Minako stifled a yawn and tried to watch attentively as another fifteen minutes crawled by. Rei had invited her to see an exhibition of Kyudo, Japanese archery. Minako knew that Rei studied Kyudo, in fact, had seen her deadly aim with her Flame Sniper, but had never seen the incredibly formal Kyudo itself. It was elegant, graceful...and as interesting as watching paint dry. Minako found her mind wandering. Yuki and Rei had hit it off immediately, as she had suspected. Its a good thing, she thought, when your friends like each other. The three of them had shopped all afternoon, and parted with promises for another outing together. Most importantly, Yuki had liked Rei. Hopefully, once Yuki knew who Minako’s close friends were, she wouldn’t be so jealous. Minako could hardly tell Yuki that in reality she was Sailor Venus, one of the Sailor Senshi. What would Yuki have thought, knowing she was at lunch with Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus! Minako stifled a laugh, looking around to see if anyone noticed. No one had. At last Rei stood and took her place in front of the target. She kneeled gracefully, preparing herself for her trial. She placed her bow in the proper position, and drew. A minute went by, then another. Minako felt sweat run down her forehead and tried very hard to relax. Rei looked calm and peaceful, her elbow up, arm pulled back, face serene. Time passed and Minako found herself straining forward, looking for any change in Rei’s posture. There was none. Rei seemed immovable, carved in stone. Minako was completely enrapt. Rei was truly magnificent to watch. Her hair, pulled back, lay heavily along her back, her shoulders were firm and her back straight. Minako realized she was holding her breath. She took in the tranquil expression on Rei’s face and marveled at the darker girl’s features. Where she was used to seeing anger or annoyance, now sat repose. Minako was suddenly engrossed by Rei’s beauty. With a twang and a sigh, Rei loosed the arrow from her bow and Minako gasped with the rest of the onlookers. The arrow was true and struck in the center of the target. A cry of pleasure went up from the audience and Rei stepped back to allow the next archer up. When the exhibition had ended, Minako met Rei in front of the school and offered to walk her home. "That was truly amazing Rei-chan!" Minako gushed. She noticed Rei color faintly at the compliment and she continued. "I always thought that stuff was kind of boring, but watching you...wow!" Rei demurred. "I’m not very good. My teacher - he’s really excellent." "I’m not talking about your archery." Minako said before she caught herself. Rei turned and looked at her sharply. Minako laughed. "All that Flame Sniper work has really paid off, huh?" Rei agreed hastily. The two girls walked along chatting about nothing in particular. Minako heaved a terrific sigh and put her hands behind her head. "Rei-chan, when was the last time you went on a date?" Rei looked confused at the sudden change of topic, but said, "I don’t know - last month, I guess. Why?" "Did you go out with him long?" "Not really. Why?" "Why don’t we have steady boyfriends?" Minako cried out to the universe. She grabbed Rei around the shoulders. "Look at us! We’re young, we’re beautiful, we’re talented..." she pinched Rei’s cheek and sighed again. "Actually," Rei admitted reluctantly, "I had to stop seeing him. I had too many duties, as a Senshi, at the shrine...I had to keep canceling dates." she sighed wistfully. "The last time, I actually ran out on him while we were watching a movie...and it had just gotten to the romantic part." "We’re the girlfriends from hell." Minako agreed ruefully.
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