Usagi was humming cheerfully while mixing the pancake batter, putting in chocolate chips on occasion whenever she felt like it. Makoto had begun to prepare the cooking utensils, laying them out on the counter. Ami made her way to the pantry and spotted Minako walking down the hallway.
“Ohayou!” exclaimed the pop idol as she entered the kitchen.
“Rei still asleep?” asked Makoto.
“Like a rock,” replied Minako.
“Strange,” said Usagi as she stuffed a chocolate chip into her mouth.
“Hm? What’s strange Usagi-chan?” asked Ami.
“Well, Rei is usually the first one to wake up. Doesn’t she have her shrine duties in the morning?”
“ I figured they probably gave her a break, seeing that she only arrived last night,” replied Makoto, who was turning on the stove, “By the way Usagi, if you’re done stashing enough chocolate in that batter can I have it please?”
Usagi blatantly stuck her tough out to Makoto and passed the bowl to her, while pouring the remains of the chocolate chips on a separate bowl. Minako giggled a bit as she settled in a seat next to Usagi and took a piece of chocolate.
“You two shouldn’t even be having too much sugar in the morning,” said Ami as she placed a pitcher of orange juice on the table.
“And Kami-sama forbid that Usagi get hyper from all that sugar. That’s worse than having alcohol in her system,” finished Makoto.
“Why’s that?”
“Because she actually knows what she’s doing,” answered Ami.
“I am not that bad!” exclaimed Usagi, still digging into the bowl of chocolate.
“Anyway, going back to the topic,” interrupted Minako, “There are younger miko working at the shrine now, and who are under Rei’s position. So maybe they are the ones in charge of the past duties Rei used to have in high school?”
“It’s been a while since we’ve stepped foot at the Hikawa Shrine, I haven’t been able to see the new miko.”
“They are so small and to think we were once that age.”
“Minako-chan, you make us sound so old!” exclaimed Usagi with a pout on her face.
“We were fourteen when we became senshi.”
“Has it really been six years already?” sighed Makoto.
“Not much has changed, ne?” said Ami as she sat nearby Minako, leaning her head on her hand.
“Do you miss it?” asked Minako as she began to draw on the counter with her fingers.
“Miss what?”
“Our senshi days…Do you miss it?”
----
She stood outside soaked in the rain. Why am I even here? This must be the silliest thing I have ever done in my life, but I can’t keep her out of my head. Rei felt her skin prick to the sensations of the cold raindrops. Her body began to feel numb from standing outside for too long, but she refused to leave. Minako was inside that building, and the security guards refused to let the miko pass through. So, she had no other choice but to wait. Finally, she heard a roar from the crowd and knew exactly who was coming out. The paparazzi crowded nearby a limo, and Rei could see a distinct figure trying to pass through them.
“Minako!” yelled the miko. Rei quickly opened her eyes, a bit disoriented from the unfamiliar surroundings around her. The sun blazed into her eyes and Rei squinted from the glare.
She sighed, “Just a dream.”
The miko looked around the room and from what it seemed like, Usagi left her bed unmade. However, the futon Makoto and Ami shared was neatly folded to one side of the room. She also saw that their belongings were still where they placed them, meaning that none of them had left yet. Rei sank back into the pillow and stared at the ceiling. Upon hearing someone slide the door open, the miko sat up once again.
“Oh, you’re awake,” said Makoto as she walked inside to grab something from her bag.
“What time is it?”
“Almost noon. I’m surprised you didn’t wake up as early as usual.”
“Well, it’s nice to take a break since-” Rei suddenly shot up. “Did you just say it’s almost noon?!”
Makoto looked at the miko, startled at the sudden change in her tone. Rei rushed towards her belongings, hastily stuffing them into her small bag. She slipped in between Makoto and the wall to grab her jacket, and ran back to her bag.
“What’s wrong?” asked Makoto as she moved out of the way.
“I promised the younger miko that I would be helping them with meditation at one!”
Rei ran out the room, still trying to put her other shoe on. The girls were already in the living room, and noticed that the miko was awake.
“Rei-chan!” exclaimed Usagi.
“Gomen Usagi, but I have to go.”
“Do you have to leave so soon? This is the first time we are all together for the day!” whined Usagi with a pleading look.
“Um. Just call me then? Maybe we’ll do something later,” replied Rei as she opened the door and disappeared behind it.
After a jogging few blocks, she turned around the corner and found herself climbing the stairs to the shrine, skipping a few steps at a time. She was glad to be in good shape because even those stairs were hard for Makoto to run up. Hurrying into the temple, she quickly went into her room and started to change into her miko outfit. After a sliding back from the desk to the mirror, she slid the door open found one of the younger miko walking in the hallway.
“Erika,” said Rei when she recognized the girl, “What are you doing here?”
“Rei-chan! I mean…sensei…I mean…g-gomen,” she bowed so quickly that it surprised Rei.
“Erika, you don’t have to call me sensei.”
“It’s different now that I’m training as a miko here,” she replied.
Rei looked at the girl. Was it only yesterday when they were both painting pictures of Princess Kaguya together with Usagi? After six years since that time, Rei’s appearance stayed the same, with an exception of a matured face and longer hair. Erika, however, had grown to be about the same height as Rei and still sported the braided pigtails.
“You can still call me Rei-chan. Sensei makes me feel rather old,” replied Rei, “which I am not!” She added the last reply because Erika had begun to giggle a bit. They made their way into the meditation room, where the rest of the younger miko waited and shifted nervously. Word about Rei’s short temper had circled around the shrine and they did not want to get on her bad side. Gracefully sitting before the young crowd, Rei looked at every one of them, some being the children she used to watch over the years. After their session was over and each young miko scurried off to do their assigned chores.
Rei was the last to walk out the room, and looked outside at the entrance of the temple. She made her way towards the garden and settled in secluded bench just a few feet from the other entrance to her room.
Meanwhile at Usagi’s home, everyone was still inside the living room. Usagi had the television on and Makoto was lying on the couch reading a magazine. Minako, seated cross-legged on the floor, was playing chess with Ami. The pop idol looked up at Makoto, whose face was hidden behind the pages and winced when she realized that the front cover was a picture of herself.
“Makoto. It’s kinda weird seeing myself like that,” she finally said as Ami softly claimed to have the idol cornered in chess.
Makoto peeked from the magazine and looked at the idol, “Hm? Oh…come on Minako. You should even be used to seeing your face on billboards by now.”
“Not really,” replied the idol as she tried to strategically move the bishop piece on the chessboard, “Oh I give up! I will never win against Ami in these things.”
“I’m surprised Usagi even had this in her house.”
They were now putting the board game away and then pushed Makoto’s feet off the couch to have room to sit.
“Hey! I play chess once in a while with Mamoru.”
“And do you even know how to play?”
“Of course! You just jump whatever is diagonal from you!”
Makoto sighed and placed down the magazine again, “Usagi…those rules only apply to checkers.”
Ami laughed a bit, “So what are we doing later on?”
“I don’t know, shouldn’t we call Rei? I’m pretty sure she’s finished with meditation by now,” said Minako.
“Why don’t you call her,” suggested Makoto with a sly smirk plastered on her face.
Minako turned away from her friends in an attempt to hide her already red face. “She doesn’t have her cell phone, remember?”
“That’s right…she really needs to get back into the habit of carrying one.”
“Try the temple.”
Minako began to dial the numbers and heard it ringing on the other line. After a few long rings, she hung up and turned towards everyone, “Nobody is answering.”
“Why don’t we go there instead?” suggested Ami.
As the girls arrived at the shrine, they started to walk around. Seeing that nothing has changed, except a few new faces here and there, they made their way towards where Rei’s room was located. However, when they passed by the shop, Makoto grabbed both Ami and Usagi.
“Hey!” exclaimed Ami as Minako noticed and turned around.
“Hm? Where are you guys going? Rei’s room is this way,” she pointed.
“Ah, I just realized that I wanted to check out the shop. There’s some…uh…charms I would like to buy for good fortune. You know for the flower shop and all.”
Usagi looked at her friend confused, “But Mako-chan, didn’t you already-”
Makoto placed her hand on the girl’s mouth to keep her quiet, “Minako, you go on ahead and get Rei. We’ll be at the shop.”
A bit confused, the idol shrugged it off, “Okay then…”
She started to make her way into the building and disappeared from their sight. When the three girls saw that the idol was beyond earshot, Makoto let go of Usagi, who was desperately flinging her arms in the air.
“Mako-chan! Are you trying to suffocate me?”
“Calm down, I wouldn’t have done that if you hadn’t opened your big mouth!”
“But, you already have those charms!”
“Usagi. Sometimes…nevermind…I give up trying to explain.”
“What?”
Ami put her hand on Usagi’s shoulder, “You still don’t get it do you?”
“Get what?”
Minako stepped into the building recalling that she was there last night. She looked around the area and down the hallway. Walking rather cautiously, Minako approached the door to miko’s room that it was left slightly open.
“Rei?” she said, hoping for a small response to come from the other side. However, Minako was only welcomed with silence when she peeked through the small opening. Slowly sliding the door open, she saw that the room was empty. Minako looked around and then to the other door that led to the garden outside.
Finally, she spotted a familiar miko with a sour face sitting at a solitary bench. Minako made her way outside and Rei had not taken any notice of her presence. She smiled and then tapped the miko’s shoulder. Rei nearly jumped and turned around, only to have her cheek poked by someone’s finger. Slightly annoyed, she looked up and found a pair of familiar brown eyes hidden beneath the shadows of a baseball cap.
“What are you doing here?” asked Rei.
“You really should start carrying your cell phone. We called the temple, but nobody answered.”
“We?”
“They’re at the shop. Makoto said she needed to buy some charms for the flower shop.”
Rei looked at the idol in confusion because she knew for a fact that Makoto had already bought the charms a few years ago. Finally realizing that this was once again her attempt to set the two girls up, Rei closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was going to have a talk with Makoto. Noticing that the miko was slightly annoyed, Minako shifted from where she stood and looked around the garden.
Rei finally spoke, “So, are you just going to stand there?”
She realized that this was an invitation to sit beside the miko and Minako smiled. However, Rei simply rolled her eyes and continued to observe a few younger miko who quickly greeted her. They slowed their pace when they noticed a girl sitting beside Rei, whose face was cleverly hidden by the baseball cap. Rei looked at them with her eyebrows raised and they walked hastily away.
“Any plans for tonight?” she asked as she impatiently tapped her foot.
“Nothing at the moment. That’s why we wanted to come here first.”
“My shrine is not a secret meeting base, you know.”
“Yeah but you are the hardest person to contact.”
Rei looked beyond the horizon and could see from the Ferris wheel from the amusement park, the very amusement park where she had to endure the so-called group date with Takae-kun, Motoki’s fellow turtle enthusiast. She winced, recalling how he hiccuped throughout the whole day, and was later possessed by a youma. Minako had taken notice at what Rei was preoccupied with, and coughed to clear her throat. The miko, looking back at Minako, frowned.
“If you wanted to get my attention…all you had to do was ask,” she scolded.
The idol smiled a bit and replied, “How about we go there tonight?”
“Eh?”
“There,” Minako pointed towards the amusement park, “I’m sure it will be fun. I haven't been there since I came back for Usagi's wedding.”
“Oh…yeah sure.” Silence again. Rei hated these moments with Minako, she would rather be arguing with the idol. Anything seemed better than to endure the awkward silence between the both of them. It was true that their last battle took place at that amusement park. Although Rei was unable to participate in that battle, due to the injuries she sustained from Mio at the time, she felt her comrades' beckoning for her power. She recalled feeling a surge of warmth that as she reached out towards the air. Rei shut her eyes tightly in an attempt to drift away from those memories. Suddenly, her stomach growled ferociously and the miko bent over to clutch it. Minako was laughing now and Rei could only stare at her.
“Come to think of it…I haven’t had anything all day,” she finally said.
“Sounds like it,” replied Minako as she dug inside her pockets. Reaching in for two pieces of candy, she held them out and sighed. “This is all I have.”
“After all these years, you still just have candy?” said Rei as she accepted it.
“You do realize that you’ll really have to buy some charms, right?” asked the young doctor.
“A little browsing around won’t hurt.”
“We shouldn’t meddle with Rei or Minako. You know how delicate that subject can be.”
“It’s just a little fun.”
“I’m not worried about them as much. It’s you whom I’m concerned about, with the glares Rei keeps throwing, I’m surprised you’re still alive.”
“I need your help. I have a plan, but you can’t tell Rei- “
“Can’t tell me what?” asked someone as Makoto and Ami turned around. Rei and Minako were standing behind them, and all the blood seemed to have drained from Ami’s face.
“How long have you two been standing there?” asked Makoto.
Rei suspiciously eyed Makoto with her arms crossed, “Just enough to hear the last word you spoke. You guys done here? They’re about to close and- USAGI! Don’t touch those…they’re very fragile!”
The miko rushed towards where Usagi froze in her footsteps. She sighed in relief upon knowing that everything was still in tact, and gave the younger miko some instructions. Pulling Usagi away from the priceless items, they both rejoined the group. The sun was slowly setting beyond the horizon, and lamps that surrounded the temple were already lit.
“Come inside, I still need to change anyway,” said Rei impatiently as she led the group into the building. They made their way past a few miko, and one particularly greeted them. They all looked at her in surprise and recognized the girl.
“Erika!” exclaimed Usagi, “You are training as a miko here now?”
Erika was carrying a duffel bag that slung on her shoulders. She smiled at them, as her friends stopped with her, “Hai.” Her friends looked at the senshi with curiosity now, particularly the one who wore a baseball cap. Minako turned away for a while, pretending that something caught her attention. After a brief chat, both parties walked their separate ways and Usagi was sulking about how much time has passed them. Rei sighed once more as they made their way past a few tourists.
She told them to wait inside her room, while she went to change. The four girls began to observe the contents inside as they each settled at a nearby spot. Minako smiled with glee when she picked it up a framed photograph of Rei wearing the Nako Nako costume while Minako wore her orange hat. It was taken when they were supposedly rehearsing lines that day at the studio. Shaking her head from recalling the clueless, and yet priceless, face Rei held, Minako could not suppress a giggle. She carefully placed the photograph back into its hiding place.
Eyeing Makoto pace back and forth made the idol a bit queasy. Perhaps her stomach was still recovering from consuming alcohol the previous night, because she stood up and excused herself. Making her way down the hallway, the idol searched for the bathroom and opened one of the nearby doors. There was a sudden yelp that emanated from the room and Minako stood frozen in her spot.
Rei tried to cover her body with her already stripped miko garments, and the idol turned around so quickly that she bumped into Makoto who, along with the others, were alarmed by the noise and rushed towards the commotion.
“What happened?” asked Makoto curiously, “I thought I heard…oh...”
Makoto looked from Minako to Rei and back to Minako.
"What's all the commotion? Is everything okay- ahhh!!!" Usagi, who ran after everyone, tripped and bumped into Ami, who pushed Minako and caused the idol to lose her balance. She flung her arms forward as a means to break her fall. However, Minako's hands landed on Rei's shoulders, who was still trying to cover her body, and both girls landed on the floor. Rei felt her head thud against the matted floor and knew that it was going to leave a painful bruise in the end. She looked up at the idol, who had her pinned down. Minako winced in pain and quickly rolled over. Everyone was in the room now, trying to make sure that the two girls were alright.
“OUT! OUT!” exclaimed Rei as she got up. She tried to wave her arms, but realized that they were both preoccupied with trying to cover her body. The door was still open, and she was cursing rather loudly at all of them. As she slammed the door, they quickly ran back to Rei’s room. Minako exhaled as she slid down to the floor and buried her face under her cap.
Rei was trying to breathe as she stood nearby the door and sank into the floor. Still tightly clutching her miko garments, she continually replayed in her mind what just happened a few moments ago. Why hadn’t she sensed that someone was about to open the door? Minako just saw…not to mention the other senshi...wait how much did they see? But then again…it shouldn’t be a big deal. It's not like I was completely naked, right? I mean...wait what am I thinking?! Focus Rei. Shaking her head, the miko looked around the room and headed towards the closet. Just in case, she thought as she lightly closed the door. She was not planning on having someone walk in on her again.
In Rei's room, Usagi was quickly apologizing to everyone for having to knock them down. Makoto looked down at the idol, who's face was hidden underneath her cap, and then smiled at Usagi.
"It's okay. No harm done, right?" said Makoto as she tried to hide her smirk from appearing. Ami looked at her friend worriedly, and shook her head.
Back to I'll Be Your Distraction Index - Back to Sailor Moon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction