Author's notes: These characters are a combination of their manga and anime selves. Thus is the reason for Minako being a bit goofier and perverted, Rei being far more distant and man-hating... and other such non-anime characteristics.

I hope you enjoy! If not, erm, eh... tell me why! Constructive criticism is always welcomed!

Vessels of Fate:
Blood of the Mountains

By Monikku

Chapter Three

Dressed in her best athletic wear, Minako exits her condominium building.
She begins to stretch her legs in preparation for an invigorating jog.
"Exercise! This will be good for me!" she thinks. "I could use the fresh air."

"South! South is good. The tropics are south! I'll jog towards exotic tanned men and sandy beaches! I am jogging for romance!" She begins her journey, imagining herself jogging to Hawaii... "Maybe the Virgin Islands? My parents always said they were beautiful."

"Better yet, I'll jog to Puerto Rico, bring home a latin man, give my mother a heart attack... this sounds like an excellent plan! Then again, if I wanted to give my mother a heart attack, I could always just tell her I am Sailor Venus." Minako's expression becomes a bit removed at the thought, her jogging slows a beat. "Maybe not."

"That'd be a funny conversation, though. "Hey mom, you know those blasphemous harlots you are always going on and on about, making a show of saving people in those terrible mini skirts? Well, I am their tactical leader! Sailor V-enus! Oh, and one of the senshi is a shinto miko! Quick! Get the holy water, crucifixes, and save our souls!" Minako begins to laugh hysterically at the thought of the utter shock that would inevitably pass her mother's eyes.

"Although, Rei does attend catholic school. A miko at TA catholic school. I guess Rei would call it an important cultural experience or something. Getting beaten by nuns just sounds kinky to me, those nuns were MEAN."

"No exotic men at TA. Actually, Rei doesn't even seem to like boys. I guess an all-girls school is good for her. She can be worshipped by the upper echelon. Perfect Rei at perfect TA, the stepping ladder school of knuckle beating nuns. Ha!"

"I sound so jealous, envious, whatever."

"That girl Kotono always follows Rei around like a puppy. She so admires Rei. Rei is pretty and exotic and cool, but Kotono should show some dignity."
Minako pauses in thought.

"I wonder if Rei confides in her."

"I wonder what the fire tells Rei. Sometimes it seems like the meditational fire is her only friend."

"Okay, I'm really out of breath. You'd think I'd be better at jogging,
I'm always running to school late, running late inbetween classes, running late to meetings... and I kick the crap out of demons on a regular basis.
Well, it has been really calm since Galaxia, just the random straggler here and there."

"Oh, I'm getting a cramp." Minako begins to slow down her pace. "Why the hell am I jogging, anyway? Screw exercise." Minako stops her jogging and looks at her surroundings. "I'm only a few blocks from Crown, I'm gonna get a float and play F1 racing."

She begins to walk a normal pace towards the parlor, "Ah, but I'm all sweaty, what if there are beautiful boys there?" Minako begins to laugh as a familiar face comes to mind, "As Rei says," Minako takes on a stern expression, and imitates Rei's speech and tone of voice, "I have no use for boys." She again giggles to herself.

"Maybe Rei'll be there." Minako feels a tremor of something she cannot quite define rumbling in her belly. "I think I hope she is."

"Hotaru-chan!" Chibi-Usa calls from her spot, laying on the living room floor of the Outers' home. Chibi-Usa stares raptly at the television. "Hotaru-chan! Sailor V is coming back from commercial! Hurry up!"

"Okay!" Hotaru quickly grabs a package of rice crackers and trots over to sit next to Chibi-Usa. "Did I miss anything?"

"No, it just started" Chibi-Usa replies.

"Hark! Evil doer! I am Sailor V! Protector of good!" the young woman on screen stands heroically, pointing at the villain as he hovers over a dark crystal ball. "For your misdeeds, you shall be punished!!"

"Ah! You may have found my lair Sailor V, but you haven't won yet! I have something very precious to you!" (The camera pans to the right, showing a dark haired girl in torn clothes, chained to a wall. She has many cuts and bruises, and appears to be passed out.)

"Oh no! Miyu-chan!" Sailor V looks on, the tension of her concern racking her visage.

"That is right, I have your precious friend, V-chan, or should I say, Asukawa Rie!" the villain rings his hands, self-satisfied with his villainy. "Ahahahahah!" he laughs maniacally. "Perhaps I should reveal to your friend your true identi" Before the program can continue on, there is an interruption by live network news.
Hotaru and Chibi-Usa both holler their complaints.

"Nooo!" Chibi-Usa proclaims, throwing her hands in the air, "It's the last episode of the season!"

"Miyu was supposed to find out about V-chan!!" Hotaru adds. A news man, sitting behind an anchor desk, bows slightly before speaking. "We apologise for the interruption, respected viewers. An emergency has arisen. The woodland surrounding Mount Fuji has been over taken by brush fire. There also appears to be brush fires spreading across the woodland in Kyoto. I repeat, there are brush fires across Kyoto woodland and the woodland surrounding Mount Fuji. Any and all tourists to the area must evacuate! Firemen are working hard to keep the fires contained. We will keep you up to date on the matters as more information is found! Thank you for your attention, we will now take you back to scheduled programming, already in progress."

A woman bounds from rooftop to rooftop on the Tokyo horizon while a song plays,
"Though my life may be pained, my heart is full of love. Though struggles may arise,
my strength will rise above. For I share the good will, of all of the people as one! There is no foe my pure heart cannot overcome! Sailor V! Sailor V!"
Chibi-Usa hangs her head, her shoulders slumped towards the ground. "It's over."

"We missed it." Hotaru readily agrees. "I wonder how Miyu-chan responded."

"Forget, Miyu! I want to know if she made up with Hosoki-san!" Chibi-Usa contends.

Hotaru looks on at Chibi-Usa completely unable to understand her fascination with Hosoki. Rather than begin another debate on Hosoki's worthiness of V-chan, and due to her concern with the situation at hand, she decides to change the subject. "What do you think about the brush fires?"

Chibi-Usa sits up, then shrugs her shoulders, "It's been a really dry summer. I guess it was bound to happen. Although, we probably shouldn't rule out that it is an enemy.
Do you feel any foreboding intuitions?"

Hotaru takes a moment to tap into her senses, she sits silently with a methodical look upon her face. After what feels like an eternity of anticipation to Chibi-Usa, Hotaru finally replies, "No." Hotaru says simply.

"Ah, good! I hope everyone is all right, though. It's kind of sad that we can't use our powers for natural disasters like this. I bet Michiru-san and Ami-san could put those fires out with ease." Chibi-Usa responds.

"Probably." Hotaru agrees. "I think we should tell Setsuna-mama of the tragedy,
just in case."

Unable to deviate from her fixation, Chibi-Usa blurts out, "I bet Minako tapes the show." Chibi states hopefully. "She'd probably never admit it, though!"
"She might tape it. Regardless of the quality of the show, I'm sure she's really flattered by it. I would be." Hotaru replies.
"Think they'll ever make a show on the rest of us? What do you think that would be like?" Chibi-Usa smiles excitedly at the thought.

Hotaru's eyes squint as she attempts to imagine a Sailor S! show.

A girl much taller than Hotaru stands atop a building, her large bosom protrudes from her senshi uniform, which has purple and pink striping at the fringe. Her long black hair is tousled by the breeze, and she holds a large staff that looks to be a cross between Setsuna's staff and Usagi's wand. "I will protect the people of Tokyo from evil!" Sailor S!
declares "For I am Sailor S! I will defeat my enemies with my happy-love wand!!" her breasts bounce as she lifts her wand with great confidence.

Hotaru shakes her head slightly back and forth as her face contorts into a grimace,
"Chibi-Usa-chan, maybe Minako-san doesn't tape Sailor V."

Setsuna sits studiously at a desk in the observatory ruminating over a stack of reports. She pushes up her glasses with a delicate finger while contemplating the information before her. In the background, a radio plays news reports of brush fires spreading within the woodlands of the nation.

"Hmm, these calculations do not seem correct." Setsuna sighs in frustration. "The ozone has not deteriorated significantly, but the atmosphere appears more heated than usual. However, there are no mathematical equations in this read out to explain the source." Setsuna removes her glasses, then rubs her temples with her hands. She closes her eyes, and attempts to attune herself with the gates of time. "I sense no enemies!" she exclaims in frustration.

A nondescript man walks into Setsuna's office at the observatory. He is wearing a lab coat, and seems intimidated by the pensive, green haired beauty, "Ah, Meioh-san?"

Setsuna turns in her chair and rises to her feet before responding to her colleague,
"Yes, Katsuhito-san?"

Katsuhito's eyes widen at the inordinate amount of respect Setsuna has shown, and bows to her. "You have a phone call, Meioh-san!"

Setsuna smirks humouringly to her colleague, "Meioh-SAN, not Meioh-sama. You need not bow so deeply."

Katsuhito finds himself blushing over Setsuna's playful admonishment. "Sorry, Meioh-san."

"It's fine, Katsuhito-san. Thank you for informing me of the call." she smiles at the embarrassed young scientist before her.

"You're welcome, Meioh-san." Katsuhito, feeling quite childish, but fond, after his encounter with Setsuna, feels relieved to leave the room.

Setsuna sits back down in her chair, and quickly reaches over for the phone.
Perhaps it would be an associate with more comprehensive reports on the phenomena within the atmosphere... and maybe Haruka just wants her to pick up lotus buns on her way home. Setsuna smirks at the thought.

"Hello? This is Meioh-san."

"Setsuna-mama!" Hotaru is on the other end, "Have you heard the news?"

"Yes, I have. I have been reviewing reports on the phenomena all day long. Do you have an ill intuitions, Hotaru-chan?"

"No, Setsuna-mama. Do you?" the young girl asks.

"None at all, the gates tell me nothing. I suppose this truly is simply a course of nature, though our readings are erratic at best."

"I guess that is a relief!" Hotaru replies.

Setsuna can hear Hotaru speaking to someone in the background, Chibi-Usa she'd wager. "Setsuna-mama says it's not an enemy!" Setsuna can barely hear the girl's reply, but it is audible.

"Good!" Chibi-Usa responds, "I don't want to fight on my vacation!"

"You're starting to sound like Usagi-chan!" Hotaru giggles to her friend. Setsuna finds herself unable to restrain a quiet giggle over the similarities herself.

"I AM NOT!" she can hear Chibi-Usa yell her defiance quite clearly.

"Thank you for calling me, Hotaru-chan" Setsuna interrupts the girls' conversation.

"Oh?" Hotaru sounds surprised by Setsuna's reaction, "You're welcome, Setsuna-
mama!"

"I have to get back to work, all right?"

"Yes!" Hotaru replies energetically. "If I sense anything, I will tell you."

"Thank you, Hotaru-chan."

"Bye!"

"Bye, Hotaru-chan."

Setsuna hangs up the phone, a smile upon her face. "Chibi-Usa does seem every bit the likeness of her mother. The two of them are quite entertaining, indeed." ------------------------------------------------------------------------

And so ends chapter three! Huzzah!

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Thank you for reading my work!

Monikku.