PGSM: The Second Story
an: Minako's Dilemma
Tokyo, Summer, Present Day
Aino Minako wondered how much time she had before the truth would come spilling out – to Rei at least. Ami and Makoto she could keep in the dark, given that they both were reluctant to accept, yet again, that their current reality was indeed their destiny. She wished that they would just remember, and that the weight of the burden resting on her shoulders alone would be lifted.
She was supposed to be Usagi's friend in this life – not her protector, but the weight of that responsibility was such that she sometimes wished that the others were aware of the very fine line they walked between guardian and companion. The inner guard had not been created to be as useless and powerless as Minako was sure they all now felt. The clearing was in shambles, debris of trees destroyed during the fight and by Senshi Uranus' astonishingly powerful attack littered the ground and Minako knew that they would have to get out of there quickly if they wanted to avoid a lot of unwanted questions.
She turned to Rei, who was inspecting one of the fallen civilians and cleared her throat. "They'll be fine, Mars. We must go." There was an insistence in her voice that Minako didn't recognize, for it was not the authoritative leader voice that she was not putting on, but rather the voice that said, quite clearly, that she had no idea what the hell was going on and probably wouldn't, any time soon. It was times like this, when a twist was thrown her way that she desperately needed to retreat, to regroup and figure out her next move.
Aino Minako was a plotter and a schemer, despite her outward appearance; she knew how to plan far better than anyone else in their company. She was the leader for this reason, and now she desperately needed to retreat and figure out what in the name of the ancient gods was going on.
Minako honestly expected Rei to put up a fight, but the dark-haired woman nodded once and rose immediately to her feet. They fell into step once again, taking a more circuitous route out of the park than Minako had perhaps intended. They had to be gone before the cameras showed up, and Rei's silence meant that she was probably mulling over the same tidbits of information that Minako herself was contemplating.
"They were in my vision," Rei said as they crossed the street and headed uptown to where Minako was staying. Her tone was grave and she wouldn't meet Minako's gaze as she spoke. "They did nothing to stop this." The accusation was there, the questioning of if these Senshi were indeed allies.
Somehow, Minako wasn't all that surprised. Mars' visions were almost never off – and if this was a continuing manifestation of the past life in the present, Minako was all for it. With the visions could come the memories, but she was a fool if she hoped for that. She's long-since come to terms with the fact that the rest of her comrades in arms would probably never remember the events of the past life. They would never understand why Minako found herself treating the princess with the veneration and respect deserving of a noble when her own fame and influence far exceeded that of Tsukino Usagi's in this life.
It disgusted the others, but it was a force of habit that Minako still could not shake. A habit born of a different time.
She wondered how much she should tell Rei, as Mars was her supposed second-in-command. It would be better to be honest this time around, at least until they recovered their henshin and were able to fight once more.
"They are forbidden." She began; her voice hushed and quiet. They were walking through a crowded street, and you never really could know who was listening in. "Guardians of the outer limits of Queen Serenity's kingdom, and never seen in the royal court."
Rei was silent and contemplative, her face an uncertain pensive mask that Minako found herself unable to look away from. Mars Reiko was never like this, for she had a confidence that Rei had yet to find. "Why are they here then?"
"I'm sure the queen had some purpose for their reawakening, but it is not for us to know." Minako was parroting lines that Artemis had fed her long ago when she began to question what had happened to the manifestation of Usagi's past life that had nearly destroyed the planet. "Our job is to protect the princess."
Rei nodded once, and Minako found herself strangely grateful that Rei had chosen, just this once, not to argue. She usually craved the conflict with her second in command, as it was far easier for her to see situations in different lights when there was a second, very forceful, point of view being constantly interjected into her line of thinking.
"Should we tell them?" Rei asked, her voice faltering ever so slightly.
Minako bit her lip, knowing Rei was not going to like what she was going to say. She couldn't tell Usagi – at least not until she had more information about what was happening. She didn't want to burden the princess, and she did not want to be the bearer of bad news. Usagi had given herself to give them all a second chance at life – and Minako could never forget the look of absolute horror on Usagi's face when she first remembered what the Princess had done all those years ago.
"Not everything," she said, keeping her voice even. "I don't want to say anything to Usagi until we know more about what these monsters are looking for. The others can be told because they'll know regardless." She smiled at Rei, "You're a terrible liar."
Rei frowned, "Usagi-chan shouldn't be kept in the dark."
Minako sighed, she had known this was coming, she really did. "I will tell her, Reiko – I just can't do it yet – I can't bring her back into fighting. I just can't."