Please R/R.
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, never have, never will. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi, and I'm only borrowing them a bit.
***
"I don't know what to believe," Minako wailed, tears flooding her eyes. "They're going to kill Selenity. And they're going to kill me because I know." She turned tail and ran frantically through the halls of the castle.
"Mina-chan, hello! Where are you off to at such a breakneck speed?" a familiar voice called.
"Rei-chan," Minako gasped, stopping short of rushing into Rei. "Gomen. I didn't see you. Seems I've been running into too many people tonight."
"What do you mean?" Rei asked, placing a consoling hand on Minako's shoulder. "Sit with me, Mina-chan, and we'll talk. It's been too long. I feel so torn apart from all of the senshi since..." Rei closed her eyes for a second to compose herself, "Since...she disappeared. Too trapped in my grief."
"Gomen nasai, Rei-chan," Minako said, the tables having turned. It was now she comforting her companion. "We all miss her. And I understand you miss her a lot."
"She reminded me of Usagi-chan when we first met. Off-the-wall, a ball of fire. Carefree. I couldn't have the same relationship with Selenity anymore. I still can't. We've grown apart since she became queen. Duties and Endymion. It takes up much of her time. More now since the accident. And with Chibi-Usa-chan, it was almost like I had a little sister. Just like Usagi-chan seemed like my sister back then. And then..."
"And then she was gone," Minako finished. "I know what you mean, Rei-chan. It's like there's this empty space now. She was bratty and annoying and a pain, but God, I loved to be around her. You know?"
"All too well," Rei agreed with a watery smile.
"It's all right, Rei. Wherever she is, I'm sure she's fine." Minako sounded confident, but she remembered the shadowed figures with the prophecy of Chibi-Usa's death, and her lie to Rei hurt horribly.
And yet, she just couldn't bring herself to trust Rei completely. They'd known each other for years, through multiple reincarnations, several different eras, and outside of Serenity, Rei was her closest friend. But Minako just couldn't trust her implicitly. Yes, Rei had sworn loyalty to the White Moon. They all had. These days bonds didn't seem to matter much anymore.
"I should go," Minako said abruptly, and stood up. Rei blinked at her, confused, but out of the corner of her eye Minako saw Makoto approaching from the far end of the hall, and Minako felt safer in one-on-one situations. "I'll, uh, see you later, Rei-chan. Ja!" With an almost frantic wave, Minako walked as fast as she could without actually running down the hall and around a corner, where she ducked into an empty room, turned off the lights, and hid behind a large bookcase.
Minako sank to the floor, drew her knees to her chest, and shook slightly, choking back tears. None of this was fair. None of this made sense. The very idea that her closest friends in the world might actually be against her was more that she could bear.
"Where'd she go?"
Minako looked up, wiping her eyes free of loose tears and sinking further into the shadows. The voices were coming from the hall. It sounded like Rei and Makoto.
"I think she went back to her room."
"What was she babbling about? Conspiracies and all that. Did she get hit in the head recently?" the second voice inquired.
"Minako is a lot of things, but she isn't crazy," the first voice insisted.
The second voice sighed deeply. "Everyone will just have to come to terms with the fact that the princess is dead."
Minako sucked in air, and clamped her hand over her mouth. Even though the owners of the voices were in the hall, she was still terrified she'd be discovered. She pressed closer into her corner, straining to hear.
"Don't say that, Matoko! Don't say that! She...she can't be dead! She can't!"
"Chibi-Usa is dead. The Tsukino legacy is on its last leg."
"She's a *senshi*, goddammit. You can't kill a senshi that easily."
"You can if you want to badly enough. You can do anything in the world if you want it badly enough." When Makoto spoke again, Minako could hear the smirk in her voice. "She fought until the end, Rei-chan. Valiently. She was on a quest for freedom."
In the hallway and in the room, simultaneously, Minako and Rei started to cry. Neither of them knew the other was crying, as both sobbed silently. Rei did not want to be seen as weak, and Minako didn't want to be seen, period.
"You and Minako are on the losing side, Rei-chan. See how you cry now? The White Moon brings nothing but pain and suffering. That teardrop is the only part of you that is truly free. Don't wait much longer, Rei."
Minako heard Makoto's footsteps retreating down the corridor. She heard Rei's muttered curse.
She cried.
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, never have, never will. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi, and I'm only borrowing them a bit.
***
"I don't know what to believe," Minako wailed, tears flooding her eyes. "They're going to kill Selenity. And they're going to kill me because I know." She turned tail and ran frantically through the halls of the castle.
"Mina-chan, hello! Where are you off to at such a breakneck speed?" a familiar voice called.
"Rei-chan," Minako gasped, stopping short of rushing into Rei. "Gomen. I didn't see you. Seems I've been running into too many people tonight."
"What do you mean?" Rei asked, placing a consoling hand on Minako's shoulder. "Sit with me, Mina-chan, and we'll talk. It's been too long. I feel so torn apart from all of the senshi since..." Rei closed her eyes for a second to compose herself, "Since...she disappeared. Too trapped in my grief."
"Gomen nasai, Rei-chan," Minako said, the tables having turned. It was now she comforting her companion. "We all miss her. And I understand you miss her a lot."
"She reminded me of Usagi-chan when we first met. Off-the-wall, a ball of fire. Carefree. I couldn't have the same relationship with Selenity anymore. I still can't. We've grown apart since she became queen. Duties and Endymion. It takes up much of her time. More now since the accident. And with Chibi-Usa-chan, it was almost like I had a little sister. Just like Usagi-chan seemed like my sister back then. And then..."
"And then she was gone," Minako finished. "I know what you mean, Rei-chan. It's like there's this empty space now. She was bratty and annoying and a pain, but God, I loved to be around her. You know?"
"All too well," Rei agreed with a watery smile.
"It's all right, Rei. Wherever she is, I'm sure she's fine." Minako sounded confident, but she remembered the shadowed figures with the prophecy of Chibi-Usa's death, and her lie to Rei hurt horribly.
And yet, she just couldn't bring herself to trust Rei completely. They'd known each other for years, through multiple reincarnations, several different eras, and outside of Serenity, Rei was her closest friend. But Minako just couldn't trust her implicitly. Yes, Rei had sworn loyalty to the White Moon. They all had. These days bonds didn't seem to matter much anymore.
"I should go," Minako said abruptly, and stood up. Rei blinked at her, confused, but out of the corner of her eye Minako saw Makoto approaching from the far end of the hall, and Minako felt safer in one-on-one situations. "I'll, uh, see you later, Rei-chan. Ja!" With an almost frantic wave, Minako walked as fast as she could without actually running down the hall and around a corner, where she ducked into an empty room, turned off the lights, and hid behind a large bookcase.
Minako sank to the floor, drew her knees to her chest, and shook slightly, choking back tears. None of this was fair. None of this made sense. The very idea that her closest friends in the world might actually be against her was more that she could bear.
"Where'd she go?"
Minako looked up, wiping her eyes free of loose tears and sinking further into the shadows. The voices were coming from the hall. It sounded like Rei and Makoto.
"I think she went back to her room."
"What was she babbling about? Conspiracies and all that. Did she get hit in the head recently?" the second voice inquired.
"Minako is a lot of things, but she isn't crazy," the first voice insisted.
The second voice sighed deeply. "Everyone will just have to come to terms with the fact that the princess is dead."
Minako sucked in air, and clamped her hand over her mouth. Even though the owners of the voices were in the hall, she was still terrified she'd be discovered. She pressed closer into her corner, straining to hear.
"Don't say that, Matoko! Don't say that! She...she can't be dead! She can't!"
"Chibi-Usa is dead. The Tsukino legacy is on its last leg."
"She's a *senshi*, goddammit. You can't kill a senshi that easily."
"You can if you want to badly enough. You can do anything in the world if you want it badly enough." When Makoto spoke again, Minako could hear the smirk in her voice. "She fought until the end, Rei-chan. Valiently. She was on a quest for freedom."
In the hallway and in the room, simultaneously, Minako and Rei started to cry. Neither of them knew the other was crying, as both sobbed silently. Rei did not want to be seen as weak, and Minako didn't want to be seen, period.
"You and Minako are on the losing side, Rei-chan. See how you cry now? The White Moon brings nothing but pain and suffering. That teardrop is the only part of you that is truly free. Don't wait much longer, Rei."
Minako heard Makoto's footsteps retreating down the corridor. She heard Rei's muttered curse.
She cried.