Venus' Flame

Two: The Trials of a Senshi

The body of the moth materialised into that of a human, directing the omamori monster to kill the newly transformed Sailor Venus and Mars. The humanised moth immediately became a moth again, retreating after seeing that its master wanted to meet the senshi.

From a sprinkling of yellow tulip petals, a green haired woman began to materialise and chuckled at Minako and Rei.

"How dare you try and inspirit a girl with hopes and dreams!" Sailor Venus began.

"Such a treason is unforgivable!" Sailor Mars added.

"And just who are you both?" The green haired woman asked the two senshi.

"Us?" Venus and Mars mused in unison.

"Well, we are..." Venus started off.

"Guardians of beauty and passion..." Sailor Mars continued.

"Sailor Venus!"

"Sailor Mars!"

"And, in the name of good will, we'll punish you!" They threatened in unison.

"I'd like to see you try," the green haired woman scorned.

"Was that a challenge, ma'am?" Sailor Mars yelled. "Mars Snake... Fire!"

"Charmy, kill Sailors Mars and Venus! Bring them back to me once you're done." The green haired woman disappeared in a swirl of tulip petals.

"Charm now!" The omamori monster shouted, releasing thin bits of string from its stomach area.

Venus and Mars jumped out the way with smiles on their faces.

"Mina-chan?" Rei addressed the blonde and waved in the direction of the monster.

Minako nodded and did a backflip towards the monster.

"Charm go! Charm now!" The monster shouted.

"Not so fast, ya little omamori!" Venus said, blocking the monster's view. "Rolling Heart..." she began.

The monster lunged for her and Minako barely flinched.

"Vibration!" The blonde finished, flinging a yellow heart at the enemy.

The monster screamed in anguish as some purple gas came out of its body.

"Evil Spirt..." Mars prepared the piece of paper, infusing it with fire. "Begone!" She flung the piece of paper at the enemy, resulting in it erupting into flames.

The monster became dizzy and more purple gas seeped out of its body.

"Charm be mine..." it mumbled groggily, some rubber arms coming out of its body to strangle Rei.

"Venus Love-Me Chain!" Minako shouted, flinging a chain of linked hearts at the omamori monster.

The attack blocked the rubber arms and wrapped around the monster, restraining it. Grey swirls came out its chest to hypnotise Venus.

"Not today, monster!" Mars shouted with a determined smile. "Mars Flame Sniper!" She aimed an arrow at the monster, stabbing it in the heart.

The monster began to fall backwards.

"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" Minako shouted, aiming her rose-adorned whip at the monster.

The monster got shocked by the whip. "Perfect!" It shouted, becoming gas which later materialised into a purple moth.

"Mars! Thank you, you were great," Minako thanked her best friend graciously.

"Shh, you did most of the work," Rei admitted with a small shrug.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minako began to sweep up the leaves to the side of the stall, sweeping them into the trees nearby. She softly hummed to herself, thinking of what it had been like before she had met her fellow Guardians. As she swept up the remaining leaves, Rei motioned for her to drop the broom and join her.

The two of them watched the sun rise up together and Minako began to fall asleep. Artemis came to join the two of them from the shadows and curled up next to Minako. Next thing the blonde knew, she was sleeping on a bed that Rei had done up for her and it was nine o' clock in the morning.

Minako felt tired and looked at her communicator watch, realising how screwed she would've been if it wasn't a Saturday today. She fell back asleep gradually and decided to let herself dream whatever she wanted to dream that night. Hopefully it wouldn't be something she would regret in the future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Vee, do you want me to tie your hair up for you?" the silhouette asked the blonde.

"I'm fine, my little flame. Thanks for asking."

The blonde's heart pounded as she cupped the silhouette's cheeks in her hands. "So warm..." she murmured, nuzzling the silhouette's face.

"Oh my goodness. I thought I had told you to give that up, Vee. Don't worry. I'll help fix your curse. No matter what it takes, I'll find a cure."

"All I want is you," the blonde murmured.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Both Minako and Rei woke up with a start and looked at one another.

"Did we just have the same dream?" Minako asked the raven haired priestess.

Rei looked at the blonde with a faint smile on her face. She looked down at her shoes and nodded.

Why is my heart pounding like this? Rei wondered in her head.

"Rei-chan...! Earth to Rei-chan!" Minako waved her hand in front of Rei's face.

"You had the dream about the silhouette as well?" The raven haired priestess queried, astonished.

Minako nodded and smiled. "I sure did. This silhouette was being caring towards this blonde girl."

Why do I keep looking down when I'm talking to Rei-chan? And why does she do the same when she talks to me? And what's making me blush like this? Minako thought.

"What is the significance of that dream...?" Rei wondered aloud.

"My minds been overflowing with premonitions..." Minako murmured, sighing. "Someone was threatening people with destruction in one of my dreams."

"Tragedy is going to befall us soon. I know it," Rei said.

Minako looked at Rei but couldn't look the raven haired girl in the eyes. Her face was red hot.

"I'm... going to the bathroom..." Minako mumbled, exiting the room slowly.

Minako walked off in the opposite direction and splashed her face with water. She was very embarrassed with herself now. The blonde stared at her reflection in the mirror and began to cry. Her face was covered in tears by the time she came out of the bathroom. She walked out of the main house area of the shrine and sat outside.

Minako was very worried. She looked down and watched the autumn leaves be caught by the wind. With a soft sigh, she walked back into the shrine.

"Mina-chan? Are you alright?" Rei asked, noting the other girl's presence.

I can't meet Rei-chan's eyes!

Minako looked down and blushed, looking away from Rei.

"We're going to figure out the mystery surrounding these premonitions," Rei told Minako. "It's time to call a meeting."