Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ (The 1st Generation) Sailor V ❯ Vol.4 - Kindred Souls ( Chapter 1 )

Title: (1st Generation) Sailor V, Vol.4 - Kindred Souls

Author: Matthias aka MysticMew

Email: Minaru@gmx.de

Beta-reader: Athenia (earthwing@comcast.net)

Rating: PG-13, with some more mature situations

Pairing: Minako/Hotaru

Timeline: After Season 1; Prelude story arc to The 1st Generation. How Minako and Hotaru got together.

Summary: Minako is back in England, her memories have been triggered and Sailor V is born again when Youma show their ugly face.

Distribution: Starsinlove-group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/starsinlove/), MAC (www.catstrio.de) www.fanfiction.net, ASMR (www.moonromance.com), anyone else you can have it but please ask first, 'kay?

Disclaimer: Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon/Sailor V belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Toei and Kodansha

Story Disclaimer: Copyright©2002 by Matthias Engel

Foreword

Konnichi wa, minna!

This is the first issue of the prelude series to The 1st Generation. Some of you might remember the teaser I placed on ff.net. This is not the original series but merely the story of how Minako and Hotaru got together beforehand. I still don't know if I'm really doing the original thing in cooperation with someone else, as originally planned, or all by myself. But that is not the point here.

Keep in mind that I'll tell a lot of things in this and the following issues that will not be mentioned and merely hinted in the main series up to certain points.

Now, enjoy!

(1st Generation) Sailor V, Vol. 4 - Kindred Souls by Matthias

based on the works of Naoko Takeuchi

Senshi Diary Codename: Crescent, access only by registered and acknowledged members of the Royal Court.

Scan activated

Scan positive

Recognition: Senshi Venus

Login: Private Journals

Receivers: Past Venus and Saturn

Hi, you two!

You're probably wondering what all this is about and why I'm dedicating personal entries to you two. Like I said already in the main section, Usa-chan is going to visit you soon - for the last time that is. We have been thinking about the many changes that occurred to the timeline. This is something exclusively meant for the two of you. I know it never happened in your time, but that's the purpose of these records. To show you what happened with us, as long as we still can tell you. The changes are slowly taking shape and I must say Hotaru and I fear them, solely for the fact that it might separate us and we'd simply forget about it. No, I could not live with this, neither of us want that. Still, we cannot force you, it is up to you two. I believe though and I promise you that you will experience a lot more happiness in life together than alone by yourself. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, you should read on, I (and Hotaru too) will explain as realistically and personally as possible. This is how we met first. After Beryl was defeated, after Moon set everything back and after we lived almost one or was that two years…? Ah well, the timeline was a bit different back - is that the correct word? - then and by the time we met I was already fifteen, Hotaru fourteen and a half. Enough babbling, read.

(Minako)

The rain fell. Black clouds darkened the sky above, somewhere in the distance lightning flashed and thunder rolled - the perfect setting for the lone girl's inner turmoil. At least that is what I would have found most fitting. But the clear night sky betrayed any signs my body must have send out to the world. It was almost like someone up there was laughing at the cruel joke fate once again had played upon me. A word, a name, a new part of my never dying nemesis. "Hiroshi…" I whispered, thinking back to the handsome seventeen-year old boy, with dark black hair and the most enthralling turquoise eyes, two years older than me. How many had it been now? A dozen? More? I had not counted the various crushes for they had not been more than crushes. Some stood out more than the mass, some actually promised something more, for a time. Hiroshi had been the last one and I think it was the longest relationship I've ever had. How long had it been now? One year - or was it two? I had the vague feeling it had been two although the calendar clearly said it had been a year since that night when I had awakened covered in sweet and with an absolute blank memory. It wasn't that I forgot who I was or what my life was like and that sort but… I forgot something. Something important that I should remember, but I didn't.

I'm sorry, Mina-chan, it's not really your fault. I just think we don't fit together as I thought we would. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to ward of the image of Hiroshi saying these hollow, nonchalant words as if they weren't ending a two month relationship on the verge of becoming something much more. It was as if something always interfered at this stage, driving away the men. I know Hiroshi wanted to take a new step upwards, a major step that I - though probably more experienced than other girls my age - was not ready to take at this point, more out of fear to destroy everything myself than anything else. Hiroshi had not pushed though, but in the end he broke up with me anyway. Men, all the same…

You'll never find true love. The fleeting vision again. The only memory that seemed to be left of whatever there was to remember. I didn't recognize the face, I could not associate it with a name. But I knew him as a friend, an enemy, a former lover? All these terms rang true, at least I thought so. It was haunting, to say the least and sometimes in the night, I would wake up nearly screaming. Then, something would try to force its way to the surface and was gone quicker than it came.

I looked up and through my blurred vision, noted that nature finally had caught up with me. First there were a few drops which quickly became a light drizzle and soon turned into a full-fledged thunderstorm. They had said it would be a clear night with no rain altogether. Liars.

Two years ago - or was that three - I had told myself I was strong, that I could achieve everything and find the perfect boyfriend one day. I put a lot of effort in becoming popular, loving life and what some of the other kids called cool. The road was stony and I was never the best student to back up my performance, but I always told myself that I would never give up and all the crushes that ended into nothing more than a sore heart were just minor setbacks, not worth crying over. I would never cry!

But what was it that I was doing now then? My vision was blurry and my eyes hurt from the liquid mingling with the hard rain, my hair was all drenched and unruly. All in all, I was far away from what one would call cool. I've never had let myself go like this. A few times it had come really close but now, now after two months of hope, of a relationship that maybe finally promised something more than heartbreak and the dull pain of rejecting in the end, that was the final straw. Hiroshi's words had pierced right through my defenses and even my strong will could not stand to falter under the weight of the realization that ascended from the ashes of this last crumbled relationship.

I was cursed to never find true love.

"Daijobu ka?" Though in a state where I really didn't care about anything in the world, I nearly jumped right out of my skin at the sound of the sudden appearance of the sweet, soothing voice next to me and the gentle hand on my shoulder. I looked up through my vision-clouded eyes and saw a pair of the most enchanting - in ways Hiroshi could NEVER match - violet ones I had ever seen, framed by a pale, gothic-like but beautiful face with dark, shoulder-length hair. She looked at me with an expression I thought no one in this world could ever truly master for me. Not just deep compassion, but understanding. Totally equal and shared understanding.

(Hotaru)

I didn't stop when the rain began to fall. Why should I? It was just rain. Nothing to be worried about. And who would care for it anyway? Who would care for the lone girl with dark clothes against pale white skin who wandered aimlessly around the streets of Tokyo in such an unholy hour? No one would. Probably not even my father who was away at a meeting somewhere overseas for the next two weeks. But that also didn't matter.

Another school day passed and nothing has changed, I thought heaving a heavy sigh. Nothing would ever change. It was the usual as long as I could remember and today was no exception. Witch, gothic, those were the usual stereotypes in name-calling that didn't even register to me anymore. They became almost like second names already, as much as I despised them. To my fellow classmates it was like a game, to come up with the most creative names for me, I guess. I was the Queen of the Undead, the Crow Princess, the school clown for dark humor. Those were some of the lighter names they labeled me with - the worst I didn't really like thinking about. One girl had once suspected I could probably walk right out of the window on the third level, hover there and call a pack of crows on my arm without even moving. I felt like hitting her, really bad. But I didn't. I knew it would only add to my bad reputation - not that it could become remarkably worse. Besides, I did have not the physical strength to back up any strike back. Not in a sense that I could strike back myself, more like giving control over to that darker side that I could not really comprehend. That was an option that I despised even more than the hateful, insulting comments.

Imagine my surprise when I turned a corner and saw the most emotionally wrecked, devastated and torn mess of a human being I had ever seen, far worse than I felt myself. I blinked astonished for a few moments before I approached the girl. The closer I came the more I could see of her. Once surely blonde, almost gold hair was now soaked and a fallow shade of its original color. She wore a dress - had wore a dress that clearly pointed that she had been up to something special. The dress was soaked now too and could not be used again for sure. However, as I came closer I could hear the heart-wrenching sobs emitting from the girl's throat. I could see the torrents of tears rivaling the well from above. Normally, I would be first curious and then discard such cases as those who cried over some pity breakup as if there was nothing worse in the world. Although this one had clearly something to do with that, there was more. More that made me stay and ask as gently as possible, if she was alright, instead of ignoring her.

I had always been able to feel people's pain - an ability that I more often cursed than cherished. But when the blonde in front of me looked up and stared up at me in complete shock, I almost tumbled backwards from the sudden surge of… familiarity? I could not describe it better, even if that is the greatest understatement in history. Feelings of loss, uncertainty, chaotic insecurity, a long line of heartbreak and rejection, misused attention… And - furthermost - loneliness. A feeling so familiar I could actually call it a sister, an always present companion; the primal core of my miserable life up to this point. Loneliness - it was that which was reflected in the clouded blue eyes before me.

I reacted on instinct; I did not know why and I could not for the life of me answer that question looking back on it. Sitting down next to her, I took the jumbled mess of a shattered soul equal to mine in a tight embrace and clung to her as desperately as she did to me. But I never let my own tears flow, I could not, not now. Though I knew she would understand, that was not my moment of grief, I had them several times a week anyway. No, this was hers. And while I stroked her back soothingly without a word, leaving the blonde to cry on my shoulder, never asking a question or demanding an explanation, I wondered how I could make the pain go away. I didn't even know her; I didn't know the exact cause of her pain. But somehow I understood and somehow I easily saw the emotional scar on her soul, torn wide open by what I imagine must have been the trigger event that happened just recently.

Actually, I didn't know what I was doing as much as I didn't have any idea of how exactly I was doing it. With one hand, I gently raised her head with a finger under her chin and, looking her deep into the eyes, I placed my free hand on her forehead. Closing my eyes, I tapped into the latent gift that was often a curse too, and let my healing power flow into her, drawing strength from the other, powerful presence I could sometimes feel on the edge of my awareness. At the same time pushing the always whispering, mind-altering voice away, so that it could not interfere. Power coursed through me, power I had never felt before, emotions and memories all together in one big ball of… What? Another awareness, a presence, a part of her soul? I did not know.

I had never attempted healing someone's SOUL before and up until now, I never thought it could be possible. But with the girl - Mi..nako? Yes, Minako - it felt so completely natural as if what I was doing was meant to be, had to be done and only for her alone. When you made it past all the shields that crumbled to dust before my mental eyes, her strongly weakened life-force was vivid beyond imagination. And with a flash of raw power, I was flung backwards out of her mind and right onto the river-like ground of the street.

Slightly disorientated, I looked up at the girl who moments ago had sat on a lone bench, crying for all her life's misery. She was standing now, looking around wildly with a somewhat haunted look in her eyes with a glimmer of realization, as if some great, cosmic mystery had just been solved for her. I could have sworn I saw the brief flicker of a golden symbol on her forehead, resembling the astrology sign of Venus…

The girl, Minako, finally focused on me and for a brief moment our eyes made contact. Clear blue locked onto deep violet. Both filled with loneliness, but also now with something different, something new, something… frightening. The girl suddenly turned and before I could even blink, she had vanished into the rainy streets.

Had she been afraid? Had it been me? Had I done it again? Had I scared her off with the new degree of my power that I wasn't even aware of? Just like all the others? If so, then why, why did it feel like I did the right thing? For a short moment in time we had been two kindred souls, desperate in need of someone who understood - and that someone we had found in the other. We both must have known how unlikely the chances were that we met this particular night, under these particular circumstances. We had met nonetheless, drawn to the other like metal to a magnet, like protons to electrons. She must have known because I knew it. So why had she run?

It appeared as if she had not been afraid of my abilities per se. Not like being afraid of the unknown, more like being… cautious with what she had seen, surprised and maybe uncertain to encounter it within another human being. Still, I had no idea why she ran. Was it the shock or something that I unintentionally triggered?

"Arigato, Raven." My head whipped around but found nothing where the clear voice came from. Had it been the wind, a fragment of my imagination, my need to here her voice? Was it her voice? I could not tell for sure, since she never spoke a word but… I just knew it was hers. As much as I knew, the voice had been reality. For some unknown reason that totally passed by me, I smiled, feeling a warmth that filled me with undeniable serenity. There was someone out there that understood me and although I didn't know if I would ever see her again, it made me feel so much better.

Whistling to a tune engraved somewhere in the back of my mind, I got up and continued walking down the drenched streets, oblivious to the rain. It didn't matter because I felt - for the first time I could ever imagine since mom died - alive.

(Minako)

Seconds passed and turned to minutes while I watched the girl vanish in the distance of the mist-covered streets. She didn't spot me on the rooftop on her right but if she had, it would have been a problem to explain how I got there. My mind was still a mess from the sudden memory onslaught and it didn't help that the first were from the final fight, me dying, us - as spirits - combining powers with the Ginsuishou and sending Beryl-Metallia straight to oblivion. What the heck had this tiny, fragile-looking girl done? The aura was almost… like mine? A Senshi? No, impossible, much TOO strong for this and much too different in the primary shade of her power. I doubted that even the Princess could match energy on that scale yet. That, combined with the initial shock of the sudden reawakening, had made me react so strongly. Every warrior instinct inside of me had screamed to get away, put distance between the unknown source of power and myself. And as much as a Senshi relied on her instincts, I had done just that.

However, an equal feeling, one that dreaded Aino Minako for years, also demanded from me to return the favor the other girl had so selfless provided me with. There was a connection I felt that had scared me as much as it had amazed me. And for the brief moment our eyes had made contact after my memories had been triggered, I felt a pull towards the pale girl that I usually only associated with another Senshi. But this time it was different. What was the old metaphor? Two of a Kin? Yes, I think that was what passed between us. I did not fully understand the full meaning right now but… It had felt good. Electrifying and serene, wild and comforting at the same time. I had to see her again, soon.

Not now though. Now I needed to get my life back in order. I finally had a name to the fleeting memory. Adonis - or Danburite as he had lately called himself. In a way, he had cursed me by predicting that I would never find true love, always dedicated to my mission. A life for the Princess. But there was no princess anymore. Only Usagi and she didn't remember - didn't want to remember. And although that should leave me without a mission and even more misery than before, it suddenly did not matter anymore.

Whatever the little raven - as I called her in my mind - had done, it had taken away the pain. Not only the pain but the source of the pain. The gentle caress of her kindred soul had brushed away all the pressure Adonis' words had inflected my subconscious with all those years back. I felt alive once again - more alive than I could ever imagine having been.

"Hello, Artemis." I turned my head and regarded the soaked white cat with the crescent moon with a look between amusement and chiding. I didn't care about it too much at the moment but he shouldn't be out here in the rain. "You've been following me." It wasn't a question. Artemis cocked his head to the right. "What can I say? Can't let you out of my sight for more then a few minutes." I laughed wholeheartedly at his usual display of sarcasm and held out my arms to hug my long-time companion and partner. Artemis complied without hesitation.

After a moment though, he turned his gaze thoughtfully at the now vacant street below, a far away look in his eyes that I recognized as a mixture of concentration and puzzlement. "Any idea who she was?" I did not have to clarify who I meant with she, I knew Artemis had been there the whole time, probably the whole evening, following me like a shadow. Still, he just shook his head. "I have no idea." Looking up at me, he asked: "What exactly did you feel?" I explained it to him in detail but that left him only further puzzled. Finally, we gave up. Then we noticed the thunderstorm had passed and headed home.

---About a few days later---

(Hotaru)

The loud voices of flight announcers and other airport staff roared through the wide halls of London International Airport - a mix of many different languages but most of them in English. Which helped me as much as anything else… Oversea language courses. I would be surprised if Poppa even let me go over the city border without sending a dozen of search units after me. Normally I wouldn't mind, since I had nowhere else to go than home, but this sudden change was bewildering to say the least. His reason? The fresh air might do me some good. Maybe it was one of those moments where his old personality looked through, his long-time assistant certainly wasn't pleased.

I should be happy really, getting away from everything and everyone really sounded good. The last days had been not so bad. I wasn't sure exactly why in the first place, but quickly found out it must have had something to do with the awkward, quite unusual encounter in the rain that night. I wasn't able to get the girl… Minako out of my head since then and this was not negative at all. If anything, thinking of her, the brief flash of gratitude in her eyes before she departed, the whispered 'Thank you' made me feel a whole lot better. Comforted in my own little way with the fact that there was someone out there who understood me and, even because of other reasons, shared the same overwhelming pain of loneliness. Thinking, that I might - M-I-G-H-T - have made her happy, made me happy too.

Now if I could just figure out how to make the polite, but utterly clueless woman in front of me, understand that I just wanted to check out with my luggage - especially because I really needed some of my medicine. And I mean REALLY needed it. The attacks had surprisingly died down since that night, a wild guess was because of the abnormal power that I had unintentionally triggered. Normally, whenever I used my healing abilities, I would become seriously drained and weakened. And with a level like this, actually healing someone else's SOUL I had expected that I'd be down for several days, even a week maybe. However, quite the opposite had occurred. I had never felt so good since the day I was born. No signs of weakness, no sudden collapsing. Just… healthy.

All things came to an end though and whatever had caused the reaction seemed to have worn off by now and I felt a little sick during the flight. I had some medicine in my purse but the more effective pills were still in my luggage since I had assumed I didn't need them with my healthier state of body. That was beginning to turn into a bad mistake and the lady who obviously didn't speak one word of Japanese didn't seem to get that I was in a hurry to get to my things. I was beginning to feel the signs of an oncoming attack already. I knew, if I didn't get my medicine quick then…

"<Is there a problem?>" I froze right on the spot as the melodic, happy voice chimed in from directly behind me. That voice! I would recognize it anywhere. It was hers. HERS! The gentle hand resting on my shoulder brought me back into the here and now with a jerk of my head. Minako looked at me with a reassuring smile, probably already sensing that I had some language problems with an official who ordinarily should have been able to have at least raw knowledge in foreign languages like Japanese, but apparently did not.

"That would be…" I started but never got to finish the sentence when a wave of nausea washed over me and a sharp pain filled my chest and head. Kami, I hated this. When I thought it got better and then, through the slightest provocation, the attacks hit harder than ever. I doubled over and shortly afterwards found myself lowered to the ground by a pair of careful and comforting arms. Blue eyes searched mine for any advice of what was going on. "Where?" She simply asked, somehow knowing - although I could tell she was in no way experienced in the medical branch - that the sudden fall hadn't been caused by stress and flight symptoms alone.

I pointed to one of the suitcases waiting in the dispatch area behind the female official. "Side left… pocket… The green… ones…" Minako didn't need to be told twice and without hesitating a split second, got up and made one truly amazing jump over the delimitation. Apparently the confused woman had more against Minako's sudden action than just the violation of protocol. At least if the sudden metamorphosis into a purple skinned and liquid dripping insect - something between a spider and some other flying bug - had anything to say. I did the only thing that came to my mind. Despite my body currently not quite capable of doing so, I screamed.

(Minako)

The familiar tickling of my supernatural senses, my "Senshi Alarm", I should have known there was a Youma the moment I entered the airport hall. Something didn't feel right. I had noticed, but then I also spotted the little raven standing just some distance away at the dispatch area with obvious problems. From the experiences of my first time - which historically never happened - I had some ideas what the airport staff was like. Even at an international airport in a city like London, you often ran into those people who could annoy you to no end and from which you asked yourself how exactly they managed to get this job - a job where language knowledge was essential.

Now Raven was paying the price that I did not pay more attention to my surroundings. But… Who would have thought to encounter a Youma here? This was definitely unfair. I had come here to relax, to put my life back together and focus again on what was really important - which I wanted to find out by the way. I was not here to fight Youma again!

I had been in the middle of fishing the green package from the suitcase when my senses went off, practically screaming "Youma!" into my mind, shortly after that, followed Raven's strangled scream.

Reacting on instinct alone, I immediately jumped up, with the medicine in one hand, and hid behind a pillar. Back pressed against the cool stone, I glanced around the corner and saw one of the most ugliest Youma ever - but my attention was quickly diverted to the raven-haired girl lying helplessly on the ground and staring wide-eyed at the insect-like monster in front of her. Her breathing was coming in short, quick gasps and while I was not an expert like Ami, I could tell just from experience that she needed those pills soon - whatever they were for. I had to make quick decisions.

"Artemis," I hissed and as expected, my partner was already right behind me. "The pen." He stared at my extended hand as if not understanding and shook his head. "You can call it yourself now, you know that…" I narrowed my eyes. Sometimes he really was a bit slow. I knew I could call my transformation pen with a thought, but I'd rather not risk for Sailorvenus to show up in public for a variety of reasons. "No, the other pen." At first Artemis continued to stare blankly, then realization crept into his eyes and with a sheepish "Oh" he made of the little flip flaps he and Luna used to do when reaching into their subspace pocket and drew out the object of my momentary desire. With one quick motion, I snatched it out of the air before Artemis could even land.

"MOON POWER, TRANSFORM!"

The familiar rush of power washed over me and filled me with a pureness only the planetary energy of a planet could invoke. It was strange though to experience the energy warped and masked like this after a long time. I had not used the old pen since I left England, a little ironic that the first thing I did when coming back was to use it again. A white-blue fuku with the distinct similarities to Moon's own replaced my vacation clothes, high boots and a red mask added to the outfit everyone once knew belonged to the super heroine Sailor V.

I wasted no time as my pocket mirror appeared in my hands and I focused it instantly on the Youma towering over the pale girl's now clearly hyperventilating form. Anger welled up in me and I turned it into a cold, deadly flame, fueling my powers. "CRESCENT BEAM!" The focused beam which leapt from the clear mirror's surface nearly sent me backwards. Normally I would not need the mirror anymore to cast my primary attack but the power, I noticed, while not exactly that accurate anymore, was much stronger. The backlash of energy was equally as strong…

Shaking my head for a moment, I jumped forward when the Youma was sent crashing into a nearby station from the impact. Kneeling down in front of the girl, I took my time to hold her steady and then held out the pills for her. For a moment she seemed not to register reality, but then grabbed the package, tore it open and quickly shoved three heavy-looking pills into her mouth. Waiting a few more moments to be sure she would regain her breathing, I finally turned towards the Youma who was up again and very angry. However, that was one aspect that I could certainly outmatch the demonic thing with. Letting loose with a battle cry, I shot forward.

(Hotaru)

The pills begin to give their effect as soon as they entered my system. They always did and once again, I was very grateful for that. My breathing became calmer, steadier and I took a few seconds to just sit there, eyes closed and recollecting my energy… or something like that. Sounds of fighting reached my ears some moments later and I looked up to see the masked warrior, who I briefly recalled had provided me with the life-saving medicine I so desperately needed, engaged in a fierce battle of life and death with the spider creature. I could not shake off the feeling that the female Senshi looked awfully familiar. The same physical aspects, the same long, blonde hair… the same red bow! That all couldn't be pure coincidence and yet my mind seemed to somehow block out the concluding thought that my savior was indeed… her.

I marveled at the elegance and the level of skill the female Senshi showed. Dodging with a roll under the web of surely sticky substance the blonde came up with such speed my eyes were barely able to follow. Connecting with a crashing flying heel kick, she used the moment to bounce backwards from the monster and land a series of devastating punches and kicks that would make any prime action movie look like a cheap tape from some backwater wannabe star director. Ending the combo with a crushing uppercut that made the monster's head snap backwards, the Senshi continued her ascension in a spiral and landing upon a station that had been turned over in all the mess.

"Wreaking havoc on an airport and endangering the life of a helpless, unhealthy girl, I cannot allow that! Codename Sailor V! I am the sailor-suited Senshi of Love and Justice, Sailorvenus!" The monster reacted to the speech with a snarl and an inhuman growl somewhere deep from its throat, before launching itself blindly at Sailor V. Something deep in my being reacted to the terms Sailor and Senshi together in one sentence but it was gone as quickly as it came.

The blind rage of the creature proved to be fatal as Venus raised one head, index finger outstretched above her head, while the other still held what looked like a compact. "CRESCENT BEAM!" Two golden energy beams leapt forward from the index finger and compact mirror and crossed in the middle. The middle was the monster… There was a bright flash and after that the monster stared down at itself, wide-eyed and unbelieving what just happened… then crumbled to a pile of thin dust.

I think I must have still stared for several seconds - minutes? The next thing I registered was the outstretched, white-gloved hand before me, offering its help in getting me to my feet. The hand belonged to the female Senshi who had just rescued me - and probably the whole airport from that vicious demon thing. "Can you stand up?" That voice! I grabbed the extended hand instantly, partly out of instinct, partly to prove a theory. An explosion of enormous power suddenly filled my whole being with new strength and I felt the evil, lurking presence recoil in disgust. The energy was so familiar that there was no doubt at all of its origin because I had felt it just a few days ago. I probably had invoked this power from whatever deep and tightly locked source of the other girl's spirit. The other girl… "Minako?" I croaked out, my voice wavering a little bit, but still firm enough that the Senshi would know that I did not just guess.

V's features changed slightly and I could almost see her eyes widening behind the clear, yet still shielding glasses of the mask. The white cat I had spotted watching the fight intently before, made an almost human sound that could pass as a disbelieving gasp of surprise. Maybe it actually was, you could never know with a magical shoujo hero running around.

"How did you…?" She took off her mask in wonder. The moment our eyes locked whatever protection her form provided crumbled like the monster had before and I knew for certain that it was her. How I could not answer, I just knew.

(Minako)

Fifteen minutes later, after all the racket had cleared and the airport had recovered enough from the first Youma attack the world could remember, Hotaru - that was the little raven's real name - and I emerged out of the front entrance, suitcases in hand and ready for travel once again. I did not believe in coincidences, not since I became a Senshi. And so I didn't believe any of this was pure luck. Hotaru identifying me with not more than a touch and eye contact, the single Youma being a stray case that was just a leftover from the destroyed Dark Kingdom and both me and the strange raven-haired firefly at the same time in the same place. My memories about the Silver Millennium and the lessons I learned there were too clear to not believe that this was some sort of cosmic alignment, an unknown but important course of destiny. Too many things at the same time. Not to mention that it turned out we were living practically in the same neighborhood, in the exact same backwater town on the outskirts of London…

There was a reason that I didn't want to return to familiar surroundings and we nearly ran into the reason outside the airport. Kathryn, my old friend from England - who most probably didn't even remember me - was investigating the Youma riot and it was only thanks to my Senshi skills, some good maneuvering from Artemis and a subtle use of my compact mirror to get us out without even being bothered once by a single policeman - or in this case woman.

"Is she connected somehow to all that… pain?" One thing was for sure, Hotaru was quick to catch up on the tiniest of hints. Artemis made a shushing sound not daring to speak - more because of the taxi driver in front than Hotaru since there had been not much reason to hide anything from her after she knew my secret already. I merely shook my head at him and regarded the other girl with a sad, somewhat longing look. "She… was one of my best friends, once, still is probably… or not. The story is too long and complicated to tell now…" I tried to explain which in return earned me scolding expression from Artemis, but I'd made up my mind already. I could not lie to or hide the truth from the little raven next to me. She had done too much already. "Well, the short version is that I had a sort of boyfriend, we met, became friends and my boyfriend and her fell in love behind my back." As much as I wanted to sound indifferent, my voice was still bitter and hurt. I did not blame Kathryn, I never really did but that didn't mean that I was happy how it turned out. Allen was beyond my reach now, forever, and he never really knew what I sacrificed, neither in the old nor in the current timeline. It was a thought that saddened me more than thinking of him and Kathryn together. Short of Hiroshi, he had been my only steady boyfriend and he was again snatched away from me by fate - or the curse…

"It's okay." The touch itself wasn't as comforting as the sudden soothing wave of understanding gently enveloping me. I did not understand what happened, I did not understand how she… No, how we were able to communicate on such a level when it was just the second time we met. Even with the other Senshi with whom I had shared a deep bond, the strength and the emphatic experience of what passed between us was ethereal, heavenly, miraculous but yet in the same way completely natural and human. Understanding, sympathy, compassion, the gift and personal experiences to know and react to someone else's pain, that was an ability all humans had in common but only a few were really aware of it. It happened not often, sometimes a life went by without a human being even realizing that a gift like that was even in their possession. Still, the ability was there and often it needed just a kindred soul to awaken. Human love, though the general public often displayed the illusion that the emotion didn't exist or matter, was one of the most wonderful and manifold in the history of mankind.

Leaning my head against Hotaru's shoulder, a girl I barely know, I let out a long, deep sigh of contentment, as I felt peace filling me from my inside, calming down the emotional outbreak and closing the old but still fresh wounds. "Arigato…" I mumbled. Hotaru hesitated for a brief moment but finally put an arm around my shoulders and drawing me closer, I did not reject, instead, I snuggled gratefully into the welcoming blanket of understanding care.

Artemis next to us looked up at me for a moment with the strangest look I had ever seen him giving me, then he briefly closed his eyes, smiled and curled up to sleep. We stayed that way for most of the ride.

"Ookayyy… Consider me officially spooked." Entering the room of the little bungalow, I glanced around curiously and probably would have not even blinked if a supernatural being jumped out of its hiding place. This whole mess was beginning to reek of arrangement. Not just some little trick a human would play but more the thing you would associate with terms like destiny, fate and the like. I did not believe as much in such things, but as a reborn Senshi, I had my own fare share of experiences with divine intervention.

I must say I had been a bit more relaxed - and still did - after the taxi dropped us off at our location on a not exactly huge, but beautiful lake where a few houses and rental bungalows formed more like a nice vacation village than what I thought to be a town. Which was just as fine with me. The tension had left me and I felt more revived than ever before. Actually, it had been the same after Hotaru somehow triggered my memories and it didn't surprise me that much as it did the first time. Neither Artemis nor I had a clue about whatever power she possessed but I truly didn't care for the moment, for I felt perfectly at peace.

That peace was slightly disturbed again as we realized we would be in the same bungalow for the time being. I knew I would be sharing my stay with someone, otherwise the journey would have been too expensive and my parents probably wouldn't have let me go. However, after learning this last bit of info, nobody could really blame me to be suspicious.

"You think so?" Hotaru asked and moved past me to inspect the inside of our temporal home herself. I nodded thoughtfully. "We obviously had the same flight, you could identify me in spite of the glamour and now we are sharing the same bungalow although a few days ago we hadn't even known that we would spontaneously plan on coming here TOGETHER…" I began counting off all the points with one hand, while Hotaru deposited her luggage on the large - quite comfortable - couch. She stopped in mid-motion and turned her head slightly. "I think that one can cover a lot of it." Holding up a piece of paper, she sat down on the couch next to the larger suitcase and began scanning over it.

I dropped my own things and walked over to the edge of the piece of furniture, I half sat on, half leaned over the armrest, unconsciously dropping one arm over the backrest. I looked down at the obvious note with interest and caught sight of the signature below, identifying - or at least assuming was a Dr. Tomoe. Tomoe, where had I heard that… Ah, it struck me now and few pieces really began to fall into place.

"From your father?" Hotaru nodded, rubbing her chin with an equally thoughtful expression. "Apparently he saw to it, that I wouldn't be all alone here, that it was you might not be more than luck in the end." I didn't share her opinion about that but kept quite. Instead, I picked up the slight note of her own suspicion shining through. "And that worries you why?" She sighed and placed the note back on the table. "It is not exactly the sort of thing I expect from my father. Normally he keeps me on a very short lash because of my illness and the fact that he actually suggested this trip to me was… unusual to say the least. He's been rather distant since mother…" She broke off for a moment but continued leaving the obvious revelation hanging in the air. "And for him to so openly do something like that… I don't know, it's just… confusing."

There was more than simple confusion though. Pain, sadness, loss… I knew, I was emphatic on some level because of my given powers, but to pick up so many emotions at once was a little disturbing and I suddenly realized that all the time I had been more receiving than giving. Whatever this connection was that apparently bonded us together, it went both ways. Hotaru had been so understanding because on a raw level she shared the same loneliness, different background, different situations aside, it was all the same. Therefore it was time to give a little of the care and comfort back to the little firefly.

Subconsciously, I seemed to have already come to the same conclusion and when I shifted my eyes to Hotaru, I noticed that I had instinctively, without me even noticing, placed the arm previously resting on the backrest around her shoulders… Or had it been there all the time? The feeling of warmth and belonging bubbling up inside of me was so natural, still I couldn't stop a tiny awkward smile to cross my lips. Hotaru followed my gaze and for a moment there was a small, brief flash of ice cold in her eyes that almost startled me. It quickly vanished though as her features softened and she shyly smiled back at me.

(Hotaru)

We both knew beyond any doubt that the moment held an distinct air of magic and when I thought of Minako's earlier words and my own puzzlement over my father's action, I came to a startling conclusion. Someone had set us up… And THAT could certainly not have been my father, not with his latest behavior and the other personality changes.

These thoughts drifted away again as quick as they had resurfaced when Minako gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze and favored me with a dizzying smile that left my nerve ends tingling with emotional caress. Emotional caress? Geez, now that sounded sappy but I couldn't help but feeling infatuated with the striking beautiful blonde giving me her full attention and returning all the care and comfort I have given to her.

Our eyes met yet again and when I realized that whatever had just passed between us… no, what had passed between the two of us since that rainy day we first met was not just mutual, platonic friendship. There was a choice now, right at that moment. The first one seemed to be the most obvious - the easiest. Maintaining this friendship, this basic understanding of each other, and it would most likely turn out to develop into a strong bond that sisters often shared for example. However, the other choice… I was stubbornly telling myself that I had no intention of following that path but at the same time, could not deny the fact that I was enraptured. Not just by the other girl's physical and quite natural beauty, but also by her inner glow that shone as bright as the sun. I could not deny that I craved for more than a strong, platonic bond. And I could really not deny the fact that my face was flushed beyond what labels mankind possessed for the respective color.

Before either of us could move or do something though, there was a soft, hesitant and almost frightened cough that made us jump slightly and cut the moment too short to do something about it. Artemis, Minako's talking cat, shivered a little under the glare that he received from his mistress. I really would never EVER want to be on the receiving end of that. She let it drop eventually and just sighed. Sensing that she had clearly hoped for something more to happen, I reached out with one hand and took her free hand, while the other still rested on her shoulder. She turned her head to me, smiled and when turned her attention back to Artemis.

"Err, gomen… I was just curious what nature your sickness is of…" He stopped himself when he received another warning look from Minako. Again sensing her protectiveness, I squeezed her hand gently and shook my head. "No, it is better that you know. You've already trusted me with so many secrets and when we are going to live together for some time, you both should know what to do about one of my attacks. I settled back into the comforting envelope of Minako's embrace and closed my eyes briefly, remembering some of those things from my past that haunted me every night and that I desperately wanted to escape.

"My mother died a few years ago, when I was five. My father is a Doctor of Genetics, one of the best in his line of work. There… There was this accident one day, and I was there too. I remember it dimly. One of the experiments seemed to do something strange, there was a pulsating black light and then everything exploded around me. I woke up some time later in a hospital, my father was there and he told me mother, who was in the building too, didn't make it and that my own survival was a small miracle." It still hurt to talk and think about it but I didn't cry anymore. I had done that countless days after the accident. Also Minako's presence helped, again I sensed her shift with concern and shared grief for my lost mother.

"Since that day I grew constantly weaker. Onii-san told me that this was most likely an aftereffect of whatever damage my almost dead body suffered in the accident. He became distant and worked more and harder, often neglecting me a..lot." I desperately hoped that neither Minako nor Artemis had caught the little slip. Though I certainly wanted to share the trust that those two were giving me, I was not yet ready to share this. Coughing slightly to divert attention from my sudden silence, I quickly continued. "The exact nature of whatever happened to me is not exactly determined but we know how to keep the body from weakening too much. At least Onii-san knows and he strictly forbade me to ever call on another doctor." I patted at one the side pockets of the nearest suitcase and added with a faint, humor-attempting smile: "That's what the warehouse of pills is for."

Minako and Artemis exchanged silent looks that didn't go unnoticed by me and which spoke of a long, non-verbal understanding between the other girl and her companion, but they didn't say anything. Instead, Minako returned my attempt of raising the mood a moment later with a bright smile of her own. And although I could see the compassion lurking in her eyes, I immediately felt much better. "So, what do you think, should we unpack some of our stuff and then settle down for something warm to eat?" she asked and stood up, extending her hand to help me up. "I think you still have questions and the whole story might take awhile." I caught a mysterious twinkle and couldn't quite understand if she was just excited about finally getting something to eat or about sharing some of those, surely exciting stories with me. But I truly didn't care because at the moment, despite of the fact that I had just shared some of my most painful memories with the other girl and her guardian cat, I felt incredibly good. "Sounds like a plan to me."

(Minako)

The sun had long set and the beautiful dusk color filled the evening sky was slowly fading away, giving space for the darkness of the night. It had been a quiet meal, at least from Hotaru's side. She had never really pushed, I had simply began explaining somewhere in the middle of dinner. Maybe it was because we were both tired from the long flight and the events of the day or Hotaru was just polite. Still, I promised to tell her and after some of the information the raven-haired girl had shared with me about her family and the accident, I found it unfair to keep even the most treasured revelations about my Senshi life to myself. Hotaru had listened quietly, only asking here and there a few questions. I went over the more emotional events quickly, mostly because I thought that we could simply not handle any more emotional stress as we could not handle physical.

After dinner, we had sat on the veranda for some time and I continued, spinning a few tales from the Silver Millennium area that I still remembered - and apart from Usagi, my memories had always been exclusively good. A few minutes ago, Hotaru had retreated to finally get some sleep and I would probably follow her soon. The fight had not taken that much out of me, more the flight combined with the fight and some of the emotional turmoil at seeing Kathryn again. There was just a couple of things that I had to discuss with Artemis, alone, before I could allow my body to rest.

"You are not happy about letting her know." It wasn't a question, Artemis made it clear more than once that he didn't appreciate my open trust in Hotaru considering Senshi business, although he didn't seem to personally have something against her. The white cat eyed me for a few moments from his place on the table before answering. "It is just not like you. You've always been responsible in that respect. Kathryn was okay, she knew how to hold a secret but…"

"But what? You think Hotaru is not reliable?" I frowned at him and my tone must have taken on a sharper note. Artemis shook his head. "That's not what I said. I think she can keep a secret, especially one like that, and that you obviously trust her beyond doubt, which I can understand - and you know I do -, is enough for me to trust her. However, I am afraid she can't trust herself." I gave him a curious look at this, not really getting his point. "I mean… When I think about her state of health, not only her physical but especially her mental state… Every time I try to get a look on her, I cannot get an accurate reading. For all that I know, she seems to actually have other personalities in there and they are not exactly of the friendly sort. Do you understand what I am trying to say?"

For all what it was worth, I guess I did. Artemis often wasn't that good at explaining what he knew or picked up, especially when he wasn't exactly sure what it was that he had picked up. Still, most of the time I got the basic idea and was able to act on it. The center of Artemis' message was quite obvious, if you knew his matter of speech for a few years. Hotaru herself might not be dangerous but whatever it was that was inside of her could most likely be dangerous. And if someone - an enemy for example - pushed the right buttons, that other personality might even willingly spill all the secrets Tomoe Hotaru knew. Both of our ears had perked up when Hotaru mentioned "a dark light" coming from one of the experiments right before the accident. There was an unspoken understanding between us that we thought whatever was there inside of Hotaru that Artemis sensed was obviously at least to a degree responsible for her illness.

"Do you think she has anything to do with the Youma attack?" I avoided directly answering Artemis' question, which was not really necessary. My long-time partner turned his head skywards and seemed to consider the question. "No. I'm pretty sure that was a Dark Kingdom Youma, though a weak one like the Dark Agency used it. Usagi might have cleaned the earth from Beryl and Metallia, but that doesn't mean that she wiped out every Youma. It could have just been a stray case, which had avoided to be seen now that its masters were dead." He took a long look at me that spoke volumes. "But we both don't believe that." I nodded warily. "Exactly what I thought."

After a moment of silence, I finally gave up on thinking what the Youma attack could mean and if there actually were some Dark Kingdom survivors around to cause trouble again. "What do we do about Hotaru?" With a lazy jump, Artemis hopped to the ground and trotted in the direction of the veranda door. "We wait and see since there is not much we can do now. The truth is out. I, for my part, am quite out of it. When you and Hotaru settle in tomorrow I'll go and try to investigate this further." I nodded thankfully at him. On the one hand, I wasn't in the mood to deal with this at the moment and on the other, I really was wiped out. Time for bed then.

(Hotaru)

I stood at the window for several minutes. Despite what I said to Minako, I wasn't that tired, in fact, I didn't even feel the usual drain from the near deadly attack in the airport hall anymore. Which was interesting to say the least. As long as I remembered, my body always reacted with extreme fatigue and an unpleasant weakness when I had one of those attacks. Again, just like this night a few days ago, Minako had a soothing effect not only on my emotional, but also my physical health. A part of this was surely Venus' doing, but I enjoyed thinking that whatever relationship was developing between us had something to do with it. In her presence, I felt so secure and serene, as if nothing in the world could harm me, not even the darkness inside of me that always came to the surface when I was alone. Now, even at the moment, there was nothing.

Minako and Artemis had given me a lot to think about. The stories she told me sounded something between fairy tales and the harsh reality of a teenage girl fighting for peace. I could barely image what hardship the blonde teenager had to go through at the tender age of thirteen. All alone and in secret, she had to continue a fight that ended over a millennia ago and and that she had no memories about. The strain was visible, even if not for the general public, and now that she was the only active Senshi again, I worried if she'd be able to handle it.

As soon as I realized that, I decided that I would be there for her. She had nobody else, nobody who knew this important secret except for Artemis. Also having a friend would surely help me to adjust to normal life a little better, maybe if others saw me with a - to their eyes normal - girl they would stop making all the harsh comments… And if fishes could fly, the heaven would be their new ocean… No, I couldn't let Minako know how much trouble I had getting along with other people, how much they despised me and how much their attitude hurt me. Not now, when there was obviously a new threat to the world brewing. I would be strong for her - for once I would be strong for someone else.

When I finally made my way to my bed, I desperately hoped for a dreamless sleep. In the last few days it had been better, for the same reasons my health had become steadier, but with the recent attack… After the brief talk about my family and the still haunting accident, it wouldn't surprise me if the old dreams would come back. And it would surely be her hunting me, it always was her. The face never really went away as much as I tried to push the memory into the furthest corner of my mind, my subconscious was unyielding and restless in regards of her. She would come again and again, accusing that I was the one who killed her, that I had attracted whatever caused the explosion. That it had all been my fault…

I shook my head, laid down and closed my eyes while sighing. I knew it wasn't me, but I feared that it was one of those inside me. Artemis seemed to have picked this up too and I didn't have any illusion that this wouldn't be a topic he and Minako wanted to discuss alone. My father had often reassured me that everything was mentally fine with me, just the aftereffects of the accident, my mind was playing tricks on me or shutting down whenever I came into situations reminding me of that day. He was lying, I knew he was. After all, how can you trust your father's word about mental stability if he wasn't even mentally stable himself?

Still, somehow, with Minako there, her supporting and compassionate manner, I thought for the first time that I wasn't some insane monster, some demon who just waited for the right moment to act. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was actually worth something. That Minako needed me as a friend - and maybe possibly more - and that I wasn't all alone in this world. I found a kindred soul and come bad dreams or Youma, I would do anything to not lose this feeling. Never again.

(Minako)

Artemis went right to the foot of the free bed when we entered the room and was asleep before I could do as much as quietly close the door. Lazy guy… err, cat… or both. For all his abilities and his extraordinary hunting skills, he often displayed a habit of inactiveness that betrayed any sort of skill at all. For all what it was worth, I thought that was just his way to conceal his true self. Nobody would pay much attention to a cat, but anybody would pay even less attention to a lazy cat… I just wished he would stop taking advantage of me in regard of feeding and the like. I'm sure he could go hunting for himself very effectively if he wanted. I guess, a bit of laziness at least is natural…

I trudged over to my bed and stopped at Hotaru's. The other girl seemed to sleep peacefully already, which surprised me. Not so much the already part, but the peaceful one. After all that she told me and the vibes I was getting from her over my emphatic senses enhanced by the bond that became stronger the more we were in each others presence. I would have guessed that she had more problems getting to sleep sometimes - more like often. The girl had an abnormal level of emotional pain right under the surface that I still couldn't fully understand, but I didn't want to pry. A pain that made my love problems seem like trivial issues… Instead Hotaru appeared untroubled and in, what I thought, was a dreamless sleep.

Smiling to myself that at least one of us seemed to get some peace for a change, I bent down and placed a tender kiss on her forehead. Hotaru stirred slightly, then just sighed contently and went back to sleep. I continued smiling. For a moment the thought to join the little raven under the covers briefly crossed my mind, but I pushed it away quickly. Despite all the emotional feelings, that sort of action was still too early.

Continuing onwards to my bed I left my thoughts drift back again to other matters, concerning the latest Youma trouble mostly, for all of a few seconds, until I froze in my tracks, as my previous line of thoughts started to really sank in, which prompted me to heavily sat down, earning a protest from a slightly shaken Artemis. Too… EARLY??? What the heck had I just been thinking? For all I knew, this was the first day Hotaru and I had been together for more than a few moments and I was already intending to join the other girl IN HER BED! Then there was the other fact that I had just suffered another failure in my endless pursuit of a boyfriend, but had surely not meant to change sides all of a sudden. Why was I practically that eager to jump the other girl right on the spot? I had never been this way…

On the other hand, I had no issues whatsoever towards couples of the same sex. It was love after all and love appeared in different shapes, most of them entirely unexpected. Was it that, that I felt? Love? If yes, what kind of love? No, I could answer the last one already after I analyzed my own previous thoughts. But wasn't I just kind of upset, desperate in need for a human companion and especially someone who understood, cared for me and loved me all the more? All of these things described Hotaru well, although I could not be entirely sure about the last one. And what would the others think, if they ever found out…? No, if they ever remembered - which wasn't that far off with the day's development - and found out. Usagi would be open-minded, she was so much like me, sometimes it scared me. Mako-chan would make some awkward faces once in awhile but adjust quite well I think. She never liked people harassing others because of prejudices and she would certainly not sink to that level. Ami would probably die out of shame and embarrassment - I had to suppress a mental giggle at that - and Rei… Rei would probably freak, call me insane and the sort. I swear this girl is often more traditional and regal than Luna… But I think she'd accept it in the end.

Was it that? Wasn't I just missing the others? And, mixed with the Hiroshi failure as well as with the compassionate bond that Hotaru and I seemed to share, did that make me think of Hotaru in a romantic sort of way? Crave her as someone I could actually, with some work of my own, have and hold, just for the benefit of having someone? No. A firm No. I could never see and use Hotaru in this way. If anything the feelings were real and genuine, especially considering the near kiss before dinner. I could have grilled Artemis right on the spot with a Crescent Beam for interrupting.

Looking back, I think he saved me a lot of trouble by cutting into the moment. If we had acted with all those emotions swimming in the air around us, we might have ended up doing something very foolish that we would regret in the end. We both, and especially I, needed to come to terms about our own feelings before we explored that relationship further. I was not quite yet over Hiroshi and I still had the Youma issue to deal with. On top of that, I was still uncertain about what exactly it was that was between us. And rushing in without considering first, could lead to a lot of hurt for both parties. I had learned this lessons often enough. Not this time. If and really only if there was a possible relationship, promising lasting happiness, I would do it the right way this time.

I smiled and began to slowly drift to sleep as I realized that Artemis might even have intentionally interrupted the moment. He knew me and my previous experiences too well to not expect me to do something foolish. Shall the old furball be blessed…

Even if Artemis did prevent events only slightly, I had to think afterwards. It wouldn't have done either of us, Hotaru and me, any good if we'd let our emotions influence our hormones that evening. But I don't want to spoil anything, just entering my own rambling. Let's go on with the story.

(Hotaru)

Whistling softly to myself, I made my way up to the largest building of the entire city - it actually was one. The building was a wide, stretched structure going over in a globe on the top. The whole thing resembled a small stadium. Over the entrance in bright shiny letters the name "International Languages Boarding School" was displayed. I've never heard of such a place until father had sent me here and I was more than a little curious of what an institution like this did in a backwater town like this one. Minako would have offered to tag a long, because she herself was curious given her English was as good as a native's and she wanted to see, if there were any advance courses to polish it a bit. However, Artemis had insisted that she went on a quick sweep through the town and through the outskirts, gathering information on the latest Youma attack at the airport.

Thinking back on the wake-up call I got, left me to wonder though if Minako wasn't the insane person instead of me. It might be true as Artemis said that she had trouble getting up but when she was awake, you could best describe her as a whirlwind of energy. People with a happy and cheerful attitude didn't bode well with my usual bit of morning grumpiness and so the first impression I got of energetic Minako was quite… disturbing.

I could not really be angry with her, in the short time we've known each other - being mostly the last half day - I experienced it to be REALLY hard to even get angry. It might be an exaggeration maybe, but not much more. She was simply a life-loving person despite all the emotional trauma she had gone through. I loved her even more for that. Yes, I think, I was quite content about this and there was really no point in denying it to myself. I think it had hit me the first time we saw each other, the first time our eyes met in the rainy street. There was a potential that she returned those feelings but I figured it was too soon after her latest boyfriend to seriously think about pursuing another relationship, especially with another girl. And even if she didn't share my feelings, I could settle for a good friend, the only real one I probably had and might ever will. If what she feared would transpire quicker than she thought, I would have the chance of being introduced to the other Senshi too, who appeared from Minako's description really nice.

I walked into the building through a fairly large entrance hall and up to a desk. I really would have been glad if Minako was here now, because my English wasn't that good, especially if the airport incident had been any certain proof - which Artemis considered to be unlikely since Youma often were dumb or the thing wanted to purposefully ignore me. I was relieved though, then the girl at the desk, who appeared to be in some sort of police uniform, was apparently more competent in Japanese then the stupid spider thing was - which didn't take much. "Hi, I am Tomoe Hotaru, I am here for some courses…" I began to introduce myself but when she looked up from her work I got a better look on her and stared blankly. Dark-brown hair, an athletic figure, a look of good matured intelligence… "Kathryn?" Now that was something I clearly didn't expect and she obviously didn't expect to be recognized by her first name. "Gomen nasei, Tomoe-san, but did we met? I can't seem to recall…"

"Oh no," I replied hastily, not really sure how to react to the person before me after what Minako told me. I knew she wasn't mad at Kathryn or anything, more like she was upset that the other girl couldn't remember the year they spent together and what she sacrificed for her and Allen's happiness. "I… I just know a friend of yours."

She gave me a puzzled look and frowned, I don't recall having any closer friends in Japan. What did you say the name of your friend was?" Psychological tactics of gaining information, nice. Didn't work at me though. But, I considered testing a theory. If I might be able to trigger any more memories… Yes, I realized that this was the sort of thing Minako and Artemis didn't want me to do, but Kathryn had once known her secret identity of Sailor V and I had the feeling that deep down Minako was craving for more than one friend, especially since we barely knew each other. "Minako. Aino Minako."

The sound of the pencil clattering to the ground and the screeching sound of fingernails digging into the wooden surface of the desk attracted some looks and all of which confirmed my theory. Whatever their princess had done was not that solid if confronted directly and with Minako it seemed to be entirely different because she was active in the year that wasn't actually set back, which caused some interference with the loop… I tell you all that private studies father organized for me are good for something.

Apparently Kathryn was quick in remembering, which proved my previous conclusion about everything that involved Sailor V. The police officer shook her head a few times and slowly leaned back in the chair. "She was there, wasn't she? In the airport I mean…" Kathryn caught herself in the middle of the speech, realizing that she had no idea how much I knew Minako. I nodded briefly. "Yes, she was and yes, I know."

It amazed me how quickly Kathryn launched into action. She called someone on the phone and then insisted on taking private charge on me, dragging me off to a tour in the building. I didn't know how it felt to have an entire memory set overlapping another at the moment, but I think it was just her way of dealing with it. So I was patient and actually rather interested in listening to her explanations about the school. A lot of police officers who wanted to become internationally active came here, the school had a good reputation with insiders but was largely unknown to the common public, which in turn, explained why my father knew of it.

"So, you can remember everything?" I finally asked as we reached one of the private study rooms and set down for a cup of tea. Kathryn nodded warily. "More or less, yes. What… happened? I have different memories of the exact same year. How is that possible?" I smiled faintly and a bit rueful. "Gomen. I didn't mean to scare you but I think it hurt Minako more to see you yesterday at the airport and knowing that you'd not remember, more than the other thing." Kathryn waved my little evasive apology of with one hand. "I take you are quite informed about that time then?"

"Since a day, including the night," I answered, earning a surprised look from the older woman. "A long story and I do not really know what I should share, even with someone who knows her secret. There are different degrees of information and without Minako's consent, I can't talk about that." Kathryn nodded understandingly and didn't pry any further. Instead, she pulled out a paper sheet from seemingly nowhere and started flipping through it. "Now, Tomoe-san, I recall that you were here for some quick courses." I smiled at her. "That was the plan and Minako told me you were a very good teacher." The young officer actually had to hide a blush. "Well, then. Minako's friends are my friends. As it is I have some spare time now that I can, with good conscious, let the airport case drop. Let's get to work right away."

Was it just me or had I just made another friend? And someone closely linked to Minako too. The girl started to really become a powerful influence on my life and I had every intention of keeping it that way. With a bright smile on my face, which became more usual in the past days, I could only eagerly await the lessons. Between Minako and Kathryn, this trip promised to really improve my English.

(Minako)

"This was not my idea of a vacation!" I exclaimed frustrated, causing some startled looks from passing people and scaring Artemis nearly out of his fur - which I thought would actually have looked quite funny. After Hotaru left for her lessons, Artemis and I had gone in pursuit of any information we could gather, which was to say the least next to nothing. With enhanced Senshi abilities, it was easy to get a free ride back to London. After some very cautious inspections of the Youma site, we were actually able to track down the cover identity the Youma had taken. Not surprising at all, it was just a few days ago that the wannabe personnel had been in the particular line of work and that only as an temporary worker. But from that moment on, the trail became considerably thinner and ended finally in the temporary home of the Youma.

It was, however, no question anymore, if the particular Youma had really been of Dark Kingdom origin or from some unknown force. The first one had been confirmed completely when we found the energy remains in the Youma's temporary home which were needed to stabilize such a creature in our realm for longer than usual. It was information that didn't bode well with me and let the hair on my neck stand up sharply. Still, all of the information was expected and just stole a whole day of my vacation.

"I should have gone with Hotaru instead. At least I could have been useful there." I dropped down from one roof and let my Sailor V fuku fade away as I assumed human form once again. It was late afternoon already and Hotaru would be finished with her first day shortly, so I had decided to meet her here. Maybe we could at least do something relaxing. "I told you I could do this alone," Artemis said behind me and I made a face at him, accompanied by a low growl. Yes, he had told me this, but I had volunteered to tag along because in contrast to someone I know, I did know my way around London and the general area around the city. I suppose without my knowledge, it would have taken days until I would have seen Artemis again and, considering the less than thrilling information we had gathered, it would have been an even greater loss of time.

I glanced at the outstanding building, or better yet, complex before me and when I read the name, something clicked in my mind. I had thought the name was familiar the first time Hotaru had mentioned it, but only now I was able to make a connection. A distinct memory pushed its way into my mind. Kathryn had told me she had spent a great deal of her training in that particular boarding school. The thought that Kathryn could be here briefly crossed my mind and made me hesitate for a moment, but I just shrugged it off and headed into the building. Artemis glanced at me curiously but didn't say anything. A lot of my time in England was still unknown to him. I didn't speak much about it and he never asked much. To be honest, what I had told Hotaru last evening was the most I had ever spoken about it since that day when Kathryn had been turned into a Youma and I had to explain myself to Usagi and Artemis…

I stopped short as I entered through the lobby into another, quite larger section. The activity level at this time of day surprised me and it made me a little sick to see so many eager, young students working on assignments, training conversations with the instructors. What really made me freeze was the pair at the far end of the hall, locked into a relaxed conversation. When I had entered, my first instinct was to search for Hotaru and I found her quickly. She was one of the pair, the other one was one of my former best friends. Kathryn.

Still puzzling over what I should do now, I nearly missed the warning tickling of my senses that went into red alarm in an instant. Hotaru happened to look in my direction, probably sensing me - I had discovered that there was a brief echo whenever her presence was near me and thought it most likely she had the same reaction - and that was when I noticed the faint smell of something. I wasn't an expert like Mako-chan in smell-tasting but I had the distinct notion of honey, at least it was sweet flavor. The thought of honey, immediately brought a picture of a raging bee swarm into my mind… My head whipped around and my body followed shortly afterwards, when the low humming sound filled my ears and grew louder with every passing moment.

"Watch out!" I called out loud and clear for everyone to hear, not really caring about any kind of modesty. Artemis actually managed to let loose with a squeak as he discovered what I had spotted mere moments before. There were hundreds, possibly thousands of little insects, bees to be exact. At first they were little beyond noticing, but now they were steadily growing at a very unhealthy rate. An unhealthy rate for everyone inside.

As soon as everyone noticed, a panic swept over gathered students and instructors; some of the latter had at least the decency to look brave and protective of their students - others crawled in fear under their tables… I could not really blame them. Acting on instinct alone, I crossed the distance of the larger hall in under five seconds - Senshi strength be blessed - and pulled a startled and really frightened Hotaru right out the line of one of the mutated monster bees. They were probably as big as a human head plus the upper body down to the shoulders and twice as menacing as before, mind you. I spared Kathryn a brief glance and made a simple code sign with my fingers indicating Youma trouble - as if she would have needed the confirmation, if she remembered. But I could only be sure when I saw her return the silent code with a simple, understanding nod. "Get everyone out of here, including you." I made sure to pronounce the last part extra sharply. Kathryn tended to hang around longer than necessary when I fought a Youma.

Without waiting for an answer I spun around, warded one of giant bees off with a well-placed roundhouse kick and then ushered Hotaru behind a nearby column to the far side of the hall - thank the constructors for that one. I pressed my back against the cool stone and pulled Hotaru really close, which started to cause in me a lot of emotions coursing through my body all at once. A lot of emotions I really did not needed at the moment.

(Hotaru)

My heart surely skipped a beat. In spite of the less than thrilling situation with hundreds or thousands of giant killer bees filling the halls of the ILBS, the feel of my body pressed firmly against the older girl's sent shivers of ecstasy down my spine. I had never felt this way before, although I knew I had taken quite a different evolution rate then other girls my age. My physical form might be weak and sick, but that didn't stop me from being more mature and fine-tuned. Before I had never given it much thought, shrugged it off as a side effect from the accident and what father did to ensure my survival. Maybe it was the medicine or any of the special adjustments that father did to my body.

But with Minako it was different. VERY different. The feel of her arms around me was incredible. An indefinable feeling of warmth engulfed my whole body in a sense like an unborn infant would feel in its mother's womb. That was not everything though. There was a feeling of raw and… primal need, a connection as old as humans walked the earth. I know that was corny, but that's what it felt like. And I felt my own more matured body respond to it; that I knew for certain now it had absolutely nothing to do with any biochemical enhancements or medical side effects. The reaction was not quite my own, but at the same time it was. That in turn caused the two other presences in me to either hide in the deepest corner of my soul or emit a short curious sensation of understanding. And understanding was what I would give about almost anything to have at the time.

Minako's human form was stronger than you might think. While definitely athletic, the feel of strong muscles and supernatural strength had nothing much to do with any sport activities. The power was there and as much as it might frighten others, I felt completely at ease about it. The strength made me feel absolutely secure.

To my disappointment the contact lasted only several seconds until the panic around us reached a new level of intensity when terrified screams filled the air. However, I was content that both of us had felt the rising tingle of passion in that short but significant moment. As I looked at Minako, I was pleased to see her face was dimly flushed and her eyes sparkling with a light that could match small suns and were only reserved for me. The look passing between us was even shorter than the previous moment of close physical contact, but it was enough for me to see several of my own emotions mirrored by the other girl.

She turned suddenly about to join the frenzy, so to say, but I had other intentions. Catching her left arm, I did something I didn't believe I was capable of doing until now. For all my life I had been a reserved girl, not really shy or overly modest, more like affected by the society around me and the complicated circumstances of my life in general. I couldn't recall ever doing something bold like what I did right now. Pulling the taller girl against my body again, I reached up to put my arms around her neck and drew her down to shamelessly kiss her.

What was happening, wasn't exactly what I had meant to do. What I did have in mind was a brief and quick expression of my concern and love, but even I wasn't prepared for what really resulted from my bold action. I had known that kissing someone you really love ought to be a really exciting and unique experience. I might be an outcast, but I don't live on the Moon. Still, nothing I had heard the other girls whisper and gosh around in school ever mentioned the sudden swirl of almost sense-blinding, pure energy which was created between us when our lips first met. The power went both ways, into both of us, back and forth in a rising, refreshing, strengthen swirl of energy force akin to a fusion reactor. Only that this one was obviously creating life-energy in its many different shapes. Ki, Mana… Things more meta-physical to be generally acknowledged by science, but even father knew that these primal forces existed in human beings.

"Raven…" Minako rasped breathlessly as we broke contact shortly afterwards. The screams and the buzzing noise of a thousand huge little wings - if that makes any sense - that had faded into the background returned full-force. I blushed a little at the nickname Minako had chosen to give me and that it was uttered with the husky voice that spoke volumes about the other girl's reaction to the sudden sensation. I hushed her with one finger to the lips. "Be careful," I whispered, not really trusting my own voice right now after the unexpected energy boost that left me practically crackling with energy and a totally new definition of healthy. And I could only begin to imagine what this must have done to Minako with her Senshi abilities. The result was sure to be quite astonishing and frightening… for the bees.

"I will." Minako nodded firmly, one hand hovering under my chin, I knew she wanted to do something but was uncertain what to. Finally she went for a quick, sweet kiss on the cheek which was just as fine with me because I think neither of us was up to handle another power surge. Then Minako turned around, half-sprinted, half-jumped around the pillar and raising her pen up towards the ceiling.

"MOON POWER, TRANSFORM!"

(Minako)

I never felt that alive. I think that was becoming a standard phrase the longer my… relationship with Tomoe Hotaru continued. Damnit, the girl was irresistible! I was almost absolutely certain now that I had fallen for the little raven. The way our bodies fit together, even in the tiniest, ordinary situations, the way she kissed me… Kami, my body was literally on fire. Every cell was burning and pulsating with energy, so much energy I felt like I could explode into a five years early firework, the biggest firework the world had ever seen.

My fuku seemed to have adjusted to the sudden jump of my power level. The fuku itself was that of Sailorvenus, the high boots still stayed as did the mask, the tiara was still absent. All in all, a perfect blend between my cover identity and my alter ego. However, they were only the outward changes and they barely reflected what had and was happening if not for the crackling orange-gold energy aura that shimmered vividly around my body.

"ROLLING HEART VIBRATION!" A red heart-shaped beam leapt from my outstretched hand and began rotating around itself while the attack continued its destructive way through a dozens of incoming Youma bees. I used that attack on some occasions, but was more than surprised by the sheer force behind the blast. Nonetheless, that didn't change much on the current situation. If anything, it made the rest of the bees more aware of the potential danger in their midst. This gave Kathryn time to get her colleagues and the students out of the building more or less coordinated, leaving me to face thousands of very angry, Youma-influenced killer insects alone…

"Is it just me, or are we a bit on a disadvantage here," Artemis' voice broke my concentration. He looked at me funny for a brief moment, then glanced around nervously. I grumbled something about the "We" part and muttered a bit louder. "No, Artemis, it's just you." The bee swarm had used the time to close in on us and I responded with firing twin Crescent Beams from my index finger and mirror in two different directions. That still left a lot of directions open.

My reflexes took over as a lot of the horrendous creatures came too close and I vaulted into the air, using one as a jump board and catapulting even higher. Focusing my concentration, I reached deep into the immense power that was coursing through me, fully intending to use it. Words flew to my mind and even though I wasn't exactly transformed and full capable of Venus, I knew I was just learning - re-learning? - a new attack. Raising my hand above my head, hundreds of tiny golden hearts blinked into existence around me and began forming a long chain that was wrapped loosely in the air around me. With a gesture I let it fly.

"VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!" The chain exploded outwards, striking through the air in a wave pattern like a stone would create then thrown into water. The golden energy cut easily through the masses of bees and decreased their numbers dramatically. Some recoiled in surprise, others were enraged and shot forward. However, I was already ready to face them. Swinging the chain in a way that it could connect with a loose beam under the ceiling I took to even greater heights, hovering high over the surprised creatures.

I recalled Artemis teachings for a moment. From all the Senshi, I probably had the most intense training and knew things the others did not, a lot of useful things and some that seemed meaningless. One of those seemingly meaningless lessons came to my mind now. Artemis once said that our current forms were not our ultimate ones. It had something to do with the pens which prevented us from reaching a higher level of our powers than we could handle. Our bodies and experiences weren't developed enough at this part of our lives that we could handle the full extent of our given planetary energy. The power created by Hotaru and me was somehow overriding this blockade. And, all warnings aside, was probably the best thing for the moment. I had to take this risk. After all, I had matured technically a year since Beryl's defeat and even though I was not active as a Senshi, my body adjusted to it. I had felt all the familiar signs typical for a Sailor Senshi during the brief arousing experience with Hotaru.

Mentally shaking my head, I returned my attention to the creatures below. No time for this now. It wouldn't do me any good if I thought about that at the moment. There would be plenty of time afterwards to explore the new level of bonding between us, if we survived this. With a final swing, I used the momentum which carried me almost under the ceiling. While I sailed through the air, I raised my arm, index finger outstretched, in a familiar position and called out a variation between my standard attack and one that I had often used during my first time as Sailor V.

"CRESCENT BEAM… SHOWER!" The beam itself was deadly, precise and quick, while the normal Crescent Shower was purifying, wide-spread and soft. A Crescent Beam Shower resembled a small meteorite shower of thin but powerful golden beams of intense heat - a deadly shower that rained down on the insects, impaling one by one and covering the whole area. A small explosion followed when a beam missed and struck the floor, creating a shockwave that did the trick nearly as neatly. A few seconds later, I dropped down to the floor breathing hard. I barely managed to stand but that didn't hinder me to notice that roughly a hundred of the bees had survived the sudden onslaught and were now regrouping too…

"Uh oh," was Artemis' comment when the Youma-infected bees began to actually flow together - and the sight was not a pretty one - into one giant, distinctly human-shaped insect Youma with glowing, venomous purple eyes and sharp, acid-dropping fingernails from what could only be vaguely identified as four arms. Buzzing with its wings, the creature looked at me and its equally unsettling jaw opened and snapped shut, venom dripping from its fangs.

"Err, not good," I admitted and quickly called upon my tiara. "CRESCENT BOOMERANG!" The glowing boomerang-shaped discus shot through the air and cut directly through the lower torso of the Youma, effectively severing both body parts from each other. A moment later they began to drift back together.

Turning to Artemis who stared equally worried, I asked. "Any bright ideas?"

Since I think it to be fitting, I will now briefly type down my own thoughts about what happened and… ack!

Artemis, this a private journal, that means just me and Hotaru-chan's.

Yeah, but I was there too when all this happened, now be quiet, you can write the rest afterwards, but I think your younger selves should know what I thought about the whole thing now and then.

I marveled at the effectiveness my charge was displaying. I knew she went already far above her current level, but depending on the fact that she, and in time everyone else, was already far enough in her training and skills that she could master the new power, it did not too much more than draining to her. And even that far beyond from what would have happened two - or three - years ago, when we first met. Also, I was sure that her alter ego Venus would prevent her from going over the edge if not absolutely necessary. The only problem was, despite all the new attacks, this new Youma appeared to be slightly over-powered for a simple Dark Kingdom minion. The combined dark energy of a hundred small ones made it very hard to destroy.

"I wish for once that Moon was here." Minako knew exactly that I usually didn't make comments like that. In the beginning of our partnership, I had been very hard on her, but I had done all the drilling to better prepare for what it meant to be a reborn Senshi of the Silver Millennium. And she did make me proud because, taking only skill and abilities, Venus made a better Senshi than Moon ever had. That is merely a result of Luna's teaching or Usagi not wanting to learn, more so it was Minako's inner strength and will that made her a perfect Senshi and proved once more why Sailorvenus always had been the official leader of the Sailor Senshi and Serenity's most entrusted guard. No, Minako knew this, however I think she quietly longed for our Princess too.

"We have to work with what is available and she isn't available in the moment. If we can't bring it to fall the finer way, we have to take the hard approach." I looked up at her skeptically. "You don't have enough power anymore to fight like that. This thing is like a blown-up energy bomb and it will take more then just a few Crescent Beams to harm it." V glanced over at where Hotaru was still hiding behind a pillar. "And I don't suppose it will leave me enough time for another boost."

I had followed her gaze and could not help the frown crossing my features. I still didn't know what to make of Tomoe Hotaru. All I knew is that she apparently managed to do what made Minako really happy for… well, about the first time ever. Allen was close, Hiroshi was maybe even closer but none of them reached what had passed between the two girls. I remembered quite clearly the interaction between Kunzite and the older Venus in the Moon Kingdom and that was about the only thing that came considerably close. How was I able to tell? Oh please, I've been around Minako for so long now, and before that around Venus, that I could read her like a book. Every time she fell for a cute boy I could tell right away and never ever had it hit her so hard as with Hotaru. It was ironic though that she found the right person to love in the complete opposite direction she looked for.

However, Tomoe Hotaru made me somewhat jumpy and I really wished Luna could be here to confirm if the strange feeling I got from her was correct or if something was wrong with my instincts. At one point I thought I clearly identified the presence of a - if so extraordinary powerful - Senshi and at another point my neck hair stood on end detecting traces of a demonic presence. And then there was just Hotaru, a mere human, in the middle of both polarizing points.

"What the… No wait!" My attention drawn back to the battlefield, it seemed that the Youma had caught Venus' sidelong glance in Hotaru's direction - or it was just that she was the only human being except Venus still in the building. At any rate the Youma charged directly at the raven-haired girl who fearfully backed away until she reached the wall and then looked up with a look of pure terror at the approaching demon. Venus immediately launched into another volley of Crescent Beams but the sharp projectile beams did not more than sting slightly. Unimpressed, the Youma continued its purposeful flight and even when Venus broke into a run, all the while screaming Hotaru's name, I knew for certain that it would be too late for any sort of a miracle. By Serenity, was I wrong, although I really wished I wasn't after witnessing what happened next.

Mere inches away from Hotaru away, her stinger pointed sharply forwards, I was already about to close my eyes to block out the sickening image that didn't really need any visual witness, when the younger girl's head suddenly shot up and a deep violet aura flickered into existence, effectively binding the Youma right into space and time. I think my fur must have jumped up and turned around its own axle in the process. A chill ran up and down my small form and the trembling, terrifying power outburst made something creepy crawl along my spine. The first time since the Moon Kingdom fell, I knew real fear. I caught a brief flicker of something vanishing from Hotaru's forehead that neither of us seemed to have seen. But it was the exact same place where all Senshi had their planetary mark. But the only Senshi possible capable of such amount of tremendous power would be… "Oh shit," I mumbled to myself. You really got yourself into trouble this time, Minako, I thought to myself.

My mind worked overtime at this moment and while one half was still comprehending what I just concluded to be a potential fear, the other half analyzed the situation as ideal for us. The Youma was frozen into place, held by the strange, unyielding force of energy. "Venus, now!" I ordered quickly, jerking my partner out of her momentarily transfixed state in which she stared at her girlfriend, a dangerous girlfriend.

I didn't know what she was up to when a sudden look of determination mixed with intense concentration came upon her face. I did not know how exactly we could use the situation to our advantage. But I also didn't need to worry about this. Well, not the last part, the first part was a bit more complicated. Venus' eyes suddenly blazed with raw force and her aura flared brightly up to the peak of her power, a peak that she wasn't able to maintain right now. She did anyway and when she held out her hand to one side, calling out the first incarnation word, I understood what was going on. "VENUS…"

"No, don't! You are not ready for that…"

"LOVE…" Guiding her hand to her mouth, she drew back once again as if blowing a kiss in the direction of the Youma and Hotaru. "AND BEAUTY…" A golden heart took shape in the air, radiating raw power under which Venus nearly trembled and lost her balance, but to my complete astonishment - and my pride - she was able to pull it off. "SHOCK!"

What do you think, furball? I am the Senshi of Love and Beauty, there's nothing in the name of justice, I can't do! *cough* Gomen, back to the story.

(Hotaru)

The golden heart flared brightly and racketeered forward the moment Venus completed her chant. I watched with a feeling of strain, and barely conscious, as the blast hit home hard, shattering the giant bee creature into thousands of particles. The dust that settled down was inclined to drizzle down on me and made me sneeze a little bit. Casting my eyes over at Venus, I saw her standing there arm and palm outstretched and looking at me with an unreadable expression. A moment later she collapsed to the ground, totally exhausted.

I tended to do these clinical analyses when I momentarily passed out and lost track of time, of what happened. One moment there was the creature racing at me at deadly speed, I was backed up against the wall and unable to escape and the next moment I saw Venus' attack crashing into the thing and disintegrating it as if it was a paper plane. I was sure Venus hadn't managed to pull that tremendous technique off in the short passage of time, not when she seemed utterly helpless at first. Something had happened and I had a sinking feeling that I had been responsible… again.

Pushing myself up, I felt a bit shaky and my legs didn't function very well, but I managed to stand up and slowly stumbled in Venus' general direction, which alone confirmed that it wasn't one of my usual attacks. Artemis, who was already at his partner's side, watched my approach with a mixture of attentive and actual fear. Oh Kami, what had I done, what now? Had I done something wrong, again? Not with Minako, I could never hurt Minako! NEVER! Did you hear me? N-E-V-E-R!

My eyes must have reflected my inner turmoil and Artemis actually backed up a few steps. Ignoring him for the moment I knelt down - or better, nearly collapsed - next to Venus and reached out to pull her head gently into my lap. Having the sudden urge to see her eyes, I took of the mask and was briefly greeted by a flicker of something akin to Artemis' reaction, but more like uncertainty and quiet reservation. Whatever happened had scared her badly and I knew for some reason that I was responsible although I couldn't remember.

Venus quickly reached up to touch my face lightly. Her gloved fingers were soft and a bit trembling but not from fear. "Hey, don't worry. I'm okay, Firefly. Just… need to rest a little. I'm more worried about… you." Her words stung harder than the giant bee creature's stinger could ever have managed for I thought for certain that she had seen a side from me that I never wanted someone to see. I felt disgusted with myself for loosing control so easily. It happened so often before and I often ended up hurting people I really liked, people that used to be my friends. Then whatever beings were inside of me would come and scare them away, scare them to the point where they would hate me. And now it had happened again, to the person I cared for more than everything in the world. I had lost her too…

I lost her. The realization slowly began to settle in and was pushing all doubts that I was making hasty judgment away. Holding back a sob, I lowered my head. Letting the black hair fall over my face and turned away, quietly whispering: "Gomen nasei g…"

Venus caught my hand. Her grip was firm but soft. Gentle eyes greeted me as I turned my head back to her. I was totally stunned into shocked silence by the look she gave me - so full of trust and compassion with a hint of sympathy and the overall impression of deep, caring… love? Yes, I saw it now, unmistakable and clear, the total opposite of what I thought would have been her reaction. I was transfixed by her gaze and almost didn't get the request she near-whispered. However, the meaning was so sweet and exciting that it registered anyway. "Kiss me."

I complied immediately, reacting on instinct alone and guided by the wave of undeniable love, all which had led me eventually towards my previous boldness and our first kiss. It was an experience one could never forget, truly blissful, mind-blowing and in a matter of fact literally recharging. And I wasn't one to hesitate at an opportunity like this. She wanted me to do it, not only out of needing the boost, but with complete sincerity. Bending down I captured her lips with mine and immediately felt the energy building and swirling with promising life force. I made sure to somehow - don't ask me how - direct most of it into Venus' exhausted form, taking a little bit for myself in the process. We would have probably went on longer and might have needed it to fully restore ourselves to normal, but we were rudely interrupted by a very agitated white cat…

"Stop it, both of you! You're making my fur look like I've been drowned several times in a row!" I broke contact and we both turned our heads towards Artemis, regarding him sternly for interrupting us once again. He coughed and quickly suppressed a blush, answering with a similar stern look. "Besides, we don't know what too much of these… boosts might do to you."

Venus slowly nodded and let her transformation fade away. We both helped each other to our feet while I actually had to support Minako a little since she was still rather drained from the high amounts of power she used.

"Are you two gonna be alright?" I looked up and spotted Kathryn cautiously approaching us from one of the side entrances, worry evident in her face. Minako made a hand motion and the police officers relaxed visibly. "Yeah, we… just need to get some sleep, I guess." Kathryn nodded understandingly and let her eyes travel over the room and the damage that had been done by the fight. "I don't think we are back to business tomorrow, feel free to stay in." Minako squeezed my hand and made a step towards the exit, but stopped for a moment to look questioning at her old friend. Kathryn waved away any words that might have come out of Minako's mouth. "I'll clear the mess up here, don't worry about it. I'll call you tomorrow and tell you the cover story."

That apparently was all my… girlfriend needed to hear and without further words, we made our way back home.

(Minako)

Groaning, I kicked open the front door. Hotaru and I barely had made it back to our house. Even with the little recharge, I still felt like I could sleep two days straight. Hotaru didn't look any better, but at least she wasn't showing any signs of greater fatigue. The pale girl had made several attempts to help me on our way back but I had politely refused. As much as I would have liked being the weaker one for once, we never would have made it back, then I had given in. Both of us were very much aware of the effect we were having on each other. Despite all weariness from the long stressful day with the spectacular conclusion of the Youma fight, the brief exploration of our new-found… possibility of emotional energy exchange was pushing us both to the limits of our physical resistance. At any other point, I wouldn't have made a fuss about it but I was just to worn out and I really didn't want to rush anything with Hotaru.

Hotaru made her way upstairs already while I decided to grab a quick drink and then have a short shower to get my body to relax. While the soothing, warm water washed away the hyper-sensitive state my body was currently in, I thought about the events of the day. I may be drained energy-wise, but the rest was still the same like after every fight. All senses alerted, body strained and a tiny bit but nonetheless noticeable edgy. Showering often helped to relieve the usual after-battle symptoms.

This day was definitely going into the weird category. First, we ran around the London area for almost nothing, then got engaged into a fierce, desperate battle with mutated bees. And along the way I most likely had made the first girlfriend of my life and our first kiss was a spiritual experience beyond everything any couple could ever imagine. I felt truly blessed to have found such a wonderful person who apparently wanted me the same way I did and it did not really matter if we were both female. Ironically though, Tomoe Hotaru had turned my whole belief system upside down. I always thought myself to be the one chasing after cute boys and making the first move. Then the little raven had dropped into my life and in the end it was her who pushed the door to a very potential relationship wide open.

Did I love her? I guess, I did and still do. How could anyone doubt it after what transpired today? With one kiss Hotaru had made me completely hers. Not only that, but she also saved all of us. Without her bold move, I would have never been able to beat the Youma, probably not even the little ones. Either that or I would have been in no condition to do anything for a week. Now, I was only power-drained and physically without noticeable injuries. Hotaru presented me with an opportunity that promised real and honest love. No unrequited feelings, no half-hearted intentions, instead a total new, unexplored and pure kind of love. Somehow I knew for sure that I had found the one person in the quieter and reserved, pale girl I had always searched for. Yes, I guess, you can count this as love.

As I made my way upstairs, I briefly reflected on the incident that had first made it possible for me to cast my last resort attack. During all the action, I did have a lot of flashbacks of intensive practices on the Moon. I knew this attack was reserved for my Super form only. However, when the bee Youma had attacked Hotaru something inside me had snapped and I truly hadn't cared anymore. I wasn't the only one with surprises though. Recalling the brief energy aura that had frozen the Youma right in midair, I really wondered what that was about. Artemis seemed to be really spooked by the whole thing and I couldn't deny that I had indeed felt the brief sensation of approaching doom that a change was about to come with undeniable finality. And the aura was unmistakable one of a Senshi, of a Senshi with such destructive and dark powers that every demon would shudder before it, but yet with the same pureness that marked every warrior of the stars. I could be wrong, sure, and all that was just my imagination. If it hadn't been for Artemis' more than strange sudden display of fear, I would have surely told myself that it had indeed been my imagination. But with all those facts and impressions put together, I didn't believe in pure coincidence anymore. There was a mysterious, dark secret about my new girlfriend that I honestly wasn't sure if it would be a good thing to be uncovered.

Quietly, I slid the door open and found Hotaru already under the covers and obviously asleep. Carefully, as to not wake the sleeping girl, I closed the door and tiptoed over to our beds. Looking down on the raven-haired beauty, I couldn't suppress a warm smile filled with happiness I had not imagined finding her here when I made the decision for this short vacation. Hotaru had not only rescued me from desperation, but about two to three years of sorrow. No, she had also shown me that love sometimes approached you in the most unlikely place and form. She was a blessing for my spirit and heart and whatever she might be, whatever Artemis - who was already snoring on the foot end of my bed - might think of her, in my eyes she would always be the one who saved my soul.

I turned to leave when something stopped me. It took a few moments to realize that another hand had caught my own. A sudden feeling of déjà vu overcame me and I looked back at Hotaru who was very much awake - well, at least more awake than she had seemed to be mere moments before. Her eyes were pleading and shaded with a certain amount of fear. "Stay with me tonight," she whispered. I did not know if it was a question or a request, but my heart surely skipped a beat and my breath caught in my throat. Did she…?

No, she was just as tired as I was and we had promised Artemis to not experiment with the power charging. She was scared to be alone and knowing how much our lives resembled each other, I could just imagine how often her sleep was restless. Nodding, I squeezed her hand and without a further word slid under the covers behind her. Briefly contemplating further options, I decided if we were already sleeping in the same bed, contact would be inevitable anyway. So I wrapped my arms around Hotaru's smaller form and was rewarded with a grateful sigh. A few minutes later we were both sound asleep. But it wasn't her with the nightmares, it was me…

(Hotaru)

There was no real wind, more like the slight, unnatural breeze of a ventilator or something. I stood in the middle of a surely once beautiful scenery, in front of the most marvelous palace I had ever seen - white marble was outlined with silver and blue, the top globes were gold. I couldn't quite identify the style, some elements were Greek some Roman, some totally different. Around the palace was a huge - and I mean HUGE - garden area with whole fields of flowers, plants and trees that I had never seen before and here and there were single, quietly spraying fountains. In the distance, the serene water surface of a silvery lake - ocean? - could be seen. All in all a peaceful atmosphere out of a picture book, if it hadn't been for the fires raging around the whole palace ground, the shouts and cries of an intense battle and the indefinable, yet unmistakable smell of death in the air.

I realized that I ran but didn't seem to be able to stop. Around me terrified screams echoed over the raging fires and nearby explosion, I winced a little at each one. But there was no time, nobody could rescue these unlucky victims, even if I desperately wished there was a way. The battle had already been lost before it began, the Kingdom would fall, the only thing left to do was to make sure the Princess and Queen would be saved.

Huh? Those weren't my own thoughts or were they? Now, that I thought about it, I felt a little out of place and my body didn't behave like it used to do, as if it wasn't even mine. Not mine? Yes, I could feel another presence right beside me but this one didn't seem to be aware of me. I was more like the silent, observing watcher… Was I dreaming? Yes, I think I was dreaming. But not about me.

I, or the person I was currently hosting, suddenly screeched to a halt when a shadowy figure emerged out of fire-lit darkness. The man wore a gray uniform with a cape and had neck-long white hair, not of the old-age quality but strikingly handsome. His steps were firm and straight as he headed directly towards me. I felt my host's body tremble a bit and the eyes following every movement of the stranger. No, no stranger. The man was familiar to my host, quite familiar.

While she was watching the man intently, I briefly caught the sight of a blue planet hanging like a pearl in low orbit from wherever I was. And in that moment the where and who became clear to me. This had to the Moon, the Silver Millennium area - precisely its downfall - and this was Minako's dream of Venus and her final confrontation with her… lover? Yes, Earth General Kunzite, Guardian of the Prince once was the Senshi of Venus' lover until he and his three comrades were turned by Beryl and Metallia.

Kunzite stopped a few feet away from Venus. Both guardians stood there for several seconds, oblivious to the battle sounds all around them. There were no words traded, no time stalled. Venus cast a single hopeful glance at her lover and was met with the unmistakable response of two purple energy blades forming in the white-haired generals hands. Venus overcame a sinking feeling in her heart because although she had known the confrontation would come, she had hoped beyond hope that it could somehow been prevented. Yet now she was facing the cold reality of life. Her beloved had been taken over by the evil power of Metallia and I felt a sudden wave of grim anger and disappointed that the finest general of Earth, had not been able to withstand it when his Prince was able to. Was our love not strong enough compared to the love of Serenity and Endymion? Were we not meant for each other after all? Did it really have to end like this?

Kunzite rushed forward but I met him in the middle. Lashing out with my trusted golden heart chain, I jerked the surprised general forward and with one quick motion had bored my own sword right into his chest. Sparks of golden energy flowed from the wound and the magical blade and the purple twin blades clattered to the ground, dissolving into nothing. Adonis' words suddenly rushed through my mind with absolute clarity. You are cursed to never truly love, only your mission remains. You are born to fight, the fight is your only purpose. I knew he had been jealous of Kunzite and I, but I think in some sarcastic way he had been right. I had loved Kunzite with all my heart but he was turned against me, I was forced to kill him, what was there left to love? But also, what was there left to fight for…

When our thoughts became one, I did not know. I felt like Venus and I thought like her, I suffered like her. Gently lowering Kunzite's beaten and dying form to the ground, I wept openly. For years, no decades, I wept for the only man I truly had cared for, the one who the Goddess of Love had given her heart to, just to have it taken away again by a sardonic, cruel twist of fate. Everything I believed fell to pieces in this one moment where I was forced to kill my one true love for the single purpose in my life to protect a now already doomed kingdom. "Kunzite," I whispered through sobs, "what have I done?"

"Hush, Hebe… You..you did the right thing… I was weak, forgive me… I wasn't worth your undying love," Kunzite rasped out, the black energy cleared away by the pureness of my own blade. He was on the verge of dying and there was nothing I could do, I wasn't even able to speak. Kunzite reached out with one hand and brushed away some strands of my unruly hair. The smile he gave me was an attempt at cheering me up and a rueful note of self-misery. But over all those, there was gratitude. "Thank you, Venus and goodbye…" With those final words Kunzite, First General of Earth, personal guardian of Prince Endymion took his last breath.

My eyelids fluttered open as I awoke without warning, I had been so pulled into the dream that I had begun to lose myself into the displayed reality. It had once been the reality, a long time ago, thousands of miles away. I grunted a bit as I felt my ribs protest when Minako beside me nearly jumped out of her bed, breathing hard and sweating not only on her forehead. Realizing with surprising speed that we had indeed shared the same dream, I pushed away the short backlash of pain and my own shakiness about the experienced memory and sat up to draw the trembling girl into a tight embrace, all the while whispering soothing words into her ear, but my own grief became greater with every passing moment.

"I didn't know," I said quietly after some time. No, I truly had not imagined what hardships the outwardly enthusiastic and vivacious blonde had to endure as a warrior, what sacrifices she was expected to make… I could have never imagined, how hard it was and felt ashamed for being so weak myself because compared to her, I could not imagine ever experiencing something like this… Couldn't I? No… I mean yes, I did. Mother died and… I lost her too. Yes, I could imagine how she must feel and what that memory alone had done to her life, even as far-reaching as her incarnation as Aino Minako. I understood and somehow I understood I was the only one to make it go away.

I think we started kissing somewhere down that line of thoughts and I became more than aware of our closeness and the thin fabric of our nightgowns pressed together. I could not help the movements as one hand found her way under the clothing of my bed partner and began traveling up and down the bare flesh of Minako's back. The other girl shuddered visibly with arousal and a burning dread for comfort and closeness. "Raven, if you don't stop now…" It was a half-hearted attempt and she knew it. We had both already crossed the line of no return with the shared dream. She knew that she needed me as much as I did her, because we were even closer than before, more similar than before, because we understood now that the only way to overcome our dreadful past was to create the spark for a new, hopefully better future together.

"Hush, Hebe. Let me make it go away." And those were the only coherent words spoken or thought for several minutes before exhaustion finally lured us back into a much more relaxed and peaceful sleep. Tomorrow would be the dawn to a new future, a future were we would find happiness at last.

That was all for now, the rest is censored… Well, if I ever get around to actually write down what happened that night, I might include that in a special file… *blushes* At least it was really, really fascinating, wonderful… healing, yeah it was healing, physically, spiritually and emotionally, I could not remember ever having felt this way for anyone, I think not even the way Hebe felt for Kunzite, it was just… wow…

Ok, I'm better shutting up now or I'm taking everything away for the next issue. See ya then!

Ja

Minako

Author's ramblings aka notes

That kept me occupied for… a long time, two weeks almost. And it's only the first out of probably three issues. It did went very well and I'm pleased with the outcome, so was my beta. Thank you for the nice comments, Athenia!

Let's see, what do we have to clear up. First of all timeline problems. I discussed that on my Minaru-group through several threads that were mostly heading for the direction of: How old is Minako at particular times and how does the loop theory (that the Senshi relive the year they thought the Dark Kingdom) work with Minako's trip to England and her being Sailor V in general. I won't go into detail here but there are some problems if you want to connect the timeline of V Mangas-England trip-beginning of BSSM. It is obvious that Minako had to be active over a year before the start of BSSM and that she is older then Usagi (one of the things I worked my head up with) than Usagi. Although there is an age conflict from Manga Vol. 2 to 3 that still doesn't makes sense to me (and does nasty things with my theory). I try to work this out during the next two issues.

At the moment Minako is fifteen (on the verge of sixteen), meaning about a year after the relived year, Hotaru is 14 ½, since it's somewhere in Summer-Autumn, let's make that late Summer break for now. Sailor V does not exists in the memories of the world the same as the other Senshi do not, but the memories are there somehow. That is how Kathryn can remember.

I know that I'm building a lot of this issue on Episode 41, which deals with Minako's stay in England and which I heart did never air in the American dub (could be mistaken though). But I think you can find a decent summary somewhere.

Adonis/Danburite is a character from the V Mangas. I'm not going to explain all of that here (you have to read it yourself). What really is necessary for the story at the moment though, is that he did predict Venus a lonely future, solely dedicated to her mission, which I made fairly clear in the story.

My beta told me that the fight scenes (at least the first one) reminds her of watching Matrix. That might be subconsciously in there, but most of my non-"Senshi magic" action is probably inspired by the countless (good) fanfics I'm daily receiving from my Buffy/Willow lists.

Now… The energy boost, I admit I… err, borrowed that from the Buffy/Willow shipper "To thine oneself to be true" and modified will modify it a bit to go with my story.

I'm fairly sure that Hebe has not been used as a name for the Silver Millennium Venus (but you can never really know). Hebe is the Greek Goddess of Youth (or something like that, it's not so easy to translate).

That ought to everything for now. See ya, in Vol. 5 and please send me constructive feedback, arigato.

Ja ne, yours

Matthias