Welp, this took longer than it should've. =/ I got it back from my beta (Graceful Amethyst – much thanks to her for putting up with me! =D) on the 21st, which is the same day I sent it to her, and sadly was away at a friend's house for the weekend at that time. xD; So here's the new chapter, and I'll make the next one super awesome (eh, I hope) to make up for the delay.
Disclaimer: I do not own BSSM. PGSM was a typo. xD Though I don't own it either, this fic is BSSM-based. Sorry for any previous confusion! ^^
Chapter Two: Across the Wire
It was a well-known fact that the The Eye in the Sky watched them all – and an even better-known fact that getting caught doing something against the unquestionable reign of The White Regime could get your face and name out on The Wire in less time than it would take you to blink. And once it was on The Wire, it was on your home viewscreens. On the giant monitors that lined city streets.
Which was most likely why images of Sailor Mars were everywhere. She'd been a problem on Mars for as long as anyone could remember. Granted, that was probably only the past two or three years, and usually quite sparingly. You heard whispers that someone was playing dress-up again, and it filled you with the usual dread. Because nobody wanted the world to change. They conveniently chose not to remember what had happened over a thousand years ago. Conveniently rewrote their history books to include that the Guardian Senshi, and the Outer Senshi, as well as Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion had been tyrants.
Crystal Tokyo was forgotten as it had been, an era of peace, and replaced in the minds of people as the villain. They lived under the power of The Hand That Feeds, because they enjoyed doing so. Because the thing's goddamn name was accurate. It fed. It could nourish a populace, provided said populace didn't revolt.
After the fall of Crystal Tokyo, people knew only a few things. The survivors – rescued, of course, by The White Regime – had been sent to various planets based on their attitudes. Those who accepted the Regime immediately were given the great honor of being able to live on the moon. Others stayed on Earth. As the years rolled on, more and more planets were made habitable again, though all contained powerful mutagens that seemed to affect people.
An example. The scholars on the moon and Earth, those working closely with The Regime, were sent to Mercury. After about six generations, there wasn't a hair colour but blue. Their IQ's could not be rivaled. Their technology was so far advanced. They created The Eye in the Sky.
Case in point. The mutagens, while existent, were for the most part not detrimental in any way.
Soon, there were only a few who stood opposed to The White Regime. They called themselves activists, people who remembered Crystal Tokyo and just refused to buy this bullshit about an era of peace. They were suspicious. They were rebellious.
And thus, they were a problem.
So they were sent to the least habitable of all the planets, most likely in hopes that they would die. Mars had been the first project of The White Regime – and it hadn't entirely been successful. People there seemed to acquire a certain bloodlust that drove them absolutely wild in no time at all. Soon, all the activists on Earth lived there. Anyone who had ever bothered to voice an opinion. It shut the rest of them up.
People who survived Mars did so by keeping quiet, building their strength, and always being on their guard. They were considered feral and violent by the rest of the planets under The Regime. Maybe they were right. The mutagens there seemed to tamper with their ability to survive longer than thirty years. Made them strong, but not as strong as some other planets. Fast, but not the fastest. Violet-eyed, hot-tempered. Occasionally insane.
Most of society chose to ignore the rumors that they could see into the future.
Monsters started attacking Mars with little to no warning. They formed camps, attacked the Martians with vigor. They'd been at war for about eight hundred years. That was, until this Sailor Mars had set into them so ferociously. Tearing at their beings with what people had heard were arrows of fire. Great flames that she manipulated.
Of course, no one had heard a thing about Sailor Mars until she started acting out on Earth. It was Regime soldiers, known as The Feet Who March. They were akin to what policemen had been in previous millennia. Well, to most people, anyway.
Most of the people on Mars still knew better than to believe that. It was the reason they were still in exile. The reason most Martians didn't ever leave their home planet. Why Rei was and always would be an exceptional case to study.
How she had been granted passage to and from Earth was anyone's guess.
A shot of black energy came barreling in the masked woman's direction, raven bangs framing a golden tiara with a sparkling red jewel at the center. She leapt backwards to avoid it, listening to the sounds of the men around her. Their eyes black, their souls the same.
"Sailor Mars, menace to society, once again kills innocents in the night. Watch out for a masked young woman with dark hair and a sailor soldier uniform."
She brought her hands close to her face, focusing for a moment as violet eyes stared at the lot of them. Sailor Mars did not smile as she sent off a powerful burst of fire, needing to only say two words to summon the flames to purge the Earth of the men before her. "Fire Soul!"
The last of the five she had initially come across sneered, glowing green for a moment before he shot off another blast of energy, blade-like in form. It grazed her side, making the girl snarl in a most unfriendly fashion. "Heh. Didn't like that, did you? Maybe you should think before you try to take on The Feet Who March. We're an extension of The White Regime, you know."
"Shadow Regime," she corrected, eyes narrowing. "You, who dare call yourselves white anything. Your impure presence shall not be missed. Fire Soul!"
The man erupted into the familiar crackling fire before turning to ash, a pendant left of what had been a person. She stopped now, looking to the sky. She knew she was being watched. She'd seen herself all over the city. Been talked about like she was the enemy. Sighing, she bowed her head, turning and taking to a run as she did. She needed to move before more came.
They hadn't had what she was looking for anyway.
An angry, red stain marred the white side of her fuku, the remnants of the energy blade from before. She didn't like this – lately, it had all been injuries on her part. Injuries and more and more enemies. She was patient, yes, but anyone in Mars' position would have started to get just a little bit frustrated when it came to this. A fruitless search and wounds that were getting harder and harder to hide.
The red mask on her face kept her identity a secret, thankfully. That, and the magic that seemed to cast itself over her. Honestly, how many Martians made it to Earth each year? Five? It shouldn't have been so hard for them to figure out.
But it was like it just never occurred to them that Sailor Mars could be from Mars. Kinsei.
Ducking into a nearby building, she felt herself become naked for a moment, thin material covering her form before she was once again in her street clothes, save the mask. Groaning as she looked at her side, Rei immediately regretted wearing a white top. Blood stains were difficult to hide, and Usagi wasn't one to miss a stain on clothing.
As much of an airhead as she was, she sure loved clothing. And noticed nearly every thread fibre there was to it. She'd been able to pass off a spot of blood on her jeans from before as a ketchup stain, but this was growing a little too quickly for that. "Artemis!" she called, hearing something rustle behind her.
On cue, a small, white cat with bright eyes and a golden crescent moon on his forehead appeared, looking to her hopefully. "Any luck finding - "
"No." He drank in her appearance then, not sure whether he should miss the old Rei. He remembered her well – miko robes and clothing from the nineteen-nineties otherwise. This one was very in tune with the times, so it seemed. He disapproved of the changes fashion had suffered in the past one-thousand-three-hundred-and-some years. Though jeans were still in style, they were... different, somehow. The material felt the same as he remembered, but they wore it with patterns in it, and large loops of a softer material often hung from it. Rei's were black most of the time. They had taken to bright colors, and their designs were eccentric at best. Her top, for example, would never have been seen in the times preceding Crystal Tokyo. It had one sleeve only, which hooked around her thumb. The other hand wore a glove with no fingers, black to match the strange... additions to her jeans. He was glad that Converse shoes had stood this test of time.
At least something was familiar.
He regretted that he only remembered his Martian charge and her clothing style, however. He tried desperately to recall the people who had been in her life at the time. Who had made her smile like he'd seen in his dreams, when the memories came to him.
The white cat hopped up onto a nearby crate, looking at her side and wincing as best a cat could. It looked like a clean slice, but she was bleeding. "That'll be hard to hide," he admitted, ignoring her 'no shit' look. He'd learned that this Rei spoke far less than the previous, and yet, still managed to be just as sarcastic. If not, then more so.
Heaven forbid he ever wind up having to look after an easy one for once.
Whoa, where had that thought come from? He shook his head, looking carefully outside. "Come on... let's head back home." She nodded and scooped him into her arms, carrying him back in spite of the pain in her side. He felt horrid, having her carry him around. He could've walked, but somehow, he didn't think she wanted him to.
It was like how she liked to sleep with him on the bed, occasionally touching him. She trusted him. She trusted him more than she trusted anyone else in the world, and it still wasn't enough for him to know anything about her.
He felt it his honor-bound duty to protect her, though. Artemis wanted to retain her trust, to keep her alive this time. He'd failed them in the past... he'd failed... so many times...
Not this time. He looked to her, knowing somehow that he had this time the charge with the most determination. She'd keep on, just because she knew she had to. He only prayed that they'd get some help sometime soon.
Even having one more senshi would've helped.
***
"Riiiise and shiiiine Rei-chan!" Oh, that voice... she groaned, rolling over and perfectly keen on not greeting the day. Her clothing from the previous night clung to her form, the blood-stained shirt matted into the wound. Artemis woke up with a mewl, staring at Usagi pathetically, as if begging her to not interrupt him so.
Cat naps were important to cats like himself. Regular, ordinary cats who didn't have crescent moons on their heads. Indeed, Artemis was all white in that moment, rolling over cutely and batting a paw at Usagi as she violently shook Rei's sleeping form.
Hissing, he leapt from the bed, trotting out to the kitchen then for a bit of food. He couldn't help his charge then, not without freaking out the normal people. She would have to handle herself this time around.
"Reiiii-chaaaaaaan... it's not like you to sleep in so late! It's already eight-thirty-two! We're late!" That seemed to rouse the Martian, grunting as she pulled herself out from under the covers. She realized her mistake too late as Usagi gasped, immediately placing her hand over Rei's ribcage. The dark-haired of the two grunted in pain, wincing as the Tsukino immediately began to make a very loud fuss. "Mama! Maaaamaaaaaaaa! Rei-chan is hurt!"
Rei slapped a hand over Usagi's mouth, violet eyes wide as the other girl exhibited an unusual amount of strength and easily pushed her away, running down the hall crying for her mother. Groaning, she sat back onto her bed and prepared for whatever was about to come her way. Her mind raced, trying to create excuses as she thought on how the elder Tsukino would react.
The pitying cry she let out as soon as she entered the room was a good enough answer, Ikuko running to embrace the usually anti-social Martian, stroking raven locks with one hand. "Oh, Rei-chan! Whatever could have happened to you?"
Here it was. Time to spin some lie or another. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Damn it. She wasn't this creative! She -
"Rei-chan! Why didn't you tell me you were hurt so badly when Minako-chan landed on you yesterday!" What. "Oh, it's all her fault! If she hadn't pushed herself on you like that, you wouldn't be bleeding. Kaa-san, kaa-san, we should call the doctor!"
"No!" Rei reacted to this first, shaking her head violently as she pulled away from the other woman, evidently over the initial shock of being held and petted by someone. She determined that, while the action hadn't been terrible, it would be preferable to avoid a repeat incident. "I mean... no, it won't be necessary. I'm no longer bleeding." Her voice felt thick with sleep, though her mind was racing and alert. A heavy Martian accent laced her speech, and Usagi couldn't help but wonder when, exactly, the various people of planets had found the time to create new languages amongst all of their resettling and whatnot.
Ikuko raised an eyebrow as she looked to her foster daughter, obviously not buying that this had happened during the afternoon without any of them noticing up until the time when Rei had retreated to her room for the night. However, she seemed alright with letting it go, something for which the only active guardian senshi was incredibly grateful.
Life was hard enough without being interrogated by people all around her. "Alright. Rei-chan, perhaps you'd like a bath drawn? I'll have Yuuchirou bring you your food in your room, if you'd like." Oh no. Anyone but him. "You should rest for today. We'll see how you're feeling tomorrow. As for you, daughter of mine... get to school! And see if you can get Rei-chan's homework for her, hm?"
Ah, lovely. So she got to miss 'hanging out' with the girls at lunch as Usagi had bragged they would.
She would call her injury a good luck charm, if this were the case. One night with the lot of them had been more than enough. When it came to school, she'd found that even the Mercurian had her babbling moments, leaving her the only silent one in a sea of women. It was like being an egg in a room full of chicks. They peeped relentlessly whilst you just sat there, life passing you by.
Minako was the worst. She unnerved her, with the way she insisted on sitting so close, and on constantly being in actual physical contact with her. Usagi had chided her for it at the time, and scolded Rei all the same when the Martian had pulled back the first few times. Apparently, such things were just the custom on Venus, where the other blonde had been born and raised.
Rei had determined she was never going to go to Venus.
***
She spent most of the day meditating, needing to break focus whenever she felt someone approaching her room. Heaven forbid they find her sitting up instead of spending the entire day in bed, like a lazy slob. The Martian scowled, hating that she needed to miss school for such a pathetic battle wound. It was already nothing more than a giant scab across her side.
Still, she owed Ikuko-sama for her silence.
The price to pay was acting like she had some fatal illness which had left her bed-ridden and miserable, though she tried to play the part of the girl acting valiantly until the time she would be better to get up and roam again.
How had she slept through her alarm? She usually was awake when a pin dropped, or Usagi snored in the next room (mind you, that was somewhat louder than the pin). She focused her mind, trying to find some explanation behind the near-comatose state she had apparently slipped into and called 'sleep'. Artemis hadn't been able to offer any advice thus far – he wasn't allowed to speak with her during the day. Not when the other humans were around. Normal people weren't supposed to know about him. Or her, for that matter. That was why they covered his crescent moon with a heavy deal of chalk and he acted somewhat wild around everyone else in the family when they tried to pet him. Why she needed to transform and wear a mask.
The mask.
Rei nearly fell out of bed, searching the sheets for it desperately. Her cover would be blown for sure if that thing turned up somewhere else and had a way of being traced back to her. She couldn't... ugh, there it was. Damnable thing. She didn't even like the idea of wearing a mask. Especially not this one.
It felt heavy in her hands in spite of the featherweight material. It felt familiar, as though not just from this lifetime. But somehow, she was always under the impression that it just... wasn't hers.
Footsteps. She hastily stuffed the mask in her pillowcase before clambering back onto the bed and wrenching the covers up over herself, hiding from whomsoever would be coming. The footsteps hadn't been familiar. They weren't Ikuko's – hers were confident, those of a knowing mother padding about her territory. Usagi's usually had a bit of beat to them. Before she tripped over herself, at any rate. Like she was hopping or skipping everywhere.
These ones were hesitant. Distant. And right outside of her door. Violet eyes stared hard at the door, catching sight of a lock of blonde hair as a familiar face from the day before entered, knocking only after the door was open. "Hey... mind if I come in?"
Rei didn't respond. What was she doing here? This was... well, her room. Mind you, it still looked very much like a guest room, everything done up in white. Sparce décor, the few things there obviously not her doing. Pictures of the family when Usagi had been little, before they'd received a foster child to fill whatever role she did.
Minako seemed to be taking this all into heavy consideration, cerulean eyes looking from the polished hardwood floor to the white ceiling. "Nobody would ever know you've lived in this room for eleven years..."
She shrugged in response, knowing that it wouldn't have mattered if she'd chosen that moment to speak anyway. The Venusian looked like she was off in space. She could have been as far as her home planet in that moment, from the vacant expression that crossed her features.
And what features they were. Delicate, but there was strength there. It was in her eyes, unlike the Jovian's, whose strength was mostly reflected in her body. There was also something else there, but she would have had to have been a mind-reader to pick up on it. She described it in her mind as 'loneliness and a sense of longing', but didn't trouble herself thinking what for.
Those eyes were too deep to analyze in such a way.
It was when she turned to look at her with surprising clarity that she was able to accurately describe an emotion that filled those bright pools. Want. She shuddered, immediately feeling her body stiffen in defense. She'd been the subject of this want before. She usually didn't want them back.
Want was the enemy. She never wanted people. She didn't need them, so why want? It seemed trivial. And yet, there was this blonde before her. Staring. Trying to figure her out with just her stares. Wanting. Rei felt herself become the feral creature she was before for a moment, scowling openly and snapping the young woman out of any trance she'd been in.
"Hey, hey! Okay, sheesh! Sorry for yesterday, can you give it up now? Honestly, you have worse mood swings than Usagi-chan without her chocolate."
"I heard that! I live in the next room, you know!"
"You were supposed to!" the more present of the two snapped back, shaking a fist at nothing in particular before dropping to her knees before Rei's bed. "Show it to me?" she asked after a moment, mood changing entirely. And she had thought Rei had bad mood swings. "Please? I never meant to hurt you so badly to cause you to miss school. And ruin a perfectly good shirt."
Groan. That's right. She'd forgotten that this one was her scapegoat. The reason she wasn't being so heavily interrogated by Usagi-chan at this very moment. That didn't mean she owed her a damn thing, especially not a good view of any part of her without clothing on. "Please?"
She found her head doing the opposite of what she had wanted it to, nodding slowly instead of shaking as vehemently as she wanted it to. Stupid body was just on the fritz today, wasn't it? Couldn't even get woken up by a damn alarm, ignored her internal clock entirely... submitted to the will of a mere girl before her.
The covers, though they hadn't been over her long, left her feeling cold and exposed as they were peeled back, soft fingertips tracing over the skin of her hip just a bit as she peeled the shirt Ikuko had managed to get Rei into up a touch. It all seemed to take forever, Minako peering at the bandaged side with a frown, fingers tracing the skin around the wound carefully. "How..."
So she wasn't as stupid as she appeared. Rei quickly pulled her shirt down, forcing the blonde's hands away from her in the process as she sent her a warning glare. The other girl seemed to take this for what it was worth, sighing and chewing on the inside of her cheek for a moment before picking up her bag and plunking it beside the injured Martian. "I got you your homework." Her voice sounded almost mechanical now, somewhat... was that spite she heard? "I'm in six out of seven of your classes. Ami-chan is in your homeroom."
The cold quality didn't leave her voice as she hurriedly left the bedside to exit the room, muttering her goodbye as she left, Artemis passing her curiously on the way back into his charge's bed chambers.
It was as she watched the Venusian's retreating form, all swaying hips and hair, that Rei experienced it for the first time. Want.
x0x
MinaRayeFan ; Thanks very much! I hope you'll like the rest of the fic as much.
youte ; Thank you! Such high praise! ^-^ Here's some more for you. =D
WITS ; My dear, darling WITS. 3 I've said most of what I can to you in a massive PM I sent away a few days ago, but I feel like restating my thanks here. =D
pri815 ; Thank you so much! ^^ I'm hoping you'll like my Mina too, once I get around to dedicating a chapter to her. Shouldn't be too long now!
Axilestyn ; Thanks again to you! ^^ Hehe, a bit of mystery's always fun though, isn't it? And I'm glad you caught onto the bits of humour. I do try to make the conversation a bit more interesting with fun inner dialogue. xD
Graceful Amethyst ; Thank you for one, being an awesome reader and reviewer, and two, being my beta who catches all my nasty mistakes. xD; People should be giving you credit for this chapter as well, fixin' my errors and whatnot!
Alrighty, I'm going to leave this here, and toss in a simple request that anyone who follows R number one and 'Reads' bothers to go after R number two and 'Review'. ^^ It really makes me want to post more, so if you like it/have any questions, comments, concerns, quips, or queries, you should hit the review button for me. =D