Author's Notes: Woot! WestConn issued me a check for $686. Yay!!!!
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Chapter 3: They Don't Know I Burn
The flames crackled as the heady scent of wood and incense filled the room, creating a smoky aura as Rei sat before the sacred fire concentrating. It was late, perhaps midnight. It had still been daylight when she had begun her meditation, having forgone food or drink.
She needed answers. Needed to fill in the blanks in her mind that had eluded for three days since that night at Seraphim. She could not remember exactly what had happened. There was the music, the feathers and the masks, that spicy drink...
Eyes. Blue eyes obscured. Gold.
A whispered voice, deep.
That she could not remember bothered her deeply. She who could sense what most others could not, whose clairvoyance had made her feel more knowledgeable about things. And so she would seek the fire's guidance. For as long as it took, even if she starved, thirsted, tired...there would be no rest until she knew.
She could feel sleep grabbing at her, but she ignored it. Pushing strands of her hair behind her ears, she sat up straighter as she repeated the sacred hand movements and chanted prayer words. The fire still did not respond, merely flickered.
She sighed.
She had remembered waking up with Minako standing over her looking worried. They were outside the club and according to Minako, Rei had been asleep on a bench under the streetlight. Assured that she was fine physically, Minako walked Rei home and spent the night. Rei had merely stated that she had gotten drunk and laid down, praying Minako would believe the fabrication.
She apparently had.
And so Rei put up a facade. That everything was alright, nothing had changed, and that her only problems were the college entrance exams. She always had been good at keeping up appearances. She knew the senshi would figure out something was troubling her though. She hadn't been able to hide the vision of the Silence when the Death Busters threatened the planet.
She did not want to worry them. Especially when everything was so vague. She did not FEEL the world was in danger, but something was very much amiss.
Her eyelids drooped as she fought to keep them open, but it was one battle this soldier had lost.
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It was dusk, the sky painted in rich reds and violets as the sun sank below the red mountains. Through halls of red stucco and marble, she walked. It was comfortably warm, and the soft layers of the red silk of her gown swished as she walked. It was an important day, to meet Earthian diplomats. The one planet that was not part of the Millennium, that stood of lesser magic.
The prince and his generals were reportedly arriving to negotiate talks with their Martian neighbors on a trade treaty. Thus she had to quickly make her way to her chambers to retrieve her uniform for diplomatic meetings, which essentially consisted of a dark red long coat and a choker with the Martian crest engraved in a small gold plate. Royalty was allowed to wear their royal dress whereas generals and such were mandated to wear complete uniform.
She entered her large chambers and made her way to the closet, where the jacket was hung up and slid it on, brushing her ebony hair back from her face as she snapped her choker on and gave one last satisfactory look in the mirror.
She made her way towards the conference hall, wondering about the Earthians. She knew her princess had an interest in the Earthians...especially the prince. She had heard Venus bemoan that she had to go there to retrieve the princess.
She was lost in her thoughts so much she did not see the person in her path until they had collided.
She looked up startled as she felt hands at her waist, only to have her violet eyes meet light blue ones that roved over her figure for a moment, and then she saw a teasing smirk.
"Will you..please unhand me?" she demanded, masking the shakiness of her voice with authority.
"Well aren't you the little fire bird. It's a comfort that such beauty exists in this place."
She narrowed her eyes.
"I take that as an insult to my planet, sir. You would do best to curb your tongue."
Again that teasing smirk.
"Would you curb it for me, fire bird?"
Rei's eyes fluttered open as she blinked and sat up. She was no longer in the fire room, but in her bed still wearing her robes. She knew her grandfather hadn't moved her there. He was currently visiting the shrine of a friend and wasn't due to be back until the end of the week. She got out of bed and ignored the rumbling of her stomach as she looked out the window. It was morning. Looking at her clock, her eyes widened.
It was 9 am. And a school day. Rubbing her eyes with a groan, she stalked towards her closet and grabbed jeans and a black tee-shirt and headed for the bathroom. Washing her hair and scrubbing down, she stepped into the tub and closed her eyes, letting the warm water sooth her body. She had good attendance at school, so missing one day wasn't going to cause too much trouble.
Her dream....it was more like a memory. An old, ancient memory. She was the Princess of Mars and for the first time she could see it. The palace, the kingdom...herself. And then there was that man....
'Fire Bird....'
Her eyes snapped open. She had been called that...recently.
After thirty minutes has passed, she got up of the bath and toweled herself off and changed into her clothes. As she combed out her long hair, she walked back to her room barefoot, thankful it was a warm day.
She spritzed her hair with scented gel spray to keep it from frizzing and blow dried her hair, put on some make-up, and decided to roam around the city and do some random errands. Pick up things she'd been meaning to get, like a new CD, some manga, stationary, pens...
She grabbed a dark red Aeropostale hooded zip-up jacket she had gotten for her birthday the year before and headed out to Ginza, making sure not to forget her sunglasses. She checked her wallet for her subway card and seeing it headed down the long set of shrine stairs and made the walk to the subway.
Without her school fuku, no one would assume she was ditching and she could walk around with ease. No one would bug her and that was exactly what she needed. Meditating wasn't given her answers, so perhaps a walk, a little air, and distraction would clear her head. Boarding the subway, she absentmindedly looked out the window and began humming softly.
She looked to her left at the middle aged woman idly chatting on her cellular phone and laughing, perhaps talking to a friend or lover.
To her right, a young college-aged looking couple holding hands and not talking...just being together. She watched the dim lights that the train passed in the tunnel and saw her reflection. The past memory made her start to think how truly cramped the city was...and yet...both places felt like home. Mars felt so distant though as she recalled her memory.
Perhaps the essential traits they all had were still there, but the Senshi were definitely different from their former selves. Well, except for Sailor Pluto who was the one constant. Though she hated to admit it, she felt distinctly immature compared to how she felt in her dream.
The Silver Millennium had been another time however, they had all been more mature. She realized from her dream that she had served as a diplomatic ambassador as sorts for the Martian Court as well as her senshi duties to Serenity.
Sometimes, she wished she could recall everything...but other times she was perhaps thankful she could not remember. It could be unsettling. Tragic. Painful. The past made her feel like she was missing something. That someone was forgotten.
Everything was distorted.
But she had the feeling the signs were there, waiting for her to see them.
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He threw the glass made of ice against the wall, not pausing to watch it slide to the dark floor to join the crystallized remains of other glasses. He continued, smashing anything he could grab to satisfy his rage.
So close...he had touched her, heard her voice....only to have it ripped away by the presence of the crowd...of that flitty blonde senshi who had once captivated many and broke hearts. She was his Fire Bird's close friend in the past.
But alas, he was intending to make his presence know to her. It was a game, always games with her. She had always made things difficult for him. The way she had flashed indignation at his words, how she always glared at him, the way her eyes smouldered with passion when they argued...
And oh how they danced together!!
How he snuck often to Mars and to the Moon to waltz with his Fire Bird. The way they moved together, the way she smiled, the way she whispered into his ear, the way she said his name during intimate moments...
Oh yes, all burned into his memory.
Once he had forgotten, or rather, his memories had been sealed away when he worked for the Dark Kingdom.
And how close he had gotten! He had been under the same roof with her for two weeks but thought of nothing but his mission.
He served her, or acted like he did.
'Would you care for tea, Rei-san?'
'Shall I help you, Rei-san?'
He snorted at that memory.
Had he remembered the past, he would not have been so submissive. But then again, she had only been fourteen then. But still so beautiful and much like her old self. He would have been so tempted to go to her...to taste her young lips.
Perhaps it was best at that time that he did not remember.
He sat on the icy ground and laughed.
How long would it take her to realize it was him?
She wouldn't suspect it. They probably thought he was dead.
If only those little senshi knew...
He had broken out of the ice months ago, or so he guessed, and had been getting his strength back....feeding off what little energy resonated in the hollowed halls.
Metallia was gone, and thus his memories returned. But he was still tainted. He still despised the senshi for being so meddlesome. He didn't believe in good or evil. He wanted what was his and would get it by any means.
He had been observing her for months, knew that the rest of those Senshi had appeared, had vaguely spied on her...listened to things that had happened...
They had gotten much stronger, those Senshi, faced some harsh battles.
And that was why he had to be so careful. He was not stupid, he knew he was stronger than them. His powers were so limited, and would probably diminish soon.
He needed her by his side, she would give him the place in the world he needed. His prince had no need for him, his comrades her dead, the Dark Kingdom was gone...the only thing he had, the only true thing that ever really mattered to him...was her.
Hino Rei.
Sailor Mars.
His princess.
Fire Bird.
His. His. His.
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Rei walked into a small store, one that seemed to be filled with items for skaters and goths. She wandered over to the shirts and looked through the tee-shirts for a particular brand, Hook-Ups. They just looked so cute to her.
She snickered softly at one that read 'Warning: Too Hot To Handle' in English. She grabbed and continued looking around, and found a necklace with the sign for Aries on it that looked like flames. She grabbed that too and headed for the checkout.
Once paid for, she carried her newly acquired fire-loving goods and continued down the street. She paused at a vendor to get a soda and kept on walking.
"Rei-chan."
She stopped and turned around to see Haruka and Michiru.
"Oh, hey!" Rei replied, walking towards them.
"Ditching school?" Michiru asked, cocking her head to the side.
Rei blushed and nodded.
"I wasn't feeling good this morning, but then I decided to get out."
"Hmm, you do look pale." Haruka said, feeling Rei's forehead.
"Um, I'm okay now. Really." Rei said, waving her hands.
Haruka and Michiru looked skeptical but didn't pry.
"Mako-chan is making dinner for everyone tomorrow night. We were going to stop by the Shrine later to tell you since she asked us to."
"Oh? Sounds good. Well, I wish I could stay and talk but I have more errands to run."
And with that Rei walked away.
Haruka and Michiru watched her go, frowning.
"She's being evasive." Michiru commented.
"Yes. I think something is bothering her. Should we investigate?"
"I think perhaps she needs to sort it out herself. For now."
The two Outer Senshi walked on to their destination as Rei sighed and headed back towards Sendai Hill to go home. She was feeling particularly kittenish, and a nap seemed like heaven to her at the moment.
She had felt something in the breeze, a scent...a feeling. The scent was something subtle amidst the smells of the city. It was...like magnolia and spice and...hearth. Like wood burning, but a pleasant scent. It was a nostalgic scent...she had wondered where it was from. And the feeling...it was both warm...and somehow sad.
'Does that remind you of something, fire bird? From a long long time ago?'
She blinked, rubbing her eyes.
The deep voice...from Seraphim.
She had been dancing with someone...he had called her Fire Bird.
Blue eyes...it made her think of blue eyes and it made her heart clench. Inhaling deeply to try to calm the strange anxiety running through her body she went to the subway and got on cramped between several people.
As the train stopped at one stop, Rei closed her eyes tried to focus...to remember...
She felt people brush past her and paid it no heed, it was a common thing...but what was not common was the strange tingling she felt up and down her spine...the warm hand brushing her hair away from her neck and lingering in a caress..
Rei looked, seeing the fading form of a tall man with what she thought to be blonde hair...and then he was gone.
She put a hand to the back of her neck, the skin tingling where it was touched.
It was familiar...someone used to touch her like that..she..
It came to her, all at once, hammering through her mind and overloading her until she collapsed.
The image stopped distorting...the memories less hazy...
Before she slipped away into unconsciousness, she could finally recognize who was haunting her.
Golden hair...blue eyes...
Impossible...but true.
Jadeite.
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