SIX

"Answer it, silly—it's not going to bite you," Minako jolts me out of my shocked paralysis.

I pick up the phone just before it vibrates off the counter. Sakura Fubuki is almost through it's second chorus as I flip the phone open and bring it shakily to my ear, "Moshi-moshi," I manage without stammering, "Rei-chan?"

"Who else would it be?" she asks sounding more than a little amused.

I say nothing for a moment—feeling crestfallen.

"Are you guys going to stop talking about me any time soon? I'd like to stop sneezing," she giggles. It reminds me how the first time I met her I thought she could never laugh—everything seemed so serious to her. Of course, I'm sure that the others probably thought I would never get my head out of books to relax for more than a few seconds either, "But, anyway-" she says.

"Rei-chan, if you're calling from the airport-"

As Minako looks over to me I suddenly realize that this is who she was in touch with earlier.

"No-no," Rei replies, "Actually I'm in a taxi. What's your apartment address?"

Minako takes the phone from me before I drop it, "Breathe Ami-chan, breathe," she instructs, guiding me towards the stool, which I almost miss, "It's easy just in through the nose and back out. You do it all the time," she pats my knee, "You were right," she says to Rei, with an amused look in my direction.

"You are both hideously mean," I point out, scrabbling for my glasses which are by now askew, and covered in fingerprints. I busy myself cleaning them on my pyjama shirt.

"I told you that I thought Rei-chan was in New York still," Minako says, and then apparently Rei is saying something so she goes back to the phone and walks over to the refrigerator and leafs through the bill sorter I have stuck to it with magnets. She pulls out an envelope and reads off part of the address then she hangs up and gives me back the phone. I cling to it. I'm half expecting it to start chiming again with someone else calling for directions or asking to be picked up. Nothing happens.

"Shatcho's been after Rei-chan and I to do some work with this US band—well it's a concert, actually," Minako explains, "and given Rei-chan was in New York and that's sort of closer than Japan—I thought with her help we might be able to narrow things down before we ship everyone over for what's hopefully nothing, and she would have a reason..."

"They'll be mad," I point out, "That we didn't say anything."

Minako's head bobs from side to side as though she's bouncing this idea around in her brain, "but don't you think they'd do the same for us if something were going on in Tok—?"

"Alright, alright," I say and pick up a fork to finish the last of the pancakes.

Artemis wakes up properly a few minutes later, almost falling off the window sill again startled by the appearance of the fire senshi tapping on the window. He adjusts himself so that he can begin washing. Minako has the map spread out on the coffee table adding on the place where the latest attack occurred. Trying to see if there is a pattern is more like needle in a haystack.

Rei is wearing blue jeans and a black tank top and has a long-sleeved red shirt tied at her waist. She waves at us with the hand that's not pulling a small trundle suitcase. I run to the door and let her in. Aside from the trundle case she has a large over the shoulder bag and a canvas purse. With Minako's help we get everything in easily. Then there is the requisite hugging, poking, chiding and teasing. Rei makes me stand up and turn around. She pronounces me far too thin and accuses me of having starved myself half to death with overwork. Minako agrees. I threaten half-heartedly to send them both to a hotel if they're going to be like that.

Artemis starts to complain about Rei sneaking up on him but is placated when she picks him up and cuddles him. She sits down on the sofa scratching his head while she surveys the map that's spread on the table.

"I just knew it was too quiet," she mutters, "but then perhaps we're known for thoroughly destroying things in Japan so they tried for elsewhere."

Minako kneels down on the opposite side of the table as I go and get drinks. Minako had stocked the fridge with Ramune, when she bought groceries, there are four different flavors. I bring rice candy as well, and open Rei's soda before handing it over to her so that she doesn't have to upset Artemis from her lap. Minako has already half-drained hers by the time I sit down.

"I could feel something was wrong when I was talking on the phone. There are threads of foreboding all over the place, all these tangled lines. So far I haven't had any strong visions about anything other than that," Rei sighs, "I just wish our investigations weren't going to have to be scheduled around rehearsals. Why did you have to tell Shatcho that I was coming?"

"He's been after a reunion concert for ages," Minako says.

"But this isn't that-these "Three Lights" whoever they are..." Rei complains, then she shakes her head and returns to business, "Have there been set times for the attacks?" she turns to me.

"Not really," I answer.

"Actually it's not just "Three Lights"," Minako puts in.

Both Rei and I turn to her, perplexed, waiting for explanation.

"Apparently there's this techno violinist or someone," Minako goes on, "The Lights want to work with her as well. I'd guess one of them wants to try and get with her," she shrugs.

Rei makes a very disgruntled noise but then turns back to me, "The attacks?" she persists.

"Well, the first few weren't witnessed, so we only have the vaguest of ideas when they happened. The last one—they attacked so many there couldn't really not be witnesses—but it was after dark."

Rei nods, leaning back and yawning, "Perhaps we can go around downtown and take a look?"

Small talk keeps us distracted as we ride the bus. Rei seems just as intrigued by what is being called the Harris Phenomena as Minako. I find myself wrapped in several uncomfortable jokes like, "trust the Goddess of Love" or "listen to the Flame of Passion". I try to distract myself with my phone, but they're both sitting on either side of me so this fails.

"How long has it been since you've seen Rei-chan?" Minako asks, "Isn't it extremely rude of you to hide behind your phone the ENTIRE time?"

"It is," Rei adds before I can say anything, "How mean of you Ami-chan? Extremely mean!"

I can't help but blush—even though I know they're not serious, "I will only talk if you agree not to bring up Harris again...please," I look as sternly as I can from one to the other.

Both of them do a very good impersonation of being affronted. There's an awful moment where I think that I have misinterpreted the humor and really have offended them but then Minako collapses into a fit of the giggles and proves they really are just "having me on"

"We have more important-," I start.

"-things to worry about than your love life-" Rei says.

"-or denial thereof," Minako finishes.

They both laugh. I lower my head towards my lap and am almost concussed by the seat in front of us when the bus stops, and barely right myself before it starts again.

"Imagine how much worse to deal with Usagi-chan would be," Rei teases.

I have to admit this could be true. If Usagi were here I could easily see her trying to drag us over to Harris' house instead of working. She would set up a match-making karaoke party so that his sister could hang out with Mars Reiko and Aino Minako. Usagi was getting a lot better about focusing before we started to go our separate ways, but there's no telling what the peaceful times in Tokyo will have done for her behavior patterns.

"You're not as bad as Mako-chan," Rei continues.

"Why? What's happened? Aren't she and Motoki-san-?"

"You would think," she answers, staring out of the window for a few moments, "and now I know I'm not around them all that much when I haven't been playing Mars Reiko," she gives a pointed glare and presses the emphasis towards Minako who just winks at her. Rei's eyes are laughing, "I've been up at the shrine, but what little I've seen—especially with Motoki-san still stuttering around about the whole thing-"

"-and Mako-chan probably completely oblivious," Minako puts in with a glance towards me, "much like some other people we can't mention."

Rei nods and seems about to add something but what comes out is, "We need to get off here," and she pushes the emergency stop button as she leaps to her feet. Minako and I are quick to chase after her. The driver's voice follows us for a few seconds, full of rude words and threats, none of which he can act on before we're gone. We follow Rei carefully through the streets, picking our way past vendors and buskers. This is an area of LA that I've never been to, but that's not saying much. Any time it seems that either Minako or I even think about saying something Rei holds up a hand facing towards us, without stopping her forward motion. So we stay quiet so she can concentrate.

We've gone about three blocks when there's a wave of power that even a very not psychic person like myself can pick up slams into us. We slow down. I could swear that I hear someone yelling something about a laser, and there are sounds of fighting. The three of us exchange glances. A very tall woman with auburn hair wearing—what is she wearing? Or not wearing? Is thrown into the exterior wall of the nearby warehouse and then slides to the ground. Plate glass shatters all around. Again I hear something about lasers and this time also infernos. It hits me then that we should be helping. There are energies flaring back and forth across the alleyway.

I know I'm not the only one as I begin the motions I see the others are also transforming. Venus finishes first, Mars and I close behind, and we run into the fray. The auburn-haired woman is picking herself up and very carefully trying to move into battle.

There is a youma. The alley is too full of battle for me to be able to get a clear enough view of it to work out if it is the same one that attacked the group who were at the hospital. There are two other woman both clad in as little as the auburn one. They're the source of the laser and inferno talk, pelting the youma with beams of energy from star-shaped devices they hold in their hands. They look at us suspiciously as we join the battle. There's some kind of snarky comment made in our direction but I don't catch it properly.

As they launch their next volley the three of us unleash simultaneous bursts from our own power. There's a sixth energy miasma from the auburn woman that adds enough power to nullify the youma. We find ourselves staring at each other with mixtures of disdain, curiosity and confusion, depending on the source. I move to the auburn woman, Doctor Mode kicking in, but the shorter of the other two steps between us. She has long pale almost silver hair which reminds me very much of Zoicite not only in color, but also style.

"And just who the Hell are you?" she demands, "It's like they're multiplying like rats," she adds to her companions.

"Healer-" the dark haired laser shooter starts.

"What about you guys?" Venus demands, clearly ruffled, "You look as though you just walked off a porn set!"

"You have no room to talk-" one of them counters. I'm too busy hiding my face from the flush of embarrassment that I feel burning its way up my entire body to see, but I would guess the dark-haired one from the timbre of the voice.

"Alright!" The auburn one interjects, "Now that we're done insulting each other-" she looks pointedly at her companions and then turns to us, "We appreciate the attempt at help, but as we told your others, we would like you to leave this alone. You're interlopers-"

"Others?" Venus says.

"Interlopers?" Mars demands, "We've been fighting creatures like this on and off for years."

"Although admittedly in Japan," I point out, wondering if I should ask her to describe this "other".

Mars gives a chagrined smile, "Okay, so, yes, in Japan bu-"

"So, what, you just took a side trip from Osaka to help us out of the kindness of your heart?" Healer asks, "How very generous of you. We don't need help. We'll handle it."

"Because you're doing such a great job so far," Venus says, closing the gap between where she and Mars have been standing and where I got to on my approach to the auburn woman, "Mercury, how many are there at the general hospital alone?"

"Eight."

"They should be fine now," the dark-haired one says, but there is a clear petulance in her words.

We're all just rubbing each other the wrong way. We're not going to get any of the answers we need. Deep down I'm sure we all know it.

"This isn't helping," I try, "and that's all we were trying to do. We...I...we thought—"

"Well, thank you very much," she starts, but then stops.

We all hear it. Sirens. Rarely every a problem in Tokyo, but the police here probably think some kind of gang war has been going on and who knows what they would change their ideas to if they walk in on us. We melt away. We go back to the nearest bus stop once we look more civilian, but who knows where our 'new friends' have gone.

"That could have gone better," Rei says.

Minako sighs, brushing down her slacks as she sits down at the bus stop, "You'd think after what went on...they didn't feel right though. I have no idea how else to explain it."

"I know what you mean," Rei answers, "It was as if they were just as alien as the youma. We're going to have to track them down again. Hopefully we can be more peaceful about it?"

"Hopefully," I agree, "but if they've been here—perhaps they've been able to keep things in check before now. Perhaps they're America's senshi? How would we feel if they just appeared and started attacking things in Tokyo?"

"They did say something about others didn't they?" Minako asks.

"I don't know," Rei answers, "and besides normal Americans don't feel like that, and I honestly don't know," she says the last part to Minako.

"I thought I heard it too, the others thing. I just…there was SO much going on." I turn to Rei, "How do we feel compared to regular Japanese people?"

"Different," Rei admits, "but not that different."