A/N: Another update already?! You bet it is! This is easily the longest chapter so far, but I am having a ton of fun writing this out. So much will be happening from this chapter on, so I hope y'all enjoy the story! Thank you to all who have favorited, followed, and left reviews for me. A special shout out to Songficcer who was awesome enough to leave me advice on how to improve. Also, to my friend Bry who is so freaking fantastic that she will let me bug her to get her thoughts on my writing to keep my story at the best level I can produce. Also, because I have finally gotten her to start watching PGSM.
WARNING: DARK THEMES, CHICKS LIKING CHICKS, RAPE (well, it's actually mentioned in this chapter...) AND OTHER THINGS THAT ARE RATED M. Please just don't even try to be offended if you are this far into it. It's seriously just idiotic and is why aliens don't talk to us.
With love,
Korrupted.
DISCLAIMER: I STILL DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON.
Two days seemed to pass by at a nearly non-existent crawl for Makoto, waiting until Saeko, Ami, and Rei appeared with a wheelchair at the door to her room. "Alright, you ready Mako-chan?" The doctor inquired rhetorically, moving the chair next to the bed as the younger girls began to slow task of coaxing Makoto into a sitting position, half carrying her to the chair. She had begged Minako and Kunzite to bring her some clothes from her house, glad to be in a t-shirt and baggy pants once more, but only allowed to wear her right shoe due to the cast that was encasing her healing left leg. Makoto adjusted the sling that held her left forearm up to her chest, grinning ear to ear as Saeko began to push the trio out of the room, only to be greeted by the other senshi. "Mako-chan!" Usagi was waving with a broad grin, clearly excited to be seeing her in what they had deemed 'human' clothing, the warrior of courage condemning the gowns they had been forced to wear 'cruel', 'indignant', and 'clearly a violation of the Geneva Convention'. The brunette gave her a thumbs-up with a grin, her mind grasping a bit of a fleeting memory.
-"RUN!" She had demanded her princess, feeling more exhausted than ever. She hated her skirt so much more than ever before as it hiked up her legs from being dragged across the asphalt, giving one of the men a sharp kick to his jaw before striking from her position on the ground. Her head was throbbing, her ears were roaring, tendrils of oily darkness were licking at her vision in their effort to drag her into unconsciousness, but she refused to yield. She would not go down without a fight.-
She hadn't realized her grin had vanished as the tiny fragment of her memory came back to her, only that Usagi was using her crutches to hobble over to her quickly. The blonde managed to stay mostly steady on the items, leaning down to whisper, "Mako-chan... Everything will be alright... I promise." The senshi of thunder could see the tears in her princess' eyes as the girl finished, "Don't be scared."
The words hit the brunette like a cold bucket of water to the face, suddenly trying to take stock of herself. Did she really look that afraid? She knew by now her memories had been walled off by her own mind as a defensive measure, but when the truth finally came out, would she have the ability to face it head-on? She would have to be strong enough to push through it. Everyone needed her to be strong, even if she was in casts and bandages. The injured girl gave her princess a small smile that allowed the blonde to straighten and move towards Minako and Mamoru again, Ami taking charge of the wheelchair from her mother. "I will report back everyday to you with updates." The younger Mizuno assured, the older bluenette nodding in acceptance as she watched her child nervously maneuver Makoto to her car, Rei and Ami both assisting her into the front passenger seat. 'I hope this helps...' Saeko silently prayed, sighing as the trio drove off towards Makoto's house.
Ami had put the address into her GPS unit before they had pulled away from the hospital, grateful she had had the foresight to do so; Makoto was already dozing just five minutes into the forty minute drive. Rei sat in the back, looking over the notes she had compiled for assisting her genius friend in caring for the brash girl with a serious expression in her amethyst hues. "Ami-chan?" The miko inquired in a hushed tone, Ami turning slightly to acknowledge her voice. "Hmm?"
The warrior of passion looked up from her notes to glance into her friends' eyes, muttering softly, "Arigatou." The driving female raised her eyebrows as she turned left to continue on the specified route, obviously confused. "Doushite?" The response a gentle murmur of, "For letting me be there to take care of her too."
Ami took advantage of the red light she was stopped at to turn and look at Rei with a smile. "We are all senshi. When all is said and done, we are still bound to protect each other." The miko nodded before glancing at Makoto in the reflection in the side-view mirror, watching her features closely as she slept. As the bluenette continued on, Rei noticed the lightning wielder's expression darken as her dreams seemed to take a turn for the worse. "Ami-chan, do you have a metal or stone cup or ashtray in here?" The psychic suddenly asked, hearing her friend feel around before offering a clay cereal bowl. "This okay?" The raven haired priestess nodded, accepting the item swiftly. "Hai. Arigatou."
Ami glanced back at Rei as she watched her friend tear up a blank piece of paper to fill the bowl before grabbing the back seat cigarette lighter after it heated, then ignite the material. "Rei-chan!" She hissed before sharp violet eyes met confused blue. "I'm scrying, Ami-chan. The fire is secure, I assure you." The miko replied, looking deep into the flames as they ate the paper and started to die down, and finally mysteriously flared back to life. She knew her friend was trying to look into something, following a concerned glance to... "Rei! Iie! You shouldn't try to see her dreams!" The medical student protested, also taking note of the agitated expression on Makoto's features, knowing her dreams were once again troublesome.
"I want to... I want to try to understand better. Gomen, Ami-chan. Maybe we can help her better if we understand this more." Rei reasoned, instantly starting a chant to focus her abilities on the fire in the makeshift censer, the fire that was a deep part of herself as well. She could feel the dance of the flames tugging at her soul, pulling her into the deliciously warm embrace of their power, filling her with the raw and furious emotions that burned at their purest form. As she grew lost in the warm tendrils of fire, images began to appear around her, being drawn into what was being played in her friend's mind.
-Rei calmly walked down an alley, one she knew well. It was the one behind the Crown cafe and arcade that linked the shops together, everything in her vision made of flames from the scrying fire. She walked on, taking note of a burning version of Makoto walking down ahead of her calmly before something caused her to look towards the brick alcoves of the bar, scowling at what she felt was a minor labyrinth of brick walls to try and keep intoxicated patrons from casually spilling out into the back alley and cause trouble. Her pace increased even though the molten version of the lightning warrior had slowed to aid in stealth, the miko catching up to her with ease to join her in peering in through the archway. Her eyes widened as she saw a male with shifting features pinning Usagi to the wall, Makoto lowering her items to the dirty concrete as her kind face became etched in rage.
When Usagi bit the unidentifiable hand over her mouth, the male suddenly developed a mouth to unleash a garbled grunt of pain, the words lost in the strange grating sound of the inhuman voice. Rei gasped as the knife plunged into the princess' right shoulder, the tall fighter seeming to snap into a blind rage. "YOU BASTARD!" The flame created woman raced through the portal, Rei screaming in horror as a fist lashed out of no where and struck Makoto to the wall, the girl sinking to the ground like a rag doll. "MAKOTO!" Rei screamed, everything dimming before the fires surged back into clarity. The priestess was stunned to near silence as she watched her friend stand as if possessed by a power unseen, three more males with featureless faces moving in like ghoulish monsters to try and swarm her. Rei couldn't understand how she had managed to get back to her feet at all; most humans would be in the hospital for days after a strike to the head like that, and even a few would have died. How could she still be standing and fighting?-
Ami glanced back at Rei several times as she drove, mostly to check the fire in the bowl for if it had spread to the girl or the cloth. Last thing she needed was for the car to catch fire with Makoto in it. The poor girl had been through enough already. She could still hear her mother speaking to her and the other senshi after Makoto had been stabilized.
-Saeko walked into the now awake Usagi's room looking completely pale, Minako, Rei, Ami, and Usagi all silent in terror. Why was she so pale looking? What had happened? Oh Kami-sama, had Makoto died...? The elder Mizuno took a deep breath, finally finding her voice to inform them. "She's alive." Every one of them released the breath they had been unaware they had been holding. "But she... Her injuries were... Very severe. Her skull is fractured in two places, her left arm broken in two places, her left ankle broken, four broken ribs, dozens of cuts and bruises, and..."
Ami took a step closer to her mother, tears running down her face silently before the woman continued, "And she... She was... raped... She was violently raped..."
She hadn't registered at the time that Rei had stumbled into the wall, nor that Minako shook in a mix of horror and murderous rage, not even that Usagi had turned a strange green tone. All she knew was that her dear friend that she had secretly fallen for was laying in a hospital bed at this very moment, broken, battered, violated, and she sat hard in the closest chair to keep from simply collapsing to the floor in shock. "No... Not... not Mako-chan... She never... never loses a fight..." She breathed, unable to wrap her head around the truth. Now the expression on Nephrite's face made sense; the haunted look of blank horror, the face of someone who had seen the things of nightmares.-
Ami bit her lower lip to keep back tears from trailing down her cheeks, looking at Makoto as she waited for the light to turn. She couldn't imagine what had happened, but she was still uncertain about holding back the truth from the recovering warrior. However, the fact was that even her mother admitted that her mind may not be ready to face the horrible truth yet, and so she would keep it a secret from the beautiful woman next to her, hoping Rei was having some sort of luck.
-Rei was crying as she watched Makoto hurl Usagi away from her to let her escape. "RUN!" That single word was full of pain, urgency, and the smallest hint of fear, the warrior of Mars seeing the princess look on for a few seconds longer before fleeing, her flames vanishing from the vision as the violet eyes turned back to watch the still fighting Makoto trying to ward off the four distorted male figures while on her back. She longed to be able to grab hold of the flame images, to even the odds and save the woman she had grown to care for from these monsters, but she could only watch helplessly as one of the creatures reared his leg back to viciously kick her in the side, the firey girl on the ground finally curling into a ball as groaning in pain, unable to keep fighting on. Another kick to her ribs sent Makoto whimpering, the sound completely foreign to the shrine maiden as she saw the figures halt in their beating and just watch the injured girl. For a moment, the mouths became crystal clear, human, identified as they grinned down at her in a way that made Rei's skin crawl. One reached down to grab the disheveled, wavy brown hair that was still in a ponytail, Makoto releasing a strangled groan as she used her left hand to grip the male's wrist in an effort to prevent him from ripping out her hair, the other arm holding her ribs. The male was now the only one with a mouth still, Makoto's eyes looking into where his should be, the mouth opening to speak in a very distinct but drunken human voice. "What pretty eyes y'have. Just like 'meralds..."
Rei felt her stomach revolt as he grinned and drunkenly kissed her, her friend turning her head free instantly to whimper in pain and fear. "Please, stop it!" Her voice shaking, even the flames that made up her body seemed to tremble violently, and the miko knew that Makoto felt completely and utterly helpless. The male bit her throat hard, the fires there darkening to show blood as he stumbled her to the wall, his hands gripping her wrists tightly as he used his weight to pin her there, the girl struggling as the panic increased on her features. The psychic had to get out of here, she couldn't see any more, the bile burning her throat as she violently shoved herself away from the images, the flames melting away from shapes she could identify into typical fire, then vanishing completely as she fled.-
Rei snapped out of her trance, the bowl now empty of flames as it slipped from her hands, looking completely ill. She looked at Ami, not feeling to tears that poured down her panic filled face as she spoke in a thick yet gruff voice. "P-pull over..." Ami was staring at her in shock, Rei fighting back the need to vomit. "Ami, pull over now!" A hand flew to her mouth as the heaving began, the bluenette scrambling to obey.
The second the car had come to a complete halt, the warrior of flames released her seat belt, shoved open the door, staggered a few steps, and allowed herself to be violently ill. At some point, she fell to her knees and shuddered, hearing footsteps as another door slammed shut. "Rei-chan!" She heard her friend gasp as she neared, Ami's cool hands holding her long raven locks back as she dry heaved. But the words the male had spoken was echoing around in her head, Rei's face green tinted as she wretched again. "What pretty eyes y'have. Just like 'meralds..." Those words should have been an innocent compliment, not a terrifying exploitation of her features.
When the miko was finally certain she was in control of her stomach, she turned to face the concerned student, still crying. "Sh... Sh-she was s-s-so scared... Th-they beat h-her and... And then..." She couldn't finish her words, as if by saying them Makoto would be forced to endure it all over again. She felt slender arms wrap around her in a firm embrace, and she simply cried into Ami's shoulder on the side of the road on her knees.
"Mako-chan? We're here." The gentle touch to her shoulder caused the thunder senshi to jump visibly, Ami quickly withdrawing her hand. The waking warrior stretched as much as her healing body would allow, seeing Rei open the truck to get the wheelchair out. "There are only stairs. It won't do you any good, Rei-chan." The brunette admitted, the miko seemingly ignoring her, unfolding the item and pushing it to the door Ami just opened. If Makoto didn't know any better, it looked as though Rei had been crying. "Rei-chan, I said-"
Ami held up her hand for silence. "This is just for getting you to the stairs. We will carry you up them." But Makoto rebelled against the very notion of being carried like a cripple. "Iie. I will not be carried up the stairs." Sharp blue eyes met stubborn green as the medical student put her foot down. "Hai, you will. Either we carry you up those stairs, or you must return to the hospital."
Makoto seemed to weigh her options carefully before sighing, half glaring at the two girls before stating, "I better be getting a bath after this..." Her voice tired as she started to ease herself to face the wheelchair more, missing the pink that graced the faces of her friends. "Agreed. I'll give you one first, Ami-chan will be next. We can alternate."
The bluenette turned scarlet as she stared at the senshi of flame, half wanting to shake her head in embarrassment, grateful that they both had managed to subdue the wild flush on their faces by the time their charge was looking at them. With just a bit of lifting and easing, they had gotten the powerhouse into the item and started wheeling her into the front door of the condo complex, Makoto fishing her keys out to unlock the door before they entered, the stairs on their left. "Fifth floor, number 28." The thunder soldier informed them, trying to squirm her way to her one good leg. Ami and Rei linked their arms to create a sort of hammock before the battered girl leaned gently into their grip, slowly being reclined into a somewhat laying down position, and then carried up the stairs. While both Rei and Ami were strong, neither were used to carrying a person up several flights of stairs; that was a task usually taken up by Makoto.
When they reached the door, they slowly leaned Makoto up to balance on her good foot so she could unlock the door, and then onto the nearest couch. Ami hurried back out to collect the wheelchair, leaving Rei to help her relax a bit, the shrine maiden sitting on the floor a bit away from her, uncertain of what to do next. "Rei-chan?" The miko turning to look at her friend as a prompt, seeing an impish smile on her lips. "Reeeeeei-chaaaaaan~" The way Makoto said her name so playfully caused her cheeks to burn red. "N-nani?" She managed to squeak out, the reply a coy, "I'm ready for you to give me that bath now~"
Her face was a deep crimson, knowing that her brash comrade could easily see the redness that played on her skin, trying to push back the nervous swarms of butterflies. Ami entered again, unfolding the wheelchair and serving as a merciful distraction to the duo; until she spoke with a smirk at the obviously flustered Rei, "Rei-chan? You should help Mako-chan into the bath while I prepare her room. Here..." She pushed the wheelchair over to Makoto, having to fight back laughter at the look of shock in the wide violet eyes as she assisted the brunette back into the chair, walking away shortly after through the hall that connected the living area to the kitchen, a bathroom, a secondary bedroom, a study, and finally the master bedroom.
It wasn't as messy as she had thought it would be, but it did lack feminine touches; an orgy of evidence that Makoto loved basketball and martial arts graced the walls, sport clothing inside the hamper and around it, but a lone pair of ice skates lay tucked in the corner. The bluenette had never known that the tall girl could ice skate, but she shrugged it off as ice hockey gear. The very thought of Makoto figure skating seemed absurd to her due to how boyish she was. Ami looked at the lone futon in the room, then at the clothing dressers before steeling herself to locate sleep clothes for her patient, hearing Rei pushing the wheelchair in the direction of the bedroom. "Mako-chan? Which drawer has clothes for sleeping?" Ami inquired, seeing the blushing senshi of fire still pushing the chair nervously, the girl in the item answering, "Ah. Top middle and bottom left." Then the green eyes turned up to glance at Rei, pointing with her uninjured hand to the bathroom. "Onward, minion!"
Rei could feel her face almost radiating enough heat to cook an omelette on her cheeks, but she obeyed the command. "Ami-chan...? The sleep clothes?" The miko held her hand out for the clothing, practically snatching them from her grip before walking her charge into the bathroom, taking note of the generous sized tub. With trembling hands, she helped to get the young woman's shirt off, then her shoe, sock, and pants before having to swallow hard to wet her impossibly dry throat. There next to her was the woman of her dreams clad in only a bra and green cotton boxers, Rei suddenly trying to hold back the strange sensation that she was almost giddy with nerves. "It's okay, Rei-chan. We both have the same stuff. Unless there's something you're hiding under that skirt." Makoto teased with a suggestive eyebrow waggle, the slight flush on her cheek bones the only hint that she was incredibly embarrassed about being undressed by her friend, the maiden giving her a small smile to try and ease the tension. "Me hiding something? I'm not the one in boxers, Mako-chan."
Rei took a deep breath as the brunette chuckled, her fingers fumbling slightly as she unclasped the bra, not trying to watch as Makoto's generous bust was exposed but unable to look away. They had bantered playfully back and forth over which had more to their cup sizes, Rei a decent C cup, but the busty brunette was a very comfortable D cup. Hastily, Rei averted her eyes to the green boxers, ashamed of how eager she was to remove them, her fingers hovering an inch away from the elastic band before withdrawing. "I... I think we should leave these on for now. Let's draw the water, so sit comfortably." She eased her back to the chair, noting the exhale of air from the senshi of protection. "Okay."
Rei busied herself with the water, testing it constantly before the tub was half full, shutting off the faucet before helping the girl lower herself down into the tub, minding the casts. Her left arm and leg were draped over the side, Rei gathering a sponge, body wash, and shampoo for the task at hand, trying not to think about how much she was excited by this prospect. She gently wet then lathered Makoto's wavy brown locks, hearing the other girl hum softly in appreciation of her actions, a tiny smile on her own lips. As she became focused on rinsing her hair out, Rei hummed an old temple song, adding lily of the valley body wash to the sponge before tenderly lathering her across her upper back, a sigh of pleasure escaping the soaking girl. "You know Rei-chan, you're very good at this... I may take months to recover from my broken limbs." Makoto dramatically whined, a coy smirk on the psychic's lips. "I could always ask Grandfather to do this if you don't recover in eight weeks." A green eye turned sharply to glare at her. "That's just mean. And gross." A grin rewarded the brunette. "But I could grow weary of bathing you, and Ami-chan too. He would be willing to help you!" The green eye narrowed. "You are not very nice to your patients."
Rei giggled, moving around to wash the arm that lay on the cool surface of the tub carefully, her eyes tracing across Makoto's skin. 'Kami-sama, you are so beautiful Makoto...' She breathed in reverence mentally. "Nani?" She heard Makoto question, Rei looking at her in confusion. "You just said something, Rei-chan, I didn't catch it." The violet eyes widened in shock; had she said that out loud?! "I... I was just saying I h-hope you recover soon." She could feel those powerful green eyes searching her face before the intensity dimmed, Makoto seeming to accept that answer.
The rest of the bath was quiet and full of nerves, Rei closing her eyes when she had to tug off the soaked boxers and accepting Makoto's help when putting on the clean pair with her gaze still averted. At every moment of that endeavor, the miko was certain the warrior could hear her heart thudding in her chest powerfully, but if she did there was no mention of it. When she had finally managed to get the sleep shirt and pants on her, Rei wheeled the girl back out to the bedroom, helping her into the futon and tucking her in before standing, Ami next to her as they moved to leave the room. "Rei-chan? Ami-chan?" Both girls halted to see worried emerald eyes watching them. "Please, don't leave me."
They turned back to the girl and smiling, walking over and sitting on either side of the futon before they just lay on either side of Makoto, a respectable five inches between them and her. No one knew who fell asleep first, but at some point, both Rei and Ami snuggled up against the battered girl gently in their sleep, and for the first time in three days, Makoto slept dreamlessly.
A/N: Awwwww... Look at Rei being all flustered and stuff. It amuses me greatly. Any-who, Don't be afraid to leave a review as they keep me encouraged to keep writing this story of insanity. They are like mana from the heavens to me. FEED ME MANA SO I MAY BECOME A STRONG NECROMANCER! Wait, wrong kind of mana. Oops. As always, thanks for reading!