Echoes of a Distant Demon
by Sailor Doc
~ Chapter Eight, Part 1 ~
Radiant.
No other word that came to mind could better describe the beauty that lay
beside her now.
And Mars was awed by the magnitude of the blessing that was her Venus.
Here, in the dimly lit stillness of their private chambers, she seemed to
glow from within, a warm golden light that bathed her form in waves of light
that gently washed over her, and illuminated the very texture of her skin, her
hair and eyes.
In silent reverence, Mars watched over her as she slowly began to awaken.
First, the gentle frown that signified her reluctant rise to consciousness, and
then the eyes, which opened slowly, as if under protest, until they finally
focused on her.
And then she smiled, and the early morning light paled in comparison.
Rising from her pillows, she allowed the covers to pool around her waist
as she sat up and turned to look down at Mars with sleepy eyes. One delicate
hand rose to sweep her glorious hair behind her ear, before falling back down
to gently caress Mars' all too unworthy cheek.
"Good morning, my love," she whispered, smiling down at her
with adoring eyes.
To Mars it seemed that every particle of light in the room was gathered,
magnified and then reflected in her and her alone.
She was the personification of love and beauty, descended here to
enrapture Mars with the benediction of her love.
Reaching upward, toward that glorious light, she placed a reverent hand
behind her lover's head and gently guided her down to meet her eager lips, the
more to worship at this, her most holy of all shrines.
Her Goddess.
Her love.
Her Mina.
_________________________________________________
Friday,
Early Morning
Gray clouds hung
low against the
Seated against
the opposite door, Aino Minako gazed out her own window, seemingly oblivious to
anything and everyone around her. Even Artemis, offering what comfort he could
by resting gently in her lap, was somewhat rejected. The hand that would
normally be stroking his soft, furry back instead lay limply against the seat
at her side.
Rei would have
been lying to herself if she didn't admit she was worried. She knew that Minako
was extremely concerned about the doctor's appointment that lay ahead of them
this morning, but this seemed to go far beyond that. Rei frowned. What had set
her off? What could have prompted this depressed, almost self loathing she
could sense coming off her in waves?
Grimly, Rei
looked up toward the front of the car, past the back of Toranaga-san's
head and out into the heavy morning traffic. Blocking out the faint street
noise that filtered through the thick glass of the limo, Rei turned her
thoughts to the problem at hand. It had to be something else. She had been
living with Minako for the past 36 hours. A mere day and a
half. She blushed lightly.
But what a day
and a half it had been!
_________________________________________________
Wednesday,
Late Afternoon
Leaving the
shrine took longer than she thought it would.
As she led
Minako out of the formal gardens, she began looking for the head of the shrine.
She eventually found the older gentleman in his office, pouring over accounts,
and politely asked for a word. He smiled at the young woman he'd known for so
many years and invited them both in, asking if they would care to take tea.
Knowing it was rude to rush these things and turn down his offer of hospitality, she smiled and accepted for both of them.
Pleased with her excellent manners, he asked who her young friend was, and Rei
introduced him to Minako.
"Ah! This
is the young woman whose life you saved, yes?" he asked as they sat around
a modest table. The beautifully appointed room had a wonderful view of the
grounds.
"Yes,
Grandfather," Rei answered respectfully.
Looking at the
young idol, the ancient priest seemed to take the measure of her. Minako
lowered her eyes and withstood his scrutiny in silence.
"You have a
good heart," he finally said, with a knowing smile, "like our Rei-chan's. You have already done great things, and yet it is
within you to do so much more."
Blushing, Minako
cleared her throat and said, "Thank you. It gives me great joy to be able
to help others."
The old priest
nodded his head in approval as he sipped his tea. They sat together in
companionable silence for several minutes, enjoying his excellent tea before he
spoke again. "So, tell me, what brings you to my office today."
Looking quickly
at Minako, Rei sat up a bit and said, "Minako has a plan that we think may
relieve some of the outside pressure on the shrine."
His interest
perked, the priest sat and listened as they both laid out Minako's plan. When
they were finished, he asked several questions, and with Minako's help, they
both were able to quell any fears he had for Rei's safety. Minako assured him
that she would take good care of her, and Rei formally asked him to assign her
duties to one of the others until such time as she would be able to resume
them.
"The
children will miss you," he said with a delightful twinkle in his eye, and
Rei smiled widely as she told him to remind them she would be back soon, and
that they should not slack off in their lessons! She was aware of Minako
watching this exchange in rapt fascination, and she knew it was because the
idol was getting a small peek into her life that she had probably never really
imagined before. This, after all, was her life. Not the life of Sailormars, but that of Hino Rei, Shinto priestess.
After tea, they
were free to go, and Rei led them back to her living quarters. As they entered
the neatly kept rooms, Rei headed directly to a screened off area and began
changing out of her robes for something a bit less conspicuous. On the other
side of the partition, she could hear Minako roaming around the room, stopping
now and then to look at whatever seemed to catch her eye.
"Is he
really your grandfather?" Minako suddenly asked, out of the blue.
"No,"
Rei answered shortly.
"So why did
you call him that?" she asked curiously.
Rei hesitated
before answering the simple question. She knew Minako was only being inquisitive,
but this had never been an easy subject for her to discuss. Finally, she
reluctantly said, "After mother died, father dumped me here so he wouldn't
have to deal with either my grief or my strange 'gifts'. Since then, he has
been the closest I have ever come to having a real family."
"So, you
call him that out of affection?" Minako asked.
Rei thought
about that before answering simply. "Yes. Respect as well."
"I
see," Minako said thoughtfully, as she returned to her inspection.
"This is a really nice room," she added as Rei continued to change
clothes. "The view from these windows is beautiful. Has it always been
yours?"
Rei frowned. She
truly hated answering personal questions! But, she schooled herself firmly, Minako was just trying to make conversation and get
to know her better. So after a moment, she answered, "Since I first came
here, yes."
"It's
really light and open," she exclaimed. "Oh! Are these your
parents?" Through the gap in the wooden screen caused by the hinges she
could see the other girl leaning over to get a closer look at the old snapshot
she had framed and kept on her desk.
Feeling her jaw
cinch, she mumbled, "yes," as she roughly pulled the short sleeved
"You were
so cute!" Minako exclaimed, picking up the photo to get a closer look.
"How old were you here?"
"Five."
"Only
five," she whispered, almost to herself. "You look like your
mother," she said to Rei.
"Hrmpft," Rei groused, coming from behind the
partition, now dressed in similar fashion to Minako. "I thought you'd say
I looked more like him."
"Well, you
do favor him, now that you mention it," Minako returned. "But only
when you scowl. Like you're doing right now," she added with a smirk as the afore mentioned scowl deepened even more.
"We don't
have time for this," Rei grumped. Grabbing a backpack and a large duffle
bag from the top shelf of her closet she began to sort through her clothes and
shoes.
"Anything I
can do to help?" Minako asked from across the room.
"No,"
Rei answered, digging through her chest of drawers. "This shouldn't take
long."
"Okay,"
Minako said, her eyes wandering to another part of the room where they landed
on a floor to ceiling bookshelf and widened in surprise. There, in neatly kept
rows, was a modest but impressive collection of manga and gashapon
figures. "I would have never guessed," she whispered to herself as
she moved closer and began to read a few of the titles. "Chirality, Revolutionary Girl Utena,
Gunsmith Cats, Plastic Little, The
Looking up, Rei
saw her by the bookshelf and shrugged. "I've been collecting for
years," she said, returning her attention to her work. "It's
relaxing."
Nodding in
acknowledgement, Minako's eyes were next drawn to five small, yet very familiar
figures resting on the center shelf. Narrowing her eyes, she moved in for a
closer look. Sure enough, it was Sailormoon and four
of her planetary guardians. The attention to detail in their features and fukus was pretty impressive. But, it was the placement of
two of the figures that caused her brows to vanish beneath of bangs. Venus was
seated on a small white block, and leaning back against the hip of Mars, who
was standing over her, resting one elbow on her shoulder. They looked very,
very cozy indeed!
"Hino Rei!
Where did you get these?" She asked, turning to look at Rei, who was just
closing up her last bag.
"Oh,
that?" Rei said nonchalantly. "They were in nearly every bubblegum
machine in
"Yes! I
mean no! That is, of course, I've seen them!" Minako said. "I just
never would have thought that you..." her voice trailed off.
"Would
bother to collect them?" Rei finished for her. A half grin flashed across
her face. "Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do," she
added as she turned and headed for the door.
"Maybe I
don't," the idol singer murmured as the priestess walked by, but Rei heard
her anyway.
_________________________________________________
Friday, Early
Morning
Reflecting back
on that conversation, Rei had to admit that on some level, she had really
enjoyed it. Minako had gotten her to open up, albeit a bit reluctantly, and she
had also gotten a look at what it was really like to live in Rei's world.
Grinning as she remembered the look of outrage on Minako's face when she had
questioned her about the figurines, Rei couldn't help but be amused. And if
Minako didn't think that she had seen her pick up that copy of Venus?
The dark brown eyes twinkled merrily. She had another think coming, indeed!
_________________________________________________
Wednesday,
Later Afternoon
The trip back to
Minako's car had been surprisingly easy. It became apparent quickly that Minako
believed in a strategy of 'hide in plain sight'. If you dressed like the crowd
you were most likely to be in, did nothing to draw attention to yourself, and
moved as if you had somewhere to go, most people never even gave you a passing
glance. Rei was amazed. In front of the shrine, a media frenzy was in full
force with reporters and cameramen, trucks, and even a satellite dish or two,
but after walking down a drainage ditch out the back of the formal gardens,
they entered the street and walked boldly down the opposite side, right past
all the hoopla focused on the front of the shrine. Rei glanced over at Minako,
who flashed her a quick wink, and Rei could almost
feel the delight Minako got out of pulling a fast one on the whole media world.
Down two blocks and over one, they finally reached the black Mercedes, threw
her bags in the trunk and than sank safely into the plush, leather seats in
back. The soundproof window between the front and rear seats lowered, and the
driver said, "Where to, miss?"
"Home,
Toranaga-san! Take us home!"
"Very good,
miss," the chauffeur said respectfully. Raising the window back into
place, he started the car and pulled carefully out into traffic.
"It's about
time you got back!" Artemis said as soon as the barrier closed. "Your
cellphone has been going off every ten minutes. You
must have 20 messages on that thing by now!"
"Hello,
Artemis," Rei said as he wound down.
"Good
afternoon, Mars," the white guardian cat answered after catching his
breath. "I see she was able to convince you to join us."
"For
awhile," Rei said, seeming to ignore the quickly hidden look of alarm from
the other side of the seat. "Seeing as she asked me so nicely," she added,
cutting slightly amused eyes in mock challenge toward the other girl.
"Whatever,"
Minako said disdainfully. Deliberately focusing on the large bag at her feet,
she made a huge show of digging out her cellphone as
she ignored the teasing of the dark priestess. Finally retrieving the thing,
she looked at the number of messages and shook her head. "Twenty
three? Do I even need to look and see who most of these are from?"
"No, not
really," Artemis replied.
"Saitou-san?"
"Saitou-san."
"I remember
him!" Rei said. "Is he still your manager?"
"Unfortunately
yes," Minako answered, punching the buttons on her phone that would
identify the caller for each message. "Saitou... Saitou... Saitou... Saitou." Exasperated, Minako finally said, "Does
he just not understand the meaning of the words, 'I'm taking the rest of the
day off?’"
"He
probably didn't think you were serious. I mean, after all, it's something
you've never really done before," Artemis replied.
Frowning at the cellphone, Minako considered whether or not she should just
ignore it or not. "Twenty three messages? I've
only been gone a couple of hours! What could have possibly made him try to call
me that many times?" Worry flashed across her features and she said,
"I'll just give him a quick call. It shouldn't take long." Turning to
Rei, she said, "Are you hungry? I'm starving!"
"I could
eat," Rei confirmed, watching as Minako hit the speed dial for Saitou's
office.
"Let's
order delivery when we get to the apartment," she said eagerly. "What
do you like? Chinese? Italian?
Mexican? It's Aino," she said into the phone,
still looking at Rei.
"Chinese
sounds good," Rei answered.
"Oooh, I love Chinese!" Minako exclaimed. "Maybe
some happy family and shrimp-fried rice," she enthused. "Do you like
'The Orient?’ They have the best egg rolls, and... hello?" she said, abruptly ending their conversation as
her manager came on line. Rei could hear the frantic note in his voice from
across the car.
"Here we go
again. This isn't good," Artemis whispered into Rei’s ear from his perch
in the rear window behind her seat.
Rei turned her
head to look back at him. "What do you mean?" she asked softly,
mirroring his hushed tone.
"Just that
this kind of disruption isn't unusual," he answered sadly. "When she
should be finishing up for the day and going home for a well deserved rest and
a hot meal, someone always seems to come up with one more catastrophe that only
she can handle. For example, she totally missed lunch today, and what she had
for breakfast just wasn't nearly sufficient to keep her going at her current
pace. Just watch," he added, nodding his head in her direction. "My
guess is we won't be going home or ordering Chinese anytime soon."
As the one sided
conversation progressed, Rei watched the play of emotions across Minako's face
in fascination.
"Where have
I been? Taking care of some personal matters, if it's any of your business...
No, I didn't take my cellphone with me! As I had said
I was taking the rest of the day off, I really didn't think it was necessary...
None of your business! I would have told you if it concerned you... I don't
think so!... What do you want?...
No! I will not come back in! I have plans for this evening and a houseguest...
I don't care what the director said! I will not let my life revolve around this
music video!... I mean it!...
What?... No... No... I'm all right, really... I'm just
tired, okay?... I'm really tired. I just need to rest
a little and... Yes, I know you care, I just... Yes... Yes, you're right, he is
an idiot, and she's no help at all...Two hours?... No,
I... But... Well... Just two hours?...
You promise?... Yes...Yes... Okay, I'll be there in
about twenty minutes, but you tell them two hours is all they're getting... and
yes, you do owe me for this! Bye."
Closing the cellphone, she continued to look at it folded neatly in the
hands resting in her lap.
"I have to
go into the office for a couple of hours. Do you mind?" she finally said,
still not looking up at her.
Rei was struck
again by how very tired she looked. Almost fragile.
"No, not at
all," she answered.
"Thanks,"
Minako replied. Reaching out to touch the intercom button on the panel by her
side, she reluctantly gave the driver the order that would take them to her
office suite. "The director of this new video we're supposed to shoot next
week is an idiot, and my so-called assistant can't seem to appease him at
all," She offered in explanation, then she shook
her head. "No, that's not fair. Yumi-san only started with us two weeks
ago, and she just hasn't found her footing yet. It's just so hard to be patient
sometimes though," she added, looking down again tiredly. All the previous
sparkle she had shown at the idea of a quiet meal with Rei, and an early
evening had vanished as the crushing weight of her professional
responsibilities came crashing back down on her narrow shoulders.
"It's okay, Minako," Rei said gently. "We'll go,
you'll answer all their stupid and annoying questions, and then we'll go home,
just like we planned."
Minako smiled at
her softly. "That reminds me. I need to set up your press conference so
you can answer your own stupid and annoying questions."
Rei bit her lip
and frowned before she said, "I knew I should have kept my mouth
shut!"
Minako grinned
widely. "The sooner we do it, the sooner it will be over with," she
teased.
Rei flounced
back against the seat. "Okay, fine. Whenever you think is best will be
fine with me," she huffed.
With a slight
smirk not at all dimmed by her tired eyes, Minako opened her cellphone once again, only this time she called her own
office. "Emi? It's Minako. Let me speak to Yumi,
please. Yes, I know, I'm on my way now, I just need her to take care of
something for me before we all get caught up in this video hoopla. Okay, I'll
wait." Looking over at Rei, who was pretending to ignore her by looking
out the window, she smiled again. Happy, it seemed just to be able to spend
even this small amount of time with her. "Yumi?
Yeah, it's me. Listen, I need you to schedule a press conference... No, it's
not for me, it's for my friend, Hino Rei... Yes, THAT
Hino Rei... I'll be appearing with her... Tomorrow would be good... It doesn't
matter, clear a spot... Okay, that sounds good... No, don't announce a time
limit. I want Rei to feel she can leave whenever she's ready to... Sure...
That's good!
"Okay,
you're all set up. Tomorrow morning at
"I
heard," Rei grumbled. "Conference room A."
Minako grinned
again as the car came to a halt and they exited it, heading toward the wide
bank of elevators that would take them directly up to her office.
_________________________________________________
Friday, Early
Morning
Frowning, Rei
couldn't help but think wryly that turnabout was, after all, fair play.
Taking a deep
breath of the slightly over air-conditioned air in the damp car, she scowled
darkly. She had only just begun to get a look at the reality that was Minako's
world that first evening.
She hadn't liked
what she'd seen one bit either. It smelled all too much like her father's
counterfeit world of deals and dealers. Of liars and lies.
_________________________________________________
Wednesday,
Early to Late Evening
The elevator
came to a stop on Minako's floor, and together they moved down the short
corridor to the door that would open into her office. The word 'office,'
however, was probably a bit inadequate to describe the idol's
home-away-from-home. It was really more of a suite of offices comprised of
three main rooms. A reception area presided over by her secretary, a small
office occupied by her assistant, and a much larger room that served as
Minako's private office, with its own washroom, sidebar and conference area.
Entering the
reception area, they were greeted by Minako's long-suffering secretary, the
formidable Aki Emi. The middle-aged woman glanced up at her employer from over
the top of her glasses with a knowing look. "I thought you were taking the
rest of the day off," she stated with a touch of wry humor in her voice.
"So did I," Minako countered wearily. "They're all in
there, I take it?" she asked, looking toward her office door.
"Yes,"
Emi answered, rolling her eyes. "The cat, the mouse, and the village
idiot," she added, referring to her manager, her assistant, and the
director, in that order. "They got here about five minutes ago."
Minako nodded in
understanding. "Did anyone else just happen to show up with them?"
she inquired in a wary voice.
"You have
to ask?" Emi said, looking at her boss as if
she'd lost her mind. "Ishida brought his assistant director and that
fruit-loop he wants to design the costumes with him."
Minako closed
her eyes in frustration. "I can't believe they made me come in for
this!" she said. Opening her eyes, she looked at Emi once again.
"I've told him we already have someone to handle all the choreography and
the costumes. Why do we have to go over this again and again?"
Emi shrugged her
shoulders and offered a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, Minako-san. I know
you really didn't want to deal with this right now."
"It's okay, Emi-san," Minako said with weary patience.
"I suppose it can't be helped now."
"They're
going to just adore your lovely ensemble this evening, "
The secretary quipped.
Minako grinned
at Emi's twisted sense of humor. "Well, if they insist on disturbing me on
my afternoon off, then they'll just have to live with what they get, won't
they?" she said, sharing a brief laugh with her employee.
"Anyway," she continued, "I want you to meet someone very
special to me." Pulling Rei forward she said proudly, "Emi-san, this
is Rei."
Rei immediately blushed a bright red. Minako had not bothered to use any
honorific with her name, and Emi had a very knowing smile on her face as she
looked her over.
"Ah! So
this is 'Rei,’ is it?' she said softly, reaching forward to grasp her hand.
"Well, Rei-san. Let me be the first to say 'thank you'." Glancing
over at Minako, she added sincerely, "I don't know what I would have done
if that man had taken her from this world. Thank you," she repeated, tears
forming in the corner of her eyes.
Embarrassed, Rei
acknowledged the secretary's heartfelt thanks, and then mercifully, Minako
turned for the door to the main office.
"No calls,
Emi-san," she tossed over her shoulder. Pausing at the doorway, she turned
back once again to add, "And no more additions to this party.
Understand?"
"Yes,
Aino-san," the secretary replied, all business once again. "No calls.
No disturbances."
"Perfect."
Entering
Minako's office this time was considerably different from the first time she'd
come here. Before, it had been early morning, and just the two of them. This
time it was early evening and the cacophony coming from the conference table in
the corner clearly indicated that they were not alone.
In the receding
light of the late afternoon sun that shone through the wide bank of windows
along the outside wall, Rei could make out five people clustered around one end
of it. She recognized only one.
Steadily shaking
his head 'no', Saitou Sugao was standing next to a
rather large and loud man of indeterminate age who was waving his hand toward
both a whiteboard that was covered with x's and o's and an artist's sketch pad lying on the table in front
of them. Next to him stood another man, who kept nodding his head as he held a
clipboard with a large sheaf of paper attached to it. The fourth man, this one
much smaller, and with a rather condescending expression on his clean-shaven,
almost baby-smooth face, sat primly at the table next to the artist's pad. Rei
disliked all three of these unknowns on sight, easily recognizing a blowhard
and two cling-ons when she saw them. The fifth person
was a small, rather thin young woman with large glasses and a
'deer-caught-in-the-headlights' look on her face as her head bobbled back and
forth between Saitou and the large man Rei now knew must be the director,
Ishida. The girl just had to be Yumi.
Still shaking
his head, Saitou was insistent. "No, no, no, no!" he stated.
"Minako-chan has already seen and approved all the costume designs for
this shoot! You already know this, Ishida-san!" he accused firmly.
"Why you are insisting on yet another large style change at this late date
is beyond me."
"You
obviously don't see my vision!" Ishida bellowed. Reaching toward the light
switch, he flicked the lights over the table on, throwing the rest of the room
into deeper shadow as he continued. "Mitsumoto
has beautifully illustrated the overall meaning behind this song!" he
insisted, indicating the wormy little man at the table, who simpered in false
modesty. "I'm sure SHE will see the true artistry of his genius!"
Looking down at
the sketch book disdainfully, Saitou's face clearly showed his opinion of the
sketches. Flipping to the second page, he grimaced painfully. "Artistry,
you say?" Dropping the page, he sniffed as if he had smelled something
distasteful. "I wouldn't dress my cat in these rags to frighten off
mice," he stated.
Outraged Mitsumoto sputtered, "Well! I
never!"
Looking the
little man up and down, Saitou shook his head and said slyly, a knowing look in
his eye, "No, I bet you haven't."
Rei looked over
at Minako who was just turning to catch her eye. In silent amusement they
grinned at each other, sharing the humor in Saitou's wicked cut and laughing
softly. None of the other people in the room had even noticed their arrival
yet, and Rei was starting to wonder just how long Minako intended to listen in
on this discussion when the idol turned and leaned toward her.
"Those
three men, Mars," she said softly, in a conspiratorial voice. "Ishida and his crew. What do you think?"
"Seriously?" Rei asked as she looked at her companion, one eyebrow
arching upward in question.
At Minako's nod,
Rei turned and took a much more serious look at the three. With a deep breath,
she centered herself, a distant look slowly coming into her dark eyes.
"He's very
talented," she said after a few moments.
"The
director?" Minako asked.
"Yes..."
"But?"
she prompted.
"He's not
as talented as he thinks he is," Rei finished with a frown. "The
assistant's not a bad sort," she added. "He's a hard worker, he's just fallen into unfortunate
circumstances."
"And
the designer?"
Rei was silent
for several seconds, and then a huge grin crossed her features.
"He's
Ishida's brother-in-law."
"What?"
Minako gasped, quickly raising her hand to her lips, her eyes widening in shock
as she stared at the priestess.
"His wife's
younger brother," she added. "He's been freeloading off them for
years, and Ishida can't stand him."
"No
way!" Minako whispered in
surprised glee. "Then, why on earth would he bring him here?" she
asked, leaning in closer and lowering her voice.
Rei's teeth
flashed and her dark eyes twinkled. "His wife made him! She must want him
out of the house as much as Ishida does."
Ginning like a
couple of teenaged schoolgirls, the two young women shared a good, if very
quiet laugh at the hapless director’s expense. Finally, Minako wiped the
moisture from her eyes and smiled at her companion.
"You're not
joking, are you? You really can see all that," she said. It was more a
statement of fact than a question.
"Yeah,"
Rei answered softly. "Some people are harder to read than others,"
she confided, "but these guys were pretty easy."
"Can you
read me?" Minako asked quietly, and the very atmosphere around them seemed
to still.
Feeling her face
redden once again under the beautiful young woman's scrutiny, Rei looked away
from her and cleared her suddenly dry throat. "No," she stated
simply. "Even in the Silver Millennium, you always eluded me."
"But only
in this one regard," Minako reminded her softly.
"True,"
Rei nodded slowly in thoughtful agreement. "But, I still think that some
things are best left a mystery, don't you?"
The silence
around them deepened, even the sound of raised voices across the room unable to
penetrate it as they shared a secret smile.
Minako finally
broke the silence. "I'm really glad to see that you've retained some of
your powers, Rei," she said with a smile. "Now, let's see if I still
have some of mine."
Still making no
direct move to hide her motion, she headed toward her desk and took her seat
behind it. With a sigh of relief, Rei followed and took a seat of her own
nearby. Together, they continued to listen to the argument that was raging
across the room.
"Really,"
Ishida fumed. "It's inconceivable to me why I should have to explain my
plans to mere lackeys! The very idea that I should have to deal with anyone
except Aino-san herself is beyond me!"
"Um..."
Yumi murmured.
"What?"
The arrogant man snarled. "Do you really have anything of importance to
add, or are you just going to stand there and displace air?"
Recoiling from
the spray of spittle that had escaped Ishida's mouth along with his rude
comment, the timid young woman had gamely struggled forward.
"I'm just
telling you, sir," Yumi said, her voice trembling slightly. "Aino-san
was quite clear about her arrangements for this video. I really don't think
she's going to appreciate your interference."
"I really
couldn't care less what you think!" the man roared. "See, this is
what I mean," he said to the two other men with him. "Aino-san should
be here! She is a TRUE artist!' he intoned dramatically. "SHE would
understand what I'm trying to say!"
Saitou frowned.
"Actually, I think you've said more than enough." As the other man
glared at him, he continued, unfazed. "You're still relatively new to
music videos, aren't you?" he asked pointedly. "Minako-chan, on the
other hand, is an experienced, internationally known and respected entertainer
with a wealth of knowledge in all areas of musical entertainment. Her
recordings have sold in the multi-billions, and each new release is awaited by
endless lines of adoring fans."
"Yes, I
know all that," Ishida said impatiently. "What's your point?
"The point
is, just who are you?" he asked, bluntly.
"This young woman has an uncanny ability to place her finger on the pulse
of what touches her audience," Saitou continued. "Part of that comes
from her 'hands on' approach to her own productions.
This has been her strict policy since she was sixteen years old, and she has
never looked back. It's gotten her where she is today," he concluded.
"But I have
a new vision for her!" Ishida announced. "A vision
that will change the world's perception of her, and rocket her into the very
stratosphere of universal super stardom!"
Crossing his
arms over his chest, Saitou turned to address Yumi, and spotted the still
silent idol across the room. Smiling to himself, he continued with his
statement to the assistant, who looked up at him from the glasses she was still
trying to clean. "Funny. I thought that's where she had already been for
the last five years or so."
Unable to really
argue with that statement of fact, Ishida had blustered. "Well... of
course she is! We all know that!" he said, nodding to the other two, who
nodded vigorously in return. "I just want to help cement her into that
position, so that her legend will continue to shine long after her star has
dimmed in the firmament."
"I
see," Saitou said, raising one finger to place against his mouth as if in
deep thought. "So, you think this vision of yours," he continued,
indicating the whiteboard and the sketch pad, "are going to accomplish
that?" he asked doubtfully.
"Absolutely,"
Ishida stated firmly.
"Better
than Minako's own original concept?"
"I
guarantee it," the director smirked.
Saitou looked
across the room to the impassive face of his client and then back again, an
almost sympathetic look on his face. "Then I believe you really are an
idiot," he concluded.
As Ishida opened
his mouth to retort in outrage to this latest insult, a clear, firm voice cut
through the room.
"Ishida-san. Saitou-san. That's
enough."
As one, every
eye turned in the direction of Minako's desk, and a dead silence instantly
pervaded the room as everyone suddenly realized who was sitting at it.
Once she had
their undivided attention, Minako immediately took charge.
"Yumi-san."
"Yes!"
the young woman said, jumping forward eagerly.
"Turn on
the overhead's please. Let's put some light on this situation."
"Yes,
ma'am," the assistant said respectfully as she hurried over to a nearby
switch and turned on the bright florescent overhead bulbs.
"Much
better," Minako said, smiling encouragingly at the young woman, before
turning to the others. "First off, let me introduce my very dear friend,
Hino Rei."
"Reiko-chan,
darling!” Saitou exclaimed in
delight as he crossed the room and bent down to give the startled girl a huge
hug. Rei was barely able to turn her face in time to avoid the tightly puckered
lips zeroing in on her own. Catching the affectionate kiss on her left cheek
instead, she grinned up at Minako's long-time manager with true delight.
"It's good
to see you again, Saitou-san."
"Not as
good as it was to see you the other day!" he returned. Placing a warm hand
on her shoulder, he added seriously, "You always did have impeccable
timing, darling. I'm glad that hasn't changed."
Nodding in
agreement, Rei caught a slight gasp off to her left, and turned to look in that
direction. "You must be Yumi-san," she said, smiling politely.
"Hi... Hino-sama!"
Yumi was
spellbound, her awestruck eyes riveted to the dark priestess as if seeing the
true meaning of life, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus, all rolled into one.
"No,
please!" Rei insisted, more than a bit embarrassed. "Rei will be just
fine."
The girl blushed a bright red, and then said shyly, "O... okay,
Rei-sama!"
Rei offered her
an awkward smile, and then looked rather uncomfortably toward Minako, who took
in the whole scene with only slightly irritated amusement, before continuing by
introducing both Ishida and his assistant. She concluded the formalities by
saying, "I know each and everyone of you will offer her your sincere
apologies at the conclusion of this meeting for ruining her evening, as well as
mine. Now," she started.
"Aino-san!"
the director said, interrupting the idol, and totally oblivious to the look he
was receiving for his rudeness. "I think you have forgotten Mitsumoto," he added, indicating the little man beside
him.
"No, I
haven't," Minako stated bluntly as she looked at the large man. Turning
her eyes to the designer, she addressed him directly. "Do I know
you?"
Squirming
uncomfortably under the gaze of the well-known and powerful idol, the man
answered, "Uh... no, Aino-san."
"Have we
ever met before?"
"N... no,
Aino-san," he said nervously.
"Have I
ever hired you for anything?" she demanded.
"No. No,
Aino-san," he squeaked.
"Then you
have no business here. You may leave," she said, ending the conversation.
"Yes! Thank
you, Aino-san!" he answered in relief as he bowed and turned to leave. On
shaky legs, he hurried out the office door, glad to be getting away from a
situation that was rapidly turning awkward.
"Let's move
on then, shall we?" Minako started again. "I heard enough of your..."
"Just
a minute!" Ishida interrupted
once again, his face turning an angry red. "I asked Mits..."
"Be
silent!" Minako said. Her voice never rose anywhere near a level that
could be called a shout, but it still cleaved the air like a whip.
"I
overlooked your rudeness the first time you interrupted me," she informed
the man. "Do not be so foolish as to think I will do so again."
Taken aback, the
man's blustering confidence began to waiver. "My... my most sincere
apologies, Aino-san," he said. "I never meant to offend! I merely
wanted to introduce this man and his costume designs to you."
Rei and Saitou
exchanged a look, each knowing what this unwitting idiot had just wrought upon
himself.
Minako nodded
her head. "I see," she said. "So. Tell
me. Were you asleep in all of the pre-production meetings, or did you
only doze through the parts where we finalized the designs for the
costumes?"
"No,
Aino-san," he began in protest. "I..."
"Did you
forget about those designs?"
"N...
no..."
“Did you forget
the reasons those particular designs were chosen?"
"No! The
choreographer..."
"Did you
forget when we signed off on the order to have them made?"
"No,
Aino-san! I just..."
"Surely,
it's not that you think your brother-in-law could possibly have a better grasp
of my song than I do?"
"No!"
He bellowed, eyes wide and shocked out of his mind
that she could have known that. "No, Aino-san! I was... I mean... it
just..."
"Who am
I?"
The question
brought his babbling to an abrupt stop. And he stared at her in confusion.
"It's a
simple question, Ishida-san," Minako said patiently. "Who.
Am. I?"
Blinking at her
dumbly for several seconds, the director was at a total loss as to how to
answer her.
Minako leaned
forward in her desk, both arms resting comfortably on top of it as she looked
at the man in front of her.
"Let me
make it simpler for you," she said, as if explaining it to a child.
"Whose office is this?"
"Yo... you..."
"Who wrote
this song?"
He swallowed
heavily. "Y.. yo.."
"Who
performed it?"
"A...Ai...Ain..."
"Who
produced it?"
"A... yo..."
"And who
hired you to direct it?"
"...y..."
"Can you
answer any of these questions, Ishida-san?" she asked pointedly, "or
are you just going to stand there and displace air?"
Rei caught the
sudden, bright grin that crossed Yumi's face at that,
and turned to see pure, unadulterated hero worship on the girl’s face as she
looked at her boss.
Ishida looked
down at her helplessly stunned, his mouth working desperately to get something,
anything, intelligent to come out.
Minako studied
the broken man standing in front of her briefly. "The truth of the matter
is that I hired you on the recommendation of my usual director. As he is
celebrating the birth of his first child, he is currently unable to get his
schedule to work with ours. He explained though, that while you were still new
to all this, you showed potential and he felt you were worthy of a shot."
Ishida cringed
as he realized how badly he had just screwed up. Closing his eyes, he waited
for the ax to fall.
"As I hold
him in such high regard, I reviewed all the tapes he sent me of your
work," she continued, "and while it was rough around the edges, I did
like what I saw."
He looked up
slowly, almost afraid to hope.
"You are
somehow able to project an energy I find appealing," she said, smiling
briefly. "I think my friends out there will like it, too," she
confided with a nod toward the wide bank of outside windows.
"Aino-san?"
he asked, confused, yet hopeful that he wasn't fired.
"You have a
tremendous raw talent," Minako told him, her demeanor straight-forward and
honest. "You should use this opportunity to learn and to nurture that
talent."
A wide smile of
relief broke across the big man's face. "Yes, Aino-san!
Of course, you are absolutely right!" he said, as he reached across the
desk to grasp her hand in gratitude.
"Three
other things you need to know, and always remember," Minako said, pulling
her hand away from his damp grip. The man calmed instantly to listen to her
words.
"Yes,
Aino-san?"
"Never
again try to foist your relatives off on me."
"Yes,
Aino-san," he answered in embarrassment.
"Never
again attempt to change the details of my shoots a week before they
begin."
"Of
course, Aino-san! I swear
it!"
"And never,
and I mean never, speak to my staff members in the way I heard when I
came into this room!" The man had the decency to cringe. "Let me make
it very clear to you that I will not tolerate that kind of behavior, and
in the future you will be fired on the spot without reference. Do you
understand?" Minako demanded sternly.
"Yes,
Aino-san. I'm truly sorry,
everyone," he said in sincerity as he turned to the others in the room.
"I hope you will be able to forgive my rudeness."
Rei watched as
Minako smiled, and shook her head in wonder. This was the Venus of old. She
would defend her own with the fierceness of a lioness protecting her cubs, but
she would also rip you wide open and pour salt in your wounds, only to build
you back up, so much stronger and better than you had ever been before.
Looking around
the room, she could see it in their eyes. Minako was their leader. They would
gladly follow her anywhere she cared to go. Rei grinned. No, she wasn't the
only one who had retained some of her skills.
Shortly
afterward, the meeting had descended into plans and charts, and Rei had been
left to wander the room. Looking at the wall covered in awards, she had easily
spotted the homemade frame with the two long-stemmed roses in the center of the
wall. Walking over to it, she had smiled as she re-read her brief note,
surprised, yet flattered that Minako had kept it all these years.
Feeling her
stomach rumble, Rei frowned and looked down at her watch, which confirmed what
she suspected. It was well past the 'two hour' limit that had been set for this
meeting, and a glance at the conference table indicated it was still going full
swing. Rei was more than a little irked as she looked over to where Artemis lay
on Minako's unoccupied desk.
"I told you
so," he said with a shrug.
"I don't
think so," Rei said grimly. Whipping out her cellphone,
she walked toward Emi's office.
Thirty minutes
later, Emi led a delivery boy into the room with two large bags. "Put it
on the sidebar," she told the young man.
Looking up in
annoyance, Minako said, "Emi-san! What is this? I don't remember ordering
anything."
"I
did," Rei said, crossing the room. "If you won't stop to eat, then
you can eat while you work."
"Great
idea!" Saitou chimed in as he
headed to the sidebar. "Why haven't we done this before?"
Minako watched
in amazement as her group loaded up plates and headed back to the conference
table as if they had never been interrupted at all. A plate suddenly appeared
in front of her face, and her mouth began to water in involuntary anticipation.
"Happy
family and Shrimp-fried rice, one eggroll on the
side. Bon appetite."
Gazing up at the
smiling face of the one who held the plate, Minako felt her heart constrict as
she gently smiled in return. "Thank you, Rei," she whispered.
"I said I'd
take care of you," Rei reminded her. "I meant it." Smiling
briefly once more, Rei returned to the sideboard to get her own dinner.
As
the two hour meeting stretched first to five, and then to six, Rei fell asleep
on the couch, with Artemis resting by her side. At eleven o'clock, Minako woke her and she sat up,
startled.
"What time
is it?" she demanded, suddenly alert.
"Eleven,"
Minako said quietly. Re could feel the exhaustion coming off the other girl in
waves.
"Are you
ready to go home now?" Rei asked, concerned.
"Oh,
yes!" Minako assured her. "The car is out front."
"Okay,"
Rei said, as she rose and stretched. "Let's get out of here."
"Only to be
back at 8am," Minako informed her as they walked out the door.
The ride to the
apartment was completely silent as Rei dozed in and out, and Minako stared out
the window in thought.
When they
arrived, Minako escorted Rei straight to the guestroom, where the sleepy
priestess dropped her bags on the dresser and the floor. Minako pointed out the
private bath area, and the linen closet. Then, seeing the droopy eyed nod of
acknowledgement, bid Rei a goodnight, and with a soft grin, shut the door
quietly behind her as she left.
Nodding once
again toward the closed door, Rei barely managed to change clothes and turn
down the sheets, before she was out again.
It had been a
long, long day.
______________________________________________________
Friday, Early
Morning
That was an
understatement, Rei thought wryly as she rubbed her hands against the chill.
The day had started on an emotional rollercoaster ride, and then Minako had
shown up. Rei grinned. Somehow, the ride attendant had forgotten to stop the
thing, and let her off! Looking over at the pale, silent girl beside her, the
grin vanished, and she knew. She was still a prisoner, held captive to the
challenge of the ride.
She could not
fail.
END PART EIGHT, PART 1