Minako quietly followed the girls into the restaurant trying to avoid Rei. They had not spoken to each other since the incident in the car. The girls decided to sit in a booth, and Makoto started shoving both Ami and Usagi into one side while finally settling on the end. Rei and Minako had no choice, but to sit next to each other, opposite of their three friends.
Once their orders had been placed, Rei caught Makoto’s sly smirk and frowned back at her. Minako on the other hand was engaging in a conversation with Ami and Usagi, who were starting to ask for V.I.P. passes for the idol’s concert. Rei rolled her eyes when she heard Usagi squeal so enthusiastically.
“Oh no fair! How about me?” asked Makoto when she overheard the conversation.
“Don’t worry, you’ll all get tickets,” replied Minako and turned towards Rei, “You’re going too, right?”
Rei, who was facing the other direction, nearly jumped when she felt Minako’s hand gently tap her shoulder. “Huh?” she replied and found everyone looking at her. Speechless, Rei nearly cried out in pain when she felt someone kick her shin. She tried to figure out who just kicked her, and realized that it was Makoto. Looking down at the table to avoid everyone’s eyes, Rei reluctantly replied, “I guess…since everyone is going…hai…I’ll be there too.”
A few hours later, Usagi had skillfully finished the amount of food she ordered. “I’m so full Honto ni!” she exclaimed, patting her stomach.
Rei began to feel sleepy. She looked at her watch and it clearly read eleven. During her stay in Kyoto, she had gotten accustomed to going to bed by eight. Makoto looked around the restaurant, and spotted the nearby bar.
“Anyone want a drink?” she finally asked and got up from the table.
“What are you talking about? It’s late already!” exclaimed Rei, who obviously did not drink any alcohol. Everyone started follow Makoto, leaving Rei and Minako to trail behind. The miko grumbled in discontentment, and Usagi joyfully skipped towards the bar.
“Aw Rei don’t be so strict. We are, after all, of age to drink,” said Minako.
“But-”
“Besides, wouldn’t it be fun to see Ami drunk?” whispered the idol into Rei’s ears. The miko’s eyes widened, not from the idea that was pitched to her, but the fact that Minako was inches away from her again. Her hand cupped over the miko’s ear to avoid anyone within earshot. Rei quickly jerked away from the idol and said, “You’re insane, you know that?”
Minako laughed and shot Rei the most innocent smile she could put, “Me? Insane?”
“She’s a doctor. I’m pretty sure she’ll figure it out. Not to mention that she’s the genius in the group!”
“And how about you? Are you going to drink?”
“I don’t drink.”
“Not even for celebrating the reunion of the senshi?”
“No.”
“Just one shot?”
“I already said no Minako. I’m not changing my mind. Besides, who will be driving everyone in the end?”
Minako finally sighed in defeat, “Fine. You win.”
“Minako! Rei! Come here! Makoto already ordered a round of shots for us!” exclaimed Usagi.
Both girls slowly made their way to join the others and settled in the chairs beside them. The bartender was a rather handsome guy, and the girls could not help but giggle. Rei simply grumbled at the sight, and when he caught her glimpse he shifted nervously.
“Here you go Rei,” said Makoto as she slid the shot glass over to the miko.
The miko looked at it, “No thanks.”
“Awww…Rei, not even one drink?” whined Usagi.
“Oh leave her alone, that means more for me!” exclaimed Minako as she downed Rei’s glass.
As the night progressed, everyone began to slur sentences and Ami was fanning herself with her hand from the heat that had risen on her face. Minako had successfully given Ami a good amount of alcohol to make the doctor feel flushed. Rei took a sip from her cup, which was just tea, and continually looked at her watch. It was already past two in the morning, and she silently cursed at herself, wondering how much longer they were going to stay there. Doesn’t this place ever close? Her question was answered when she read a nearby sign that said, “Open 24 hours” The miko stomped her foot down, but not hard enough to have everyone noticing.
The bartender, however, noticed that the miko was the only one among her friends who was sporting a rather sour face since they had first arrived. He motioned towards her, and Rei had not even noticed this gesture.
“Anything to drink ma’am?”
Rei shot him a glare, obviously annoyed, and pointed at her cup, “No. I’m fine thanks.”
“Ah, I meant a drink. It’s on me. No charge”
“No.”
“Did I hear free drink?” said Minako gleefully, suddenly leaning herself on Rei. The miko nearly fell off her seat, and had to support Minako by grabbing her waist. Already blushing from having such close contact with the idol, Rei felt Minako leaned her head towards her shoulder, and the miko could smell her perfume. Rei tapped the idol’s baseball cap in an attempt to hide her face. It was obvious that Rei did not want to deal with hysteric fans knowing that Aino Minako was in the vicinity. The bartender could not help but smile at this ordeal, and grabbed a glass.
“Yes, I was just offering,” he replied and flashed a smile towards Rei.
“She doesn’t drink,” answered Makoto. Rei looked at her and was surprised at how sober Makoto appeared. However, the miko could smell alcohol in her breath and sighed. Everyone, with an exception to Ami was drunk, and Rei scowled at the very thought.
“You’re cuute,” slurred Minako as she gestured to receive the drink.
“No! You’ve already had too much Minako!” exclaimed Rei in a fury.
“Oh…don’t be so stiff,” said Makoto.
Being overpowered by everyone else, Rei could only sit in silence. Her temper was slowly rising, but she fought it back down, not wanting to have to put a fit in public. Finally, everyone decided that it was time to go home, and the miko sighed in relief. She grabbed the keys from Makoto, who did not resist. Within half an hour they made it to Usagi’s home. Ami was trying her best to lead Usagi as they made their way into her house.
“Tonight was fuuunnn…so happy…” she managed to say before twirling around.
Ami caught her odango-haired friend in time, “Usagi you’re done for tonight.”
“I’m not drunk Ami-chan! ”
“Oh really? Then why are you walking so sloppy?”
“Because everything is spinning silly!”
“She’s drunk,” said Makoto, “Thank goodness Mamoru is not here to see this.”
“We can’t just leave her alone here,” said Ami, “I mean. Look at her!”
Everyone glanced at Usagi, who was swaying towards the living room. She did not notice the couch behind her and bumped into it, causing her to loose her balance, fall and disappear behind it. Usagi giggled and everyone ran towards her.
“Usagi...are you sure you’ll be fine?”
She giggled again, “That was fun.”
“She’s not going to be okay,” said Makoto as she shook her head and picked up her friend, “We should stay here for the night.”
Everyone agreed and they fixed some futons in guestroom. There were only two available, so Rei had no choice but to share one with Minako. Wanting to keep a close eye on Usagi, they made her sleep on the bed and tucked her in, placing a bottle of water nearby. Despite how late it was, the rest of the girls were still restless and couldn’t find sleep so they decided to watch a few DVD’s. Near the end of the movie, Rei walked downstairs into the kitchen and decided to make some hot chocolate. Lost in her thoughts, the miko nearly dropped the cup when someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around and found that it was Minako who snuck up behind her.
“Don’t do that. You almost gave me a heart attack.”
“Gomen, I wondered what you were up to.”
“I’m guessing you’re sober now?” said Rei as she offered her a cup.
“I sober up pretty quickly, and I wasn’t that drunk.”
“Sure,” replied the miko sarcastically.
Minako sighed as she settled in the chair next to the Rei. She was humming as usual because the awkward silence between the two began to bother her. The miko tapped her foot until they both finished their glass. Getting up, Minako followed Rei’s lead up the stairs. As they walked in, they found that Ami and Makoto each had a box of tissue on their laps as they sniffed.
“What happened to you two?”
“Oh Rei-chan it was so beautiful and sad in the end!!”
“I’ll admit. The ending did get to me. You missed it,” said Makoto as she wiped her face.
“I’m not really in the mood to get all mushy tonight,” answered Rei as she returned to her spot after placing the tray on the table. She began to browse through Usagi’s collection of DVD’s, trying to decide what to watch next.
“How about this one?” asked Rei as she held up a case.
“Oh I like that one very much,” said Minako as she sat next to Rei. The miko felt her heart skip a beat the moment Minako’s fingers brushed against her hand to grab the DVD.
“Well, then I guess it’s decided,” said Makoto as she turned on the television once again. However, everyone slowly began to drift into sleep within the second half of the movie. Minako and Rei were the last to stay awake. The miko scooted a bit closer to the TV because she turned it down once Makoto and Ami were fast asleep. As she was about to make a comment to Minako, she turned around to find that the idol was already sound asleep.
Baka. Why did I move? Now she’s hogging up all the space, thought Rei. The miko shut the television off and went back into her initial spot. She stared at Minako for a while, thinking of a way to scoot her over without having to wake up the idol. Finally, feeling rather defeated, Rei grabbed an extra blanket from the closet and folded it to serve as a sleeping bag for her.
Usagi woke up later that morning with a slight headache. She stretched her arms out and looked down towards where her friends were asleep. Makoto and Ami were also awake; quietly whispering to each other until they noticed their friend was up. Ami giggled a bit and tip toed towards Usagi.
“Rei and Minako must have had a very interesting night.”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
Makoto bit her lip in an attempt to hold back her laughter as she pointed to the two girls. Usagi looked towards the same direction and found that Rei’s arm was clearly wrapped around the idol as if she were hugging a stuffed animal. Minako looked very comfortable in that position as her head was leaning towards the miko’s shoulder. As Usagi tried to hold back her chuckle, she quickly got up to leave the room. Makoto and Ami followed after her.
“Aw. They are sooo cu-!” she finally said as Makoto clamped her mouth shut to quiet her down.
"Shh!! You'll wake them up!"
All three girls then walked downstairs to prepare breakfast.
Meanwhile, Minako was having a rather good dream when she finally opened her eyes. She suddenly realized that Rei was lying incredibly close to her, that she could feel the warmth of the miko’s breath on her neck. Minako’s heart was racing by then, when she realized that Rei was hugging her. She was unsure of what she was feeling at the moment, but it certainly was not anger.
Okay Minako. Get a hold of yourself. There’s a very valid reason for all of this, thought the idol. She tried to move Rei’s hand without waking her, but every time she even touched Rei, the miko stirred and hugged Minako even tighter. Kami-sama, she’s such a light sleeper! Sighing in defeat, Minako laid in that position for a while, occasionally getting a whiff of the miko’s scent. This just made her palms sweat, and heart race faster. Minako was beginning to think that she could hyperventilate anytime. Just stay calm Minako. She’s just you’re friend. Why are you even feeling like this? Calm. Calm. Calm!!
Despite her desperate attempts at breathing steadily, Minako found herself in the brink of panicking. Her breaths quickly became small gasps of air. The idol was still pinned underneath Rei’s arm, and every time she turned towards the miko’s direction, Minako found her face centimeters away from Rei’s. This caused the idol’s head spin from the nervousness she felt. She shut her eyes tightly as if praying for a sudden miracle to appear before her.
“Mina…ko,” the name had suddenly escaped Rei, slowly becoming a whisper and Minako opened her eyes.
“Hm? Rei?” asked Minako, no longer fighting to break free of the miko’s grasp. Rei was talking in her sleep, and apparently dreaming about the idol. Minako slowly observed the facial expression in the miko’s face. It held a pained look that only she could distinguish. It was the very same expression that Rei had when Minako told the miko about her tumor in the past life. The idol wanted to know what Rei was dreaming about. Was it about their senshi days? As Minako slowly reached out her hand to brush away a strand of hair that lay on the miko’s face, Rei stirred and turned the other way. Minako sat up to observe her friend, her breathing becoming steady once more.
“Don’t go…I,” whispered Rei, her eyes still closed. Minako’s eyes widened when she realized that Rei was crying. Rei, who was always good at hiding her feelings, was crying in her sleep. The idol wanted to reach out to the miko and hold her, but refrained and sat nearby. Minako was now listening intently, wanting Rei to finish her sentence. However, the miko sighed and fell silent once more. Minako sat there in the silence, grasping what she had just witnessed. Finally, she stood up and decided to let the miko sleep in peace.
“I’ll always be here for you Rei. Always,” replied Minako as she slid the door open.
Downstairs, Makoto was trying to teach Usagi how to cook, while Ami prepared the ingredients. They had a few unsuccessful attempts at trying to make omelets, and finally gave up.
“Aw. Even Mama couldn’t teach me how to make them,” said Usagi in defeat.
“Usagi. It’s okay. You can help me mix the pancake batter,” said Ami.
“Oh! Can we put chocolate chips too?” asked Usagi in delight.
Ami laughed, “Hai. Here you go.” The odango haired girl accepted the bowl and stirred it.
“I’m sure you won’t be burning that,” replied Makoto as she was scrubbing the burnt omelet from the pan.
“Hm. I wonder if those two are still asleep,” said Ami as she looked up at the staircase.
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