Dreaming of Dreams
Chapter 8
"Mademoiselle?" The man stared down at Minako with question in his eyes.
Minako's usually light blue eyes became dark, with flickering emotions dancing in them. "Ku…Kunzite!"
The man blinked at her, the questions in his eyes becoming more and more evident with every passing second.
"I can't believe it's really you!" She rambled on, reaching out and clutching at his arm.
"How do you know my name?" The man's long white hair glistened lightly from the street lights surrounding them, and suddenly he abandoned any attempt at speaking the French language, noticing she didn't speak it.
She gasped. "Of course…you wouldn't remember. There's no reason that you would remember. I'm…very sorry to have bothered you, sir." She turned away from him and started to leave when she felt a hand gripping her wrist. She glanced back at him and noticed his light gray eyes were staring at her intensely, and his gaze locked with hers.
"Minako…? I'm sorry; I didn't recognize you at first. It's been such a long time since we've seen each other…and I didn't realize that you knew my true name. I never thought I told you."
Her eyes became very wide. "Wha…what?" She squeaked.
He laughed. "It's been years since I last saw you…been a long time since you left England. Tell me, what are you doing here?"
"Here with fr…fri…friends on vacation. Kunzite, what are you talking about? En…England?" Her voice was shaking terribly and she knew it. She gulped, staring at his hand's grip on her arm.
He looked at her questionably. "Why do you keep calling me Kunzite? Minako, no one ever calls me that."
She gulped again. "O…Oh?"
"Yeah…I go by Kevin, remember? My middle name…" He kept staring at her with questions in his eyes. The look was killing her.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about…I don't remember ever meeting you in England…I was there for some time, but I really don't remember you!" She was searching her mind for answers, trying to place this man from her dreams into her past life in England.
He frowned. "If you don't know me from England, then where do you know me from? I can't believe you remember my first name and don't remember me!"
She gulped yet again, staring up into his suddenly dark gray eyes. "I…I remember you…from…from our…past." She emphasized the word, trying to get him to understand what she meant.
He looked clueless. He laughed. "I'm afraid our only past was the two or three dates we went on before you suddenly disappeared. I remember trying to call you to see if you wanted to go out again, and all I got was someone telling me you had gone to live in Japan. I didn't know what to think of what had become of you…"
She gasped, memories instantly filling her mind. Kevin…she HAD dated a Kevin, right before she had left the English country. They had only gone out on a few dates. She remembered that back then, she had been one to leave men behind without a phone call, note, or appearance. She had always said she would never be one to commit. Then she had come to Japan, and her life changed entirely. She ceased dating anyone, because without his knowing, her heart had been stolen away by Motoki from the second she had been introduced to him. She laughed bitterly to herself, thinking of how even she didn't know her heart was no longer her own until just a few hours ago in a dream.
She looked up at him, her eyes swimming with emotions. "I'm sorry, Kevin. I remember now. I should have called and told you about my leaving…I'm so sorry."
He nodded. "It's alright. We weren't anything serious." He smiled deeply at her. "Say, have you had dinner yet?"
She pursed her lips together, thinking of the girls and how she had left them at the café. "Well, no actually. I was just about to have dinner with my friends when I saw you and left them…I should be getting back to them now before they have three separate panic attacks."
He laughed. "Once you tell your friends you're alright, why not joining me for dinner?"
She blinked several times, and pondered the request in her mind. "Well…I…" She smiled lightly. "Sure…I think I can trust you." She laughed lightly. "Let me go talk to my friends for a few moments first, though."
"Sure." He pointed to a small fountain in the middle of a plaza of shops. "I'll wait for you there, alright?"
She nodded and grinned. "Okay! I'll see ya in a few!" She turned and ran lightly away, back towards the café.
Walking inside, she noticed her friends were all sitting in the booth, all looking fretful.
"Girls!" She ran up to them, panting lightly.
They all gasped and stood up. "MINA-CHAN!"
"Where did you go!" Rei yelled, shaking the blonde's shoulders lightly.
"We left the café and looked everywhere for you! We just now had given up and come back in here, hoping you'd show up!" Ami exclaimed, deep worry in her azure eyes.
Makato pulled Rei away from Minako, who was now looking quite frazzled from all the shaking. "You'd better start explaining!"
"Well…I saw someone I knew…he's offered to take me to dinner."
Blue, green, and violet eyes went wide in amazement.
"Who!" Makato asked.
"Kun--Kevin. I used to date him back in England."
Rei's eyes became dreamy. "A love from your past!"
Minako cringed. If only she knew. The blonde smiled brightly, hiding her feeling of discomfort. "Yeah, I guess. Anyways, I'm going to out with him, if that's alright with you guys. I'll meet you back at the hotel in a couple hours." She gave them a small wave and started to leave, but not before Makato could grasp her arm.
"Wait, Mina-chan!"
Minako looked at the brunette, who was frowning deeply.
"Be careful. You've got your senshi communicator?"
Minako nodded. "Yeah, but…"
"I know we've all said it would only be used for senshi business…but this might be senshi dealings, if this Kevin tries anything." Ami whispered, a blush staining her cheeks as she thought of what she was referring to.
Minako smiled, touched by her friends' concern. "Thanks, guys. I'll be alright. I can whip his ass for sure, so don't worry! He wouldn't stand a chance against me if he even dared to touch me." She giggled, hugging each one of them briefly before turning and walking lightly out of the café, smiling and waving to them as she went.
Makato sighed. "I don't like this, girls. I don't like it at all."
Rei nodded in agreement. "We should follow her."
Ami blinked. "But…but that would be spying!"
Makato folded her arms. "It's for a good reason, Ami-chan. You don't want to see Mina-chan get hurt, do you?"
Ami's eyes fell to the table as she shook her head. "Of course not. You're right…but she mustn't know that we're…spying." She whispered the last word.
The other two girls nodded. Rei threw enough franks to cover the charge of their quick meal on the table before they turned to leave.
Motoki sat in the CROWN arcade miserably, watching as the final few customers sauntered out, waving goodbyes to him as they went. He smiled back half-heartedly, anxious for them to leave. Finally, the glass doors slid shut.
He breathed a deep sigh of relief. Slinging off his apron, he turned to lock everything before finally leaving the arcade himself.
He walked out of the arcade, walking dejectedly along the quiet, dark streets of Tokyo. He stopped his walk and stared up into the dark night, noticing how very few stars were out. He frowned. That didn't help cheer him up.
Sitting on a bench on the side of the street, with only a simple light post casting light on him, his mind wandered to Minako. "Wonder if she's having fun in France…" He murmured, his eyes searching through the black skies. He sighed unhappily. 'There's no use…I can't hide it anymore…'
"Motoki?"
The straw blonde haired man jumped in surprise and turned to the sound of a soft gentle voice. He saw a lovely brown haired girl smiling at him and he forced a smile back. "Konbanwa, Reika."
"You look upset. Is there something I can do to help?" The tall girl gently sat beside him.
He frowned deeply. "Well…I…"
"It's about a girl, isn't it?"
He blinked, and she saw the truth that had been hidden in his light blue eyes.
"Ah, so it is about a girl. You love her?"
"Yes." He croaked, his voice betraying him.
Reika nodded, understanding in her eyes. "Have you told her?"
He stared blankly at her. "Reika…"
"I know, I know. It's odd for me to want to help you with another girl, right?" She shrugged, slipping her eyelids over her dark brown eyes. "I just do, though. I left you for another and I feel awful about it. I love him, though, and we both know it wouldn't have worked out between us. You love another…you always have, even without even knowing it, and I want to help you…because I do care for you, Motoki-kun. I want you to be happy, and be with a girl you truly love, and can love for the rest of your life."
His voice caught in his throat, and he was unable to say anything.
She laughed, opening her eyes and turning to face him. "So, quit with that shocked look and tell me who the lucky girl is! Though I believe I can guess…"
He blinked several times at her. "It's…well…she's…" He blushed and looked away from her to stare at the light post and the soft light it cast about the deserted street. "Mina-chan."
"I knew it."
His eyes widened and he spun around to face her. "What do you mean!"
She laughed, a light fluttering sound drifting through the air. "It's always been obvious how very much that girl means to you! Even when we were dating, I noticed how very attached you were to her…and how very attached she was to you."
He frowned deeply. "That's not true…I mean nothing to her…"
Reika nearly choked on air. "Excuse me? She's madly in love with you! She always has been! I've noticed. She was always so kind to me, even though I knew how very much she wished she were me! I felt really badly for her, though at the time, I thought I truly loved you, and I wasn't about to let her take you…but now things have changed. She's the one who can love you like you deserve…not me."
He stared at the ground for quite some time, contemplating her words. He looked up at her smiling face. "So what are you doing here? I thought you were in Africa."
She blinked. "Oh, well…Tamasaki and I are visiting his family. We had to come back and tell them the good news in person. They wouldn't have liked only a phone call."
"Good news?"
She grinned widely, nodding. "We're engaged."
He smiled. "That's great, Reika. Have you set a wedding date?"
She shook her head. "No, not yet." She looked at him. "You're invited, though, whenever we decide to have it. I hope I see you there…especially with a certain blonde girl on your arm." She winked at him, watching him blush. She laughed lightly and stood up. "Now I need to go, before Tama wonders I am. I'm supposed to be bringing back some dinner for us." She held up a bag of groceries that had been on the bench beside her, hidden from view.
He nodded and stood, leaning over and hugging her lightly. "Take care, Reika…and thanks."
She grinned. "I didn't do anything, though! I'm just telling you, you need to tell her you care before it's too late. There have to be millions of guys pining for that heart of hers."
He nodded. "I will…but it's going to be almost two weeks before I see her. She's in Paris with her friends and Mamoru."
"Mamoru! Ah, I've missed him! I'll be gone, too, in two weeks! Oh, do give him a hug for me!" She pouted, thinking fondly of the tall dark haired man who had always been her friend, even when she and Motoki had parted ways.
He grinned. "Well, sure, but it won't exactly mean as much if had come from you." He laughed.
She giggled along with him. "Well, send my love to him and Usagi…oh, how are they doing?"
"In love as can be, and as usual, always fighting." He shook his head and laughed.
"Some things never change!" She chirped. Giving him one last hug, she walked away, leaving him to stand beside the deserted bench.
'…tell her you care before it's too late.' Her words echoed through his mind repeatedly. He nodded slightly. "I will tell her."
Smiling, he left the bench, and as he looked up at the night sky, he noticed that suddenly, millions of bright stars twinkled down at him. His smile grew wider.
Minako kept staring idly at her plate as she listened to "Kevin" chat aimlessly about various things. She nodded from time to time, letting him ramble all he wanted. She was in more of a mood to be a listener, anyways, though it was odd for her, usually being quite the talker.
Kevin finally noticed her quietness. "Hey, what's up? Got something on your mind?"
She looked up from her food, and smiled lightly. "Not really."
"Are you sure? You're being awfully quiet. I remember you as a very outspoken girl." He let his hand wander away from his side of the table to rest upon her small hand.
She stared at their hands, her pupils becoming smaller by the moment. She shook her head and pulled her hand away from his, shocking him.
"I'm sorry." She muttered, a blush creeping into her features.
He smiled warmly. "That's alright. So tell me, how have you been in Japan?"
She smiled brightly. "I love my life now. I have the greatest friends, and my mother loves it there too. She can finally relax there, and has a good steady job. She doesn't rely on the money I made for those Sailor V products anymore. We're happy…" Her eyes became soft.
"That's really great! So how's your love life been?"
She nearly choked on a sip of her tea. "My…my what!"
"You have a boyfriend?"
She blushed furiously, clenching her hands around the napkin in her lap. "Well…um…not exactly."
"But there is someone you wish WAS your boyfriend, am I right?"
She looked up from her staring contest with her napkin to see his eyes twinkling in merriment. "Um…well…yes, actually there is."
"So no hope for us rekindling flames then, huh?"
She blushed again and shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Kunzite."
"I wish you'd stop that! I despise being called that…" He shook his head in frustration.
"Why?" She frowned.
He shrugged. "Well…it's so very formal…and being called that has always made me feel bad. Though I can't exactly remember why…"
She nodded. "Well, Kevin, I'll try not to call you that."
"How do you know about my name, anyways? I never told you, I'm sure of it."
She thought seriously for a moment, trying to come up with an excuse that wouldn't make him believe she was crazy. 'He'd never believe the truth…and I don't want to trouble him with stories of the past.'
"I'm not sure, really." She frowned. "I heard it somewhere, but I don't really remember."
He frowned as well, but shrugged it off. "Well, that's alright. Just don't tell anyone." He winked.
She smiled.
After dinner, Minako and Kevin strolled through a local park slowly, both not saying much. Stopping at a bridge over a small creek, Minako leaned over the rail and stared down in the water that was reflecting the dark sky above. She looked up and sighed unhappily, noticing how few stars were hanging in the sky.
Kevin came up beside her and leaned comfortably over the rail with her.
"So, Kevin, what are you doing here anyways? You're still living in England?" Minako tore her eyes away from the sky to look at him.
He nodded. "Yeah, I am, but I'm here because of a business ordeal. I had some time off today, though, and got the chance to explore the city some. Who knew I'd find such a pretty girl to spend it with?" He grinned at her blush.
They remained quiet for several minutes before Kevin spoke up again.
"So tell me about this guy you're in love with."
She blinked, blushing lightly. "Well…what do you want to know?"
"Well, what's his name?"
She blushed deeply. "Well…"
Several feet away, off in a bush near the bridge, three girls squirmed about, trying to avoid thorns and trying desperately to hear what was being said.
"Guys, this isn't right…we know they're nothing but friends, we can go now…"
"Shut up, Ami! Don't you want to hear who she's in love with?"
"Duh, Rei. It's pretty obvious."
"What! You know, Mako-chan!"
"Yeah, duh! Now shut up, I still wanna hear this, and I really don't want HER to hear us!"
A loud smacking sound erupted through the quiet night, and Minako was sure for a moment that some poor animal was in quite the fight with another…
Kevin nudged her arm. "Well, who is he?"
She shook her head and thought nothing more about the strange hitting noises she heard coming from the bushes. "His name is Motoki."
"Have you told him you love him?"
She shook her head sadly. "No…I'm too afraid he won't return the feeling."
"Well…I don't know the situation well, and I don't know this Motoki, but…if he sees just a little bit of the wonderful girl that I see, I'm sure he's head over heels in love with you as well." He winked down playfully at her, ruffling her hair lightly.
She giggled. "Arigatou."
"Huh?"
"Errm…thank you."
"Oh…you've become quite the Japanese." He teased lightly.
"Actually I AM Japanese…I left Japan when I was a child."
"Oh…you don't look Japanese though."
She shrugged. "Not everyone in Japan has dark hair and eyes. My best friend Usagi is a blonde just like me…we've been told we look identical…and she's Japanese, too."
A furious ebony haired girl shot up from the bushes, small twigs sticking out of her hair in various places. She clenched her hands at her sides in anger and yelled. "What do you mean your best friend? I'm your best friend!"
Minako swerved around to see no one there. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head, knowing she was going crazy.
She hadn't seen Makato's and Ami's hands shoot up and yank Rei back down to the ground.
"What do you think you were doing!" Makato hissed, covering Rei's mouth with her hand.
Rei just sat and grumbled various curses, all muffled by Makato's hand.
Ami blushed as she recognized some of the words coming from the priestess's mouth. This was no way for a priestess of her status to behave!
Kevin turned to see Minako staring rather suspiciously at a bush not too far from the bridge. "Minako?"
Minako grumbled to herself and turned back to him. "Yeah?"
"Why are you staring the bushes down like they're going to come to life?" He was blinking at her rather rapidly.
She laughed nervously, scratching her head. "Umm…well…I heard an odd noise."
He merely shrugged. "If you're sure…anyways, I've got to be heading back to my hotel. It's getting rather late, after all. Would you like me to walk you to your hotel?"
She shook her head. "No, no, it's alright. I can manage." She smiled brightly at him. "Thank you for dinner."
He grinned back. "You're welcome." He kissed her cheek in a brotherly fashion before turning and walking away. Turning back once more, he called out to her. "Oh, and Minako! Don't be afraid to tell this guy you love him! You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't, and I'm sure he would regret it too! Let him know you care, and all will be well!"
She nodded numbly, a slow blush creeping into her face.
He smiled once more at her and disappeared into the night.
She turned back to stare over the bridge. "Tell him I love him." She said out loud. She looked up and noticed that the sky had suddenly become very bright with twinkling stars. She smiled brightly. "I will tell him I love him!"
Soft sighs and coos were heard yet again coming from the bushes.
This time Minako KNEW she wasn't dreaming. She twirled around and looked squarely at the offending bush, noticing that it was shaking slightly and soft hissing whispers were filtering through the air.
She stomped over to the bushes and pulled a very sheepish looking Ami out by the hair. "AHA! I knew it! AMI, REI, MAKATO, YOU LITTLE SPIES!"
Rei and Makato stood up from their hiding places, both looking rather guilty and thorn punctured. They grumbled apologies as Ami bowed again and again, saying apologies in so many languages that it scared Minako.
"Whoa, whoa, Ami-chan! It's alright, girl, you can stop now!" Minako started laughing, nearly tumbling over to the ground in fits of giggles.
The three girls noted her strange attitude with blinks.
"Uh…Mina-chan, you're not mad?" Makato blinked, green eyes looking rather shocked.
Minako shook her head. "Nah, I'm not mad. I guess I should have expected it, since you guys didn't know Kevin…by the way, he's Kunzite in the present."
The three girls uttered gasps.
Minako nodded. "Yeah, but he doesn't know that. And there's no reason to tell him. Come on, girls, let's go back to the hotel and see how Mamoru and Usagi's night was."
She linked arms with Ami and Rei, and Makato's arm linked through Ami's.
Ami still looked upset. "You sure you're not mad, Mina-chan?"
"Nope…though I suppose you all heard about Motoki…" The Venus child blushed profusely.
Makato grinned. "Yeah, but I knew already."
Minako looked over at Makato, surprised. "You did!"
She nodded. "Yup!"
They were all walking arm in arm through the park, in the direction of their hotel.
Ami blinked. "Well, I can say that I was surprised. I had no clue."
Rei grumbled. "Neither did I. I should have noticed!" She sighed. "I can't believe you said Usagi is your best friend."
Minako giggled. "So that WAS you that I heard! Well…Usagi is my best friend. Makato is my best friend. Ami is my best friend. You're my best friend. You're ALL my best friends. I love you all, just the same."
The other three girls sniffled, tears appearing in each pair of eyes.
Minako laughed and rolled her eyes at their antics. They all looked up and noticed they were finally back at the hotel. They walked in and rode the elevator to their floor and knocked on Usagi and Mamoru's door. Usagi appeared at the door and smiled at her four friends.
"Hey guys! Did you all have fun?"
They all nodded and piled into the living room area, noticing Mamoru sitting on a sofa, reading glasses on, engrossed in a book. He looked up and noticed them and smiled, then went back to his book.
Minako rolled her eyes. "Poor Usagi-chan…has he been reading this whole time!"
Usagi's face became flushed. "Um…no…we actually just got back ourselves a little while ago. He's been reading ever since we got back, though." She laughed lightly and cuddled up next to Mamoru on the sofa.
"I wonder what you two have been up to." Makato mused, plopping down in an armchair.
Usagi blushed. Mamoru merely rolled his eyes and tried to concentrate on his book.
Rei scooted close to Usagi on the couch. "You two haven't been doing anything we should be ALARMED about, have you?" She wiggled her eyebrows mischievously.
Usagi turned furious eyes on the raven haired priestess. "Rei-baka, you hentai! Hentai, hentai!"
Mamoru promptly stood and whispered something in Usagi's ear and left the room, obviously going to the bedroom.
The girls all turned curious eyes on Usagi.
"What was that about?" Makato asked, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
Usagi just shrugged. "He's tired and going to bed. Though I think really he didn't want to sit around and hear any more of your nonsense." She sniffed and folded her arms across her chest.
Minako shrugged. "Oh, well. It's much easier to gossip without a man in the room anyways."
This said, all the girls looked at each other for a brief moment before piling into the floor around the coffee table. They all giggled, filling everyone in on their evenings.
Finally, after two hours of gossip and chatter, the four senshi wandered sleepily out of Usagi's room, going into their own. Minako and Rei were sharing a room across the hall from Usagi and Mamoru, while Ami and Makato shared the room next door to the other two senshi.
Usagi yawned and wandered into the bedroom, noticing Mamoru reading a book with only a small bedside lamp on. She grinned at the image of her Mamoru shirtless with glasses on. Obviously he was very deeply interested in his book, as he didn't even look up when she entered the room. He did look up, though, when she sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed the book away from him.
Slipping a bookmark she had grabbed off the end table in the binds of the book where he had been reading, she put the book on the table and turned to him, grinning. "Story time's over."
He rolled his eyes, trying to appear annoyed. "Gossip session over, too?"
She nodded. "Yes, sir." She giggled.
He grinned. "Good. About time those crazy girls left." He gently pulled her into his arms, and she leaned over and turned the small bedside table off.
Ami, Minako, Rei, and Makato all sat in Rei and Minako's room, their gossip session not really quite finished.
"You know they're doing it."
"Oh, Kami-sama, Mako-chan, can't you stop that?"
"They are SO doing it."
"Yeah, yeah, they gotta be!"
"I told you. They're DOING it."
"Stop that, Mako-chan!"
"But they're doing IT!"
"No use to try and deny it, you know they are!"
"I can't believe what I'm hearing…"
"You're no fun, Ami-chan!"
"Rei, I hardly call talking about two of our best friends doing IT fun."
"I never thought I'd see the day when Ami-chan said IT when referring to sex!"
"Oh, Kami-sama, Mina-chan! Look how you've made poor Ami-chan blush!"
"She's redder than Usagi is after Mamoru kisses her in public!"
"That's very red."
"You know it."
"Guys, please!"
"Ami-chan's blushing! Ami-chan's blushing!"
"REI!"
"Blushing, blushing little Ami-chan!"
"MINAKO!"
"They are SOOOO doing it."
"MAKATOOOOO!"
A few loud crashes could be heard and if anyone had looked out their door, they would have seen a red-faced Ami dragging a lump-headed Makato by the collar back to their room, and if they had looked in the room the blue haired sprite had just left, they would have seen two senshi by the names of Minako and Rei both rubbing lumps that suddenly had appeared on their heads after two run-ins with a very large physics textbook.
Ami just grinned and dropped Makato on the floor and turned in for the night, promptly falling asleep…dreams of large textbooks and sweet victory dancing in her head.
End Chapter Eight.
A bit of humor in this chapter! I was in a rather humorous mood when I typed this up, and really wanted to play guess who says what a lot, lol...hope you all enjoyed and please leave a review! The next chapter should be out soon!
