Minako's Very Bad (and Expensive) Hair Day

By Bashfulglowfly

Minako sat at her vanity table and stared into the mirror.

Her cat, and mentor, Artemis watched as she turned her head back and forth. "What are you doing?"

Minako pulled a large strand of hair back from her face. "I need a change."

Artemis stared at her warily. "What sort of change?"

"I dunno."

"Minako…"

"Oh, hush Artemis!" Minako leaned forward, her nose almost touching the mirror. "I need to do something new!"

"Just because that guy dumped…" Artemis jumped when Minako slammed her hands on the table.

"He didn't dump me!" Minako growled. "I dumped him!"

"Fine. Whatever. You don't need to change anything. You're just fine."

"Then why can't I keep a boyfriend?" whispered Minako. She abruptly stood up. "I'm going to cut my hair and color it."

Artemis leapt to his feet. "What? No! Minako…"

Minako imperiously raised her hand. "I don't want to hear anything from you!" She grabbed her purse and exited her room. "I'll be back when I get back." She slammed the door shut behind her.

Artemis sighed and settled back down on the bed. He rested his head on his paws. "I think I'll move in with Luna for a while. She's not going to be happy when she finds out and I'm not going to take the blame because I 'didn't tell her!'"

888888

"How do you like it?" asked the hair stylist.

Minako twisted her head back and forth. The stylist had cut her hair to just above her shoulders and dyed her hair a lovely shade of red. It was lighter in color than Makoto's auburn, but Minako loved how it looked.

She beamed at the stylist. "I LOVE it! It's exactly what I wanted!"

The stylist beamed back. "And I LOVE seeing happy clients!"

As Minako was paying, her phone rang. Glancing at the caller id, she saw that it was Rei. "Hey, what's up?"

"Want to meet me for lunch?"

"Sure! Where?"

"I've been wanting to try that new café just down the street from the Temple. Want to meet me there?"

"On my way!"

888888

Rei blinked as Minako swanned into the café.

As usual, the other girl was turning heads, but this time Minako had out done herself.

Rei waited until Minako settled into her chair. "Nice haircut and color."

Minako beamed at her friend. "Why thank you!" she fluffed at her new 'do. "I just had it done."

"I can see that." Rei leaned back as the waiter placed the appetizers she'd ordered on the table. She picked up an edamame and crunched down. She swallowed before speaking. "How much did it cost?"

"Forty-three thousand." Minako shrugged. "Trust me, it is worth every yen."

"Looks like it." Rei agreed amiably. "Do you remember what Luna said about our hair. That was just after we discovered Usagi was Serenity."

Minako thought for a moment. "No, not really. Why."

The priestess simply smiled and ate another edamame. "Just wondering."

888888

Just as the two young women were leaving the café, they were alerted to an enemy attack.

They dashed down a narrow alley and transformed. They leapt to the rooftops and ran, their hair streaming behind them.

They arrived at the site of the attack and along with Moon, Mercury and Jupiter, they quickly defeated the enemy.

They released their transformations in the shelter of a small grove of trees. Minako smiled at her friends and said, "What do you think of my new hairstyle?" She posed, tilting her head for the others to see her new haircut at its best.

Usagi, Ami and Makoto stared at her blankly. Rei began to snicker.

"Well?!" Minako said sharply.

"Um, what new hairstyle?" Usagi hesitantly asked.

Minako glared. "THIS new hairstyle!" She placed her hand underneath her hair to flip it at her so-called friends. Only to encounter a very familiar weight.

Minako felt the chill shock of dread overcome her entire being.

Rei roared with laughter.

Luna, who had watched the battle from a safe distance and who had already heard from Artemis about what Minako was going to do, slapped a paw across her eyes and shook her head. I give up, she thought. Why do I bother telling them anything? How many times have I told them about their hair?

The other three looked at each other and then at Rei, who was now laying on the ground, not only laughing but pointing at Minako who was holding and staring at a large chunk of her knee-length golden hair in absolute horror while continuously moaning "Nonononono…forty-three thousand yen…noooooo!"