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"Hurry, Minako!!"
Makoto held the door open, straining against the bitter hurricane that had
overtaken the moon . It no longer felt like an object of wind, but solid,
like a physical being forcing its way into the palace.
Makoto growled as the glacial wind slashed at her skin through her
night-gown. She anchored herself to the floor by digging her freezing heels
into the marble tiles and suspending her full weight via the door handle.
"C'mon, Minako! Hurry!" Makoto urged. She squinted against the howling gale,
trying to focus upon the flaxen girl of Venus emerging out of the darkness,
and more importantly, the guy she was with.
Minako didn't just cross the thresh-hold, she was hurled across it, slender
limbs flailing in the air, followed the boy. She hit the ground with a dull
thud and a gust of breath expelled from her mouth. She was well and truly
winded. Face down and panting, her dishevelled hair unfurled across the
floor, glistening showers of blood spattering the white marble.
Makoto gasped in horror and slammed the door, making the weighty oak rattle
in its very frame, typical of the strength of Jupiter. She dashed forward,
her lustrous chestnut pony-tail bouncing in tandem.
"Oh my God!"
She landed on her knees and helped roll Minako on to her back. Minako's coat
had fell open and it was clear to see that she was drenched and injured. The
blood-stained and dirty material was all but transparent as it glutted
itself against her skin. The once silky and smooth flesh was patch-worked
with slick, bleeding scratches and bruised into a deep shade of purple.
"Oh Minako! What happened to you?"
Makoto fluidly eased stray tresses of blonde hair away from Minako's face as
she struggled to sit up. She gasped and squeezed Makoto's hand, attempting
to ease the sharp pains that rampaged around her body.
"Hey. Easy, V-babe."
She eased Minako up into a hunched sitting position. The boy murmured and
groaned quietly behind them. Minako's crystalline gaze swept over to the boy
and the pain in her soft eyes seemed to dissolve. She pressed a hand to her
lips and held her breath for a second, expelling it in thought. Makoto
removed a hand from Minako's shoulder and rolled her eyes at the overly
exaggerated doleful expression upon her face.
...here we go again
Makoto blushed slightly. It wasn't that she was jealous, it was just that,
being the physically strongest of the inner Senshi, she had adopted the role
of defender. It was only right that she felt protective towards her friends.
"Okay, buddy. Who are you?" Makoto said with a cold and supercilious voice.
Slowly the boy raised his head. He met her gaze with a steady eye, cold and
snubbing.
Sensing the tension, Minako coughed and placed a hand on Makoto's.
"Mako-chan, this is Zuben. I helped him...."
Zuben's scornful frown shifted onto Minako. She grinned sheepishly and
blushed.
"We helped each other. I saw him outside and went after him. He helped me
get back to the palace..."
The bitterness was catching. Makoto's expression became darker as her brow
wrinkled.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Mina-chan, people don't just rush blindly into danger. Especially in their
bed-time clothes!"
"C'mon, Mako-chan! How often do I rush into things without thinking? Just
all the time!" She paused to flick her hair over her shoulder, attempting to
use vanity as a apprehension-breaker. Zuben huffed in exasperation.
"Just call me Usagi the second!"
Makoto laughed briefly, but it appeared rather forced. She lowered her eyes
in acceptance. The acceptance deliquesced into trepidation as her observance
ran over Minako's lower body. Her eyes blazed with consternation.
"Minako! You're bleeding! Oh my god! What happened?!"
Makoto got up and forced her way towards Zuben.
"What did you do to her?!!" She grabbed him by his collar and hoisted him
roughly onto his feet. He responded by grabbing her wrist and ripping it
away from him.
There was a momentary silence, laced in tension and anger. Minako opened her
mouth ready to defend Makoto, and, equally, Zuben. The silence was instantly
broken by the smashing of china.
"What the...? What's going on?"
All faces in the corridor turned towards the origin of the outraged voice.
Before them stood Rei, clad in a loose pyjamas, made from the same material
as Minako and Makoto's night-gowns. She wore a silky, pearly kimono held
together around her waist by a thin band of rose-pink material.
Her skin was a tone darker than Minako's, enhanced by the long raven hair
that fell densely around her face and plummeted like a waterfall down around
her waist. Usually silken and smooth, it was tousled and her skin had
drained of her colour. Her rosebud mouth hung open slightly and her eyes
were open wide, the deep violet pools emitting an air of both shock and
obscenity. Her hand hovered in mid-air, arm extended, as if holding and
invisible object. She resembled a statue, petrified in a pose, as she froze
in place, trying to understand what had happened.
At her feet lay a puddle of cooling green tea and jagged shards of broken
teacup.
Her hair shone like a plum, so dark, yet warm in colour.
"Minako!"
>From behind her stepped Ami, tendrils of deep blue hair falling over her
forehead. Her eyes, piercing blue, gaped at the scene of discomposure before
her. In her hand she held a medical kit, the little red box gleaming out
against the azure material of her kimono. She stepped forward calmly,
jumping slightly over the shattered remnants of the teacup and tea.
"Makoto..." Ami said gently, "Could you please tell me what's going on...?"
"Ami!!" clamoured Rei, bounding over towards Minako, "How can you be so
calm?! Look!!" she gestured violently toward the Minako, sitting on the
floor, gingerly touching the gash wounds upon her body, and Zuben, who had
secretly attempting to make a brake for it by heading toward the back door,
a few meters down the corridor.
"Intruder! Stop him!" Rei whipped out her Henshin stick and held it aloft.
"WAIT!" Minako yelled in panic, reaching out her arms for Rei. "He's not!
He's..."
She froze mid-sentence, her eyes losing their focus. Her eyelids fluttered
shut and she fell backwards, her frame thudding dully into the ground.
"Minako!!" screamed Makoto and Rei in unison. The two girls crowded around
her as she lay unconscious, a trickle of sweat running down her face.
Makoto's head snapped around to glare at Zuben.
" You!!"
Rei glared at Zuben also, standing up to appear more fierce. She was smaller
in stature than Makoto, yet the intensity at which she stared at Zuben was
frightening.
"Intruder!!" she repeated forcefully.
"I'm not!" she replied obstinately. "Just ask your little blonde friend!"
Makoto advanced upon Zuben, emerald eyes flashing angrily,
"Shame we can't since she's UNCONSCIOUS !!!"
She roared the last word, raising her clenched fist. Rei stepped back,
bewildered at the sudden rage that hurtled its way out of Makoto.
"Stop it guys!" Ami's voice was high and musical. She even yelled gently.
"Please!"
Makoto growled and let her fists fall to her sides. She turned around and
stared at Ami. She was kneeling down next to the insentient Minako. She had
removed her kimono and was dressed in pyjamas matching Rei's. She had
bundled her silken kimono into a primitive pillow and had propped it under
Minako's head. Her skin looked so pale next to the deep-coloured material.
Ami rustled about in her medial kit, ignoring the cold stares from her
peers. She pulled out a piece of cloth and examined it closely.
"Thank you." She delved into her kit again and produced a little plastic
bottle containing a colourless liquid that smelt quite pungent, even from
across the room. With a delicate motion, she trickled some of the liquid
onto the material and dabbed at the slashes on Minako's legs.
"Now..." she began, still daubing at Minako, and still avoiding the other
girls' stares with an aura of confidence, "I need you girls to help Minako
and I."
"What is it, Ami-chan?" asked Rei, her voice cooler than before. Ami looked
up, smiling delicately and slightly sympathetically, although it didn't seem
to be aimed at Minako.
"Rei-chan, Mako-chan. Would you two be so kind as to go to the Medical
ward?"
Makoto walked forward.
"And do what?"
Ami pulled a little plastic bag from her kit. Using silver tweezers she
picked at an open wound on Minako, pulling out little pieces of debris and
depositing them into the bag. Rei shuddered and turned away.
"Rei-chan. I need you to prepare a bed, with clean sheets if possible. Then
go to the Medicinal cupboard. Inside you will find a bottle of curative
fluid. Please place it next to the bed along with the jars containing
anti-viral fluid and the injectable liquid of vessel dilator."
Rei stared, dumbfounded. Nevertheless, she tore off down the corridor,
kimono rustling in her wake and her plum sea of hair flowing like wine. Ami
turned to look at Makoto.
"Now, Mako-chan. This is important. Minako has lost a good deal of blood."
Makoto glared at Zuben, who's face had turned sallow in fret. Ami coughed
and Makoto's gaze switched back to her.
"Your blood group is O, while Minako's is B. Rei's is AB and mine is A."
Makoto nodded. Ami continued.
"Group O can donate to any type. You are the only one besides Usagi who can
donate for Minako. I fear Usagi is under a lot of pressure, so we best not
worry her with this."
She closed the lid of the kit and it shut with a metallic click. She eyed
Makoto seriously.
"Mako-chan. Will you donate blood to transfuse for Minako?"
Makoto nodded vigorously.
"Of course I will, Ami-chan!"
Ami's face softened.
"Excellent. In that case, run up these stairs." She pointed to the
spiralling staircase to the left. "Knock on the sixth door on the right. In
there is an woman named Leuco. Explain to her the situation. If she is
doubtful say Mizuno Ami requests it. She will extract your blood in the
Medical ward. Leuco and I will then help with Minako."
Makoto turned to leave.
"Makoto?"
"Yes, Ami-chan?"
"She'll be okay. Don't worry."
Both girls smiled.
"Thanks Ami-chan. I'll be as fast as I can," Makoto turned to face Zuben.
"And you... If you try anything, Jupiter's coming after you."
With that, she sped up the stairs, disappearing with the patter of feet.
Zuben shifted uneasily and Ami met his gaze with a gentle smile.
"Mr...Zuben?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for your help. It's greatly appreciated."
Zuben laughed frostily.
"I doubt that."
Ami laughed a quiet laugh and placed a hand on Minako's shoulder.
"It's true. I'm sure if she could, Minako would love to thank you."
Zuben merely shrugged.
"I don't care."
"I'm sure you do."
Zuben frowned.
"What do you know about it? you think because your a doctor you can psyche
me out?"
Ami smiled shyly, scooping shiny blue strands of hair behind her ear.
"All I'm saying is that if I was in your position, I would care. And
besides, I'm not a doctor. Well, in training I am."
Zuben looked away and placed his hands in his pockets.
"Zuben-san? May I ask one final favour?"
He raised his face slightly.
"Please help me take Minako to the Medical centre."
She smiled at him as she stood up. He silently moved forwards and picked up
Minako, her head rolled against his chest and he turned to look at Ami.
"You sure you trust me with her?"
Ami scooped up her stained kimono and walked ahead, following the path that
Rei had previously took.
"oh... I don't think that would be a problem." She chuckled. "Besides,
you've already seen us in our pyjamas. Anybody who doesn't laugh must be a
serious young man."
Zuben remained serious.
"Please don't judge Rei and Makoto too harshly. Try to understand that we
have a rather... difficult... situation on our hands. Defences are up, if
you will."
Zuben nodded.
"Gomen nasai, Zuben-san. Neo-Queen Serenity would never forgive me if I
didn't offer you a place to stay. We have a room for you, if you would like
to accept our invitation."
Zuben examined the blue-hair girl. She had pale and milky skin. Her eyes
where large and blue like arctic glaciers framed by the glossy locks of
aqua-shaded hair. Unlike the Makoto girl, she emanated friendliness with a
shy nature about her. She acted with politeness and her calm temperament
was easy to identify. It was strange, but Zuben felt relaxed about her,
initiated by the intelligence she had harnessed and the respect to a
complete stranger she hand shown.
"Are you sure you're not a doctor?"
She giggled restrainedly.
"I'm positive."
Minako stirred in his arms but didn't open her eyes. With a finger from the
hand supporting Minako's torso, he traced a line along her jawbone. She felt
stone-cold against his skin. Ami glanced at Zuben's disguised affection.
"Let go, Zuben-san. Once we have seen to Minako, I'll show you to your
room."
They accelerated their walking speed and made their way, wordlessly, towards
the Medical centre.
Although it wasn't immediately apparent, Zuben realised that he was holding
Minako that little bit tighter.
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