----
Outside the lone designated restroom, Hino Rei and two other hopeful patrons of the parlor created a silent vigil. Certainly, with the meager size of the establishment, the miko hadn't expected to wait almost fifteen minutes to use the restroom. The warm, pink goo on her chest had already made intimate acquaintance with most of the floor, as she politely waited her turn in line.
Left to helplessly contemplate her sad, torturous fate, the strong and proud young priestess had seemingly degenerated into a automated machination of madness. Wiping an errant drop of melted ice cream from her arm, Rei decided she had finally reached her limit. Surely, all the years of arduous work and study in Kyoto hadn't all been a fruitless endeavor on enlightening her sensibilities.
The miko stood a bit straighter, her newly determined gaze burning a blazing hole into the restroom door. Her resolve would be firm, and Hino Rei was absolutely determined to not let herself be trampled on by lingering crushes on any and all overly serious pop idol singers. At that moment, like the magnificent golden gates of only the fairest heavens, the bathroom door opened wide in front of her, heralding a new era of emotional stability for the determined miko.
Pushing aside the questionably constipated man exiting the small bathroom, Rei strode firmly to her destination, before abruptly being shoved inwards by a completely inconspicuous woman adorning sunglasses wider than almost the entirety of her face.
"Minako!" Rei cried helplessly, her pleas muffled as the bathroom door slammed firmly behind them.
The two remaining women in the hallway merely gawked as a loud thud emanated from the door.
"Stop your struggling, Rei," Minako ordered firmly through the odd sounds of grappling, "I'll rip it off if you don't stay still!"
Silence, as the two women in the hall continued to gape.
"Wait, what are you planning on doing with that thing?" Rei squawked hoarsely, her dignity crashing to it's bloody and horrific suicide.
"Just rub it into my skirt, Rei," Minako sighed pointedly, "I can't get it off by myself, and it's already started running down my leg!"
"This is ridiculous, it's not even working..."
"Maybe it's just your performance," the idol mumbled.
"What?"
The women outside now had their ears pressed firmly to the door, completely disturbed yet somehow inexplicably fascinated.
"Can't I have my shirt back?" The miko grumbled with extreme long-suffering.
"Not until I'm finished, " was the impenetrably firm reply. "Speaking of which, you're taking quite a bit of time down there, Reiko-chan."
"I can't even tell if I'm doing this properly," the miko cried defensively.
"Here, give that back to me and I'll do it myself," Minako groaned.
After a few moments of shuffling and struggling, the door to the bathroom swung open yet again, as the idol in the completely inconspicuous glasses dragged the petulant Rei back out toward their table.
Fumbling with her disheveled shirt, the miko grumbled heatedly, "This is completely ridiculous!"