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Up In Flames by ViperInferno

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Up In Flames
By Viper Inferno
Part I

 
It was the middle of the afternoon, shortly after school had let out for the day. A typical after school day in the Juuban Shopping Center was shattered as a large and terrifying youma ran amok through the streets. Moments of carefree shopping and congregating became moments of fear and anxiety for the people as the youma drained their life energy.
 
Sailor Mars stood in the middle of that street and glowered at the large scorpion-like youma. “Stop right there,” she heard a familiar voice call out to the youma, breaking Sailor Mars from her awestruck trance. That voice prompted the youma to release its grasp on the people it held captive and turn toward the origin of the voice. Sailor Mars also turned toward that voice to find a beautiful young blonde with her hair pulled up in a pair of dumpling-shaped buns. She was not alone, however, as the other 3 Sailor Senshi had joined her in the imminent battle.
 
“We won’t have ugly beasts like you terrorizing the people during their after-school activities,” Sailor Moon scolded, “For love and justice, a sailor-suited pretty soldier…”
 
And before she could finish, the youma quickly began to advance toward the 5 Sailor Senshi. “Usagi, I don’t think he really cares,” Sailor Mars observed, “Split Up!”
 
“Yes, Mother,” Sailor Moon sarcastically replied as she and the others jumped away from the youma and split up before it could get any closer to them.
 
“Be careful, everyone. This youma’s power level is very high. On top of that, it’s showing a lot of aggression,” Sailor Mercury warned, having already donned her goggles to analyze the youma.
 
“Then we’ll just have to outfight it,” Sailor Jupiter responded as she crossed her arms in front of her. An antenna extended from her tiara. And in a matter of seconds, lightning struck the antenna, sending powerful bolts of static electricity surging through her arms. “Supreme Thunder!”
 
She unleashed the powerful volley of deadly lightning, striking the scorpion youma in its body. However, the youma only turned to her and Sailor Mercury and promptly charged at them.
 
“I’ll get them,” Sailor Mars hollered to her friends. But just as she clasped her hands together to charge her attack, Sailor Moon’s voice interrupted her, “Moon Tiara, Action!”
 
Immediately, Sailor Moon hurled her tiara at the youma and struck it dead in the side, sending it rolling down the street. However, it didn’t stay down for long as it quickly flipped itself back onto its feet and turned toward the origin of the tiara shot.
 
Sailor Mars also turned to Sailor Moon to find her jumping up and down, flailing her arms about, and screaming at the youma. “Hey, over here, you eight-legged freak!” she taunted.
 
“Usagi, what are you doing?!” the dumbfounded Sailor Mars challenged.
 
“I’m going to draw him away from you,” Sailor Moon replied. Her taunting proved to work as the youma began to charge at her.
 
“Are you insane?!” Sailor Mars snapped, “You heard how powerful it was.” But her words fell on deaf ears as Sailor Moon took off running down the street.
 
“Usagi! Don’t be an idiot,” she yelled.
 
“Rei-chan, watch out!” Sailor Venus screamed as she grabbed Sailor Mars’ wrist and yanked her out of the youma’s way. The youma sped by, nearly running over Sailor Mars by only inches, and started to gain on Sailor Moon.
 
Sailor Moon skidded to a halt and turned back to the youma. But just as she had drawn her Moon Stick to blast it, the youma grasped her in its pincers, causing her to drop the Moon Stick. Then, Sailor Moon screamed in pain as the youma squeezed her like a vice and began draining her energy.
 
“Usagi!” Sailor Mars screamed as she ran toward her friend. As she ran, she engulfed her hands in flames and aimed them at the unsuspecting youma. “Fire Soul!” she screamed as she hurled two powerful balls of fire at the youma. With her furious adrenaline-fed attack, she struck the youma in the joints behind its pincers, completely severing one of them. The youma quickly dropped Sailor Moon to the ground and began thrashing about and screaming in pain.
 
However, Sailor Moon recovered from the brutal attack only to glare at Sailor Mars. “Why did you do that?” she scolded, “I was about to hit it in the face with my tiara.”
 
“Are you kidding?” Sailor Mars argued, “You were too busy screaming in pain. It certainly didn’t look like you were going to fight back.”
 
“That’s because you blasted it before I could grab my tiara,” Sailor Moon responded.
 
“You were being an idiot, drawing that youma’s attention to you when you heard Sailor Mercury warn us about how powerful it was,” Sailor Mars rebutted.
 
“Hey, don’t call me an idiot,” Sailor Moon snapped.
 
“Inviting a youma to attack you isn’t just plain foolish, it’s suicide,” Sailor Mars snapped back.
 
“I was trying to lure it away from Mako-chan and Ami-chan so you could…” Sailor Moon argued. However, her eyes popped wide open as a sharp pain in her back abruptly cut off their argument.
 
Sailor Mars gasped in horror as the bladed tail of the youma had skewered Sailor Moon through the back. And before she could react, a blast of lightning, water, and crescent light struck the already weakened youma, utterly destroying it. As the dead youma’s tail pulled itself from Sailor Moon’s body before vanishing, she fell lifelessly to the pavement in a pool of blood.
 
“Usagi!” Sailor Mars shrieked as she dashed over to her fallen friend. She dropped to her knees next to Sailor Moon, turned her on her back, and glanced upon her face. When she saw that Sailor Moon was unresponsive, a burning sensation from anguish completely overtook her.
 
She then grasped Sailor Moon’s shoulders and began shaking her in an attempt to wake her up. “Usagi? Come on, wake up,” she pleaded. But Sailor Moon didn’t so much as twitch.
 
“Hey!” she yelled, “Usagi!” But still, Sailor Moon did not respond. By then, Sailor Mars became hysterical and started shaking her friend more vigorously. “Usagi…. Come on… Wake up, dammit… Usagi?! Usagi?!” she whimpered as tears began to well in her eyes. However, despite her hysterical pleas, Sailor Moon only lied lifeless on the pavement.
 
The burning sensation finally reached Sailor Mars’ throat as her heart started to pound away at her chest. Sailor Mars let go of her friend’s shoulders and stood there, completely dazed. After what seemed like an eternity, finally she realized that Sailor Moon, or rather Tsukino Usagi, her leader, her princess, and her friend, was dead. And upon that realization, she threw her head back and wailed, “Usagi!” She then threw her face into Sailor Moon’s chest and broke out in an uncontrollable weep.
 
“She’s dead, isn’t she,” an unfamiliar voice said to her.
 
“Mmhmmm,” was her only response as she continued to cry into the chest of her perished friend.
 
“You know, if she had listened to you in the first place, she might have lived,” the voice explained.
 
Those words grabbed her attention, prompting her to stop crying. She lifted her head and gazed at the lifeless face of her fallen friend. And with tears still streaming down her cheeks, she looked up toward the origin of the strange voice. There, she found a man dressed in a black cloak, with his face concealed under the darkness of his hood.
 
“With Sailor Moon dead, you now are the Sailor Senshi’s leader,” said the cloaked man, “In fact, it’s what you always wanted. Ever since you became Sailor Mars and fought alongside Sailor Moon, you desired to be the leader.”
 
“No,” Sailor Mars yelled, squeezing her eyes shut and vigorously shaking her head in denial, “That’s not true.”
 
“Oh it isn’t?” the cloaked man challenged, “If she had listened to you, she might’ve lived. If she didn’t stop to argue with you, she would still be alive. In fact, all you two ever did was argue with each other ever since the day you met.”
 
Sailor Mars turned away from the cloaked man and down at Sailor Moon’s lifeless face. She couldn’t believe the guilt that she was feeling. They had argued so much since they first met, even over trivial things. And now, she would forever live with the fact that they were arguing yet again when she died.
 
“But it’s not your fault,” the cloaked man continued, “You’d point out her mistakes and she’d clash with you over them, because she knew that you were always better than her.”
 
Sailor Mars then glanced back at the cloaked man as he continued, “That’s why she constantly holds you back from your true potential. She basks in her glory as both Sailor Moon and the Princess just to make herself look better.”
 
Sailor Mars lowered her head and squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t believe what this cloaked man was saying about her friend. However, something deep down inside was agreeing with what he was saying. That part of her was piecing together all the bickering and arguing they had done with what the cloaked man was saying. And it was all starting to make sense.
 
However, another part of her couldn’t believe what she was thinking, and she shook her head vigorously at those thoughts. “No, that’s not right,” she disputed, “She never held me back. I just tried to keep her carelessness from getting the best of her.”
 
“And you certainly did a fine job of that, did you,” the cloaked man retorted, “You’ve been surrendering your superiority to her and letting her convince herself that she was the more suitable leader just because she was the Princess.”
 
And once again, those same thoughts invaded her mind. She couldn’t deny it anymore. As much as she tried to help Usagi, they still ended up fighting over it. She always thought that she was smarter and more mature than Usagi. And at times, she did feel that it made her a better leader than Usagi.
 
“So you realize that despite basking in all her glory, that she’s really nothing but a crybaby, a klutz, and a careless child,” said the cloaked man, “Why don’t you prove to her that you’re the more suitable leader and not her.”
 
And those were the last words that Sailor Mars heard before the entire scene turned dark all around her.
 

 
Rei’s eyes popped open as she sprung up to a sitting position. She quickly glanced all around her, confused over what had just transpired. Barely a moment ago, she had witnessed Usagi’s death in the Juuban district at the hands of a powerful youma. And now, she wasn’t. But, after finding her desk, her dresser, and her classic Japanese décor, she realized that she was back in her room. Everything she had witnessed: the battle, the cloaked man, and Usagi’s death was all a dream.
 
“What the hell kind of dream was that?” Rei said to herself as she rested her forehead on her palm, “I’ve never had this dream before. But it seemed so real that it really scared me. I really thought Usagi was dead.”
 
She thought long and hard about that dream. It certainly wasn’t like any other dream she’s ever had. And with her strong psychic abilities, it could have easily been a scary premonition or a revealing intuition. But then again, it was probably just a dream. “No, it was too real and too beckoning to have been ‘just’ a dream,” Rei said to herself, “There has to be some kind of meaning to it.”
 
As Rei pondered her dream, she threw the sheets off of her and stood up from her bed. But as she slid her door open, a strange and sudden feeling of emotional stress overtook her. She closed her eyes and placed her fingers on her temple, as every negative emotion from jealousy to fear to hatred seemed to invade her mind all at once. She slowly lumbered through the hall, her fingers still against her temple, as her heavy emotional feeling turned into a splitting headache and completely disoriented her.
 
Suddenly, a knock at her front door broke her from that strange feeling. Her headache had suddenly subsided, as well as those dreadful emotions. The rapping at her front door sounded again, erasing any questions in her mind as to what had just happened. “Yes, I’m coming,” she called out to whomever was at her door.
 
She slid the front door open to receive a gleeful greeting, “Good Morning, Rei-chan.”
 
Rei rubbed the last of the sleep out of her eyes and finally looked at who was at her door. She quickly recognized the taller brunette with her hair pulled into a high pony-tail, and the shorter blonde with her hair pulled into a pair of dumpling-shaped buns. Upon seeing Usagi alive and well, she let out a heavy sigh of relief.
 
“Good Morning, Usagi,” Rei mumbled.
 
“You don’t look so good,” said Usagi, immediately noticing the look of fatigue on Rei’s face.
 
“What are you doing here, Usagi?” Rei wondered, “It’s too early in the morning to be visiting.”
 
“Well, Mako-chan came over early and got me up,” Usagi replied.
 
“Yes, I had cooked a wonderful breakfast and wanted to share it with Usagi,” Makoto explained.
 
Rei only crossed her arms and chuckled at Usagi’s response, “You know, it’s funny that you’re here this early since you’re usually oversleeping at around this time.”
 
“Hey, I got up early in the morning this time,” Usagi argued, “And I did it on a day that we don’t have school.”
 
“Yeah, with Mako-chan’s help,” Rei argued back, “Besides, the only days you actually do get up are days that there is no school. Anytime there is school, you’re always sleeping in. And that’s why you’re always late.”
 
Usagi immediately stepped back from Rei as tears began to well in her eyes. “Mako-chan, Rei-chan’s being mean again,” she wailed.
 
“Oh get over it, Odango. I was only kidding,” Rei playfully scolded, “There’s no need to cry over it.”
 
“Come on, Rei-chan, you do have to admit that she’s improving on getting out of bed at a decent hour,” said Makoto as Usagi stopped her wailing.
 
But suddenly, another strange feeling overcame Rei, prompting her to step back and squeeze her eyes shut. Once again, the same heavily emotional feeling had burst into her mind, bringing with her many feelings of dread, sorrow, anger, envy, and hatred all at once. She laid her fingers against her temples and squeezed her eyes even tighter as many images of last night’s dream flashed through her mind at lightning speed. And then, she pressed her fingers tightly against her temples as another splitting headache overcame her.
 
Makoto and Usagi immediately noticed as Rei winced in pain. And despite their earlier bicker session, Usagi was the first to step up to her, wearing with a concerned look on her face. “Rei-chan, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” she asked.
 
However, Rei only held her open palm out, stopping Usagi from coming any closer. She didn’t even know herself what was going on. With so many images and negative emotions running through her mind like a torrential flood, she feared that she’d act on them. “It’s nothing,” she evasively replied.
 
“Are you sure?” Usagi beckoned, not buying Rei’s response, “You look like you have a headache, and your face is so pale…”
 
Rei’s eyes suddenly popped wide open in frustration, cutting Usagi off. “I said it’s nothing, Usagi,” she immediately snapped.
 
Usagi stepped back from Rei’s rather harsh response, and rather than look concerned, she felt more disgusted. “Jeez, Rei-chan. PMSing, are we?” she sarcastically stated.
 
Makoto shared Usagi’s concern, yet remained silent. Despite her love and concern for her friend, she didn’t want Rei lashing out at her too.
 
Rei took a couple deep breaths after her sudden outburst toward Usagi. And just as quickly as they had come, the headache and negative emotions left her mind. However, only guilt remained on her mind. Usagi was only worried about her well-being, yet she snapped at her for it. “I’m sorry, Usagi,” she said softly, looking down at the wooden floor between them.
 
“It’s okay, Rei-chan. I forgive you,” said Usagi.
 
“She does have a point. You don’t look too good,” Makoto added.
 
“Yeah, I’m just not feeling well,” said Rei. It was no lie either as all these weird feelings were taking a lot out of Rei. She then back away from her friends, “I’m going back to my room to get some more rest. Why don’t you two just go and have some fun?” She then turned away from them,
 
“We’re sorry you’re not feeling well,” said Makoto.
 
Suddenly, a light bulb flashed in Usagi’s mind, “Hey Rei-chan. Our study group at noon, is it still on?”
 
That statement drew a little smile on Rei’s face, although her back was turned for Usagi and Makoto to notice it. She did, however, let out a little chuckle. “I can’t believe you actually remembered a study group, and with no one reminding you of it too,” she calmly said.
 
“Yes, aren’t you proud of me?” Usagi gleefully said.
 
“And you took an insult as a compliment as well. You really are improving,” Rei chuckled, “But yes, study group’s still on. I should be feeling better by then.”
 
“Okay. I hope you get to feeling better, Rei-chan,” said Usagi as she turned her back to Rei, “See ‘ya.”
 
“We’ll see you at noon,” said Makoto as she turned to join Usagi.
 
With Usagi and Makoto gone, Rei turned back around to slide the front door shut. “I’m sorry, Usagi,” Rei said to no one in particular. But just as she had shut the front door, the same heavy feelings of negative emotions returned to her, full force.
 
“You were too easy on her,” a voice said to her, accompanied by a slight headache, “How will you ever prove how worthy you are as their leader if you go easy on her carelessness?”
 
‘What the hell?’ Rei thought to herself. She covered her ears with both hands in a futile attempt to silence that strange voice.
 
“You need to be tougher on her,” the voice continued, “You can’t hold back from her. You can’t surrender your superiority.”
 
Rei squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her hands tighter against her ears. ‘This is just like that dream I had,’ she thought to herself, ‘but why am I hearing all of this now? What is the meaning of that dream?’ As she squeezed her eyes shut, images of Usagi dying from that fatal youma attack flashed in her mind. And then, the image the cloaked man flashed in her mind.
 
“She knows you’re better than her. You just need to show her,” the voice continued.
 
‘Now I know that this dream is different than the others I’ve had,’ Rei concluded with her thoughts, ‘I can still see it, even here in the waking world.’ Soon, her headache subsided and all the feelings of envy, anguish, and hatred left her conscious. Relieved of that burden, Rei opened her eyes and removed her hands from her ears. ‘However, something about that dream isn’t right at all, and it’s really beckoning me,’ Rei thought, ‘Maybe the Great Fire will know.’
 
And with a sense of purpose, Rei marched back to her room. There, she changed into her red and white miko kimono. Once changed, she left her room and made a beeline for the worship room where the Great Fire forever burned.
 
She then slid the big doors of the worship room open and walked before the Great Fire. She promptly shut the doors like she usually did, never wanting to be disturbed during her fire readings. Once assured that she was alone, she sat on her knees before the Great fire and clasped her hands together. She focused on the fire before her as it flickered away, closed her eyes, and began her fire reading.
 
‘Great Fire, a strange dream came to visit me last night,’ she thought to herself, ‘This dream is unlike my usual dreams. And since then, these feelings of dread and hate have been dominating my mind. Something about that dream isn’t right. Oh Great Fire, show me the meaning of my dream and why it beckons me.’
 
“Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen,” she chanted. And as she chanted, the fire flared up, intensifying the worship room’s ambient light.
 
Rei, however, once again found herself standing in the streets of the Juuban Shopping Center. She watched on as a battle waged on between the Sailor Senshi and the same scorpion-like youma from her dream. So she decided to focus on that battle, and more importantly, its participants. She immediately noticed Sailor Moon jumping up and down, taunting the youma after having struck it with her tiara.
 
‘That is so typical of Usagi,’ Rei thought to herself, ‘Why, even in my dreams, must she e so reckless.’
 
But she continued to focus on Sailor Moon, knowing that Usagi herself and their relationship were the focus of her dream. So whatever the meaning of this rather peculiar dream was, it had something to do with her and Usagi. And suddenly, just as she had focused on Sailor Moon, the youma drove its sword-like tail through her friend’s back. Rei’s heart literally skipped a few beats as her body burned inside from witnessing such a horrible sight. Even though she knew it was going to happen, she still found herself screaming Usagi’s name at the sight of her dying friend. ‘Why, Usagi, why must you be so damned reckless?’ Rei thought to herself as tears began to stream down her cheeks, ‘Why did you have to die, Usagi?’
 
But Rei had to pull herself together and convince herself that none of this was really happening. She had to focus on her dream and not the horror flowing through her veins at the mere thought of Usagi dying. ‘What is this, some kind of premonition?’ she wondered, ‘Is Usagi in danger? Or will Usagi be in danger?’ However, the thought of a possible premonition did little to calm her nerves. The thought of Usagi being in danger frightened Rei, yet motivated her to search for answers.
 
And then, the cloaked man appeared before her, much like he had done in her dream. “No, this is the truth,” he replied, “This is an illustration of you true relationship with her, and why it is the way it is.”
 
Rei suddenly opened her eyes, breaking herself from her meditative state and once again finding herself in the worship room before the Great Fire. “What the hell?!” Rei exclaimed, “How is it an illustration of our true relationship?” Those words seemed to have little to do with Rei witnessing Usagi’s death. And because of it, they upset her.
 
“Okay, Rei. Pull yourself together,” she said to herself, trying to calm herself, “You’ve got to keep focusing, keep meditating, and find out what this dream is about.” So he closed her eyes again and focused on her dream once again. And as she completely calmed herself, she found herself back where she had left off in her dream. Once again, she found the strange cloaked figure standing in front of her.
 
‘The cloaked man again? What does he have to do with anything in this dream?’ Rei wondered, turning her focus from Usagi’s death to the strange figure before her. ‘Is he the one behind the youma attack? Or is he some other sinister figure totally unrelated?’
 
“All you two ever do is bicker and fight with one another,” he said, completely ignoring her thoughts.
 
‘That is true. We do end up fighting a lot,’ Rei thought to herself, ‘She may annoy the hell out of me sometimes, and at times she’s just plain careless, but Usagi’s still my friend.’
 
“That friendship you share with her is just you surrendering your superiority to her,” said the cloaked man in direct response to her thoughts.
 
‘He said that in my dream too,’ Rei thought to herself as she continued to focus on him, ‘But what he’s saying just isn’t right. This isn’t how I feel about Usagi. Yet, something about him seems very peculiar.’
 
“Wrong. You resent the fact that a careless, slow-witted crybaby gets to be the leader of your team, while a oung, smart, beautiful, and dedicated girl like you surrenders her rightful position,” the cloaked man disputed.
 
And suddenly, a purplish-black mist fell all around them. The sky turned totally black, prompting the street lights to come on and highlight the dark mist. If that didn’t grab Rei’s attention, then the mist accumulating above the cloaked man certainly did.
 
“Oh my God,” Rei gasped as heart pounded, “Something evil is after me and Usagi.”
 
“No, I’m just here to open your eyes to the truth,” said the cloaked man. Then, through the shadows of his hood, his eyes began to glow a bright violet. And once Rei caught a glimpse of them, she froze in place with her eyes locked onto the cloaked man’s. Rei couldn’t even move a muscle, let alone turn her eyes away from the cloaked man’s. She wanted this fire reading to end, but she couldn’t break herself from this vision.
 
“I’m here to awaken you,” the cloaked man continued, “I’m here to show you what you already have and what you already know. You know she is unworthy of her title as the Princess. You know she is unworthy to be your leader. She basks in her glory and continues to hold you back from your true calling. Yet, she knows that you’re better than her in every way. She knows you’re smarter, prettier, more mature, more responsible, and therefore more worthy of her title than she is.”
 
And then, Rei’s eyes widened in awe as the cloaked man transformed into purplish mist and coalesced with the cloud accumulating above where he stood. “It’s time to break free of your chains. It’s time to show her how worthy you are, how superior you are, and how unworthy she is of even being as Sailor Senshi,” the disembodied cloaked man’s voice preached, “Draw from your resentment of her. Draw from your jealousy. Draw from your hatred. Let it fuel your desire to see her fall. Don’t hold back!”
 
And with that last sentence, the cloud of dark mist hurled itself directly at the awestruck and terrified Rei. At the same time, the Great Fire exploded into a furious burn. The energy from the dark mist struck Rei in the face, knocking her away from the fire and to the floor, unconscious.
 

 
A half-hour later, Rei awoke from her awful vision and found herself to be still in the worship room and still on the floor. Obviously, no one noticed nor overheard anything unusual to have left her undisturbed. But why? That was probably the most intense fire reading she had ever performed. So how could Grandpa or Yuuichirou not have noticed?
 
But that was merely a moot point. As Rei sat up, she pondered the meaning of her fire reading. It wasn’t so much the strange nightmare of Usagi’s death that was dominating her mind anymore, but rather a totally different feeling altogether. She once again felt a strong bout of envy, anger, lust, and hatred all at the same time. But along with that, she felt a great deal of pride and confidence in herself, and a rather strange comfort in her dark emotions. And along with those feelings came desire, the desire to see that dream come true.
 
Rei smiled at her thoughts as she rose from the wooden floor and slid the big doors open to leave the worship room. On her way to her room, Yuuichirou entered the hallway from the bath after having cleaned. When he saw Rei, he immediately noticed the rather strange smile she was wearing, something very atypical of her. “Are you okay, Rei-san?” he asked.
 
“Of course,” Rei immediately replied, “I’ve never felt better.” As she disappeared into her room, Yuuchirou merely stood there, completely dumbfounded. ‘I wonder what has her so happy after one of her fire readings?’ he thought to himself, ‘Perhaps she saw something that she really liked.’ After that simple conclusion, Yuuichirou took his cloth, scrub brush, and bucket and began cleaning the hallway.
 
 
Past Noon...
 
Just as previously arranged, Usagi, Makoto, Ami, Minako, and Rei were gathered in the living room for their study group. Various textbooks and notes from various subjects were scattered about the large wooden table. With this being one of their first study groups together, much of their studies were rather disorganized. It wasn’t until about an hour into their studies that the girls actually joined together, with Literature Translation as the subject.
 
“Now, Usagi-chan, let’s try this again, just like I showed you,” said Ami, trying to help Usagi with translating a British short story into Japanese. Rei was already somewhat ahead of the rest of the group as she was getting her help from Minako, who already knew plenty of English from her time in London. So, Usagi tried translating the passage again,” And so Beowulf...hugged his sword...”
 
“Held, Usagi-chan, held,” Ami corrected.
 
“...held his sword high and yelled. And the people joined him with their party...” Usagi continued.
 
“Umm, Usagi-chan? I don’t thing it was a party they were having,” said Ami, “Think about it for a minute. He raised his sword and gave a warrior’s cry. Normally, the people would cheer for their hero as they set out to slay Grendel...”
 
“Oh, why does English have to be so hard to learn,” Usagi complained, interrupting Ami.
 
That, on top of Usagi’s constant errors in translation, had finally grabbed Rei’s attention. It was the third time that Usagi couldn’t get the translation of the same passage right. And the fact that she was going nowhere fast frustrated her. ‘She constantly holds you back from your true potential,’ a voice said to her in her mind.
 
“Come on, Usagi, this isn’t that hard,” Rei snapped.
 
“Speak for yourself, Rei-chan,” Usagi argued, “You have Minako-chan helping you with your English.”
 
“And you have Ami-chan helping you with yours, and you’re still getting nowhere,” said Rei, “Surely, you know this story.”
 
“But I’ve never read this story before, not even in Japanese,” said Usagi.
 
“Then why the hell are you even studying with us if you’re not learning anything from it,” Rei said more sternly.
 
“Hey, at least I’m trying,” Usagi argued.
 
“I don’t know why you’re even trying,” said Rei, “Of all the ‘trying’ you say you do, all you have to show for it are a bunch of red marks on exams.”
 
Makoto and Minako only gazed at the bickering duo with sweat drops hanging, as was their usual reaction to their constant bickering. Ami, on the other hand, hung her head in disappointment as Usagi and Rei continued. “Oh no, they’re at it again,” she moaned.
 
“And you always act so childish when it comes to exams, studying, and school. You never take it seriously. That’s why you’re always getting red marks,” Rei continued.
 
“I don’t always get red marks,” Usagi protested.
 
“Bullshit, Usagi,” Rei snapped, raising her voice at Usagi, “All you ever do is complain about the red marks you get. You complain, you whine, you cry, you moan, and you bitch about everything.”
 
“Uh... Rei-chan, can we go back to...” Minako began to suggest.
 
“Butt out, Minako,” Rei scornfully interrupted, startling Minako. “Uh... okay,” she meekly replied.
 
“That’s not true,” Usagi argued.
 
“Oh it’s not?” Rei challenged, “You know, you’re right about yourself. You’re nothing but a crybaby and a klutz. And more than that, you’re an idiot.
 
In response to Rei’s insults, tears began to well in Usagi’s eyes. “Ami-chan, Rei-chan’s being mean again,” she whined.
 
“See what I mean?” said Rei, “You always whine and cry to someone else every time something doesn’t go your way. And it’s really starting to piss me off. Face it, Usagi, you’re nothing but a childish idiot.”
 
“I am not an idiot,” Usagi yelled.
 
“Oh yeah? You’re always falling behind the rest of us. You never catch on when we study together. You’re always holding us back because we have to pickup your slack,” Rei yelled back.
 
“That doesn’t make me an idiot,” Usagi responded.
 
“I don’t know why I even bother with you,” Rei continued, “Why should I be helping you when you’re always being a whining idiot? I’m sick of you holding me back.”
 
“If you weren’t always saying such mean things every time I mess up, I wouldn’t complain so much,” Usagi yelled.
 
“If you would just grow up and stop acting like a baby every time something goes wrong...” Rei yelled back.
 
“Okay, I think our study group is over,” Makoto said meekly as she began to gather her text books. Ami was also closing her text book and beginning to gather hers, with Minako helping her.
 
“See, Usagi? Now everyone is leaving,” Rei commented, “I hope you’re happy, you big baby.”
 
And immediately, Usagi threw her arms down in frustration and stomped her foot toward Rei. “That’s because no one likes it when you act like a high and mighty bitch...” she yelled, only to be cut off as Rei slapped her across the left side of her face. Everyone else in the room grimaced at its sharp sound.
 
Usagi placed her hand on her stinging cheek and began to rub it. She then turned back to Rei with tear-filled eyes. “Rei-chan... why?” she whimpered.
 
“Go ahead, cry your little heart,” Rei taunted, “That’s all you’re ever good at.”
 
Usagi sniffled as more tears welled in her eyes. Everyone else just stood and watched, totally speechless, as their arguing had taken a turn for the worst. “Rei-chan, why are you doing this?” Usagi whimpered, “Why have you become so spiteful all of a sudden? Aren’t we supposed to be friends?”
 
“Friends?” Rei sarcastically replied before breaking out into a rather disparaging laugh, “Oh God, that’s so absurd, it makes me laugh. How the hell could someone as smart and beautiful as I ever be friends with a dumb ass, cowardly bimbo like you?”
 
“I thing we’d better be going now,” said Ami, having heard quite enough of Rei’s tirade. However, neither Rei nor Usagi paid any attention as the others finished gathering their things.
 
“What do you mean?” said Usagi.
 
“Usagi, let me put it bluntly since you’re so dense,” Rei replied, “I despise you, I hate you, and I wish we never would have met.”
 
Usagi had finally heard enough and broke out wailing. Ami immediately walked over to Usagi and took her trembling hand into hers. Then, she turned to Rei. “Rei-chan? What has gotten into you?” she scornfully asked.
 
“Isn’t it obvious?” was Rei’s only response.
 
“Rei-chan hates me,” Usagi wailed as she continued weeping.
 
“Bingo! You know, for once you understand,” said Rei, “I do hate you. Now why don’t you just get the hell out of my house. Your presence here is a disgrace to this shrine, you crybaby little bitch. And don’t ever think of us as friends anymore. We were never friends. D you understand? Never!”
 
Ami was already guiding the crying Usagi toward the front door as Rei threw her insults. Makoto had already left and Minako had gone to the washroom. “Come on, Usagi-chan, let’s go,” said Ami. As they slid their shoes on, Ami turned and glared at Rei, “I hope you’re happy.”
 
“Ha, I’ve never felt happier,” Rei boasted.
 
Disgusted, Ami haughtily turned away and left the shrine with Usagi.
 
Left all alone, Rei smiled. “Yes, how can someone as smart and beautiful as I ever be friends with someone like her,” she said to herself, dwelling on that one statement to Usagi.
 
“Very good. You’ve finally asserted your superiority,” a somewhat ethereal voice said to Rei. And all of a sudden, an even stronger feeling of anger and hate invaded her mind. Her eyes widened and her heart pounded away at her chest as the sudden rush of malice overtook her. And then, the cloaked man appeared before her right in the middle of her living room.
 
“That is the way you should be,” said the cloaked man, “You made her realize her inferiority and exposed her true self. And at the same time, you embraced your own true self.” And then, the cloaked man disappeared, leaving Rei to her overpowering sense of rage.
 
“You must bask in your true self,” his voice continued, “Only your resentment and hatred toward her will result in her downfall.” Rei slammed her palm against her temples as that overwhelming since of rage became a splitting headache.
 
“Despise her, hate her, loath her,” the cloaked man’s voice beckoned. Rei’s heart slammed against her chest as his words and the strong sense of negative emotions beckoned her. She breathed in and out quite heavily from her extreme stress.
 
“And embrace your desire to see her dead,” he continued.
 
That was the last straw for Rei. Her anger became so overwhelming that she let out a loud scream. And with that scream came a rush of adrenaline flowing through her veins. And fueled by her rage, she grabbed the large wooden table and jerked it off the floor without as much as a grunt. She then screamed again as she hurled it against the wall with seemingly no effort, shattering it upon impact.
 
Still breathing heavily, she glanced at her open hands, perplexed over her sudden surge of strength.



Meanwhile, Minako had just finished washing herself up and was about to leave when she saw Rei hurl the table into the wall. The thundering crash from the shattering of the table stopped her dead in her tracks. Her eyes popped wide open as she was completely shocked and amazed at what she just witnessed. ‘Oh my God, what’s gotten into Rei-chan?’ she thought, ‘I’ve never seen such strength before, not even from Mako-chan.’
 
Quickly getting over the shock, she swiftly backed into the hallway to hide, remembering Rei’s tirade from earlier. What made Rei suddenly scream and throw the table at the wall? Minako did not know. But one thing was certain; she had to get out of there. Something wasn’t right about Rei and she was afraid to find out first hand, so she couldn’t leave through the front door. She thought quickly, spun on her heel, and marched down the hall and out the back way.
 
She ran around back to the front door, remembering that she still had to grab her shoes, not wanting to walk all the way back to Shiba Koen in her socks. Once there, she peeked inside, finding Rei in some kind of trance with her back turned to the door. So she quietly grabbed her shoes, slipped them on, and ran from the shrine as quickly as she could.


 
Back inside, Yuuichirou walked into the living room after hearing all the commotion. “Is everything okay, Rei-san?” he asked, “I heard a lot of shouting in here, and then a loud crash.”
 
“It was nothing, Yuuichirou,” Rei replied.
 
“Are you sure?” he questioned, not buying her lie, especially after noticing the broken pieces of table scattered about the floor, “Did you girls have a fight?”
 
“Enough!” Rei shouted, startling Yuuichirou. She stomped over to the front door, and then stopped and reevaluated her actions. Despite her rage, she began to feel a little remorse. “I’m sorry, Yuuichirou,” she calmly apologized, “I just have way too much on my mind right now.” She then slid  into her shoes and turned to leave out the front door.
 
“Where are you going?” Yuuichirou asked.
 
“Out for a walk to clear my mind,” Rei replied as she disappeared out the door, leaving Yuuichirou to his thoughts.
 
‘I wonder what happened,’ he thought to himself, ‘She was in such a good mood this morning, and unusually so. Now, she seems overly stressed and hateful. Something about her isn’t right.’ And with those thoughts, Yuuichirou kneeled down to the floor and began to pick up the pieces of shattered table from the floor.
 
end of part I

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Disclaimer: As usual, Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine, but belong to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and Cloverway, and I only thank them for bringing' it to America, nothin' more. But Russell Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and Deanna Kokorono/Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anythang but his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,
Viper Inferno (Y2V)
 

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