Rei sat by her fire in Miko dressings. She was meditating peacefully, as she tended to do. It had been a very long day. Her grandfather's health had declined in over the last two years, and he was no longer as active as he once was. Often, he would repeat himself several times a day, or remember something from years and years ago like it happened only two hours ago.
He was suffering from dementia. It was scary, but she loved him no less for it. Finally after getting him to go lay down for bed, she had a moment of peace to herself. As she stared into the shrine fire, she prayed. However, something flashed before her eyes. Something greatly terrible, and she couldn't make out just what it was- but it appeared beast-like.
It shocked her so much she nearly feel back. For a second she almost thought it would leap right out at her! Something woke her the crows that nested near the shrine. Rei was sure it was the vision she'd just seen. They called loudly into the night as if warning others. For a moment she was terrified they were being devoured by a local stray.
She shivered. This was bad. She would have to tell the others as soon as possible. Something was coming. Something terrible.
When morning came, Rei was awake before anybody else. When Yuichiro arrived that morning, Rei left him in charge of watching over her grandfather. She explained she had some very important errands to run after school, and Yuichiro humbly accepted the task.
Rei contacted the girls over their communicators on her way to school, and everyone decided they would meet at Usagi's house that day, as her family was going out that day.
School seemed to take hours longer than usual, and the anxiety swirling around Rei was more than enough to put her on edge. When the last bell rang, she rushed to Usagi's house as quickly as possible. She was the first to arrive, even before Usagi herself.
It looked like the family had not left yet, so she was lucky enough to catch Ikuko on her way out.
"Mrs. Tsukino, good afternoon." She bowed deeply.
"Oh my, good morning Rei!" Ikuko smiled softly. "Are you here to see Usagi? She isn't home just yet."
Kenji and Shingo got into the family car as Rei and the mother of the home spoke.
"Would it be okay if I waited here for her?"
"Of course you can." She smiled and walked her to the door to unlock it. "By the way, thank you for letting our daughter stay over Saturday night, you're always so kind to her." Ikuko gave her a gracious and motherly smile. Something about her mother's smile always melted her heart. She missed that maternal influence her own mother had. She was so swept up, she stumbled to catch on.
"What?" She asked in confusion, Usagi didn't even visit that day. "Um, yeah! Saturday…" Her face nearly betrayed her act. "It's no problem!" She laughed, trying to come across as a little forgetful.
If Ikuko didn't buy it, she showed no signs. She unlocked the door, allowing Rei to enter. "She should be home soon." She waved politely and the two said goodbye before Ikuko closed the door behind her. Not even three minutes later, Usagi showed up with Ami and Makoto. Minako was the last to join.
They all gathered in the living room, making themselves comfortable as Rei started the meeting.
"Last night I had a vision like the ones I would get when we were constantly being attacked by negative forces…" She started. Usagi shifted uncomfortably in her spot. This was the last thing she wanted to hear. Rei continued. "I'm not sure what it was, but it was vengeful…"
"That means we really need to start taking this training idea seriously." Makoto piped up while slamming her fist into the palm of her opposite hand.
"Guys… I don't want to talk about this." Usagi was protesting again, and now that there were signs of an actual threat the girls were irritated that she could be so childish.
"Usagi, we can't ignore it." Ami gently stated. The others nodded in agreement.
"It was bound to happen, one way or the other… its our fate." Minako tried to speak as gingerly as possible.
"Yeah but-"
"Wake up, Usagi!" Rei slammed her palms on the coffee table in frustration. "You can't ignore something just because you don't like it! That will never fix anything!"
The other girls just looked at each other, feeling a little uncomfortable with the way this conversation took a turn. Usagi's eyes watered.
"I just want to be normal!" She protested.
"But you're not! None of us are! Get used to it!" She demanded, her fists clenching as she scolded the girl. "You're such a coward. And speaking of which, whats with you telling your mom you've been spending the night at my place, care to explain that one Usagi?"
Usagi's tears began to fall again. "You're… You're so mean!" The other girls were searching for something to say, but at this point it seemed like it wasn't really about the oncoming threat anymore.
"Quit lying to your parents and just admit to them you're sleeping with Mamoru! That's what you're doing right?" Rei snapped. She almost appeared to be having a breakdown at this point.
Usagi's fists curled and the tears continued to fall. "I- I hate you, Rei!" She hollered before running out the door.
Luna watched, a look of sympathy on her eyes. The others all shifted uncomfortably in their seats as Rei settled back down, her cheeks lit up bright red in frustration and embarrassment at her outburst. "I just can't believe her…" She huffed.
"Rei…?" Makoto hesitantly started. "What was that all about?"
"Nothing." She assured before clearing her throat. "We should really inform Haruka and the others."
"Yeah, but maybe we should work out whatever this is first." Makoto suggested as she scooted closer to her friend. "What's bothering you?" She asked, giving her the gentle maternal look she gave her friends when she knew they were suffering.
Ami and Minako moved in a little closer, trying to make this feel more intimate and caring. They felt a little concerned too, to be honest.
"I guess… I'm just jealous." Rei sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose as she spoke.
"What do you mean?" Minako prodded.
"Usagi has this perfect little life…" The girls listened as their dear friend began pouring her heart out to them. "She has the cool boyfriend, who we all know will marry her someday and have a beautiful child with… Not to mention her parents are both around and in good health. They also care a great deal about her. She has no real responsibilities outside of being a soldier and she's a princess." She stated.
The others understood now. They never really thought of how much Rei had to do for herself. She always handled her own life with such grace that they never realized it bothered her. Rei had so much to be responsible for outside of being a soldier, yet she always managed to go about it without complaining once.
The girls didn't know what to say immediately, instead they all squeezed in for a group hug.
"Rei, Usagi's life isn't perfect either." Ami started in a cool whisper. "She has very poor grades."
The others all let out a lighthearted chuckle.
"And she's responsible for ChibiUsa." Makoto pointed out. "She's basically like a teen mom, you know?"
"And her father doesn't exactly approve of Mamoru." Minako added. "Plus she has to worry about all of us!" They all smiled. Rei too. In fact Rei was feeling a little batter after talking about all this.
"If you need help Rei, we're all here for you." Minako concluded.
"Thanks everyone." She was still blushing, but this time happily.