Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind', or that's Sailor Mars' philosophy when it comes to her blonde bun-headed buddy.
Rated: T - Friendship/Hurt/Comfort - Words: 4,906 - Chibiusa T./Rini/Sailor Chibi (Mini) Moon, Rei H./Raye/Sailor Mars, Usagi T./Serena/Bunny/Sailor Moon, Neo-Queen Serenity
A/N: This story is a gift for my friend ReisPinkOveralls00, although I've also included it in my anthology to celebrate the friendship between Usagi and Rei in the original anime.
Many thanks to my and Rei's good friend Lin_Lamont for betaing this fic for me.
Please try to check out Rei and Lin's phenomenal fanfics on Ao3 under the same usernames, and let me know what you think of this fic!
Usagi hung her head in shame. Sitting here now, listening to Luna's stern reprimand, the delight she had felt moments ago riding the merry-go-round felt like it belonged to another life.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong."
To her annoyance, another younger, less familiar, (and decidedly uninvited) voice assaulted her ears, drowning out the surrounding fun and cheer of the amusement park.
"Be more responsible!" Ordered the raven-haired shrine maiden to Usagi's left. "And you call yourself a Sailor Senshi?!"
A hot anger flared within Usagi. She'd been a Senshi for well over a month. Rei had only been one for like five minutes. What made this girl think she knew better than her, let alone to boss Usagi around?
Although…a teeny weeny part of Usagi had to acknowledge that Rei's words weren't so different from Luna's reprimands. And since Luna knew what she was doing and only wanted Usagi to be better…could Rei perhaps-
WHAM!
As Usagi flew forward from the force of Rei's 'back pat,' the truth became abundantly clear to her:
Rei was at least as bad as any Youma and never to be trusted!
Rei fixed her features into a neutral expression as she entered Usagi's bedroom.
The blonde bun-head hadn't mentioned why she'd asked to meet her privately of course, but Rei thought it could only be about one thing: Usagi's big plan.
She'd been surprised enough that the bun-head had even dreamed up a plan in the first place, let alone such a risky one. But then, Rei had heard that love made you do crazy things. Perhaps the fact that she herself hadn't even considered joining the Dark Kingdom to rescue Mamoru was proof of how shallow their relationship had really been.
Still, she was at a loss as to why Usagi had wanted to talk to her individually rather than the whole team. Could she want to back out? If that was the case, Rei supposed it might be easier for Usagi to confess that to just one person rather than six. But then why her and not Luna?
As Rei took a seat, she wondered, wildly, if perhaps Usagi was playing a more subtle game. Could she be trying to coax someone into talking her out of this plan so it wouldn't look like she was chickening out? That would make sense. And who better to tell her that her plan was crazy and stupid and unfathomably dangerous than the Senshi who was never afraid to be brutally honest?
Then Rei realised she had just seriously considered the prospect of Usagi being subtle.
She shook her head, as if to banish such ludicrous thoughts from her mind, and fixed her gaze upon the blonde teen across the table.
"So, what's up?" she said bluntly. "We don't have much time to waste if you're going to meet the Dark Kingdom tonight."
Usagi seemed to inhale slightly, causing Rei's eyebrow to cock. "Well, it's about the meeting tonight," began Usagi. "Obviously, it's a huge risk."
Rei's eyebrow travelled higher and she gave a small nod. Maybe things would go the way she'd imagined after all.
"That's why I want you to hold onto this."
Rei's suspicions were swiftly banished as she beheld the item Usagi had produced from her lap and placed upon the table.
The fire Senshi shivered as she drank in the sight of the pink and gold wand, her eyes naturally zeroing in on the argent crystal nestled at the crook of the crescent moon that topped the item.
"Whether the Dark Kingdom takes the bait or not, they're going to try and take the crystal from me. If that happens, Mamoru and the Earth will be lost forever. I'm willing to risk my life for him. But I'm not willing to risk the whole world. So it's better if I don't have it at all. That way they can't take it from me. And," she gave Rei a tiny, nervous smile, "I guess I also can't be tempted to give it to them no matter what they do to me. You know how much of a weak crybaby I am." Usagi's hands clenched upon her knees.
Rei's stomach went cold. She wanted to tell Usagi this was insane! This plan would surely never work. She'll be killed! What came out, however, was something quite different. Something brutally honest.
"You're not weak, Usagi."
Usagi looked up. Rei remained silent for a moment before taking the wand, standing up and moving to the door. As she opened it to depart, she looked over her shoulder, her violet eyes boring into Usagi's cerulean orbs.
"You are a true Senshi."
With that, Rei left the room and headed out of the Tsukino household, not trusting herself to remain a moment longer.
Usagi gives Rei the Silver crystal.
Exempting the hubbub of chatter from the surrounding students, the T.A. Academy grounds were pretty quiet. Nevertheless, Usagi's ears still rang pleasantly with the song Rei had sung earlier on stage, the bonfire embers before her seemingly dancing to the unearthly melody.
"Say, Rei?" Usagi said, turning to the proverbial Queen of the School Festival.
Rei swivelled around slightly on the bench. "Yeah?"
"You really were wonderful out there," Usagi said softly, the song's volume momentarily amplifying in her head.
"Usagi…" Rei blushed.
"I guess you're actually a really hard worker." Images of Rei tirelessly sweeping the shrine grounds, studying, barking out instructions for the festival, and writing sheets of music bombarded Usagi's mind. Rei giggled, the pink hue on her porcelain cheeks clearly visible despite the bonfire glow.
"You want me to teach you a thing or two?"
Rei's wink did little to repress the scowl that formed upon Usagi's face.
Pots clanged.
Knives chopped.
And Rei's stomach gave a growl as she entered the Tsukino's dining room.
Chibi-Usa shot her a smile and patted the chair next to her, Rei was more than happy to oblige, even though she was far from certain that she would be able to keep down the coming meal.
After what felt like forever, Usagi emerged from around the corner, a pot held in her hands. Her hair was slightly dishevelled and her clothes gave the impression that she'd gotten into a fight with the contents of her poor mother's kitchen. A nervous smile adorned her face, though not nearly as nervous as the ones Rei and the other diners were projecting back at her. Chibi-Usa alone seemed perfectly relaxed.
Rei had heard the curry party at Chibi-Usa's school had gone well, but that didn't fill her with much confidence. After all, she'd been in Makoto's apartment when Usagi had first practised making curry and well remembered the blonde bun-head trying (and failing) to simply chop a carrot. She imagined Mamoru, for Chibi-Usa's sake, had put aside their current relationship drama and helped Usagi out a bit. Even if he hadn't, Rei was well aware that the odd miracle was bound to occur; especially around Usagi.
One by one, Usagi dolled out sloppy plate after sloppy plate of curry and rice to everyone seated around the table. First to her mother and father, then to Rei and the other Senshi, and finally to Chibi-Usa and Shingo, the latter of whom looked like he'd been given a death sentence. Usagi, for her part, stood in waiting at the head of the table as they all gave thanks and began to timidly tuck in.
Marshalling all the discipline she'd mastered at her family's shrine, Rei managed to remain composed as she took her first mouthful of…the most delicious curry she'd ever tasted?
A quick scan around the table revealed the similarly shocked and surprised faces of everyone else. Everyone, except for Chibi-Usa.
"Usagi…this is amazing," said Mrs. Tsukino, not bothering to disguise her disbelief.
"Yeah, it really is," added Makoto.
"On par with Makoto's, for sure," said Ami.
Usagi clasped her hands together and beamed. "I'm so glad.
From her seat at the table, Rei could just see into the kitchen. Her eyes narrowing, she leaned inconspicuously to the left, revealing more of the kitchen and noticeably an all too familiar box of instant curry laying flat on the countertop. Automatically, she primed a reprimand on her tongue before noticing something unusual. The kitchen was in a truly filthy state. Far too filthy for someone who had microwaved a dinner. It was then that, on closer inspection, Rei noted the box was completely sealed.
"After that first batch at Mamoru's place, I was worried it might have just been a fluke."
"You made a batch at Mamoru's place too?" Rei said, unable to stop herself as Mr. Tsukino went stiff and pale.
"Usagi spent the whole morning before school practising. And the whole day before everyone arrived tonight," Chibi-Usa piped up.
Mrs. Tsukino let out a deep sigh. "I just wish my poor kitchen didn't have to pay the price for Usagi's practice."
"Don't worry, Mama. I'm all over it!" Usagi said through half a mouthful of curry and rice. Wolfing down the rest of her plate, Usagi practically bounced over to the kitchen and began cleaning up.
Rei knew this wouldn't necessarily last and likely had more to do with her getting to hang out with Mamoru for a while (a rarity for her these days). Nevertheless, watching Usagi diligently clean the kitchen made every mouthful taste all the better.
"Mako! Minako!?" Usagi helplessly called after her friends.
Her pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears, however, as the pair kicked up dust, dashing away from the fountain and out the park entirely. "See you tomorrow!" They called back in unison.
Her personal cooking and English language instructors now entirely out of sight, Usagi slouched in defeat. How was she to complete her bridal training for Mamoru with half her helpers gone!? At least she still had Ami and Rei to teach her science and how to formally dress.
"Umm, Usagi, before you learn genetic engineering," began Ami, "you should study for chemistry class first…"
Though her eyes remained closed, a dispirited Usagi nevertheless heard Rei's curt interruption of Ami.
"You can ignore her, Ami. It's probably just another one of her crazy ideas!"
The effect of the insult was immediate as Usagi straightened up and bared her teeth at the girl in the grey uniform.
"What's your problem, Rei?!" barked Usagi.
Rei spun around and fired her tongue at the blonde before adopting her standard 'scolding face'. "I taught you how to put on a shrine maiden's kimono tons of times and you still don't get it!" Usagi's lip trembled as shame and embarrassment consumed her. "No way I'm going to teach you anything!" With another quickfire raspberry, Rei ushered a nervous looking Ami out of the park, leaving Usagi standing alone.
"You're so mean, Rei!" Usagi impotently cried out, before, energetically wagging her own tongue, a feeble gesture to cope with the fire Senshi's burn.
"You want me to beat the goldfish drum!?" Usagi squawked.
Rei let loose an exaggerated laugh that carried over the chatter of the surrounding crowds. "Well you did want to beat a drum at the festival, didn't you?"
Usagi's face had turned a shade of pink that oddly complimented her kimono. "I thought I'd be on one of the big, important, Japanese drums!"
"It's a drum. And we're in Japan. So it is a Japanese drum," Rei said with a mischievous smirk.
"Why you-"
"And if you don't think the traditional goldfish scoop is important," Rei pressed on, "then maybe you need to get into the festival spirit."
Usagi made a low, unintelligible sound as she raised a balled fist. Rei nevertheless caught her meaning and wagged her finger in her friend's face. "How unladylike. Didn't your Mama warn you about behaving like that when she dressed you tonight?" With a flip of her hair, Rei began to walk away.
"For your information, I did this all by myself!"
Rei didn't even bother turning back around. "That's even worse," she called back, raising her voice and holding her head up in a haughty gesture, "That Disguise Pen isn't a toy you know!"
If Usagi had retorted at all, it was drowned out by Rei's laughter and the growing noise of the surrounding crowds.
"Disguise Pen?" said a familiar voice. Rei quickly scanned through the crowds, locating a distinctly different blonde and blue-eyed teen. "Oh, that reminds me, I should probably give it back to Usagi," said Minako, rummaging through her own kimono for the device. "After that craziness on her birthday, I plain forgot," she giggled, slightly guiltily.
Rei tilted her head before looking over her shoulder. She couldn't see Usagi anymore, but as the noise of a metal drum started up, she couldn't help a small smile crossing her face.
"Dressing as a ninja! You are unbelievable, Usagi!"
"Desperate times called for desperate measures."
"You're desperate, alright. Desperately insecure."
Usagi flushed a far brighter red than the ninja costume she had discarded earlier.
She took a gulp of the almost empty smoothie to cool down, barely registering the absence of everyone else in the parlour booth. Dimly, she recalled each of the gang one by one putting up one feeble excuse or another as Usagi had alternately chewed out Mamoru and bickered with Rei.
So mad and embarrassed was Usagi, she hardly protested when Mamoru himself said his goodbyes, offering to take Chibi-Usa home. Yuichiro, naturally, had hung in the longest, but eventually even he had left; not that Usagi or Rei had noticed.
"I am not insecure!" Protested Usagi sullenly from the corner of her mouth, biting down on the straw of her drink.
Rei let out a derisive laugh. "A house with every door and window opened wide still couldn't be as insecure as you!"
Usagi scowled at Rei and mustered all her strength to remind herself the shrine maiden was one of her best friends–apparently.
"Look," Usagi began, trying to maintain a measured tone, "I admit I overreacted, but-"
"But what!?"
Usagi's scowl deepened before softening into a frown and then, finally, a trembling lip.
Rei maintained the scolding disdain on her face for a moment before cocking an eyebrow. Then her features softened, an inquisitiveness mingling with her anger. Finally, the anger gave way to a kind of annoyed disbelief.
"Oh jeez, talk about the glass half empty."
"Huh?"
"I get that between Moon invasions, impalements, kidnappings, brainwashing, amnesia and weird future visions, you've lost him a bunch of times-"
Usagi suddenly felt like she was the one who had been impaled.
"-but throughout all that, you two kept getting back together."
"...I…I…what?"
"Like, would it kill you to see the obvious and quit projecting?!" Rei reprimanded. She began gathering her things and stood up from her seat. "Grow up. Deal with your issues, and maybe have faith in the two of you just a little more consistently, bun-head."
With an angry huff and flick of her long ebony hair, Rei about faced and marched out of the parlour. Usagi was left alone in the booth, annoyed, angry, and thoroughly confused as to what the hell just happened.
"Rei…can I ask you a favour?"
Rei rolled her eyes as she continued to sweep the shrine porch. Usagi had clearly hung around after the meeting in order to corner her for whatever this favour was going to be.
"What?" Rei groaned out.
"Well…I was wondering if you could use your psychic stuff to help my Papa."
Rei abruptly stopped sweeping. "Your Papa?" She had certainly not expected to hear that.
"Yeah, see this morning at breakfast he saw my ring and for some reason burst into tears. I really don't get it." Usagi held up her left hand to emphasise the point, the silver band with a pink stone heart glittering in the light of the sunset.
Rei's palm flew to her face. "Seriously?" she muttered, more to herself than to Usagi.
"Yeah, seriously. I don't get it. I know I don't usually show him the stuff Mamo-chan buys for me, but even when I have, he just kinda frowns and starts breathing really loudly through his nose."
Not for the first time, Rei wondered how the future Queen of the Solar System could be this clueless.
"Didn't your mother explain anything to you?" Rei groaned, her vision still obscured by the hand covering her face.
"Huh?" Usagi's head tilted to the side, one of her blonde streamers just brushing the ground. "No…Actually…now that I think about it, I think she was crying too, except she seemed a lot happier than Papa."
Rei pinched the bridge of her nose. "What the hell is Luna doing with her time?" she muttered, again more to herself than to the hapless blonde bun-head.
Usagi's face scrunched up and she placed her hands on her hips. The effect, however, merely made her resemble a rather irritated rabbit. "Will you quit it and just tell me what's going on here? You, Luna, and everyone else keep acting like you know something I don't."
Rei gave Usagi a look that was as condescending as it was pitious. "It's not my place to tell you. All you really need to know is that you don't need to worry about Mamoru hooking up with any American girls. So you can dump that dumb ninja outfit out for good."
"I already did?"
"Liar!" Rei leaned forwards, getting more in Usagi's face. "Chibi-Usa saw you trying it on when you thought Mamoru and that mechanic were a thing!"
"That was, like, last year! I threw it out after…!"
Usagi's irritation didn't exactly abate, but she withdrew into herself more. Rei, however, did not back down at all.
"After what?" she demanded, cocking an accusatory eyebrow.
Mild concern began to build within Rei as Usagi's eyes shifted just enough so she was clearly looking indirectly at Rei.
"After…" Usagi gave a shrug that wasn't quite convincingly nonchalant. "After everything that happened with Nehalennia…both times…."
Slowly, Rei's expression softened. "Oh…oh, yeah?" She said feebly. The memories of Nehalennia's sinister circus and malefic mirror parodies danced in her mind. "Why…Why after that?"
Rei mentally cursed herself. She had been able to manage the unsettling experiences the nightmarish Queen had put her through. And she'd presumed the same to be true of Usagi. Except Usagi wasn't her. And Nehalennia had put her through far worse than what Rei or the other Inners had endured.
"I…I guess…" Usagi's words came out far more timid than Rei was used to hearing them. "Watching him suffer in that bed. Then seeing him enslaved to Nehalennia…it made me think about things a lot, is all. And I figured, if we made it through that, on top of, you know, everything else, then…then we'd be okay no matter what."
"Came to that conclusion all by yourself, did you?" Rei said, her discomfort giving way to sarcasm and mild indignation.
"No…" Usagi's irises shifted back to Rei. "...not all by myself."
As the last of the sun's golden embers disappeared beneath the horizon, the two Senshi exchanged wry smiles.
Night had descended by the time Rei and Usagi had left the dance studio, having waited to ensure Akane Gushiken was alright to travel home. Now, the two of them traversed the lonely street together, the city's neon lights somehow feeling distant and dimmer tonight.
"I hope Miss Gushiken will be okay," pondered Usagi. "Becoming a Phage doesn't seem very comfortable."
"Don't underestimate the T.A. Academy nuns, Usagi," cautioned Rei. "They're tougher than you might think, and Sister Angela, I mean, 'Miss Gushiken', more than most."
Usagi let out a slight huff. "I kind of got that from the way she was bullying Seiya to dance better. Although…" Usagi's voice lowered, almost as if she was talking more to herself, "he was really fantastic today."
"Yep. That's the T.A. Academy way, alright, " Rei said, her tone light but nevertheless under-laced with pride. "It's how we got such a prestigious reputation."
Usagi stopped walking. Rei got a few steps ahead before noticing Usagi's absence from her side.
Usagi fixed Rei with a pensive look, one that did not go unnoticed by the shrine maiden as she turned around to face the blonde bun-head.
Slowly, realisation dawned upon Usagi. Rei's expression changed from confused annoyance, to a small, slightly smug (but not entirely unkind) smile.
"Well…" Usagi began "...I don't think she needed to be so mean…"
She braced herself for an inevitable, fiery retort from Rei. To her surprise however, the raven-haired girl simply shrugged.
"It takes a little pressure, a little heat, to forge a star…Know what I mean?"
Usagi did indeed know. She had pretty much always known. But it had not been until today that she had fully understood.
"By the way," Rei said as she neatly turned on her heel and resumed walking, "don't you have a make-up test to study for…"
A small yet persistent beeping noise cut through the serene silence of the chamber, putting a definitive end to Mars' meditation session. With a grumble, the fire Senshi got up, crossed the room and hit a button on the crystalline machine.
At her touch, the bleeping ceased and a holographic feed started up, displaying a somewhat haggard, yet beautiful, woman with long golden pig tails that flowed from twin hair buns crowning her head.
"What is it, bun-head?"
"Hey! Is that any way to address me?"
Mars rolled her eyes. "Sorry. What is it, your royal Highness Queen Bun-head?"
Neo-Queen Serenity, ruler of Crystal Tokyo and the Solar System itself, shot her tongue out.
Sailor Mars, anointed royal bodyguard and grand Shinto priestess of planet Mars, shot back in similar fashion.
Once the tongue-o-war was over, Serenity composed herself and pressed on. "I was calling to see if you and Endymion wanted to teleport over here for dinner. I'm making curry." Serenity's arm made a circular motion, drawing Mars' attention to the holographic pot in front of the Queen.
"Alright, I'll tell Endymion once he finishes his bath."
Serenity tilted her head slightly. At the motion, a teeny, tiny part of Mars grew concerned that she'd said the wrong thing.
"Endymion usually washes up later?"
That minuscule iota of concern swiftly dissipated. "Serenity, how many times do I have to tell you about the time difference between Earth and Mars?"
Serenity pouted. "About the same number of times I've had to explain why Endymion has to stay on the planet during the royal tour?"
Mars rolled her eyes again. "Yes, yes, 'political appearances'," she said with disdain.
"It's not like I'm happy about it."
Mars held up a silencing hand. "Please, this is my meditation room, I'd rather not talk about how 'lonely' you are at night." Especially since she was meditating to deal with Yuichiro's absence, the big lug having undertaken a training weekend with her Grandfather.
Serenity tutted. "I meant because he could help me out over here. With him gone, I've had to cut back my schedule big time. I only did like ten royal visits today and maybe seven speeches before the Cocoon ambassadors arrived."
Mars cocked an eyebrow. "So you opted to cook yourself to compensate for such a relaxing day?"
"No," Serenity replied simply. "It's Small Lady's favourite. And with her leaving for training next week, I thought I should put the effort in to make something sp…spec…" Serenity began to sniffle and dabbed at her eyes.
"Oh, for goodness sake," cried Mars. "She's time travelling. You'll have to wait like, one second before she pops back home."
"I-I-I kn-kn-know that," blubbered Serenity, "B-b-bu-but I also know when she gets back she'll have g-g-gr-grown up so much and-and-and…I'll have missed it!"
Mars closed her eyes and let out a low groan. "But you won't have missed it because you've already seen her grow up back in the twentieth century!"
Serenity sniffled again, then stared at Mars, her brow furrowing for a moment. "...Oh yeah…I didn't think of that?"
Neither for the first, nor the last time in their millennia-long friendship, Sailor Mars' hand flew to her face.
"Still," Serenity pressed on, her tone now cheerful once more, "Even for that one little second, I'll miss my little girl sooooooo mu-"
"Mama! Can you show me how to tie this kimono again?"
A little girl with bubblegum pink hair entered the projection, an unmade pink kimono hanging from her body.
Like lightning, Serenity's demeanour changed. Adopting a stern look, she turned around, leant forwards, placed one hand on her hip and with the other pointed a damning finger in the little girl's face.
"I already showed you five times this week! And besides, why're you even wearing it to dinner, anyway? Do you want to look like a mess when you go into the past?"
"It'll be clean by then!" protested the little girl.
"How? Because I'm not going to wash it, and neither is Luna, Aunt Ami, or any of the palace staff. Go take it off now, eat your dinner, and then practise putting it on yourself."
The little Princess scowled at her mother before turning around and stomping out of the projection.
"Pretty harsh, don't you think?" said Mars as Serenity faced frontwards once again.
Serenity shrugged. "It takes a little heat to forge a star. I know that from first hand experience."
Across planets, two old friends smiled at one another, their mutual affection needing no voice.
A/N: Happy Birthday Rei!
So, some behind the scenes stuff. ORIGINALLY I was going to make a companion piece to another Rei/Usagi friendship fic I did waaaaay back in 2020. That fic was from Rei's POV and I was gonna replicate the structure kinda in a new setting and present it from Usagi's POV. That fic…kicked my ass. Hard. Lin, sage-like as always, advised me that, in her experience, when a fic is that hard to write it doesn't want to be written. Maybe someday I will give it another try but to be honest I infinitely prefer what I did here anyway.
I and Rei'sPinkOveralls both love AnimeRei and her relationship with Usagi so I was more than up for doing a fic exploring their relationship and shining a light on their dynamic. The tricky part was simply finding events per season to pair up, and obviously I cheated a little but I also think the scenes I manufactured are not outside the realm of believability for the anime versions of the characters. Plus, I quite liked making something nice out of the ninja Usagi escapade, an episode that (no offence to SuperS fans) I personally really dislike.
I think my fav scene in all honesty was the last one where I got to kind of bring all the lessons Rei had helped teach Usagi together (although I must beg Rei'sPinkOveralls forgiveness for tainting her gift fic with Chibi-Usa, TWICE no less!)
Anyways, all that's left to say is the mandatory 'Please consider joining our discord' announcement.
Me, Rei and Lin are all involved in a discord server called 'Moonlight Legends' which is dedicated to sharing all sorts of Sailor Moon fanworks, including other fanfics. If you would like to join so you can share your own work, get help with your current projects or just connect to other fan creators shoot me a PM and I'll send you an invite. All are welcome!