I Should Have Realised
by Artemis

Part Three

*Note: The ending -rin is like a fun ending for a name, usually for a nickname,
between very good friends. i.e., Hikarin is what Mina calls her manager Akimoto
Hikari. Usually for names which end in -ri.

"Mina!" my manager, Akimoto Hikari, shouted. "Hurry up for your shoot!"
"Sorry, *Hikarin!!!" I squealed. I got changed quickly and rushed over to the
makeup dresser. My makeup was done and I stepped into the studio for the shoot.
The shoot was over pretty quickly and I was eager to go see Ami today. I was going
to drag Taizou with me again, but I had to check with him first. After I got changed,
I went to see Taizou. He was still in the studio working on other shoots, so I waited.
He noticed me standing by the door when he finished and waved. I waved back.
"Hey, Taizou, you done?" I asked, walking up to him. He nodded, packing his equipment
up. I noticed the model who had just been doing the shoot. Kobayashi Yui. She was a
newbie and I heard she was a real snob among other models, but nice in front of her
manager and other staff. I hated people like that.
"Oota-kun?" Yui smiled, jogging over. "Are you free for lunch?"
Oota-kun!? I almost cracked up laughing, but I contained myself. Taizou looked at me,
then shook his head.
"Sorry, I got some.....important stuff to do," Taizou smiled. "Sorry. Maybe
another day, eh?"
Important stuff? Now that made me feel good.....if he was talking about coming
with me that is.
"Ohhh, that's too bad I guess," Yui sighed in an innocent girly voice. Then she
turned to me and smiled. "You're Aino Minako, right?"
I nodded and smiled. Rumors might not be right, so I acted nice. "Are you working
for Akimoto-san?" she asked. I nodded.
"I heard she's really strict, but you seem to be let off lightly at times," she
smiled sweetly as she said it.
"She's not really my 'manager' if you know what I mean," I smiled. "She's a good
friend, but she's strict when she needs to be."
"Well, I'm new here and everybody has been really nice to me," Yui smiled. "I hope
we can be good friends too."
"Uh, sure," I nodded. I glanced at my watch and gestured to Taizou. He nodded and
finished packing his stuff.
"We gotta go, see ya, Yui!" I waved and dragged Taizou away. That girl was such
a sweet lil girl, but some of the things she said was harsh, but it seemed like
she didn't say it on purpose.

Taizou drove again, because he didn't trust me. I wasn't a very safe driver in
his opinion. Rei told me that Ami lived near the University of Yokohama. In the
new apartments that were like for boarders. Taizou parked my car outside the
apartment and I walked to the front door. I check the list of names and found
Ami's name. I pressed the buzzer and I heard her voice buzzing through the speaker.
"Mizuno Ami, who's this?" she asked.
"Mina," I said. "Aino Minako."
"Mina?" she shouted. "Really? Come on up! I'll open the door!"
She sounded a little different. I had never heard her sound so enthusiastic before.
Taizou tagged along again. I felt kind of bad, but he did offer.
"Mina!!!" Ami shouted happily, hugging me as soon as I stepped into her apartment.
It was neat and tidy and the only mess was books and papers.
"Ami! It's so good to see you!" I squealed. "I saw Rei the other day!"
"Yes, she told me and I was sort of expecting you!" she smiled. "I'm so glad
you're back. Are you back home for good?"
"I'm not sure," I shrugged. "But I want to make sure that you know.....
you guys..." I trailed off.
Ami nodded. She looked at Taizou, then looked at me. I kept forgetting about Taizou.
"Sorry, this is Oota Taizou," I introduced him to Ami. "This is Mizuno Ami. The brain."
"Mina!" Ami sighed. "I am not THE BRAIN!"
"Okay, okay, sorry," I laughed. "So, how are things?"
"They're good. After I started going to Uni, things have been pretty good.
I'm one step closer to becoming a doctor," Ami smiled satisfyingly.
"Doctor? Geez, you must be smart!" Taizou shouted, impressed. "Why are all
your friends so.....different Mina?"
"Shut up, Taizou," I giggled. "Well...they are MY friends, what else did you expect?"
"Well.....I guess....." Taizou nodded. "But Rei was the priestess and now a
doctor, what next?"
"Mako-chan, right?" Ami broke between our conversation. "Are you going
to see Mako-chan next?"
I nodded. "I don't think I can see Usagi-chan yet.....you know....."
Ami nodded. "Oh, you two want a drink or something?"
"No, no, it's okay," I refused just as Taizou was about to say yes.
"So, Oota-san, what relation are you to Mina?" Ami asked. "Are you her co-worker?"
"Yeah, I'm the camera guy," Taizou smiled. "Not a very stable job though."
"Cameras are wonderful things," Ami smiled. "I once looked through a nature
photography book and there were such beautiful photos! Do you take landscape or
are you just for modeling?"

Taizou was pretty pleased that someone was actually interested in his job so I
left him to talk for a while.
"Well, I used to take some landscape and stuff when I was younger, but now I
just do it as a hobby. Model shoots are my main job," Taizou nodded. "Mina's
great company."
"At least we know you weren't alone in America," Ami smiled. "We were quite
worried about you after our big fight. We didn't want you to leave like that,
but it was too late afterwards."
"Yeah, it was so awkward for a while," I sighed. "But everyone's changed.
Everybody understands now, right?"
"Everybody but Usagi-chan....." Ami sighed. "Well, I have Uni in an hour,
so I'd better do some work soon. Sorry, we didn't get to talk for long."
"It's okay, I'll visit later," I smiled. "Thanks for letting me talk.....
well, Taizou too."
Ami laughed. "It was so fun to catch up with you, Mina!"

We had talked for about three hours and it had been good. I had enjoyed it and
Ami gave me Mako-chan's contact address and phone number. Taizou drove me back
to the studio and just as we got out of the car, we met up with Yui.
"Hi, you're back?" she asked. We nodded.
"Oh, yeah, Oota-kun, Akimoto-san said she needed you now," she told Taizou.
Taizou ran off before I could say a word and I was left with Yui.
"So, you were the important thing he had to deal with for lunch?" Yui glared
at me. Talk about personality changes.....
"He came for moral support to see an old friend of mine," I told her defensively.
"Yeah, right," she scoffed. "I know you're good friends with him. Everybody knows
that. Why don't you give anyone else a chance rather then hog him?"
"Hog him? He's my friend for God's sakes!" I frowned. "If you want him to hang
around you, then you be his friend and not take it out on me!"
Yui scowled at me, then walked off to her car. I headed for the studio and saw
Taizou at the door. He was just staring in my general direction. I wondered if
he had heard Yui and I. He smiled as I walked to the door and opened it for me.
"What were you talking about?" he asked me casually. I had a feeling that maybe
he had heard us.
"Um, nothing," I smiled. "What did Hikarin want?" I tried to change the subject.
But Taizou didn't answer and when I looked at him, he was deep in thought.