Minako's personal driver rounded a corner slowly as Minako looked out the window in search of Makoto's flower shop. She wished she at least had the number, or Ami's number at the hospital so she could've gotten directions, but she only had Rei's number and Usagi's. She'd tried Usagi's earlier, but there was no answer. She couldn't call Rei because her whole plan was to surprise the girl, not give her any hints she'd be heading over. Plus, the priestess was the whole reason Minako was going to see Makoto anyhow. That's when she spotted it, "Kino's Flower Hurricane Shop". She smirked and shook her head. Only Makoto... "Driver, please stop here!" The driver nodded as he slowed down and came to a complete stop. As he undid his seatbelt so he could get out and open the door for the idol, she stopped him. "I'll be staying here for a short while and then I'm planning on walking four blocks to the Hikawa shrine. There will be no need for your services for the rest of the day." "Hopefully..." she added in her mind. "Yes, ma'am. If you need me, however, please don't hesitate to call." Minako gave the driver a polite smile and nodded. She adjusted her fitted white baseball cap so it covered her chocolate brown eyes from view. Now all she needed to do was keep her head low and none of the civilians walking around town in the always-busy-Tokyo would recognize her. She placed the mute (for the time being) Artemis into her white bag and slung it over her shoulder. She heard him grunt, and whispered, "I'm sorry. We're almost in the clear." The driver looked over his shoulder, eyebrows raised. "Excuse me, Miss Aino?" Minako eyes grew but then she giggled nervously, waving her hand. "Oh, it's nothing. Sayonara." Minako hastily pushed open the car door and stepped out. As the driver said his good-byes and reassured her he'd be right there if she needed him, he eventually drove off. She sighed and looked down at Artemis. "He probably thinks I'm insane by now. He's caught me whispering to you more than a few times over the past 9 years." "You're the one who insisted the window separating you and the driver didn't need to be fixed. If anything, it's entirely your fault if he thinks you're crazy," Artemis replied. Minako stuck her tongue out at him and then realized the passer-by's probably also thought she was loony. She sighed and rolled her eyes before heading over to her friend's shop. "It's a waste of money. It could go to better things." "Like you don't have enough money to fix a window..." Minako peered in and saw Makoto with a customer, an air of friendliness radiating off of her. Makoto didn't even look as if she was faking it for the older woman in front of her either; she looked genuinely content with her job. Minako grabbed hold of the silver handle and pulled the door open, a bell signaling her entrance ringing. Makoto and the customer looked over at her, but only Makoto recognized who it was. Her grin grew and she went back to chatting with the older woman. Minako thought she recognized the woman Makoto was chatting with, but then dismissed it. She strolled over to some pink roses. As she listened to the rather boring conversation going on about what types of scissors were best to cut stems with, Minako reached up and ran her fingers over the rose petals. In all of the years of receiving various different types of roses from fans and business partners alike, she'd never felt petals as soft and as silky as those. They were strong too, Minako realized, when she struggled to pull a petal off so she could examine it more closely (she would of course pay for the roses). She frowned when the petal just would not break off from it's home. "Should I get these for Rei? I mean, they fit her perfectly: seemingly delicate, but really, she's so damn hard-headed, and refuses...to...budge!" she exclaimed in her mind as she pulled at the petal. She heard someone clear their throat behind her, so she turned her head to see who it was. She could only see his shoes because of her hat, but it didn't matter. The childish turtle laces on the shoes gave it away. "Are you planning on buying those?" Motoki asked. Minako turned around completely and lifted her hat so he could see her face. "Good afternoon, Motoki-kun." Motoki's stern business stance fell and he gasped. "Minako-chan! What are you doing here?!" The customer with Makoto broke away from their conversation and turned around to see what the commotion was about. Minako? Yes, that girl seemed very familiar the moment she walked in... Minako noticed the woman eyeing her curiously. She didn't know what to do. She'd already been spotted, she knew that. Now it was all up to the woman on how she would respond. But, instead of freaking out like Minako thought she would, the woman simply smirked. She looked back at Makoto, who'd been holding her breath. "It was nice talking with you, Mako-chan. I'll be back here sometime tomorrow morning to pick up my scissors. Good afternoon. And," her smirk turned into a grin when she looked back over in Minako's direction. "Good afternoon to you, Motoki-kun, Minako-chan." With that, the woman headed out of the store. "Good afternoon, Tsukino-san..." Makoto murmured. She shook her head and sighed. She pulled off her apron and walked over to Motoki and Minako. "I swear, Motoki... You're just as bad as Usagi!" Motoki looked up at his wife, his puppy-dog look coming into full effect. Makoto continued to glower at him, but after a few moments, she let up. "Like I said, just as bad as Usagi herself... We're lucky that was Ikkuko-mama, huh?" ---------------------------------- Makoto's eyes widened with astonishment. "Rei cried in front of you?" It was the fifth time Makoto had asked the question, and Minako was getting tired of answering. "Yes, Makoto. Is it really all that surprising? I mean, she's cried in front of you, hasn't she?" Makoto frowned. "Of course... After you died... It hit her hard. It was scary seeing someone so balanced like Rei cave in. I lost hope for a few days after that." "It's just that I can't help but be surprised, you know? It seems like she tries to be as emotionless as she can around you, to the point of being cold. It's because she looked up to you, maybe." Minako tore her eyes from the white rose in her hand and looked straight into the brown eyes of Makoto. "What are you talking about?" Makoto crossed her arms over her chest and leant back into her chair. She stared at the square wooden table in front of her knees, her lips upturning into a warm smile. "We all know Usagi looked up to you because you're an idol, and she probably still does for that reason alone. But then we all know Rei looked up to you for a completely different reason. You're a natural born leader, a woman who can do it all. While your confidence came naturally, Rei's didn't appear until after your little 'meetings'. She wouldn't tell me what you guys talked about, but she seemed pretty irked about whatever you discussed afterwards. I always wondered why you two were at each other's throats the first time we were all together..." Minako's eyes dropped away from Makoto and went back to the rose. She rubbed at the lightly-colored petal, and this time, it finally popped off. "Ami once said to me, 'There are only two people in this world that can hurt Rei: Her father, and Minako-chan. Her father... That's understandable. But Minako-chan... That is one situation I have never understood.'" Makoto brought her body up and allowed her crossed arms to rest on the table. She made sure that no one (mainly Motoki) was coming towards the backroom that the two of them were in and then spoke. "I know you love her, Minako-chan, but you need to understand something. Ami was right. You have all of Rei's feelings in your hand, and with the slightest slip-up, you could really destroy her. The damage her father's done to her has been dealt, but you still have time to fix her." Makoto let out a frustrated sigh and threw her hands up as if to signal defeat. Minako's head still remained down. "I'm so horrible at stuff like this. This is one occasion where we need Usagi and her 'words of wisdom'." "No, I understand what you're saying," Minako replied with a sad smile. Makoto raised her eyebrows. "I know that everyone's concerned about Rei, but don't worry. She's strong, and always has been. That's what I admire about her most. I have...no intention of ever letting her down again. Even if she never loves me back the way I'd like her to, having her friendship would be enough. When she and I first met when were teen-agers, before she knew about my alter-ego... If things could go back to being like that, I'd be satisfied." Makoto felt pity for her two friends. Minako knew as well as she did that things would never ever go back to being that way. There was too much history between all five of them now, too much pain. It was never too late to rebuild things that ensued in the past, and that's what Makoto liked most about life. No matter how many times she'd been left alone and walked out on, no matter how many times she'd convinced herself that that was the way things were supposed to be, someone would come into her life and change her mind. First it was Usagi and the others, and then it was Motoki. She glanced down at the gold band on her ring finger and smiled happily. Usagi and Mamoru weren't the only ones who had gotten their happy ending. A scary thought popped into her mind. "Maybe I should help Usagi out with her plan. It couldn't hurt too much...right? Oh, what am I saying? That's crazy! Usagi is crazy!" But still, she couldn't shake her own match-making ideas from her mind. "Could I take a look at your flowers, Makoto?" Makoto broke away from her thoughts and turned her attention the Minako, her mouth struggling to get out coherent words. "Wha, wha? Lookit wha?" Minako stood up and slung her bag back over her shoulder, eyeing her friend strangely. "Can I check out your flowers?" "Oh!" Makoto exclaimed before breaking out into a fit of giggles. "Of course, of course! Let's head out into the main room!" The confused pop-idol half-smiled before walking towards the open door. Makoto stood up, rubbing her temples and letting out a string of sighs. "Now I'M starting to act like Usagi... Great." ---------------------------------- Rei shoved a good heaping off the clothes sprawled out on her bed into her flimsy suitcase. As soon as she had everything she needed together, she was high-tailing it out of the Moon Kingdom as fast as possible. She clenched her teeth together as she grabbed some of her gaudy Martian jewelry and rammed the bracelets and the necklaces in with the clothes. At that point, she didn't care if they were damaged or not on the ride back to Mars. Her overly-wealthy father was the one who bought all of her expensive stuff for her anyway. He didn't even bother giving everything to her in person. He preferred sending scrawny little messengers to do his bidding. Queen Serenity's words from the first night of her arrival echoed in her mind. "Once you have pledged yourself to my daughter and my daughter alone, you are no longer allowed to leave. You live for her. You fight for her. You die for her. Anyone who goes against their promise will be severely punished not only by the Moon Kingdom, but their own planet as well." Rei let out an agitated growl and threw herself onto her king-sized bed. She was stuck. Stuck on the last place she wanted to be. She hated being reminded everyday by the people of the Moon about how great family could be. How great it could be to have both a mother and father, or better yet, a father who actually cared about you. How she'd never be lucky enough to have that. Being on the Moon also reminded her of how bad her social anxiety was. Friendship was never something she was good at, and it didn't seem anyone really cared to form a friendship with her. Perhaps they were frightened of her. People usually were, just because of her quiet and brooding attitude, along with her stature on the Martian royal court. But being a princess didn't always mean you got big extravagant balls thrown in your honor, or days dedicated to your existence. When her mother was alive, things were different. They weren't too much better, but they were different. More parties were thrown then, and more fun was to be had. Now Mars was nothing but a wasteland, ruled by a failure of a man. Her father. "Venus..." Rei murmured to herself, anger welling up her chest. "I hate her. Perhaps it's because...she's better than me in every way. But... But that doesn't mean she has to show me up whenever we're in public, and humiliate me every time we're together!" Her fingers dug into the bedding and she could feel her fingers reaching their flexing max. "I'm supposed to be the superior one! I've from Mars, the planet with the best army in the galaxy, only rivaled by Jupiter. What does she know about combat?! She's from the planet of love. That even SOUNDS wimpy. Why did she get to be blessed in everything? In family, intelligence, beauty... Argh! Now I just sound like a typical dramatic teen-ager!" She calmed herself down, took a deep breath, and then closed her eyes. Using the meditation tactic her grandpa-a traveling missionary- taught her always calmed her down...for the most part. Her anger was something that always remained, but simple mind exercises repressed it for a decent amount of time. Five minutes later, she opened her eyes. "Alright, I'm sure I could get out of here somehow. I doubt everyone here is as loyal to their Queen as they say they are." She formed a bitter smile on her lips. "I guess I'm one of those people. There's a problem, though. Once I leave here, once I'm far away—where will I go? If I go back to Mars, I'll be condemning myself. My father would have no problem with cooperating with Queen Serenity and punishing me." A light knock on her door startled her out of her thoughts. At first she stayed silent. Then another more forceful knock, along with a sigh followed. "Are you in there, Rei?" Rei furrowed her eyebrows. Of all people, why did it have to be her at her door? "I don't wish to be disturbed right now. Especially by you." Minako rolled her eyes and leant her head against the door. She sighed again, making sure it was loud enough so Rei understood her irritation. "Listen... I'm sorry for what Serenity and I did. Really, it was my idea to play the trick on you, but she supplied the cushion. She feels really bad though, you know. She even cried because of it. If you pass by her in the hallway, please don't be too harsh towards her." Minako stood there for at least a minute before Rei responded. "And you?" Minako blinked. "What about me?" "How should I behave towards you? Because right now, I kind of have the urge to kill you." Minako pulled her head away from the door and grinned. "I could understand that. But I'm a person who likes to settle things face-to-face. Could you restrain yourself for a few minutes and let me in?" This time Rei was the one to sigh. She wanted to tell the maddening blonde girl to go the Hell away, and to never EVER try talking to her again. She wanted to pound her pretty little tanned face in, and knock her perfect white teeth out...but alas, she'd never be able to. No matter how much she wanted to do all of those things, she knew she'd never have the heart to. Somehow, in some way...Venus had pushed her way into Mars' heart, even if it was unknown to Rei herself. With all of the teasing, the arguments, the disobediences on her part, it was comforting. Those things comforted her. She actually looked forward to those daily occurrences. But what Rei didn't know is that Minako did to. With another puff of air making it's way through her lips, Rei stood up from her seat on her bed. She licked her lips and reached for the door handle. Minako offered her an apologetic and friendly smile wrapped in one, with some humor to spare. Rei turned away from her and took her seat back on the bed. Minako shut the door behind herself and traveled over to the bed as well, but made sure to stay out of the raven-haired girl's personal space (that happened to be rather wide, Minako discovered). The two teen-agers settled into an awkward silence. Minako felt herself grow increasingly tense. She LOATHED awkward silences, and unfortunately, it seemed that Rei had a habit of bringing them with her wherever she went. Minako shifted her eyes over to the girl. Rei knew she was looking at her. She could feel those blue eyes on the side of her face, but she tried to act as if she couldn't. She tried to wait a couple of minutes before saying anything, but then again, patience was not one of her strong qualities. In fact, that was close to being her biggest weakness. "What?" Minako shrugged and looked away, the smallest hint of a blush spreading over her cheeks. "Nothing. It's fun to annoy you." "What was it that I sat on? It felt tough but...squishy. How exactly does that work?" Rei asked, sounding seriously curious. Minako couldn't help but smile. "The princess said it was called a 'gas cushion'. When you exert enough force onto it, a noise comes out of it—which resembles someone, uh...passing gas. It's from Earth." Rei shot a disgusted look towards her blonde comrade. "Go figure." "How'd you manage to slip off of it? You and I are similar in weight and height, and I was able to set it off. Why is it you couldn't?" Rei shrugged. "I didn't even sit all the way down. It startled me, and I fell on the ground before I could properly react. Oh and by the way," Minako raised her eyebrows. "Thanks for choosing me as the lucky winner of today's juvenile prank," Rei finished sarcastically. Minako smiled with a wink but Rei ignored her. "No one's going to care by dinner. You should-" Minako paused when she spotted Rei's suitcase more than half-way full. Come to think of it, she hadn't even noticed she was sitting on some of Rei's clothes until a bracelet poked her in the backside. "Are you planning on going somewhere?" she asked, looking suddenly solemn. Rei followed Minako's vision and realized her suitcase was still hanging open. She lowered her head and attempted at a shrug. "What would it matter to you if I was or not?" "What?" Minako interjected loudly. "You're being irrational, Rei. You can't just leave because you don't like it here. Believe me, I miss Venus and my parents very much, but I'd never turn my back on the Queen, and especially not on the Princess." She sighed and crossed her arms. "I'd have to report you if you attempted, you know." Rei tried not to roll her eyes. "I realized that I'm not one to exactly go against promises, so..." She lowered her dark eyes to her calloused hands. She never liked how rough they became from her time at the temple on Mars, but she loved it there. The temple was her sanctuary, and what she believed to be her real home. Rei glanced at Minako's hands, noticing how smooth and well-taken care of they were. Her nails were a decent length as well. Rei wondered how she managed to keep them in such good shape, especially with the intense training they endured everyday. "So," she continued, her eyes still on Minako's hands. "I won't be leaving. But not because you said you'd report me! I know how smug you get when you think you've scared me with your empty threats, but trust me, you're one person I'll never be afraid of." Minako smiled smugly. She'd notice Rei 'admiring' her nails, so she thrust her hand in front of Rei's face. Rei recoiled instinctively and gave the Princess of Venus a 'what the heck are you doing?' look. "I saw you looking at them. Thought I'd give you a better look." Rei wrinkled her nose out of abhorrence. "My eyes happened to rest on them for a mere few seconds. That doesn't mean I want you shoving them in my face." Minako didn't take offense; instead she took her hand back and pursed her lips, looking like she was thinking about something. "Let's have a sleep-over tonight after training sessions." Rei raised her eyebrow. "W-what?" "I won't take no for an answer. You and I are through being rivals. Let's be friends, okay? Maybe then you'll want to stay." "For you?" Rei scoffed. "Yeah, right. Being around you more often is just going to make me want to leave sooner." "SO," Minako shouted as she stood up. She broke out into a little stretch and then peered over at the raven-haired girl. "See you tonight! Bring your pajamas and stuff to sessions, alright? We're all tired afterwards, and I don't feel like walking all the way back here." "But my room is down the hall from yours-" Rei started, but Minako broke in. "We're going to have so much fun! Remember your stuff!" Rei frowned as Minako marched towards the door. She was determined not to let Rei speak at all with her strident tone, so Rei decided to remain silent. "Bye, Reiko!" Minako did another one of her trademark winks and victory signs, earning a glare from Rei. The Venusian grinned in response as she left the room, slamming the door behind herself. Rei let herself fall roughly back onto the bed, letting out a sharp breath. "I hate blondes." --- Minako plopped down onto her own bed. She smothered her face into her pillow. "What was I thinking? Asking her to sleep over... Teh! Yes, this'll be TONS of fun." She rolled over and her long blonde haired expanded over most of the bed. "She won't show up. She despises me. It's obvious by the way she looks at me." But Minako found herself thinking about the look Rei'd given her earlier. It was an attempt at a glare (which usually Rei had no trouble handing out) but it came out appearing distressed more than anything. There was no doubt in her mind that that look was meant for mostly Minako than Princess Serenity. But why? "We were starting to get along and got to talking more at Lunar Balls. We still have our disagreements during sessions, but...perhaps she thought we were beginning to form something like a 'friendship' already before I announced I 'wanted' one tonight. And I think... I really want one this time. She's so lonely. More so than I am, it seems." Minako nibbled on her bottom lip. She didn't enjoy seeing that sad expression on Rei's face...not one bit. She'd rather have her angrily glowering down at her any day than to see that look again. That's when she made a decision. "We can help each other out. We're both lonely, and with Mercury and Jupiter already on their way to becoming the best of friends, that only leaves the two of us." She nodded sternly and then flung herself up. "I'm going to be the first one to make her smile. Sure, she smirks when I'm reprimanded by Luna or Artemis, but I want an actual grin. A big, dorky, full-on grin. I'll definitely make her do so tonight, whether she likes it or not! I'll drag her here if I have to," Minako spoke to herself, a wicked grin dancing over her pink lips. "This could be more fun than I'd originally thought." ---------------------------- Rei absent-mindedly ran her broom across the same square repeatedly, her thoughts somewhere else. The outside of the shrine, along with the steps were swept at least twenty times over, but Rei hadn't noticed. She was too used to doing it and lost in her own thoughts to really care much anyway. She glanced at the shrine entrance, debating if she should open the door to allow the spring wind to pass through. The wind was subtle, crisp—the only kind of wind Rei liked. She was alone for the time being. The volunteers had left hours ago in the early afternoon (and for the first time ever, reluctantly) and Mayumi wasn't due at the shrine until six in the evening. Rei'd sent her new "apprentice" Yuuichiro on his first of many food shopping trips. She decided the moment she granted him his wish to stay there that he'd be doing every chore she hated, which mainly involved going out into the public. It wasn't like she had much money for a cab anyway, and the walk was twenty-four blocks away. While she liked a healthy amount of exercise, twenty-four blocks there and back was too much exercise in her book. But another good thing about having Yuuichiro around, she discovered, was that he wasn't expecting to be paid. In fact, it was more like he was paying her back for her allowance of him to stay at her shrine. So in any case-even though he REALLY annoyed her in the short amount of time he'd been there- he was coming in handy, and she was somewhat grateful he was around. "But it's only been ten hours," she spoke to herself. She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Great. Ugh... Two months is way too long. What the heck was I thinking?" Propping her broom against the large leaved tree a few feet away from the shrine, Rei walked over to the entrance and slid the door open. She closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of her candles and incenses mixing with the Spring air. Her mind began drifting back into her thoughts from earlier. Her usually tense body relaxed. Memories of the past... "I don't want them. They're not my problem anymore." "It doesn't matter. They're as much yours as they are mine, Hino Rei," said her subconscious, which Rei presumed was Mars. She frowned and the voice went on. "Regardless of the role you have established in this life, you are still the Senshi of Flame and Passion. You and I are one being; Sailor Mars. We will always be the same person, tied to the same group of people for the rest of this life, and the ones that follow this one." "But why show me these memories now? What triggered them to come on so suddenly?" Rei asked. Averting the second question, Mars explained, "I... have to make up for something I did in the past, or rather...something I didn't do. She deserves at least that much." Rei's eyes remained closed, but her eyebrows slowly went down. "'She'?" There was a brief pause. "Yes... Ve-" Minako climbed up the last of the shrine stairs, panting slightly. She was disappointed with herself; all of those regular dance routines and she couldn't make it up a flight of stairs? Well, more like five-thousand flights of stairs... But in any case, she felt pathetic. She spotted Rei near the door, eyes tightly closed, her usual frown plastered on her clear, pale face. "She even meditates with such a sour face?" Minako inquired. She looked down at her right hand where a dozen of white flowers were tightly wrapped up, a small lavender bow accenting the teeniest bit of purple mixed into the flower. She hoped Rei would accept them, and hopefully even like them. Even if she didn't, Minako would pretend she didn't care. Showing Rei she was hurting wasn't one of Minako's favorite hobbies. For the most part, she avoided it whenever she could. She grasped the bundle of flowers more tightly, the plastic making a soft crinkly noise. Minako continued her search for flowers that she thought Rei would like, but to no avail. She was about to give up when she strolled past a bulletin board with pictures of different varieties of flowers tacked everywhere. Her eyes scanned speedily over some of the descriptions of the flowers. Most of them seemed to be rare and grown in different countries or in different parts of Japan. That's when her eyes stopped on a picture of a type of flower she'd never heard of or seen before. Makoto placed her hands on her hips and leant over to get a look at the flower Minako was ogling. "Ah," she said with a smile and then returned to her full height. "The Casablanca Lily. They're gorgeous, aren't they?" Her pop-idol friend nodded as she ran her finger over to paper. She bit her lip in thought before turning her head towards Makoto. "This paper says they're mostly grown in America, but would you happen to have any? I don't think I could give her any other flowers besides these." Makoto smiled apologetically and shoved her hands into her apron pockets. "We don't carry them. Sorry." Minako's shoulders slumped and she cast her eyes back onto the picture of the lily. "They'd be so perfect for her..." Makoto watched her friend for a few seconds, quietly debating with herself. She could have the flowers sent over, but... Ordering flowers from another shop for her own shop was typically not a good move. However, if it was for a close friend... "Motoki?" Motoki's head popped up from behind the counter, a childish expression on his face. "Hai, Mako-chan?" "Could you call over to Marina's flower shop? I need to place an order for a dozen Casablanca Lilies." Minako shot her eyes over to Makoto, who grinned. Minako couldn't help herself as she rushed over to her and pulled her into a tight hug. She beamed as she repeated her thanks again and again. Minako took in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out slowly. She began her walk over to the brunette-haired priestess, wondering what her reaction would be. "Nervous?" Artemis asked from his resting place in Minako's white bag. Minako kept her eyes on Rei, even as she answered. "Is that what this feeling is? Nervousness? I'm not used to it," she whispered. "Even when I first performed in front of 60,000 people I didn't feel nervous." "Like Mars did to Venus, Rei seems to bring out feelings I'm not used to whenever we're together." Minako stopped a few feet away from Rei, unsure of how to begin the conversation. "Hey." Rei's eyes shot open at the sudden noise, and she almost lost her footing. She peered down at the woman standing in front of the shrine's porch, feeling surprised and relieved to discover it was in fact Venus—or rather, Minako. "Damn... Those memories are getting me confused with the present. That's Minako, REI. MI-NA-KO!" "Minako," she spoke aloud. "What are you doing here?" Rei did her best to regain her usual aloof attitude, but with the night before still fresh in her mind, it was hard to act in a way which she was starting to question was really 'herself'. "I decided to surprise you. Am I interrupting something? You looked pretty...out there. Meditating?" Minako noted how Rei appeared fidgety. Was she anxious? Anxious about what? And why? "U-um, yes. And you know I don't like surprises. Try calling next time, ok?" Minako smirked. "I thought you didn't wait around for me to call? I remember from past experience that showing up unexpectedly proves to be more effective. Apparently that's still the case." Rei silently cursed herself for being so fidgety before pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. Her headache was back. "Are you alright?" Minako asked, her brows wrinkling in concern. She stepped forward but paused when Rei walked down from the porch. Rei stood in front of the idol and brought her hand back to her side before making eye contact with Minako. "What took you so long?" Even as she said this, Rei remained...Rei. Minako slightly smiled. "I had to stop somewhere before I could get over here. Wake me up next time instead of leaving a little note, alright? Believe it or not, I am a morning person." Rei blushed and looked elsewhere. "Next time?" Minako only stepped closer and the innocent expression remained on her face. Out of instinct, Rei looked for the source of the crinkling plastic sound, only to realize it was coming from Minako's hand. Minako brought the flowers up and offered them to Rei. "Here," she said. "I thought these would brighten up the shrine. It's been looking dreary lately." Rei ignored the sentence she would normally take as an insult and instead stared at the flowers. She recognized immediately what kind of flowers they were. Anyone could say they looked like any other lily, but their smell is what really set them apart from other flowers. The smell always reminded her of her mother, probably because the Casablanca Lily was her mother's favorite flower. And of course, as a child, you adopt this feeling that whatever your mom likes, you like too. "You can take them, you know." Minako tilted her head at the rigid priestess. She never pictured Rei as the type of person to really space out, but twice today her theory was proven wrong. Finally, Rei reached out and gently took the flowers from Minako. She brought them closer to her face, the distinct smell invading her senses. Her headache disappeared. "Mama..." she accidentally whispered out loud. Minako raised her eyebrow. Was Rei going insane...? "I-I'm sorry," Rei stammered, keeping her dark eyes on the lilies. "It's just that...my mom's favorite flower was the Casablanca Lily. I...feel nostalgic whenever I catch a whiff of them. Especially in the Spring. That's when she always grew them in her garden." Minako hadn't meant to make Rei sad. In fact, that was the exact opposite. What should she say now? What should she do? She always had both of her parents, so she wasn't exactly sure how it felt to lose one (she sent a 'thank you' to Kami-sama many times for that). "Rei, I-" "'Rei'? Wow," A chuckle escaped her throat as Rei brought her eyes up to the pop-idols. "That sounds strange hearing my name coming from your mouth. You think it wouldn't be. Then again, you're the stubborn one who insisted on calling me 'Mars', eh?" Minako glared at her and placed her hands on her hips. "What, do I say it funny or something?" Rei waved her free hand in front of herself. "No, not at all. Although you do say Artemis' name funny." Minako heard Artemis laugh from her bag and she turned her glare on him. His laugh turned nervous and he quickly hopped out of the white bag. "Rei," he simply said, inclining his head slightly. She returned his greeting "Artemis. If you want, you can roam around the little bit of woods behind the shrine to get some fresh air. I'm sure it was stuffy in that bag of hers." "Thank you. I'll be back in a couple of minutes, then." And so Artemis trotted off, the sound of his 'paw steps' becoming fainter. "Why do you and Art-" Minako stopped herself, frowning at the amused look on the priestesses' face. "that cat insist on ganging up on me whenever you two are together?" Rei shrugged. "It's the least we can do since he and I seem to be prime targets of your little teasing fits and pranks." Minako rolled her eyes. "I'm not that bad." Rei smiled at her friend. "Friend..." she thought to herself. "After so many years, we're finally real friends. I didn't think I'd feel so...happy about it. But I am. I'm not going to tell her that though." Rei couldn't control herself as she moved forward to embrace Minako in a wispy hug. Minako didn't tense up, but she was certainly caught off-guard. She felt Rei's arms loosely around her waist, but they were around her waist nonetheless. Minako felt her breath become caught in her slender throat, and that's when she felt something inside of herself ignite. She needed more from Rei, whether the dark-haired girl liked it or not. When Rei started to quickly pull away, Minako folded her hands around Rei's neck and kept her there. Rei was already blushing from the bold move (on her part) she made, but when her eyebrows upturned in confusion, Minako found her completely irresistible. She closed the space between the two of them, allowing her lips to hover over Rei's pink and quivering ones. The chocolate-haired pop-idol kept her friend's gaze, looking for the 'o.k.' to go ahead. She partially got what she was aiming for. Rei looked anxious, but in the adorable kind of way. She also appeared waiting and ready, a little gleam in her eyes which had been looking frantically at Minako's. Minako was tired of waiting. She'd been waiting for two lifetimes; three, technically. She lightly pressed their lips together, keeping her eyes open for a moment to see Rei's reaction. When Rei didn't try to pull away but instead shut her eyes, Minako's eyes slid closed as well. Right before Minako was going to deepen the kiss, she heard melodic whistling. Rei pulled away hastily, making sure to avoid eye contact with the pop-idol. She clutched onto her flowers and moved a few steps away from Minako. Minako gritted her teeth together but tried to appear cool and calm as she looked towards the source of the whistling. A man with long, shaggy hair was heading up the stairs with three paper bags in his hands, continuing on with his song before he spotted the two women at the foot of the shrine. "Hino-san!" he called out, slipping one of his hands out from under the bag and waving it towards Rei. Rei rolled her eyes and then imitated the goofy grin on his face, but of course only to mock him. After she was done, she went back to her normal scowl. Minako narrowed her eyes. Yuuichiro jogged the rest of the way up to Rei, completely ignoring Minako. "I got everything that was on the list, Hino-san," he said as he dug the list from his back jean pocket and pulled it out. "Oh! Except ginger. I had to run to the larger grocery store for that one, but I got it!" "Have you forgotten your manners?" Rei asked him, not bothering to hide her glare. He looked confused, but then spotted Minako in her t-shirt and rather short, blue-jean skirt. "Huh? Oh, gomen ne. That was rude of me, wasn't it?" Minako forced a polite smile and a bow as Yuuichiro inclined his head slightly at her, flashing a toothy grin. As he examined her for a couple of seconds, his grin started to waver. Then his eyes bulged. "A-Aino Minako! W-what?! What are you doing here?! You know Hino-san?!" Minako didn't lose her smile as replied with a, "Yes. We've been friends since we were teen-agers." Yuuichiro struggled to form anymore words. His mouth moved, but no words came out. Rei sighed. "Take the bags inside, please? And close your mouth. You're catching flies." Yuuichiro tore his eyes away from Minako and looked at Rei. He nodded a few times, stammering out, "Hai," before rushing inside. "Is that one of your volunteers?" Minako questioned curiously. Rei shook her head as she began to pace a few steps here and there. "No. He's a-" she paused. "I guess you could say he's a friend of the family's. His name is Kamada Yuuichiro. You two would have a lot to talk about. He's into music just about as much as you are." Minako scoffed and reached for her bag on the ground. Rei hadn't even noticed she dropped it. She must've when they were... Rei couldn't bring herself to replay that moment in her mind. Her lips still burned from the kiss. She found herself wanting more...and that scared her more than any youma ever had. "He's pretty cute. Do you like him?" Minako looked like she was an innocent, gossipy school girl again. Her eyes were big, and she came off as unassuming. Rei swallowed nervously as she continued pacing. "No. He's nothing but a big buffoon with big, poofy hair." "So that means I could go after him if I wanted to?" "W-what?" Minako smiled deviously. "I'm only kidding. But really... You two would make a cute couple." She put a finger to her lips and looked to the sky. "Yep, I can see it now. You two lovebirds running the shrine together with little Rei's and poofy-haired boys running around. The perfect family." "Shut up," Rei demanded, her eyes threatening to burn a hole into the annoying pop-idol in front of her. Minako winked and smiled at her. "So why's he here anyway?" "He had no where else to go. I'm ruefully letting him stay here for about two months. He showed up this morning, apparently. I found him in my fire room with the three female volunteers." "Sounds kinky," Minako joked. "You're really pushing it today, you know that?" Rei smirked. Minako was about to reply, when a male voice called out to Rei. "Hino-san? I'll get dinner started, okay? I'm a really good cook!" Yuuichiro shouted from inside the shrine before he arrived at the door. He grinned at Rei who simply shrugged in response. When Rei turned her back on him, Minako noticed Yuuichiro look at Rei in a very familiar sort of way. He was admiring her, it seemed. Admiring her Rei. He was longing for her the way Venus used to long for Mars. The way Minako longed for Rei all those years. Minako came to a decision. She'd be pro-longing her stay.
Back to Someday, Hold Me Close to You Index - Back to Sailor Moon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction