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

ASSASSIN'S LOVE

CHAPTER THREE – HURT

Emerald eyes opened weakly. She winced softly because of the pain all over her body. She still felt weak and her throat was dry due to how long she had been passed out. The room was dark. Only the light from behind the closed door illuminated the room. Her eyes trailed down to her side where she saw a woman whose head rested on the bed's side. Even in the dim light, she could see the woman's sleeping face. Her blonde hair spilled onto the bed, nearly covering her face. She recognized this woman. The brunette's heart ached as her mind recalled what she had done to this woman. She tried to reach the woman but only noticed that her hands were handcuffed to the bed.

Minako's eyes shot open when she heard the metallic sound in front of her face. She immediately changed her position to sit and stared at the woman in the dark. Her heart pounded rapidly, still afraid that the woman might hurt her.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before the stranger finally said, "Water…" in a hoarse voice.

The blue eyes blinked several times, trying to digest what the woman on the bed had just said. "Oh…" Minako repeated as she stood up to get the water from the bedside table. Emerald eyes watched her, making her feel nervous. She brought the glass of water with a straw to the woman, whose hands were handcuffed. "Sorry," she apologised.

She put the glass of water back on the bedside table and moved closer to the woman on the bed. Minako had adjusted the pillow higher so the woman could change her position to sit. Only then did Minako notice how close she was to the other woman. Their eyes locked. Minako could even hear her own heartbeat thudding rapidly against her chest, and she was glad it was dark, otherwise the other woman could see her flushed face.

"Water," the wounded woman whispered.

Minako blinked her eyes a few times, trying to push away the strange feeling of being so close to this woman. She took the glass of water and helped insert the straw into the woman's mouth. The brunette woman sipped through the straw while continuing to examine the blonde in front of her. Minako dared not look into those eyes again.

When the woman had finished taking her drink, she thanked Minako. "Thank you," she said softly.

Minako just nodded, trying her best to avoid those eyes that were still staring at her.

The stranger woman asked, "Who are you?"

Minako finally decided to look into the other woman's eyes. "Minako," she replied curtly.

The brunette woman smiled weakly. "It suited you," she said, amazed at the beautiful woman who had helped her.

"You barely see me," Minako was blushing again.

"I remember the day I choked you," she said simply. Minako looked up to the woman in front of her. "I'm sorry," she apologized. Minako could see her eyes glistening with tears. "I can't remember what happened to me," she continued. Her voice was broken. "I can't even remember my own name."

"Makoto," Minako said suddenly. The wounded woman's eyes widened. "Your name is Makoto and it suited you," Minako said with a smile on her face.

"Do you know me?" The brunette asked, confused.

Minako shook her head. "You wore a necklace when I found you at the beach and it said 'Makoto' so I assumed that's your name," Minako explained.

Makoto gazed into those blue eyes. "Makoto…"

Minako nodded as she placed the necklace in Makoto's palm. "Nice to meet you, Makoto," she said.

Makoto stared at the metal on her hand, but couldn't see what was written there. "My name is Makoto…" she whispered.

Rei, who was sleeping on the big sofa at the corner of the room, had been watching the scene since Makoto woke up. She had to stay silent in order to hear the woman's progress, but at the same time she found out the name of their guest from Minako's confession.

'Minako…'

-

Ami examined those emerald eyes. She turned off the small torch in her hand. "Your condition is improving," Ami announced.

Makoto smiled at Ami's.

She then checked the wound on Makoto's shoulder and his chest. "Your shoulder has recovered well, but your chest still needs rest," she said.

Makoto nodded. "Thank you," she said to the young doctor.

Ami smiled at Makoto. "How do you feel today?" she asked as a friend.

The brunette looked at her own hands. "Still in prison, I guess," she smirked while looking up at the boyish woman in the corner of the room.

Haruka sighed. "I can't take it off of you," she said simply.

Makoto huffed and glared at Haruka. "What if I tell you I can free myself easily?" She challenged the taller woman.

Haruka was angry with the strange woman. She was about to charge forward, but a soft moan from the sleeping blonde on the sofa made her stop. "I need fresh air," Haruka said before she walked out of the guest room.

Michiru just watched as her partner walked out of the room. Her eyes went back to the woman lying on the bed. "So, your name is Makoto?" she asked.

Makoto nodded.

Ami was trying to learn about this woman while she put her medical stuff in her doctor's bag.

Makoto's eyes landed on the woman in the sofa. Minako was sleeping soundly, warming her heart. She had been waking up early this morning when Makoto woke up from unconsciousness. And since then they both had been awake and had a little chat until Makoto felt sleepy again. When she woke up again this morning, she found Minako asleep on the sofa.

"You still can't remember yourself?" Ami asked.

Makoto shook her head. "No," she answered in a sad tone. "Doctor?" Ami's eyebrows arched when she heard Makoto call her. "How long was I unconscious?"

"It was almost two weeks ago when Minako found you," Ami answered. Emerald eyes trailed back to the sleeping woman. "And you only woke up five days ago, where you hurt my best friend."

"Yeah… I remember that," she said quietly.

Ami examined the woman's behaviour. She could see the regret on Makoto's face; her eyes were looking in Minako's direction. "Just call me Ami," she introduced herself to the stranger woman.

Makoto looked up at the blue-haired woman and smiled. "Thank you for saving my life," she said. Ami raised her eyebrows in anticipation of an explanation. "Well, Minako had told me about you and Mamoru's efforts to save my life," Makoto explained.

The short-haired woman had a smile on her face, knowing how Minako had insisted to keep this woman since they found her. "You should thank her," Ami pointed her finger at the sleeping Minako. Makoto again looked at the blonde's face. "She insisted to help you."

Makoto nodded slightly.

Michiru, who had been standing in front of the wardrobe, noticed how Makoto kept looking at Minako. Even though Makoto hadn't acted aggressively this morning, Michiru still needed to be cautious around this woman. Michiru wondered who this woman was, based on what Haruka had said earlier.

"Well, I'll let you have some rest then, Makoto." She walked towards the door of her room. "Besides, my name is Michiru. And my partner earlier is Haruka." She winked at Makoto before leaving the room completely.

As Michiru left the room, Rei soon appeared. Her eyes met Ami's blue ones before searching for her blonde friend. "She's still sleeping," Rei smiled.

"I made her wake up early today," Makoto said, amused at the cuteness of the blonde on the sofa.

Rei and Ami looked at the brunette. "You look like you can talk now," Rei said as she folded her arms across her chest.

Makoto smirked at Rei.

"Woaahhhh," Minako yawned loudly as she stretched her body. Only then did she notice three pairs of eyes staring at her. Her face blushed lightly. She immediately stood from the sofa and forced a smile to the other three people in the room. "I need to take a shower," she excused herself before hurriedly walking out of the room.

Rei shook her head. "She's back to her normal self," Rei murmured to herself. She then turned around to look at the brunette on the bed. Makoto was staring at her hands. She still wondered who this woman was.

-

Minako walked into the guest room with a water basin. The emerald eyes lit up when she saw Minako enter the room after an awkward silence with the raven-haired woman in the room. She smiled at the blonde, who returned her big smile.

"Shower time!" Minako announced excitedly.

Makoto smiled at Minako's childish behavior. He didn't know why he felt more comfortable with her than with the others.

Minako turned around to face Rei, who was sitting on the sofa. "I said it's time for a shower," she repeated her announcement.

Rei's eyebrows rose in a question to her best friend. "Then?" She asked, confused.

The blonde gave Rei a 'duh' look. "My patient needs to take a shower." Minako glared at the raven-haired woman.

"Then?"

"You have to leave," Minako gave her another glare.

"No!"

"Yes!"

Makoto chuckled lightly at these two women. "Minako," she called up and made Minako turn her face to the brunette. "Let her stay. Besides, she needs to make sure I'm not going to hurt you again." Makoto said.

Minako pouted. "Fine." She turned around to look at Rei. "No peeking." She warned the other woman.

Rei rolled her eyes and continued scrolling her smartphone.

The blonde looked at the brunette woman. Her torso was only covered by the bandage due to her wound. She sighed lightly. "I need to clean you up," she said sheepishly. Makoto just nodded with her eyes on Minako. Minako took the scissors to cut the bandage. She was hesitant at first before Makoto's smile gave a silent approval at her. Emerald eyes couldn't stop looking at the woman in front of her while she was doing her job. There was something about this woman that made her feel calm.

Minako's fingers did their job even though her hand was trembling. When the bandage was removed, Makoto's chest was exposed in front of her. She blushed hard. "Like what you see?" Makoto teased.

"Shut up," Minako hissed silently. Well, for Minako, this woman really has a good body. Masculine and feminine at the same time, even if it's covered in wounds and bruises.

While Minako was doing her job to clean up the wound on Makoto's chest and shoulder, Makoto suddenly asked. "Why you kept me here?" There was silence from Minako. "Why you didn't put me at hospital?"

Blue eyes looked up at the emerald one. "I just want you to be safe," Minako whispered.

"But you barely knew me."

Makoto tried to find the answer in those eyes. All she saw was pain. Minako stopped cleaning Makoto's body. "It hurt me to see you like that," she answered and forced a smile at Makoto.

The brunette stayed silent and let the blonde woman do her job while Rei's violet eyes watched them from the corner of the room, listening to their conversation but saying nothing. Minako had done the cleaning part. She put some medicine around the wound on Makoto's chest. Makoto winced slightly in pain.

"Sorry."

"I'm fine," Makoto said reassuringly to the other woman.

Minako nodded and continued working on Makoto's body. The final step is to put the bandage around Makoto's chest and shoulder. The smaller woman stood close to Makoto to wrap the woman's wound. "Is it too tight?" Minako asked, only to realize her face was only a few millimeters away from Makoto's.

Makoto stared into Minako's eyes before looking down at her pink lips. She took a deep breath and whispered, "No."

Minako pulled herself away from Makoto. When Makoto opened her eyes, she found Minako had walked out of the room in a hurry. Rei looked at Makoto, who was still confused.

'What with this feeling…', Makoto wondered.

Minako put the water basin on her kitchen island. She can't hold it anymore. Her shoulders shook as she started to cry in silent. Rei who was standing behind her had pulled the blonde into her embrace. "It hurt, Rei," Minako said in between sobs. "It hurt."

Rei was clueless about what had made Minako so fragile. She hadn't seen Minako cry like this in a long time.