Makoto awoke to a dull pain in her head and perspiration glistening on her skin. She was lying on her stomach, just as she had fallen asleep a few hours before, on the couch. The room was a dark shade of grey because even though it was still light outside, the blinds had been drawn so that only slivers of light could get through.
Groaning, her body protested as she tried to get up. Gripping the edge of the nearby coffee table, Makoto slowly eased herself into a sitting position and was surprised to find that it had left her feeling winded. She needed to go for a run, stretch her legs. The girl staggered upwards and swayed a little, dangerously close to falling over. But eventually the blood began to flow to her legs like normal and she could balance again. There was a buzz at the panel on the far wall. A visitor requesting to get in.
Makoto walked over to the panel and her finger hovered above the button for a moment. Ami. What if it was Ami? Her common sense kicked in. Ami doesn't want to see you anymore. Why would she come by? So that you could throw her heart on the floor and kick it around a bit? Makoto pressed the button, grumbling and waited for a voice.
"Makoto?"
The brunette exhaled with relief. It was Rei. "I'll let you in" Makoto said, placidly. Within five minutes, Rei knocked gently on the front door and Makoto ushered her into the dark living room. The ebony-haired girl surveyed the area.
"I love what you've done with the place..." she said.
Makoto became defensive. "I don't feel like cleaning it, okay? Did you just come to criticize me?"
Rei smirked with amusement and walked slowly over to the window. She pulled the blinds up and a slant of sunlight filled the room. "You really could use some more light in here. It would lighten your mood."
Makoto rolled her eyes at such a pathetic pun. "Did Usagi fill you in on the latest drama of my life?"
Rei drew up a blank look. "No... not really. She just said that you weren't answering their calls. She thought maybe I should come check up on you."
Makoto sighed, leaning against the wall. "You've got your own problems to worry about... by the way, how is your grandpa doing?"
Rei shrugged, a little caught off guard. "Oh, you know. Grandpa's just grandpa. I think he's getting better. But it got me thinking... how I'd manage on my own. You've always had it together, Mako-chan."
"I've always been alone" Makoto mumbled, examining her fingernails.
"You're not alone. You have the senshi to help you!" Rei said, smiling a little.
"It's nothing any of you can help me with... It's love trouble..."
Rei nodded, like she was all knowing. Makoto was a little surprised at how calm she felt in the presence of the girl. Rei always seemed to be the voice of reason in the group besides Ami. Makoto quickly discharged any thoughts of Ami or what they would lead to.
"I can't say I know much about love" Rei said, still a calm smile fixed on her face. "It doesn't really matter much to me anymore..."
Makoto went to the kitchen area and turned on the kettle. "Tea?" she offered Rei as she stood by the window. Rei nodded a little.
"Thanks. That would be nice..."
Makoto offered it to be polite, but also because Rei looked a little worn. The girl seemed tired, a little less energetic. She probably wasn't getting enough sleep. At least for now, she didn't have school to worry about.
Moving back into the living room, the teacups balanced on a tray, Makoto set them on the coffee table and sat on the couch. Rei sat on the one opposite of her and reached for the tea. After taking a sip, she seemed to brighten a little. "Ah, that's just what I needed."
The brown-haired girl nodded slowly, cupping her hands around the mug and resting it on her lap while she held it steady. "You shouldn't have come. Usagi should be ashamed of asking you to come here to council me on such a silly thing!"
Rei chuckled a little. "Makoto, it's really no problem. I wanted to come. I haven't seen you or any of the other girls lately and I miss you all."
"Did you know Ami... liked me?" Makoto finally asked, looking down at her shadowy reflection in the tea.
"Hm? Yes, actually. We pretty much all knew."
"No one said anything to me..."
"It's not our place" Rei replied, shrugging. "But I guess that means you know now. So you refused her?"
Makoto became defensive. "I didn't refuse her! She left before I even had a chance to speak!"
The ebony-haired girl's eyes looked past Makoto and into the distance. At first she appeared to be thinking about the situation but the silence between them began to stretch. The taller girl had a puzzled look on her face as she watched her. For almost two minutes Rei sat in silence, oblivious to the world. Makoto finally cleared her throat and Rei was pulled from her stupor.
"Rei, you're a total mess" Makoto sighed. "You're not going to like what you hear but... you look like you haven't slept or eaten for a long while."
Rei sighed, looking down. "I know, I know!" she said with exasperation. "I'm going to have to start working full time to pay for grandpa's hospital bills..."
It took a moment for this to register with Makoto and when it did, she became shocked. "Work at the shrine, full time!"
"Not the shrine..." Rei sighed. "Business isn't very good either. I think I'm going to have to close it down or sell it... and get a job in the city."
Makoto was, by all counts, shocked to hear this news. But Rei was very level-headed so she knew the other girl had been thinking this over a lot and had considered all the options. "But that means you'd be dropping out of school," Makoto protested. "You can't make anything of yourself in this world at seventeen, especially without a complete high school education!" Makoto sounded like a lecturing mother. Surely Rei knew all that. She knew she wouldn't be able to steer Rei one way or another. The girl was stubborn.
Rei's eyes cast down and she looked ashamed. Makoto exhaled and sank back into the couch. "Do the others know any of this?"
"No. But I've been meaning to tell you guys. It would mean we'd not see each other as often... and maybe you'd have to fight sans one senshi."
Makoto fidgeted uncomfortably. "My problems are nothing compared to yours."
"But I didn't really come here to talk about me. I came to talk about you. I've figured out what to do, don't you see?" She smiled sadly. "But Mako, you haven't. I can't tell you what to do any more than you can tell me what to do. All I know is, whatever you feel, you'll lose a strong friendship with Ami if you don't do anything at all."
She knew that all too well. "Yes, I know..."
"You and Ami have always been so close. She's always just wanted good things for you, but when she started to feel something else... well... she told me how scared she was. Scared of losing you."
Makoto nodded, taking another sip of tea. "I guess that's understandable. But still, she should have told me all this sooner. It's such a shock to me."
"I guess the question on everyone's minds," Rei began, "is whether you feel the same way for her."
"I..." Makoto shook her head, brows furrowed. "I don't know... I don't know what I feel. Why can't it be clearer?"
"You know what you have to do though, don't you?" Rei asked.
Makoto swallowed, nodding. There was no time like the present. "You don't mind letting yourself out, do you?" she asked, standing. "I have to see Ami."
