had just exited the auditorium unnoticed, or so she thought, until suddenly she was surrounded by reporters asking irritating questions like this one. 'Perfect. Just what I need. Not like I'm not having enough trouble on the senshi front, now I have to deal with the world as well.' Despite her natural irritation at the intrusion, Minako flashed a smile for the camera. It was ingrained in her, the art of deception. It was easy once you practiced enough. 'It's show time'
"Yes and no. I am planning to take a break for a couple of months but I'm not retiring permanently. I wouldn't do that to my fans, now would I?" Minako then looked at the camera, winked, and blew a kiss. Assuming the questions were answered, she began moving towards her car, only to find herself unable to move. They still had more questions. 'I wonder how much trouble I would get into for attacking media personnel. Wouldn't be much, would it? Because right now I think I might just do that.' Minako's dangerous line of thought was disrupted by what seemed to be like a break in the circle around her. 'Maybe I can make a run for it? That wouldn't be a classy exit but beggars can't be fighters.' Just then the circle parted slightly, just enough for one person to walk through. And one did.
"Minako-chan, Good afternoon" said Setsuna with a smile gracing her lips. She knew exactly the kind of predicament Minako was in. She also knew how to get out of it without bloodying any noses. "Where are you headed?"
The mass of reporters immediately recognized Meioh Setsuna, the lone beauty, as she was called in the business. Of course, they had questions for her too but seemed to be holding for the conversation between the two women to extinguish. Most of them were either writing furiously or talking back to the camera about "the appearance of Meioh Setsuna, fashion designer, who is seen conversing with idol Aino Minako." The audience at home were intrigued by how such two dissimilar people could know each other. Where in the world would they have met?
"Ara Sestsuna-san, I'm just on my way home. What brings you here?" The blonde couldn't fathom a reason Sestsuna would be at the arts theater.
"Work. I had to research some things for a new line I was thinking about. If you don't mind perhaps we could go together? My car seems to have broken down." said Setsuna, the smile never leaving her face."
"Of course" she replied immediately. 'What research can you do about clothes at a kyogen theater? Perhaps she went to the library in the basement.'
The two made a beeline for the parking lot. The swarm tried to follow them but decided to scatter after Setsuna paused and looked back with a disapproving glance. The two women sat in Minako's car and sped away.
"Phew! I thought I was in for it this time. You can't really make a classy exit with them closing in on you like that. Well, unless you're Meioh Setsuna" said the blonde with a giggle. She glanced sideways to look at the older woman who seemed to be in a lighter mood than she was when they discussed senshi business. But then, she supposed, they all were. She remembered the last battle against the mysterious woman and how Saturn and Pluto had saved her butt - majorly. "I guess you're making a habit out of rescuing me"
"Or maybe you're making a habit out of falling in trouble" The tone was even and smooth. Minako glanced to see if Pluto meant this as a disappointment but the mirth in her eye and tilt of the lips betrayed her. "Maybe you should watch the road" said Pluto, her smile widening. Minako snapped her eyes back to the road sporting a blush that reddened considerably by the time they reached their destination.
At a Cafe
"So let me get this straight. The enemies are former lovers of Mars and Pluto?" questioned Makoto who had managed to be completely confused by Ami's rather lengthy explanation about the mysterious woman they had encountered.
"No Mako-chan" replied Ami, her patience still intact, "They're future lovers"
"So they're good guys? Ami-chan, good guys usually don't attack other good guys" said Makoto as though explaining to a petulant child.
The water senshi sighed and took another sip of her drink. "They are not good guys Mako-chan. They attacked us with an aim to kill. That much is clear because of future Pluto's message. What we have to figure out is how to send them back to their time and cut off their power source. They do have a source, not unlimited power. My scans in the last battle revealed this already. Though, I do wonder how they got their powers in the first place. Perhaps Neo-Queen..."
"I doubt it. Given Usagi is a bit too trusting, but she's not an idiot. Even if there was a way, she knows that only senshi are allowed to have that kind of power" said Makoto confidently. "Besides, we should focus on their elimination, not creation."
"Right. I've figured out a way to detect whenever Mars' lover steps through a portal. This time we'll be ready for them."
"Ne Ami-chan, what do you think could have happened in the future to make these two women act like this" asked Makoto, grimacing at the thought that Rei or Setsuna had done something truly horrible to these women. She dismissed the thought quickly. 'They're our friends. We know them. They would never harm anyone. Would they?'
"I have my suspicious but can't voice them until I have more proof" Ami peered out the window and watched the people walking by. "But I suspect it has something to do with infidelity" Here Ami looked back at Makoto to see her mildly shocked.
"You don't suppose that...well..Rei..u know...Usagi..." said Makoto, her voice barely loud enough to be heard. Makoto cleared her throat continued in a firmer tone, "Serenity wouldn't, would she? I mean she's with the King. They have a child!"
"Now Mako, don't jump to any conclusions. Just because we know that Rei has a crush on Usagi now doesn't mean it will be there two or three hundred years down the road. Maybe it was someone else entirely or something else. My theory doesn't work for Pluto anyway. She's forbidden to have a love. Perhaps Serenity ended that one"
"Nah, they're both famous for bending the rules. They would've found a loophole. But what I still don't get is, why are these women here, now? If anything, they should go to the particular part of time where they were betrayed" Makoto paused her speech to see Usagi, Rei, and Minako at the corner of the street arguing over something. 'Sometimes their tardiness is advantageous. I got to spend some quality time with Ami-chan'
"They want to nip it in the bud I presume" Ami smiled as she followed Makoto's line of vision. "They're here already. I didn't realize so much time had passed by" She blushed and continued, "Do you think we should cancel tonight's dinner plan? In view of the situation and all." Ami fiddled with the straw in her drink while waiting for a response.
"I think we should keep it now more than ever" replied Makoto smiling. "We cancel our plans too often on schedule conflicts anyways" She thought back to their initial dates being canceled when Ami's emergency pager beeped or Makoto had to finish an order on short notice. "Besides" said Makoto, lowering her voice so that Ami leaned in to hear her, "I want you to myself tonight"Ami turned a brighter shade of red while Makoto leaned in to kiss her. They were interrupted by a deliberate cough.
"Ahem, not that it isn't sweet that you two are making out in the middle of a crowded public place but please refrain from doing so in front of single women. You're reminding us of what we aren't doing" ordered Minako as she stood in front of Usagi and Rei.
"They're just being a normal so-sweet-i-think-i-have-a-toothache-couple " grumbled Rei from behind Minako. Ami looked about ready to burst a blood vessel.
"Don't listen to them guys. They're just jealous" said Usagi sticking her tongue out at Rei. Rei only replied with a raspberry of her own.
Makoto erupted in laughter while Ami giggled. "If you could see yourselves One odango in heels her tongue out at a woman in a business suit. I can't believe you guys are women and still acting like schoolgirls!" Makoto gasped through her laughing fit.
Usagi and Rei looked at each other and turned red.
Next Day, Motel
The blonde woman placed her hand on the dark-haired beauty's forearm and pulled her towards the bed. They both landed on it, side by side, never losing their grip on each other. The blonde moved closer and touched the other woman's lips hesitantly. The woman, however, pulled her closer and crushed their lips together.
"Take your shirt off" whispered the blonde hoarsely. The woman obeyed and then occupied the blonde's lips again. Their hands roamed, with an urgency neither paused to think about. The blonde slipped her thigh between the woman's legs, who responded with a moan and sunk deeper into the kiss.
'I can't remember my name or hers' thought the dark-haired woman as she continued to moan, her mind having no control over her body. The white shirt and skirt she had worn now lay on the floor along with the jacket of her suit. The blonde had now effectively stripped her of every article of clothing. She then slipped her hand to the spot where her thigh had been. The dark-haired woman gasped. All logical thought ceased to exist for the next few minutes. Her breathing grew more ragged as the blonde's fingers continued to dance. She soon reached her breaking point. She let out a scream and kept repeating a word over and over. If the blonde had been a particularly attentive lover, she would have noticed it was a name and it wasn't hers.
The dark-haired woman continued to tremble and mumbled "Usagi" over and over. If the blonde had paused to notice, she would have seen a charm from the Hikawa Jinja tied to the woman's purse. Inside the purse lay an ID card with the words
Tsukiakari Corporation
Hino Rei
Security Clearance - All levels
typed neatly with a picture of a dark-haired woman smiling at the camera.
