Chapter 14: Another Small Island
The inside of Subspace was as full of people as always, Minako could feel the thump of the music as it played from large speakers above and near the dance floor. Amy walked behind her with a bit more caution, seeming to be as far out of her element as possible tonight. The young medic allowed her blue eyes to drift across the night club, taking in the dancers and those who sat at tables drinking and trying to shout to each other over the music. Minako grinned at her and nodded to their left, walking that way a second later.
"Good evening Aino-san." Mamoru greeted from behind the bar as the two reached it. Amy was slightly grateful since the bar seemed to be placed in the quietest area of the club, probably so drink orders could be heard.
"Hey, have you seen Makoto-san tonight?" Minako asked, ignoring the fact that the man had spoken English.
"She came in earlier with some food for Hino-san." He paused for a moment as he squinted up and across the room toward the sound booth. "I think she might still be up there."
"Oh, well in that case can we get two cokes?" Minako said quickly, cutting off the question she saw rise in Amy's eyes. Mamoru nodded and walked off to get their drinks and the two fell silent for a moment.
"Aino why did you pick this club?" Amy finally asked and Minako turned a smile toward the specialist.
"Because it's a fun place to spend time."
"But someone tried to kidnap you here, and Ten'ou came back with a head wound." Amy commented, her face clearly doubting Minako's previous statement.
"Sorry to interrupt but can I join you two?" They looked up to find a somewhat tall brunet with kind green eyes standing behind them. Minako smiled and Amy seemed to blink.
"Hi Makoto-san." Minako stood and waved to her bar stool. "Why don't you take my seat, I have to go use the bathroom anyway."
Before Amy or Makoto could comment Minako had all but run off toward the right side of the club. After a second Makoto dropped onto the stool and smiled toward Amy.
"I think we've been set up."
"What makes you say that?" Amy asked, even as she shied from meeting Makoto's eyes. The young medic took to watching the mirror behind the bar instead, but still her eyes ended up tracking Makoto's reflection as they spoke.
"Well, for one, the bathroom is in the other direction." Makoto pointed off toward the left where a faint green glow from a sign could be seen. "Then there's the fact that Rei-chan asked me to bring her food saying she didn't have time to get herself anything to eat. When I walked into the booth she was hiding take out under the sound board."
"Why would they go through all that trouble?" Amy asked, blue eyes meeting green in the mirror's surface.
"I don't know, but I was wondering something." Makoto turned to look at Amy's profile and smiled. "Would you like to dance?"
"Kino-san I don't. . ."
"It's just two friend's dancing." Makoto said with a smile as she stood and held out a hand. "And please call me Makoto-san at least."
"Thank you Makoto-san." Amy took her hand and was led over toward the floor full of people dancing to rave music. By the time Mamoru reappeared they were gone so he just set down the extra coke behind the counter and took to drinking the other himself. If they came back he could always get them another.
In the booth Minako smiled and leaned over Rei's shoulder, eyes following the two forms as they left the bar. Rei ignored her for the most part, focusing instead on adjusting a few things on the panel before her. She realized the blonde soldier was just behind her, one hand resting on Rei's shoulder so she wouldn't have to lean on the board, but Rei didn't feel like bothering with the young woman.
"Hey, they just walked to the dance floor!" Minako pointed out happily.
"Just like the other people in the club." Rei muttered, her annoyance leaking into her tone and causing Minako to jump a little.
"Why are you so mad today?"
"I'm not mad." Rei all but growled as she turned her eyes toward the blonde and glared. "I just don't see what business either of us has in either of their dating lives, and don't tell me you weren't trying to set them up on a date Aino-san."
"Let's change topic." Minako said, backing away from the irked DJ with her hands rising before her chest in surrender. The blonde smiled and took a seat on the folding chair behind her. "What are you studying? I remember you had a book yesterday."
"What does it matter?" Rei turned again to look over the sound board.
"Oh come on, what could it hurt to tell me what your major is?"
"World Religions." Rei finally growled out and was met with silence. There was a span of nearly five minutes before she heard Minako's confused voice speak again.
"Why would you major in that?"
"Because my family are the keepers of a Shinto Shrine and I felt it help me to have a better understanding of other religions as well." Rei glanced over at Minako again and caught the blonde nodding slowly. "I only work here to pay for school."
"You're a miko then?" Minako asked, a slow grin beginning to spread across her face. "That seems to fit you somehow."
"I'm so glad you approve Aino-san." Rei let her sarcasm practically drip from her voice.
"What's a real shrine like?" Minako asked, leaned forward a bit in her chair.
"Quiet." Rei responded and watched the dance floor. "It's mostly the birds and those who keep the shrine."
"Can I visit?"
"It's not a tourist attraction." Rei growled and seemed to twitch. "Would you visit a church on a tour of some country?"
"If I went to Italy I would. They have some really famous ones there." Minako seemed to be searching for a name and Rei shook her head. The blonde noticed the action and raised an eyebrow. "What did I say this time?"
"Nothing." Rei chose to ignore the blonde for the moment in favor of changing the music again. Minako, for her part, fell silent and just watched the DJ at work. Somehow, she admitted to herself, Rei would look right in priestess's robes.
"Where do you think Aino went?" Amy looked at Makoto, hoping the other young woman knew. They were making their way off the floor after losing any sense of time.
"I'm not sure but I doubt she's far away." Makoto responded as they reached the bar again. With out asking Mamoru walked off to get two sodas as each managed to get a stool. Green eyes turned and looked to Amy curiously. "Are you two close friends?"
"I wouldn't say close, I've just been helping her with her Japanese." Amy looked at the polished surface of the bar as she spoke.
"Hey guys!" Minako seemed to just appear over their shoulders, causing the two to jump in their seat and face the young blonde. She smiled at them, blue eyes filled with amusement. "I got a little lost when I was coming back from the bathroom and couldn't find either of you."
"We were dancing." Amy supplied looking toward the floor with a shy look. The medic seemed all too easy to fluster when taken away from her element and uniform. Again Minako smiled, she was always amused at how professional Amy could be and yet how quickly she was thrown off foot in personal situations.
"Great I was hoping you were doing something fun." Minako started to turn away when Amy caught her hand and showed her the time on her own cell phone. Minako winced slightly at the glowing numbers and nodded. "Alright, I'll give Ten'ou a call."
"Thank you." Amy smiled and Minako nodded, disappearing into the crowd again.
"You have to leave so soon?" Makoto asked, paying Mamoru for the drinks before looking again toward Amy.
"I have work tomorrow." Amy replied, her tone slightly apologetic as she took a sip of her soda. They both fell silent for a moment before Amy spoke again. "I had fun, thank you for the company Kino-san."
"Makoto, my name is Makoto." The tall brunette corrected, managing to earn a smile from the young medic. She took out a pen and wrote a number on a napkin before passing it to Amy. "If you're ever bored or you just fell like doing something give me a call."
"Thank you." Amy smiled again and Makoto turned back to her own drink for the moment.
It didn't take long before Minako reached the DJ booth again, taking a seat on the folding chair with out comment. Rei watched the blonde pull out a cell phone and dial a number quickly. There were a few moments while Minako apparently waited for someone to pick up, then she grinned.
"Hey Dad, think you can come pick us up?" The blonde caught a weird tone in Haruka's voice and looked a little confused. "Do you want us to meet you outside?"
Minako blinked as the line clicked, and then she stared at her phone for a moment before looking up at Rei. Rei noted that the young blonde looked as if something just wouldn't fit in her head. The DJ turned from the board with a sigh and folded her arms across her chest.
"What happened?" She asked.
"My roommate hung up on me, she never does that." Minako stated in a voice full of surprise.
"Maybe she thinks you shouldn't be getting so involved in other people's business." Rei suggested in a tone filled with annoyance.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you shouldn't try to trick people into things. Makoto-san and your friend aren't toys you know." Rei blinked when Minako stood and glared at her, taken slightly off guard by the sudden shift.
"I don't think they're toys I just want to give them a chance to get to know each other."
"You could have done that with out having to lie. Come on Aino-san, you know they wouldn't have gone along with it if you'd told the truth." Rei turned away, thinking she'd won this argument hands down.
"If that's true why did you go along with all this?" Minako asked glare fixed on the other woman's back.
"I thought it was the only way to get rid of you, I guess I was wrong because you're still up here." Rei said, not truly thinking about what she was saying.
"Fine Hino-san, I'll leave." Minako said not even sure why the comments from the dark haired woman bothered her so much. She turned on her heel and walked toward the door. "All you had to do was ask."
The door to the booth slammed shut and Rei winced for a moment, listened as foot steps retreated down the hall. After a few deep breaths no sound was left in the booth aside from music drifting from the head phones around her neck. She waited for the sense of relief that usually accompanied the silence, but it didn't come. In fact the opposite seemed to be true as her dark eyes looked out toward the floor, still hidden in the shadows of her dark baseball cap and hood.
Minako was only angrier as she walked swiftly across the dance floor and over to where Haruka had found Amy and Makoto. She came to s halt near her roommate and nearly growled in her frustration.
"Hino-san is a pain in the. . ." A hand came around to cover her mouth, clamping down on the words and Amy looked at her in surprised. Minako took a deep breath as Haruka instructed her too, waiting as the hand over her mouth let up a bit. Once she was sure the taller blonde didn't expect she bit her, causing a pained sound to escape Haruka and the hand to retreat quickly.
"I'll be outside." Minako said, ignoring the glare Haruka shot her way and walking off.
"How does she expect me to drive if she bites my hands off?" Haruka muttered, coaxing a grin from Amy. Haruka pulled her hand away from the other specialist and nodded to Makoto. "I'll be outside, good night Kino-san."
Haruka turned and disappeared toward the door, leaving the two alone for a moment. Makoto finally broke the silence as she bowed.
"I think I'll go see what Rei-san said to make Aino-san so mad." Makoto smiled at Amy and sighed. "She has a talent for upsetting blondes; Usagi-chan and she are famous for their arguments."
"Good night Makoto-san." Amy said.
"Night Amy-san." Makoto waited for a moment as Amy disappeared into the crowd, and then she turned and walked further into the club. She skirted the dance floor, following the wall until she came to a door with an employee's only sign. She entered and made sure the door shut behind her, making her way up a small staircase and emerging into a dimly lit hall.
Rei muttered a prayer to herself as she watched the dance floor, her eyes not actually taking in anything below her. In her mind she visualized herself sitting calmly before a large fire at the sanctuary. She allowed the stress to slowly seep from her, releasing the pressure and focusing completely on the dancing flames of the sacred fire.
"Listen Aino-san if you came for an apology . . ." Rei started to speak as the door opened but Makoto's voice cut into her comment.
"She already left Rei-chan." Makoto was leaning against the door frame when Rei turned. For a moment the DJ was tempted to loose a curse but she restrained it and instead pulled her headphones totally off, setting them to the side.
"What do you want me to say Mako-chan?" Rei asked voice still somewhat on the defensive.
"Actually I was only curious, but you sound like you need to talk." The brunette ignored the glare Rei sent her way and stood straight. "Come on Rei, we both know you said something."
"It isn't my fault she thinks she's a matchmaker." Rei growled. "She should have stayed out of it instead of trying to fool people."
"What makes you think either of us was fooled?" Makoto smiled and waved a hand toward a small trash can from which protruded a take out box. "Don't think I didn't catch the fast food when I came up here the first time."
"That wasn't my idea."
"That isn't the point." Makoto sighed before turning back to the door. "Aino-san didn't do anything with bad intent; she just wanted to see her friend happy."
"And did you enjoy your date Mako-chan?" Rei's voice was mildly taunting and Makoto paused again. Rei blinked and reverted to a more normal tone. "Wasn't that the point?"
"Maybe in a different life time Rei-chan." Makoto's voice sounded regretful as she spoke over her shoulder, not meeting the other woman's eyes. "But it is nice to make a new friend."
Makoto left and it went silent in the booth again. Rei shook her head, giving up on understanding any of the night's events. All she'd gained was another annoyed blonde, a slight headache and some confusion about why Makoto wouldn't try to date Minako's friend. Whatever the reason, she decided; it was their business and no one else's.
Author's Note:
I'm sorry to all the Makoto and Ami fans out there. I considered writing a chapter or two focused on them; however the story was starting to drag a lot. I am considering writing a separate piece just for fans of the two, but I'm not sure yet.
On that note, I am starting work on the next chapter so enjoy and please review.
Review responses:
Bdavi: Thank, I'm glad you liked it. grinning Plus it's always a bonus to find someone from Fort Jackson. I admit that my knowledge has hit its limit regarding bases. I have only seen Fort Jackson and Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Didn't mean to insinuate they all requested Japan, just Haruka.
On a personal note: Though I passed my PT test and the waiver went through originally it was yanked by a general. For now I've decided to back off and go to a mechanical tech school, hopefully later on I can re-apply and make it in.
Po0t: There it is, the whole reason Minako was upset. Hope you liked the chapter.
Petiyaka: Haruka is just being affected by being placed in a new area with a new history. I guess I had the urge to write a version of her that was more toned down than the café dancing joker of "Truly Madly Deeply". If I didn't change it up now and then we'd all get bored with my writing. Flops backward at keyboard But it has been a whole new set of obstacles trying to write this. Still I hope you're enjoying it so far.
Amnesia nymph: holds hand up in surrender I give! I give! Here's the update. Sorry it doesn't really have much in the way of Haruka or Michiru, but I had to address what happened at the club sometime. Still I hope you enjoyed it and thank you again for the review.
Nellie: And there you have the events at the club. I think this chapter was the hardest to write so far, my mind wanted so badly to go back to H and M. I think inspiration was a better word than distraction, you're right.
Neptune's Mask: You know I always enjoy reading the "small novels" you leave in the review box. Ami/Amy and Makoto may end up the way you commented would "suck for the characters and readers alike". The jury is still out regarding Rei and Minako, mainly because I am not sure I want to play with that pairing at the moment. You infiltrate my stories regularly you know?
Hagancameron: Technically speaking Haruka can't really resign, its officers that can. Good thought though. Sorry that I didn't add a bit more Amy and Makoto, but it wasn't working out too well. I may write one about those two separately, they do make kind of a cute pair.
And that's all for this update. Take care everyone and thank you again for all the reviews. Please let me know what you think of this and of "Night Out".