AN: Hey guys, sorry for the super late update. Life has been pretty hectic, but I somehow found the time to write this chapter. I was only able to read through it once so I apologize in advance if there are any annoying misspellings or issues with grammar. I used the song House of the Rising Sun in this one obviously, but it's the version that Lauren O'Connell did. I definitely recommend checking it out. Anyways I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter :)
Chapter 6: House of the Rising Sun
Minako woke with a start, the memories of her and Rei's first ball playing over and over through her head like a broken cassette, skipping forwards and backwards, pausing on the moment when their lips almost touched. "Rei . . ." She uttered softly. Her heart felt like it was confined and weighed down by bricks. Without a second thought the blonde quickly got out of bed, throwing on the first thing she found, taking off in a run the second her feet exited her house. She took the Hikawa Shrine's steps two at a time, her heart pounding in her chest. When she reached the door she desperately pounded on it with her fist and then eventually started using her open palm, slapping the divider between her and the fire senshi harder and harder with each passing second. She was shocked when she felt her hand meet flesh instead of the hard wood.
"What is all this about?" Rei's granpa rubbed his head where there was now a red imprint of Minako's hand.
"Oh my god I'm so sorry!" Minako bowed apologetically. "I just really need to talk to Rei."
"She's not here."
"Not here? Where is she?" The blonde furrowed her brow, clearly confused.
"I don't know." The old man shrugged. "She just said she needed some time and left. She's a grown woman now. I figured she would find her way home when she needed to return. She has seemed really distracted lately."
"Oh . . . well if you see her will you tell her I'm looking for her?" Minako bit her lower lip, looking off to the side.
"Of course." Rei's grandpa smiled kindly before he closed the door.
Minako turned away from the shrine, completely defeated as she slowly descended down the stairs. When she reached the bottom step she dropped down into a sitting position, head in her hands. She sat there for hours hoping to catch the raven haired girl coming home. It wasn't until the sun started to set that she slowly rose back to her feet, grabbing her phone. She scrolled down her contacts, biting her lower lip as she clicked on Rei's name to give her a call. The phone rang and rang for what seemed like an eternity. 'Hey it's Rei . . ." She felt her heart skip a beat when she heard Rei's voice. 'Sorry I missed your call. Leave a voicemail and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.' The blonde's heart dropped even lower when she realized it was just her voicemail. "Hey Rei . . . it's me. We really need to talk. Please call me back." Minako sighed as she hung up, heading home.
On her sad walk home Minako's phone started buzzing. Her palms started sweating as she pulled it from her pocket, her heart pounding in her ears only to feel the sting of disappointment once again. It was Usagi.
"Yeah?"
'Minako-chan! We're all going to get some shakes! You want in?'
"I'm not really in the mood to -"
'Great! See ya soon!'
Usagi hung up before Minako could even protest or find an excuse to not go. "Guess I have no choice." The blonde sighed as she changed her direction, dragging her feet all the way to their favorite spot.
"Minako-chan!" Usagi jumped up and down excitedly when she saw her friend walk through the door, looking as if someone just ran over her dog.
"Hey guys." Minako replied in a monotone voice, slinking down into her seat.
"Something wrong Mina-chan?" Ami frowned, noticing the thoughtful frown adorning the goddess of love's face.
"I just went to see Rei . . ."
"Oh? Another lover's quarrel?" Makoto smiled, nudging her friend in the ribs with her elbow.
"No. Nothing like that. She wasn't even there. Her grandpa said she left. Did she say anything to you guys?"
Makoto and Ami shook their heads no in unison, both looking just as confused as their commander. Usagi suddenly found great interest in her shake as she started chugging it down.
"Usagi-chan?" Minako raised an eyebrow, noticing the princess' strange behavior.
Usagi pretended not to hear her friend as she continued to gulp down her shake.
"You know something." Minako narrowed her eyes. "And you're running out of shake so spit it out."
"Ahhhh!" Usagi held her head in anguish.
"Usagi-chan?" The three girls jumped at attention, noticing their princess in distress.
"Brain freeze." The blonde cried.
"That's what you get for avoiding questions." Makoto smirked.
"What do you know?" Minako leaned in, interrogating the other blonde.
"I'm sworn to secrecy!" Usagi pretended to lock her mouth shut.
"I have ways of making you talk." Minako leaned in further, her eyes turning a dangerous shade of blue.
"M-Minako-chan . . . You wouldn't hurt your princess." Usagi put up her hands defensively.
"Test me." Venom dripped from Minako's every word.
"Okay, okay. Sheesh. Rei-chan left . . ."
"I know that already! Where did she go and when is she coming back?" Minako was already growing weary and frustrated.
"I-I don't know. She wouldn't tell me. She just came to me really upset and asked if it was okay if she left for a while . . . She said she needed to sort some things out and be alone." The princess started sweating.
"And you just let her go? It's her duty to stay here and protect you! What if we get attacked?"
"She said she would be here if there was any danger." Usagi looked down, avoiding eye contact with the other blonde.
"Oh? So if a youma attacks she's just going to magically appear out of nowhere? Yeah, that's bullshit." Minako sat back in her seat, crossing her arms and looking off to the side.
"Hey, I trust Rei-chan!" Usagi looked back up, glaring defiantly at the leader of her guards. "If Rei-chan says she'll be here, she'll be here. She's never let me or anyone else here down. You hurt her Minako-chan and you expect her to just be alright? I know Rei-chan comes off as tough, but she's really sensitive underneath that hard exterior. Give her a break."
Minako just let out a huff, glaring out the window, trying to hold back her tears. "Whatever. I'm out of here." The senshi of love quickly stood up.
"Minako-chan . . ." Makoto started.
"What? Rei can leave whenever she wants, but I can't. Maybe I need to be alone too." Minako bit out, storming out of the place, slamming the door behind her.
"Well that went well . . ." Ami sighed. They all seemed to be falling apart and none of them knew how to put the pieces back together.
As Minako stormed out of their favorite spot she pulled out her phone, calling Rei again. This time it went straight to voicemail. "Rei, I get it. You're angry. You can't just leave like this. Please come back so we can talk." The blonde let out a sad sigh, putting her phone away, and heading home. When the blonde got home she plopped down on her bed, Usagi's words playing over and over again in her head as she slowly drifted off into an uneasy sleep. "If Rei-chan says she'll be here, she'll be here. She's never let me or anyone else here down."
-Flashback-
Venus strolled around the palace late at night on patrol, barely paying attention to much of anything as she looked up at the stars, thinking of their newest member. She let out a dreamy sigh as she leaned against a nearby wall, thinking back on the ball and the kiss that had almost occurred the week before. "Oh Rei . . ."
She pushed off of the wall to resume her patrol when she was grabbed by her throat and slammed against that same wall. Her eyes widened when she saw what seemed to be a demon darker than the night and eyes redder than hell raising her up off the ground slowly with one claw, it's grip tightening on her throat. She grabbed the beast's wrist, kicking frantically, desperately trying to get it to loosen it's hold. Her face was turning red and her vision was starting to go black when she saw four more demons sprout from the shadows. The monster growled lowly in her face, showing it's dominance over this weaker life form, and Venus was sure the last thing she would ever see was that demon's face as she closed her eyes, giving up the fight, starting to lose consciousness.
Venus' eyes snapped open when she heard a shrill shriek rise from one of the monster's mouths. She had just enough strength to look to the side and see the blurry form of Mars running in her direction with a spear in hand. Two of the four demons went to block her path, but they couldn't stop the enraged Martian as she stabbed the first one in the chest with her spear, pulling it back quickly and stabbing the second one in the stomach before she narrowed her eyes in Venus' direction. The commander was losing consciousness and running out of precious air as the monster gripped her throat even tighter. Mars let out a soft breath as she cocked her arm back and threw the spear the twenty yards between her and Venus. A satisfied smirk formed on her face when the spear found it's mark and went right through the demon's temple, causing Venus to go crashing to her knees as it's lifeless body fell over.
Mars was about to go running to her when she felt one of the demons she injured before grab her leg from the ground. It lifted it's claw to slash her, but Mars was quicker and grabbed one of her swords at her side, slicing it's throat as she unsheathed her weapon before it could make contact. Mars used her instincts, jumping to the side, barely avoiding another furious claw as the other monster that was crippled on the ground went to lunge at her. She pushed her sword through the back of it's throat, pushing it out through the front before she pulled it back and went to aid the blonde who was now standing on her own two feet, barely dodging the two demons attacking her.
"Minako!" Mars yelled, gaining the other girl's attention. Rei quickly tossed her spare sword to the Venusian, which she gratefully caught, turning just in time to dodge another attack brought on by one of the monsters, slicing off one of it's arms as she turned. She ducked when the other monster furiously swung it's arm, aiming to cut her pretty face with those ragged nails. As Minako dropped to one knee it felt as if everything was going in slow motion, she could see the arm still lost in it's momentum continue it's swing as she lunged forward with her sword, stabbing it in the stomach and pushing it out of it's back. The demon let out a cry of pain and went to attack her again, but she twisted her blade causing the beast the stumble. When she pulled it out of it's stomach she brought her arm back up, swinging and beheading the terrible beast.
As the monster's head rolled down to the ground and it's lifeless body dropped to it's knees she saw Rei standing ten yards away smiling at her as if she was proud of the blonde. Venus blushed, shyly returning the raven haired girls smile, but had little time to celebrate or talk when she saw another beast form behind Mars. Before she could warn her the monster whose arm she cut off arose in front of her looking for vengeance as it swung it's only arm at her. The blonde quickly jumped back and swung her sword, cutting it's belly from right to left, it's insides spilling out as she continued her motion and threw her sword with a back hand towards Rei. Rei was quick to dodge the blade that went slicing towards her, confusion written all over her face, before she heard a shrill scream behind her and the blade embedded itself in the monster's chest, sending it flying onto it's back. Rei stood over the monster, placing her foot on it's chest, pulling the sword free. "What the fuck are you?" She hissed.
The demon only laughed, coughing on the black bile coming up in it's throat. "He'll find you."
Mars felt rage fill her veins at the monster's laughter, not even registering what it said to her as she stabbed the sword right into it's mouth, killing all the laughter it once held.
"Mars . . ." Venus let out a relieved sigh, limping over to the other girl. "Are you alri-" A big arm swung, sending Minako flying back into a wall, her head hitting the stone hard, slowly sliding down to sit as her vision went blurry. She could feel hot, sticky liquid dripping down from the back of her head to her back.
"Venus!" Mars yelled out, starting to run towards the blonde, but was grabbed by her throat by a huge claw. She darted her eyes from Venus to the giant monster who had a strong grip on her, raising her up into the air like she was nothing. The Martian's eyes widened as she made eye contact with those dark red eyes, this beast was at least four times bigger than the other monsters. It let out a loud battle cry in the Martian's face, holding her up to it's eye level and grew more furious when Mars yelled back in response, punching it in the head over and over again to no avail. The demon lifted Mars up higher before it slammed her into the ground. Blood shot out of Rei's mouth as she let out a surprised gasp, feeling some ribs and bones in her back break when she made contact with the hard ground.
"Focus . . ." Minako said softly, just barely loud enough for Rei to hear.
Mars closed her eyes, trying to forget the claw wrapped around her throat, the looming figure standing over her, and her broken bones as she held out her hand. When she opened her eyes and saw a small flaming dagger in her palm she took her opening and quickly stabbed the beast in the foot. The monster let out a deep loud yell, temporarily releasing the Martian from it's deadly grasp. Rei hastily rolled out of the way, barely avoiding the furious fist that came crashing down to crack open her skull on the pavement. She rolled to the other side when it continued it's relentless attack, desperately trying to find a way out of this. She was severely over powered and both her and the commander were seriously injured. Another fist came crashing down and this time she wasn't quick enough to avoid it. Mars closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable, but opened them when she felt nothing.
While the beast was distracted Venus pulled herself back up and wrapped her love me chain around it's wrist before it could crush the Martian's pretty face she so enjoyed staring at. It whipped it's head around, letting out an annoyed yell as it pulled on the golden chain while Rei scrambled to her feet.
"I can't hold him." Venus gritted her teeth, her chain disappearing, giving the monster it's arm back. Mars jumped back as it furiously swung it's arm at her again, but wasn't fast enough to avoid it's long claws, leaving three long slash marks in her side. Mars stumbled back, holding her side as blood poured out from the wound and the monster looked at her with an evil smile, licking the blood from it's claws.
"Chain me!" Rei glared at the beast, addressing Minako.
"What!? No! That's suicide!" Venus yelled out.
"Trust me!" Rei looked at the blonde pleadingly, holding up her arm, and keeping her distance from the giant.
Venus just sighed and nodded her head, sending her love me chain flying at the raven haired girl, holding on to one end while the other wrapped around her comrade's wrist. "Aim high!" Rei yelled out as she went running at the beast, Minako following suit as they both jumped in unison, getting the chain up to the monster's throat. Venus went left and Mars went right, starting to wrap the chain around the giant's neck. When they intersected Venus jumped into the air while Rei rolled underneath her, both continuing their movement until they were both on opposite sides of each other with the beast stuck in the middle. It went to go after Mars, but Venus stayed steady, pulling it back to the middle. "Pull hard!" Mars yelled. The blonde did as she was told, both of them pulling as hard as they could while the giant let out a yell. After a minute of pulling and struggling the monster's head went flying off. Rei let go of the love me chain and both girls fell to their knees breathing heavily.
"We did it . . ." Minako let out a sigh of relief, flinching when she felt a sharp pain in her head. She touched her fingers gingerly to the back of her skull, but flinched away when she felt the pain grow. She looked at her fingers to find blood and when she looked at Rei she saw her laying in a heap on the ground. "Rei!?"
"What's going on here?" Came Makoto's concerned voice as she went running up to her comrades.
"Check . . . the princess . . ." Rei said softly, losing more and more blood by the second.
"But Rei-"
"Just do it! She could be in danger!" Mars' eyes flickered dangerously and that was enough to send Jupiter running to their princess' room only to find her sound asleep.
"She's fine." Makoto came running back. "I'm getting Ami. You guys need serious medical attention."
Rei just slowly nodded, her eyes starting to close.
"Hey, Rei-chan. We have to try to stay up." Minako crawled over to the raven haired girl causing the Martian's eyes to flicker open. "We just need to hang on a little longer . . ." Minako felt herself getting tired as well, but knew with the state she was in falling asleep could mean death.
"Just a little longer . . ." Rei mimicked, her breathing growing more shallow.
"Oh my god." Ami came running up to the girls, guards in tow with makeshift stretchers. "Get them to the medical facility immediately."
As the girls were being put onto the stretchers and brought to the medical ward a small smile graced Minako's lips, looking over at the barely conscious Rei.
"You've never said my name before . . ." Was the last thing Rei heard Minako whisper before she passed out.
-End Flashback-
Rei frowned as she saw another missed call and voicemail from the damned Venusian that plagued her thoughts. She didn't even bother to listen to the voicemail as she rolled out of bed, turning off her phone to prevent further disruption during her little vacation. She dragged herself to the bathroom to take a shower and put on some fresh clothes, heading down to a convenient store to get herself an energy drink and some snacks.
While Rei was casually walking through the isles deciding on what to snack on she saw a flash of pink hair. She turned just in time to see long legs and flowing pink hair that went down to a girl's waist exit before she could further evaluate her. Rei shrugged it off as she quickly grabbed the supplies she needed and headed to the register. Once her items were paid for she decided a nice stroll along the boardwalk would do her some good. Sure fire was her element, but she loved the ocean. Something about the sound of the crashing waves meeting the shore soothed her. Rei smiled to herself as she went from the boardwalk and onto the beach, settling herself on the sand to enjoy her little meal. She watched the waves crash into the shore and then wash back out for what seemed like hours when she saw that flash of pink again. She turned her head and saw the same girl from the convenience store casually strolling away from the beach and onto the boardwalk. Rei felt herself stand, following the girl on instinct. It was as if her body was moving of it's own accord and she had no control. She had no idea what she was doing or where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to follow that girl.
Rei kept a safe distance, following the girl as if she was in a trance. The pink haired girl didn't seem to notice as she rounded a corner and kept walking as if she didn't have a care in the world. The fire senshi felt her heart pounding in her chest, palms getting sweaty as she saw the girl enter what seemed to be a bar. 'Curiosity killed the cat.' Rei chided herself for stalking the girl, turning to walk away, but stopped in her tracks. It was as if something was pulling her towards the bar, gravitating her closer to that mysterious girl. 'Fuck it.' Rei couldn't fight gravity anymore, quickly walking into the bar before she could change her mind.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing here?" Came a deep voice to her side. Rei looked over to see a very big, very annoyed looking man polishing a glass. He placed the glass down onto the counter, stepping out from behind the bar. "I said what are you doing here? We're closed." Rei struggled to find an excuse as to why she walked into the empty bar, sweat starting to form on her brow. She could hold her own in a fight, but this guy was big and was looming over her, looking like he was about to grab her by her shirt and throw her out on her ass.
"It's fine. She's with me." Came a voice as smooth as silk and as dark as a summer night.
Rei looked over to her right and saw that same pink haired girl looking back at her with a small smirk on her face. Rei didn't have a chance to get a good look at her and now that she did she was in awe. To say this girl was gorgeous was an understatement. Her skin was pale, but radiated like the moon. Her legs were never ending, her body was tight and definitely toned, and her eyes were pink like her hair except they were a shade darker. Looking into her eyes was like looking into the abyss. 'If you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you.' That quote kept running through Rei's mind as she looked into those eyes, falling deeper and deeper into her trance.
"Sorry, didn't know." The big bartender grumbled, breaking Rei from her trance.
"Take a seat." The mysterious girl flashed a charming smile at the raven haired girl as she pulled out a chair. Rei didn't say anything, she just obediently sat down like a well trained dog.
"Enjoy the show." The pink haired girl winked at her, stepping up to the dimly lit stage, talking to what looked like a couple of band members.
"This one's on the house. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Didn't know you were with her." The bartender placed a martini in front of the still confused fire senshi, sulking off to continue cleaning the glasses. Before Rei could question the man about who this girl was she heard a slow drum beat start up and her attention was pulled to the stage. The pink haired girl slowly walked up to the 30's looking mic, gripping it as she opened her mouth to sing.
There is a house in New Orleans
They call the rising sun
It's been the ruin of many a poor girl
And god, I know I'm one
Rei felt herself leaning forward, the girl's dark haunting voice was pulling her in, and her penetrating eyes were locked onto the fire senshi like a target.
My mother was a tailor
She sowed my new blue jeans
My sweetheart he was a gamblin' lord
Down in New Orleans
Rei's mouth went dry as the mysterious girl started moving her hips from side to side to the beat, running her hand up her leg, punctuating the lyrics to the song, and drawing the raven haired girl's attention once again to those legs and perfectly shaped hips.
Oh mother tell my baby sister
Not to do what I have done
But shun that house in New Orleans
They call the rising sun
Rei's eyes slowly traveled up the girl's body, past her tight stomach, past her generously sized breasts, and back to those dark eyes. Those dark eyes that never left her even for a second. Those eyes that sent shivers down her spine and caused her hands to shake. There was something dangerously enticing about her.
It's one foot on the platform
The other is on the train
I'm going back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain
As the girl was starting her last verse she grabbed her mic from it's stand, slowly stepping down the stairs, taking her time to make her way towards Rei like a jungle cat on the prowl. It was obvious that Rei was her prey, she was defenseless, trapped in a corner that she wasn't sure she wanted to escape from. The girl kept eye contact as she neared Rei's table, setting her mic down as the music came to a close. Rei's hands grew sweatier as the girl leaned in, pressing her soft pink lips to the fire senshi's in a slow sensual kiss. She pulled back after a couple of seconds, releasing Rei's upper lip from between hers. The raven haired girl slowly opened her eyes to find the mysterious girl sitting on the edge of her table, grabbing her martini. She placed the glass to her lips, tipping her head back, and downing the entire drink in one gulp before she casually placed it back down in front of the bewitched miko. Rei opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't find any words as the pink haired girl placed a slip of paper in her hand and walked away to the bar as if nothing had happened.
Rei dumbly looked at the girl as she lounged at the bar before she looked back to her hand. She opened the slip of paper to see a number and only a first name written on it. 'Lucy.'
AN: Well there it is folks. Sorry again for the delay. Please review and let me know what you think :)