I'm baaaaaacccckkkk! Okay, here's another fic from me.
This is a fic centred on Rei - Sailor Mars - my personal
fave. So, if you don't like Rei, go ahead and hit the back
button, I promise I won't be offended.
For you who remain, you probably love Rei, like me, or
miracle of miracles, you actually like me! *probably not*
For whatever reason - you stayed! Aren't you just the best?!
Just one small note - this fic does not follow the anime or manga.
Okay, I know most people skip this part completely and just
go to the fic, so I guess I better shut up and get to it right? 
Right.
  
Matte!!! Almost forgot....*clears throat*
Sailormoon does not belong to me, it belongs to Naoko. Bow
before the glory that is Naoko!
  
Okay, enough sucking up, here it is....
  
Eien no rekka - Chapter One
(Eternal Fire)

by Angel Eternal

Rating: G - PG - depending on how conservative you are, so I'm
giving it this rating, Oh and this rating is applicable for all the
following chapters.

email: angel_eternal_01@yahoo.com

URL: http://www.geocities.com/angel_eternal_01/index.html                

  
  
  
The fire flickered and moved in her veins, consuming, engulfing her. 
She felt an invisible  wind lift the raven strands of her hair upwards. In her 
mind's eye she could see the flickering flames, dancing a pagan dance. She 
breathed in deeply, breathing in fire...
"Rei-chan?!"
Groaning, she let her head drop in defeat.
"Rei-chan? Am I disturbing you?"
 She sighed, and shook her head at the stupidty of others. "I don't 
know, what do you think?"
Tentatively, the petite blonde stepped forward, "Hai?" her vocie
extremely small in the cavernous room.
Sighing, Hino Rei stood to face Aino Minako. "What are you doing 
here Minako?"
Minako grinned at her, "Have you forgotten Rei-chan?"
"Forgotten what?" As soon as the words left her mouth she 
remembered, "Senshi meeting."
"Hai!"
Rei gestured for Minako to follow her.
"Has there been any developments?"
Minako shook her head. "None. Ami-chan and Mako-chan should
be here soon."
Rei sighed, and rubbed one hand over her eyes. "I'm just so tired Mina-chan.
Grandpa...Grandpa isn't feeling well...Yuucchiro just left..."
Minako knelt beside her, and slung a comforting arm around the
raven-haired priestess. "Rei, we're here for you. You must 
know that."
Rei nodded, and clasped Minako's hand, "Arigato Mina-chan. I
guess I just needed to hear it."
"Hey Rei-chan!"
Rei and Minako looked up to behold a very unusual sight...an
odango atama leaning on the door frame.
Rei's jaw literally hit the floor.
Tsukino Usagi laughed.
Minako smiled, glancing furtively at Rei, Usagi hopped forward,
filled with joyful exuberance.
Hino Rei, Shinto priestess, senshi of fire, was for the first time 
in her life, speechless. 
Very gently, Usagi tipped Rei's mouth close. 
Taking note of Rei's shocked expression, Usagi and Minako
fell into hystercal laughter.
A raven-haired priestess, stood dumbfounded in the middle
of a stark room. On either side of her, were two blondes, 
clutching their stomachs, tears running down their faces, laughing.
This was the scene that greeted Mizuno Ami and Kino Makoto.
The brunnette surveyed all of this, with a smile playing on her
lips. The petite blue-haired girl, merely shook her head.
Finally, Rei snapped out of her reverie, she snatched up a
broom that was close to hand, and held it threateningly above her.
Minako, by this time, had gained enough composure to sense the 
impending danger, and had stopped laughing. Usagi, however 
had not.
Fire blazing in her eyes, Rei swatted Usagi on the head.
The blow brought Serena quickly to her senses. "Itai! What'd
 you do that for?"
She rubbed the top of her head, and glared at Raye.
Raye rolled her eyes, "I don't know, maybe I had enough of
you laughing like a hyena Usagi-baka!"
Usagi pouted, "Minako was laughing too!"
Minako held her hands up defensively. "Hey! I stopped." then she
grinned, "Besides Rei, you should have seen your face!"
Rei whirled to face her, eyes blazing.
"Okay, enough!" - the ever sensible Ami.
Makoto laughed, "Yeah, Ami-chan is right, stop acting like babies."
At this, Rei, Minako and Usagi pouted.
Makoto and Ami laughed. Then glancing towards a window, Ami
moved to the center of the room. 
"Come on guys, let's talk senshi stuff. Luna and Artemis will be
here soon."
Rei sat down at the low table, and everyone followed suit.
Usagi spoke first, "Rei-chan, any vibes?"
Rei shook her head, "Not really, just a general sense of gloom.
It's actually very faint, and I don't know if it's got anything to 
do with that youma we fought last night."
Ami pondered this for a second, "Hmm...I don't get any negative
readings either. It's only when the youma manifests that any sort 
of negative energy is released. Any such energy dissapaited the 
moment the youma disappeared. Not a trace! It's like it was
defeated, but we know it wasn't."
Rei sighed, Ami was right, the youma wasn't defeated, yet
they had no trace of it. None whatsoever.
That in itself was odd. However, there had been something
odd about the youma itself.
Rei didn't want to say anything to the others, she could barely
explain it to herself, she would never be able to explain it to 
them. It was just a feeling, very faint.
In fact, the vibes that she was getting these days were all faint. 
It was almost as if Rei's abilities were fading. But she refused to
think of that. Her abilites were not fading, they can't!
Then Rei finally focused back to the meeting.
"...this youma is so strong! We threw everything we got at it...
nothing." Makoto growled, so obviouly distraught.
"We couldn't even try ganging up on it! It just ran us over." Minako
sighed, she seemed infinitely exhausted.
"It was a good thing, that Usagi-chan and Rei-chan were able to
injure it enough to make it retreat." Ami noted.
Rei shook her head, "I don't think we injured it at all."
Four pairs of eyes swung to her. 
"What makes you say that?" Ami asked, a glint coming into her
blue eyes.
Why had she said anything at all? This was another thing that
Rei couldn't explain.
Slowly, she shook her head again. "I don't know, but it was like
I was blasting that thing with everything I got, and then all of a
sudden...that was it, it was retreating."
Usagi nodded slowly, gathering her thoughts. "Yeah...it wasn't
weakening. It just wasn't. I was thinking, that this was it. Our final
battle, no way could we defeat this youma...then it just retreated. 
I know it wasn't injured."
Rei's violet eyes met Usagi's blue ones, understanding flashed
between them.
Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon had been fighting, together, both of 
them were exhausted, both of them ready to give up, but wouldn't,
not for anything would either of them have given up.
Makoto sighed. "So. What are we going to do now?"
Ami sighed, "The only thing we can do, I guess. We have to have
the oppurtunity to study this thing, know it's moves, its agenda."
Rei thought for a moment. "That's going to be hard to do Ami.
You and I both know that the only way we're going to study that 
thing is in the midst of battle. Kami only knows how hard it is to
fight and study at the same time." then, she quieted, "The best we
can do is draw it into battle, and distract it enough for you to 
study it."
Ami bowed her head. "I need time, this thing has got a weakness. 
It just has to. The trick now is finding that weakness. Last time I
didn't have time to stand back and analyse it."
"Matte." All eys turned to Usagi. "We have to find out what it
wants. That's the first thing we do. It's the only way we can 
prevent innocent lives being lost."
Makoto shook her head, "That might be the hardest thing to do 
Usa. We know nothing about this youma. It attacked us first. 
What could it want from us?"
Usagi laughed bitterly. "What else would it want Mako-chan? You
and I both know that if youmas attack us first, it wants the 
Ginzuishou."
Rei knew she mustn't say anything, she still wouldn't be able to
explain it, and she didn't feel like trying to sort out these vague
clues.
Luna leapt through her customary window. "Any luck girls?"
Rei answered her. "None Luna. We're going around in circles."
Artemis appeared beside her. "Have you decided what to do 
next?"
They all fell silent, pondering their next course of action.
Usagi spoke. "There's nothing left for us but to wait."
Rei silently agreed with her. Hai, matte.
Minako had been staring at Usagi, finally Usagi turned to her,
"Nani?"
"Oh!" Minako blushed, embarassed to have been caught staring.
"I...I'm sorry Usa...but...it's just that..."
Usagi rolled her eyes, "Nani?!"
By now the others were staring at Usagi as well.
Minako continued to stammer on, "It's nothing...but Usagi...your
hair..."
"My hair?" Usagi picked up a heavy handful of the molten gold.
She held it up, examining the handful carefully. Still seeing 
nothing amiss, she looked at Minako again. "Nani?!"
Makoto finally explained, "Your hair Usagi, it's turning silver."
One golden eyebrow rose, then she went back to studying the
handful.
Indeed, the gold was shot through with strands of liquid silver.
Luna shook her head, "Is it really so surprising?"
They all turned to her. Luna sighed, "Usagi is eighteen. Her hair 
doesn't turn silver the minute she's 21."
Usagi sighed, "Gomen, but I still haven't come to grips with the 
fact that I'm going to be gray before I'm 25!"
Artemis chuckled. "Your hair will be silver Serenity-hime."
Usagi glared at him, "Artemis, onegai, never refer to me in such a
formal way...only when the occasion calls for it."
Artemis smiled. "Of course Usagi."
Rei shook her head, Usagi was becoming the queen they had 
all risked their lives for. She wondered if this would mean that the
Usagi they knew and loved would be gone.
Usagi turned to Makoto, a mischeivios sparkle in her eyes. "So 
Mako-chan, did you bring any cookies?"
Rei sighed, it didn't look as if she was going to change too much.
  
*		*		*

Rei knelt before the fire, trying to sort the thoughts that whirled
in her mind.
It was the dead of the night, the other girls had long since
gone home. Grandpa had finally fallen into a fitful sleep.
She was left to her thoughts.
Allowing the quiet that surrounded her to calm her, Rei
thought back to last night, and the youma....
  
*Flashback*
  
Sailor Moon had just finished her speech, and stood poised
to deflect any of the youma's attacks.
Sailor Mars, stood, tension tightening her body. She kept the 
others in the corner of her eye, she was also glancing around
to make sure that no other youma was around. She knew that
she can not let her defences down, never.
Then, her glance landed fully on the youma.
This youma was beautiful, in its own strange way.
She had flowing purple hair, half of which was caught in some
elaborate coiffure.
Her eyes glowed a dark red, skin of ebony....then Sailor
Mars caught herself. Why did she think that this thing was a
she? It was a youma, not a thing that can be designated a 
gender.
The thing, focused on Sailor Mars. Sailor Mars, stepped
back. Silently, she cursed her momentary cowardice.
Yet, something was odd about this youma, it was
different.
It didn't speak, nothing came out of it's red mouth. No
boasts, no taunts, nothing it merely stood there. It raised
one hand, reaching for Sailor Mars. Venus raised her
hand, launching her love-me chain to intercept it.
Sailor Mars flipped backwards, landing on the ground,
she looked up, and just for a flash, the youma's eyes seemed
a silvery blue.....
 
*End of flashback*
 
Rei couldn't shake the feeling that the youma was appealing
to her. Strange.
Was it a lost soul, drawn into darkness? It did not seem so.
Rei couldn't focus on studying the thing, the battle was too
ferocious. Even Sailor Mercury couldn't keep her infamous 
cool.
She shook her head, she just keep seeing the blue eyes.
She sighed, pressing a slim hand to her forehead. Was that
youma evil? She just didn't know...
Then the incessant coughing began again.
Rei sighed and rose to fetch her grandfather a glass of
soothing water.
 
  
 
  
  
 So? What did you think? Any questions? Email me. You loved
it? Email me. You hated it? Email me. Any suggestions? Constructive
criticism? Email me. Want me to write more? Email me. Want me to 
stop? Email me....I guess you get the point. *but just in case*...........
EMAIL ME!
I promise to write back!!!
Oh one more thing...as you might note, Usagi is not the ditz that we 
all love, though I like her like that, I want a smarter Usagi.
My explanation? Her hair is beginning to turn silver...so she is 
close to ascending to the throne, so this means she's now more mature.
Does that make sense? Well if not, feel free to ask questions.
Last thing...I want to take my new editor Azn Angel *he-he we Angels
stick together!* Now go read Locker Love!
 
email: angel_eternal_01@yahoo.com

website: www.geocities.com/angel_eternal_01/index.html