Rei looked down at her watch. She was late again, that was no surprise. Usagi was never on time, at least, not in this reality.

She continued to pace the food court, but frustration was quickly mounting. Not so much directed at Usagi, but at life in general. The whole purpose for this 'day out' was to get her out of this slump she
was in.

If only Minako hadn't gotten that date, maybe she wouldn't feel so horrible right now.

It had been a stupid contest to enter to begin with, but if they had both lost it would have been okay! Because they could have complained about it together, made fun of whoever it was that had won, and life would go on.

But no, Minako had to win. Minako had to be out on a date with one of the hottest new pop-stars on the face of the planet. Minako, Minak--oof!

Rei stumbled back a step or two, cringing when she felt cold liquid seeping through her shirt.

"Gomen, gomen," the perpetrator was repeating over and over. He was frantically trying to find a place to set his half-empty cup down so he could get a towel or some napkins.

Rei looked down to see the extent of the damage... orange soda on her white shirt, just perfect! "Please, don't worry about it, accidents happen," Rei said, looking at the man again. Her gaze paused and it was all she could do to keep her mouth from dropping open. He was absolutely perfect, if a little clumsy. Things like that could be overlooked.

"I'm really sorry, miss," he stated again. He advanced with some towels to dry her off. Rei was captivated for a moment. He had the most amazing blue eyes... and that frown, it was so... adorable!

Before he had a chance to get any closer, Rei took the towels from him, never taking her eyes off his face as she wiped at her shirt. Minako was going to be so jealous when she found out.

"Um, miss, the stain is..." he motioned with a finger to a spot closer to her shoulder. Rei blinked and looked down in surprise. A nervous laugh escaped her.

"So it is," she replied. She lifted the towel to her shoulder and began to mop up as much of the soda as she could. "I'm Rei."

"It's a pleasure," he said with a smile. "My name's--"

"Himiko!"

Himiko's gaze shifted from Rei to another woman who was hurrying towards them. A smile grew on his face.

"What happened, Himiko?" she asked, nearly breathless as she came to a stop beside him.

"An accident, this is Rei," he said motioning towards her. "Rei, this is my wife, Aikyo."

Rei's entire world came crashing down in one fell swoop. She was fighting hard not to scream.

"It's a... a pleasure," she said as her eyes tried to find something to focus on. "I have to go." She threw the towel onto a table and hurried off. This had been a bad idea; apparently getting a boyfriend
was not in the cards never mind finding 'Mr. Right'.

"I'm sorry, Usagi, something came up," Rei spoke softly into the phone as her friend went on and on about getting to the mall and being worried when Rei had been no where in sight. Finally, Rei had had enough. "Maybe if you had been there on time, this wouldn't be a problem."

It was true! If Usagi had gotten there when she was supposed to, Rei never would have bumped into Himiko and she wouldn't feel like total, utter crap right now.

Usagi was crying.

"I'm sorry, Usagi," Rei said slightly exasperated. The girl was just too sensitive. "I just... I didn't feel well, I'm going to go lay down again."

Without waiting for a response Rei hung up the phone and pushed it away. She rolled over so she didn't have to stare out the window at the bright, sunshiny day. A pillow found its way over her head when a cheerful bird decided that her open window was the perfect place to chirp a happy tune.

Rei woke with a start. Her bedroom was dark and the bird had long since gone to sleep for the evening.

She sat up and looked at the clock.

Two-thirty-three.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she tried to figure out what had woken her up. The temple was silent save for a few animal noises that drifted in from the surrounding trees. Her stomach growled and she settled the debate with hunger being the culprit.

Toes curled slightly when her bare feet hit the cold wooden floor. When had she taken her socks off? It didn't matter.

She wandered from the bedroom into a small sitting room and then into the kitchen. The red light on her answering machine that indicated she had a message was blinking at her. Had she slept through the phone ringing? She pushed play and moved across the small space to the
fridge.

"Konnichi'wa, Rei-chan!"

It was Usagi.

"You must've left again, or are sleeping and didn't hear the phone. Me and the others are going to meet at Mako's place in a little while if you wanna come! Ja!"

"The others and I," Rei grumbled as she pulled out some leftovers. She popped open the microwave and slid the plate inside.

She pushed the start button and watched the plate rotate within for a moment, quite lost in thought.

A sharp knock on the door brought her snapping back to reality. A frown formed as she peered from the kitchen doorway towards the front door. Who the hell was knocking at two-thirty in the morning?

Rei groaned. She bet it was Usagi; the girl probably had a fight with Mamoru. Or maybe it was Minako and she had come to gloat about her wonderful date.

Another knock and she rolled her eyes. "Hold on! I'm coming!" She called irritably.

She opened the door, speaking all the while. "What in the world ar--" she stopped short when she was greeted, not by one of her friends but a rather large man leaning with one hand resting against the side of her home. He looked as though he had been through hell.

"Can I help you?" she asked, ready to slam the door closed at the first sign of hostility.

"Water," he grunted before his hand slipped and he went crashing forward. Rei had two options. She could move and let him hit the floor, or she could attempt to catch him- which would more then likely send them both crashing down.

She had spent just a little too long pondering and soon had the weight of a full grown man pressing down on her.

"Damn it," she growled struggling to keep her knees from buckling. Why her? It took her a good ten minutes but she managed to drag the man into her living room and dumped him on the couch. "Why me?"

She was tempted to call the others and get them all over there. If she had to be awake and grumpy, they should too. However, she didn't. She sunk to sit in a plush arm chair and watched her strange visitor a moment or two.

In the light of the living room she could make out his features. He wasn't as old as she had originally thought, though far be it for her to even guess how old he might be. His hair was dark, sort of
blue-black depending on how the light hit it. Obviously she couldn't see his eyes because those were closed.

Who was he? Where had he come from? Was he a local or visiting? None of these questions could be answered and that frustrated her. She wasn't feeling terribly patient at the moment, not that she usually was. Tonight, however, she was at the end of her rope.

He shifted a bit, rolling a little to close to the edge of that sofa and went crashing to the floor with a loud thud. Rei leapt to her feet. If he got any louder he was going to wake--

"Rei-chan? Is everything all right in there?"

"Yes, Grandpa," she replied, kneeling down next to the fallen man. "Everything is fine! I... tripped."

"All right... well try to keep it down, I need my beauty sleep." The voice fading away as her Grandpa returned to his room.

"See what you did?" she muttered, gaze shifting from the doors to the man on the floor. "I'd hate to see how much noise you'll make when you're awake."

"Give me a minute," he groaned, causing Rei to jump in surprise. "I'll show you."