"Mimete!? From the Witches 5! Are you sure?" Ami asked.

Back to their hideout under the arcade, Minako told her fellow senshi about what happened- minus a few details. They didn't need to know about Hanyuu Mimi- more specifically how she managed to fool her. All that mattered was Mimete.

"Yes," Minako nodded. "She… drained some of my energy…"

"But didn't she die? We saw her, get eliminated by her own comrade!" Makoto objected.

"That girl pulled the plug on her, apparently trapping her into that device forever… but perhaps it was an overstatement," Ami suggested. "There might have been a way for her to get out apparently there was since she attacked Minako-chan."

"But how… Does it mean the Death Busters are back?" Luna said. "Pharaoh 90 is gone, so it can't be… unless there are remaining members of the organization who are back and freed her."

"But, all the Witches 5 were defeated, as well as Germatoid, Mistress 9 and Kaolinite… right?" Usagi said.

Rei seemed thoughtful for a moment.

"I did see something when I did divination in the sacred flame," Rei began. "I saw an ominous shadow in it, the silhouette of an enemy we already faced before… an I don't feel like it was Mimete. The flames reacted in such a way, it couldn't be her… it had to be someone else. But who…?"

"So we can assume Mimete isn't working alone and whatever their goal is, they need to collect human energy," Ami said. "Or rather, more specifically, life force. This seems like a different modus operandi than before for them."

"There's something that is still bothering me," Rei admitted, turning to Minako. "Why you?"

Minako suddenly felt tensed.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, until now, all the victims were male, so why go after a girl all of a sudden? Was it because you were transformed into Sailor Venus?"

"Ah, no, I wasn't… she didn't know I was a Sailor Senshi…"

"Hmm… then why… How did she collect your energy? Did she have a daemon with her?" Rei insisted.

Minako looked away, desperately wishing she wasn't blushing.

"Well… she… kind of… needed to 'aspirate' my energy… from an orifice to another… huh…"

"... what?"

"You know… kind of like her daemons used to do to steal pure heart crystals."

All her friends remained quiet for a moment before the sudden realization quicked it and went red.

"You mean… she… k-kissed you…!?" Usagi exclaimed.

"... yes…" Minako admitted.

"Ehhh…!" Makoto reacted. "Well, that explains a lot. Wasn't Mimete always targetting guys she found attractive? That explains why all the victims were men, but… now that makes it weird that she went after Minako-chan…"

Minako suddenly flipped her hair with such a vain expression.

"Maybe she was so struck by my beauty that she couldn't help but want to experiment- or I was her 'awakening'... just kidding!"

They all just stared at her, not particularly amused.

"What? It happened with Haruka-san!"

"Anyway, you are lucky that you didn't end up at the hospital," Rei said. "This is probably because you are a senshi. We are more resilient than regular people. You need to be more careful instead of letting anyone kiss you like that…"

"Hey! I don't let anyone kiss me! I didn't know- I mean, I didn't recognize her at first, she was… disguised! She just looked like a very cute girl with a beautiful voice! How was I supposed to know?"

"So you just kiss random cute girls now?" Makoto inquired.

"T-That's not what I mean…! Argh, never mind! Regardless, now you know who's behind this, it's Mimete from the Witches 5!"

"Alright, alright. What happened after?" Ami asked.

"I acted as if I didn't notice what she did and get the hell out of there! I was so scared she'd finished me off right away, but I guess since it was a public area she couldn't… she kept looking around as if she was afraid she'd get spotted. Then she insisted to walk me home and I obviously refused while making sure I didn't sound suspicious. Who knows what she would have done. Probably get the rest of my life force somewhere without witnesses. She really tried to play innocent, but I know it was her, I saw her true face when she drained my energy. And I know her disguise, so if I see her again, I'll call you and ambushed this little succubus!"

"Yes, if Mimete doesn't know who you are and that you know who she is, then it's in our advantage. She can trap her this way," Makoto said.

"And then what?" Usagi asked.

"Eliminate her, of course," Rei replied.

"But… What are the Witches 5 exactly? They aren't humans… right? Mimete isn't a human… or is she?"

This question suddenly seemed to weigh on all of them. The Witches 5… who were they? They watched as all of them were eliminated, but were they really just enemies? Wasn't there anything more to them?

These questions started to bother Minako, who could only start wondering if Hanyuu Mimi really did exist or was just a disguised for the witch Mimete.

Over a week had passed and Minako had no news from Hanyuu Mimi- or rather, Mimete. No phone call, no messages, nothing… it was like she simply vanished.

"Hanyuu-san… no, Mimete! How dare she kiss- drain my energy, and just disappear like that without a word…!" Minako thought, annoyed. "And she told me I could call her anytime…"

Now wasn't the time to feel discouraged… Mimete not responding was definitely not a good sign.

"Could she have figured out who I was? Just by my energy? No, it can't be… otherwise, she wouldn't have let me go that easily… Unless… no, impossible..."

There was no way Mimete's intention wasn't to cause her harm… right?

"She's the enemy! She targeted so many innocent people to steal their pure heart crystal! Don't let yourself fool, Minako!" she told herself.

And yet, she couldn't stop herself from hoping deep down, Mimete wasn't just deceiving her.

Ring ring ring.

As soon as her phone rang Minako immediately jumped on it.

"Hi!"

"Aino-san, it's me… we need to talk… alone. Can we see each other?"

Minako's expression grew darker.

"Of course, Hanyuu-san. The local park? There aren't many people at this hour."

Mimi agreed and Minako hung up, her heart racing with anticipation.

"I got you, Mimete!"

Minako considered calling her friends for backup but opted for leaving them a message instead- she wanted to get there as quickly as possible.

She grabbed her jacket, put on her shoes and left her house, heading for the local park.

When Minako arrived, Mimi was already there, sitting on a bench, waiting for her. The sun was starting to go down, giving a beautiful pinkish colour to the sky. When she saw her Mimi immediately stood up.

"Aino-san, you came…!"

The first thing Minako noticed is how exhausted Mimi looked. She was so pale and it seemed like it took all her strength to remain on her feet.

"Hanyuu-san, what's going on? What do you have to tell me?" Minako asked, keeping a safe distance with her.

Mimi seemed hesitant for a moment, looking down at her feet. It also felt like she was nervous.

"I… I'm sorry…"

"Uh?"

"Last time we see each other, I… I did something to you… something bad," Mimi confessed.

Now, Minako wasn't expecting that. Nor was she sure what Mimi was talking about.

"You mean… the kiss? It's fine, really, it didn't bother me-"

"No, not that! I… I didn't just kiss you, I did… something else to you… and hurt you."

Now Minako was more and more confused… what was going on?

"Aino-san… I… I'm not human…!"

"...Eh?"

"Sure, I look human- a really beautiful human, with great style and a perfect voice…"

"..."

"... But my appearance is only meant to deceive! In truth, I'm a monster- a really cute one! I am what we call a 'daemon', and my real name is Mimete..."

Minako remained dumbfounded. Mimete was a daemon? She suspected the Witches 5 weren't human, but humanoid daemons? She didn't know.

"We are alien lifeforms who pretend to be human and live as parasites on other planets, feeding off people's energy…"

"Why… why are you telling me all of this?" Minako finally asked.

Mimete's expression turned somber.

"Because… the other day, I… drained some of your energy. I lied, I pretended I just wanted to kiss you, but in reality, I was after your life force… sorry…"

She seemed genuinely in her apology. Minako didn't know what to say. There was nothing forcing Mimete to tell her all of this and yet, here she was, telling her the whole truth…

"Hanyuu- Mimete, why… were you after my energy…?"

Mimete looked like she was hesitating.

"Because… I needed it. But, it doesn't matter anymore, because I've come to tell you… to not contact me anymore…!"

"...Ah?"

"I'm dangerous! If you keep coming near me, I'll be tempted to drain your life force again, and next time, I don't know if I'll be able to stop myself. I could hurt you again, or worst… Aino-san, I never really cared for humans before, or felt that way towards others, but… I do feel… bad, for hurting you. I've been living among humans for a while now and it started to awake new feelings in me, like… guilt. So for your own sake, don't come near me anymore… I don't want to be a monster anymore…"

"Mimete-"

"Goodbye, Aino-san."

Mimete turned back and as she was about to run, immediately fell to the ground.

"Mimete!?"

Minako rushed towards Mimete and kneeled by her side.

"Are you alright?" Minako asked.

"Urgh… Aino-san… why… are you still here? I just told you the truth about me… and what I did to you… so why do you still care… about me?"

"Because… we are both Araki-kun's fans!" Minako answered without hesitation. "And I can't believe someone with such a beautiful voice can be genuinely evil. We are friends, aren't we?"

Mimete weakly chuckled at that.

"You truly are a kind person, Aino-san… ugh…"

"Mimete! What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No… I… I'm so weak… I need… human energy… that's why… you have to… get away from me…!"

"Idiot! I can't just leave you by yourself like that!"

Especially if she's going to go drain some innocent person of their life force.

"I don't want to hurt you, Aino-san…"

"And I don't want to leave you in pain like that, or hurt someone else, so… do it."

"Huh?"

"Take some of my energy."

"Aino-san…!? I… I can't…! It's going to hurt you I can't be sure I won't go too far-"

"It's okay. I trust you, because… you told me the truth."

Mimete looked hesitating for a moment before she finally put a hand behind Minako's head, gently pushing her closer to her.

"Then, if you offer it, I won't say no…"

Minako braced herself as Mimete's soft lips touched hers. She immediately felt the effect of having her energy drained, even stronger than last time. It didn't take long for her body to grow weaker and her mind dizzy.

"Mmm… Mime-"

"I need more."

Minako could see her life force exiting her body through her mouth, getting sucked by Mimete, whose eyes were now glowing red and had her characteristic black star on her forehead.

"Mimete, I… I can't… no… more…"

As her vision became progressively blurry Minako's body went limp. She collapsed to the ground and everything went dark around her.

"Mimete, I… I can't… no… more…"

When Minako's body hit the ground Mimete came back to her senses. She looked down and reality hit her: she did it again.

"Oh, no! Shit! Aino-san!"

Mimete immediately reached for Minako's neck, relieved to see she was still breathing. Still, if she stop for a few seconds later, the result might have been fatal. Mimete gently lifted Minako's unconscious body from the ground, strong enough now to do such a feat, and laid her down on the bench.

This girl's energy felt… special. It felt so much more powerful than anyone else Mimete drained from. Minako had this life force she couldn't quite understand, as if she wasn't quite normal. But she was undeniably human.

Mimete could feel her inner daemon growl.

With that kind of power, she wouldn't have to worry enough about running out of energy herself now that there was no more Tairon Crystal. If she could take the source of her life force itself- her pure heart crystal, then she would have her own illimited source…

"No, you can't, Mimete! If you do that, Aino-san is going to die! You can't do that to her, not after she was so nice to you…! Even if her energy is very tempting!" Mimete scolded herself.

And yet, it would be so easy to steal her pure heart crystal right now, right away… her inner daemon kept screaming that at her and Mimete found it hard to resist the temptation. She used to only live for her own sake and not care about the consequences, but somehow, doing this to Minako just felt… wrong. She wasn't used to feeling that way.

"I'm sorry, Aino-san… I don't know if I can resist… You really should have listened to me and run when you had the occasion. Hehe, yeah, you only have yourself to blame…"

Mimete's hand started to dangerously reach for Minako's throat.

"I need… a pure heart crystal…"

But before she could touch her, Mimete suddenly stopped herself.

"No! Not Aino-san! Anyone but her! I can't do that to a friend!"

Mimete tried her best to ignore her daemon side screaming in her head.

"You over there! What did you do to Minako-chan!?"

Mimete jolted and slowly turned back, only to be petrified.

Right there was a sailor senshi. The red one. Sailor Mars right? And she looked pissed.

"Shit…! Not those nuisances again! I really tried my best to live without attracting their attention, and now here's one! She's gonna kill me for sure!"

Mimete instinctively recoiled a little.

"I… I didn't… help!" Mimete suddenly exclaimed. "This girl suddenly collapsed, I don't know why…"

Since Sailor Mars never met her as Hanyuu Mimi, Mimete thought she might have a chance if she pretended to be an innocent bystander. Mars looked at her suspiciously before rushing towards Minako.

"Minako-chan!"

While Sailor Mars was busy, Mimete thought she could escape discreetly, but things didn't go as smoothly as she thought. Mars suddenly grabbed her wrist, forcing her to stay where she was.

"You, stop right there… I can feel a dark aura coming from you-"

"Well, that's rude."

"There is evil in you, I can tell just by touching you! Reveal your true form, demon!"

Mimete grew tense. It was pointless to hide it anymore. She shook her wrist to break free and glared at Sailor Mars.

"And I was trying so hard to act like you humans… you just had to ruin everything, you damn sailor senshi!"

In a fraction of a second Mimete transformed into her witch self, armed with her staff. She pointed it at Mars. She may not want to hurt Minako, she had no qualm harming those sailor senshi nuisances. And she might have found the right target to gain the pure heart crystal she needed so much.

"Charm Buster!"

Dark stars were heading towards Sailor Mars, causing her pain. As Mimete was getting ready for a second attack, she realized too late that they weren't alone anymore.

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

"Mercury Aqua Mirage!"

Mimete barely had the time to dodge the first attack that she couldn't with the second and was violently hit in the back, collapsing to the ground.

"Arghhh…!"

When Mimete raised her head, she had the displeasure to discover almost all senshi were surrounding her.

"You… nuisances…!"

"Moon Frisbee!"

Sailor Moon suddenly threw her tiara at her and Mimete ended up tied up by the luminescent disk.

"Urgh…! Get this off of me! You pest!"

Sailor Moon faced Mimete, firmly holding her Moon Rod.

"So it really was you, Mimete… you were back," Moon said, without any trace of genuine animosity in her voice.

"How did you escape from that device!? Who are you working with?!" Mars immediately asked with more hostility.

"Tsk, as if I would answer you, you huge pain in the-"

"You better answer us, or else…" Jupiter threatened as she cracked her knuckles.

"Eeek…! Don't hurt me! I'm not working with anyone or for anyone, I swear! And I don't want to fight you or hurt anyone either…!"

"You say that, but you sent multiple innocent people to the hospital," Mercury replied.

"That's because I had no choice! It's not like I wanted to harm them…"

"I don't care! She hurt Minako-chan, she's dangerous! Sailor Moon, purify her!" Mars commanded.

"I…"

Mimete started to shiver and struggle with her binding, in vain. If Sailor Moon hit her with her attack, as a daemon, it would be the end for her.

"W-Wait, that would kill me! Please, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt Aino-san, I swear! I don't want to die! Stop!"

Sailor Moon looked like she was hesitating, glancing at her companions, who seemed as uncertain as her.

"Girls… please, don't. She's telling the truth. She didn't mean to hurt me."

Much to everyone's surprise, Minako was down standing up, getting in front of Mimete.

"Minako-chan!?" Mars exclaimed. "What are you saying- she's the enemy! Didn't she drain your energy?"

"Things aren't as simple as they seem to be… Please, just… trust me. I genuinely believe that Mimete isn't fundamentally evil- and I want to help her."

As she said that, Minako looked at Sailor Moon, who nodded.

"If you say so, Minako-chan, then I trust you. If someone seeks redemption, I can't just step aside and leave them to their fate."

The other senshi nodded too in approval, even Mars. Mimete sighed. Seemed like she won't die today. Still, why was the sailor senshi listening to Minako? Eh, didn't matter. What was important was that they won't be killing her.

"Thank you, Aino-san. I was right to not kill you when I had the chance."

Mimete redemption arc let's go! 4 more to go.