Downtown Tokyo - Hino Rei's Apartment
'Clean...I'm filthy... I have to become clean again' Rei repeated in her head over and over as though it were a mantra that would magically make her "clean". She stood in the shower with a sponge rubbing fiercely at the skin on her legs. Her hands scrubbed harder and the sponge started to scrape against her skin. She continued through the pain. 'I deserve the pain. I deserve this. What have I done!' Rei's hands moved higher up towards the juncture of her legs. She stopped abruptly. Then threw the wet sponge at the wall. She dropped to her knees and sat there with water pouring over her till it chilled her to the bone. 'I have to move. I have to get out of the shower. Usagi's waiting for me. We'll go for lunch. I'll joke about her new manga. I'll tell her Chibiusa can draw better than her. She'll pout and then we'll laugh together. We'll sit so close that if she were to move an inch, we'd touch. But we never do. Funny how we used to hug all the time but now we never touch out of necessity. I have to go see her. If I see her it'll all be better. She'll make it better, she always does. She'll smile and say it was a dream, a nightmare. But what if she doesn't smile? If she cries then I'll be trapped here. She has that power you know, the power to push me over the edge. She doesn't know it but she has it'
"Hey Rei-chan why is your front door open? I just went to unlock it and it opened by itself. It's not good, you know, there are lots of weirdoes out there. You should be more care-" Usagi stopped short when she entered the bathroom. "Rei! What happened? Are you hurt? Oh my god! Please tell me this isn't happening again. Not again. No!"
Usagi leapt into action. She ran to the linen closet and grabbed a towel, which she wrapped around a catatonic Rei. 'What have they done to her! I'll kill those bastards. I'll kill them. Twice, twice they've done it. Whatever "it" is. She's shaking.' Usagi led Rei to her room and managed to get her between the sheets. "Satin sheets, Rei-chan, of all types of material why did you buy satin? You'll die of pneumonia!
Rei mumbled incoherently. Then, as if reality was finally sinking in, she snapped her eyes wide open and stared at Usagi as if she'd grown two heads. "Usa? Umm...What are you doing in my bed? Nothing happened did it?" Rei said with a touch of panic in her voice.
"Of course something happened! I find you naked and insane in the shower and you're asking me what happened!" Usagi yelled. Noticing Rei flinch, she softened her tone, "What happened here Rei-chan?"
"I...it was..." said Rei hesitantly, then made up her mind and said in an unfeeling voice, "Nothing. It was nothing and why did you barge into my house?"
"It was Usagi's turn to flinch but Rei's look didn't soften. Her eyes bore into Usagi's. Usagi sighed and said wearily, "You gave me a key Rei-chan. Remember? When you moved here you said that I meant more to you than a guest who rings the doorbell. Now please tell me what happened. You know we're fighting a new enemy and withholding information has gotten all of us into bad situations before" reminded Usagi.
"I see your logic but I'd prefer to talk about this at the meeting tomorrow. I'd like to be left alone now Usagi-san."
Usagi sat stock-still 'Usagi-san! Now I know something is wrong. She hasn't called me that since, well since, since a time I don't care to remember.' She stood up now and walked to the door. She paused and turned back. The moon princess walked back to the bed and tucked a reluctant Rei back into bed. After finishing, she leaned back down and tucked an errant strand of hair behind Rei's ears, her hand lingering on the fire priestess' cheek.
She whispered, "I'll leave now but I'm still worried about you. If you change your mind, you know where I live." She smiled and left the distressed woman to her own means.
'Yes. I know where you live. That's the problem Usa. I know where you live, and now she knows too.
Hikawa Jinja - Senshi meeting
"Medea" said Rei, gazing outside the window at Phobos and Deimos who sat on a tree nonchalantly. She turned her attention back to the senshi in the room and clarified, "My lover in the future. Her name is Medea."
"How do you know this Rei-san?" Michiru asked, leaning lightly against Haruka's shoulder. It seemed they always maintained physical contact for as long as possible. As though if they stopped touching, the other would vanish.
"Do you know who Medea was?" said Rei, directing the question at no one in particular. Her mood was melancholy, almost as if she'd lost a lover and resigned herself to the fact. Receiving no answer from the senshi she continued, "Legend says she was a sorceress who helped Jason get the Golden Fleece. They were lovers but when he found his 'shining fleece' - he left her, for another woman. She was so angry that she killed Jason and his lover. Some myths go on to say that she even killed the children she had with him. Don't you think it's strange? A woman killing her own children? However, recently unearthed scrolls say that she never did any of those things. She merely wanted to get her love back. She didn't mean to kill anyone."
Makoto, not liking one bit where this was going, interrupted and said, "Is there a point to this story? Or are you just in lecture mode today?" Ami shot her a warning look, put her hand on Makoto's thigh and pressed down on it gently. Makoto shut her mouth immediately.
"Now that you mention it. Yes, there is a point to my story. Maybe we're being too harsh on the enemy. After all, she's my lover in the future. I wouldn't love someone with a bad heart. Perhaps she's made a mistake and we just have to be supportive."
"Supportive!" said Minako, her voice two decibels higher than it normally was. "That woman tried to kill us! Pluto thinks she's going to target Chibiusa. You want us to sympathize with a monster. A woman like that doesn't deserve pity. A woman like that doesn't deserve love. A woman like that does not deserve to live!"
Rei reeled back as though she had been physically hit. 'A woman like that. They want to kill her. What will they do to someone who shared her bed not too long ago?'
"That's enough Minako," whispered Usagi who had been silent until now. She'd watched the scene unfold before her eyes and escalate to a heated argument in seconds. "If Rei has sympathy for this woman, there must be a reason"
"But Usa-" interrupted Makoto
"No. Let me finish. This is personal for Rei. You're all sitting here judging a person she will love in the future. I won't allow it." Usagi said with a determined look in her eye. At that moment she looked uncannily like Serenity. That was enough to silence all further arguments.
"Now Rei-chan" continued the blonde, as if she'd just dealt with naughty children and was turning her attention back to a discussion with an adult. "I believe you had something to tell us."
Tsukino Residence
"She can't be trusted anymore Usagi" said Luna with an edge to her voice which seemed to imply that Usagi was not to be trusted either. "She might say that it was a one night stand, that she was drunk. Frankly, a senshi would've noticed the enemy or felt her presence even when intoxicated."
"hmm..I think that accident in the car explains why she didn't sense any danger. As to why she slept with a complete stranger, well that's her business not ours. It hurts that she didn't tell me but she also told me to butt out of her life. Luna, there are boundaries, lines that we shouldn't cross. Rei-chan's relationships have nothing to do with her ability to perform as a senshi. I know the others were angry when I said we should still include her in our briefing but I can't allow her to be punished for something that might not even be her fault."
Luna remained silent for a while, contemplating what to do. She spoke in a dissapointed tone, "If that is your wish Usagi-sama. I'll be spending the night at Artemis'. Please excuse me" She leapt through the window and vanished.
'Usagi-sama. Luna now calls me Usagi-sama. Yesterday Rei called me Usagi-san. I can't help but feel I'm losing them, all of them. Specially Rei. She doesn't touch me anymore. Even her bickering has an underlying sharpness to it. I think I finally did it. I've bruised her spirit and I'll be the reason it will shatter' Usagi raised her hand to her cheek. 'I'm crying. I'm crying and I can't stop. My heart hurts. When I see Rei in pain, my heart aches. I wonder what this feeling is. It's so unique. I never feel this way with anyone. Not even Mamo-chan.' Usagi smiled through her tears. 'But when she's happy, I think I'll burst with joy. When a business deal comes through for her I feel like I'm on top of the world. It's like everything that happens to her, causes a reaction in me. Yet it's a gentle feeling. A warmth that envelops around my heart and sets it on fire. Yes, I've known for a long time. Hino Rei ignites a passion within me that should never have been awakened.
"Medea, are you sure about this?" said the dark-haired woman as she peered into what looked like a crystal glass.
"Come now Sierra, don't tell me you're having second thoughts?" said the blonde devilishly.
"Of course not. However, attacking both Crystal Tokyo and Tokyo seems unwise and useless. All we have to do is destroy the destiny threads which form in the past and make sure they don't rewrap together in the future. I don't want to hurt anyone in the future."
"Don't worry, I'm not going to harm your precious Pluto. She won't be fighting actively. The time gates, remember?"
"What about that bitch?" said Sierra bitterly.
"Where I come from, we hunters have a saying, 'A bird is beautiful because it sings to its mate. The bird is dead for the same reason' So you see Sierra, Pluto will be sure to deliver a warning to her mate." Medea snapped her fingers. "Then we've got her."
Outer Senshi Mansion
Setsuna
shut the door behind her as she entered the sanctuary of her room.
Spending the day saving Minako from the media was all well and good but
the girl exhausted her. She had a way of making you forget all your
troubles. A way to make you forget that she had heartaches to live
with. However, Setsuna didn't forget. 'No. No matter what happens, I
will never forget. That is my blessing and my curse.' She took off her
jacket and hung it on the chair which she then sat on. She was about to
boot her computer up when she saw a figure on her bed reflected on the
screen. She whirled around, gripping her henshin pen in her right hand.
She paused as she noticed that she had been mistaken. There were two
figures on the bed, clothed thankfully. She moved cautiously to the
light switch and flicked it on. She looked at the two figures on her
bed.
Then, for the first time in centuries, Meioh Setsuna fainted.
heheheh being the evil person I am, I'm ending the chapter here. I have chp6 up in my head so it'll be on paper soon. till then ja ne ;)
