Minako took a deep breath, and then bore a look that connected soul to soul. “I need your help, Rei. No, rather I should say, I need the help of Mars Reiko. Without her... the Aino Minako of today will be lost.”
A thousand and one emotions barreled through Rei's mind at those words, so quickly that Minako could only catch the three that kept popping up. Hurt, Indignation, and Anger. Following the course of the latter, she stood up, glowering. “Is that all you came for? To use me until you have the opportunity to leave me again? Forget it.”
She turned to leave. She had expected a word, a hand on hers, to stop her, but no. A moment too late, hands wrapped around her waist, holding her to that warm body that she had missed for all those years, the body that she had rarely held even then. Instead of a single word, a torrent of them came to soothe her anger and keep her rooted to her spot.
“That's not it!” Minako winced as Rei struggled a little, not expecting to get out, nor wanting to, but believing it would have been foolhardy to not at least put up the sense of having tried. “Rei... Rei...” Minako choked on nothing, suddenly finding it so hard to say out loud what she had practiced so many times in the comfort of her own hotel room. But it had to be said. It could very well be a do or die situation if she couldn't get Rei's help now. But it had to all be true, or Rei would never trust her again, let alone do her huge favors.
Rei was getting edgy, though she was trying as hard as she could to fight off the urge to storm off. She knew she was stronger than Mina. She knew she could throw her off if she really wanted to. But a part of her, a strong part of her, didn't want to run away from the face it had been missing for so many years. It was that part of her that weakened her struggles to that of a newborn child, helpless to do anything but listen.
“Rei... you... I can't tell you how much your support has meant to me... ever since we met. When I was away from you... it was the thought of what you would say if I failed, that I found the strength to succeed. And when I'm with you... even when it's just hearing your voice on the phone... all my worries wash away, and I can perform again having had an easy sleep. I need you in my life... and these past few years... I've been trying so hard to find a way back... but my manager kept me on the places where the fan bases weren't so high yet but held potential... kept delaying my return, claiming that it would mean more to my fans here if I came back after being a huge international success... And I couldn't quit, couldn't refuse, because... because my fans give me energy too. They spent their money to see me perform, and I feel a sense of... voluntary duty to meet their standards. And I do love them. Love all of them and their support. But...
“But they could never replace having your support. Compared to you, none of them, none of the fame, none of the glory... is worth much of anything. I need you so much... I was just about to give up any hope... when my manager gave me a reluctant ultimatum. My... my popularity has actually been dropping off a lot in Japan, though the same strong fans will always support me and have been watching me from afar. So my manager said... he said...” Minako bit her lip to keep it from happening, but in vain. Rei felt the single tear fall on her shoulder. “I don't want to 'use' you like this, trust me, I don't, Rei! But... but... My manager said I could come to Japan only on the condition that it was to rejuvenate my career by changing it into a... a duet. Having a partner to bounce chemistry off with, to interest fans. And who... who better to reflect a sort of chemistry... than my dear old friend, Rei? Rei, who has such a beautiful voice, that no one would mind the details? Please say you'll consider it, Rei. Let us partner up again, like the old times.”
Rei went into a stunned, limp silence. Minako rested her cheek on Rei's shoulder, relishing the feel of her body in case she didn't get a chance to again anytime soon.
“What happens if I refuse?”
A cold chill went through Minako. Calm down, Minako, she hasn't told you NO yet... but you have to play your cards right... “Any number of things. My manager might find me a different partner, someone I might grow to like, but not likely immediately. My manager might make me go on tour again, finding another solution. I might drain this lifestyle for all it's worth until I sink into the abyss of oblivion and history. I might choose to end this here and now... and stay near you... living a relatively normal life. Or...”
“I like that option.”
“What?”
Rei turned to face Minako, now that her grip was loose. “Why can't you end this now? You've been gone for six years! Your name is known in every huge, mass populated country across the globe! You should have enough money to retire twice and still live with above average comfort. Minako... why can't you give this lifestyle up now?”
Minako stared out of focus at Rei for a long moment, before settling and giving Rei one of the most lonesome, heart wrenching smiles she had ever seen. Like she would be the reason for another half a dozen years of unhappiness. “Rei... I can't. My heart won't let me. I love the stage, I love singing too much. As long as I have a voice to sing with, and an audience to enjoy it, I will sing. And being an international idol helps spread it much faster. But I can't take the loneliness of it all anymore. No, perhaps I never could in the first place.”
“I don't want to see you hurt anymore.” Rei had lost count of the times she had listened to Minako greet her on the phone, overridden with exhaustion and overwork.
Minako, for all its truth, tried to take advantage of the statement, with a simple one of her own. “What hurts me most... is to not have both my singing... and your constant companionship.” Deciding it could use some elaboration, Minako added, “Each has one half of my heart... and without either one... the other suffers.”
Rei looked away. “Can't you compromise? Can't you stick to only Japan... can't we just hang out more?”
“My career will dwindle fast if I not only stay in one spot, but I do so alone, with the same image I've had for six years.”
“Then let it dwindle.”
“Rei...!”
She winced. “I'm sorry, I know I must sound selfish- but so are you! You can't have both Mina! You just can't. I need to stay here. I'm a shrine maiden, and there are people that depend on me to be consistent. Someone like me is not fit for the lights of the stage anyway.”
“Someone like-” Mina stopped knowing how Rei had really meant it. She sighed. “Rei...”
“Usagi would love it if you could just stay too.”
Minako winced, wishing she hadn't been reminded of her biggest fan. It made staying resilient even harder. “If I can't, I can't.”
“If I can't, I can't,” Rei repeated quietly. She turned away again, but did not attempt to walk away. And Minako didn't attempt to grasp her again. Not yet.
It was silent between them.
“Will you leave again?”
“Do you want me to?”
Rei snorted. “I want you to be happy, but not if the grander part of my happiness must be compromised to make it so.”
“Do you think... I would be happy... leaving again?”
“Are you seriously asking me this?”
“As a friend, yes.”
Rei sighed. If she really wanted to know... “Finding happiness with someone you love... whether it's a romantic sort of love or not... can happen anywhere at any time. But to have that... you need to be with that person, if not in body, then completely in spirit, for it to work. You can't do that if you're halfway across the world singing your mental health away.”
“It's not that taxing.”
“Isn't it?” Rei seemed genuinely unconvinced, and Minako couldn't find the energy to refute further.
They were silent again.
Rei looked up at the brisk autumn moon. It was getting cold...
“Where are you staying?”
Mina bolted out of her silent trance. “Hnh? Oh, you know, I have my suite in one of the hotels...”
“Your manager isn't worried about you being out and about?”
“I told him where I was. I also told him... I didn't expect to be back tonight.”
Rei twirled smoothly to face Minako. A bit harsher than she had intended, Rei asked, “Did you assume I'll let you stay over, no matter what my response was?”
Minako winced, not wanting to say one or the other.
Silence.
Rei looked like she was about to say anything, but gave up after a moment of failure.
More silence.
Just as Minako was becoming truly uncomfortable, Rei turned away a final time.
“If it'll satisfy your manager... tell him that I'll consider your offer...”
Minako's head bolted up, staring at Rei's bag with untold surprise and barely contained happiness. “Rei...!”
“BUT! Minako,” Rei's voice grew dangerously low, “If you think you have a snowball's chance in hell of convincing me to go into the music industry with you like that... you're seriously deluding yourself.”
With the snap of her fingers, Rei had completely turned a happy moment into a hopeless one.
“Come on inside, it's getting cold. Partner or not, I don't want to be held liable for a sick singer. Besides, we can talk of better things while you stay over tonight.”
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