"Minako-chan," Rei muttered to herself, her mouth slightly hanging open. Usagi and Makoto looked at each other, and then to Minako, who was smiling. "Mars." Rei felt caught off guard by the name, and almost disappointed. Didn't Minako realize they were no longer senshi? That they were no longer needed? That Sailor Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus weren't of any use anymore? Rei wasn't Mars anymore. She was just Hino Rei, just like Minako was no longer Venus, but Aino Minako. Instantly, internal walls built themselves around her heart. Inside she felt like a teen-ager again. The only defense she had was to act as if nothing bothered her; as if the little insults and smiles Minako had given her over the years meant nothing. "Why are you here?" she asked, but didn't give Minako time to answer. She turned to look at Usagi, her eyebrows slowly furrowing. "I thought it was just going to be you and Makoto?" Usagi cowered like a shy child, and opted to hide behind Makoto. Makoto rolled her eyes at her former "princess", but didn't protest. "You've come back to see Minako, haven't you?" Rei didn't respond to Makoto's question for a few moments. She wanted to decide how to exactly answer this. Oh, yes, the real reason she'd returned. It wasn't for Minako...it was for Ami-chan! Yeah, that's right! "Ami-chan wanted me to come back. Venus did not influence my decision." Rei made sure to make brief eye contact with Minako, wanting to see if her words stung. Unfortunately, Minako hadn't changed at all. She simply stood there, holding her purse strap in the crease of her elbow. "We've asked you to come back plenty of times. This time has to be different, because this time you actually came back." Rei narrowed her eyes at Makoto and bit her lip. "I see that it was a mistake." Rei turned on her heel and began walking off when a hand grabbed her arm, the touch bordering on the line of rough. Her eyes widened and she turned to see Minako was the one who'd stopped her. She took a long look at Minako's hand and grimaced, before irately pulling her arm away. "Don't act like a child, Mars." Minako had to hold back a smirk for Usagi, Makoto, and the rest of the people in the airport's sakes. A huge, public blow-out wouldn't be the best way to start off a vacation now, would it? She turned away from Rei. "I was hoping you would have grown up. But apparently, you still have the mentality of a 14-year old." Okay, so that wasn't really the best thing to say. Minako mentally scolded herself. "And you don't, calling me 'Mars'? We're not senshi anymore, Aino-san." Minako wanted to tell Rei that making that adjustment to calling her 'Rei-chan' or even 'Hino-chan' was going to be tough for her. But she knew how ridiculous it sounded; how weak she sounded. Minako had been closer to Rei than anyone, and still, she'd always refer to her as 'Mars', or 'Mars Reiko'. "We may be needed again one day," she choose to say instead, even though it was a ridiculous excuse. "We all know our senshi days are over. The past life means nothing now. I don't need you calling me by my senshi name to remind me of it." Usagi had a revelation all of the sudden. Which past life was Rei really talking about? Sure, they'd (besides Minako) had been dead for less than a day, but in some ways, it was a past life. They all just continued on with it after Usagi returned. Maybe Rei was still hurting from that past life. The life where she'd lost Minako. Perhaps...that was the past life she didn't want to be reminded of. Usagi felt sympathy for her long-time friend. She knew Rei would never be one to accept it, but she felt it nonetheless. Poor Rei had such a hard time talking to people about how she really felt, unless it was anger. "Fine. But don't leave. Stay for Usagi-chan and the others. You'll just have to put up with me for a month, and then I'll leave." Minako was now facing Rei again. Rei raised her eyebrow. "Promise?" Minako felt her heart sting, but she didn't falter. She gave a small smile. "I promise." Rei's stomach jumped up and tied itself in a knot out of disappointment. "No," she thought, "Out of relief." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Usagi drove in silence, her own ears aching from it. Why wasn't anyone talking! Not even Mako-chan! She'd have to take measures into her own hands. "So, uh, Minako-chan!" Minako was jolted out of her daydream it seemed, but her full attention was now on Usagi. "Hai?" "When's the new single coming out? I'm really looking forward to it! I made Mamo-chan reserve it and everything!" "I'd say in about 2 weeks. I'm really happy with it. It's the first time I've ever arranged the music myself. And of course, I wrote the lyrics...like I always do." Minako snuck a quick peek at Rei, whose head was resting on the window. "Wow! I can't wait!" Usagi let go of the steering wheel to clap, and then car started to swerve. Minako slammed into Rei, and Rei's head smacked the glass. Makoto was used to this however, and she grabbed the steering wheel before anything too dangerous happened. "Usagi! I thought I told you to wait until you got home to do your little happy-dance!" she yelled. Usagi grinned nervously and took the wheel back from Makoto. When control was regained over the car, Minako hurriedly slid back to her side of the backseat, away from Rei. Apparently she was too busy rubbing the bump on her forehead to even notice Minako had smashed into her. "Baka Usagi! Watch the road!" she shouted. "Gomen (sorry), Rei-chan! Are you alright?" Rei let out an exasperated sigh in response to Usagi's question. Minako giggled, her laugh lightening up the situation. Usagi laughed too, and Makoto joined in. But Rei, of course, was still as annoyed as ever. Minako allowed her eyes to wander to the priestess, wanting see how much she'd really changed. The sun was almost completely down, but Minako had memorized the way Rei looked from the airport. Her hair was certainly longer (to the middle of her back), but still had that brown, almost reddish tint. Her bangs were now pushed to the side, giving you a better look at her eyes. Minako had always loved the girl's eyes, both now and in the past life. Her emotions could always be read by the way they flashed across her dark, brown eyes. She no longer had that cherubic baby fat in her cheeks, either. Her face had thinned out, and her body had formed a nice shape as well. Minako thought she'd seen grown-up Rei at Usagi's wedding. Boy, was she wrong. "In short, she's gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. I bet talent scouts approach her all the time." she smirked to herself. "And I bet she has a few, very nice choice of words to say back to them." "What?" Came Rei's obviously irritated voice. Minako swallowed nervously--she'd been caught. "I was just looking out of your window to see the ocean. Sorry if I bothered you." "Oh." Rei blushed and turned her head back to the ocean. "It's okay." Rei waited until Minako started to look out of her own window before letting her eyes scan over the idol. She didn't look much different from when Rei had seen her at Usagi's wedding. But of course, that wasn't a bad thing. She was unnaturally adorable, and Rei hated that. She didn't like cute things. And Minako happened to be very cute. Minako's hair was a lighter shade of brown than Rei remembered it to be, but it was still only a bit past her shoulders. Her bangs were side-swept and no longer resting completely on her forehead like before. But like before, her body was unbelievable. Rei came to the conclusion she'd inherited it from Venus, Minako's counterpart. The Goddess of Love and Beauty definitely wouldn't be caught with mediocre looks, that was for sure. "Are you alright, Rei-chan?" Makoto asked, leaning from her spot in the passenger's side. "You're zoning out." Minako was also looking at Rei now. Before Rei could turn red, she turned her head back to the window, bumping it in the same exact spot she had earlier. "Ouch!" Makoto covered her mouth with her hand to keep her laughter in. Minako knew Rei'd been watching her, but unlike Rei, she decided not to act upon it. Rei was looking at her with civilized eyes for the first since they'd met at the church. Not the, "I want you dead. You disgust me" eyes Minako got every other time. She watched as Rei sighed angrily against the window, and her shoulders un-tensed. "Maybe," Minako whispered to herself. "There's still some sort of hope for us."
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