Author's Notes: I hope I am not progressing characterisation too quickly
within this chapter. Any comments, criticisms, etc, please comment via email
at l0vecat (at) or leave a message within this thread. Thank you
for reading!
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Vessels of Fate,
Blood of the Mountains By Monikku.
Minako's cellphone sang melodically, her favourite Ayumi Hamasaki song cascaded from the small device. She exited Crown Game Room and Fruit Parlor as she answered the call, "Hello, this is Aino."
"Minako-chan!" Usagi exclaimed gleefully, forcing Minako to remove the phone from her ear. "We're having a get-together at Michiru-san, Setsuna-san,
and Haruka-san's! Can you pick up Rei-chan? I tried calling her house, but Ojii-chan said he couldn't get her to come to the phone."
"You want me to pick up Rei? I'm all sweaty." Minako replied.
"So what? Ah, how are you sweaty, anyway?" Usagi inquired.
"Jogging,"
"Ew, you're probably stinky. Go shower first, then pick up Rei-chan! Ah,
what?" Usagi was speaking to someone in the room with her. "Mamo-chan says to go to Rei-chan's, and we'll pick you two up from there."
"Okay, Usagi-chan, give me at least a half hour!"
"Will do, see you soon!"
Minako closed her cellphone, effectively cutting off the call. She began to jog home, at a pace much faster than she had traveled to get to the Parlor.
Suddenly her body seemed unburdened and ready for greater trials. Perhaps incentive was all she ever needed.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Rei fell back from her stance in front of the fire, she breathed heavily,
her eyes lidded and teary, from what, she could not place. She hadn't left the sacred fire in twelve hours, though it only felt minutes to her. She was so deeply embedded in meditation, it blanketed her consciousness as the thickest snowfall of winter. Something within the sacred fire managed to chill her to the center of her existence. There was something asphyxiating her insides, but she could understand nothing of why.
She could understand nothing. She laughed derisively. People sought her guidance, they felt she had such keen intuition. However, the one thread that wove itself continuously throughout the tapestry of her life had been just that... confusion. Her complete lack of understanding. She was but a frightened child, encased by the fire, desperately trying to find a shred of meaning.
Always searching for answers to questions she had no strength to ask.
She had no strength.
"I am a fraud," she whimpered quietly to herself. "A fraud!" she cried of pure frustration.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Minako wore only a towel after having taken a shower. She was whistling happily, as she opened her closet door, Artemis found this encouraging, if not slightly unusual.
"What caused such a good mood, Mina-chan?"
"Do I need a reason for a good mood?" Minako replied, sifting through her clothes, looking for a proper outfit for the occasion.
"You seem happier than usual, for just meeting with friends." Artemis, not missing the chance to poke a little fun at Minako, commented, "Don't tell me you have a crush on Haruka again!"
"You enjoy sleeping on the floor, don't you, cat!?" Minako stomped.
Artemis sweatdropped, "Ah, Mina-chan, I was only having a little fun. I suppose summer makes me friskier than usual."
"Hmmm..." Minako pondered, "What about this outfit?" Minako held up a burgundy skirt, that seemed a bit short, if Artemis felt at liberty to comment,
which he most certainly did not. She held up, above the skirt, a sleeveless,
white, tight fitting shirt with a loose sloping collar that would, assuredly reveal quite a bit of cleavage. Artemis sweatdropped once more. "DO YOU have a crush on Haruka?" Artemis questioned in his mind.
"Close your eyes, I'm going to get dressed." Minako instructed as she began to untie the knot in her towel. Artemis ascended himself into darkness, as Minako dressed herself. Moments later, he was once again allowed to open his eyes. The sight before him was one that left him a bit in awe, had he still had his human form, and wasn't utterly dedicated to Luna, he would certainly have taken his chances with Minako. The girl slipped on a pair of white sandals, as she rushed for the door. "We're going to be late, hurry up!"
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Rei lay in her ofuro, green tea water simmering and soothing her body,
relaxing her muscles which had been taut and tensed through stress. The steam rising both dizzied and quelled her senses, she had been torturing herself slowly. Though, she would never admit to it; She would never allow herself to see it as such.
A million thoughts trampled through her mind in such a flurry it was impossible for her to grasp onto one. With every attempt, they slipped through her fingers, one by one, they all wiggled free. How could she find peace in the endless chaos that had become her own mind, or perhaps, it was her heart?
Unaware how, or when it had happened, she found herself curled as a fetus,
wound tightly into herself... she was crying. She was sobbing. She was gasping for air, amidst the intolerable agony of her misery.
Her chest broke and ached, felt teeth sink in, rip through flesh, tendons,
muscle, bone. This was the beast of her despair, and it was mercilessly devouring her, soul-first.
She stepped from her ofuro, with the grace of a drunken salaryman, and stumbled to the toilet. She vomited bile, her stomach empty from lack of self-
preservation. "What have I become?" she mumbled, "What am I doing to myself?"
Rei rested her head in her hands, she was still sitting on the floor, tired from fighting.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Minako sat in the moving metro car, on her way to Rei's. She fiddled restlessly with her fingers, and avoided the gaze of many appreciative boys.
She never noticed how often men stared at her, something about their eyes made her feel embarrassed, which made her seem coy, which piqued the interest of the gazing eyes even more, she figured.
"I'm not used to feeling this unsure," she thought. "I hate it!" She mustered up her usual confident air, and lifted her head with a grace more befitting her nature. She found a quiet, shy boy, perhaps a year or two younger than she, glancing at her. Having been caught, he blushed furiously. She winked at the boy, and could practically see the heat rise from his face in waves.
Minako giggled to herself. "This feels more natural!"
She lifted her gym bag to her lap, having stashed Artemis inside. Cats were not allowed on public transit, afterall. A fact that Artemis grumbled over every time the gym bagged was pulled out.
"We're almost there," Minako whispered.
"We better be," Artemis whispered back. "The insufferable indignity" he finished in his own feline mind.
"No one has been able to get in touch with Rei all day. I wonder what is going on?" Minako said quietly to herself.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Rei stepped from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body. She walked to her bedroom, and closed the door behind her. Slowly and methodically she brushed her hair. Inside, she was vacant. She stared impassively at her image reflected back at her in the mirror, she watched her hands make the same monotonous movements, and she felt nothing. There was no connection to her actions, no connection to herself. "Perhaps this is what being dead feels like." she pondered in her own mind. "Perhaps this is what Oka-san feels now."
She averted her eyes from her reflection, disgusted with herself for thinking such a thing.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Minako had made her way from the metro station to Rei's shrine with Artemis in tow. "I hope Rei doesn't take too long to get ready, Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san will be here in only a few minutes."
Thinking in his mind, "Imposed upon, and asked to hurry up, Rei'll take well to this plan." the cat rolled his eyes to himself. "Especially with the mood she's been in lately."
"Mina-chan, I think I will wait outside with Deimos and Phobos. It's been a while since the three of us had any time together." Artemis informed Minako.
"All right," Minako replied as she reached the top of the steps to the shrine.
Artemis bounded to the tree Deimos and Phobos were likely to inhabit, many charms, many hopes and dreams for the future, dangled from its limbs. The perfect place for protectors of love and peace, for servants to a priestess in the makings, to call home.
Minako knocked on the door to the shrine, Rei's Ojii-chan opened and smiled warmly at the young blonde. "Welcome," he greeted.
"Hi, Ojii-chan! Is Rei here?" She asked energetically.
"Yes, she's in bed. She's been meditating very hard before the fire lately.
I'm glad you are here, maybe you can get her to go out and be carefree. I know I joke, but sometimes she takes things too seriously. She needs a break."
Minako winked at the old man, and gave him a thumbs up. "Don't worry, Jii-chan, I've come to invite her to a gathering at a friend's house!"
"That should be just what she needs," the old man smiled at Minako gratefully, and closed the door behind them, as Minako made her way to Rei's bedroom.
Minako knocked on Rei's door gingerly, a small, unaccountable blush crept upon her face, "Rei-chan? Can I come in?"
There was no response.
Minako knocked once more, again, there was no response. "Maybe she's sleeping," Minako thought. She slowly opened the door, and found Rei laying in bed on her side. Rei was naked, and staring at the wall ahead of her. Minako turned her head abruptly, her face turning a fine shade of magenta. Minako apologised profusely for the intrusion. Rei responded coldly, "What do you want?" Minako found herself nervous and stammering, how was it Rei could make her fumble so easily? "It's just, uhm, everyone was meeting at Haruka-san's and Usagi-chan told me she would pick us up from your house, and she insisted that I come get you and..." Minako paused, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Rei responded tersely. "I do not recall ever having been asked if I wanted to go."
Minako responded empathetically, "Well, Usagi-chan isn't one for asking."
while she continued to stare at the wall.
"It's easier to just give into Usagi, isn't it?" Minako heard a glimmer of softness in Rei's voice upon uttering those words, she felt a pang she was unable to describe.
"Shall I wait outside while you get dressed?" Minako asked, her previous chipper tone vanished.
"Please." Rei replied.
Minako exited Rei's bedroom and rested herself against the wall near her door. She felt completely dejected. "I feel like a yo-yo, funny how Rei can do that to me." she whispered to herself.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Artemis thanked the gods for the litheness of his feline body as he climbed the tree that was the home to Deimos and Phobos. The birds crowed in greeting to the cat. Should anyone have seen the exchange, they surely would have been in awe. A cat getting along well with crows? What feat of nature was this?
Artemis greeted the two, "Good afternoon. It's been quite some time!"
The crows had agreed, "It has been too long."
"I assume you are well," Artemis replied.
"We are fine," said Deimos. "However..." The pain reflected in the crow's voice troubled the feline.
Phobos continued on, "We fear our Mistress is not well, worst yet, we know not what ails her."
Artemis turned to stare at the shrine, confusion and concern overtaking him.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
End o' chapter five
Hope you enjoyed it!
Monikku.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Vessels of Fate,
Blood of the Mountains By Monikku.
Minako's cellphone sang melodically, her favourite Ayumi Hamasaki song cascaded from the small device. She exited Crown Game Room and Fruit Parlor as she answered the call, "Hello, this is Aino."
"Minako-chan!" Usagi exclaimed gleefully, forcing Minako to remove the phone from her ear. "We're having a get-together at Michiru-san, Setsuna-san,
and Haruka-san's! Can you pick up Rei-chan? I tried calling her house, but Ojii-chan said he couldn't get her to come to the phone."
"You want me to pick up Rei? I'm all sweaty." Minako replied.
"So what? Ah, how are you sweaty, anyway?" Usagi inquired.
"Jogging,"
"Ew, you're probably stinky. Go shower first, then pick up Rei-chan! Ah,
what?" Usagi was speaking to someone in the room with her. "Mamo-chan says to go to Rei-chan's, and we'll pick you two up from there."
"Okay, Usagi-chan, give me at least a half hour!"
"Will do, see you soon!"
Minako closed her cellphone, effectively cutting off the call. She began to jog home, at a pace much faster than she had traveled to get to the Parlor.
Suddenly her body seemed unburdened and ready for greater trials. Perhaps incentive was all she ever needed.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Rei fell back from her stance in front of the fire, she breathed heavily,
her eyes lidded and teary, from what, she could not place. She hadn't left the sacred fire in twelve hours, though it only felt minutes to her. She was so deeply embedded in meditation, it blanketed her consciousness as the thickest snowfall of winter. Something within the sacred fire managed to chill her to the center of her existence. There was something asphyxiating her insides, but she could understand nothing of why.
She could understand nothing. She laughed derisively. People sought her guidance, they felt she had such keen intuition. However, the one thread that wove itself continuously throughout the tapestry of her life had been just that... confusion. Her complete lack of understanding. She was but a frightened child, encased by the fire, desperately trying to find a shred of meaning.
Always searching for answers to questions she had no strength to ask.
She had no strength.
"I am a fraud," she whimpered quietly to herself. "A fraud!" she cried of pure frustration.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Minako wore only a towel after having taken a shower. She was whistling happily, as she opened her closet door, Artemis found this encouraging, if not slightly unusual.
"What caused such a good mood, Mina-chan?"
"Do I need a reason for a good mood?" Minako replied, sifting through her clothes, looking for a proper outfit for the occasion.
"You seem happier than usual, for just meeting with friends." Artemis, not missing the chance to poke a little fun at Minako, commented, "Don't tell me you have a crush on Haruka again!"
"You enjoy sleeping on the floor, don't you, cat!?" Minako stomped.
Artemis sweatdropped, "Ah, Mina-chan, I was only having a little fun. I suppose summer makes me friskier than usual."
"Hmmm..." Minako pondered, "What about this outfit?" Minako held up a burgundy skirt, that seemed a bit short, if Artemis felt at liberty to comment,
which he most certainly did not. She held up, above the skirt, a sleeveless,
white, tight fitting shirt with a loose sloping collar that would, assuredly reveal quite a bit of cleavage. Artemis sweatdropped once more. "DO YOU have a crush on Haruka?" Artemis questioned in his mind.
"Close your eyes, I'm going to get dressed." Minako instructed as she began to untie the knot in her towel. Artemis ascended himself into darkness, as Minako dressed herself. Moments later, he was once again allowed to open his eyes. The sight before him was one that left him a bit in awe, had he still had his human form, and wasn't utterly dedicated to Luna, he would certainly have taken his chances with Minako. The girl slipped on a pair of white sandals, as she rushed for the door. "We're going to be late, hurry up!"
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Rei lay in her ofuro, green tea water simmering and soothing her body,
relaxing her muscles which had been taut and tensed through stress. The steam rising both dizzied and quelled her senses, she had been torturing herself slowly. Though, she would never admit to it; She would never allow herself to see it as such.
A million thoughts trampled through her mind in such a flurry it was impossible for her to grasp onto one. With every attempt, they slipped through her fingers, one by one, they all wiggled free. How could she find peace in the endless chaos that had become her own mind, or perhaps, it was her heart?
Unaware how, or when it had happened, she found herself curled as a fetus,
wound tightly into herself... she was crying. She was sobbing. She was gasping for air, amidst the intolerable agony of her misery.
Her chest broke and ached, felt teeth sink in, rip through flesh, tendons,
muscle, bone. This was the beast of her despair, and it was mercilessly devouring her, soul-first.
She stepped from her ofuro, with the grace of a drunken salaryman, and stumbled to the toilet. She vomited bile, her stomach empty from lack of self-
preservation. "What have I become?" she mumbled, "What am I doing to myself?"
Rei rested her head in her hands, she was still sitting on the floor, tired from fighting.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Minako sat in the moving metro car, on her way to Rei's. She fiddled restlessly with her fingers, and avoided the gaze of many appreciative boys.
She never noticed how often men stared at her, something about their eyes made her feel embarrassed, which made her seem coy, which piqued the interest of the gazing eyes even more, she figured.
"I'm not used to feeling this unsure," she thought. "I hate it!" She mustered up her usual confident air, and lifted her head with a grace more befitting her nature. She found a quiet, shy boy, perhaps a year or two younger than she, glancing at her. Having been caught, he blushed furiously. She winked at the boy, and could practically see the heat rise from his face in waves.
Minako giggled to herself. "This feels more natural!"
She lifted her gym bag to her lap, having stashed Artemis inside. Cats were not allowed on public transit, afterall. A fact that Artemis grumbled over every time the gym bagged was pulled out.
"We're almost there," Minako whispered.
"We better be," Artemis whispered back. "The insufferable indignity" he finished in his own feline mind.
"No one has been able to get in touch with Rei all day. I wonder what is going on?" Minako said quietly to herself.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Rei stepped from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body. She walked to her bedroom, and closed the door behind her. Slowly and methodically she brushed her hair. Inside, she was vacant. She stared impassively at her image reflected back at her in the mirror, she watched her hands make the same monotonous movements, and she felt nothing. There was no connection to her actions, no connection to herself. "Perhaps this is what being dead feels like." she pondered in her own mind. "Perhaps this is what Oka-san feels now."
She averted her eyes from her reflection, disgusted with herself for thinking such a thing.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Minako had made her way from the metro station to Rei's shrine with Artemis in tow. "I hope Rei doesn't take too long to get ready, Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san will be here in only a few minutes."
Thinking in his mind, "Imposed upon, and asked to hurry up, Rei'll take well to this plan." the cat rolled his eyes to himself. "Especially with the mood she's been in lately."
"Mina-chan, I think I will wait outside with Deimos and Phobos. It's been a while since the three of us had any time together." Artemis informed Minako.
"All right," Minako replied as she reached the top of the steps to the shrine.
Artemis bounded to the tree Deimos and Phobos were likely to inhabit, many charms, many hopes and dreams for the future, dangled from its limbs. The perfect place for protectors of love and peace, for servants to a priestess in the makings, to call home.
Minako knocked on the door to the shrine, Rei's Ojii-chan opened and smiled warmly at the young blonde. "Welcome," he greeted.
"Hi, Ojii-chan! Is Rei here?" She asked energetically.
"Yes, she's in bed. She's been meditating very hard before the fire lately.
I'm glad you are here, maybe you can get her to go out and be carefree. I know I joke, but sometimes she takes things too seriously. She needs a break."
Minako winked at the old man, and gave him a thumbs up. "Don't worry, Jii-chan, I've come to invite her to a gathering at a friend's house!"
"That should be just what she needs," the old man smiled at Minako gratefully, and closed the door behind them, as Minako made her way to Rei's bedroom.
Minako knocked on Rei's door gingerly, a small, unaccountable blush crept upon her face, "Rei-chan? Can I come in?"
There was no response.
Minako knocked once more, again, there was no response. "Maybe she's sleeping," Minako thought. She slowly opened the door, and found Rei laying in bed on her side. Rei was naked, and staring at the wall ahead of her. Minako turned her head abruptly, her face turning a fine shade of magenta. Minako apologised profusely for the intrusion. Rei responded coldly, "What do you want?" Minako found herself nervous and stammering, how was it Rei could make her fumble so easily? "It's just, uhm, everyone was meeting at Haruka-san's and Usagi-chan told me she would pick us up from your house, and she insisted that I come get you and..." Minako paused, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Rei responded tersely. "I do not recall ever having been asked if I wanted to go."
Minako responded empathetically, "Well, Usagi-chan isn't one for asking."
while she continued to stare at the wall.
"It's easier to just give into Usagi, isn't it?" Minako heard a glimmer of softness in Rei's voice upon uttering those words, she felt a pang she was unable to describe.
"Shall I wait outside while you get dressed?" Minako asked, her previous chipper tone vanished.
"Please." Rei replied.
Minako exited Rei's bedroom and rested herself against the wall near her door. She felt completely dejected. "I feel like a yo-yo, funny how Rei can do that to me." she whispered to herself.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Artemis thanked the gods for the litheness of his feline body as he climbed the tree that was the home to Deimos and Phobos. The birds crowed in greeting to the cat. Should anyone have seen the exchange, they surely would have been in awe. A cat getting along well with crows? What feat of nature was this?
Artemis greeted the two, "Good afternoon. It's been quite some time!"
The crows had agreed, "It has been too long."
"I assume you are well," Artemis replied.
"We are fine," said Deimos. "However..." The pain reflected in the crow's voice troubled the feline.
Phobos continued on, "We fear our Mistress is not well, worst yet, we know not what ails her."
Artemis turned to stare at the shrine, confusion and concern overtaking him.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
End o' chapter five
Hope you enjoyed it!
Monikku.