Sorry for the very long delay. I hope you enjoy the next part of the story. Thanx to ringroad25 for the help, espero que ya estes feliz de que siga con la historia. Mexico va a ganar el mundial! jajaja. Enjoy and please review!

Blood Red Summer

Like waking from a short but very intense dream, Makoto jerked her eyes open as she plummeted face first into a warm, uneven yet soft surface. The soft hiss of waves and a cool breeze reached her senses instantly, proving she was still alive and capable enough to slightly enjoy the calm around her. The brunette licked her lips before spitting out the sand, crunching in her teeth, and adorning the inside of her mouth. She looked up to the find a long streak of moonlight hovering over the ocean; luminous and blue, it rode between two rock formations, giving it the shape of a crescent moon.

You know what this is.

"It's a beach or do you mean...do I know this is another memory? I get it." Makoto said as she lifted herself up from the glowing sand and wiped the small fragments off.

Did you imagine to be in two places which are so different?

"No, I..." Makoto began to say but stopped when it finally hit her. Twisting around to find palm trees and blooming flowers, the skies above her clear and filled with stars, she shook her head in disbelief. "It's summer, how...? The last memory...my birthday...it was in winter!" she complained.

It was winter. Now it's summer. Good observation.

"So...for half a year...there was no other important memory? Nothing? Not even a glance, a touch? Nothing?" Makoto demanded angrily to the floating voice.

You two were senshi. The little time you shared was with the others. Besides, after the incident on your birthday, it took awhile for things to go back to normal. You can't act surprised.

Makoto frowned and held her chin in thought "Alright, that might be true. Still, isn't there anything?" she asked hopefully.

There's always something. There always was small and brief moments between you two. But they were so feeble that going back would be a waste of time. Let's concentrate on where we are now.

Tired of bickering and getting nowhere, Makoto nodded and looked over to her left where just across a huddle of swaying palm trees, movement could be seen as well as the flickering red and orange of a fire.

I don't need to tell you. Go ahead.

Guided against the night by the shining moon, Makoto walked nervously along the shoreline of the beach, the sand at her feet still moist and soft from the afternoon tide. Hearing voices, she stopped and hid herself behind a palm tree. With a loud snort, Makoto remembered she could not be seen or heard and therefore walked calmly into the opening just beyond the cluster of trees.

"Usagi-chan! Grab that other pole!" Rei cried as she and Ami held a crumpling tent while Usagi, at the other end, tried rearranging the sheets of fabric on their shelter.

"Give me a minute! The sand's getting in!" Usagi replied, frustrated.

"There won't be a place for sand to get in if you help!" Rei urged, feeling the pole she held stagger. Ami, beside her, also struggled to keep herself from falling under the weight.

Makoto giggled as she watched her friends argue. She had reached an opening surrounded by plants and small pieces of wood left by old boats. The open area was it by a roaring fire which in turn lit five girls trying to hoist their tents up. Sloppily, the sand around them was filled with discarded items including clothes, food in bags and an unassembled grill.

"I have a feeling this will turn out badly but I'm actually enjoying it" Makoto said, chuckling. She waited for a response but nothing came. The only sounds around her were Usagi and Rei shouting between blowing raspberries at each other.

"Hello? Hello?" - Makoto said into the wind, looking around - "Are you there?" she asked with a cry but still nothing came. Feeling anxious and scared, she turned to all sides of her. Feeling stupid, Makoto gave a frustrated sigh and let herself fall defeatedly on the sand. Grabbing her legs against her chest, she shook her head angrily "Thank you! Thank you for dumping me here! Hello? Are you there? Come on!" she screamed into the air, the echo died instantly at the roar of the waves.

"Minako! Minako-chan! Trade places with me!" Rei begged as she hammered down the pegs of her tent which on her side and Ami's was fine but on the other side, Usagi's side, kept falling down.

Hidden by another smaller tent, Minako giggled as a familiar brunette stood behind her and tried to help her latch the fabric of their shelter onto a pole. Too lost in fidgeting and laughter, the two girls had taken their time in putting up their tent.

Makoto, looking up from her sullen state, watched her younger self from behind. The brunette managed to secure the tent. Moments later, Minako turned towards the taller girl and apparently whispered something evil because, in a seconds, the brunette began to tickle to smaller girl mercilessly. The two girls broke into a fierce battle of laughter and poking, both playfully grabbing at each other. Minako, though beaten in strength, pulled away from her captor and shoved her away. The brunette , shocked and wide eyed, fell back but not before pulling the smaller girl down with her. Makoto grinned wickedly as she watched her past self fall back into the tent, taking it down, as Minako thumped on top of her.

"What the...? Come on you guys!" Rei protested. Her tent was now up only slightly hanging down from Usagi's side.

The brunette and Minako hollered with laughter as they laid against the sheets of their destroyed home, their faces inches away from each other. In an odd moment and feeling spontaneous, the taller girl wrapped her arms around the girl on top of her, confidently she lifted Minako's shirt a little and placed her hand gently on the small of her back.

"What are you doing!" Makoto complained feeling her face hot. She slapped her forehead in frustration and slid her palm up into her tattered hair, massaging her scalp anxiously.

Minako quickly stopped chuckling and looked down at the brunette under her who grinned weakly. The two girls heaved, their chests banging into each other, their hot gasps colliding as their mouths grew closer and closer.

"Come on! Do it!" Makoto urged as she felt the blood rush to her head. She was now sprawled on all fours and almost shaking with excitement.

She won't. You won't.

Makoto jumped when she heard the hovering voice over her, she even fell back, landing on her bottom and only saving herself against her elbows. Ears ringing and heart thumping from the scare, Makoto looked over to where she and Minako would have been kissing, only to find the two girls standing while Usagi almost fell over from laughing at them.

"Hey! Why did you do that? I was about to be kissed by Minako!" Makoto complained angrily as she crawled closer towards the three girls in front of her.

You were about to but nothing happened. Usagi-chan interrupted.

"It doesn't matter! Why did you show up now?"

Like you said, it didn't matter if you didn't kiss. You won't hear from me as much as you did before.

"Whatever. Just don't leave me in one of these memories, okay?" Makoto said as she slumped back down and hugged her legs against herself, placing her quivering chin on her knee. The voice had disappeared again, never giving Makoto an answer to her request. Untroubled by this, she shrugged and continued to watch herself and her friends.

With the help of the other three girls, Minako got her tent up while the brunette left to set up the grill and begin cooking. Though distracted with their chores, Makoto noticed the two girls could not stop stealing glances at each other and blushing profusely as they did. After awhile, the subtle flirting became frustrating and was only bearable when dinner was ready and the five girls sat down to eat.

"So...how are we going to sleep?" Rei asked tentatively and looking up from her plate.

"Um...that's obvious! You, Ami-chan and me. We have the bigger tent" Usagi said with a mouth filled with food and rolling her eyes.

Rei bit her lip,embittered, and tilted her head at Minako "I just thought that maybe Mako-chan and I could share a tent since we...both...are the strongest?" she said unconvincingly.

"That makes no sense. The strongest should be equally distributed" Ami said casually, her eyes never leaving the plate in front of her as she kept eating. Her calm state was interrupted when Rei, next to her, jabbed her with her elbow. Ami coughed at little in surprise and turned to shrug, annoyed, at the miko.

"In that case, I'll sleep with Mako-chan" - Minako said as she pressed her side against the brunette who sat next to her - "No offense Rei-chan" she added.

Rei frowned her lip, baring her upper teeth in mock "Fine. For the sake of the trip, I won't sleep next to Usagi-chan" she announced flatly.

"I was going to suggest the same thing, I can't stand to sleep next to Rei-chan! She always kicks and mumbles!" Usagi challenged, her tongue sticking out at the miko.

"What about you! You snore like a lion!" Rei retaliated.

Minako and the brunette giggled as they watched Ami's worried face ache them to save her from sleeping with the two bickering girls.

"Poor Ami-chan, she's such a calm sleeper. I wonder how she got along..." Makoto said to herself, privately praying for the voice to come back but again, it didn't.

The rest of the evening consisted of the five girls finishing their food, putting their plates away and getting ready for bed. The fire that was made earlier had practically died, leaving them with the light of the moon. For the last hour, Minako seemed adamant about going to sleep, though Rei and Ami insisted they stay up a little longer. When Usagi, yawning and clearly exhausted, left to her tent, Minako pulled the brunette and announced they too would leave though they were both given harsh looks from their two friends.

Makoto, smiling, watched as Ami and Rei sighed in unison and defeatedly climbed into their large tent. Minako and her past self had already entered their temporary home and were now, facing back to back, changing into their pajamas. Makoto, tempted and awestruck, watched and crawled closer to the tent as Minako's body was silhouetted against the light and fabric of the shelter. Edging herself against the tent, Makoto gulped trying to feed her dry throat, she stared breathlessly at the black form of Minako's body, completely forgetting she had been there.

"Are you done?" Minako asked sounding happy.

The brunette, from what Makoto could make out from her silhouette, fumbled to pull her shirt down "Yes..yes. I'm done" she said between nervous chuckles as she turned and confronted the girl behind her.

Makoto clenched her fists tightly "I can't believe I was so stupid!" she growled, her ear never leaving the side of the tent.

"Come on then, let's go to sleep" Minako said as she laid down and patted the space next to her. The brunette nodded and stumbling, laid next to the smaller girl.

Makoto was so attentive and stood so close to the tent that she could painfully hear Minako giggle. The blonde shifted and clearly rolled over and placed her head on the brunette's heaving chest, her hand gently falling over the taller girl's stomach.

Makoto's jaw fell as she shook her head in disbelief "No way! This isn't happening! I can't believe it!" she cried excitedly before quickly covering her mouth with her hand in utter happiness. She fought to stop herself from bursting into a fit of overjoyed giggling and continued to watch and hear what was happening.

"Mako-chan! Why are you so nervous? It's me, Mina-chan, remember?" Minako asked as she kindly rubbed the brunette's toned midsection.

"I'm fine. I promise." the taller girl answered trying to feign a smile.

Minako giggled again and smiled "Okay. I believe you. Listen, I need to talk to you" she whispered sounding a little too serious.

Makoto banged her palms against her legs "This is it! Here we go!" she cried triumphantly as she clenched her teeth in excitement.

No. Not yet.

"Ack! Stop doing that!" Makoto yelled after hearing the voice again. It wasn't as nerve wrecking as before but still she was just as annoyed.

Sorry but this isn't...

"No! Be quiet for a second and let me see!" Makoto cut the voice short for the first time and returned to her spying.

"I guess I can wait until tomorrow. I probably have no other choice, right?" the brunette said sounding a little calmer and more confident than before.

Minako placed her hand softly on the taller girl's cheek - "No, you don't" - she said before giving the brunette a gentle kiss on the edge of her lip - "Goodnight, Mako-chan" Minako slurred before cuddling into the body below her and falling asleep.

Makoto watched as her former self took awhile to recover from Minako's actions. But surely, minutes later, the light in the tent went out and was followed by the slow but deep sounds of sleep induced breathing.

Why didn't you peek inside? See yourself face to face?

Makoto chortled and shook her head pedantically "Come on, you know why. These questions are getting stupid and you know it" she said, resting her back against the tent behind her. She blinked her eyes and yawned in exhaustion.

You've been seeing yourself blinded for the last two memories. What's the difference with this one?

"I'm fed up and tired. I understand. I never did anything even though Mina-chan was throwing herself at me! I can't do anything locked here with these memories! Let me go and fix it!" Makoto protested filled with potential but too wasted to prove it as she slumped weakly against the shelter behind her.

Go the sleep. It won't be important until the next day.

Makoto nodded and waved her hand weakly before drifting off into sleep, where strangely, she was already asleep and dreaming.

"...woo! There's some guys coming over here!" Usagi cried excitedly.

The sudden shriek awoke Makoto from her sleep as she shifted uncomfortably away from the sand under her. Holding a hand over her eyes as she shielded herself from the blazing sun, Makoto, confused and dizzy, crawled over to the shade of a swaying palm tree.

Yes. You're still here. It's a long memory.

Makoto grabbed her aching neck and rubbed it as she looked over and remembered everything "This isn't over? I fell asleep!" she said, surprised.

This is where we are, we can't stop. I want you to look back at your wasted life where you don't see me.

"I don't...understand..."- Makoto looked out to see herself and her friends approach a group of young men playing volleyball in the next camp area - "I know. I have to see this. I have to see how I screwed up" she whispered, lowering her head as she moved carefully towards the game.

" I was lead player in my high school!" Minako informed to the boy next to her before launching herself into a dive to cast the ball up and into the young man's hand, who spiked it and won another point for their team. Minako got up and high fived her recent conquest.

"What's going on? Why is Minako flirting with him? Weren't we going to have the TALK?" Makoto demanded as she watched Minako giggle and talk with the young man on her team.

Look at yourself. I think she's being too rational.

Makoto scoffed before looking at the brunette at the other side of the volleyball game. Though on the same team and playing, her former self was openly flirting with a young, blonde man who grabbed her hair and stared at her perversely. The brunette stared back with glazed eyes and shivering at the intense man's touch.

"No, please tell me I didn't fall for him..." Makoto begged as she watched herself crumble under the man, or more likely boy, holding her hand as she glowed with light.

Don't blame me. I always thought it was wrong but your fantasies, strong and stupid, defeated you.

"Minako!" Makoto cried as she watched her love's heart break at the scene. Filled with rage and determination, Minako gave her partner a long and disgusting kiss on the lips, leaving the two disappointed.

"She kissed him! How could she...!" Makoto screamed in confusion.

Stop blabbering! It's already happened! Watch!

"Game on!" Minako yelled angrily as she twisted the ball in her hand. Ami and Rei, looked at each other nervously and prepared themselves, watching as the brunette and her partner parted ways and readied themselves to play. Serving, Minako launched the ball with all her might towards the brunette.

"Ow!" Makoto cried as she held her nose, remembering the memory.

The ball hurled itself steadily into the brunette's uncovered face, crunching against

her nose which instantly exploded into a spill of blood. Falling backwards, the tallest girl thumped with a flowing whirlwind of crimson against her face.

"That was...great!" Makoto said as she relished at the fact that her stupidity was reprimanded.

You did deserve it but I think it could've gone a lot worse. It should have been worse.

"Yeah well..." Makoto mumbled as she watched her former self sprawled on the ground, holding her hands over her nose as she cringed her eyes which instantly began to fill with tears. The boy she was with slowly backed away, clearly unable to handle the amount of blood pouring out of the brunette's nose. His friends also withdrew themselves from the situation, giving a quick wave and goodbye before they sped off to the other side of the beach.

Nice catch, your guy was really worth the broken nose.

"Shut up. I was probably just a stupid kid, right?" Makoto asked, unable to determine her age, especially now that she tried to analyze herself covered by her hands and in blood, surrounded by her friends.

"Mako-chan! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!" Minako cried urgently as she tried to pull the brunette's hands away from her face. The taller girl waved the blonde off and shakily got up.

"Come on, I have a first aid kit in the tent" Ami said, carefully leading the wounded girl to their small camp, Usagi jumping nervously behind them.

"You idiot, what were you thinking?" Rei protested angrily when the three other girls were safely away.

Minako, wiping away tears from her eyes, stomped her foot on the ground "It was an accident! I didn't mean to hit her!" she shot back.

"I wasn't talking about that! Why did you kiss that guy? And in front of Mako-chan!" the miko retaliated, waving her hands in the air.

Minako lowered her eyes in shame "She was...with the other guy. I don't know why I did what I did...I'm sorry..." she whispered between sobs.

"Don't apologize to me, tell her!" Rei replied, her anger almost reaching its peak.

The two girls stayed in their spot for longer than necessary, neither spoke a word, they only watched the entrance of the largest tent, waiting to see what would happen. Tired from standing, Rei sat down, remaining next to Minako who swayed nervously in her place.

"Let me guess. Minako goes into the tent, apologizes, I forgive her and we go back to being awkward friends. Am I right?" Makoto said, smirking.

Hmm, you're in for a surprise.

Seconds later, Ami came out of the large tent, wiping her hands on a blood smeared cloth. Before Minako could run at her, the blue haired girl held her hand out and smiled calmly.

"Well? How is she?" Rei asked as she got up and pulled Minako slightly back.

"It's a minor fracture, nothing serious. She just needs some ice and aspirin, her nose will heal on it's own. There's no need to go to a hospital." Ami informed placidly.

"Can I go in and see her?" Minako asked suspiciously since Ami would not even turn to look at her.

The blue haired girl concentrated on the piece of fabric in her hand as she spoke "She wants to be left alone right now, to rest. Rei-chan, maybe you should sleep with Minako-chan tonight" she said, nervously tearing the fibers out of the cloth she held.

"Yeah, okay" Rei mumbled in surprise as Ami ran off, escaping Minako's harsh look.

"Was I that bad?" Makoto said in unison with Minako.

You were worse. You didn't say a single word to that poor girl for the rest of the trip. So sensitive and stupid.

"Well, I'm glad you've humiliated me once again. Thank you for the insightful memory." Makoto barked as she watched Minako and Rei begin to argue.

"Hey, Rei-chan! You got your wish, you'll be sleeping with Mina-chan tonight!" Usagi hollered as she came out of the tent, oblivious to what was really going on.

"I don't understand anymore! At first it seemed like the pieces of this stupid puzzle were fitting together perfectly and now...It's falling apart!" - Makoto cried out in frustration - "This is idiotic and I'm tired of it! Get me out!"

I'll let you know when you're ready to make that decision! Let's go.

For the first time, Makoto shivered as she heard her own voice so filled with rage. Ready to transport again, she latched her eyes over onto Minako who was walking away, lonely and crying. Like being pulled by a speeding train, Makoto was yanked from her feet and soared upward as the beach below her disappeared and turned to a black nothingness. Her previous excitement of seeing Minako had now turned into a bitter burning in her heart, thumping vigorously as she breathed the intoxicating colorful air around her.

To be continued...