I stepped out of my car and walked into the house after a good five minutes. Hotaru's bag was placed neatly on the couch and her shoes by the door.
"Onee-chan's outside" I heart Hotaru's voice say, "She said she'd be inside in a minute."
"Hotaru," I called as I walked into the kitchen, Hotaru was standing there with the phone, "Who are you talking to?"
"Minako-san," My heart skipped a beat as Hotaru smiled at me, "She called for you."
I took the phone as Hotaru handed it to me before running off to place her things in the guest room.
"Hello,"
"Onee-chan" Minako said in a sing-song voice, "How cute, Hotaru-chan really looks up to you,"
I feel my ears burn as I catch her teasing tone.
"By the way, I had a proposition for you," Minako started and I could feel the smile on her face, "What if you and Hotaru came to my beginning of tour concert?"
I thought about the offer Minako gave me back in her apartment, about me coming to her concert before she had to go get her surgery.
"I already pressured my boss into it; he gave me the tickets already so you can't say no. At first I tried to get him to get the tickets for tomorrow nights concert, but he couldn't do it. " Minako said sternly before her voice turned childish and pleading, "Please Rei-kuma~"
"If I go," I frowned, "You have to anwser any questions I have about this whole surgery thing."
Minako didn't anwser at first, but I could tell she sighed at the other end.
"Alright, stubborn ass," She said slightly irritated, slightly teasing.
"Since when do you have two concerts so close together?" I asked.
"Since my manager screwed up and booked the one this week and the next one next weeks."
"Jack ass,"
"Speaking of him, I got to go, see you at the rehearsal dinner?"
I groaned remembering Usagi and Mamoru's rehearsal dinner at the end of the week. Minako laughed at the other end.
"I can tell your excited, see you later?"
"That was the deal," I said as I heard the line go dead. I smile and hang up the phone, "Hotaru,"
I hear footsteps before I see Hotaru peek her head into the kitchen. "What do you want for dinner?"
"Tempura soba" She said with a smile as I laugh,
"Somehow I knew you were going to say that." I stated as I opened the pantry and got the box of soba out and placed it on the counter, "Want to help me prepare the shrimp?"
"OK," Hotaru stated as she rolled her sleeves up as I pulled out the bag of shrimp. The next few minutes were spent cutting the heads off the shrimp and removing shells.
"Hotaru, Minako-chan invited us to one of her concerts, do you want to go?" I asked as I made two incisions in the shrimp that I had de-shelled before pressing on its back.
"Yeah," Hotaru stated as she cut the tails off the shrimp, normally you didn't cut the tails of, but in my opinion if you can't eat it; it's not worth wasting tempura. I turned and heated the frying pan and made tempura batter while Hotaru dried off and floured the shrimp.
"Onee-chan,"
"Yeah," I turned to Hotaru, who was covered in flour, as I started cooking the soba.
"Why does Minako-san have to go away so much?"
"Its part of being an idol I guess," I stated as I started frying shrimp. I heard Hotaru getting bowls out of the cabinet and setting the table. I could also hear the footsteps of a particular Akita Inu mix. Hotaru squealed as my dark burgundy and white day lazily walked into the kitchen. His fur was a dark burgundy with white on his lower muzzle, chest, stomach, and legs. I had adopted the dog a year ago after attending a K9 unit demonstration at school. A girl named Kagura talked me into it after I ran into her at the park; she worked at a rescue and talked me into adopting him.
"Hinomaru," Hotaru called as the dog walked up to her and licked her face. Hotaru laughed and stroked Hinomaru before turning to me. "Can I feed him?"
"Sure," I stated as she walked over and picked up his red food bowl. "He gets one and a half cups of dry food and half a cup of the rice, chicken, and vegetable mix in the fridge."
Hotaru fixed Hinomaru's dinner with him at her ankles, I could hear him woof down his food after Hotaru laid the bowl down.
"You always seem sadder, Onee-chan," I hear Hotaru say as she washed her hands in the kitchen sink, "when Minako-san leaves."
I had finished frying the shrimp and was ready to plate everything. "Hotaru, hand me the bowls."
Hotaru did what she was told and gave me a strange look.
"Onee-chan,"
"I don't like it when Minako-chan leaves," I stated as I filled her bowl with soba and topped it with tempura shrimp, "She takes too long to come back."
^&* **^ %*$ %*^&$*( %^%(&%* $)^&5$ (&^% $83()%746 %($&^ *%)$&^ *
I stood at the bar counter while the rehearsal dinner for Mamoru and Usagi's wedding went on. I watched as Usagi ran around like a manic trying to make sure every little detail was perfect for her perfect day. Mamoru just sat there and tried his best not to break down, after all nothing was too good for his Usako. Haruka walked up to the bar counter with Michiru looking bored out of her mind.
"Tell me you have beer on you." Haruka asked as I nodded lightly.
"I figured she would go insane, so I grabbed a few." I reached down into the mini-fridge under the counter and pulled out a Bud Light and handed it off to Haruka.
"So Minako came by on her way to the photo shoot," Michiru stated as her and Haruka took a seat on the barstools. "She said you have some very interesting opinions about her boss."
"You want to have a nice chat with him at the shooting range?" Haruka smirked as Michiru giggled. I snorted and leaned against the counter.
"I was going to play nice; I would let him hold the target and everything." I stated as Michiru smirked at me before her face turned serious. I knew what she was going to say, I just really wasn't in the mood to hear it.
"Hotaru says that you were very off then she spent the week with you, is there anything that you wanted to talk about?" I didn't anwser, "Rei, you know that you have to tell Minako that you love her before she leaves again."
"She's gonna find a real nice guy one day Pyro." Haruka stated as my fists clenched. "You can't expect people like her to wait for you; you never know when you are going to miss out on something great. What are you going to do when you wait to long and she's walking down the aisle with some nice French dude?"
"Shut up" I snap as Michiru elbowed Haruka. They didn't know what I was really angry about. They didn't know that Minako was scheduled to get the surgery and that there may never be a chance for her to walk down the aisle. Minako really wasn't going to Kyoto for a new demo; she was going to get the surgery. I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a familiar whimper from behind me as Haruka placed her drink down and pointed to something behind me.
"Who's the four-legged one behind you?" Haruka asked as the large Akita Inu mix that sat up from his spot behind me. He was my police K9 in training; a public order enforcement dog in training.
"Hinomaru," I call as the dog came up to my side obediently,
"Hinomaru," Haruka repeated, "Never pegged you for a dog person."
"I kinda got tricked into it," I say as I stroked Hinomaru on his furry head. "Some girl from a rescue talked me into it. She thought it was funny that my surname was Hino and they had named him Hinomaru. She called it a perfect fit and talked me into it."
"Was she blonde with blue eyes like another girl we know can talk you into things?" I ignored Haruka's comment,
"I wasn't going to adopt him, but a few of the girls that I took classes with pressured me into going into the K9 unit training course one month and I kinda got hooked."
"Were they blonde and had blue eyes like-OW" Haruka stopped when Michiru elbowed her to be quiet. I only smirked as Hinomaru let out a yawn before lying down by my feet. Next thing I knew, there was a long black limo that pulled up, the driver pulled up and got out of the limo and walked over to the side down. He opens the door revealing the one and only Aino Minako as she stepped out and said something to her driver before he nodded and drove off again.
"Minako-chan," Usagi squealed as she ran up and hugged Minako. Minako could only laughed as she made her way to the stage where she was expected to sing for Mamoru and Usagi's wedding. Usagi had begged her for months to sing at the wedding in order to give Minako an excuse to come visit. They both chatted while Minako set up.
"Usagi's really lucky; most girls would kill to have a famous pop star sing at their wedding." Michiru commented as I watched Minako set up the mike while her band finished sound checking their instruments. Soon after that the band began to play their first song:
"Mm better,
Mm better,
Absolutely no one knows me better
No one that can make me feel so good
How did we stay so long together?
When everybody~
Everybody said we never would
And just when I start to think their right
That love has died;
Thank you for making my heart beat again
Heart beat again
Heart beat again
Thank you for making me feel like a kid
Won't you do it, do to one time
Thank you pulling me right back in
Right back in
Right back in
And I know~
I'll never let this go~
I'm stuck on you
Whoa oh Whoa oh
Stuck like glue
You and me baby
We're stuck like glue
Whoa oh Whoa oh
Stuck like glue
You and me baby
We're stuck like glue"
I sat and listened to the song that Minako had picked to sing for the wedding. It matched the two well. I watched as Haruka and Michiru listened, Haruka tapping her fingers on the counter with the song as Michiru held her other hand and watched Usagi and Mamoru dance. I felt myself smile and look away back to cleaning the counter when something caught my eye across the street. I was about to raise my hand before a strange feeling came over me as I watch Ami stare blankly at the street in front of her. In a flash I could feel a quick vision over take me before my eyes. I drop the cleaning rag and jump over the counter catching Haruka's attention in the process. I sprint across the area near the church toward the street as fast as I could while I hear Haruka yell,
"AMI" Haruka was sprinting behind me now, but I had the head start, I hear something coming from my left and glance to see the truck speeding down the road. The band stopped playing,
"REI" Minako and Usagi this time, I sprinted faster before charging into Ami and pushing her out of the way as the truck sped past. I could hear Haruka's heels skid to a stop as I hit the concrete sidewalk. Why the hell was Ami just standing there in the middle of the street while the trunk could have plowed her down? I sit up and look over to Ami,
"What the hell Ami-chan," I breathe, I'm out of breath and the adrenaline is pumping in my veins. Ami doesn't anwser me and I pull my hand up to touch her shoulder, my hand is bleeding from the scrape that I got when I hit the sidewalk. "Ami,"
I shake her, but she doesn't move. My cheek hurts and I can tell I had a nice cut there too. I feel anger coming through me; Ami had tried to commit suicide. Why else would she stand there and not move?
"REI," I hear Haruka call, "Are you alright?"
I picked Ami up; she was out, probably from drugs. I walked across the street and past Haruka who eyed me as I stood in front of Makoto, who got out of her seat. I thrust Ami at her causing her to catch Ami in her own grip.
"You," I said accusingly, "She did it for you,"
Makoto looks at me wide eyed before I walk past, Hinomaru runs up to me and started licking my scraped hand.
"Are you alright Rei-chan?" Minako asks me, her breath coming in short pants as she leans over to catch her breath.
She's sick baka, I said to myself, you made her run over to you…
I feel guilt as Minako looks back up at me, her face slightly pale. However she manages to force a weak smile when she sees my concern face and reaches in her pocket and takes out a handkerchief as she began cleaning the cut on my face.
"Are you OK?" She aske me, still out of breath.
"Are you?" I asked her back, grabbing her wrist that was cleaning the cut. She nodded and pulled her hand out of my grip.