Author's Notes: Whee! Haven't touched this story in A WHILE! Hopefully I can
keep this up, eh? Anyway, chapter two needed immense revision, hopefully you
all (if anyone is still keeping up with my little story) will enjoy it! More
to come! I promise!
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Vessels of Fate:
Blood of the Mountains
By Monikku
Chapter Two
The afternoon sun shone brightly through the sheet glass windows
of Crown Fruit Parlor. Rei sat at a large, round table, a cup of sweet
tea before her, as she rested her hands in her lap. She was alone. Rei
stared into the distance, completely lost to the world around her. Her
expression resembled a blank slate, waiting to be written, or perhaps
re-written.
Usagi entered the parlor alone. "Hi, Rei-chan!" she exclaimed as
she walked over to, and sat herself across from, Rei. Usagi rested her
hands on the table as she eyed Rei curiously for a moment. There was
no response from Rei. She had not even acknowledged Usagi's presence.
Her eyes seemed, to the golden haired girl, utterly vacant.
Concern shadowed Usagi's features, she slowly waved a hand in
front of Rei's face, "Come back, Rei-chan" she said in a slow,
soothing, and deliberate voice.
Rei shook off the vestiges of a space-out worthy of Usagi in
math class, and rubbed her face with her hands, "Ah, sorry about that,
Usagi. I spaced out for a moment."
Usagi raised her eyebrows playfully, "An understatement! You were further
out than Chibi-Usa in her sleep!" her expression quickly changed back
to protective as she noticed how tired Rei appeared, "Are you sure you are
all right, Rei-chan?"
Rei gave her patent no-need-to-worry reassuring smile, which she honed
specifically for her lovingly overprotective friend, and replied, "Yes, I'm
fine." Usagi seemed unconvinced, having secretly wisened up to Rei's
ways. "Really, Usagi." Rei once again reassured her friend, doing her best
not to become annoyed. Rei always had so little patience for other's concern
of her, especially when it was not needed. Although, for reasons even Rei
could never comprehend, Usagi always managed to wear away at her defenses.
Before Usagi could press Rei further on the issue, Minako, Ami, and
Makoto appeared before them. Usagi swiftly moved to the center of the booth's
circle allowing room for Ami to scoot in, seating herself next to Usagi.
Makoto moved in to take her seat near Ami. As Minako ushered Rei further into
the booth from the other end of the half circle, Rei arose from her seat.
"Leaving?" Minako inquired, as Rei stood.
"No, but I will have to go soon, so I want to sit at the end." came the
reply.
Minako moved further into the booth, and took Rei's previous seat next to
Usagi, allowing room for Rei. Rei then sat next to the blonde, as she did so,
her arm lightly brushed against Minako's. The action caused Minako to intake
a breath unexpectedly. Minako's stomach fluttered in reaction to Rei's
proximity, feeling like the collective strokes of a million butterflies'
wings in spring.
"What is wrong with me?" Minako whispered under her breath.
"What?" Rei asked, as she barely caught Minako's indistinguishable words.
Minako smiled brightly, "Nothing!"
"How long do you think Chibi Usa-chan will be with us this time,
Usagi-chan?" Makoto asked as she leaned against the table, drawing all of
the girls'attention to her, much to Minako's relief.
"Well," Usagi began, "the letter said it was a vacation for her. I think
she just missed us."
"She missed Hotaru-chan." Ami stated. Usagi nodded in agreement.
"It must be lonely for a young girl like her to be the only child in the
palace." Minako interjected. All of the girls nodded their agreements, each
one, in the back of their minds, realising the implications of the statement.
"She really enjoyed the welcoming picnic!" Usagi exclaimed, in an attempt
to lighten the sudden, unmistakeable tension amongst her friends.
"That's good, Usagi-chan. Mamoru seemed to enjoy it, too!" Makoto smiled.
Again, the girls nodded in agreement.
"He did! He did!" Usagi exclaimed childishly in her delight. "He was so
excited to be home. He mentioned after the picnic how wonderful it was to
have everyone there at once."
"Ordinarily, we are all gathered only at times of crisis. It was nice to
see everyone together out of their senshi fuku." Ami said.
Minako snickered nearly inaudibly with innuendo. Rei, the only one to
notice, shook her head as she caught on to the blonde's perverse musings.
Rei turned her attention to Usagi, "When is he going back?"
"Two and a half months from now. American schools take off such a long
summer! I'm so jealous!" Usagi replied enviously, her tone quickly became
sorrowful with the girl's ever shifting and expressive moods, "I wish he were
here longer, though. I don't want him to go back."
"Usagi!" Rei admonished, "You should think of your future the way he
does! Schooling is important!"
"I already know my future, I want my happiness now!" Usagi replied. Over
the years she had begun to enjoy Rei's irritation with her careless demeanor.
Minako giggled at the antics of the two, Rei; always proper and stoic,
Usagi; sweet, naive, and carefree. "I agree with Usagi!" Minako interjected,
"I want my happiness now! I want a berry parfait!" Usagi giggled and raised
her hand in triumph, "I want two!" Makoto and Ami, unable to escape the
infectious goofiness of the blondes, gave their own responses in unison, "I
want a strawberry milkshake!" The four broke down in laughter, Rei left
to roll her eyes at her friends antics. Makoto had only to say the perfect
cliche, "Great minds think alike."
"All of your minds are going to rot," Rei replied, "even Ami's! You two,"
Rei gestured to Usagi and Minako, "are a bad influence!"
Usagi hissed at Rei, "You are starting to sound like Luna!"
"You are!" Minako agreed, "Next she'll be telling you to practice your
attacks!"
"I know!" Usagi responded eagerly.
"She should be!" Rei growled, growing ever aggravated.
Usagi and Minako, simultaneously bidaaed Rei.
"Gah!" Rei exclaimed, as she got up from her seat and stomped away from
the table and out of the Fruit Parlor in a huff.
Makoto leaned into Ami conspiratorally, and whispered to the smaller
girl, "The irony of the situation..." Ami responded before Makoto could
finish her thought, "Is not lost."
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Mamoru, on his way to meet Usagi at the Fruit Parlor, saw Rei fast
approaching him. Rei, still irritated over the scene she had recently
departed from, stormed her way down the street. Mamoru motioned and smiled to
Rei, naively. "Hi, Rei!" Mamoru stopped and greeted the younger girl warmly.
Rei did not stop, only shouted to the young man "You're girlfriend is a
dingbat!" Rei continued her furious pace, leaving the gentle scholar standing
in the street, utterly bewildered.
Mamoru stared at the quickly fading image of Rei, and felt he had been
left out of an incident he was sure to hear of- perhaps never hear the end
of. He sighed in impending defeat.
Mamoru watched on as Rei stopped in her war path, turned back in his
direction, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "So is her perverse twin!"
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As Rei's pace quickened, her irritation grew to anger. As Rei's anger
deepened, she found herself devoured by fury. With each swift, heated step
she seemed to burn molten lava before her. Rei's eyes flamed, as her head
began to pound as fiercely as her steps.
Rei could not comprehend why she so easily turned to rage, but the burden
of her feelings made her head throb. The pain pounded and burroughed its way
with every beat she took. The longer she walked, the more the pain
overwhelmed her, until it was all she could see. No anger consuming, no
aggravation overshadowing; she only suffered.
The pain stabbed, pushed, pulled and manipulated her as though it had a
mind of its own. It would tidal over her, then subside only enough to keep
her on her feet, to keep her treading her path.
As Rei approached her grandfather's shrine, the agony which had bound her
during her trip began to fade. Slowly but steadily, more and more, as she
traversed the steps to the shrine, the pain diminished. As Rei reached the
entrance to the shrine, her headache had left her completely.
"Thank you, Gods," Rei muttered to herself. She sighed the smokey
remnants of her vice; anger completely forgotten.
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Rei changed into her priestess clothes and completed various chores and
tasks inside of the shrine. She then swept the front walk, one of many almost
ritualistic tasks of her day. Rei, free of pain, was finally able to take in
a deep, unburdened breath, appreciated the sunny day, and allowed the smells
of spring to fill her lungs.
As she swept away the fallen leaves, she heard familiar tappings. Rei
looked over her shoulder to the entrance of the shrine, and saw a large stick
being held out from behind a shrine pillar. On the end of the stick was a
white rag. Two blonde heads peaked from behind the pillar, one stacked atop
the other, both smiling impishly.
"We come in peace," Minako said placatingly, the other nodded silently in
agreement. "Peace and treats," Usagi added, as she held out a plastic
container holding a slightly melted Fruit Parlor berry parfait.
Rei smirked, as she attempted to hold back the full smile she felt. She
turned around and approached the remorseful blondes. "You two are fools," Rei
stated, her voice filled with nothing but endearment.
"I thought we were dingbats!" Usagi replied.
Rei responded in the only way she felt was just...
"Bidaa!"
to be continued...
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