Thank you: Pizzigri, James, Tzarista, Filipa, and Guest. Thank you for reviewing. Reading reviews always makes me sit down to write more.
A/N: As the title implies, this chapter is focused on Rei Hino.
Warning: this chapter includes some explicit language and content. It's doesn't litter the entire story, but it is there.
As One
Chapter 4
Moon of Mars
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"`~ , , ,~'"
The pavement was cold. The pavement was hard. The pavement was cold and hard. These were two things she knew; two things she kept repeating; a mantra as she ran. Cold. Hard. Cold. Hard. With each stride, her bare feet pounded the ground with force, her knees absorbing the shock of each step. Small bits of rock and pebble ingrained itself into her skin as her foot hit the ground to launch herself forward. She held a shoe in each hand; she squeezed the leather and the hard bottom of the foot ware tightly.
Rei Hino was a Track Star. She could run for miles without losing breath. She had unbelievable control over her physical, internal, and mental faculties. It was something she had honed growing up as a Shinto priestess. Years of meditation and prayer taught her how to control her breath and body. She had won numerous track competitions over the years. Yet, although qualified for the title of Track Star, she only qualified insofar that she was unbelievably good. But, not so much the '"Star"; she was not someone her classmates found to be a shining example.
The temple was 25 kilometres from the hospital, and Rei ran the whole way. It had taken four hours to reach the gate of her home. By the time she arrived she was drenched. She stood under the archway of the temple staring mutely. Then, she turned away and continued to run. It didn't take long for her to reach her destination.
Tsuki E No Tōtatsu was an architectural beauty. Its spiraling design pierced the sky, projecting like a stairway to heaven. Its walls were made primarily of large windows. Windows that tinted with vibrant color when greeted by the sun's majesty. At night, when the moon adorned the sky, the windows illuminated a soft silver glow.
Jouji Saito watched the residents of Tsuki E No Tōtatsu leave for work. He stood in front of the lobby desk, smiling at each resident, bowing low when they acknowledged him. He was a handsome attendant, with light brown hair, dark blue eyes and round face. He had unwillingly applied and accepted the position a month ago. He went through two weeks of training and then assigned to the lobby. He hated it. He wanted out. His uniform was absolutely ridiculous. He had to wear a stupid hat, suit, and gloves. It irritated him to no end.
He wanted to return to the garage where he belonged. He should be working with his hands, tools in his hands. As he bowed once more, he noticed the unusual sound of pounding against the marble floor. Looking up, he noticed a girl running by, shoes in hand; her black hair flew behind her. He sighed, he would have to go and ask for her ID. His job included ferreting out people who did not belong. However, he was hesitant. He just started and hadn't bothered to memorize all the residents in the building. She wore a school uniform. She could be a child of one of the apartment owners. Why run in barefoot? She feels comfortable enough to run through, which means she's already familiar with the place. Yea, she's definitely a daughter of one of the residents. He decided not to bother after her and continued his greetings.
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Born to two teenagers I was a mistake... Rei looked back at her autobiography introduction. At ninth grade, they began teaching narratives. In composition class, her sensei had tasked them to with a personal narrative.
Rei, squinted her eyes at the sentence. She erased mistake. Born to two teenagers I was unwanted. She stared down, debating how honest she should be on the assignment. She wondered if the teacher actually read any of their papers. 'I mean, there are so many of us, she can't read all of them,' she thought. She took a deep breath. Well, she could write it all down and then decide what she'd keep and what she'd take out. She started again, "Born to two teenagers I was unwanted..."
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The room smelled rancid. It was foggy with smoke and the smell of alcohol was overwhelming. The place was small, it held a small fire pit at the north end of the wall. It served as a heater as well as a stove. In the middle was a dilapidated tatami mat. On the south side of the wall there was an abundance of pillows that served as a makeshift couch and in front of it was a worn-down table. The table was littered with bottles and cans of alcohol, some were empty, others at varying levels. There were also small square papers, illegal substances and a large glass vase that had two stems. A slim one near the circular bottom, and the towering top that let out smoke.
Two young adults lay carelessly on the large brown pillows. The woman, matted dark hair and tan skin, lay with her arms akimbo, her eyes closed. The man dark haired and tanned also, had sallow cheeks. His eyes were a hue of blue and it stared at the small fire at the opposite side. He picked up one of the bottles in front of him and took a drink.
On the tatami mat a pretty, dark-haired child lay on her stomach, a little knight in her hand. She made soft noises as she pretended the soldier was marching across a barren land. The young man watched her for a minute, before beckoning her over.
"Rei-rei."
The little girl looked up from her knight to see her father waving his hand to come over. She picked herself up and walked over. She made sure to go to his right side, away from the woman who rested her body on the left. He extended his hand and patted her affectionately on the head.
"You like your gift?" he slurred. She nodded in response, looking down at the little toy. "Good. Good."
He gestured to his lap. Rei looked over to her mother. The woman was still sleeping; as long as her mother didn't wake, she would be okay. She climbed up and sat comfortably on her dad. He rested his chin on the top of her head. "Are you happy about turning four?" His voice sounded like sandpaper. Rei nodded her head again. She continued to play with the small figurine.
There was a snort that came from the left side of the couch. The child looked over to see a pair of hostile grey eyes. Her mother had woken.
"You happy for wrecking our lives?" she spat at her as she lifted her upper body. Ever the astute child, Rei quickly jumped off her father's lap and went back to the tatami mat. Her mother stared at the man she'd been living with since she was fifteen. He looked back at her amused. He bent over to the table, lining up white powder.
"Should I give you two some private time?" She bit, laying back into the chair. He lifted a small rolled bill and inhaled the stuff. He rolled his head back with a smile.
"Jealous, love?" Fujita wiped his nose with his sleeve before leaning over and to her neck.
"I don't care. I'm leaving," but they knew threats were empty. Tane would never truly leave him.
"She's your re-sponsibility."
"My!" Tane's eyes flashed with anger, she quickly sat up. "My responsibility?! I never wanted it! You made me keep it. She'd be dead if I had my way."
"You're a fuckin' bitch. Fuckin' selfish bitch."
"And you're dick! You wanted to keep her, but you do nothing but fuck around all day while I have to stay with THAT!" She pointed her slender finger at her daughter.
"Thas a woman's job!" He closed his eyes and embraced the rush that swept through him, lifting him to a higher plain. He sank back into the pillows.
"Rei-rei, tell me my fortune!" The child looked back at her father, confused. It was a request she'd never heard from him before.
"You're going to ask her!" Tane yelled accusingly. "That little brat!?"
"Well, since you can't do it anymore, what good are you?" She threw an empty beer can, it fell pathetically, after it left her hand. Her mother's dark grey eyes stared violently at the child.
Rei Hino had seen pictures of her mom when she was young, she used to be a Murasakime. Their violet eyes a sign of "other" world's blessing. But her mother's were no longer. Tane claimed the color was drained as soon as Rei had taken her first breath. The young woman grabbed the bottle of tequila and took a long swig. She walked over to the fire pit and spit it out, spraying the liquor over the flames. The fire roared to life.
"Hurry up you little shit," she commanded, walking back to the rudimentary couch. The small girl went to the fire and slowly made the hand signs her grandfather taught her. She wasn't very good at it, and she could not remember all of the chant. Once she was done, she waited, staring into the blaze. She waited for the spirits to fill her. Suddenly she felt an object hit her head. She rubbed the back of her head bowing in pain. Her mother had thrown her geta, wooden clogs, at her.
"Well?!"
"Why the fuck does it take so long?!" Her father yelled, still staring up at the ceiling. "Your mom could do it in less than a minute!"
"Don't call me that!" Her mother seethed. "I'm not that thing's mother."
"The spirits aren't saying anything," the child whispered. She wished desperately that they would take her to grandfather's temple.
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Rei flew through the lobby, not bothering to check in with the attendant. She went straight for the fire exit and climbed up to the thirty-second floor. She pushed open to the hallway. The floors were made of a beautiful stone, and there were 3 pillars made of marble. On the left side, against the far wall, were ornately designed French double doors. The hallway was shaped like a square. In the middle of the large area stood a sizable table with a wide vase of flowers and some reading material. It was surrounded by three plush accent chairs. On both sides of the French doors there were blue French designed benches.
She knocked on the door. When no one answered she rang the door bell. No response. She sat on the beautiful bench in the hall, curling up her legs up. Her soft black hair fell down her back as she bowed her head to her knees. A little more than an hour later Rei heard the elevator ding.
"Rei-chan?"
Rei looked up into tired blue eyes. They surveyed one another for a few seconds. Then Mamoru swiped a card near the door, it unlocked and swung an inch. He pushed the rest of the way. Rei followed him in and closed the door. She still hadn't said a word. He sighed.
"You should shower," he said. "Go ahead and throw your clothes in the wash and get cleaned up."
She stepped into the beautiful clawed tub and turned on the water to freezing. Her entire body felt as if it were on fire. Now that she had stopped running, and time had passed, she could feel the tenderness of her feet. She sat down and observed the bottom. They were black. As the soot and dirt were washed away, she could see and feel how raw they were. But it didn't matter. I deserve more suffering than this.
She heard the beeping nose from the washer and carefully stoop up, with the water still running she stepped out of the shower. She quickly took one of the towels and wrapped it around herself. The washer and dryer were at the far side of the bathroom. She moved the clothes from one to the other, and then went back to the tub.
Thirty minutes later she emerged from the guest bathroom clean. Mamoru sat in the living room, his eyes staring out at the large windows that made up the side wall. She sat on the coach that stood adjacent from the one he was on. She hadn't spoken since the officer accused them of trapping Usagi.
She felt a twist in her gut, her heart fell into the pit of stomach. But isn't that what we did? Didn't I accost her as soon as the battle was over? Didn't I corner her and demand that she step down? Didn't we plan it all out? The officer was right. They may not have purposely set out to confront her right at that moment, but it was a topic that the three senshi had been discussing for a while. They decided to tell her that they'd lost confidence in her ability to lead. Granted, they intended to do it in a safe place, out of battle or in the heat of the moment. But still, it was something that they were going to do.
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...I was molded by my circumstances. Everyone's family contributes to who they become.
Rei was walking home when she heard the shouting. Her shoulders tensed for another fight. She suddenly wished she'd taken the long way home. Instead of going in, she turned around and walked towards the backstreet alley.
She liked the alleyway. Although there was a small stream of water, it smelled of barbecue and cooked fish. And the apartments above kept their windows open for ventilation; she could see wafts of kitchen smoke and hear lively conversations. It was as if, for a moment, she too was there, sitting at their table eating and laughing.
Beside the grey wall sat a large wooden crate; it was probably a shipping box once, but the writing on the side was illegible now. She put her bag down to fish out Takeshi. His paint had faded in the past three years. His black hair turned an odd shade of grey and purple, and the yellow armor had faded to a pale peach. His eyes though, were still blue. She sat on the crate and pretended to be in battle."I will save you!" she said in a deep voice.
After some time, she jumped off the crate and picked up her bag. She placed the knight back into the pouch and made her way home. She had hoped that her parents had consumed enough to pass out. But, no luck. Both her parents were drunk, but not yet to the point of exhaustion. Rei opened the sliding door to the genkan and took off her shoes. She was greeted by the sound of her screaming mother.
"Where've you been!"
"Im seven! I was at school dimwit," Rei retorted.
"You smarting off at me you little bitch?!"
The little girl wrinkled her face in disdain. She placed her bag next to the door.
"Rei-rei, we hungry. Make usss...food."
Although her father was the nicer of the two, he was prone to extreme mood swings when he drank. She liked it better when he was smoking; he was always nice then. He'd talk to her like a real dad, like he loved her. Her mother, no matter what she was on, hated her. The first grader went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. It was nearly bare. Her father wouldn't get paid until next week. But most of their money went to alcohol and drugs.
"Damn those idiots," Rei grumbled.
She quickly learned that the only person that could save her, was herself. When Fujita gave her money for groceries, she always made sure to pocket half. If she didn't, then they'd be out of food within a week. She learned how to 'haggle,' how to stretch out food, and how to wash clothes, from various apartment conversations she'd overheard. It was hard to haggle at her age though, instead she used her physical appearance. She widened her eyes, stared at the little coins in her hand. She'd count them slowly and look back at whatever it was she needed to buy. Store owners and customers were sympathetic, some of them gave her discounts, some bought the thing she needed, and sometimes, she was fortunate enough to meet someone who gave her extra money. She kept all of it in her red backpack. It was the one thing her parents never touched. The didn't want to give her the impression that they were going to help her with school work.
Her parents, who had been quiet just a minute ago started yelling again. She picked up the dehydrated leeks from the bottom bin. She was about to get the bean paste when she what her father was saying.
"Your old man is crazy!"
Rei quickly ran to the living room with the leeks still in her hand. She was huffing in anger. How dare that man say her grandfather is crazy.
"Grandpa isn't crazy! You are!"
"That how you speak to your parents!?" He had an open bottle of alcohol in his hand. His pointer finger was aimed at her as he shouted, the liquid in the bottle swished violently.
"Why you little," her mother turned around slapped her. "You respect you hear!"
Rei held her cheek and looked back at the woman who towered over her. Her violet eyes looked back unwavering. "What parents? I don't have parents. I have two lushes." She spat.
"Why you-" Tane grabbed an empty bottle of liquor from the table in an attempt to strike her. Luckily, Rei was small, and her mother was drunk. Instead of hitting the girl, it fell onto the floor.
Fujita took Rei by the collar of her uniform. "Listen here," he growled. "There is only one reason you're here."
The reason: her ability to forecast the future. She could never see anything clearly, but she could tell hear the whispers. She could tell the good whispers from the bad. If they were bad, it foretold something bad would fall on their doorstep. In those times they'd go to her grandfather's for a week. Fujita had escaped numerous punishments both legal and illegal systems. One time they'd returned to see their small shack had been gutted through. A message on the counter read, they'd be coming back to kill them. Another time they'd escaped arrest for child endangerment.
Fujita let go of her collar and pushed her to the fire pit. She fell to the ground, her hands on the dirty floor, her knees already bruising. He grabbed put down the bottle of liquor and picked up a can of beer. Her mother was still standing, watching her every move with an intense loathing. Her father abruptly shouted to her.
"Tell me my fortune!"
"No!"
The following morning, her parents took her Hikawa Shrine and they never returned.
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The walls of Mamoru's apartment were beautifully decorated. Modern art pieces were hung, providing color to the otherwise white and grey walls. The furniture in the living room boasted a French style focus, a long couch, two loveseats, an overly large accent chair. The top of the coffee table was made of marble and show cased several medical books. The focal point of the room was an extremely large fireplace. There was no television in sight. He had purchased the "model" apartment, and he kept all of the decor. It was easier to have the furnishing already done, rather than have to decorate himself. Otherwise the apartment would have been bare with nothing but a desk and a chair.
Rei had been to his apartment several times to hang out. They spent most of the time talking about school and what was going on with the temple. She'd complain and he'd listen. She was completely in love with him, although...they'd never done anything physical. But she was hoping to get to that stage in their relationship. She reveled in the fact that he didn't seem affected by her aura. In fact, she noticed that since she'd become a senshi, her aura wasn't really a problem anymore. Ami believed it was connected to the transformation pen. But Rei wasn't interested in the "how."
"What's wrong?"
Rei's was heavily focused on one of the text books on the coffee table; it read Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. She stared at the sky blue spine and the large yellow lettering. It helped to numb her mind, keep it from trailing back to her last interaction with Sailor Moon.
"Usagi," her voice cracked. "She's in the hospital."
"Oh? What happened?"
"She-she was attacked by a youma. It's all my fault." She continued with her blank stare, her eyes tracing each bold letter.
"How is she? What'd the doctor's say?"
"I don't know," she whispered. "I didn't hear what they said." On the spine an orange sun like shape shined up top. She kept her eyes on it. She wanted to take herself out of her body. Perhaps burn up in that little sun.
"You weren't there to hear the doctors?"
"No, I mean I was there...but I couldn't hear. I...was there," she repeated. "The doctors were talking...but I couldn't hear...it's my fault-"
"It's not your fault," his voice was strong and insistent. She didn't look at him. She knew the truth. She felt it in her bones. It was her fault. It was something that could have been avoided. If she had done a reading earlier, than this whole thing wouldn't have happened.
"Rei," Mamoru called. His voice was coming from the front door, "Let's go, I'll drive you there."
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I never cared for the American spaghetti and meatballs, until I met Usagi Tsukino.
The bus was crowded and smelled of sweat and cheap perfume. The ride was a smooth one, she was thankful that the roads in Juban-Azabu were paved and well kept. If the bus was bouncing around, her short skirt would surely expose too much of her skin. She held her school case in her left hand and held on to the pole to keep herself steady. She could hear the steady whispers in the back from other teenagers. Her ears picked up the common terms that were often strewn around her: witch, weirdo, freak, possessed. She thought about confronting the little twerps, but reminded herself of her new year's resolution: control my temper.
Rei Hino was quick to anger. She had a spit fire tongue and the ability to sense weakness. The Murasakime had a difficult time transitioning from her life with her addict parents, and her life with her grandfather.
Her grandfather was an eccentric man. He was short, loud, and always chasing people around. It made Rei extremely happy to see her grandfather being so undisciplined. It was in an extreme difference to when he was leading as head priest and mentor. From her birth, her grandfather began her training. He trained her in purifying, exorcising, and calling on the spirits. He was strict and set in the ancient ways of teaching. Whilst her grandfather left his strong authoritative persona in the temple, Rei held on to hers both in and out of the temple.
As her grandfather taught her the ways of being a priestess, she also had to learn to navigate the "blessing." She had no mentor for that. Her mother, who'd been trained, refused to teach her, and the other had died a year before she was born. The only things she knew were from what her grandfather had been told, which was very little. He knew that it amplified her priestess abilities; he knew that crows and cats were animals that were able to slip to and from the 'other' world, therefore she was able to communicate with them; and lastly he knew that the her life would be a lonely one.
The Murasakimes had a unique aura. Because they had eyes that could see "beyond of life" their aura was heavy, and made others feel uneasy. Their subconscious alerted them to the supernatural and strong power she carried. It was because of it that she had no friends. They saw her a freak who spoke to birds and could conjure spirits. She was destined to be alone for the rest of her life.
She asked her grandfather once how it was that her mother found someone. His answer was simple, her dad was an addict, his constant ingestion of chemicals dulled his senses. He couldn't feel her aura and when he did feel it, he attributed to his amazing high. It also helped that her father enjoyed taking advantage of her mother's abilities. It made him feel powerful. But of course, power often leads to greed and evil. As it did her mother.
The bus stopped and Rei left to get home. As she was going in to change she heard whispering. Two girls were arguing. She could clearly hear one of them say, "Don't! She's a freak of nature!" Rei closed her eyes and counted down from ten. Her blood was boiling and she wanted to run over to and destroy those nitwits.
"Hiiii!" She heard an extremely high pitched voice. "Um...excuse me?" Rei opened her eyes to see a girl with hair that reminded her meatballs and spaghetti. What a weird hair style. The girl waved sheepishly.
"What is it you want?" her voice was hoarse, as she was trying to keep herself from shouting. Control my temper, she reminded herself.
"You are so beautiful!" the girl screamed, her cheeks were flush. "I have never seen anyone sooo gorgeous! I saw you on the bus and I had to talk to you. My name is Usagi Tsukino!"
"Rei. Rei Hino." she stated, her eyes wide in disbelief. What? Me Beautiful? Gorgeous? What is she talking about?
"What are you doing today?" she asked Rei, still excited and bouncy.
"Uhh..." The raven haired beauty was still in shock. Why aren't you running away? Can't you feel my aura? Is she a drunkard drug addict like Fujita? She doesn't smell like it.
"We should go shopping! Let's go shopping!" She cried taking Rei's hands in her own. "Naru-chan! Naru-chan!" the girl turned her head to yell, "Naru-chan!"
Finally, a red headed girl come out from behind one of the temple buildings. She shuffled her feet forward towards them. Her arms across her chest, as if attempting to cradle herself. The girl was looking at Usagi. Rei could see the ginger haired girl's jaw clench.
"This is my best friend Naru Osaka!"
"Usagi-chan!" Her best friend nudged her with an elbow. "I told you not to tell her our names," she said under her breath. "Now she can put a hex on us." Usagi hadn't heard her friends mumbles, instead she plowed on with her conversation.
"This is my friend Rei-chan!" she told Naru. "She's gonna come shopping with us!" Rei looked back at Usagi. Rei-chan? They just met and she introduced her as if they'd been friends forever. "We better hurry up, we're already late to meet Ami-chan at the arcade."
"Let's just hope she doesn't curse us," Naru continued to talk under her breath looking quickly towards the priestess. Usagi continued to pull her along chatting and asking questions. On the bus, the blue-eyed girl rested her head against Rei's shoulder.
As the four girls browsed one of the clothing shops, a boy came running towards them. He had overly large glasses. He was short and rather gangly looking. His hair was a horrid mess.
"Um...Usagi-san, Naru-san, Ami-san," he said, his eyes flickered over to Rei.
"Umino-san," the three nodded. Usagi and Naru rolled their eyes.
"You should know," he said. He put his hand up to cover the side of his mouth trying to block the words that from the priestess. "That girl's a witch. You have to watch-"
Usagi suddenly threw her shoe at the his head. He fell immediately. He clasped both hands on his forehead and moaned in pain.
"She's my friend. Beat it loser." Rei watched as Usagi marched over. "People are so jealous. It's so annoying. -Ouch!" Rei watched as Usagi clutched her chest.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I probably, probably ate too much. You know... ingestion" She waved it off.
"Indigestion?" Rei corrected. Usagi shrugged her shoulders.
"Come on, let's go look at shoes. I think I broke mine on Guiro-san's head," she smiled. Rei felt a weight being lifted from her entire being. A weight she wasn't even aware she'd had. She looked at Usagi and felt hope, perhaps she wouldn't live a lonely life.
",~```~,"
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It was the early evening by the time they made it to the hospital. The sun was low, readying for his rest, as the moon had just begun to wake. The sky was painted with beautiful tints of purple and shades of blue. The temperature had also dropped by several degrees, indicating that night was coming upon them. As Rei followed Mamoru into the hospital, she wondered if the Tsukinos were there, or her other friends. She stopped.
Mamoru was already at the elevators when he found Rei was no longer behind him. He retraced his steps and found her frozen in the adjacent hall.
"Hey."
Hearing his deep voice interrupted her whirling thoughts. She looked at him and saw he was signaling her to follow. Mamoru still had his sunglasses still on; in normal circumstances she would have thought it weird. But her mind was to busy running through different scenarios involving The Tsukinos and the others. She was going through all the possible responses to the best and worst case scenarios. As her brain spun, she followed Mamoru like a zombie, not speaking a word. She walked behind him, followed him into the elevator all the way to Usagi's room. They were both fortunate not to run into any family or other acquaintances; which, in hindsight, should have set off some alarms.
"Go ahead," he motioned to the entry.
Rei took a few steps to the door. Her tan hands shook as they touched the knob; fingers trembling as she opened the door. It took a while before the raven haired girl could bring her head to look up. All she heard was the steady beats of the heart monitor. She closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath. She threw back her shoulders and took a step forward.
"Being lazy again, huh?" she heard herself say. She sauntered over to the large window. "You've got to quit with the act meatball head. People are even buying plants! I can't believe you're making people buy you stuff!" The teen picked up the small pot at the window; a small pod had opened and had already begun to grow. "Next thing you know, this rooms gonna be full of flowers. Do you know how much flowers cost! Everyone's gonna feel like they have to get you some. It's selfish is what it is! You only think about yourself!" She put down the plant and noticed the broken handle on the sink. "And you're already breaking things!" She cried out exasperated.
She huffed and took the knob. I still might be able to fix it, she thought despite the rather warped metal nub. It looks like someone cut through it was a serrated knife. But she could try and push it in. Maybe the handle has a smaller hole and I can fit it in there... Maybe? She pushed it onto the side, and twisted slowly, hoping she'd feel something fall into place. She had suspected the metal would grind against each other, but she as she slowly moved it forward and backward it, it felt soft, as if the two sides were made of clay. She gently removed her hand, one finger at a time, hoping it would balance once her last finger left. Once she verified it was balanced, she tuned the lever. Water poured out. Success! She twisted it back and made sure the water was completely shut off.
"Ha! Once again, I'm fixing what you messed up." She smiled and turned to gloat, expecting to hear an objection or see a tongue sticking out at her. Her face fell. Usagi was still lying in bed with her eyes closed.
"Get up already!" Rei yelled, kicking the leg of the bed. "Enough! Hurry up and get up. You win alright!" Her hands were fisted at her sides. "You got the attention you wanted! We get it!" Yet, her friend remained immobile. Her violet eyes focused intensely on her Usagi's lips. She wanted to see it twitch, a tell tale sign that this whole thing was just a very bad joke. But it never came. She swallowed hard, and bit her lip.
The priestess hadn't said anything for five minutes now. She looked down at her brown leather shoes. Using the side of her left foot, she pushed off her right shoe, and then repeated the action to the other side. Quietly, she climbed onto the bed, adjusting herself to lay on her left, her body facing the sleeping girl. She allowed her head to sink into the pillow beside the Usagi's and lay quietly observing her sleep.
"It's me," she said softly. "I'm sorry, I-I just-" she was at a loss for words. Her emotions hung on her heart and it made her ache. "Usa I'm…I'm so sorry." The drops of water fell onto the white pillow case, it's cheap cotton fabric soaked it up quickly like an animal dying of thirst. "I was just so mad and I- you're my best friend, my first friend." She could feel the fabric beside her face dampening. "I-I love you the most. So you-you just can't leave me! YOU CAN'T!" Her sadness morphed into anger, "I swear if you don't wake up, I won't forgive you." She paused, as if waiting for a response. Once again, her emotions turned, sliding into devastation. She closed her eyes tightly and wrapped her arm around her best friend whispering, "I don't hate you. I love you. I love you! And I promise I'll never nag on you again if you just wake up. I promise. I know, I know I don't deserve it but please." she sobbed.