Affirmation
"Are you in love with Usagi?"
The question jolted the raven-haired girl out of her near-sleeping
state.
"WHAT?!? What was that for???" she nearly screamed, shell-shocked.
"Well, you were fallin' asleep... " Her tall friend chuckled and
pointed out at the snowstorm raging out of the temple. " ... and I don't
want to freeze to death, and since you're the only one who can warm this
place up, this was as good a way as any to wake you up... "
The other girl scowled but complied. She concentrated and the sigil of
Mars appeared on her forehead as waves of warmth spread in the bedroom.
When the temperature reached their liking, she stopped and sighed.
"I wish this electricity cut will be soon repaired, this is getting
quite exhausting... "
"I know...but you know I can't let you sleep after the concussion you
took to the head... And how's your ankle?"
"It's a little painful, but I'll live..." She smiled. "I'm lucky you
were here when the roof of the sacred fire room fell from the weight of
the snow...thanks again, Mako-chan."
The tall girl waved a hand dismissively. "Don't mention it, you should
thank Ami-chan instead. Without her and the communicators, I wouldn't
have known what to do! I felt so helpless when I saw you unconscious
under this mess!"
A comfortable silence fell between the two, basking in the warmth of
true frienship this time. They used to be such loners before they met
Usagi. Their life had changed so drastically the day they met her, and
not only because of their rediscovered senshi destiny. They would never
be alone anymore. Speaking of the bunny...
"So Rei-chan, you didn't answer me, are you in love with Usagi?"
The miko's eyes tripled in size as she was startled out of her reverie
once again. She quickly recovered as her legendary temper rose.
Her eyes flamed. "Even if I were, I don't see what gives you the right
to ask me such a rude question!"
Makoto smiled "You know me, always the blunt one." Then, in a more
serious tone, "You're right, I don't have the right to ask you this, but
I must admit that's been naggin' me since we caught Usa-chan and Mina-
chan compare...our relative advantages..." she mused, a thoughtful
finger rubbing her nose.
Rei ground her teeth in memory. "Please, don't tell me you're giving
them any credit for this; this was toughtless gossip and had I been
Ami-chan, I wouldn't have forgiven them so easily! I thought she would
never be able to look at us in the eyes anymore!"
"Well, we did punish them and they have learned their lesson..." She
shuddered. " ...And what Ami chose to inflict on them was by far the
worst. Remind me never to get her upset, who would have thought she
could be that scary?"
"Hey, never underestimate the quiet ones..." the miko grinned. "Still,
that was something to see, Usa-chan and Mina-chan having to walk
through all Shinjuku dressed in bunnies [no, not the Playboy bunnies,
you ecchi!...oh, well, now that I think about it, might as well do,
after all...] with little baskets full of their favorite candies to give
to passers-by." She refocused her attention on her friend "If you fear
Ami's reaction, how dare you bring this back up?"
"I'm not talking about Ami-chan, I'm talking about you. As much as I
don't like gossips, they did have a point...in some way..."
"What do you mean?"
Makoto looked straight at Rei. "Can you honestly tell me that if she
asked for your love, you wouldn't give it to her gladly?"
The fire senshi's gaze was as piercing as a laser beam as she considered
her friend, one couldn't help but to squirm under a such stare. You just
knew she could see to the very bottom of your soul, which was both
frightening, and strangely...stimulating. Passion was lurking just
beneath of the otherwise very controlled miko. Mina was right, the one
who would win her over would indeed be a lucky one, Makoto mused.
Then, Rei's gaze softened. "And yourself, wouldn't you?" she asked
quietly.
Makoto blushed, then laughed sheepishly. "I guess that each of us would,
whether we admit it or not...and we all know that she would never do
that, not because she couldn't love one of us this way, but because that
would be destructive for our group, our friendship. Love is a powerful
force, and we would be happy if she's happy with any of us...however,
jealousy is dangerous, it slowly eats you from the inside, leaving only
bitterness. Wars have been thrown in the name of love. We are human
beings and as such, can be mistaken..." She smiled brightly. "Besides,
she really loves Mamoru and anyone can see he's good for her. To have
her friendship is already more than I can ask for..."
Rei nodded, then grinned. "... Anyway, I suspect she wouldn't be able to
choose among us!"
They both laughed at that.
When they calmed down, feeling the chill, Rei used her power to warm
her bedroom once again.
Resuming her task, she heard her tall friend whisper, "You know,
sometimes, I envy Haruka and Michiru too, because they have found each
other..."
The miko just looked at the thunder senshi encouragingly.
"I mean, I can't help to wonder if I'll ever find the one who'd make my
heart beat faster, who'd ease my soul, who'd bring me peace...I'm
scared that this person doesn't even exist, or that I'd lose this chance
if I found it."
The raven-haired girl rested a tender hand on Makoto's right forearm and
squizzed it lightly. "I could give you the we-will-always-be-there-for-
you speech, but you already know that. You long for more...as I do. As
Mina-chan does, and as Ami-chan does." She took the taller girl in a
soft embrace. "We'll live a thousand years, I can't believe, I won't,
that we should spend them whithout true love. That would be insane; more
than that, it would be unhealthy!" She felt her friend returning the
embrace in a somewhat desperate grip and smiled up at her. "However, I
think you've already found the one your heart is calling for; you're
just afraid to act on your feelings."
Makoto blinked at her several times before blushing a bright shade of
red and giggling nervously. "So, you've got me all figured out, d'you
know you're too wise for your own good?"
Rei smirked. "If I was that wise, I would have made Yuuichiro repair the
roof of the sacred room before he left and I would't have a bad ankle!"
She hesitated a moment before finally asking, "Why don't you tell her?"
Makoto sighed. "I'm afraid...you saw how Ami reacted...I fear she
doesn't feel the same...had it been Mina-chan, I'd know she'd have
considered the idea, at least."
"Hmm...a bit too much for my liking," grumbled the miko.
Her tone of voice made Makoto raise an inquisitive eyebrow. The thunder
senshi smiled smugly "Now, now, seems I'm not the only one to keep
secrets!" She looked up thoughtfully "With your ankle in this state,
that will give you the opportunity to have Mina-chan fussing all around
as soon as she can reach the shrine!"
"Now who's the smart-aleck?" the miko scoffed, but couldn't hide a faint
blush. "So, what are you going to do? Are you going to wait 'til the
end of the world or will you tell her? You know her, she won't hate
you..."
"Who? Mina-chan? I don't think..."
Rei smacked her. "You know whom I'm talking about! Stop playing dumb!"
she pointed out as her blush deepened. "Anyway, what makes you think she
hasn't...maybe she's as afraid as you are, and she probably doesn't
appreciate people gloating about her behind her back, which I can
understand!"
"Then we're probably lucky she can't hear us right now!"
Suddenly, the thunder senshi remembered something. She looked down
veeerryy sloowwlly at her communicator lying on the nightable. Her face
went bone pale.
Curious about the sudden silence of her friend, Rei looked past her and
nearly swallowed her tongue in embarassment. There, on the little
screen, stood Minako, madly grinning from ear to ear. Her grin turned
evil, and she looked at the miko who could have sworn she saw little
horns grow on the blonde girl's head as she said sweetly, "I can't wait
to see how this storm ends up! You know, I've kept my bunny costume..."
She let the thought linger as a stammering and very, very red Rei tried
not to pass out of shame and humiliation.
Makoto didn't know if she should feel sorry for her raven-haired friend
or not. The blonde was probably going to tease poor Rei mercilessly. But
she was happy for Minako. She had known for a long time that the senshi
of love had a thing for the miko but thought that Rei had her eyes set
on their princess, instead of her.
Minako's tiny picture turned to her tall friend, a mischievous look on
her face. "Mako-chan, you should know better than to forget to shut down
your communicator, especially when you're hugging 'my' girlfriend on
'our' bed..."
Makoto suddenly realized she was still clinging to Rei, yelping, she
let go of the miko so quickly that she lost her balance and fell hard on
the floor.
She grunted. 'That's for me, I should feel sorry!' she thought as she
heard the blonde laugh at their expense.
Just at this moment, Minako's face was replaced by Usagi's cheerful one
on the screen. "What did I just hear? Rei is Mina-chan's girlfriend?
Wow! I'm so happy for you two! That fits just what I was guessing about
you two! Though the way you spoke about Rei-chan was quite a good hint,
Mina-chan! And it leaves Mako-chan free for Ami-chan, isn't it? This is
just perfect! I knew I was right! Now, I just have to set Setsuna-san
with Seya-san..."
Rei and Makoto could only stare slack-jawed to their babbling princess,
their mind processes short-circuited along with the electric network
of this part of the city, while Minako could still be heard laughing
madly.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In another building, not so far away, a blue-haired girl was blushing
so hard that she could be used as a traffic light, even as her fingers
were thightly gripping at her communicator...
The end...maybe
*NOTE: EDITED BY THE FANFIC MANAGERS*
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