Hey guys! Sorry it's taking so long to get to the twist in the tale. It's coming up soon though, I hope. The only problem with winging a story is that you're never quite certain of the shape it will take, lol.
Thanks to all my reviewers again, I've tried to balance the depression in the last chapter with a lighter mood, but I'm not sure I haven't done something else instead. It's great that you're all enjoying this.
I also have a special notice to give you all: ever heard of the story "Do you wanna be a Senshi?" well, I'm a part of that, and we're looking for people to take part in our little 'Sailor Moon Live'. You'll get to interact as one of the characters from Sailor Moon with other characters. We still have some Senshi posts to be taken up and plenty of supporting characters, which are needed as they help balance the Senshi. Contact myself, TheStoryWriter or ilovemichiru25 for the link. Even if the post you want isn't there you can still apply as some of them may become available in the near future. The only ones definitely are not are Sailors Neptune, Mars, StarFighter, StarMaker, Jupiter , Saturn, Venus and Galaxia. Please join in and let's save the world together! *Others stare at her* what? Too much?
Ok, enough said, let's get on the show! STAGE ON! ~Eb~ x x x
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Mina knocked on the door and stepped back, waiting expectantly. She took the opportunity to glance at the garden surrounding her; a riot of honeysuckle and jasmine and other sweetly smelling and luscious looking things. The front door opened and she smiled cheerfully at Ikuko Tsukino.
"Hello, Mrs Tsukino, I'm Mina Aino I'm a friend of Serena's." she said, giving a pure sunshine smile.
Ikuko nodded and smiled back. "Of course, come in, I remember you from before. Serena's in her room if you'd like to go up. I'll bring some tea in a minute or two."
"Thank you Mrs Tsukino." Mina chorused as she danced feather-light up the stairs.
"Serena!" she sang brightly as she burst through the door. "I bring news of the StarLight kind!" Mina opened her eyes and blinked when she didn't hear any response to her announcement.
Serena was slumped over her desk staring into the mirror.
"Serena, what's wrong?" Mina's voice was now gentler and quieter and she was altogether more serious. Serena looked up when the once-Venusian placed a hand on her shoulder.
Serena opened her mouth to speak, her expression brightening at the same time, when there was a gentle tap and the bedroom door opened.
"Hi girls, I brought up some tea and a plate of cookies for you to enjoy."
"Thanks mom." Serena said gratefully. Mina chorused a 'Thank you' as Ikuko withdrew and closed the door.
"Now then." said ina, becoming Serious again. "What's up?"
Serena sighed. "Aren't you even a little annoyed to have to move back in with your parents? I mean . . . I love my family and all, but it's a little irritating."
"I know, but at least your parents are home and show that they care. Mine are always away on some trip and the most care I get shown is coming down in a morning to a note that explains their absence what there is to eat and stuff for emergencies."
Serena went back to moping and Mina watched her carefully as she poured the tea. She picked up one of the pink tea cups and walked to Serena and knelt beside her.
"Here, Princess, drink this you'll feel better." Serena took the cup and after watching her take a sip Mina continued; "And I know that's not the real reason you are here sulking. What has bruised your heart so?"
Serena looked at her. Should she tell her? Mina was the Princess of Venus and the Protector of Love itself. Hiding one's emotions from a daughter of Aphrodite was foolish, but how to explain them when Serena didn't know what she was feeling at all?
"I don't know." Serena said truthfully.
"So there is something wrong." Mina said, sounding satisfied; her intuition had been right after all.
Serena nodded and continued. "I'm not sure what. My thoughts are . . . occupied. And Darien's acting so strangely . . ."
Mina nodded, understanding. She suspected the path her Princess's thoughts travelled as of late, but didn't want to press the issue for the time being, not until she had something which she could use to help the girl. The second problem would solve itself in time. One way or another, at least.
"You know, if you ever want to talk, I'm here. And so is Amy, she's been very worried about you lately. And I'm sure Lita and Rei would listen as well." Mina looked up from her tea and smiled gently at her Princess and best friend. "You're not alone, you know."
Serena smiled and hugged Mina gratefully. The other blonde merely smiled and returned it caringly.
Amy was visiting her mother in the hospital at much the same time as the two girls were having their talk. As she sat in the waiting room for Dr Mizuno she couldn't help thinking about the last three years. For a start, something felt a little off about one of those three, although she couldn't for the life of her work out why it should be so any more than the how.
Her Princess and friend was also in her thoughts. Serena had been troubled she could tell, and she obviously didn't want to share her thoughts and feelings with the others just yet. Mina had spoken to her about Serena the other day, and both agreed on one thing; Serena's melancholy had gotten worse with the sudden and unexpected return of the StarLights.
Amy and Mina wanted to run on over to their old apartment, firstly to see if they were there and second to get some answers, but it just felt like the wrong thing to do.
"Amy, why are you here?"
Amy looked up at her mother's voice and smiled. "I thought you'd want some lunch, I know you hate the food in this place." Amy held out the small box to the older woman. "Also, I was hoping you could help me with something. It's girlish and teenagerly and nothing to do with medicine at all, but I'd appreciate your input and experience."
Dr Mizuno smiled, her eyes a little lighter and her hair a much darker blue than her daughter's. "Of course Amy, let's go sit down somewhere so we can talk comfortably shall we?"
Amy nodded and began explaining on the way to the canteen; "Well, you see, I've got this friend who's having . . . Guy troubles."
Mina stood outside the door and raised a hand to knock, held it there for several seconds, then let it fall limply by her side. She gazed at the door in the apartment building forlornly; staring at it wasn't going to get her inside.
She sighed. When she'd left Serena's house it had been with the promise of getting some answers for her friend. Never had she dreamed that those answers would be so hard to get. She was Mina Aino, Sailor Venus and the Princess of Venus, a Daughter of Aphrodite and Protector of Love and Beauty, Leader of the Inner Sol Senshi and a Guardian of Princess Serenity, the Heir to the Moon Kingdom. She could defeat a monster that was trying to kill her and her friends but couldn't knock on a simple harmless door? What kind of Senshi was she?!
Mina took a deep breath, raised her hand to knock, hesitated . . . And let it fall again.
"This is getting more and more ridiculous." she thought bitterly. "It's a door. A door for heaven's sake. And the people behind it are . . . Are . . ." Mina gulped audibly. Apparently the people behind this particular door were intimidating.
"That's stupid. They're not scary. All three of these boys are pussy-cats. They're not scary in the slightest. Nope." she stared at the door some more before whining in her head; "Then why am I so scared?!"
Mina shook herself suddenly and raised a hand, determined and with every intention to knock on the door loudly. A very polite, insistent rap.
The door opened from the inside.
"Err . . ." she blinked a few times, her mouth having fallen open. "At least I don't have to physically force myself to knock anymore." she reasoned sensibly.
Apparently she wasn't the only one in shock; the brown-haired young man on the other side was staring down at her, blinking in confusion. "Mina? What are you doing here?" he asked quietly in a confused voice.
She stared some more.
"Mina." his voice was louder now. From within the apartment she heard the sound of something breaking as it hit the floor, followed by a loud string of Earthen curse words and some that definitely weren't of Earth origin. A quieter and more demure voice said "Language."
Mina finally switched her brain back on.
"Taiki, I thought you'd be here. Serena mentioned that you and Seiya and Yaten were back and I thought I'd drop by." she laughed pleasantly as she finished.
Taiki just blinked at her some more. "No mention of the Princess, so don't they know or . . ?"
"Taiki who the hell is it already?!" came the loud voice from inside. Mina saw silver-white hair approach from over Taiki's arm and the person began muttering about 'inconsiderate twits' when she realised she was staring at a pair of bright green eyes that widened when they met her own.
"M-m . . . Mina?" Yaten seemed completely in shock as he stared at her. Yet another dark head walked into view as Seiya came to see what the commotion was about and he was followed by a strikingly familiar red-head.
"Mina what are you doing here?" Seiya asked her. "Is it Serena? Is she hurt?"
Mina opened her mouth to answer, but a sudden wave of varying emotions crashed upon the shore of her mind with such ferocity that she couldn't cope.
Mina collapsed forwards into the arms of Taiki and Yaten as her world went dark.
*
"I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you." Mina said quietly half an hour later as she sat on the sofa with a cup of tea and a blanket over her legs.
"It's no problem, really. We were expecting one of you to turn up at our door at some time. We just expected it sooner and . . . Well, I'm not sure if we were expecting it to be you." Taiki explained.
Mina nodded silently, absorbing it all.
After her fainting spell Yaten and Taiki had carried her inside and laid her down on the sofa and set about trying to wake her up. Seiya had gone to clean up the mess Yaten had caused in the kitchen - the product of a glass slipping from his grasp when he heard Mina's name followed by her voice - and Kakyuu had made a round of tea. Now the Fireball Princess was sitting in the chair opposite her, Yaten on Mina's left, Taiki on the sofa arm to her right and Seiya standing nearby trying to make some sense out of all this.
"Honestly, we're just glad it was nothing serious." Seiya said truthfully. He didn't think he could have handled Yaten's worried shouting another minute.
"It hasn't happened in a long time." Mina confessed. It was true, the last time had been shortly after the fall of Galaxia when so many negative emotions had overwhelmed her that she'd thought she was drowning.
"But it has happened?" Taiki pressed her. When she nodded silently he leant back deep in thought, still watching the petit blonde. "These girls get stronger every day . . ."
"I didn't realise you were empathic." said Yaten.
"I am. It comes from being a Venusian. It's a . . . a family trait, stronger among the royals of my own planet." she looked at them all in turn before focusing on the cup resting on her knee again. "The closer we get to Serena's transformation and coronation, the more our powers evolve. Each of us is now awake as the Princesses of our home planets and with it those gifts and traits we held so long ago have returned and strengthen day by day."
She was struggling to keep up her mental shield in this apartment; too many emotions that ran high were surrounding her.
"And yet when you came to the door you made no mention of me?" Kakyuu stated the fact as a question. Mina looked at her and saw only gentle understanding in the warm red eyes. The Kinmokune Princess knew what she was feeling. Instantly Mina felt a warm wave wash over her mind and she sighed almost silently. Kakyuu was trying to soothe her, and by doing so give her more control over her mind.
The blonde girl looked at her gratefully, a look returned by a sweet smile, and answered the question. "Serena never mentioned you, only that she had seen Seiya Yaten and Taiki, and Darien didn't recognise you in the restaurant else I'm pretty sure he would have mentioned something. Then again, he isn't really talking to Serena or most of the Senshi at the minute so . . . Maybe he wouldn't have after all."
Seiya opened his mouth to speak but Kakyuu silenced his questions with a wave of her hand. Instead she turned to Mina and said, in a gentle but firm tone, "Lady Mina, my StarLights explained who you were fully to me when they brought you inside. I wish for you to pass my thanks to your Princess for her discretion on my behalf. I do not wish to be known to the Senshi of this planet at the present time, for reasons of my own. It is for this reason that I must now ask you to keep my identity a secret from the others."
Mina nodded. Serena had clearly judged the information to be on a need-to-know basis and she would be only too happy to comply with the request. Serena trusted Kakyuu, and so Mina would trust her to.
"I also ask you to watch over and protect your Princess closely. You have no idea how precious she is to this universe, and to lose her would after so much has happened would be a tragedy."
Mina nodded again, suspecting Kakyuu knew more than she let on but allowed it to drop for the moment. "Myself and Sailor Mercury will do as you command."
Kakyuu nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer. She stood up, inclined her head to Mina in a slight bow, and left the room, leaving the four friends alone to talk.
"Mina, how is Odango?" asked Seiya hesitantly. He wasn't sure whether she would share information about her Princess.
Mina, however, was only too happy to talk; it was why she'd gone there in the first place, though she decided to be discreet. "She is healthy." then she looked at each of the three male faces watching her and asked the question that had been on everybody's minds. "Why did you decide to come back?"
Seiya and Yaten looked over at Taiki, who opened his mouth to speak, hesitated but explained briefly nonetheless. "We ran into some problems on Kinmoku. We came back to solve them and also for a vacation."
"So the rebuilding has gone well?" when she received a round of nods she smiled. "I'm so glad. We were worried it would go wrong somehow. Congratulations." she paused, selecting her questions with care. "I trust that the problems you encountered are nothing too serious?"
She didn't miss the quick glances they threw at each other.
"No, nothing that would warrant the attention of the Sol Senshi." said Taiki smoothly.
"They were more . . . personal than that." added Yaten.
Mina saw the guarded looks and frowned. She deliberately let down her shields a little to probe the atmosphere of the room. Anger, shame, loneliness, worry, love, regret.
"Nothing for the Senshi of Venus to worry about?" she enquired lightly. She saw their hesitation, their temptation to lie, and seized on it. "I would be disappointed if you lied to me. Your emotions give you away." she frowned. "Why are so many of your emotions negative? Do you not wish to be here?"
The boys looked at each other. What to say? Taiki cleared his throat first, but Yaten beat him to the words.
"It's more complicated than that." Mina watched him, her expression gentle and benign. He decided to continue. "Something happened on Kinmoku, something serious and near-fatal concerning a friend. We returned to try to help him. I'll admit," he added, taking a deep breath, "That at first I didn't like the idea. In fact I opposed it for reasons of my own. But staying on Kinmoku did no good, it made everything worse. And so here we are."
Mina looked at Seiya, who had his eyes cast down. Anger and self-hate radiated from him, but also concern and love and worry. She could gather surface thoughts from these emotions. He worried for his brothers, sisters, whatever Yaten and Taiki were to him. He worried what the Sol Senshi would think if they found out. He worried what Serena would think of him if she knew.
"Seiya, what did you do?" she asked gently.
Startled by his name and the soft tone of her voice he looked up. Her eyes were blue as summer sky and shimmered with held back tears. She suspected, how much he didn't know but probably enough. He hung his head, ashamed.
He was startled again when he found his arms full of flying emotional blonde.
"Seiya, you idiot, what did you do to yourself?" she was crying, openly sobbing. "There are people who love you, so many people, and I would never have thought that you could do something like that!"
"Mina." he muttered, trying to console her but struggling to understand whether he was being scolded or reassured.
"Don't you ever try that again, do you hear me? If you do and something happens I'll never forgive you! Serena will never forgive either of us! It would kill her inside."
"Why?"
The blonde sniffed and looked up at him. His expression was gentle, now he was reassuring. Behind them Yaten and Taiki watched silently. It had been a surprise when she had suddenly hugged him but now they understood; she was feeling Seiya's emotions. Trying to make sense of them and help him in her own way, while at the same time reprimanding him for even daring to consider doing something so stupid.
"Why what?" she asked stubbornly.
Seiya wiped a trailing tear from her cheek, earning a jealous glare from Yaten. "Why would it kill Odango if I were dead?" he asked her, the heartbreak in his voice was palpable.
Mina sniffed and stepped back with watery eyes. "She cares for you. It would hurt her deeply to know that you had died. Even more so to know that she was the root cause of it." she explained simply.
Seiya nodded seriously, leading her back to the sofa and the others before sitting on the low coffee table in front of the sofa.
"So how is she?" he asked simply. Yaten was stroking her arm gently and Taiki had rested a hand on her other arm.
"She is fine. Concerned, both about you and about other things, but safe." Mina had calmed down now.
Seiya opened his mouth to speak but Mina raised a hand to cut the flow of words. "Seiya, will you speak to her? She is hurting inside, for many reasons, and I know that talking to you could help the both of you. We were hurt to discover that you had been here a while and not contacted us sooner, and that you never replied to our invitation. But you are here now and maybe you could help us."
Seiya closed his mouth and smiled at her, a warm and soft smile. She brightened a little and looked at Taiki first, who was watching her calmly and nodded, then Yaten who was watching her with something akin to affection.
She beamed again and gathered both Taki and Yaten to her in a hug with a bright if watery smile. "Thanks guys, I knew we could count on you to help us!"
"So he's been acting strangely?" Dr Mizuno repeated thoughtfully. The remains of the lunch sat discarded between herself and her daughter, both of them nursing cooling cups of coffee between their hands.
Amy said nothing, but watched her mother with hopeful eyes.
"And you say this hasn't happened before?"
"No, not really." said Amy, thinking back. Actually, now that she thought about it . . . "Well, a few years ago really, but it was something we all forgave him for readily, he'd acted strange and then broken up with her, believing it to be for the best."
Dr Mizuno stared at the coffee dregs thoughtfully. It was rare that her daughter requested her assistance on these matters and she didn't want to let her down. "Did he now?" she looked at the coffee some more and then looked at her daughter's blue eyes. "And you're certain it's not more of the same thing?"
Amy nodded. Dr Mizuno lapsed into thought again.
"No," she muttered, rousing herself at last. "I can't see another reason for it."
"What is it?" asked Amy hopefully. She leant forward in her chair.
"Your friend's boyfriend is hiding something. Something that you and the other girls would disapprove of, judging from the way he acts around you now. You say he is on edge? That he guards his expression from you all? That he doesn't call her for long periods of time and then out of the blue rings and arranges meetings, dates, without much explanation for his disappearance?"
Amy nodded. Her mother appeared to come to similar conclusions as herself and Mina had. She hoped that Mina was having luck with her own endeavours.
"Then it is something big. You would most probably definitely disapprove of his actions." Dr Mizuno concluded finally. She checked her watch; her break was over. "I'm sorry Amy, I've got to go. I'll see you later tonight?"
Amy nodded and stood to wave her mother off. She walked out of the canteen, ready to head home but something stopped her. A familiar presence.
She turned and quickly ducked behind a corner, peering back out again a few seconds later.
Darien stood by a coffee machine, the same one she and her mother had used before. He was chatting to a girl. Nothing strange about that, she realised. He was allowed to have friends. It was Serena who wasn't allowed to have friends of the opposite sex. Again she couldn't help but wonder if Darien's feelings were sincere.
As she watched Darien said something that made the girl laugh and his facial expression softened a little. Amy watched the pair walk away again.
The blue-haired girl leant back against her wall and sighed. She was getting paranoid; all this sneaking around wasn't healthy for anybody.
Amy opened her eyes.
But her Princess wanted answers, and so answers she would indeed provide.