Author Note: This was one of my favorite chapters to write. I hope you like it too!
Ofuda = [Japanese] The paper charms that Rei/Sailor Mars uses in the manga, anime, and PGSM.
-niichan = [Japanese] "older brother"
I don't own Sailor Moon and have tried to the best of my ability to site my references.
Takeuchi, N. (1991). Sailor Moon. Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan: Kodansha Ltd.
Chapter 11:
"I think the makeup artist should be here at any moment," Haruka said casually. She had resumed her position standing in front of the full-length mirror, turning and examining her outfit for anything even the slightest bit out of place.
"Ugh," Rei groaned with annoyance as she rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms and allowed herself to fall back into the couch, "I'd rather not."
"I know you always say they overdo it," Haruka replied with a smirk as she pulled at her jacket lapels, "But you always end up looking really good."
"Yeah, if you're into clowns or drag queens," Rei muttered snarkily under her breath. She looked away and huffed, slouching more into the couch. Suddenly, her lavender eyes widened as she felt a mischievous, royal-blue aura approach her from behind the couch.
"I wonder what Michiru will think if I told her you insinuated she looked like a clown or a drag queen," Haruka whispered musingly with an edge of playful teasing into Rei's ear. Rei immediately jumped up from the couch and whipped around to look at Haruka with a hint of panic in her amethyst eyes.
"Don't you fucking dare!," Rei half-yelled, half-pleaded, "That's not what I said and you know it!"
"Hey, you're the one who said if I thought someone looked good it probably means they look like a clown or a drag queen," Haruka said with feigned innocence as she straightened. She casually shrugged, "So, if I'm going to be spending the rest of my life with Michiru, it stands to reason that you must think she looks like a clown or a drag queen, right?"
"B-Baka!," Rei spat. Before she could lunge over the couch and wrestle the race car driver into taking back what she said, Rei immediately froze as she felt a strong pull on her senses that demanded all of her attention. Her violet eyes grew wide as they stared distantly past Haruka. Her heart began to race, No way! It…It can't be! That means...that means what I felt this whole time was really-
"Rei? Rei, what is it?," Haruka asked curiously as she saw Rei's eyes glaze over, "Is it the makeup artist?"
'Makeup artist'...Holy shit!, Rei thought as she blinked herself out of her trance, "Haruka, who is she!?"
"Who? The makeup artist?," Haruka asked with confusion. She raised an eyebrow at Rei and looked at her quizzically, "Shouldn't you be tell me who-"
"I mean, how do you know her!?," Rei asked impatiently, Kami-sama, I can't stop my heart from beating out of my chest!
"Why?," Haruka asked with concern. She immediately turned serious, "What's going on, Rei? Is something wrong?"
"Damn it, Haruka, just tell me!," Rei snapped in agitation.
"Ok, ok! Easy, Rei," Haruka replied, raising her hands innocently to calm her best friend down, "She's one of Michiru's friends. She's actually Odango's-"
"What's her name!?," Rei interrupted.
"Her name? It's-," Haruka began.
Knock, Knock!
"Kami-sama, it's really her...She's really here," Rei gasped softly, her eyes were glazed again as she sensed the person who was now just beyond the door.
Shick...Click Click!
Rei shook her head slightly, bringing herself out of her trance, and quickly whipped her head to her left, bringing all of her attention to the sound of a key card being slid and the front doors unlocking. Haruka's attention went to the entrance as well as it opened.
"Haru-chan, I'm here to do your hair and makeup if you're-," Minako began but stopped when she walked half-way through the door and saw…
"...Rei-chan?," Minako gasped softly.
Crash! Clunk! Thunk, thunk!
In her state of shock, the two rolling cases Minako had wheeled in with her slipped from her grasps and made loud, crashing noises as they both hit the ground. The sound went unheard by the beautiful, raven-haired woman and the gorgeous blonde staring at each other from across the room with their mouths open in disbelief.
"Minak-Oof!," Was all Rei could whisper before she had the wind knocked right out of her. She felt herself being forced to fall backwards.
Thud!
Rei found herself on her back, staring at the ceiling, with a familiar weight lying on top of her. As she caught her breath, the scent of strawberries filled her lungs and a warm, orange-gold aura invaded her senses, filling her entire being. She relaxed and exhaled contently. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to fall into its comforting embrace.
"M-Mina-chan!," Haruka exclaimed. One minute, Minako was at the door. The next, she had sprinted towards Rei and pounced on her, causing both women to fall to the ground with Minako lying on top of Rei, her's arms wrapped tightly around Rei's neck. By the time Haruka registered what had happened, she watched in shock and horror as Rei let out a breath and her violet eyes closed.
Fuck! Rei must have seen this coming and was trying to warn me!, Haruka though to herself in a panic, Of all people, I didn't think she'd get attacked by Mina-chan! Shit! She's going to kill Rei with her aura at that close of a range!
Haruka was about to dart around the couch, grab Minako, and forcefully pry her off of Rei until Rei's amethyst eyes shot open and went to Haruka. The archer quickly held her hand up to the race car driver, stopping her dead in her tracks. Haruka was stunned by the intensity in Rei's lavender eyes and the emotions that swirled within them. Though she didn't have Rei's abilities, she felt as if she could read Rei's thoughts through her eyes that said both 'Don't worry' and 'Don't you dare fucking touch her'.
"R-Rei…," Haruka whispered in shock.
"It's ok, Haruka," Rei said calmly with reassurance, "I'm ok."
More than ok, Rei thought as a smile slowly formed on her lips. Haruka's jaw dropped as she watched Rei close her eyes and gently wrap her arms around the gorgeous blonde.
"Hello, Minako," Rei said softly with a warm tone as she brought her attention back to the smaller woman on top of her.
'Minako'?, Haruka thought. Not only did Rei know Minako's name, she noted the lacking honorific and it took Haruka by surprise. That was something Rei only did with herself and Michiru, her childhood friends that were practically her older sisters.
"I thought I was going crazy and seeing things," Minako said just as softly and warmly, "But it's really you. You're really here. I'm so happy to see you, Rei-chan."
'Rei-chan'?, Haruka thought. She shook her head, What the hell is going on here!? All this was getting too confusing for her.
Before Haruka could voice her confusion, Minako shot up to her hands and knees, abruptly breaking out of Rei's embrace, "Wait! What're you doing here!?," Minako exclaimed.
Rei chuckled as she propped herself up on her elbows, "I was just about to ask you the same thing."
A loud, deliberate cough interrupted their conversation. They both turned towards the sound to see an amused Haruka smirking down at the two of them from behind the couch.
"H-Haru-chan!," Minako exclaimed, "I-I didn't notice you standing there!" Her face turned pink as she quickly scrambled to her feet. Rei groaned a little as she got up. Once she was on her feet, she brushed her suit with her hands. Thanks to her toned physique, she was able to take the sudden impact from Minako and the collision with the floor fairly well. She quickly stretched the brief soreness out of her muscles once she straightened.
"Well, it seems like I don't need to introduce you two," Haruka said amusingly, "But I guess I should for formality's sake." She looked at Minako as she gestured to Rei, "Mina-chan, meet Hino Rei. She's my best woman and the 'sister' and best friend I've told you about who Michiru and I grew up with. You might have seen her before, she's pretty handy with a bow and arrow."
As Minako slowly turned from Haruka to Rei, her cobalt eyes began to widen. Rei could see the overwhelming shock and realization being emitted from the blonde woman's aura as the pieces began coming together in her mind. She braced herself for the inevitable.
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT! YOU'RE THE FLAME SNIPER! THE OLYMPIC ARCHER, HEIR TO, AND SPOKESPERSON FOR HINO SPORTING ENTERPRISE!," Minako screamed in shock. Rei, being closest to Minako, got the brunt of her screaming. She winced at the pain in her ears and at Minako's almost overwhelmingly blinding aura as it radiated with shock.
"MINA-CHAN!," Haruka scolded in her 'dad' voice, "There's absolutely no need to yell!"
Minako, realizing what she had done, turned bright red and covered her mouth with her hands, "S-Sorry," Minako said in a more reasonable volume. She couldn't stop staring wide-eyed at Rei, who was blushing nervously and found the floor very interesting to look at.
Haruka facepalmed, "Mataku, Mina-chan! Sometimes you're just as bad as Odango."
"Mou, Haru-chan!," Mina whined as she turned towards Haruka with a huff, "I was just surprised, that's all. You know I'm not as bad as Usa-neechan!"
Rei's head shot up and she stared wide-eyed at Minako, "'Odango'?…'Usa-neechan'?…," Rei whispered mostly to herself but loud enough for Haruka and Minako to hear.
"And that takes us to the other half of the introductions," Haruka continued. She looked at Rei as she gestured to Minako, "Rei, this is Aino Minako. When you asked me earlier how I knew her, I was trying to tell you she's one of Michiru's friends and Odango's sister. She's the genius makeup artist who's going to be doing our makeup today."
Haruka couldn't see it, but Minako had caught on that Rei had stopped listening. Her amethyst eyes clearly showed that she was beginning to putting two and two together on her own. It was Minako's turn to brace herself for the inevitable.
"Usa-nee...USAGI-NEECHAN!? SUPERMODEL USAGI!? YOU'RE TSUKINO USAGI'S TWIN SISTER!," Rei screamed in shock. Minako, took a step back, wincing as she covered her ears with her hands.
"REI!," Haruka scolded, using her 'dad' voice again, "Damn it, you two! Calm the fuck down!"
"Y-Yeah, s-she's my-OW!," Minako began hesitantly but was quickly interrupted by the sensation of sharp pain coming from both sides of her head where Rei had grabbed handfuls of hair and held her blonde locks up so they looked like twin-tails. Haruka couldn't help but burst into a fit of loud laughter at the sight.
"Holy shit," Rei whispered. Her eyes were still wide with shock as she loosened her grip and took a slight step back, "You two really are twins."
"Mou, Rei-chan!," Minako chided as she swatted Rei's hands away. She took a step back and quickly smoothed out her hair, "I just did my hair! Couldn't you have just read my aura like you did last night to see if it was true!?"
Haruka's roaring laughter came to an abrupt halt, "Wait…'last night'?"
Rei and Minako froze. They slowly turned to look at the tall tomboy nervously, who was staring at the two women, her dark-blue eyes growing wide as her jaw dropped.
"Oh, fuck," Rei and Minako whispered at the same time. Both were able to cover their ears in time.
"NO FUCKING WAY!," Haruka screamed as she looked to Rei and gestured towards Minako, "SHE'S THE SEXY, BLONDE BOMBSHELL YOU MET WHO STAYED AT YOUR PLACE YESTERDAY WHEN YOU WENT TO GET MY TUX!?"
"BAKA!," Rei yelled fiercely as she vaulted over the couch. As she was airborne, she used her momentum to sock Haruka in the shoulder, hard.
"OW!," Haruka yelled.
"SERVES YOU RIGHT FOR RUNNING YOUR MOUTH, ASSHOLE!," Rei snapped as she landed easily and spun to glare at her best friend, readying herself for a potential counterattack. She could feel her face was deeply flushed with embarrassment. Her lavender eyes nervously caught a glimpse of Minako behind Haruka. The gorgeous blonde had covered her mouth with her hands and turned a shade of beet-red.
...knock, knock...
As if on cue, the sound of a soft knocking came from the front doors, effectively interrupting the scene. The three women turned towards that direction as one of the doors slowly opened.
A child, no older than eight years old, with shoulder-length hair as dark as Rei's and clear, deep-purple eyes peeked her head into the room shyly.
"Haruka-papa? Is...Is everything ok?," The child said with concern in a soft voice as clear as a bell, "I heard a lot of yelling."
"H-Hotaru," Haruka said softly with surprise. She quickly composed herself as she beamed at her 'adopted daughter' with a wide smile, "Yeah, everything's fine, kiddo. Did you come all the way up here just to see me?"
"Mmn," Hotaru nodded shyly, "I wanted to see you and Michiru-mama. I was going to use the key, but the door was propped open by these big boxes." She gestured toward the rolling cases on the floor that Minako had dropped earlier, "I can...I can come back if you're busy."
Haruka knelt down so that she was closer to Hotaru's height. She opened her arms towards the child, "I'm never too busy for you, Hotaru. Come in, I'm glad you came to see me."
The girl's deep-purple eyes lit up as a smile graced her angelic face. She carefully pushed the door open wider, revealing the simple, white, flower girl dress she was wearing that had a dark-purple sash tied around the waist. She ran into Haruka's arms and wrapped her small arms around the race car driver's neck. A sweet giggle came from the girl as Haruka hugged her tightly and picked her up from the ground. Once Haruka straightened, she used one arm to support the girl's weight while she rested her other hand on her back, holding her steady. When Hotaru released her hold from Haruka's neck and pulled away to look at her 'adopted papa', Haruka smiled,
"So, have you been helping Setsuna-mama a lot downstairs?," Haruka asked, referring to her and Michiru's housemate and wedding planner, Meiou Setsuna. Setsuna and Michiru had been paired together as roommates their first year of college and hit it off so well that they continued to be roommates for the rest of their time at school.
Tomoe Hotaru was the daughter of Setsuna's older sister, making her Setsuna's biological niece. Hotaru's father, Tomoe Souichi, was a famous scientist who died tragically in a laboratory explosion shortly after Hotaru was born, leaving her mother, Tomoe Keiko, to care for Hotaru on her own as a single mother. During Setsuna's second year of college, Keiko found out she had Pancreatic cancer. Since she was required to stay overnight at the hospital for treatment quite often, she would leave Hotaru in Setsuna's care each time. Setsuna loved her niece and looked after her as if she were her own.
As time went on and Keiko had to be hospitalized for longer periods of time, Michiru and Haruka stepped up and helped Setsuna care for Hotaru while they all continued their schooling. Sadly, in their last year of college, Setsuna's sister passed away and arranged for Setsuna to be the official guardian of her only child.
As graduation drew nearer for Setsuna, Michiru, and Haruka, they began planning their separate futures. Hotaru, having grown accustomed to being cared for by her three 'adopted parents' whom she adored more than anything in the world, made a passing comment about wishing they could all stay together forever so she wouldn't have to say goodbye to yet another parent. From then on, there was no question in the three women's minds that they would all live together and continue to raise Hotaru as a family of sorts once they graduated, which they did.
"Yes, Haruka-papa," Hotaru replied happily, "She told me to come tell everyone that we have 30 minutes before we have to start."
"Thank you, Hotaru," Haruka smiled, "Did you already tell Michiru-mama?"
"Mmn!," Hotaru replied with an enthusiastic nod, "I saw her and she's so pretty!"
"She always is," Haruka said warmly as she brought a finger to tap Hotaru once playfully on the nose. She planted a big kiss on Hotaru's cheek before setting her back down on the floor, "Thank you for being such a good helper today. You remember Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama's friends, right?" She asked as she looked towards Rei, who had landed to her right after her vault, and Minako to her left, who was still standing at the front of the couch. Both women had also quickly collected and composed themselves when Hotaru appeared at the door.
"Mmn!," Hotaru replied with a firm nod. She smiled as she turned to Minako and bowed politely, "Good afternoon, Mina-neechan!"
"Good afternoon, Hotaru-chan," Minako smiled as she nodded back, "Have you been practicing the makeup tips I showed you last time?"
"Mmn!," Hotaru nodded proudly as she straightened, "Can you do my makeup like you did for Michiru-mama? I want to look just a pretty as her today!"
"Of course!," Minako replied. Hotaru smiled as she then turned to Rei and bowed politely.
"Good afternoon, Rei-niichan!," Hotaru greeted cheerfully.
"Good afternoon, Firefly," Rei nodded with a smile towards her 'adopted niece', using the pet-name she had for her.
"Do we have time right now for you to do that thing?," Hotaru asked excitedly as she straightened.
Rei smirked, "I think so. But you have to help me, ok?"
"Mmn!," Hotaru nodded eagerly as she ran over to Rei, who knelt down so she was at eye-level with Hotaru. Rei brought her hands to Hotaru's small shoulders, turning her so that they were side-by-side and facing the double-door entrance.
"This should be enough space," Rei said as she examined the area between them and the doors, which only had carpet and no furniture obstructions. She turned to Hotaru and asked, "So, what is it that you want today?"
"Ummm…a hummingbird!" Hotaru said excitedly.
Rei smiled, "Ok, a hummingbird it is then."
Haruka walked around the couch to stand next to Minako and out of the way, "You have to see this. Rei used to do this at the shrine for the kids during festivals," Haruka whispered to Minako proudly.
"What?," Minako whispered curiously, "What is she going to do?"
"You'll see," Haruka winked. Minako watched as Rei kept one hand gently on Hotaru's shoulder while her other hand reached into her pocket and brought out what looked like a small ofuda that fit in the palm of her pale hand. Rei closed her eyes and began whispering inaudibly over it.
"Rei's always been good with kids," Haruka whispered, "It's so cute to see her around them."
As Minako watched, she began to chuckle, "When Rei mentioned she grew up with her grandfather and two friends who ended up getting together. I would have never guessed it was you and Michi-chan," Minako said softly, "But it makes so much sense now since she said one of them was like a big sister and the other was more of a big brother since she was kind of a jock."
Haruka chuckled softly, "Mmn, we've known each other most of our lives because of our parents," she whispered. She leaned a little closer to Minako, "Rei told me you two had quite the intense getting-to-know-you session last night and-"
"Nothing happened," Minako quickly interrupted in a hushed whisper as she blushed, "We just talked, that's all."
"I know," Haruka replied softly, "She told me you two talked the whole night and you slept over because it was so late." Minako breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the Gods for her previous intuition of keeping the more intimate details of last night's events private from Usagi, Michiru, and Ami, "It sounds like she told you a lot about herself already, so this'll be a lot easier for me to say to you."
Minako turned and looked at Haruka with a puzzled expression. She watched as Haruka's face fell slightly, her dark-blue eyes still trained on Rei, "She…didn't really have a family or friends other than us and her grandfather growing up. Mostly it was because of her abilities and…because her father is a fucking asshole. Rei's like our little sister so Michiru and I are really protective of her and try to watch over her."
She turned towards Minako, "There was this one incident when she was in elementary school. A new transfer student in her class was running late and, when she rounded the corner of the classroom door, ran into and fell on top of Rei. It was such a strain on Rei that she was unconscious for more than a day. When you tackled her earlier, I was about ready to throw you across the room if she hadn't've stopped me." Haruka smiled softly, "She must really like you to let you be that close to her and share so much with you."
Minako blushed at the comment. Haruka turned serious as she continued, her dark-blue eyes filled with deep concern as she whispered, "I know you two just met last night and it seems like you two hit it off extremely well, but...I guess what I'm trying to say is…well…you know I love you, Mina-chan, but I know you've been in quite a few relationships. Rei hasn't and she's not like anyone you've ever met before. She's different. No...not different, she's special. And she's someone really important to me and Michiru. So, if you ever hurt her, you'll have to answer to both of us. And you know how Michiru can get when she's mad."
Oh, did Minako know. Not that she ever did anything to invoke the wrath of the teal-haired woman who always had infinite patience for those she cared about, but she had seen glimpses of it throughout the years. Michiru was infamous for dealing out severe punishments towards those who wrong her or her friends. It's what made her such a great friend, but it could also become a deadly curse if you ever got on her bad side.
"You're right," Minako replied softly as she glanced over at the raven-haired woman, "I haven't known Rei-chan all that long. Hell, I've only known her for less than a day." She brought her sapphire gaze to meet Haruka's straight on, "But there are two things I know for certain, that I'm very well aware of," she said with confidence, "One, is how special Rei-chan is and, two, if you didn't notice by that flying-leap I did on her earlier, is the fact that I really like her too."
Her brow furrowed as she turned her gaze back towards the beautiful archer again, "I like her a lot, Haru-chan. I really do and I don't ever intend on hurting her. But...I also can't make any promises. I mean, we literally just started dating, you know?"
"...I guess that's fair enough," Haruka smiled, satisfied with Minako's sincere and honest answer as she turned back to look at her best friend, "But I don't think you know how special she really is. At least, not until you see this."
A thought came to Minako as she watched Rei and Hotaru, "Hey, Haru-chan? Rei did mention that you all were really protective of her getting close to people because of her abilities. Why is it then that you're letting her be near Hotaru-chan?"
"From what Rei's grandfather and Michiru told me, it's because children's auras aren't as strong as adults," Haruka whispered, "They're auras are also more pure so sometimes it's even healing or energizing for her to be around children. I think that's why she's so good with them. Once Hotaru turns 13, that'll change. Her aura will become mature enough that it'll no longer have that healing affect on Rei and, instead, could potentially drain her."
"If that's the case, when her classmate ran into her, why was she taken out so hard?," Minako asked curiously.
"Because their auras were at the same…wavelength, so to speak," Haruka explained, "Plus, at the time, Rei was still learning to control her abilities without letting it overpower her so she wasn't as strong as she is now. It wasn't until she turned 13 that her grandpa even allowed her to get involved with activities at school or with the shrine festivals because he was afraid of all the kids running around and possibly hurting her again."
Haruka sighed as she watched her best friend, "To the world, Rei comes off as really curt and cold, but it's mostly a defense mechanism because of her abilities. Once she lets someone in, her love and loyalty runs really deep. I mean, you can see it right now with Hotaru. I saw it when she stopped me from taking you out. It's one of her best traits."
"One of many," Minako giggled to herself as she thought back to yesterday's interaction at Kirei.
"Shh, here it comes," Haruka whispered excitedly.
Rei opened her eyes and, smiling warmly, she turned to Hotaru, "Alright, go ahead. Just do it gently so it doesn't go out too quickly, ok?" She brought her hand with the ofuda up in front of Hotaru's face. Hotaru nodded and blew gently on the thin sheet of paper. It wavered from the movement of air and soon became airborne, blowing out of Rei's hand.
As it left Rei's hand, it slowly ignited and became a small ball of fire that floated in midair. Minako was in awe as she watched Rei carefully lower her hand and slowly take a deep breath. The raven-haired beauty blew gently on the small ball of fire and it moved forward a few feet. As it did, the ball began to unravel into the shape of a small, fiery hummingbird.
Hotaru squealed and clapped her hands with delight. The hummingbird's wings were beating rapidly as it darted forward, to the left, then to the right a few inches each way, leaving a small trail of white smoke that disappeared quickly in its wake. It then turned back around and flew within a foot of Rei and Hotaru before it paused and hovered in front of them. Rei glanced over at Minako from the corner of her eye and gave her a mischievous half-smile before she looked back to the fiery creature. Minako watched with confusion and a hint of nervousness as Rei lifted a finger and pointed towards Minako.
The hummingbird turned its head towards Minako and quickly crossed the room until it stopped within a foot from her at eye-level with her wide, azure eyes. Minako was mesmerized by the sight of the little hummingbird hovering in front of her. After a brief couple seconds, the small creature took a small, polite bow before it fizzled into white smoke and disappeared into thin air.
Minako blinked a few times to bring herself back. She was speechless. Her sapphire gaze went back to the raven-haired woman who wore a soft smile and was blushing slightly. Rei's intense, amethyst eyes were looking back at her as if seeing through to her very soul. Hotaru clapped her hands and gave Rei a big hug.
"That was so cool, Rei-niichan!," She squealed. Rei hugged Hotaru back but never broke her gaze from Minako.
"What did I tell you?," Haruka whispered proudly as she leaned over to Minako.
"…Wow," Minako whispered, not taking her gaze off of Rei. Her heart was beating so hard she barely heard Haruka speaking to her.
To the others in the room, they saw a fiery hummingbird fly in front of Minako and disappear. To Minako, she saw something else.
When the hummingbird was hovering in front of her, she saw a fiery creature with a palpable strength of will, wanting to continue burning strongly. But it was also a delicate, gentle, and hesitant creature. It looked as if it wanted to reach out to Minako, to hover closer, but something held it back. As Minako looked at Rei now, she didn't see the image of an archer who would occasionally grace magazines ads or television commercials. She didn't see a miko with a gift that allowed her to read people's auras, psychically read thoughts, and make fire come to life. In those lavender eyes, she saw that same, fiery strength of will, that same delicate, gentle, yet hesitant creature.
Yes, Haruka was right, Rei was special...so very special. She felt herself becoming lost in the beautiful, raven-haired woman's intense gaze.
Though Rei was hugging her 'adopted niece' and could feel her giddy, playful, dark-purple aura exuding an unconditional love that only children could give, all of her attention was on the gorgeous blonde who stood only a few feet away. Rei knew that a small part of her aura needed to be infused with the ofuda in order to create such magical, fiery creatures like the hummingbird she just made. At first, when she commanded the hummingbird to visit Minako, she was just trying to impress the gorgeous blonde. Thinking about it now, she realized she was subconsciously hoping her aura would reach Minako in some way.
Rei received a lot of love and support from her grandfather, Haruka, and Michiru growing up and she felt forever indebted to them for that. But, even with that, she still harbored deep wounds about being so different. Not special, but different. Yeah, sure, she liked being able to use her abilities when it came in handy or to make those closest to her heart happy, like the young girl who was hugging her so tightly right now.
But, in the end, she was always the mysterious miko who lived at a shrine and had unnatural powers that most at school stayed away from out of fear. She was the psychic fortune-teller who was used by those who visited the shrine for their selfish questions on future, fortune, and love. She was the unwanted daughter, her very existence overlooked or, at the very least, seen as a nuisance by her own father who used her as a pawn for his own selfish, business means. She was the perfect, glamorous, archery ace, spokesperson, and heir to one of the largest companies in the country who had to keep up appearances and could never let her guard down, who everyone treated like royalty, or a star, or untouchable. Even her grandfather and her 'sisters', thought unintentionally, treated her with kid-gloves like a porcelain doll which only underscored how different she really was from the rest of the world.
All she ever, truly wanted in life was to feel normal, to be treated like everyone else and to be seen, to be really seen, for who she was beyond the abilities, beyond the façade she was forced to live, beyond the walls she was forced to build, beyond her successes and social status.
And, in this brief moment, Rei saw it in the depths of Minako's captivating, cerulean eyes. There was no fear, no ulterior motives, no pity, no frivolous, superficial admiration she would see in annoying fans who thought they knew her but were gravely mistaken. In the addictive, orange-gold sanctuary that radiated from the gorgeous blonde where Rei only recently discovered pure solace, she saw it glowing strongly with…pure and utter adoration.
She was no longer an archer, a pawn, a porcelain doll, a freak, a nuisance. In that moment, Rei felt special. She knew in her heart that Minako saw her…and what she saw...was Rei.
The looks Rei and Minako were giving each other didn't escape Haruka's notice, Less than 24 hours and they're already falling so hard for each other. They're practically head over heels! She smiled to herself, seeing how happy Rei looked as she stared at Minako and how infatuated Minako was with staring at Rei.
The two were interrupted when Haruka called to Hotaru, "Ok, kiddo, what do you say to Rei?"
"Thank you, Rei-niichan!" Hotaru sang.
"Your very welcome, Firefly," Rei replied, bringing her attention back to her 'adopted niece'.
Knock, Knock!
Just then, a knock came and the front door opened. A woman, who was the same height as Michiru, with tanned skin, long, dark-green hair, and the same deep-purple eyes as Hotaru peeked her head in.
"There you are, Hotaru!," the attractive woman said, "I was wondering where you ran off to, you were gone for so long."
"Setsuna-mama!," Hotaru said cheerfully, "You just missed one of Rei-niichan's fire tricks!"
"Aww, that's too bad. Perhaps next time, Rei-kun?," Setsuna replied with a soft smile as she came in the room. She wore a flattering, pinstripe, black suit with a green blouse that matched her hair.
"Mmn, of course," Rei replied with a smile and nod as she stood up.
"Hotaru said we had about 30 minutes or so?," Haruka asked as she looked to Setsuna.
"More like 20 now," Setsuna replied, "I was just coming up to check in with Mina-chan." She turned towards Minako, "Michiru told me that you were still working on hair and makeup. Do you need a little more time?"
"No, I'm good," Minako replied reassuringly, "Mamoru-kun told me earlier today that he wanted to do his own hair so I just have Haru-chan, Rei-chan, and Kino-san left. It shouldn't take that long so we'll be ready to go downstairs on time."
"Me too, me too!," Hotaru said jumping up and down.
"Sorry, Hotaru," Setsuna said apologetically, reaching out a hand towards Hotaru, "I need you to come downstairs with me so Mina-chan can finish helping everyone get ready. C'mon, hun."
"Awww," Hotaru responded disappointedly. Minako smiled as she walked towards the crestfallen child and knelt down to her level.
"I promise when I'm done here I'll bring my things downstairs and do your makeup right before we start, ok?," Minako said cheerfully with a wink.
Hotaru's eyes lit up and she hugged Minako tightly, "Thanks, Mina-neechan!"
"No problem, Hotaru-chan," Minako replied kindly as she returned Hotaru's hug, "Now, be a good girl and go with Setsuna-mama downstairs, ok?"
"Mmn! See you soon!," Hotaru replied happily as she pulled away and ran towards Setsuna who took her hand and they both left the room.
Minako stood back up and sighed. The three women looked at each other for a few seconds.
"Well…that was quite the whirlwind of events, wasn't it?," Haruka sighed tiredly, breaking the silence and referring to the events that transpired since Minako entered the room. She shook her head, "What a small, fucking world."
"Mmn," Minako agreed with a soft nod. She began fidgeting with her hands and looking at the floor, blushing from embarrassment from the earlier events.
"No kidding," Rei sighed, running her hand through her long, silky hair.
Before anyone could say anything else, the bedroom doors opened and a groggy-looking Mamoru walked into the room towards the three women, "Man, what the hell was all that noise?," he yawned as he rubbed his eyes, "Is it time already?"
Knock, Knock!
At that same moment, the front door opened and Makoto peeked her head into the room.
"Aino-san, I wanted to see if you were ready for me?," Makoto asked.
Haruka facepalmed and groaned tiredly, "Rei, give me your flask. I think I'm going to need a little more."
"Me first," Rei groaned. She already had her hand in her jacket, reaching to retrieve the container. Once she pulled it out, she quickly unscrewed the cap and took a big swig. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she handed the flask over to Haruka, who took two big swigs.
So that's the best friend who taught Rei how to drink, Minako giggled to herself as she watched the two.
"U-Ummm," Makoto asked as she eyed Rei and Haruka with puzzlement, "Is…Is this a bad time?"
"No, no. Come on in, Kino-san," Minako replied, taking command of the situation. She ran to the door and collected her rolling cases, "It'll be easier for me to work quickly having you all in one place." Makoto followed Minako into the room, wearing the same outfit as Rei and Mamoru.
Minako quickly set up her stations in front of the couch. She pulled out a comb and turned to Mamoru, "Mamoru-kun, you should head downstairs," Minako said to the supermodel as she tossed the comb to him, which he caught with ease, "We have less than 20 minutes."
"Mmn, got it. See you all down there," Mamoru said as he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.
"As much as I hate to break up this frat party," Minako giggled as she spoke to Rei and Haruka who were still passing the flask back and forth between each other, "I've got work to do. Kino-san, I'll do your hair and makeup first so you can go down and check on the kitchen before we start. Haru-chan, you'll be next and we'll go downstairs."
"Wait, what about me?," Rei asked with confusion as she took the flask from Haruka, screwed the cap back on, and returned it to her coat pocket.
"I taught you how to do your own makeup yesterday, didn't I?," Minako said teasingly, "Were you really that distracted by me or are you just looking to score more one-on-one tutoring, teacher's pet?"
Haruka chuckled as Rei's cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. Minako smiled as she felt the tension in the room begin to lift, "I'll get to you last, ok Rei-chan?"
"M-Mmn," Rei replied shyly. As Minako began working on Makoto, a proud smile graced Rei's lips as she watched Minako do what she did best.
Author Note: And so, they meet again. Leave it to Minako to take charge of a situation. Such a good leader ^_^
I read once that it's not really polite to address a young woman as "oba" (aunt) in that it implies that they're matronly or something. So even though Minako and Rei would technically be considered Hotaru's aunts since they're of her 'adopted parents' generation, I decided to have Hotaru address Minako as an older sister instead since they're only 13 years apart.
The same goes for Rei, but since Rei takes a little after Haruka and Hotaru calls her "papa", I figured Hotaru would anoint Rei with an honorific that aligned with her young ideas of gender. I hope that makes sense!
I've also noticed that this site doesn't allow me to put in full URLs so I can't adequately cite websites I used. So I've included how to search for it on your own if you wanted to.
Japanese name suffix. (n.d.). In Sensei's Library. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from ?JapaneseNameSuffix (type "sensei's library Japanese name suffix" into your search engine and it should be the first link)
Fun Fact: I'm sure most Sailor Moon fans know, but the word "hotaru" means "firefly" in hiragana. Fitting pet-name since Rei's such a pyro ^_^ Also, "odango" means "dumpling" in Japanese and is a nickname often associated with Usagi in Sailor Moon due to her unique hairstyle.
Constructive feedback/reviews would be greatly appreciated!
(updated 09/2013)