As usual, I disavow any rights to the characters from Pretty Guardian SailorMoon. They all belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Bandai.

Greetings, my faithful reviewer, aserene. Here is Dreams of Memories - Pt II, or "who on earth did Ami call?". (smile) Enjoy, everyone! - Raya

Lonely Harp

Dancing Distraction

"Thank you for coming," Rei said with a smile as she bowed to the elderly couple who passed her. The couple smiled and bowed in reply. The afternoon sun made her squint a little as she went back to the task of sweeping the walk.

She started as her cell phone began to ring. With a frown, she reached into her robes and drew it out. The frown faded into a look of surprise as she realized who was calling her.

"Hello? Ami-chan?"

"Rei-chan. Hello. I didn't disturb you from anything important, I hope?" Ami asked softly

Rei shook her head and made a negative noise. "No, I was just beginning my duties at the shrine. What's the matter? Aren't you in America?"

"Yes... Um... I was just wondering... Have you... Has anyone been having weird dreams lately?" Ami felt her face turn red at the strange sounding question.

"Eh? Weird dreams? No... Why? Have you?" Rei replied looking puzzled.

"Mmm..." Ami replied shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I thought I should ask. Thanks, Rei-chan. Have a good day."

"Wait! Ami-chan!" Rei called. As she saw several patrons turn to look at her, she lowered her voice and turned to face the trees. "What did you dream? It must've been pretty strange to make you call me in the middle of the night..."

She waited as Ami debated with herself. "Ami-chan?"

"I don't really remember too much. Just that... It was about Usagi-chan, and it... Made me sad. That's all. It really wasn't important. I'm sorry I disturbed you. I must have still been half asleep or something. Bye." She hung up quickly without waiting to hear Rei's response. Gently, she put the cell phone back on her nightstand and lay back down. Oddly, she felt a little better.

Rei looked at her cell pone with a puzzled expression. Slowly, she put it away and returned to her duties at the shrine. The strange call nagged at her all day long, however, distracting her. For some reason, Ami being saddened by a dream about Usagi worried her deeply.

Finally, she gave in to the need to investigate. She went into the main temple, and knelt in front of the fire. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly, she let it out and quieted her thoughts. When she was calm and centered, she reopened her eyes and looked into the fire. She kept her breath even as she waited patiently for the visions to come.

After a few moments, she realized that she was being mesmerized by the dancing flames. She shook her head, and tried to concentrate again. Once again, she found herself distracted by the patterns that the flames made.

She closed her eyes and sighed impatiently as this happened several more times. 'What on earth is wrong with me today?' she thought irritably to herself. 'This usually isn't so hard. Okay, Rei... Breathe... Focus... Breathe... Calm... Breathe... Concentrate... Breathe... Relax... Breathe... Focus...'

Slowly, meditatively, she reopened her eyes. Her head tilted slowly to one side as she saw a woman standing in the fire. She had thigh-length black hair, and was dressed in a white body suit with a red miniskirt, purple bow, red pumps, and long white gloves. The woman smiled appreciatively at her, and then shook her head.

'No,' she heard in her mind. 'Not yet.' The woman began to dance in the flames, moving her arms in wide arcs. Rei watched fascinated as the flames responded and began to dance with her. For a long moment, she felt as if she was in the flames dancing with bright excitement, and then the priest's voice jerked her out of her entrancement.

"Rei-san!" he called again, shaking her abruptly. "Are you all right? Snap out of it!"

Blinking, she reached up and grabbed one of his arms to steady herself. "S-Sir?" she asked in confusion looking up into his worried face.

He stopped shaking her, and studied her face intently. "Are you all right?" he asked again with a concerned voice. She nodded, and then raised a hand to her face. She gasped with surprise as she realized how hot she was.

As she looked back up at the priest, he nodded. "You almost fell into the flames," he said as he slowly released her.

He turned to study the fire as she steadied herself on one arm. He shook his head and sighed. "Whatever was there is gone now," he said reflectively. She looked up to him in with wide eyes. "Still," he continued, narrowing his eyes, "we can't have mischievous spirits playing in our temple. I will do a cleansing and protection ritual tonight." He nodded to himself, then turned to look at his shrine maiden. "In the meantime, don't use the fire for meditation, okay? I may not be around to protect you next time."

Reluctantly, Rei nodded. "Yes, sir. I'll be careful." Later that night, she dreamed of dancing in flames that didn't burn.