"You were no ordinary drain on her defenses,
She was no ordinary girl.
Oh, inverted world!"
The Shins, "One By One All Day"


The day that Usagi broke her ankle was more comical than anything. Rei had decided to take the day off, leaving the shrine closed. She was stretched out on her bed, reading a book titled, "Okay to be Gay: How to Be Gay and Safe" when her phone rang. Without moving her eyes, she reached over and picked it up. "Hello?"

"You are never going to guess what happened," said Makoto on the other end.

The brawny girl was calling from the hospital. Usagi had been running for a bus to Ami's house when she caught her foot on a curb and had broken her ankle. A kind passerby had helped her get a cab to the hospital and had called her mother, who called Makoto. Makoto was at the hospital because Usagi was scared and in pain, although she had been properly drugged and had thus allowed Makoto to leave the room long enough to make the phone call.

"She's okay though, except for the broken ankle. She'll have a cast for six weeks. I already called Ami, she's on her way. She feels responsible because Usagi was going to her house."

"Okay, and what do you want me to do?"

"I dunno, uh... Just come down here. For moral support."

"Okay." Rei paused for a second, and then said, "I'll bring some CDs. I think a little Aino Minako would cheer her up."

"That's a good idea. See you soon?"

"Yeah. Bye."

"Bye."

The miko hung up and crossed the room to her CD rack, casting a glance at her poster of Aino Minako. In truth, Rei had something of a celebrity crush on the singer, and had for a very long time. She was everything that Rei wanted in a girl, and was very talented, and was very smart, and Rei had read interviews and could tell that Minako had a great sense of humor. Rei selected Minako's first album and headed out, hailing a cab from the street in front of the shrine. As she already worked as a miko, Rei generally had more money than her friends and rather enjoyed taking cabs.

When she arrived at the hospital, she headed immediately for the front desk, asking for Usagi, telling them that she was family. She might as well be, anyway, she thought to herself. One thing that Rei had a habit of doing, however, was hearing directions and then immediately forgetting them. As such, she got lost. She wandered around the hospital, trying to find the right room number, trying to remember the room number. 412? 512? Is there even a 512? Or was it 215? She just couldn't remember. Something told her to try all of them. She knew it had a two in it. So she tried 215 first.

She tapped lightly on the door with the corner of the CD in her hand, and after a second, a confused, tired-sounding voice answered, "Come in." So Rei slid back the door.

It was not Usagi. It was Aino Minako. She was propped up in bed, reading "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have the wrong room," she said hurriedly, blushing lightly.

"It's okay." Minako caught her eye for a moment, half-smiling. It was so odd for Rei to see that half-smile in person after seeing it so many times in the magazines. She felt her stomach drop to her toes. "Is that my album?" asked Minako suddenly, looking at Rei's hand.

"Uh, yeah," laughed Rei. "I was bringing it for a friend. She broke her ankle."

Pouting sympathetically, Minako said, "That's too bad. But she'll be okay, she's probably too drugged up to see her own nose at this point."

"That's what I hear," replied Rei.

Minako's smile became more kind. "Come here, and I'll autograph it for you. Close the door though." Rei stepped into the room, carefully closing the door, then walked over to the bed. She was finding it oddly easy to act natural. "What's your name?"

Hesitating for a second, Rei said, "Well, make it out to Usagi. I think she could use a booster like this." Not meeting Minako's gaze, looking at the CD case, she added, "She really loves you."

The half-smile was back on Minako's lips, but this time it was a more amused type of smile. "Is that so? I'll sign this to Usagi, but you still have to tell me your name, okay?"

As if she had been startled suddenly, Rei laughed, "Oh, yeah. I'm Rei. Hino Rei."

"Nice to meet you, Hino-san. I'm Aino Minako."

"It's very nice to meet you, Aino-san." Grinning at each other, they shook hands. Minako took the CD case from Rei and reached over to her purse, taking out a marker. "You carry one of those around with you?"

"I get a lot of people asking me to sign things. I got tired of sending them away because I didn't have anything to write with."

"That's very kind of you."

"You can't be famous unless you love the fans," said Minako wisely, finishing her signature with a flourish. The note said, "To Usagi: Sorry to hear about your ankle. Hope you feel better. Love, Minako-chan."

Reading it, Rei grinned widely. "Usagi is going to die when she reads this. And she's going to kill me when she hears I met you." There was a pause. Minako seemed to be waiting for something.

"What, you're not going to ask me to go meet her?" asked Minako finally.

Rei chuckled. "No, of course not. First of all, she's probably so drugged up she won't even remember anything that happens today by tomorrow."

"That's true. And second of all?"

Looking at the singer, sitting there in the hospital bed, Rei shrugged. "You look tired."

A slow smile spread over the singer's lips. She seemed highly pleased with something. She didn't say anything for a little bit, but she finally said, "You should come visit me again tomorrow. I might get lonely in this stupid hospital."

Nodding, Rei agreed, "I'd like that very much." She felt like she should say something else, but she thought of poor Makoto, probably bored out of her mind. "I should go," she said as she got a mental image of Makoto sitting in a chair next to a sleeping Usagi, chin on her fist, staring off into space. Pity steeped through her being. "My friend who's watching over Usagi probably needs a break."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Definitely."

Turning to leave, Rei looked at the autograph, and then grinned. "Thanks again for this. It's really great." She walked over to the door and slid it open.

"Wait," said Minako suddenly, and Rei turned to look at her. "You never even asked me why I'm here."

Shrugging the same shrug that she had before, Rei said, "Even celebrities deserve their privacy. I thought it would be crossing a line to ask that." Without waiting for an answer, Rei left the room, sliding the door closed behind her.

Neither girl could resist the smile that crossed their lips, or the tiny little sigh.