A/N: I do not own any Sailor Moon characters

Thank you for reading. Let's continue.

ASSASSIN'S LOVE

CHAPTER TWO – WHO AM I?

"Minako."

Minako, who was reading a book, looked up to see Rei standing at the aisle. Her brows arched, silently questioning the raven-haired girl.

"I need to go to the bathroom. Can you replace me for a while?" Rei asked sheepishly.

The blonde woman in the living room laughed slightly at her friend. "You should stop eating spicy food," Minako said as she put the book on the table in front of her. Rei didn't answer her because bickering with Minako was the last thing on her mind. She had urgent business to attend to.

"Thank you!" Rei said before rushing to the bathroom at the end of the aisle.

Minako shook her head and smiled. Not that she minded tending to the wounded woman in her guest room. She stood at the doorframe, her hands folded against her chest. It had been a week since they found the woman. Ami and Mamoru took turns checking on her condition every day. Now, while Ami slept in her room, it was Rei's turn to watch over the woman.

Blue orbs examined the body of the woman on the bed. She could see that the woman was still having trouble breathing, but Mamoru had said she would soon awake.

Minako walked closer to the bed to get a better view of the woman's face. The room was dark, but a dim light from the aisle illuminated the room. Minako looked at the sleeping woman. The stranger woman's head was covered with a bandage. Mamoru said that her head had been hit by a blunt object. Her eyes trailed down to her bandaged chest. Ami and Mamoru had successfully removed bullets from her chest, her left shoulder, and her right thigh. She was lucky that none of the bullets had hit any of her vital organs. There were several other wounds on her body and face.

"Why do people do this to you?" Minako wondered.

A blonde caresses the woman's face softly with the back of her fingers. The woman stirs slightly at the touch. Minako's blue eyes widen and a soft gasp escapes her lips. She waits for the woman to open her eyes. When the wounded woman finally opens her eyes weakly, their eyes meet. Minako smiles in relief before suddenly a strong hand chokes her throat.

The woman glared at her angrily. "Who are you?" she asked.

The smaller woman struggled to breathe. This woman was too strong. She just choked Minako with her right hand and held the woman slightly in the air. "Let… me… go…" she begged in between breaths, her feet kicking in the air. Her face turned blue from suffocation for air. "Ma…"

The light in the room was turned on. "Hey!" Rei shouted to get the stranger's attention. "Let her go!" The raven-haired woman pulled the brunette's hand from off of Minako.

The taller woman didn't let go of Minako, not even when Rei tried to pull her by the strong hand. The blue one finally met the emerald eyes. Minako could see the fear in those eyes. Her eyes were wide as if she had realized something.

"Who am I?" she asked, weakly. Both Rei and Minako were shocked by the question. Tears started to pool in the stranger's eyes as she slowly released her grip on Minako's neck.

Minako fell to the floor and coughed violently, gasping for breath. Rei quickly took hold of her shoulders. "Are you alright?" she asked with concern.

The blonde just nodded, still trying to catch her breath.

The wounded woman walked toward the door, but was stopped by Rei. "You're bleeding; stop moving!" Rei pointed to the bandage on her torso.

Their eyes met. "Who am I?" The taller woman asked Rei, then fainted in Rei's arms. Rei and Minako gave each other a puzzled look.

-

Ami had finished taking the woman's heartbeat. She took off the stethoscope from her ears and rested it on her shoulders. "Her heartbeat is normal," she said to Minako and Rei. "Since you both said she couldn't remember her name, I assumed it was because of the trauma on the back of her head."

Rei nodded, while Minako looked at the woman on the bed with sad eyes.

Michiru and Haruka entered the room. "We heard that this woman had attacked Minako," Michiru said in a worried tone.

Haruka immediately sat down next to Minako. She examined Minako's bruise on her neck. "Has she done this to you?" Haruka asked.

Minako nodded.

"Minako…"

The blonde smiled at the boyish woman. "I'm fine." She tried to reassure the woman next to her.

"Can she remember her memories?" Rei asked.

The blue-haired doctor nodded. "Yes, but usually that person is surrounded by people they know who will help them regain their memories." Ami explained. She turned to look at the brunette. "But this woman, we hardly knew her."

"I will help her get her memories back," Minako suddenly said. Her eyes met the staring eyes of those around her. "I will help her."

"Minako… this is beyond our control," Rei interrupted. "Look what she's done to you."

Minako stood from her seat. "If you guys don't want to help her, that's fine. I will take care of her until she fully recovers." She said and walked out of the room.

All four women exchanged glances with each other.

-

Minako sat on the porch of her house, facing the beach. Her mind was brought back to the moment when the stranger's hand had choked her. Her fingers faintly traced down her throat, and she still felt the sting of his grip.

"You almost got killed," Haruka said as she stood at the doorframe.

Minako didn't turn her head when she heard Haruka's voice. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "She can't remember herself," Minako pointed out the reason. Finally, she turned to face Haruka. "What do you expect her to react when she can't remember herself?"

"She is not your responsibility…"

"I found her, and there must be a reason why I found her!" Minako snapped. "Since the day I found her, she has been my responsibility."

Haruka remained silent after seeing Minako burst out. She hadn't seen this Minako in a long time. Usually Minako is a happy-go-lucky woman who loves to laugh, even sometimes she likes to be alone with her cat, Artemis, and doesn't want to be disturbed. After a few seconds of staring at the younger woman, Haruka let out a small sigh. She knew she couldn't change this woman's mind.

"Okay. But we need a few rules." Haruka said. "First, you can't see her when it's not your turn." The blonde was about to protest, but Haruka put her index finger in front of her to stop her. "There must be two people in the room with her. I don't want the same incident to happen again." She continued.

Minako knew she had no choice but to accept Haruka's rules. She still needed them to take care of the stranger.

"And I have to put handcuffs on her," the taller woman added.

Finally, Minako stood from her seat and faced the older woman directly. "No, you can't do that," Minako objected to the idea.

Haruka shook her head. "This is not about you, Minako. I knew you could fight that woman if you wanted, but this is for the others' safety. If it was Ami or Usagi, would you trade their safety for a woman you barely knew?" She questioned Minako.

Minako thought for a while before nodding. She knew she couldn't risk her friends' lives. "Thank you."

The boyish woman smiled at her friend and pulled her into a hug. "You know, sometimes I feel like slapping you for making me agree to this," Haruka whispered.

Minako smiled against Haruka's chest. She always felt comfortable talking to Haruka. "Did you change your perfume?" Minako teased.

Haruka laughed lightly. "Yeah, Michiru's favorite."

"No wonder."

Haruka frowned at the comment and pushed Minako gently, so she could see her face. "What do you mean by 'no wonder'?" Haruka asked.

The smaller woman laughed.

The taller woman wasn't satisfied because she didn't get the answer from Minako. "Minako, what do you mean by 'no wonder'? Michi made me wear this perfume, so I need to know your honest opinion."

Minako just laughed at Haruka, still trying to muffle herself by covering her mouth so she wouldn't say anything.

While in the house, Michiru, Rei, and Ami had heard both women's conversation. "I'm still not comfortable with this idea," Rei said.

Michiru knew the raven-haired woman, who was worried about their safety after what had happened earlier.

Minako is right," Ami said suddenly. "This woman can't remember herself. She's still in trauma from everything that happened to her, and we can't blame her for acting like that. For her, we are her threat." As a doctor, she explained it to Rei.

As Rei was about to protest, Michiru interrupted. "We need to be together in this. Rei. Minako seems to have her own reason to keep that woman at her house and treat her well. As her friends, we need to give her support."

Those deep purple eyes stared at Minako from the porch. "I don't want her to get hurt again. I met her when she was fragile and lost. I don't want that to happen again," Rei said softly.

Ami took Rei's hand in hers. "We understand, Rei." Their eyes met. "This is for Minako's sake." Ami said with a soft smile on her face.

The raven-haired woman smiled back at her best friend. "Okay, I'll talk to her later."

-

Minako finally made it to her bedroom to get some sleep. As she changed into her pajamas, she paused when she saw her reflection in the mirror. She walked closer to the mirror to see better. Her fingers ran softly over the bruise on her neck. Earlier it was red, but now it's turned dark purple.

'She's so strong.' Minako thought. But her mind remembered back to those emerald eyes that had stared at her with anger. She could see how the fear lay hidden in those beautiful eyes.

"I'm sorry I left you with her."

They finally parted. "I'll be going now," Rei said with a smile on her face. "Don't stay up all night. Good night, Minako," Rei waved as she walked out of Minako's room.

Rei sighed. "If I were in the room with you, you wouldn't…" Her eyes became teary.

Minako walked towards Rei's direction and pulled her into a hug. "Hey, it's not your fault," Minako cooed softly at the taller woman. Her hands ran up and down Rei's back to comfort her, but Rei was still crying.

The scene where the brunette woman choked Minako's neck is still playing in her mind. "I'm scared to see you get hurt again," Rei cried, between.

The blonde pulled herself slightly away from Rei. She tried to look into her best friend's eyes. When their eyes finally met, she smiled at her. "Thank you for caring about me," she said. "But what happened today doesn't have to do with you." Rei nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "But I feel lucky to get a chance to know my guest in a unique way," she joked.

Rei slapped Minako's upper arm. "It's not funny!" Rei hissed at the blonde, who was still softly laughing. "Me and Ami will be going back home. Usagi and Mamoru are in the next room with your guest."

"I thought you and Ami would be staying here tonight," Minako said.

Rei shook her head slightly. "I need new bras and panties." She explained. Minako just giggled at Rei. "We will come again tomorrow afternoon."

Minako nodded. Before they parted, Minako pulled Rei into a hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

Rei smiled and hugged her best friend again. "You need to explain to me why you want to keep her."

"I will be soon."

They finally parted. "I'll be going now," Rei said with a smile on her face. "Don't stay up all night. Good night, Minako," Rei waved as she walked out of Minako's room.

"Good night," Minako replied.

She stared at her door, her mind drifting back to the wounded woman next door. She walked out of the room and leaned against the doorframe of her guest room. Her eyes landed on the big sofa in the room where Usagi had slept with her head on Mamoru's chest while Mamoru was reading a book. Mamoru gave Minako a knowing smile. Minako returned the smile before her eyes darted to the woman on the bed.

"Get well soon," Minako whispered to herself.

A/N: You can check my Twitter CapriOddGirl if you want to see my drawings scenes from the story