6

A knock on the door of the suite pulled Minako from sleep. She glanced at the clock. The hour was relatively reasonable, so she reined in her desire to murder whoever it was that woke her. The sound of running water in the next room told her that Rei was having a shower. Minako was tempted to ignore the door altogether and join her, but the knocking came again. It sounded insistent.

Growling, she grabbed her robe and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to smooth it out. Before unlocking the door, she peered through the peephole. It was Shacho. He looked rather strained. Feeling distinctly uneasy, Minako yanked the door open.

"What is it?" she asked in lieu of a greeting.

Shacho held up a copy of the city newspaper. "Entertainment section," he said, passing it to her. He sounded tired. "Is she up yet?"

Minako felt her stomach clench as she flipped open the paper. Once more she was met by images of the airport embrace, as well as a shot of her and Rei on the pier from the previous evening. There was one glaring difference from previous publications, however.

"They know her name. How?" She moved aside to let Shacho into the suite and closed the door behind him. He perched on the couch—Minako refrained from telling him what she and Rei had been doing there the night before—and ran his hands over his face.

"They got it from her flight information. Someone who worked for the airline recognized her from the original photos, looked her up..."

"And then gave her name away to the highest bidder." Minako felt her blood boil. She knew something like it had been bound to happen, but it still made her furious. She flung the newspaper aside. "Can I get you anything, Shacho?"

Her manager shook his head. "I could use a nap. I've been up all night fielding calls from all sorts of reporters wanting me to confirm or deny her identity. There've been a few from her father's people as well."

On that note, Rei's cell phone began to buzz loudly from where it sat on an end table. Minako picked it up and checked the display. The Senator, it read. She took a breath and flipped it open.

"Aino Minako speaking."

There was a brief pause. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I must have dialled—Aino Minako?"

"Yes, that's right. You're Senator Hino, are you not? Rei's busy at the moment, but I believe I know why you're calling. I've just been shown today's newspaper. I imagine you've been getting bombarded with phone calls yourself." Minako's tone became all business as she spoke.

"You have no idea—"

"Actually, I have a pretty clear one, Senator. My manager hasn't slept." She gave Shacho's shoulder a gentle pat. "I don't know the extent of the situation just yet. Your call came as he was beginning to tell me about it."

The Senator made a disgruntled noise. "May—may I speak to my daughter please, Miss Aino?"

Minako heard the sound of running water being extinguished.

"Just a moment, sir. Perhaps you'd like to talk with my manager first so we're all on the same page." She gave Shacho a pleading look and handed him the phone. "I'm sorry," she mouthed, and went to get Rei.

"Reiko?" Minako knocked on the door that connected the suite's bedroom to the bathroom and pushed it open.

Rei was wrapped in a towel as she ran a comb through her wet hair. "Did I wake you, love?" Her expression changed suddenly, as it always did when she sensed trouble. "What's wrong?"

Minako shook her head. "You didn't wake me. Shacho did. They—they know who you are, Rei."

Rei's eyes widened. There was the briefest flash of fear in them. She didn't need to ask who "they" meant. "Oh. Oh, I see. W-well, we knew it was inevitable, right?" She tried to look nonchalant as she put down the comb. "So they'll know where to find me when I go home then. It-it'll be good for Shrine business, I suppose." Her eyes looked everywhere but at Minako's. She was quite pale. "I-I'll probably be hearing from my father about this too—"

"He's on the phone right now, Rei. Shacho's talking to him but he'd like to talk to you as well."

Rei nodded mutely, and followed Minako into the bedroom to get dressed.

~O~O~O~O~

Rei rested her head in Minako's lap as they sat on the suite's couch, trying to decide what to do. She was positively dreading her eventual return home, and felt almost as though her visit to Minako had been tainted.

Someone had been watching them the previous day, and would very likely be watching them again when they left the hotel. What shocked Rei most was that she hadn't known the observer had been there. At least that meant whoever it was had no malicious intentions. Rei would have sensed them if they had.

Still, it was disconcerting.

The conversation with her father had been surprisingly helpful, as he assured her that he had already taken steps to ensure that the Shrine would not be harassed by reporters and photographers in her absence. She hadn't realized how heavily that thought alone had been weighing on her. The Shrine had been her home for so long, that to cause it any trouble felt like the worst sort of betrayal to Rei. She had declined her father's offer to move her things into his manor though. That would create a whole new set of problems for them both.

Still, she'd probably have to consider looking for a new place to live when she got back to Japan. The thought made her rather sad.

"We'll have to buy you a pair of sunglasses, I guess, Reiko." Minako's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Rei scowled. "Will that really help, d'you think?"

"You'd be amazed." Minako ran her fingers through Rei's hair. "Play dumb, remember?"

"Tried that. Ended up running for my life. I told you about that."

"I seem to recall a lot of laughing on my part." Rei playfully swatted Minako's leg. "Besides, schoolgirls are impossible to fool. Journalists are a different story. They'll buy anything if you package it right."

"Hm. If you say so. Did Shacho finally get off to sleep?"

Minako nodded. "I still can't believe he was up all night dealing with reporters. He's too good to me."

Rei sighed. "We should let him sleep. You guys are close enough to the show that rehearsal should run smoothly enough without him, right?"

Minako clapped a hand to her forehead. "Rehearsal! I have to go!"

~O~O~O~O~

As Rei had expected, the rehearsal was seamless. Considering the concert itself was a day away, that was a good thing. Each show had to be altered slightly in each city because of the different venues. The size of the stages changed, sound booths had varied and convoluted setups—there were even a few special effects involving some pyrotechnics that wouldn't be employed until the actual live performance. Rei had been shown a few computer simulations that looked impressive. Minako certainly knew how to entertain her audience.

Eventually, Rei's thoughts drifted back to what she was going to face after her trip. She wasn't particularly looking forward to the loss of her privacy, even though she had known all along that it was a very real possibility. She had thought during her wanderings the previous day that she didn't have to worry so much while she was in Australia, but some of the photographs had been snapped less than a day after her arrival. She grudgingly admitted that the shot of her and Minako on the pier was a beautiful one, when she saw it. The day's fading light was reflecting off of them as they gazed out at the water, making them almost appear to be glowing. From the expressions they wore in the image, they could have been.

Rei's cell phone buzzed with another text. Her friends had been sending her notes and updates all day, wanting to know that she was all right. The latest was from Makoto.

Rei had asked her if she would be able to drop by the Shrine at some point to scope out the situation there. If anyone recognized her as an acquaintance of Rei's, she was quite sure that Makoto, of all her friends, was best-suited to deal with aggressive reporters. She had taken out some of the Senator's own bodyguards when she thought Rei was in danger, after all. Minako had said more than once that if Makoto ever grew tired of running her own business, she had a job as head of the idol's security team.

It's pretty busy here. But just regular people, I think, Makoto had written.

Rei wrote a quick reply. Any sign of the elders? Have you spoken to them?

I can, if you like.

She hesitated for a moment, suddenly worried about how the elders could have taken the news of her relationship, and wondered if she wanted to know the truth yet. She exhaled slowly, and sent her reply.

Yes, please. Thank you, Makoto.

It was astonishing really, that the elders hadn't mentioned anything to Rei since the original news of the relationship broke. She'd kept a low profile when she went about her day, and waited for one of the elders to say something to her. But no one had said a word. Either they had somehow missed the images and broadcasts across the city, or like Rei, they had simply chosen to play dumb. But now that her identity was public knowledge, they wouldn't be able to any longer.

Shacho dropped abruptly into the seat beside Rei, startling her.

"How are you feeling, Rei-chan? Any better?"

Rei shrugged and half-smiled. "I'm fine, Shacho. Thanks. Just worried about what'll happen when I go home." If she still had one, she thought, glancing edgily at the phone in her hand. Makoto still hadn't replied. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"The key to being a good manager is the ability to delegate. I had one of my assistants take a nap in my stead."

Despite herself, Rei chuckled. "And you say Minako works too hard."

"We love what we do." Shacho yawned hugely. "Nervous twitch," he said at Rei's stern look.

Their attention was eventually drawn to the stage as the lights in the theatre dimmed to black. After a few minutes, bluish spotlight appeared and revealed Minako, clad in a stunning white dress. Rei's breath caught in her throat as Minako's eyes met hers across the light. The idol winked and began to sing a familiar slow number from her new album.

"God, she's so beautiful," Rei murmured.

"That she is," Shacho replied quietly, making Rei blush. She hadn't meant to say the words out loud.

"Things will work out, Rei-chan." Shacho gave her a friendly nudge with his shoulder.

Rei nudged him back. "I know they will."

As Minako's song ended, Rei's cell phone buzzed.

~O~O~O~O~

The moment Minako first stepped on the stage to start rehearsing, her eyes never once left Rei. She appeared to be texting someone, or perhaps several someones. Given how often she would put her phone aside, flip it open again to gaze intently at the screen, then write something, it seemed so. Minako had a feeling that her own phone was receiving similar messages, and likely from the same people. She smiled a bit more at the thought.

She and Rei really had the most wonderful friends. They were the reason Minako wasn't completely panicked by the thought of what awaited Rei when she returned home. Not that she wasn't worried at all. She needed to make a few calls of her own, closer to Rei's return trip. Minako watched Rei's face grow apprehensive as she read something else on her phone. Several minutes passed before she replied to whatever the message had said.

It was taking all of Minako's willpower not to halt rehearsal for the day and bring Rei someplace quiet where they could talk some more. She was feeling guilty about putting Rei in such a stress-laden situation. Minako had known exactly what would happen once the press got wind of their relationship, and had told Rei as much more than once. But Rei had always just smiled that gorgeous, enigmatic smile of hers and said that she could handle whatever came her way, as long as she had Minako by her side.

So Minako had finally given in.

She watched Rei talking quietly with Shacho, who had arrived only moments before. He seemed to be speaking words of reassurance to Rei, as the troubled look in her eyes faded slightly. Minako fought the urge to smirk at her manager's presence. He was even more of a workaholic than she was.

She waited for the lights to dim, and when they did, she dashed backstage for a quick costume change. Despite everything that was going on, Minako was quite excited for Rei's reaction when she saw her in the dress she was to wear for the final number. Perhaps after the show, when her dressing room had been cleared of other visitors, Rei could help her out of it.

With that lovely thought in mind, Minako took her place on the blackened stage just in time for the spotlight to touch her. She was torn between amusement and desire at the sight of Rei's expression. Feeling her cheeks redden, Minako winked at her lover and began to sing.

It was by far her favourite among all the songs on her new album.

No one but Minako knew just how deeply Rei's musical talents ran. After learning that Rei was not only a brilliant singer, but also a skilled guitar player, the idol had shown up at the Shrine one day with her own guitar in tow. Rei had been reluctant at first, but eventually she pulled out the stringed instrument she had inherited from her mother and began to play along with Minako. Before long, Rei was idly playing a simple, but beautiful melody as Minako listened and watched. The words came to the idol so clear and quick, it was as though they had been whispered in her ear.

Their first collaboration.

Minako had been unable to resist joking that they made beautiful music together.

She closed her eyes as she finished the number, letting the final strands of music wash across her. Breathing a small sigh of relief at how well the rehearsal had gone, Minako opened her eyes to smile at Rei.

Her heart nearly stopped.

Rei had vanished.

o~o~o

Author's note: ...Please don't hurt me. I swear, all will be shiny.

See you next week!