Warning: Short and very unfulfilling if you ask me. x.X
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.
Chapter 3
Fifteen minutes ago.
Minako stepped into the wet sunshine, cravings for a large sundae finally satiated. "Ne, Usagi-chan, do you want to go to Rei-chan's now?" she asked, jauntily swinging her bookbag as she headed down the street.
A loud wail answered her question.
She turned on her heel to see her counterpart sprawled awkwardly on the ground behind her. Sighing hopelessly, Minako helped the coordination-challenged blonde up. "I wonder when you're going to ever grow out of this stage," she teased with a mock serious face.
Usagi, having found her footing, sniffed haughtily and turned her nose to the sky. "The doctor says I'm still growing so I'm allowed to be clumsy."
"Usagi-chan, you've been the same height for two years."
"I grew almost a centimeter since last year!"
Minako laughed and flipped her sunflower blonde hair over her shoulder. The movement turned heads. The smaller blonde was not lost to them.
She smiled. "Minako-chan, how are the modeling sessions?"
"Hectic! My schedule is filled up for the next two weeks," she sighed with weary content, "so don't expect me at the study sessions next week. I've only got my weekends free now."
But her grades were improving, she thought with a bright smile. The restoration of Chaos to where It truly belonged signified the end of the Sailor Wars. She had been better able to focus on her studies and pursue her lifelong dream—to become a pop icon.
At Usagi's encouragement, Minako had been scouted by a star-searching company during a shopping trip. They loved her look, her vibrancy, and her raw talent. She was already a popular model for many varieties of teenage magazines aimed at both the male and female populations. She became the essence of beauty, health, and intellect—which was another reason why she needed to pull up her grades. Minako was also a representative for the Juuban school district. It gave her all the more incentive to work harder.
Usagi raised an unwaverable fist. "Then we better study extra hard for exams! Or else Rei-chan will start blowing steam out of her nostrils. . .and then the steam will come out her ears, too. . .like a tea kettle!" The image of her extremely volatile friend as a red tea kettle was too much for her and she exploded into laughter.
"What did you say?!"
The petite blonde jumped and gave a little scream before coming face to face with the tea kettle. She grinned unconvincingly. "Rei-chan! You scared me," she said in all seriousness. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"What's that supposed to mean? Am I not allowed to be here?"
"Not with your face!" Usagi blew a raspberry and crossed her arms snootily over her chest.
Rei looked down at her with a condescending glare. "You're so childish, Usagi."
Indignant, the small blonde stomped her foot. "I am not!"
Minako smiled uncomfortably and slowly inched away. "I don't know them," she whispered to the staring pedestrians.
"Minako-chan!" gasped a horrified Usagi. Her eyes dramatically filled up with tears. "Are you forsaking us?"
"Do you even know what 'forsaking' means?"
"Rei-chan hidoi!"*
They made quite a pair, Minako mused with laughter, and somehow, she doubted this sort of relationship would ever end. It was comforting that their friendship would perpetuate in the ever changing world they existed in.
She lifted her wrist to check the time only to find that her watch, which she was positive had been there ten minutes ago, was gone. "Ah!" she exclaimed, interrupting the bickering twosome. "I think I dropped my watch back at Crown. I'll meet you guys at the shrine!" She ran off before either could answer.
Usagi stared after her idol in admiration. Minako's long, pale hair swayed almost like a separate entity from her slender body. Her long, lean legs, toned from years of volleyball flashed down the street, drawing the attentions of many men and women. She sighed with a smear of envy.
"Well, what are you waiting for, baka?"*
Usagi jumped and scowled at Rei. "Nothing!"
"Then let's go!"
"Fine!"
- - - - - - - - - -
Twenty-two months prior.
"Do you remember what you said once, Rei-chan? That your true dream was to marry the man you love one day?"
Rei started. She remembered—it had been before Mistress 9 when she had her terrifying premonitions of Pharoah 90. The world had ended and Rei, even with all her power, had been all but helpless to watch the precious lives she had vowed to protect crumble into ashes. The darkness had devoured the world and it had been the vision that forced her to re-evaluate her life and her friendships.
"I remember," she said softly and turned violet eyes to Usagi. She also remembered the comfort she had offered to Usagi's now indefinite future.
The blonde tucked her chin into her folded arms. "You can live it out now."
Rei closed her eyes and let an ironic smile twist her lips. Usagi was right and the liberating feeling that accompanied it only served to augment her despair. "Do you remember what I told you afterwards?" she questioned. Even without looking at her, she could see Usagi's puzzled expression. "Don't ever lose your cheerfulness. It's your best quality."
"It's so hard, Rei-chan, so hard," she whispered. Her voice trembled.
"Stop blaming yourself. It wasn't your fault."
"I should have been there for him—"
Frustration fisted within Rei and she grabbed Usagi by the shoulders, efficiently cutting her off. She gave Usagi a good shake in hopes of replacing some of the sense she had lost when Mamoru had killed himself. "You can't be everywhere at once! He was in America, you were in Japan! How were you supposed to know?"
"I didn't notice when he came back. I should have felt it, but I didn't. I could have done something!" The dull pain felt good against her numb body, but somehow it wouldn't reach the most agonizing section of her heart. The number of times she couldn't save him seemed infinite now. "I thought we had grown stronger. I thought I. . ." she trailed off as she stared enviously at Rei. They were nothing alike, she realized reproachfully; Rei was strong and beautiful and proud, and she was nothing but a pale comparison. Rei would have known. Rei would have done something.
She jumped to her feet, feeling absolutely sick with herself. "Chibi-Usa's gone now. She's never coming back!" she screamed as she fiercely shook her head and backed away. She shrugged off the hand that called out to her.
"Usagi-chan!"
"I wasn't good enough, Rei-chan."
"That's not true!"
"I tried, I really did. I wanted to be better for him. . ."
"Usagi—"
"I'm nothing."
That thin thread of hope Rei had been clinging to snapped. What did this mean? What did all of this mean? Nothing had prepared her for this, no premonition, no feeling, nothing. His death was the most unbearable to Usagi and there was absolutely nothing she could do to protect her. And if even Usagi could not break out of her grief, then where did this put Rei? Where did this put the future?
A child squealing in the playground drew her attention. A little girl in a maroon jumper grinned and waved a toy doll at her.
She had a doll once, Rei remembered, a pretty china doll her politician father had bought for her birthday before her mother had died. It had long raven hair like her own, and the deepest blue eyes surrounded by a flawless white expanse of porcelain skin.
It wasn't to be played with, her father had said, because it was meant for looking. He had put the doll in a glass case on a high shelf. She stared at it everyday, thinking how lucky she was to receive such a beautiful gift.
A year later, her mother died. Her father sent her to live with her grandfather. He left the doll with her grandfather and had put it on another high shelf in an empty room. And day after day of yearning from the dismal ground, she grew tired of merely admiring it. She wanted to hold her present because it was hers, so she climbed that forbidden bookcase, tiny hands outstretched for the pretty marionette.
Halfway up, the bookcase tipped.
They fell, she and the doll. Rei landed first, and thinking she could save her doll, she reached for it, fingers squeaking victoriously over the glass covering. She had twisted her ankle in the process, and the pain was nothing more than a lurking shadow compared to her relief.
As she tried to stand, holding tightly to her precious possession, the bookcase that had landed on her shifted. The mahogany ate into her wounded foot and she dropped it. The glass dome shattered around the figure. Her doll broke.
She had cried and cried and cried afterwards, so sorry that she had broken her perfect doll. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't put her doll back together. Her grandfather found her later on the floor, fingers cut and bleeding as she tried to piece tiny blood-smeared shards of porcelain over the cracked face. He had said he would buy Rei another one if she promised to stop crying.
But Rei didn't want another one. This had been the doll her father had given her when he had still remembered her birthday. It had been the doll her father had given her before her mother had died. It had been the doll her father had given her.
And looking at Usagi right now, she saw her broken china doll again—her lifeless porcelain doll staring at nothing with her blue glass eyes.
Rei smiled grimly with one hand clenched. With the other, she slapped Usagi across the face.
"Listen to yourself. If you think keep thinking you're nothing, then you really are nothing! The Usagi I know wouldn't let herself fall to pieces like. . .like this. She would stand right back up and tell us how important it was to look towards the future. If you're going to act like this, then I will no longer acknowledge you as my friend."
Usagi cupped her cheek with one hand, eyes wide in her raw face. Her throat choked with a dry sob and she wanted nothing more than to curl into a fetal position on the floor and cry until the world went dark around her. "Why?"
"All you ever do is cry."
She felt as if the very breath had been knocked from her lungs. Her hair snapped back as she rounded furiously on her so-called friend who said she understood, but didn't at all. She was alone now and the loneliness seemed to infuse every living cell of her body, choking her until the tears had nowhere else to go except down her hot cheeks.
She had every right to cry, every single right. . .
But with one candid look at Rei, the unappeasable anger and hurt dissolved from the very depths of her heart and soul.
Rei, the ever strong one, Rei the ever proud one, was trembling and looking as lost as she was.
Usagi stretched out her hand hesitantly, smiling tremulously when her best friend met her halfway. The tears crushed between her blinking eyelashes curled down her cheeks. "Please don't stop being my friend, Rei-chan. I don't want to lose you. I don't want to be alone."
Rei could only think the same of Usagi as she held onto her and onto all that was forsaken.
- - - - - - - - - -
Minako snatched up her watch in victory and dashed out of the arcade with a quick wave to Motoki. She ended up dashing into a human wall.
"I'm so sorry!" She gave an embarrassed smile as she glanced up at her slightly stunned, extremely attractive, and otherwise indifferent victim. The equally attractive man next to him pointed a finger at her.
"Hey, doesn't she look like that model. . ."
The use of a language she hadn't much heard in years incited her, more so than the recognition. "You're American!" she cried.
Equally surprised, he blurted out, "Thank God!" before sheepishly grinning. "I'm Duo Maxwell."
"Aino Minako—I mean Minako Aino," she quickly recovered and held out her hand. Duo shook it eagerly.
"You have no idea how glad I am to meet another person besides Hiiro here who can actually speak English. I thought I was going to go insane either keeping quiet or talking to myself."
She laughed lightly, relaxed and brimming with joy. "Are you two here for vacation?"
"Something like that. This is Hiiro Yui, by the way, and his face is permanently fixed that way, so don't be insulted," he said very seriously, knowing full well that Hiiro would have been more impressed with bumping into a glass door. Sometimes, he really wondered if his friend was human.
Minako stifled a giggle and turned curious eyes towards Hiiro. He was studying the room with an expression akin to masked disgust. She had to conclude that he was obviously not much of a people person. As if he had heard her thoughts, his eyes suddenly flicked coldly to her.
Again, he was surprised by Aino Minako's eerie resemblance to Tsukino Usagi. At first impact, he had instinctively assumed it was the peculiar girl he had nearly killed by trying to save, but upon second glance, he noticed eye and hair colors were off. Her hair was arranged in a different style, her face was more oval-shaped than round, and proportions were completely different. He narrowed his eyes when he found her staring at him.
Duo clapped Hiiro on the back, shifting the fixation of his glare. "We're going to be here for a few more weeks and I'd like to do some sightseeing. Hiiro's Japanese, but he's not familiar with this area. Do you think you could show us around sometime?"
Hiiro protested in a low, grating purr. "Duo. . ."
"What? Might as well make the best of our stay."
She gave them a slightly puzzled look before beaming. "Don't worry, Hiiro. It's not like I'm going to kidnap you or anything," she teased, slightly disappointed in his lack of enthusiasm. A barely visible frown marred her smooth brow.
Duo grinned much to Hiiro's displeasure. "Sunday's great."
"How about twelve?" she suggested, smiling prettily when Duo nodded. Now, all she needed to figure out was who to bring along. Her mouth twitched into a mischievous grin at the number of single friends she had. "I have to go right now, but I'll see you guys on Sunday! Bye Duo, Hiiro!"
Duo watched Minako race down the street appreciatively. "Great pair of legs," he muttered, and obstinately ignored the aggravation his partner was channeling towards him. He proceeded to exit Crown Fruit Parlor.
Hiiro glared at his comrade's retreating back, then found himself glaring at Duo face-on as he strolled back in. He had the nerve to grin audaciously.
"What are you standing there for? Mr. Perfect Soldier doesn't want to be late, does he?"
- - - - - - - - - -
*hidoi = cruel, **baka = idiot [I actually don't like to use Japanese, but they sound better there xD]
AN: Sorry, no omake this time. x.x The next chapter will get more interesting, I promise. X__x Kay, I just had to get that off my chest to justify the crappiness and boringness and shortness of this chapter()(). ^^;; Haha, you guys thought he bumped into Usagi, huh? Huh?! Lol, but that wouldn't be as much fun :D Something was wrong with this chapter and I tried to go back and fix the part that disagreed with me, but I don't think I did a very good job. I'm not even really sure what it is, but something doesn't sound right. _ Rei's doll thing, I totally made up. . .but I tried to create a connection between the doll, Rei, and Usagi, not just the broken/lifeless part, but something else, too. Can anyone guess? ^_^
Thank you uber sweet reviewers!! ^^;; Seriously, I think I'm still trying to get over the fact that people are actually reviewing my story and not telling me to quit while I'm ahead. X_x;; I'm actually quite insecure, if you guys can't tell. ;;
Chibi Koneko: You're welcome! ^^ I hope you're feeling better now. I really wonder who would win in a glaring contest between Hiiro and Sesshoumaru. *thinks* They're both pretty tough characters. . . Sesshoumaru is so much more elegant, though, compared to Hiiro. Hiiro is kind of more raw. Who do you think would win in a fight? XD Sesshoumaru is really swift, but Hiiro has a gun, and he's pretty fast, too. I'm so jealous of Rin ^^;; And I'm jealous of Trowa 'cause he probably saw Hiiro naked while he was taking care of him. _ *sighs* They're all so hot. *dies from heat stroke*
¤°°º°º°°¤|çé ß|úé Éy駤°°º°º°°¤: Rofl, thanks!! XD I had fun writing that omake!! I was actually wandering around Chinatown when that idea popped up. I saw a little girl on her father's shoulders and I thought "Aww, that's so cute!" and then the idea just blossomed from there. :D!! I'll tell you a secret for the lack of Usagi and Hiiro. . . They're gonna go out on a date together xD in the next 2 or 3 chapters. Mwahahaha!! And, shameless plug: Have you read my other story: "The Pole"? Hehee, lots of H/U-ness, although it is a little more adult. I think I should've upped the rating. Oh well. ^^; LOL, I don't know about crack. O.o I always thought people smoked it. . . And I thought they snorted cocaine. Crack is like the poor man's cocaine or something. That's what I hear, I swear! I don't really do drugs! I'm a clean girl. ^^
Ryen Selenity Caliburn: Aww, thanks so much! I'm so happy that you think it's cool!! ^_^ Really, I'll try to get out a chapter a week. . .I think I may have two chapters already finished on my hard drive. . . just waiting for more reviews before I break it out. xD!! What can I say? I love reviews – it's not really the number that counts, but I like knowing that people are actually reading my stuff and enjoying it. Otherwise, I wouldn't be posting fics on the net, right? I'd just write it and read it myself. ^^;;
the Desert Fox: Thanks for the review! ^^ Ohh, that was an omake, lol, so it has nothing to do with the actual story. I just wrote it because I thought it was kind of cute and fun and since the previous chapter had no Usagi, I inserted it to whet some appetites. ^^;; ROFL, I was wondering what you were talking about with the hypnotizing thing at first because I forgot I had put that in. Actually, the image of a scantily clad Hiiro performing that activity entertained me for about five minutes straight. Really, I couldn't stop laughing. Hee, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! ^^;;
Liquid Ice: *stutters* M-Me? Part of the Revolutionary Team?! @_@ Lol, that's so kind, but I don't think I deserve it! ^^()() Honestly, there are really a lot of great authors here. . .some of them just don't update enough. . .or they abandon their works. x_x Sometimes, when I just discover an old story and I see that it hasn't been updated since the dawn of time and with a trillion reviews begging for more, I refuse to read it. *coughShadowDancecough* ^^;;;;;;!! I mean, I would really, really, really like to read it, but why disappoint myself, right? T.T;; *hinthint*
And thank you so much for all your beautiful words. *-* Your review was/is really uplifting! I keep reading it over and over again! Somebody stop me! ^^;; Heheh, I really do like to torture the characters. XD I'm so evil. . .but it makes them more real. I also like to romanticize torment and pain so I choose to describe it using flowery-type words. I love emotions; don't you? ;D Endless dramatization – I like that! Mwahaha! I just hope you'll still be interested in the story when it goes on for like ten billion chapters! ^^;;
Sunshine Fia: Lol, I think I get what you mean. ^__^ It's like you understand it in the back of your mind, but you wouldn't really be able to explain it? That's how I feel about it, at least! I think the other G-boys will make their appearances in around five chapters. Makes you wonder how long this fic is really gonna be, huh? XD;; I wonder, too! Aww, sorry, but Relena is going to be in it. *sees her run far, far away from the fic* N-No, come back!! ;-; She won't really play a BIG part and I have a feeling she's going to get scratched up a lot, though there won't be bashing. ^^;; And the Usagi picture? It's cute, isn't it? I was just messing around with the @ signs and I thought "@ looks like a meatball!!" It's basically made up of 2 of / \ @, and a (^.^) lol :D
Arella Hallo: Lol, I was just kidding around. ^^ I use 'interesting' as a filler word a lot of the time, too, because it's so. . .versatile. It's not good nor is it bad (though I usually lean towards the good when I use it ^^;;). I'm glad you find my style different. . .I think, heh heh. I'm not sure what you mean by my different style, though. O.o Do you mean writing-wise? Like the way I construct sentences, or do you mean by ideas? ^_^ And I'm so sorry! I realized when I was reading your review that I kept spelling your name wrong!! I don't know why, but I kept seeing "Hallo" as "Halo." *embarrassed grin* I'm really sorry!
Crystalstorm21: Thankies! I'll try to update a chapter a week! ^_^
kimeno-pebols: Hai!! That scene actually was inspired by that episode, rofl! It was the one where that girl Saori likes Mamoru and then Chibi-Usa got all worked up about it and she was yelling at Usagi while Usagi was trying to decide between some plushies. Lol, I think you're the only one who caught it so far! ^__^ *gives her a chocolate cookie* MWEHEHEE I think this really is going to turn into a romance. The way this story is turning out, if I don't put them together, it'll be like real torture!! X_x I don't want to torment my characters THAT much. I like happy endings. :P
Angelight: Heheh()()! Thank you!! XD You always give me such nice reviews ;-;!! Lol, I really think I go overboard with descriptions sometimes ;; 'cause I'm not very good with dialogue. How much SM have you seen? ^^;; I haven't seen the whole thing myself, but I would have to say my favorite arc is Stars. ^^;; I know what you mean when you said Usagi never really appealed to you in the anime, because o___o yeah, she was kind of annoying. Lol, but she was much more mature in Stars (including the end of Nehelenia) and still managed to be cute and funny. :D At certain points, it's actually very surprising with just how much insight to a person she really has. .;;; And I don't think I can manage to pull off such a feat with that idea. O.o I actually really, really want to see you write it ;D *nods* So you should consider it! ^_~
Midnight of Shadows: I know! Dirty Hiiro with the slippery hands xD!! Rofl, thanks for thinking it was fantastic 'cause I really didn't think so :D;; You're really too sweet ;.; But, aww, that sucks! ! I think I'd die if I lost my internet. . . I lub my DSL. I hope you get it fixed soon! But at least your dad is letting you use his computer. Anndd, if it's just the internet, it doesn't mean you can't stop writing!! :D YAY!!! I feel so special @_@!!! Three chapters!! *___*!!! And that wasn't a real cliffhanger .;; Lol, it's not who you expected, huh? Hehehh don't worry, they'll meet again sometime in the future and then things will really start to get interesting. ;D But-but, you didn't update!! T.T!!CJ-Chan: @.@ Yep, destiny changes. . .or does it? _ *smiles mysteriously. . .attempts to at least -.-* Actually, I really don't know. O.o The ending. . . the ending is very ambiguous. XD I don't have the whole thing written out, but I think I have the ending already. Mwahahaha!! I know what you mean about Hiiro/Heero. X.x I think I'm more used to Hiiro, and I use Hiiro because it looks better as Hii-chan. XD Hee-chan just doesn't do it for me, rofl. Reminds me too much of He-man and Hiiro as He-man is really too bizarre. O_o;;; I, too, have gone through the Mamo phase. XD I used to adore him so much. . .now. . .heh heh, he's just there. ^_^ Thanks for reviewing! ^^
Heeros Bunny: rofl, the Macarena. . . xD I don't even remember how to do it now, but I did at one point in my life! It was the coolest thing around. :D Oh, just the idea with the alternate dimension and Crystal Tokyo still happening and stuff lol! Anyhoo, it was just a funny thought that you'd abandon Heero in Crystal Tokyo after killing Endymion. Haha! He'd be like King. .; But if you stayed, you'd be Queen. :D Then you'd have Heero all to yourself! Lol, okay, thanks for reviewing! ^^themoonmaiden: LOL, just a little crack. xD Yes and no to the first question! YES!! His demise was part of an elaborate scheme and nothing is as it seems. o_O!! Lol, I know it seems so boring now, but it'll get better. .!! As for Pluto. . . I still haven't decided what exactly to do with her, to tell you the truth. Supposedly, she's vanished off the face of the Earth so far, right? (And actually, that idea isn't too far off. . . ^^;;) As for Ami's theory, it is just a theory Ami came up with to deal with the situation. ^^;; So, it is very unlikely that her theory is true. . . though that would be totally cool if the Senshi were still walking around on the moon. Definitely, Usa cannot attempt suicide. x.x! But she is a little more adult now because of all the things that happened, and she is still herself after that talk with Rei in this chapter. ^^ Aww, ;-;!! *cries tears of joy* I'm so glad you'll still read it even if I don't turn it into a romance!! *sniffles* But guess what? I am. :D At the rate I'm going, NOT putting them together would just be TOO cruel! ^__^
Usagi Asia Maxwell: Asia-chan!! ^__^ Lol, I know it's confusing. xD It confused me plenty when I was writing it. ^^ I'm glad you enjoyed it though! And I'm going to keep saying this: this chapter is kindda boring, but it'll get better in the next chapter. X.x;; Heee, it'll probably only end up more confusing, but confusing people is fun. xD
xD I think half the fic were replies to reviews, lmao. x.x;; I'm just in such talking mood right now!! ^^