"Come ON Mina-chan!!" Usagi screeched joyfully as the blonde behind her struggled to keep up with her Princess. The two were running along a virtually empty path in Juju Ban (SP?) Park. "Usagi. I. Can't. Believe. That. Your. Clock. Didn't. Wake-AAAHH!" Minako screamed as she tripped and toppled headfirst onto the pavement. She hoisted herself to her feet, and looked ahead of her, where Usagi was standing, conversing with... "Oh no..." The Senshi of love whispered, heat rising to her cheeks as she noticed the familiar flurry of raven hair that belonged to none other than the miko herself. "Nonono..." Rei looked over toward her, and immediately her violet eyes entranced Minako, who found herself unable to look away. Even though they were about fifty feet away from eachother, the blonde could see the pain and hurt she had caused the amethyst-eyed girl. Within the deep abyss of those shining purple orbs, she could see the tears brimming as Rei held her ground, the ardent passion and love for her which caused her to feel a sharp pang in her heart. There was a terribly constructed facade inside Rei's eyes that attempted to trick her, make Minako believe she could care less about the night before, but even the strong have their weaknesses, and Minako had discovered Rei's. Loss. Finally, Minako looked over toward Usagi, who was found beside her, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. She looked back at Rei to see a fleeting panic in the fiery goddess' facial cast. "No.. Oh, God no... Usagi, she thinks we're..." She began, eyes tearing as Rei ran off without so much as a look back. "REI! WAIT! Please...wait..." What began as a scream ended as a pitiful whimper, and Minako felt her knees began to buckle underneath her. "Mina-chan...are you sure she thinks..." "Positive. I saw the look in her eyes. We have to catch up to her!" Minako murmured, getting up from the pavement, a determined look in her eyes. "Mina-chan. We're late for class. We're going to have to straighten things out later. Haruna-san will be steamed if we're late again!" Usagi exclaimed, grabbing her friend's hand as she visualized their ex-highschool- now-college teacher's reaction. "NO!" Minako fairly yelled, trembling and wobbling unsteadily on her feet. Usagi, seeing the Senshi of Love was about to collapse again, grabbed Minako's arm and led her in the direction of the miko. "Okay, okay Mina-chan. You win, we'll talk to her. Since Harakuna College starts later than Jujuban, we ought to be able to find her at..." "The Gardens!" Finished the other blonde, knowing that Rei was helping decorate the Gardens for it's grand opening, and acting as a fill- in for Makoto, who had come down with the flu. "Yes, now come on! Let's go!" "No. It can't be true... It just can't be... No..." Rei muttered while walking along the Park path, sure that she had lost Usagi and Minako. They had looked so comfortable for that one moment, that a memory had started to emerge from her past mind... In the Silver Millennium... Trodding along the dusty, rose-garden path, an eighteen year old Sailor Mars was watching as Sailor Venus and Princess Serenity hurried around a corner of the trellace walls. "Where're they going?" She wondered aloud, wrapping a strand of onyx hair around one finger and silently creeping after them, not knowing what to expect. As the saying goes, expect the unexpected... Mars peered around the trellace wall to find Venus and Serenity entirely in a passionate embrace upon a bench. Their lips locked, they didn't notice the Martian Senshi, who stood, watching them jealously. As Serenity's hands ran through Venus's hair, Serenity slowly groaned aloud as Venus wrapped her slender, powerful legs around her Princess's torso and leisurely placed pressure upon Serenity's lower abdomen. Mars quickly turned to go, realizing at that point that her love for Venus would be no more than a schoolgirl crush. Now she knew where the Senshi of Love stood, and where she stood, also. Just a friend. But she had to win Venus's heart. She HAD to... "Rei!! Rei-chan!! Wait!! Wait up!" A voice interrupted her memories, and Rei quickened her pace as she realized who the voice belonged to. Minako. "Sweet Ares... I thought I lost her!" The miko muttered under her breath, continuing her jog. She really didn't want to have to talk to anybody. Especially not Minako! Then she saw a familiar sapphire-haired girl, daintily stepping towards the Gardens. Ami! Yes, that was EXACTLY who Rei needed at that moment! "Ami! Hey, Ames!" The ebony-haired miko yelled, hoping with all her might to catch Ami's attention. It worked. The school braniac turned, her face alight with a smile. "Hey, Rei-chan! Why are you running? What's wrong?" Ami queried, tilting her head to the side and looking at Rei curiously. Rei shook her head, onyx locks flapping in the slight breeze. "No time to explain! Come on! You can help me decorate!" She exclaimed, grabbing Ami's delicate hand in her own and yanking her into the small opening. "Oh...you're on the Gardens committee?" Questioned the girl, faintly confused as to what was going on. "Yes. I'm filling in for Mako-chan! You do know she's had the flu, don't you?" "Of course I do, Rei!" Said Ami, mildly surprised at Rei's question. "I've only been visiting her house every day to check on her!" "Ah...yes...of course..." The other girl stammered, blushing slightly for reasons unknown. There was something in her mind that refused to pop out. Something she KNEW, but didn't know... "Um...you and Mako-chan aren't...well...you know...are you?" She asked, blushing an either further crimson. Ami turned positively pink with embarrassment. "Of...of course not, Rei-chan...what ever made you think of THAT?" The Ice Senshi asked, going from being excruciatingly embarrassed to becoming completely enraged. "Gomen, Ami-chan. I don't know what I was thinking! That was private information!" Apologized the raven-haired girl profusely. "Anyway, that would be like me asking...um... Er..." Ami scratched her head, thinking (wow, for once thinking is a PROBLEM for the braniac!). "Oh yes... Like me asking if you and Minako are like that!" Rei stood, stunned and frightened at what just might spill from her mouth. She pursed her lips, eyes frantic and darting from here to there. In an instant, Ami knew. "Oh..." She muttered, her cobalt eyes wide and understanding. "So...what's the situation?" A few minutes later, Rei had finished telling her tale to Ami, who seemed to understand completely. "I know what you need to do..." The sapphire-haired girl whispered, a slight smile upon her thin lips as if placed there by angels. "I know exactly what you need to do..." "REI! Rei! Where'd you go, Rei?" Minako was getting closer, Rei could nearly smell the rose perfume the blonde loved to wear... "What do I need to do?! Think of it, quick, oh brainy one!" Rei whispered frantically. Ami just smiled, a seductive smile Rei had never before seen upon the Ice Senshi. Rei got Ami's plan just as the shorter girl took the miko's face in her hands and pressed their lips together in a lenghthy kiss. The ebony-haired girl deepened the kiss without really knowing it, wanting more of the sweet taste of Ami's lips, wanting more than just a kiss Just then, Minako found the small nook of the Gardens that they were hiding in. At first, the blonde couldn't believe her eyes. There was Rei... The very Rei she had turned down, might I add...pressed against a fence by none other than AMI. Shy, meek little Ami. The Ami that never expressed her feelings, that got straight-A's in everything. The Ami that never had time for love. Her mouth dropped open as she realized that, yes, this was a very real sight indeed. She stood, rooted to the ground, eyes large and teary as she watched the kiss go on for what seemed like forever. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't! "Rei..." She mouthed, a weak gasp all that managed to pass her lips as she turned and ran. Rei could hear Minako's footsteps, running from she and Ami. Knowing that the kiss had done it's job, she gave Ami a small shove, somewhat confused at the rush of emotions that had just escaped the floodgates of her mind. Ami stepped back from the bewildered miko, that bewitching smile still playing with her facial cast. She studied Rei's reaction, waiting for her to speak. "Wow... I mean-I...wow..." Stammered Rei, now looking at Ami in a different light. "Was that...was that really YOU, Ames?" "Who else would it be, Rei?" Asked the braniac, stepping closer to Rei and running a dainty hand up and down one of the girl's firm breasts and voluptuously placing her other hand on the miko's thigh, causing shivers to run up and down Rei's spine. An enjoyable reaction. "Please...don't do that..." Protested the helpless Fire Senshi. "Rei... This is the game of LOVE. You need to learn to play it, no matter what the costs are!" Ami said, lowering her hands to her sides. "You need to make Minako squeamish, make her want you back! Make her NEED you back!" "And you became the love expert WHEN?" "Why do you think you guys have never spent the night at my house?" "Good point. So, what do I do?" And that was when Rei got her first lesson on The Game Of Love.
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