All I Have to Give
Mina brushed her long blonde hair out. She wanted to look perfect for today. She felt nervous as hell, but she couldn't shake the excitement that flooded her body. She was finally going to confess the truth to her crush. To the one person she'd dreamed about kissing for almost a year and a half.
Maybe it had to do with the fact that they were guardians of love and war. And that Aphrodite and Aries were also in love with each other. Although they were man and woman, it didn't mean that one under Aphrodite's influence couldn't fall for another woman being guided by Aries, right? Maybe it was the fact that Raye was so beautiful. Her long black hair cascading down her back in ebony elegance, her violet eyes dancing fervently with the fire as she fire-gazed. Maybe it was the way she looked in the miko robes that she wore frequently, being the miko-in-training that she was. Maybe it was the way she was so confident and so perfect. That nothing could faze her, nothing could make her feel ashamed, or silly, or stupid. Maybe it was the way she looked in the senshi uniform that she wore when transformed. Red really was a beautiful color for the miko.
Maybe, just maybe, it had to do with the fact that she got along so well with Raye that it was hard for her to see herself with anyone other than the miko guarded by Aries.
With her hair brushed to perfection, it gleamed under the light, she pulled it up into a high ponytail and moved to her closet. She had to find the perfect outfit. Nothing to forward, but nothing to shy. She needed to be sexy, but nervous. She should be comfortable. She should find the best looking outfit that she had. She moved clothes about until she found a pale tank-top that Raye had given her on Valentine's Day the past year. She hugged it close to her chest before carefully putting it on. It covered her in all the right place, but accented her small chest and dainty waist. Being an active woman meant you had to sacrifice. She'd never have large breasts, but she could do so much. She pulled on a pair of form-fitting blue jeans and walked out of the closet. She looked in the mirror on the back of her door. She wanted to see how she looked, she needed to know that she looked good. This was a big day and she wanted it to be special.
Giving herself a scrutinizing glance, she finally approved when the white cat she called her best friend and guide voiced his opinion. "You look great, Mina-chan. Who's the lucky guy going to be?"
Mina blushed and looked down at him. "It's not a guy, Artemis. I'm... I'm going to tell... tell Raye the truth."
Artemis snuggled around her feet, rubbing her legs affectionately. "I'm glad your finally going to tell her. You can't keep pretending, Mina-chan, you know that, ne?"
"Hai," she nodded, a small smile on her face. "So, I look okay?"
"Hai. You look gorgeous. Go wow her!"
"Thanks Artemis!" Mina cried happily, lifting the cat from the floor to snuggle him quickly. Her only response was a contented purr.
She finally sat him down on her bed, biding him wait for her to return so she could tell him everything about today. She smiled as she headed down the stairs of her quiet home, her black boots in hand.
88
Raye looked at the clock. The klutz, Usagi, had yet to break that. It was up on the wall, but she couldn't help thinking she should just put an ofuda or a sutra around Usagi so that nothing she touched would be damaged. Or better yet, one that wouldn't let her touch anything...
Raye grinned wickedly. But then she turned her attention back to the problem at hand. She lusted and longed for Minako for so long, that she had finally given up. Four years was a long time without anything ever happening. She had nearly cried herself to sleep every night thinking that Minako would never be swayed to enjoy the her company as a lover, and not just as a friend.
Well, her friends from school had very kindly set her up with a boy. And he was a nice boy. There was nothing wrong with him and he was very sweet. She was going to be going out with him again thie evening. But she had to get this meeting with Minako out of the way first.
She had dressed in a simple black, sleeveless blouse and her favorite pair of flare leg jeans. She wasn't wearing any shoes, she would slip them on later when she went to meet with Hojo. (I watch Inuyasha! I'm guilty!) Her friends really had a knack for producing boys who were quiet, considerate, and very kind. Raye sighed, she didn't know if that was what she wanted.
She glanced at the clock again. It proclaimed the time as 2:30, when Minako was supposed to show up.
As if on cue, Minako could be heard on the shrine's staircase, huffing and puffing as she ran up them, she was hastily throwing her hair back up into a ponytail and smoothing her clothing, whilst running up the stairs.
"Raye-san!" she shouted, waving her hand over her head. She ran the rest of the stairs and came to a halt before the shrine maiden.
"Konnichiwa, Minako," Raye smiled and bowed slightly to her friend. "Come inside. I've got some great news to tell you!"
"Nani?" Mina asked, cocking her head to the side.
"Come on, I'll tell you inside," Raye said, turning elegantly to flow into the house she shared with her aging ji-chan.
"Now, what was so important that you had to rush me into the house to tell me?" Mina asked playfully, dropping onto Raye's bed.
"Well, you know how Sakura-san and Saya-chan have been trying to get me to go out with somebody? Well, they finally succeeded. I went out last Saturday night with a boy named Minamoto Hojo. And he was so awesome!" Raye finally burst.
She was especially thrilled to be sharing this piece of news with Minako. Wasn't it the blonde who had insisted she try to see men before swearing them off?
While the miko glowed in obvious excitement and happiness, her friend wasn't so thrilled. If Raye was going out with men, that meant that she didn't even want to consider going out with herself. It meant that Raye had finally taken her advice and decided to go out on dates with guys. She cursed herself for ever suggesting it to the ebony-haired woman in the first place.
Trying to let her hurt and disappointment show, she smiled widely and looked her friend in the eye. "I'm so glad for you," she whispered softly. She was trying not to let her hurt show. Trying not to let the tears fill up her eyes. She wanted to smile, she wanted to be happy for Raye, but she just couldn't be. She felt as though her heart had been ripped out, that she was going to fall into a dead faint because of her broken heart.
"Aren't you happy?" Raye asked softly.
"Hai. I'm happy for you Raye-chan. Really. But it's... it's hard to think about somebody else in a relationship when I don't have one anymore. My last one ended badly, ne?" Mina murmured softly. She was glad that she had indeed just come out of a relationship.
She hated the boy who had put her in the relationship, acting as though he had to be in control of her every move and who she was in contact with. He even went so far as to threaten to leave her if she didn't stop hanging out with the girls. Deciding that that wasn't the best relationship to be in, she smiled softly at the boy and told him that he could fuck off and take care of himself. She wasn't a babysitter, she wouldn't be stuck sitting at home waiting for him to allow her to do something. She shook him off and told him she didn't want to be seen with him anymore.
It was also because of this relationship that she found out that she had fallen in love with Raye. She had always wanted to be near the miko in training, always longing for her company. But because it was Raye, because she was a woman, Mina had mistaken the feelings as those of a best friend. She had never really had a best friend before she met the senshi, but now that she did, she would confuse the feelings, she supposed. She had fallen in love with the woman protected by Aries. With Raye.
Pretending that her cell was going off, she picked it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. She made a shocked face and looked up at Raye.
"Raye, I gotta go. My mom sent me a text message with come home, 911 in it. I have to go home and make sure that everything's okay. Gomen ne, I have to go." Mina said as she rose. She bowed to the darker hair girl and walked out of the room, quickly slipping her shoes back on.
She ran down the staircase before the shrine and hopped on the bus. Intent on returning to her home and crying her eyes out to the one creature who had always supported her. No matter what.