Rei was meditating at the Fire when she felt him. His presence was incredibly strong while she was in the light trance. It was also immediately recognizable by the blue dragon shape around him. She could also see numerous red threads stretching from him. One of the threads came to her. She realized he was coming to talk to her and began to shake off the trance.

"Do you always meditate naked?" he asked, holding out a kimono for her.

She blushed slightly and took the robe, matching his calm with her own. "You shouldn't be in here. Didn't Yuuchiro stop you?"

"The young man sweeping the stairs? He didn't notice me." Kintaro smiled. "Hardly his fault though, since I didn't want to be noticed."

Rei tied her robe closed. "Did you have some business here? Or did you just come to peep on me?"

Kintaro leaned forward and waggled an eyebrow at her. "What are you going to do if I say I came to peep on you?"

Rei closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You're teasing me aren't you?"

"Yes," Kintaro admitted. "I did actually come to talk to you about your vision from the other day. Finding you naked was just a pleasant bonus. However, the thin silk robe makes you really sexy." He smiled innocently as she glared at him.

"Why is it that you can get away with such things? I would have killed any other boy by now, but I can't seem to get more than mildly annoyed with you."

"My charming personality and irresistible good looks?"

Rei rolled her eyes with a snort. She refused to admit, even to herself, that his flippant remark was probably accurate.

"Ok," Kintaro said. "It is most likely because of the fact that I am not treating you like a sex object or an idol. You're very beautiful, but I'm not going to start drooling over you or acting like an idiot. I imagine that any other boy would have acted embarrassed to see you naked and tried to grovel and apologize. I acted more mature and so you had a mature reaction to me."

Rei thought about that for a minute. Then she grinned mischievously. "So since we're both acting mature, I could take off my robe," she matched actions to words and began untying her robe again, "and we could have a mature 'discussion' from there."

To her surprise and pleasure, Kintaro blushed.

"Perhaps I was a bit hasty about the whole maturity thing," he chuckled. "And I deserved that I suppose."

"Yes, you did," Rei gloated.

"On the other hand," Kintaro said off-handedly, "I don't have to worry about your friends finding out about this. I can't imagine you admitting to them that you offered to get naked and have a 'mature' discussion with me."

Rei giggled, blushing herself. "So let's just forget about all that?"

Kintaro had his own mischievous grin. "I don't know. It might be kind of hard to forget having seen that body naked."

Rei smacked his arm and they both laughed. "All right. Come over to the house and I'll tell you what I can remember."

Kintaro held out his arm and she placed her hand on his forearm. As they crossed the yard, they were unaware of being watched by several pairs of eyes.

Yuuchiro watched as Rei and the young man crossed to the house. She was wearing a short silk robe that didn't hide the fact that she was nearly naked. She had her hand on the man's arm and was laughing at something he said. Yuuchiro tried to ignore the feelings he was having.

"I can help you." The sibilant hiss set Yuuchiro's teeth on edge. He glanced toward it.

In the shadow of a tree at the edge of the stairs stood a dark figure. She seemed to be female and he had an impression of great beauty, but she was hard to see. Except for her smile, which made Yuuchiro shudder.

"Help me?"

"You want her. I can," she paused, "I can give you power to defeat him. To show her that you are worthy."

Yuuchiro shivered again. She was offering him what he wanted. There had to be a catch.

"What do you want from me?"

She smiled. "Nothing. I want you to defeat him. I want him. He will be out of your way and you will have power." She held out her hand. It was pale with bright red nails. "Just take my hand…"

Yuuchiro knew he'd made a mistake the instant his hand touched hers. But it was too late, and what little of his spirit escaped retreated deep into his mind and hid, cowering in terror.

Rei sighed. She glanced at Kintaro again and wondered how he did it. They had talked for nearly two hours and he had become her friend without ever letting her think there might be more. Certainly they had flirted. He was quite the tease, but he could tease and flirt without the tension or maliciousness that might have been present.

She had pushed the limits too. She was feeling particularly odd and the adrenaline rush from her Fire reading had put her in a euphoric high that had made her act a bit forward.

He had taken it all in stride and been a perfect gentleman. Even when she had 'accidentally' dropped her robe. He had complemented her and reprimanded her in the same phrase, while handing the robe back to her, gently reminding her that he was engaged.

The tension hand been broken though and they were able to talk like friends. He had offered some insight to her vision and suggested some plausible interpretations. She had, for some reason, included her vision of their actions. He had smiled and pointed out a number of possible metaphors. Unfortunately he had been somewhat reticent about the woman she had seen and why her death might cause him to become evil..

Still, it had been a great help to talk with someone who understood what she went through. He had explained some of what he was doing for the government and how that might impact the actions of the Senshi. She was very impressed with his knowledge and his ideology. She wondered idly if he was a spirit reborn from the Samurai period. He certainly played the part.

She was brought back to the present by the presence of Yuuchiro. They were crossing the yard toward the stairs when the young man interrupted.

"Get away from her," he snapped at Kintaro.

Kintaro raised an eyebrow and glanced at Rei. Rei blinked and stared at Yuuchiro.

"What's going on Yuuchiro-kun? Why are you being rude?"

Yuuchiro glanced at her. "Don't worry, Rei-san. I'll protect you from him."

Rei nearly laughed at the implications. Kintaro didn't. He was staring at Yuuchiro with narrowed eyes.

"What's the matter Kintaro-kun?"

Kintaro was about to speak when Yuuchiro suddenly stepped forward and laid his hand on Rei's arm. The change in Rei was obvious.

Rei stared at Kintaro. Why hadn't she seen it? He was the Sea Knight and he was trying to turn her against the other Senshi. She wasn't sure she could take him alone though.

"Possessed," Kintaro suddenly said. He shifted his stance and dodged a blow from Yuuchiro. "Rei, help me. Possessed," he grated out, apparently in pain.

She didn't hesitate. Dealing with possession was one of her specialties. And if he was the Sea Knight, an ofuda might slow him down. She powered one and hurled it even as she was thinking.

Kintaro sidestepped another blow from Yuuchiro and held up his hand. The ofuda seemed to bounce from a faint glow around him. The flight of the scroll altered slightly and it struck Yuuchiro. Rei stared as the young man screamed and doubled over.

A faint black aura formed and suddenly there was a pale woman standing over Yuuchiro's prone form. Kintaro nodded, his sword in hand and his blue armor forming around him.

"Sailor Mars. We need fire."

Rei nodded and grabbed her wand.

"Eternal Mars Power. Make Up!"

The transformation cleaned the last bits of the enchantment she had been under. Whatever this thing was, it was subtle and powerful. No wonder she had been so brazen with Kintaro.

Kintaro had stepped forward and slashed at the woman with his sword. She hissed and threw crackling balls of green fire at him. Kintaro evaded them by a narrow margin, taking scorch marks on his armor.

"Burning Mandala."

"Ice Dagger."

Kintaro's sharpened icicles joined her fire rings. The creature was surrounded. It snarled curses at them and produced more balefire.

"Burning Fire, Frozen Water, Forged Metal, Rushing Wind, Growing Wood, and Passionate Spirit."

Rei felt the power of the spell building. The six elements were present. A vortex of power began to swirl around them. Streamers of light formed a complex Mandala. The pale thing shrieked in rage and hurled flame at the light around it. The balefire had no effect on the pattern of light.

Kintaro continued. "I Command You, As A Son of Ryujin, The Sea Dragon King."

Rei blinked, not quite believing his statement, but her power responded and the fires flared. He really was a descendant of the Ryujin. Her spirit soared.

"Return The Unnatural To Its Home. Circle Of Banishment."

The thing in the middle of the vortex shrieked, spitting profanity at them and promising vengeance as it was hurled back to its own world. Kintaro slumped to the ground as the last of the power faded away. He leaned heavily on his sword.

Sailor Mars approached carefully. There were shards of melting ice everywhere and the tree near the edge of the shrine was stripped of bark, which was scattered across the yard. She sighed when Yuuchiro groaned. He seemed to be okay. She knelt near Kintaro.

"You know," he said conversationally, "that transformation sequence leaves you stark naked for an instant in the middle. Though I doubt anyone without training could see through the magic."

Mars grinned. "You seem to have a talent for seeing me naked. What were you doing staring at me in the middle of a fight?"

Kintaro shrugged. "I wasn't staring. You transformed in my direct line of sight. But the nudity is nothing compared to the ultra short skirt and the skintight leotard. Where do you think I was getting the 'passionate spirit' from?"

Mars blushed. "I thought you meant me. I am the Passionate Fighter, Sailor Mars."

Kintaro laughed and struggled to his feet. "As long as fighting is the only passionate thing we do together."

"It is. At least in the near future." Mars joined his laughter and they went to help Yuuchiro, who was looking very confused as he sat up.