Minako's POV "Mina chan are you sure this is the right way?" "Absolutely Rei chan!" It was like this for the last fifteen minutes and I was sure we had walked up and down this one sidewalk a hundred times by now. Everyone else on these crowded streets weren't a big help either, walking past us minding their own business. How heartless can you be? I mean, how could you ignore two cute girls in distress? Both Rei and myself were totally dressed to kill today. After all, we were going to take up that music offer from a few days back. It had taken a lot of persuading to get Rei to even consider going to the interview; a lot of tears and puppy dog eyes did the trick...And I'm sure calling her every five minutes yesterday miiiiiight've helped. But whatever, I wasn't about to let my efforts go to waste. Beads of sweat started to form on my delicate features. It was an oven outside and the sun looks as though it won't let up at all. First the people were cruel, now nature itself! I thrust a hand into the air with the index finger straight up to test the atmosphere, hoping I had been wrong. Nope I was right. Damn...not even a small breeze. . With one hand I whipped back some of my long blond strands behind my shoulders, watching them fall back out of the corner of my eye. After moving the curtains of blond my outfit came into a better view. Today I had decided to sport a white tank top and a pair of short orange shorts...initially that was. Rei had insisted that I wear something that would cover a bit more, so to my reluctance I had a thin baby, blue sweater clinging to my hips as well now. Darn...I looked over my shoulder, glancing down my back. The extra cloth covered a good portion of my legs. I had wanted to impress Rei but she refused to look at me until I had the sweater on. Thinking back "I'm ready to go Rei!" I yelled from my room. Rei had been waiting patiently for me in the living room for the entire hour while I had been running around for something to put on. Eventually I had settled for the cute, sexy but casual look. As I passed a small, hall mirror I saw my reflection grin right back at me. Bet Rei would be surprised. I couldn't wait! Quickening the pace I bounced to where the fire goddess awaited my presence. "Took you long enough Mina chan, this newspaper was gett-" She stopped mid sentence as her jaw dropped. Rei had been sitting crossed legged on a chair in a fancy red business suit. "What do you think?" I giggled. "Rei chan?" Within one blink Rei had shot herself into a corner of the room, her back facing towards me. "I thought you were going to put on some clothes." She grumbled. "And I did." Answering back in an innocent tone. I made my way over to her slowly, testing the waters cautiously. How would she react? As I drew nearer I saw that was she was shaking slightly. Too lost in her own world, she did not seem to notice my closing presence. Now right behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist, pressing myself to her back. She must've been nervous; even I could feel the warmth through the thick fabric. She felt very warm. "I told you not to take this so seriously Rei chan, I bet your sweating bullets in this business suit." She didn't answer me right away. It took her a few seconds for her mind to snap back. To my surprise she jumped slightly as if she finally felt my arms. "Ah!" I let the senshi of fire leave my embrace, watching her movements like a hawk in curiosity. Her long dark hair whipped around as she made a beeline to the nearest couch. "Rei chan?" "Here!" She yelled. Whap. A baby blue sweatshirt hit me dead smack in the face. "At least put this one." "Aww, you embarrassed Rei chan?" I guess that must've been dead on because she threatened to stop talking to me for the rest of the day. End flashback With one backward glance I spotted the fire goddess and noticed she wasn't taking the heat as well as you'd expect her of all people to. Leaning against a side of the large building fanning her heated face with one hand. My eyes zoned onto her red, luscious lips, transfixed on they're parting and closing in the motion of breathing. Slightly heavy gasps, showing signs of fatigue but she still looked gorgeous despite all that. Looking at her chosen attire I almost failed to strangle back a laugh. Who else on a day like this would wear a red, thick fabric business suit? "Mina, let me look at the map." Her near breathless voice commented. I turned around as she pushed herself off of the wall. "I'll figure it out, just give me..." "No! At this rate we'll never make it. Besides I'm tired of becoming like a scramble egg on the sidewalk in this heat so HAND IT OVER!" "Ack, no way! It's mine, I can do it!" I jumped back as Rei took a swipe at the paper and then turned to run. Rei just couldn't see the map; she'd kill me. Okay so the main reason why we were lost wasn't because I couldn't' read the map. Not entirely anyway. While Rei had been waiting for me to get ready my mom put some of my clothes through the washer and you guessed it, the map was in the back pocket of my jeans... the pair that happened to be washed. Rei's footsteps were echoing mine loudly. It still amazes me that she could run in those high heels, or for the matter, run at all. Must've had a lot of practice dressed as Sailor Mars. "Enough nonsense Minako!" Uh oh, I wasn't Mina chan anymore. I glanced back just in time to see the senshi of fire lunge towards me. There was no time to think and a good thing too because my brain froze at that moment. However, my legs reacted on instinct and I jumped up, with my free hand I pushed myself off of Rei's back when she came within an arms reach. The entire time as I was doing so my eyes trailed the 'distinguished' woman as she flew under me face first into the sidewalk cement. Thud. Ouch, poor Rei chan. I waited for Kami knows why and eyed her cautiously. "You okay Rei chan?" Really I hoped she was all right. The woman slowly picked herself up, pushing herself to her knees with her arms. Rei's facial features were darkly shadowed. ".KO!" She suddenly yelled. I bolted, ran like a mouse from a cat. So many people! I found myself weaving through the crowd at sharp angles, ignoring their cries of surprise and scolding. What did they think matter? Simply it didn't! If they had the senshi of fire chasing them like a mad woman I doubt they'd just stand there and await the pain sure to follow. My breathing had become heavy, as my hair swished roughly at each turn knocking the droplets of sweat fell off my face. I could feel the blood in my veins raced with adrenaline and my heart pounding in my head. I couldn't help it, my mouth twisted up slightly into a smirk. When was it the last time I felt so excited? In the perception of a little kid this was nothing more than a game of tag. It really was if you think about it. What could be more fun than being chased by your best friend who you secretly had feelings for? My eyes darted over my shoulder towards the sky slightly to see a line of smoke trailing my previous movements. Where there was smoke, there's Rei. I can see Rei raging right now. Probably the worst thing that could happen was getting caught by that woman...or would it? What was the worst she could do? Yell at me? Erm...well she also does archery. I sweat dropped. Okay, so maybe there were things worse than death. Just in case...the sweaty palm that held the prize tucked it into my bra. There was no way she'd get it now, poor Rei, in a battle of wits against me she'd lose. "Watch it!" The loud voice startled me and I ran into a tall man. "G-gomen nasai." I stuttered, forgetting my situation for a second. But it was that one second that really counted. "Got you now!" Caught off guard, the next thing I knew an arm had wrapped itself around my waist and I was flying into a dark, narrow alleyway. Rei didn't let go as we both went rolling across the rough surface, even as our limbs went flying everywhere. When we had finally stopped I groaned. Two words, 'oh crud'. Rei stood up and towered over my abused body. "These scrapes better go away." I muttered. "You lose, hand over the map Minako." Her eyes checked my sprawled out form. " Where'd you put it anyway?" A puzzled expression crossed her face. "Haha...wouldn't you like to know?" I removed my hand from my face and looked up into her amethyst eyes with my cerulean. "Want to guess?" Rei frowned at my childish behavior. Rei's POV What did she mean by guess? This is so childish of her! Had she not grown up at all since our senshi days? Besides, I've already wrecked my suit chasing her, she better tell me. Mina's eyes sparkled dangerously, daring me to ask. Personally I had no patience for this sort of thing, if she wanted to go to this appointment we'd better move it. I stepped towards her but she didn't move. Summoning up some strength I took hold of her by her shoulders, lifted her off the ground and pinned her up against the alley wall. Minako dangled inches off the ground, helpless in my grip. "I don't know, why don't you tell me and save us both the trouble?" "You know, you look so cute when you're mad." The blond giggled. The random comment caught me by surprise, already I could feel a rising blush but I furiously beat it down. "Don't try to change the topic." I growled then narrowed my eyes for emphasis. "Mm...you sure Rei chan? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to know." "What does that supposed to mean? You didn't eat it did you?" Her eyes reflected a blank look. Guess not, what a relief. If she had eaten it that was it, there was no way I was going to ever attempt to get it back. "Well...no. But..." "No buts, just tell me!" "It's here." She pointed to her chest. I could feel Mina's eyes studying my disbelieving expression. "It's..." "Yup." "No joke?" I hoped she was joking, desperation crept into my whispering voice. "Nope." I released my hold on the blond girl, allowing her feet to touch the ground. How stupid, I didn't think she'd go this far. That's not playing fair! "You lose Rei chan." She giggled. Out of the corner of my eye I watched her brush her blond locks back with the back of her hand. If anything, I hated to lose. Especially after taking that spill into the sidewalk, all of it resulted in damaging my pride. "Hold up." "Eh?" Minako's POV What did she want now? I've won... didn't we just agree on that? A pair of arms wrapped themselves around me from behind. "I hate to lose." Rei grumbled. "Well, from what I can see you just did. What're you going to do about it?" Rei was probably bluffing. There was no way that I'd back down now. She can't fool me. "Think I'm bluffing?" "Let me think..." Wow, mind reader, that was something new. I was about to say 'yes', that was, until I felt her hand rub my side. Now I wasn't so sure anymore. It all came down to who had the thicker skull. If I gave up now and give Rei the map I'm sure she'd rub it in my face for the rest of the day. If I won, well I know that I will brag for a week, Rei knows this too. "Enough games Rei." I took her right hand and pressed it to my chest. "Feel it? It's right there. If you want it, just take it. That is...if you can. We really do need to be heading to our appointment you know. There isn't time to waste." Rei hesitated, guess it was really all talk. I half expected her to actually follow through on her threat, but what would happen if she did? I made to move out of her hold and stopped. The movement was quick but Rei had shoved her hand down my shirt and retrieved the prize. Everything of my being froze to a halt. "See? You lose." There was a triumphant smile on playing on her face. My face was still in a look of shock; I couldn't believe it... she actually did it. "Gah...I guess I did. Jeez Rei, I didn't think you could do it, guess I underestimated you." Now she'll see the map and ask for an explanation while really planning to pass judgement. I groaned inwardly. Maybe she'll have a new archery target after all. "That's right." "But you didn't exactly win either." I pointed out. She was going to find out anyway. Rei looked down at the soaked piece of paper and then back up at me. I held my breath waiting for the question. "I didn't think you sweated that much Mina chan." "Sweat?" My eyes fluttered for a moment before the light bulb turned on in my head. "Oh! Well you know, running around the entire time..." I hadn't planned on it but it made the perfect excuse. "Well your problem made this thing unreadable!" Rei shook her head as she continued. Yosh! I could've jumped for joy; she had no clue of my blunder. Now to quickly change the subject... "But it was a lot of fun Rei chan. Don't you think?" "Actually Mina, I think we should be asking for directions right now." She grumbled. All right, close enough. The two of us started to walk out of the alleyway. Thing were looking good until someone shouted in surprise, "What's going on here?" A man wielding a knife had just dragged a civilian into the same alley through the opposite end. The shadows engulfed the two figures, light hitting at their faces from an angle. "Listen, give me all of your belongings and I'll spare your life." "Look asshole, I can't part with any of my possessions. I'm a very busy man, I have an appointment with two beautiful candidates so stop wasting my time." The scruffy looking robber's features all tensed up, shaking and visibly anger. "Well then, I guess we'll have to do this the hard way!" He thrust the knife towards the unarmed man. "YAH!" Rei jump kicked the potentially dangerous criminal in the face while I followed with a tackle to his lower waist. "Oof!" His tiny body disappeared into the sunlight, out of the alleyway and into a crowd of concerned citizens. "What's going on...?" "Someone just came flying out of the alleyway." "Are they hurt?" Whispering and rambling, they should be more concerned about calling the police! "It's you two! Thank you! You came to save me didn't you?" I peered down to see a familiar face, the figure clutching my waist like a lost child. Rei had run into the crowd outside and ordered another man to call the police. That's Rei for you, always being the one eager to exercise authority. From here you could see the robber was unconscious. If I were her I'd calmly ask someone to alert the authorities, instead of commanding some stranger. "Hey...look at me." There was a small tug at my sweater around my waist. Oh right... "It's...Yukio Manuke right?" The man nodded his head rapidly. "I was so scared. It just happened to fast and..." His grip on my waist tightened. The squeezing presence was starting to make me feel nervous, I disliked strangers touching me, especially if they were men dangling to me as Manuke was now. My mouth opened to tell him to let go but someone told him for me. "You can let go of her now." Came a comforting growl. Rei was back. "Oh, y-yes, of course." Manuke brought himself to his feet, then proceeded to pat away the flecks of dust and grim from his expensive business attire. Good thing he was wearing the old black suit, dirt wouldn't show up as bad as if it were white. "It was great timing though, I'm really in debt to you two. Ah!" He ran up to Rei and I, startling us with his sudden yelp. "Y-your clothes! Gomen nasai! You sacrificed your attire for my safety!" Now he was a river of apologies. I glanced over to Rei and she seemed to catch on right away. We couldn't tell him that we wrecked our clothes playing a game of tag. "It's nothing, really." Rei tried to console the sobbing man. "No! I always repay my debts! Wait, weren't we going to have that interview today? You know what? You have it, the contract, forget the interview!" "Demo..." "I insist! Please, let me make it up to you." Rei's POV This guy was getting very annoying, what a pathetic man. All he really needed to do was offer to pay for the dry cleaning bills...even then, if you think about it, he never owed us for our ripped clothes. All he really owed us was his life. Besides, what kind of idiot is he? I mean, if he had paid any attention at all he should've known that our clothes couldn't suffer as much as they did from a little kick or tackle. Plus, observing the weakling he portrays himself to be, why did he act all tough and then making like a baby after being saved? Kami, I don't get it, it doesn't add up. Something is fishy here... :YAY! You mean it?" Mina squealed. The blond proceeded to bounce on the spot and looked very satisfied with the deal. I put away the suspicious thoughts for the moment. They can wait... All that mattered now was Mina chan being happy right? She had been waiting for not a few days for this deal but even longer, years even...The blond had confided that it was her dream to become a famous singer one day back in our adolescent years. I remember that day, we were star gazing outside of the shrine. The way her eyes shined with hope as she spoke, reflecting the stars bright lights in her cerulean orbs. It was a dream she had. Speaking of it had made my skin break out into goose bumps I recall as I didn't have a dream of my own; I was always busy trying to survive one day at a time. Even now I'm hesitant to call my one desire to be a dream. However, now the fighting was over, here she was so close. How could I refuse her this? Everything she ever wanted... "Fine, we accept your offer." The word 'we' caused my mouth to twitch somewhat. This damn deal only worked if both of us accepted, almost like a form of blackmail. Many thoughts of worry and caution stirred once more and instinctively I applied pressure to the bridge of my nose. Right now I just wanted to leave and change into some clean clothes. Maybe relax with some meditation at the temple, that would be nice. "Great! Let's go to my office and sign the contract. It isn't very far from here, a few blocks down the road." Manuke pointed down the route Mina and I had previously came from during our 'game'. "Mina..." I growled, the headache was disappearing but the scrape on my forehead from the sidewalk spill throbbed suddenly. "Ah, let's go, I don't want to wait any longer!" The blond raced ahead, looking very nervous may I add. "Minako!" I gave chase. "Hey...you can't leave me behind!" Manuke finally broke into a clumsy sort of jog. The three of us raced to the building, round two of tag had begun. What happened next...if I had known, I would've kept running.
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