A/N: I don't own any Sailor Moon characters.

English is not my first language so hope you guys can be gentle with me =}

ASSASSIN'S LOVE

CHAPTER ONE – THE WOUNDED WOMAN

Minako sat on the beach sand while watching Haruka and Michiru play beach volleyball against Mamoru and Usagi. To be honest, this pairing kind of unbalanced in her opinion. Michiru and Haruka seemed to be in their own league while Mamoru and Usagi's pairing had too many lacks. Mamoru might be good at sports, but having his girlfriend, Usagi, in the same team really didn't help at all. The small blonde kept making mistakes and crying when she couldn't catch the ball from her opponent. Minako couldn't stop herself from laughing when she saw Usagi fall on the ground and the beach sand covered her face.

"Come on, Haruka. Be nice to your opponent," Minako shouted at the tomboyish girl.

Haruka shrugged her shoulders. "I only use 60% of my skills," the taller girl said proudly.

Minako just rolled her eyes. She knew Haruka didn't play seriously against Usagi, but seeing how hard it was for Usagi to return her serve made Minako feel sorry for her blonde friend. Just a few seconds later, Rei and Ami joined her to sit next to her.

"What we just missed? Why didn't you play the game?" Rei asked, handing the blonde the takoyaki she made at Minako's house. The raven-haired woman watched as Mamoru tried to console his crying girlfriend. "Was Usagi falling again?"

Ami, who was holding a book in her hand, looked worriedly in Usagi's direction. "Did she hurt herself?"

"Well, she can't stop begging me to team up with Mamoru," Minako shrugged her shoulders as she took a bite of takoyaki. Her eyes widened before she turned to Rei. Her face turned slightly red with tears welling in her eyes.

Rei looked at her blonde friend, whose shocked face. "Is it too hot?" Rei asked.

Minako nodded, waving her hands in the air.

Rei squinted one of her eyes. "Sorry."

Minako swallowed the last of the takoyaki on her plate and hurried home for some cold water.

"I told you not to put too many chili flakes on it," Ami said as she held her nose in her book.

Minako put the empty glass on the kitchen counter. It had been her third glass of plain water. "Damn Rei," she cursed the raven-haired woman in her mind. She couldn't understand how that woman really liked spicy food.

The blonde walked back to the porch of her house and watched her friends from a distance with another glass of cold water in her hand. Usagi was no longer in court. She was sitting with Rei, and it seemed they were bickering about something. Ami took Usagi's place to team up with Mamoru. Both teams finally seemed balanced this time. Ami may be small, but her ball control was great. She could even read her opponents well. Mamoru and Haruka were both great spikers, while Michiru was always ready to assist her companion. A smile tugged at Minako's face as she watched her friends from a distance. Volleyball had always been her favorite sport since she was young. Seeing her friends play her favorite sport made her heart warm.

Minako just noticed that she hadn't seen her and Usagi's cats around their friends. Her eyes were darting everywhere, searching for their pets. She had last seen them walking on the beach near them. "Artemis! Luna!" she called out their names in the hope that they would appear.

She rushed to walk with her friends. "What's wrong?" Usagi asked Minako.

The panic stated on the other blonde's face. "I didn't see Luna and Artemis."

All her friends stopped what they were doing when they heard Minako's concern. They all started calling out to their cat. The teal-haired woman pointed at the beach rock at the end of the beach. "Are those them?" Michiru wondered.

Blue eyes snapped in the direction that Michiru had mentioned. She saw both black and white cats walking along the beach. "Artemis!" Minako screamed. When neither of the cats heard her from a distance, she slumped her shoulders in defeat. "Damn, Artemis!" She walked slowly toward the cats with Usagi on her tail.

"Luna! You're grounded!" Usagi yelled at her cat.

But neither of the cats turned to their master. Each was too busy sniffing the rock. They didn't know what made them curious about the beach rock. As they approached, their eyes widened. "Usagi, get the others!" Usagi nodded as she ran back to get her friends, and Minako ran in her cat's direction to get a clearer view of what she had just seen. A human body in black clothes lay on the beach rock with its back toward her.

Without wasting time, she knelt behind the body, being careful. Minako knew she had to be careful. She shoved both cats away from the body. Her eyes examined the person on the rock. The water around this person was covered with red; it was probably this person's blood. The hair covering the face made Minako unsure whether this person was alive or dead. Slowly she put her fingers under the nostrils and felt the warm breath coming from this stranger. Gently she turned the person around to face her. The small gasp that came from her mouth told her the person was a woman.

"Minako!" Mamoru called out to the blonde. He knelt next to Minako, who was staring at the wounded woman with wide eyes. The black-haired man grabbed the unconscious woman's wrist to check her pulse. "Thank goodness, she's still alive," Mamoru announced to the others.

Before Minako could register what had just happened, Mamoru had the woman in his arms and carried the wounded woman to Minako's house.

Haruka grabbed Minako's shoulder with a worried look on her face. "Let's go," she said.

Minako nodded and took Haruka's offered hand to stand again. Too many questions were playing in her mind. She lifted Artemis from the sand and carried him in her arms as she walked behind Haruka and Michiru.

-

Ami and Mamoru walked out of the guest room in Minako's house. They both took off their gloves and their operation masks.

"How is she?" Rei asked first.

The blue-haired woman sighed. "She's lost a lot of blood. We've stopped the bleeding, but I think we should bring her to the hospital." She suggested.

"No!" Minako objected to the idea. She had been quiet since they found this woman. Her friends assumed Minako was too shocked to speak after what she just found at the beach and gave her some space. But now she suddenly disagreed with the idea of bringing the wounded woman to the hospital. Minako took a deep breath. She could feel all eyes on her. "Her wounds are caused by bullets, and someone wanted her to be dead." She paused when there were no words coming from her friends. She continued, "We can't put her in the hospital. Her enemy might find out that she is still alive."

"But we didn't know her. She might be a bad guy." Michiru interrupted.

Rei nodded. "Yeah, Minako. We can't risk our lives just to save this woman." She said, her eyes looking at the woman on the bed. "It's not worth…"

Usagi stood from her seat after watching Minako for a while. "Well, Minako is right. Maybe some bad guy tried to kill that woman. If it's true, we're just helping the bad guy finish his job."

"But…"

Before Rei could say something, Mamoru cut her off. "Well, it would be best if we could hide her for a while. Minako and Usagi might be right, but we can't let our guard down for this woman we don't know who she is."

Haruka nodded. "We will take turns in taking care of this woman," she suggested.

"I am willing to take care of her," Minako volunteered. All eyes were filled with questions. "That's my idea, and this is my house."

Ami nodded. "Okay, she will stay here." Ami said softly. Her eyes met Minako's blue orbs. "But I don't agree with you taking care of her alone. Me and Rei will stay for tonight." Rei nodded, agreeing with Ami's plan. "Besides, this woman is still weak and she needs someone with medical knowledge to watch over her for a few days." Ami explained, and her eyes met Mamoru's.

Mamoru nodded. "Yes, I agree with Ami. I will drop by at our hospital to get some extra medicine as a precaution. Haruka and Michiru should go back and have some rest first. Let Rei, Ami, and Minako take turns to take care of this woman tonight."

"Okay," Haruka said before standing from her seat. Her eyes met Minako's blue ones. She could see all the emotions mixed up in those eyes. "Be careful, Minako."

Minako nodded. The taller woman pulled Minako into a warm hug. A small sigh escaped the small blonde as she felt herself calming a bit. "Thank you, Haruka," Minako said with a sigh.

Haruka placed a small kiss on her blonde hair before letting her go. The others hugged and exchanged farewells with each other.

"Me and Mamoru will come back with your clothes and medicine," said Usagi.

Rei and Ami nodded. Ami walked behind Mamoru and Usagi to the main door.

The violet eyes are looking for Minako. When she saw her standing at the doorframe of the guest room where the wounded woman was located, she decided to let her friend be. Maybe she was still in shock to see that woman at the beach bleeding and helpless. She knew, Minako was a woman with a big heart just like Usagi. Seeing someone in that condition really hit her hard.

Minako's blue orbs watch the weak woman on the bed, filled with sadness. Too many questions play in her mind.

Ami patted softly on Minako's shoulder and made her jump slightly. Minako looked at Ami before turning her attention back to the woman in the room. "She lost a lot of blood, but she's in good condition. She has two bullets in her body: one in her left shoulder and another in her chest. Luckily, they didn't hit any important organs. Her right leg bled due to something sharp but it didn't seem too bad," Ami explained to Minako. She got a nod from another girl before continuing. "Her head has a pretty bad injury, so we need to monitor her condition these next few days."

"Thank you, Ami," Minako whispered in a low tone.

Ami smiled at her friend. "I just do my job as a doctor."

"And thank you for letting her stay here," Minako added.

The blue-haired woman just stared at Minako, who was still staring at the woman on the bed. There's something in Minako's mind that she hasn't shared with her. "You should go to sleep. It's late now."

Minako shook her head. "I'll be watching her tonight."

"I will be the one watching over her tonight," Rei said. Both Ami and Minako turned their heads to look at the raven-haired woman. "Ami, you've been operating all day, so you need to rest. I'll call you if she gives any response." Rei said to Ami before their eyes met. "You seem to be struggling with your emotions, so I need you to go to sleep first."

Minako opened her mouth to object, but Rei held up a finger in front of her.

"I don't want to hear anything from you. This is an order," Rei said sternly.

Those blue eyes stared at Rei for a while before she shrugged in defeat. Minako knew she couldn't argue with this woman. "Fine." Minako glanced at the unconscious woman before walking to her room.

Ami and Rei exchanged a look, not understanding what Minako was thinking, but both knew they couldn't make her tell them. What they could do now was give their friend some space.