A/N: I hope I got the little pieces of past episodes right, like the lines they used and stuff. I was going by memory, so I hope it's at least somewhat accurate. And by the way, I'll bring Ami into it more soon! She's just busy, busy, busy at the hospital! Them doctor's and their busy-ness. Now, on with the chapter! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hush, little chibi-Usa!" Usagi whispered loudly. "Papa has to sleep so he can go to work tomorrow. And you know, if Papa doesn't go to work, you and I won't have any money for cookies anymore! Oh, how terrible!" Usagi pouted and covered her eyes with her hand, and chibi-Usa mimicked her. Usagi squealed when she saw this, and picked her toddler up so she could spin her around. The two laughed for a couple of seconds, and then chibi-Usa went completely silent. Usagi stopped the spinning and watched to see what had made little Usagi so quiet. "Chibi-Usa?" Usagi was silenced when the little toddler puked all over her. "No way! Chibi-Usa, why! Why do you do this to your mother who loves you so much!" The toddler merely laughed in response, and again did the pose her mother had done earlier. Usagi sulked and set the little clone back into her high-chair. Just as she was in the process of taking her apron off, the doorbell rang. Her eyes widened in curiosity. "Who would come over before calling first? Especially at crazy hours like-" Usagi took a look at her watch. "8 P.M...? Okay, so maybe that's not so crazy... Mamoru's sleep schedule is throwing me all off! But still, they should have called first anyway!" She threw her apron off in a haste as the doorbell rang once again. "Coming!" she exclaimed, and then smacked herself in the head when she remembered Mamoru had just gone to sleep. Chibi-Usa giggled and clapped her hands. Usagi turned around with the best glare she could muster and hushed little Usagi. Usagi put her ear up to the door and asked, "Who's there?" "It's me, Artemis," came a voice, which certainly didn't sound like Artemis'. It sounded more like a girl attempting to make a more manly voice. But of course, being Usagi, she fell for it. "Oh, Art-" Usagi began and then paused. "Minako-chan!" Minako smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Did I really impersonate Artemis that well?" Usagi grinned and nodded. She waved her hand and told her idol-turned-friend to come in. "It must be all of those voice acting gigs my manager insisted I take. I guess it paid off...in some weird way," Minako said before taking her signature white hat off. "Ohhh! I remember when you did the voice of Sakura on "Over the Rainbow Tour"! I taped all of the episodes you were in, and clapped every time I saw your name in the credits!" Usagi shouted and jumped up and down. Minako gave a nervous smile and scratched the side of her head. "Usagi!" Mamoru called from the kitchen. "What's with all the noise? Oh, gon'ban wa (good evening), Minako-chan." Minako bowed. "Oyasumi." "P-Papa! Papa!" Chibi-Usa cried out, her hands flailing all about to get her father's attention. "Gomen ne, Mamo-san! I got excited!" Usagi clasped her hands together and lowered her head in apology. Mamoru tapped her lightly on the head before heading over to his daughter. He picked her up, and she chuckled happily. "It's okay. Can you just try to keep it down, though? I'll take chibi-Usa inside our room with me. I'll see you tomorrow. Sayonara, Minako," Mamoru said, giving Usagi a peck on the cheek before heading back into the bedroom. Usagi watched as the door shut behind her husband, a large goofy grin plastered onto her face. "You two are really meant to be together." Minako smiled sadly, and then plopped onto the couch. The television was blaring with news about her return to Tokyo, Japan. "Mind if I turn this off?" she asked. Usagi nodded. "Minako-chan? What's wrong? You look sad," she spoke, concern evident in her voice. She took a seat on a stool by the sofa and gave her full attention to her friend. Minako sighed. "I'm sorry I showed up without calling... I just got back from dinner." Usagi looked at her with bewilderment. "-With Rei." Minako finished. Usagi grinned. "Really? Great! How'd it go?" "A lot better than I expected it would. We got into a little argument when I went to pick her up from the shrine, but other than that, everything went smoothly. I'm kind of worried..." "I'm confused. If everything went smoothly, why do you seem depressed?" Usagi asked. Minako opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. How could she explain this? "See, Usagi, this may seem silly to you, but... I'm afraid that this is too good of a sign. Something's bound to go wrong, I know it. Just like when I-" She looked at Usagi, who seemed to be anticipating to hear what Minako had to say, but Minako was afraid she'd touch a wrong nerve with the girl. She could only imagine how Rei would react if she were to bring up her death. "-when I died. She and I had gotten so close and it felt like I actually had what people call a 'best friend' for once. She didn't know of me when we first met. She only thought I was some average, teen-aged schoolgirl. But then when I'd pretended to be the Princess, any chance of a friendship we had was completely thrown to the side. I'm sure Rei might've mentioned to you guys about how close she and I got when I became just Sailor Venus, or rather Aino Minako." "She's- Rei-chan is a very private person. We all knew you two were close, but she never said anything about it, especially after you passed away," Usagi replied. Minako smiled. "Then maybe that's a good thing. If it wasn't for her, I would've lost who I truly am. She helped me realize that while I was Sailor Venus and always would be, I was Aino Minako as well. That the... that the past life didn't matter." Usagi nodded animatedly. "That's right! It must not affect us too much if Mamoru and I were able to break the curse!" "Hai, that's right." Minako said, doing her best to keep a fake smile on her face rather than the real frown that wanted to show through. "What she and I had...doesn't matter." Usagi ran down the busy Tokyo street, hurriedly pushing through people and shouting out "gomen" every now and then. "Ahh! I'm a half hour late! I'm so glad I'm meeting Mako-chan instead of Rei-chan! She'd kill me!" She was out of breath, but only because she'd run 10 blocks. She thanked Luna for her strict training when she was a senshi, or else she would have passed out around the second block. (Maybe running away from Mamoru when he was with Hina helped as well, but she didn't want to get into that.) Usagi bent over and rested her hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath. She took about the thousandth look at her watch and it read 12:30 P.M. Makoto wouldn't be too mad...would she? Usagi shook her head and clenched her fists. "Here I go!" She walked a few feet more before she arrived at Crown, her favorite karaoke spot. She threw open the door with such force it smacked against the large window. She flinched. "Ahh!" "Usagi-chan!" Motoki's head popped up from behind the counter. "Be careful! This store is expensive to take care of; I'm sure Mamoru has mentioned that before!" Usagi carefully pulled the door closed, then scratched her head nervously. She grinned. "Gomen! I guess I don't know my own strength." She thrust an arm up on her side and made a muscle...or at least attempted to. Motoki chuckled and shut the cash register. "Go on in, Usagi-chan. Mako's waiting for you." "...And I told Minako-chan that our past lives must not affect us too much since Mamo-san and I were able to break the curse and live happily. I don't want her worrying about our past lives too much anymore, you know? I'm sure Rei-chan wouldn't like it if she heard that Minako-chan was still dwelling on it either." Makoto frowned. "It still does matter somewhat, Usagi," she said. Usagi shrugged and took a sip of her strawberry juice, that happened to an obnoxious shade of pink. "I think... I think that maybe there's something Minako's keeping from you and I. Keeping something from all of us." Usagi widened her eyes at Makoto and nearly choked on her drink. "No way! You don't think it's another illness, do you?" Makoto shook her head. "No. Something that has to do with her and Rei, as well as the past life. Do you remember anything about our time on the Moon Kingdom, besides your relationship with Mamoru?" Usagi put her index finger to her chin and thought for a moment. There were some things she'd gained almost a full memory of—her mother, Luna, Moon customs, and of course, Mamoru. But anything else...? "Oh, yeah! I remember something!" she exclaimed, startling Makoto. "What is it?" "My favorite food were the rice cakes the Moon chef's made! Oh, I can practically taste them!" Makoto dropped her head onto the table. Usagi raised an eyebrow. "Mako-chan?" "Usagi, you're hopeless." "What am I supposed to remember?" Makoto picked her head up from the table and leant back into her chair. "I'm not even sure," she said with a sigh. Then, something struck her. "Does Rei--" she paused. "How would I say this..." Usagi's eyes bulged out from curiosity. Makoto looked at her and chuckled. "No, you probably wouldn't know." "Huh?" Usagi asked. Her ponytail-clad friend leant forward in her seat, folding and unfolding her hands. "Well... Do you know if Rei is, you know, that type?" "What type?" "THAT type," replied Makoto, a wink following her words. Usagi looked completely lost. Was she really that clueless? Makoto's eyebrows furrowed. "Does Rei like women!" "Oh!" Usagi clasped her hands together. She grinned as if she'd just discovered the secrets of the universe. Yes, she really WAS that clueless... Suddenly, she stood up from her pink lounge chair. Makoto eyed her strangely. She watched as Usagi defiantly made her way over to the karaoke stage. She climbed up the three steps which led to the stage and grabbed hold of the microphone. Makoto braced herself. Usually when Usagi looked that determined about ANYTHING, it meant a lot of yelling and screaming, a.k.a. some serious singing...or her own little dramatization of some sort of past event. "It was a day not unlike this, many years ago, in this very room," Usagi began, her voice lowered an octave. "I believe I was talking about getting you and Motoki-kun together when Rei said, 'Boys are a waste of time,'" Makoto was scared of how accurately Usagi was portraying their priestess friend. They way her eyebrows furrowed, the sound of her voice; everything was perfect. "I said, 'Rei-chan! You don't like boys?' And she said to me, 'Didn't I say I was that type?'." Makoto gasped. Usagi nodded enthusiastically. "I was surprised too! I knew Rei-chan didn't like men all that much, but so much that she's...that type?" "I think it'd be easier to just say 'lesbian' now, Usagi." Makoto chuckled. Usagi shrugged and put the microphone back into it's holder. She strolled back over to the table and took a seat, this time in Rei's spot. She leant her elbows onto the table and dropped her chin into her palms. "Maybe Rei-chan meant she was the type to not get obsessed over boys, like Naru-chan and I...or something like that." Makoto shook her head. "I don't think so. Now that I think about it..." she trailed off, a far-away look in her eyes. "I remember Rei and Minako being close during our time on the Moon. I'm not exactly sure if it was in a friendship type of way, or if they had a relationship together. What do you think?" She turned her head to Usagi, who was grinning, her hands clutched together. "I think Rei-chan and Minako-chan would make the cutest couple ever!" Makoto's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?" "Awww! I wonder if all of Minako's songs were about Rei this whole time! Wouldn't that be SO romantic! Kawaii!" "We don't even know if they were a couple or not, Usagi! Stop jumping to conclusions, because I know you and that big mouth of yours will head straight to Naru-chan, who will blurt it to all of the local news channels! Could you imagine Rei's face if she were to find out that we were gossiping about she and Minako? Or better yet, that WE were the one's who helped break it to the news!" Usagi ignored Makoto and instead raced back up to the karaoke stage. She yanked the microphone from it's holder and clicked the music on. It was one of Minako's older songs, entitled "I'm Here". "Minna (everyone)," Usagi spoke with a small, shy smile, her voice even higher than usual. "This song is to a very dear friend of mine. She's always been there for me, here and now, and in past lives too... I'm very sure of it. Minna, never stop searching for your true love!" Makoto knew who Usagi was impersonating now. Their very own idol, Aino Minako. Usagi began singing the song-though very off-key- and mimicked the way Minako moved pretty well. She'd definitely gotten better with her impersonations over the years, that was for sure. "You should really take an actual break, Minako. You work way too hard sometimes." Rei heard Minako blew air through her lips as a response on the other line. She quirked an eyebrow. "Fine, then. Be stubborn." She heard Minako half-laugh, and then the line went silent. They'd talked on the phone before, sure, but there was always this brief moment of silence. However, sometimes the brief silence grew into a 5 minute period of complete nothingness. Now was one of those 5 minute periods. Finally, Minako cleared her throat. "Mars," she said out of habit, and flinched before Rei would yell at her. But surprisingly, Rei simply went, "Hmm?" this time. "Do you hate me?" Rei was taken aback. What a stupid question to ask... "What? Of course not. If I hated you, I wouldn't be on the phone with you as we speak. Why are you asking me this?" "Did you ever hate me?" Minako went on. "W-what?" If Minako had intended to confuse Rei, she'd did her job. The priestess was completely clueless. "When we were teen-agers, did you hate me? I never hated you, even if it seemed like I did. You just-" she paused and squeezed her eyelids closed together, as if she were trying to remember something. "-made me so mad." "Oh, really?" Rei asked sarcastically. "I couldn't tell when you told me 'I'm so disappointed in you!' and 'You have some more growing to do as a senshi!' Oh yes, I almost forgot my favorite! 'We don't need you here if you're going to completely ignore the past life'." Okay, so Minako had that coming. She knew that sooner or later, Rei would throw her words back into her face. "I'm not the greatest with these kinds of apologies, because at the time, I meant what I said. But now... Yeah, I was way too harsh. I'm sorry." Artemis looked up as his former charge with curious blue eyes. Minako...apologizing? Reluctantly, no less? "Yeah, well, your mocking did help me out in a little way." Rei rolled her eyes. "Okay, in a big way." Minako smiled to herself, but in a second, the smile vanished. "You know," she began, her voice taking on a more serious tone. "I...wasn't mean to you just for the purpose of awakening your senshi powers. There was more to it than that. I really didn't want to admit it back then, though. I was being childish." "I know that," Rei replied flatly. Minako lowered her eyebrows. "You didn't let me finish, Mars. Part of me was upset that I was alone and you were all together, but another part of me was angry that you hadn't remembered anything at all about who we once were. You weren't the girl I'd nicknamed 'Mars Reiko' any longer. You weren't...the best friend I'd once had. The girl that I'd-" she hesitated. Even back on the Moon, she'd never admitted to Rei she'd fallen in love with her. She was always too afraid, too cowardly to accept something that she was supposed to be the goddess of. Love. She laughed inside bitterly about the irony of it all. While she was still so powerful, she was also helpless. Her job was to make others happy, but she couldn't even find happiness for herself. "Forget it. I don't know why I'm bringing this up now anyhow," Minako said with a hint of aggravation, more directed towards herself than Rei. Rei wasn't sure what she should say. It was true, she still remembered barely anything of her life on the Moon. She'd never tell anybody, but it irritated her as well that she was the only one who couldn't recall anything. The most she ever got from the past life were her powers, and her strength as a senshi. But...the smells, the sounds, the atmosphere, the food, the emotions... She remembered none of that. And she'd once been best friends with Minako? She didn't know why, but that pained her the most not to remember. "I'm going to go. I'll talk to you sometime tomorrow," Minako spoke hastily, catching Rei off-guard. "O-Oh. Okay. Oyasumi nasai." "Oyasumi." Rei closed her phone slowly, Minako's words sinking in quickly. "Minako..." she whispered to herself. "You've always been so important to me. At least now I know why, but... Why do I feel as if...perhaps..." She moved the blind away from her window so she could get a view of the night sky, particularly the moon. "...perhaps...we were something more?"
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