New Friends/Old Friends
"Hey, Rei-chan! We're here! And we brought company!" Minako yelled. The lithe blonde grabbed Menagi's wrist and tugged her forward into the courtyard. The violet-eyed girl almost yelped in pain, since Minako had grabbed her sore wrist. "Come on, Menagi-san, I'm sure everyone would like to meet you," and proceeded to drag her over to a small building with rice paper doors. One of the doors slid open and the raven-haired priestess walked out. This time, however, she was dressed in a pink jumper with a white top. Behind her, inside a small room apparently being used as a study, sat the girl with the short blue hair. She looked up from the book she was reading, her glasses glinting in the sunlight. Of the odango-haired girl, there was no sign.
"Konnichiwa, minna. Oh! Its you!" The pretty priestess said as she spotted the American girl. "Its nice to see you again."
"Rei-chan, this is Menagi Starnigh. Menagi-san, these are our friends Rei Hino, and Ami Mizuno." Mako-chan introduced her friends. Menagi bowed to the girls, and they bowed back.
Ami's brows knit together. "Starnigh, that sounds familiar. I wonder why."
Minako cleared her throat. "Where's Usagi-chan?"
Rei's face turned red, and she ground her teeth together. "Late, as usual. I swear, that girl is such a loser!" She realized she was insulting her friend in front of a virtual stranger, and slapped her hand over her mouth and turned beet red.
Ami's face had an exasperated look on it. "What she meant to say was that our friend, Usagi, is a little forgetful. She's a good person though."
Menagi looked from one girl to the next. "Usagi. That would be the girl with the unusual blonde ponytails. She's the one who, umm, bumped into me yesterday, right?"
Suddenly all the girls seemed to look everywhere but at Menagi, sweatdrops forming on their brows. Makoto scratched her head, and said, "That would be her. Unfortunately, our friend is a bit of a klutz." She gave Menagi a sheepish grin. Menagi picked up the underlying meaning. They liked their friend a lot, but this Usagi apparently needed a lot of work. They just didn't want to give Menagi a bad impression before she got to know the girl.
"Hey everyone! Sorry I'm late! I had detention again, and then I stopped by to say Hi to Motoki at the arcade, and then they had this.... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The blonde in question came running up the steps to the temple, then, after seeing Menagi, tried to come to a halt. As she hit the brakes, she tripped on a loose flagstone, which sent her flying. Her arms pinwheeled comically in the air for a moment as she sailed through the air, straight at Menagi. Oh God, not again! Menagi thought as she saw the meatball haired girl come flying towards her. She braced herself, and ended up with an armful of Usagi.
"Oof!" Menagi grunted, but this time, managed to stay standing. She tried to prop the shaken girl back up, but to her surprise, the slight girl weighed a ton. "Ohmygosh! You're heavier than you look!" she grunted as she set Usagi back on her feet.
The other girls laughed as Usagi turned red and looked at her feet. "That's because she eats tons of sweets!" Rei chided.
"No one can eat like Usagi-chan!" Mako-chan added.
"I dunno, you come close," Minako whispered to Makoto, which earned the blonde another elbow in the ribs.
"I thought we were going to study," Ami reminded the girls, looking over the rim of her reading glasses.
Usagi turned bright red as she regained her feet. "Oh god, I'm so sorry! I did it again, didn't I? I didn't hurt you this time, did I? Oh, I'm so sorry!" The young girl looked down at the ground, completely embarrassed. As her eyes started to fill with tears, the pig-tailed girl felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, her big blue eyes round, and saw the tall American girl smile at her.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm fine." Then her smile got wider, and her voice dropped to a conspirators whisper, "Don't feel bad, I'm kind of a klutz, too. I know how you feel." With that, she winked at the pretty blonde.
Usagi stopped sniffling and smiled back. "I'm Usagi Tsukino. Its nice to meet you."
The violet-eyed girl reached out and shook her hand, American style. "I'm Menagi Starnigh. Its nice to finally meet you, too."
The girls invited Menagi inside, offering her tea and snacks made by Makoto, which vexed Ami to no end. "I thought we were supposed to be studying for our high school entrance exams," the blue haired girl sighed to herself, while the other 4 girls pumped Menagi for information about America. The foreigner happily answered all their questions as best she could. Ami asked if she could practice her English with Menagi some time, and the amethyst eyed girl agreed. Thankfully, they avoided more personal questions, which was due in part to the intervention of Makoto and Minako. When Usagi started asking about her family, Mako-chan changed the subject.
"You know, I love to cook, and I want to learn some American recipes. You wouldn't happen to cook, would you?" the green-eyed girl asked.
Menagi shrugged. "I can cook, but not as good as this," she said, gesturing to the empty snack plates. "You're what I'd call a gourmet. My food is just edible." Menagi gave her a sheepish grin.
"That's ok, I'm sure Mako-chan can improve on anything you teach her! Just show her the basics," Minako piped in. Rei punched her in the arm.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?" the pretty blonde yelled. The other girls laughed.
Menagi chuckled ruefully. "I wouldn't be so fast to hit her for that. You've never tasted my cooking." The girls laughed harder.
"That's ok, you can't be any worse than Usagi-chan. She's a terrible cook. She even burns water!" Rei snickered.
Usagi's blue eyes filled with tears and her lip curled under into a pout. "Rei-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan that was mean! Take it back!"
Rei crossed her arms across her chest. "Why should I? It's the truth. You're such a meatball head. Even Chibi-Usa can cook better than you." This set the blue eyed girl into a hysterical fit of sobbing.
"Rei-chan you're so mean to me. I'm NOT a meatball head. I can too cook. Remember when I made the curry for Chibi-Usa's school dinner party? Mamo-chan liked it!"
"He only said that to be nice to you. He's your boyfriend, he has to."
Usagi started sobbing even louder, while Menagi's eyes got as round as dinner plates. "Good god!" she gasped under her breath.
Makoto leaned over and whispered to Menagi. "Those two are always fighting like that. It's hard to believe that they're actually very close. I think Rei's a little too hard on her, though."
Menagi looked at her. "Aren't you guys going to do anything? It doesn't sound like Rei-san is going to give up any time soon."
Minako leaned past Mako-chan. "We've tried. Nothing works. We've learned to just ignore them, and pretend nothings going on. It's easier that way." Across the table, Ami nodded solemnly, a bead of sweat rolling down from her temple.
Menagi cleared her throat. "Rei-sama! I remember seeing you in a priestess outfit yesterday. Do you work here?" The dark eyed girl paused mid-sentence, and turned to regard the foreign girl.
"Actually, this is my Grandfather's shrine. Yes, I'm a priestess here, why do you ask?"
Menagi blushed and looked at the floor. "Well, it has to do with why I was coming here yesterday. I've always wanted to learn more about Japanese culture, which is why I'm here in Tokyo. I was wondering if you needed any help around the temple, like someone to sweep or clean or something in return for some lessons on the Shinto religion."
Rei blinked. "You really want to help around here? I don't know, I'd have to ask my grandfather. We can't pay you but-"
"No, no, no! I don't want money! I'd just really like to learn more about the shrine, about being a priestess. Onegai, think about it?"
Rei nodded. "Sure, I'll talk to him at dinner tonight." She smiled at Menagi. "You know, it'd be nice to have another girl around here. Yuuichirou can be such a bone head." She sighed to herself.
Menagi looked at Minako and raised an eyebrow. Minako caught the look, and said, "Yuuichirou stays here, supposedly to learn to relax. He's a burnt out rock star who's in love with Rei-chan. He actually stays here to be closer to her."
"MI-NA-KO-CHAN!" Flames sprouted in Rei's eyes, and she looked like she could strangle the blonde. The girls roared with laughter.
"So where are you going to school?" Ami asked. The laughter stopped, and sweatdrops formed on everyone's brows.
"Leave it to Ami to ask about school and studying," Minako muttered under her breath.
Menagi looked at the floor. "I hadn't decided yet. I want to go to a nice private school, one that will accept my transfer."
"Rei-chan goes to a nice private school. Why don't you go there?" Makoto said.
"You could always go to Crossroads Junior High with us," Usagi suggested.
Minako nodded. "Yeah! That'd be great! You could be in all our classes!"
Ami rolled her eyes. "You just want her to do all your homework."
Minako sighed. "Well, it was a thought."
They spent the remainder of the afternoon talking about clothes, school, and, of course, boys. It was one of the best afternoons Menagi could remember having since the plane crash. Normally, she was very shy and reserved around people she didn't know, but with these girls, it was different. She felt comfortable around them, and they seemed to enjoy her company as well. She felt bad for having to worm her way into Rei's temple, but that could not be helped. She needed to investigate the strange emanations she felt the other day, and volunteering to work here seemed to be the best way. Besides, Rhea said she should make new friends, and she couldn't think of a nicer group of girls to be friends with. She waved at the girls as she walked down the steps, promising to come back again soon. She turned around and almost slammed into a pedestrian again. She apologized profusely to the dark haired young man she almost ran over and headed home. Halfway there, it dawned on her it was the same handsome boy she'd bumped into the day before.
"Who was that girl you were waving to, Usako?" Mamoru Chiba asked as he peeled Usagi off of him gently. He wasn't thrilled with the thought of a possible enemy being so close to his Usako.
"Oh! That's Menagi Starnigh, the girl I told you about yesterday. She's really nice, Mamo-chan. I'll have to introduce you to her." Usagi smiled up into his blue eyes, and latched back on to his arm again.
"Menagi Starnigh, are you sure?" His eyebrows shot up.
Ami looked up from her book and nodded. "That's right. I still don't know why that sounds familiar."
"It should," Mamoru said, "since she happens to be the heiress to one of the largest computer companies in America. I wonder what she's doing in Japan?"
"Hey, Rei-chan! We're here! And we brought company!" Minako yelled. The lithe blonde grabbed Menagi's wrist and tugged her forward into the courtyard. The violet-eyed girl almost yelped in pain, since Minako had grabbed her sore wrist. "Come on, Menagi-san, I'm sure everyone would like to meet you," and proceeded to drag her over to a small building with rice paper doors. One of the doors slid open and the raven-haired priestess walked out. This time, however, she was dressed in a pink jumper with a white top. Behind her, inside a small room apparently being used as a study, sat the girl with the short blue hair. She looked up from the book she was reading, her glasses glinting in the sunlight. Of the odango-haired girl, there was no sign.
"Konnichiwa, minna. Oh! Its you!" The pretty priestess said as she spotted the American girl. "Its nice to see you again."
"Rei-chan, this is Menagi Starnigh. Menagi-san, these are our friends Rei Hino, and Ami Mizuno." Mako-chan introduced her friends. Menagi bowed to the girls, and they bowed back.
Ami's brows knit together. "Starnigh, that sounds familiar. I wonder why."
Minako cleared her throat. "Where's Usagi-chan?"
Rei's face turned red, and she ground her teeth together. "Late, as usual. I swear, that girl is such a loser!" She realized she was insulting her friend in front of a virtual stranger, and slapped her hand over her mouth and turned beet red.
Ami's face had an exasperated look on it. "What she meant to say was that our friend, Usagi, is a little forgetful. She's a good person though."
Menagi looked from one girl to the next. "Usagi. That would be the girl with the unusual blonde ponytails. She's the one who, umm, bumped into me yesterday, right?"
Suddenly all the girls seemed to look everywhere but at Menagi, sweatdrops forming on their brows. Makoto scratched her head, and said, "That would be her. Unfortunately, our friend is a bit of a klutz." She gave Menagi a sheepish grin. Menagi picked up the underlying meaning. They liked their friend a lot, but this Usagi apparently needed a lot of work. They just didn't want to give Menagi a bad impression before she got to know the girl.
"Hey everyone! Sorry I'm late! I had detention again, and then I stopped by to say Hi to Motoki at the arcade, and then they had this.... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The blonde in question came running up the steps to the temple, then, after seeing Menagi, tried to come to a halt. As she hit the brakes, she tripped on a loose flagstone, which sent her flying. Her arms pinwheeled comically in the air for a moment as she sailed through the air, straight at Menagi. Oh God, not again! Menagi thought as she saw the meatball haired girl come flying towards her. She braced herself, and ended up with an armful of Usagi.
"Oof!" Menagi grunted, but this time, managed to stay standing. She tried to prop the shaken girl back up, but to her surprise, the slight girl weighed a ton. "Ohmygosh! You're heavier than you look!" she grunted as she set Usagi back on her feet.
The other girls laughed as Usagi turned red and looked at her feet. "That's because she eats tons of sweets!" Rei chided.
"No one can eat like Usagi-chan!" Mako-chan added.
"I dunno, you come close," Minako whispered to Makoto, which earned the blonde another elbow in the ribs.
"I thought we were going to study," Ami reminded the girls, looking over the rim of her reading glasses.
Usagi turned bright red as she regained her feet. "Oh god, I'm so sorry! I did it again, didn't I? I didn't hurt you this time, did I? Oh, I'm so sorry!" The young girl looked down at the ground, completely embarrassed. As her eyes started to fill with tears, the pig-tailed girl felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, her big blue eyes round, and saw the tall American girl smile at her.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm fine." Then her smile got wider, and her voice dropped to a conspirators whisper, "Don't feel bad, I'm kind of a klutz, too. I know how you feel." With that, she winked at the pretty blonde.
Usagi stopped sniffling and smiled back. "I'm Usagi Tsukino. Its nice to meet you."
The violet-eyed girl reached out and shook her hand, American style. "I'm Menagi Starnigh. Its nice to finally meet you, too."
The girls invited Menagi inside, offering her tea and snacks made by Makoto, which vexed Ami to no end. "I thought we were supposed to be studying for our high school entrance exams," the blue haired girl sighed to herself, while the other 4 girls pumped Menagi for information about America. The foreigner happily answered all their questions as best she could. Ami asked if she could practice her English with Menagi some time, and the amethyst eyed girl agreed. Thankfully, they avoided more personal questions, which was due in part to the intervention of Makoto and Minako. When Usagi started asking about her family, Mako-chan changed the subject.
"You know, I love to cook, and I want to learn some American recipes. You wouldn't happen to cook, would you?" the green-eyed girl asked.
Menagi shrugged. "I can cook, but not as good as this," she said, gesturing to the empty snack plates. "You're what I'd call a gourmet. My food is just edible." Menagi gave her a sheepish grin.
"That's ok, I'm sure Mako-chan can improve on anything you teach her! Just show her the basics," Minako piped in. Rei punched her in the arm.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?" the pretty blonde yelled. The other girls laughed.
Menagi chuckled ruefully. "I wouldn't be so fast to hit her for that. You've never tasted my cooking." The girls laughed harder.
"That's ok, you can't be any worse than Usagi-chan. She's a terrible cook. She even burns water!" Rei snickered.
Usagi's blue eyes filled with tears and her lip curled under into a pout. "Rei-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan that was mean! Take it back!"
Rei crossed her arms across her chest. "Why should I? It's the truth. You're such a meatball head. Even Chibi-Usa can cook better than you." This set the blue eyed girl into a hysterical fit of sobbing.
"Rei-chan you're so mean to me. I'm NOT a meatball head. I can too cook. Remember when I made the curry for Chibi-Usa's school dinner party? Mamo-chan liked it!"
"He only said that to be nice to you. He's your boyfriend, he has to."
Usagi started sobbing even louder, while Menagi's eyes got as round as dinner plates. "Good god!" she gasped under her breath.
Makoto leaned over and whispered to Menagi. "Those two are always fighting like that. It's hard to believe that they're actually very close. I think Rei's a little too hard on her, though."
Menagi looked at her. "Aren't you guys going to do anything? It doesn't sound like Rei-san is going to give up any time soon."
Minako leaned past Mako-chan. "We've tried. Nothing works. We've learned to just ignore them, and pretend nothings going on. It's easier that way." Across the table, Ami nodded solemnly, a bead of sweat rolling down from her temple.
Menagi cleared her throat. "Rei-sama! I remember seeing you in a priestess outfit yesterday. Do you work here?" The dark eyed girl paused mid-sentence, and turned to regard the foreign girl.
"Actually, this is my Grandfather's shrine. Yes, I'm a priestess here, why do you ask?"
Menagi blushed and looked at the floor. "Well, it has to do with why I was coming here yesterday. I've always wanted to learn more about Japanese culture, which is why I'm here in Tokyo. I was wondering if you needed any help around the temple, like someone to sweep or clean or something in return for some lessons on the Shinto religion."
Rei blinked. "You really want to help around here? I don't know, I'd have to ask my grandfather. We can't pay you but-"
"No, no, no! I don't want money! I'd just really like to learn more about the shrine, about being a priestess. Onegai, think about it?"
Rei nodded. "Sure, I'll talk to him at dinner tonight." She smiled at Menagi. "You know, it'd be nice to have another girl around here. Yuuichirou can be such a bone head." She sighed to herself.
Menagi looked at Minako and raised an eyebrow. Minako caught the look, and said, "Yuuichirou stays here, supposedly to learn to relax. He's a burnt out rock star who's in love with Rei-chan. He actually stays here to be closer to her."
"MI-NA-KO-CHAN!" Flames sprouted in Rei's eyes, and she looked like she could strangle the blonde. The girls roared with laughter.
"So where are you going to school?" Ami asked. The laughter stopped, and sweatdrops formed on everyone's brows.
"Leave it to Ami to ask about school and studying," Minako muttered under her breath.
Menagi looked at the floor. "I hadn't decided yet. I want to go to a nice private school, one that will accept my transfer."
"Rei-chan goes to a nice private school. Why don't you go there?" Makoto said.
"You could always go to Crossroads Junior High with us," Usagi suggested.
Minako nodded. "Yeah! That'd be great! You could be in all our classes!"
Ami rolled her eyes. "You just want her to do all your homework."
Minako sighed. "Well, it was a thought."
They spent the remainder of the afternoon talking about clothes, school, and, of course, boys. It was one of the best afternoons Menagi could remember having since the plane crash. Normally, she was very shy and reserved around people she didn't know, but with these girls, it was different. She felt comfortable around them, and they seemed to enjoy her company as well. She felt bad for having to worm her way into Rei's temple, but that could not be helped. She needed to investigate the strange emanations she felt the other day, and volunteering to work here seemed to be the best way. Besides, Rhea said she should make new friends, and she couldn't think of a nicer group of girls to be friends with. She waved at the girls as she walked down the steps, promising to come back again soon. She turned around and almost slammed into a pedestrian again. She apologized profusely to the dark haired young man she almost ran over and headed home. Halfway there, it dawned on her it was the same handsome boy she'd bumped into the day before.
"Who was that girl you were waving to, Usako?" Mamoru Chiba asked as he peeled Usagi off of him gently. He wasn't thrilled with the thought of a possible enemy being so close to his Usako.
"Oh! That's Menagi Starnigh, the girl I told you about yesterday. She's really nice, Mamo-chan. I'll have to introduce you to her." Usagi smiled up into his blue eyes, and latched back on to his arm again.
"Menagi Starnigh, are you sure?" His eyebrows shot up.
Ami looked up from her book and nodded. "That's right. I still don't know why that sounds familiar."
"It should," Mamoru said, "since she happens to be the heiress to one of the largest computer companies in America. I wonder what she's doing in Japan?"