The Cruelty and Fairness of
Fate
by Crawlspace
~ Chapter 22: Family, Part 2
~
Sunlight was just beginning to make itself known as Minako slowly woke, blinking her eyes
sleepily. She lifted her head from the
edge of the bed and winched at the crick that had formed. She’d fallen asleep sitting on the floor, she
realized, her hand moving to the ache in her neck.
Minako’s movements roused Artemis
from his own sleep. The white cat
stirred in his spot on Minako’s lap.
Rising, he slid off her legs, then took a
moment to stretch, the fur on his back spiking as he did. When he felt a hand come down and scratch
lightly around his ears, Artemis began to purr.
One of his eyes opened enough to look up at his mistress, and he
returned the small grin she was giving him.
Minako went about her usual morning ritual,
getting showered and ready for school.
On the trip between the bathroom and bedroom, she saw her parents
talking quietly in the kitchen. The
discussion looked intent, but it wasn’t an argument. Apparently, whatever issues they’d had with
each other last night had been solved, at least enough for them to be civil
with each other now.
Knowing she had a little extra time
this morning, Minako took her time getting dressed. Truthfully, she wasn’t comfortable with the
idea of sitting at the table and pretending to have a normal breakfast with her
parents. The tense and silent dinner
with her mother last night had been bad enough.
A final tug on her hair bow to make
sure it was securely in place, and Minako nodded to her mirror image. With Artemis following behind her, she went
out into the other room to face her parents.
“Where’s Daddy?” asked Minako when
she saw her mother setting out breakfast without a place for her father. “I thought he was driving me to school
today.”
“He had some things he had to take
care of before work. Besides, things are
still too hectic for you to be going out,” answered her mother. “There are reporters all over the place, and
I wouldn’t put it past them to try and ambush you at school. We don’t need any more attention to this than
there already has been.”
“But,” said Minako, pausing to lick
her lips nervously, “we’ve got finals in a few
weeks. I really shouldn’t be missing any
school.” It was an excuse, if nothing
else, and maybe if she pleaded grades, her mother might change her mind. Just maybe.
Or maybe not.
The elder Aino looked pointedly at
her daughter. “Since when do you care
about your grades?” she asked. “A few
days isn’t going to make any difference, anyway.”
“But, Mom…”
“Don’t even bother, Minako,”
returned her mother. “I don’t care if
you fail the entire trimester and have to repeat the whole year because of it,
you aren’t going anywhere.” Her temper
starting to show through, she went on, “I never wanted you in that school to
begin with. After we
put so much into your education, just to end up having to send you to a public
high school. I should have
insisted we send you back to
“I passed one,” said Minako, an edge
of petulance in her voice.
Her mother shook her head in
annoyance. “And it had to be the one for
Minako smirked to her mother’s
back. Anything’s possible if you try
hard enough.
*
* *
Wednesday morning,
slightly warmer than normal for the time of year, and Rei sat on the porch
outside her room idly throwing some seeds for Phobos and Deimos to eat. On this side of the shrine she at least had
some privacy. The front, on the other
hand, was the complete opposite. The
usual chores she would do around the yard and grounds had to be traded for what
she could do inside as a result. While
Rei may not have been blessed with the green thumb Makoto was, she did know
every plant and tree that lived at her shrine.
Not being able to tend to them was bothersome to her.
As she watched her companions eat
their breakfast, her thoughts drifted to Minako. They had been able to talk for awhile late
last night. Hearing her voice had
helped, but until she could actually see her and touch her in person, Rei
wasn’t going to be able to shake the sense of foreboding that had fallen over
her. For all the reassurances she had
given to try and calm Minako’s fears, Rei couldn’t bring herself to believe any
truth in the words.
With a sigh, Rei threw out the last
handful of seeds, then stood. She and Minako had agreed to talk at
As she passed through the main room,
Rei heard the phone ring. She ignored
the insistent tone the way she had every other call in the last 48 hours. On the fourth ring, the answering machine
picked up, and Rei paused to see if this time someone would leave a message.
“Rei, it’s
Dad,” said the voice after the welcome message.
“Call me back when you get a chance.
The number at the hotel is…”
In her haste to get to the phone,
Rei hurdled a flower pot and tripped on the edge of
the throw rug. She was barely on her
feet when her hand grabbed the receiver.
“Dad, I’m here,” she answered, her heart beating fast.
“Rei, sweetheart, how are you
doing?” he asked, his voice almost pleasant.
Rei straightened up and leaned
against the cabinet that held the phone.
“I’m okay, mostly,” she said slowly.
“I’m sorry, Dad, about all of this.
I didn’t mean…”
“It’s okay,” her father answered,
cutting her off mid apology. “Look, Rei,
I don’t have a lot of time right now, but I wanted to touch base with you. I’m betting there’s a lot of people, right
now, who want to talk you, isn’t there?”
“Yeah,” said Rei. “They’re all over the place.”
“Try to ignore them,” said her
father. “I know it’s hard, but they’ll
go away soon. There’s still a few I have
to deal with, but I don’t want you to talk to any of them. If you do, it will only give invitation to
others to harass you even more.
Understand, baby?”
“Yes,” answered Rei. “Dad, about Minako. I was going to introduce her to you. I think you’ll like her, even with all that’s
happened.”
“I’m sure I will,” he replied. “Rei, I have to get going. I’m sorry I can’t talk more right now, but
there’s business I have to take care of.
We’ll talk more about everything when I come to visit.”
“You’re still coming?”
Her father laughed. “Of course I am. I promised, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but… Never mind,” said Rei, shaking her head as if
to clear it.
“All right, then. I’ll see you next weekend. Tell your grandfather ‘hello’ for me. Maybe he’ll be lucky and get some free
publicity for the shrine out of all this,” he said with a chuckle. “Bye, sweetheart.”
“Bye, Dad,” answered Rei. When she heard the other end click, she put
the phone back in its cradle. He was
coming, and she should be glad of that.
She should be even happier that he wasn’t upset with her. Yet, that sense of uneasiness that had been
nagging at her only seemed to grow.
*
* *
Minako’s Wednesday was a basic
replay of the day before it. She got up
and ready for school in an attempt to get out, only to be told she would be
staying home again. Talking to Rei late
at night helped, but she was going to go stir crazy soon if her parents didn’t
at least let her out for some air, stalker press or not.
After breakfast, Minako changed her
clothes, then set to washing the dishes. After that, she willingly exiled herself to
her room. By lunchtime, she had gone
through all of her manga and magazines, and her schoolwork was actually
starting to look like a good alternative to being bored. Putting that thought quickly out of her mind,
she contemplated doing a bit of spring cleaning to help pass the time. Thusly, when her father came home at
“I was cleaning,” she answered with
a sheepish grin when her father asked what was going on.
He didn’t seem to be amused. “Come out here. Your mother and I want to talk to you.”
Minako extricated herself from her
mess and went out into the livingroom. Her parents were seated together on the
couch. She sat in the chair next to them
as she was told, her eyes glancing the thick folder
that sat on the table in front of them.
Her father took several moments to
gather his thoughts, and Minako knew he was gearing up for a big decision
speech. That in itself
made her nervous.
“Your mother and I have discussed
this at length,” he began. “We feel
we’ve come to what will be the best solution for everyone. Understand, Minako, that
we realize this situation hasn’t been any easier on you than it has on us, and
that what we’re asking from you isn’t an easy thing, even if it is ultimately
for the best. So, to make it easier,
I’ve decided the best thing would be to simply remove you from the situation as
completely as possible.”
Minako’s eyes
widened in shock as any hope she’d held out was abruptly shattered. She knew what was coming next.
“I want you to finish high
school. It’s the only way you’ll be able
to make anything of yourself,” continued her father. He reached forward and opened the folder that
sat on the table. “I’ve looked into
several schools, and your mother and I think these are the best among those
closest to home. You’ll be far enough
away from all this unpleasantness, not to mention other distractions,
that you’ll be able to concentrate on your studies without being so far
away that you feel completely displaced.”
Several brochures were laid out in
front of Minako. She stared at them
without really seeing, only able to concentrate on the hole she felt forming in
her chest.
“You get a choice,” said her father,
either not noticing or ignoring the state his daughter was in. “The timing of this is unfortunate. You won’t be able to complete the term, but
hopefully, if you do well enough on the placement exams, whichever school you
choose will be willing to overlook an incomplete term. If not, you’ll just have to repeat the
year.” He gathered the brochures back up
and returned them to the folder. He then
handed it to Minako. “Take this back to
your room and look it over. We’ll
discuss this again in a few days, after you’ve had some time to think about
it.”
Minako nodded. She held the folder to her chest and rose to
head back to her room.
“Oh, and Minako,” said her father
after she’d taken several steps. When
she turned back to look at him, he went on, “I know placement tests aren’t your
strong suit, but each of those schools has one, and I expect you to pass
whichever one you take. No back-up
school this time. Remember, there are
always other options open to us should you choose not to do your best. Options I think you’d like even less than you
do this.”
Minako’s mouth formed into a tight
frown as she looked at her father. With
a quiet, “Yes, sir,” she went back to her room.
As soon as the door was closed behind her, the folder hit the already
cluttered floor, and Minako hit the bed, landing on her stomach. She buried her face in her pillow, held on to
it as tight as she could with both hands, and screamed at the top of her lungs.
Artemis, startled and confused by
Minako’s actions, jumped up carefully on the bed beside her. “Mina?
What happened?”
As her muffled scream petered out,
Minako’s grip and posture loosened. She
flipped over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Blowing an errant lock of hair out of her eyes,
she answered, “Boarding school. They’re
sending me to boarding school.”
*
* *
Minako lay on her bed in the dark,
faint bluish light finding its way into the room from the night traffic
outside. Artemis was lying at her feet,
quietly curled up and pretending to sleep.
One more hour until
The frown she’d worn all evening was
still on her face. It, along with the
anger underlying it, were foreign things to her. Yes, she had frowned before, just as she’d
felt anger. But it had never been quite
this strong or lengthy, and it had never been directed at people she loved.
She reached for the chain around her
neck and found the ring it held. Gliding the ring back and forth along the chain, Minako thought
about her parents. She did love
them, even if she had a hard time getting along with her mother. When you honestly loved someone, that love
didn’t just go away, no matter how angry you might get at them. But they weren’t being fair about this.
Minako’s hand paused and fully gripped the
ring. Slowly, she sat up, which caused
Artemis to raise his head from his paws.
The cat watched as Minako reached behind her and undid the chain. She slid the ring off the necklace, set the
chain on her nightstand, then replaced the ring on her
finger. For several minutes, she sat and
stared at her hand and the ring that glinted in the nighttime dimness. Then she abruptly got up and turned on the
light.
Artemis squinted against the sudden
burst of artificial light that engulfed the room. When he could see again, Minako was quickly
rooting through a pile on the floor. She
emerged triumphant with a duffle bag and proceeded to immediately begin filling
it with clothes.
“Mina, what are you doing?” asked Artemis, sure he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“I’m packing,” answered Minako as
she continued to fill her bag. “I
suggest you do the same thing, if there’s anything you want to bring with
you. I don’t know if we’ll be coming
back.”
“Where do you think we’re going?”
“To Rei’s. Don’t ask silly questions.”
Artemis sighed. He understood her wanting to do this, but had
to at least try and talk some logic into her impulsiveness. “Running away isn’t going to solve things,
Mina,” he said gently.
Minako paused in her frantic
packing. “I know, Artemis,” she said
quietly. “But it can’t make things much
worse. Don’t you understand? This isn’t my home anymore. Rei is.
And Fate can’t wash your back if you don’t give It
any soap.”
“Mina?”
“Setsuna told me once that nothing
happens by accident,” explained Minako.
“Fate set up everything so we would become Senshi when we were supposed
to. And Fate gave me Rei. I have no doubt that on my 20th birthday, I’ll be able to stand beside her, regardless of
what happens between then and now.
That’s Fate. What happens in the
three years between then and now, though, that’s up to me. If I’m supposed to be somewhere else, then
that’s what will happen. But I refuse to
just sit by and let everything happen to me without at least trying to fight
for what’s mine. I’m going home,
Artemis.”
“Okay,” said Artemis, resigning
himself to Minako’s will. If she wanted
to fight, then he would stand beside her, win or lose. “Let me help you pack, then, so you don’t forget
anything.” He began to move towards the
nightstand to retrieve Minako’s chain, but she stopped him.
“Leave it,” she said, a shadow of her old smile coming back to her lips. “I don’t need it anymore.”
*
* *
When she didn’t come out for
breakfast, he’d just assumed she had finally settled down a bit and was taking
advantage of her forced vacation. When
he had finished the last of his coffee and still hadn’t heard anything from
either her or her cat, he began to worry.
He’d seen the look Minako had worn as she’d gone off to her room last
night. Perhaps she was taking all of
this harder than he’d anticipated. He
supposed, though, he couldn’t blame her for not wanting to speak to her parents
this morning. Still, there was something
not right about how quiet she was being.
He suspected her mother noticed it also, from the looks she kept
shooting in the general direction of Minako’s closed bedroom door.
It was her mother who broke
first. She got up from the table and set
her dishes in the sink before walking calmly to Minako’s door. She paused for a moment, seemingly unsure and
a bit nervous. The indecision was short
lived, however, and Minako’s mother knocked lightly on the door. This surprised her husband, because she’d
declared emphatically that Minako’s privacy had disappeared along with their
family’s the day they’d been thrust into the headlines. For her to change her mind now showed just
how reluctant she was to see what was behind that door.
When she got no answer, Minako’s
mother raised her hand once more and knocked more loudly. Again, there was no answer. Rather than knock again, her hand instead
reached for the door knob and turned it.
His wife’s curse was loud and
uncharacteristic. It was also a relief in
its own strange way. Before he could
dwell on that for too long, he was up and in the bedroom doorway, staring at
the same thing his wife was: an
extremely messy room and no Minako.
*
* *
Rei shifted a bit, sitting up
straighter and moving one arm out from under Minako’s weight just enough to
restore the circulation. She resettled
against the headboard of the motel bed and closed her eyes. She was tired, but sleep eluded her. It was a combination of nerves, adrenaline,
and not knowing what might come crawling out from the corners of the room that
kept her up. But this place was the type
used to getting strange visitors at all hours of the night, and they would take
your money, no questions asked. After
Minako showed up on her doorstep, luggage and Artemis in tow, this was the best
Rei could do to keep them from getting into any more trouble, at least for the
time being.
The stirring of the girl curled up
against her side caused Rei to open her eyes.
She looked down into Minako’s blue eyes and gave her a tentative smile.
Minako returned the gesture, her
arms tightening around Rei for several seconds.
“Did you manage to get any sleep?” she asked quietly.
“A little,” lied
Rei.
Minako nodded slightly, then said, “I hope Artemis got to Usagi’s okay.”
“I’m sure he did,” answered
Rei. “We’ll call him later to make
sure. After we figure
out where we’re going to go. I’d
like to at least be someplace I can take a shower without any kind of yuck
factor involved.”
Minako giggled,
the beginnings of a genuine smile on her lips.
“This place isn’t as bad as you keep saying. Your standards are just too high. But maybe we could go to Mako-chan’s for awhile.
Ami did tell us where they hide the emergency key.”
After several moments of thought,
Rei answered, “For a few hours, maybe, if we’re sure no one’s following
us. I don’t want to stay there,
though. This is too much stress to put
on them. It would be better if we just
find a hotel to stay at. Hopefully one where no one will recognize us. I have enough money for a couple days, and
then…”
Minako waited as Rei’s voice trailed
off. When nothing more was forthcoming,
she prompted with a gentle, “And then?”
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Rei
snapped, “I don’t know! Why am I supposed
to be the one with all the answers?” Her
eyes closed and let her head fall back against the headboard. “I don’t know.”
Surprised, and suddenly feeling a
bit guilty, Minako slowly reached up and placed her fingers against Rei’s
cheek. She stroked gently until Rei’s
tension started to ease. When Rei
finally opened her eyes, Minako said, “It’s okay,
Rei. I don’t think you have to have all
the answers. We’ll figure things out
together. We’ll go talk to the others,
see what they think, and everything will get worked out. We’ll be okay.”
Rei grinned weakly at the hope and
reassurance she heard in Minako’s voice.
She reached out and took a lock of Minako’s hair in her hand, threading
the strands around her fingers.
“Should we call Grandpa?” asked
Minako.
“No,” answered Rei. “Not yet.
I’d rather he didn’t have to lie for us if anyone comes looking for
you. And I left him a note, so he knows
I’m okay.”
Minako moved away from Rei a bit and
sat up completely before taking Rei’s hand and tugging her into a new
position. Rei relented reluctantly,
staying on top of the blanket, but resting her head on Minako’s lap the way the
blonde wanted her to.
“That’s it, Rei,” said Minako, her
voice as soothing as the fingers that ran through Rei’s dark tresses. “Lie down and get some rest. I’ll watch out for the creepy crawlies for
awhile.”
Rei ignored the little giggle from
Minako that was aimed at her dislike of this particular establishment. Instead, she pulled Minako closer for warmth
and allowed her eyes to close as she tried once again to summon sleep.
*
* *
For the last few days, there had
been a dark cloud of ill feeling hanging over the shrine. Grandpa had hoped it would all blow over
quickly. That didn’t seem to be happening,
though, not with Rei’s father taking every opportunity he could to further feed
the public on what should have been a family matter. And now he had to deal with one more thing darkening his doorstep.
Grandpa reminded himself that he was
playing the role of respectable family elder in this case, but only for Rei’s
sake. As such, he tried not to judge the
man in front of him solely on appearances.
The uncomfortable stiffness in his posture, as well as the displeased
expression on his face, could very likely just be the results of having to deal
with an unsatisfied press and the invasion of his own privacy. Grandpa also suspected it had more than a
little to do with the vague note Rei had left behind this morning in place of
herself.
“Good morning, Aino-san,” said
Grandpa pleasantly, hoping his tone would help set the direction of this
encounter. “It’s good to finally meet
you, though I had hoped our fist meeting would be under better circumstances.”
“Forgive my rudeness, sir, but I’m
not here for a social call,” answered Minako’s father. “It’s been a very trying morning, and the
only reason I’m here is because I want to know where my daughter is. And I want her returned to me immediately.”
So that was what Rei had meant by
‘with a friend.’ The polite smile
Grandpa wore began to fade. Calmly, he
replied, “She isn’t here. I’m afraid I
don’t know where she is.”
After a deep breath that seemed to
be as much about calming his temper as frustration, Aino-san said, “I’m sure
your granddaughter has some idea where Minako might be. If you would be good enough to ask her, I
would appreciate it.”
“Rei isn’t here at the moment.”
Minako’s father raised an eyebrow at
that. Then he shook his head. “Of course she isn’t. I shouldn’t be surprised about that.” His hand reached into his pocket and began to
fiddle with his keys. “I’d prefer not to
have to bring the authorities into this, but I will if I have to. She has until tomorrow night to come home
with no further consequences. If you
speak to your granddaughter, please ask her to relay that for me.”
Grandpa nodded. Then he said, “If I may? It’s been my experience that if a child feels
threatened, they only run further away.
But if you give them some understanding, even with disapproval, they come
home on their own.”
Through narrowed eyes and an even
deeper frown, Minako’s father replied, “I’m assuming you knew about this…
relationship.”
“I did.”
“And you just simply condoned it?”
“At first, I had some concerns,”
answered Grandpa as he folded his arms casually across his chest. “But I realized I had truly little reason for
that concern. Rei isn’t a child. She understands what she’s doing. And Minako is a fine young woman who any
family would be proud to count among their own.”
“Look, whatever you want to teach
your child, and however you want to raise her, is no concern of mine,” said
Minako’s father, the color in his face rising with his blood pressure. “Just don’t try and include my daughter in
any of it. The responsibility for her
lies solely with my wife and me. So if
she comes back here, I expect you to send her home. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other things
to take care of this morning.”
Grandpa didn’t bother saying
anything further as the man in front of him turned and walked away. He stood for several moments, alone and in
silence, before leaving the room. There
was only so much that could be chalked up to youth and desperation. He hoped dearly that Rei and her friend
hadn’t crossed that line.
*
* *
Very glad to be getting out of this
place, Rei turned in the key to the room she and Minako had been using. The motel was near lifeless at this time of
day, the usual patrons all having gone back to their day to day lives. Rei didn’t have day to day life to go back to
just yet, but she did have friends with a spare key. She and Minako could stay at Makoto’s until
Ami and Makoto came home, and then just take it from there.
They were almost to the exit when a
voice said from behind a newspaper, “If you’re going to shack up with your
girlfriend in a love motel for the night, you could at least pick someplace a
little more upscale than this.”
Rei froze in place, the nerves she’d
finally managed to tie up instantly fraying.
The newspaper lowered to reveal the
smug smile of Kojima Ishata. “And while you’re at it,” he went on, “you
should make sure no one’s tailing you.
How goes it, kid? Gonna introduce me to your sweetheart?”
Rei glared daggers at the man as
Minako tugged on her arm. “Rei, do you
know this guy?”
Kojima stepped forward before Rei
could say anything and bowed with great flare before Minako. “Kojima Ishata,
journalist for The Tokyo Daily. It is my
pleasure to finally meet you.”
Minako took a reflexive step
back. “Um… nice to meet you?” she
started to say hesitantly before Rei stepped completely in front of her.
“Listen here, you rat,” said Rei
loudly. “I told you the other day to
leave us alone. You’ve got no idea why
we’re here, and you’ve got no right to know, either. So just go back to the sewer you crawled out
of!”
“That’s rather harsh,” replied
Kojima, a hurt expression on his face.
Then he grinned. “But you do have
a valid point. What the two of you were
doing up there, no one really needs to know about. Besides,” he said with a shrug, “this isn’t
the kind of story The Daily would run.”
Rei stared at the man,
dumbfounded. Which was nothing compared
to Minako’s confusion as she watched these two, who obviously knew each other…
“Wait a minute,” said Minako
suddenly, the proverbial light bulb coming on.
“Kojima from The Daily? You’re the one who wrote that first article
about us.”
Kojima nodded, obviously quite
pleased to have Minako recognize him.
“It doesn’t matter who he is,”
jumped in Rei. “And why are you here if
you can’t use this as part of another article?”
With a smirk, Kojima answered,
“Because I want a statement from you.
I’m tired of listening to your old man.
He’ll say anything to anyone who asks.
But you…
We’re lucky if we get so much as a ‘no comment’
or ‘go to hell.’ So, when the guy I had
outside your house last night called and said he was trailing you downtown, I
thought I’d take a chance.”
“You shouldn’t have wasted your
time,” said Rei. Then she grabbed
Minako’s wrist and started pulling her towards the exit.
“I wouldn’t go that way if I were
you,” called Kojima.
Rei would have ignored him if Minako
hadn’t forced her to stop. “Why not?”
asked the blonde.
“My cameraman’s still out there,
parked at just the right angle to get a lovely shot of you framed nicely in the
doorway of Motel Paradise.”
“I thought you said you couldn’t run
this kind of story.”
“The Daily won’t,” answered
Kojima. “But there are others who
will. I’m always up to a little pseudonym
labeled freelancing.”
Rei’s shoulders slumped and she
sighed. “Don’t they make you sign
contracts against that sort of thing?”
Once again, Kojima shrugged. “Eh.”
Then he smiled at them. “Tell you
what, we’ll make a trade. You go out the
alley, and I’ll pretend I never saw you here.
In return, you promise to talk to me before going to anyone else, should
you feel like making any kind of official comments. How about it?
Deal?”
Rei scrutinized the man before
her. She had no real reason to believe
he had anyone out there at all, or if he did, that the person wasn’t waiting in
the alley to ambush them. Still, at this
point, she didn’t have anything but her pride left to lose. So, abruptly and without saying a word, Rei
jerked Minako in the opposite direction and headed for the alleyway.
Kojima couldn’t stop grinning as the
girls hurried passed him. And he
couldn’t help a chuckle as he heard Minako ask Rei to slow down and question
just how it was she knew ‘that guy’ anyway.
The last thing he heard before sitting back down and picking up the
sports section was an agitated, “I’ll tell you later.”
*
* *
Rei sat on the breakfast counter in
Makoto’s kitchen, the phone to her ear and her bare feet tapping anxiously
against the cabinets beneath her. Minako
was out in the other room with Luna and Artemis, while Rei had retreated in
here to call her grandfather.
“Grandpa, it’s me,” she said when he
answered.
Rei heard him exhale heavily before
saying, “Finally. Where are you,
Rei? Are you and your friend all right?”
“We’re doing okay,” she
answered. Then she hesitated for a
moment, debating with herself before continuing, “It would be better if you
don’t know where we are, though. I think
you know I’m with Minako, and her dad is looking for her. We barely missed him once this morning, and
I’m sure he’ll come by there. I don’t
want to put you in the middle of this anymore.”
“He’s already been here,” replied
Grandpa. “This was probably the first
place he came. Now, tell me where you
are.”
Rei stopped biting her lip to
answer, “Ami and Makoto’s.”
“Don’t sound so worried about
telling me. I won’t tell anyone where
she is. But Minako’s father wants her
home. He said she won’t be punished if
she comes home by tomorrow night.”
“They’re already punishing her!”
shot back Rei. “They’re sending her away
to boarding school. All
because she got involved with me.
I won’t let that happen.”
“You won’t have an easy time
changing her father’s mind. He doesn’t
seem to me like the type to back down from his decisions. You can’t run forever, Rei.”
“Yes, we can, if we have to.”
Grandpa sighed in exasperation, and
Rei could picture him with his hand to his forehead to ward off the headache
this was likely causing him. “You have
to make your own decisions about this.
Just remember that you also have to live with the consequences of those
decisions. Think before you do anything
else.”
“I know, Grandpa. I will, I promise.”
“You can bring her back here if you
want to. But if her parents come back
for her, I won’t be able to stop them from taking her home.”
“I understand,” answered Rei. “We’re making other plans, so don’t worry
about it. We aren’t staying here much
longer, either.”
“Whatever you do,” said Grandpa,
“you’re going to have to come home tomorrow morning. The monsignor called. We have an appointment at the school tomorrow
at nine. Unless you took your uniform
with you, you’ll need to come back here to get ready.”
Rei groaned quietly and ran a hand
through her hair. “I’d forgotten about
that. Okay, Grandpa, I’ll be home
tomorrow.”
“I’ll see you then. And be careful, Rei,” said Grandpa before
saying goodbye.
Rei hung up the phone and slid off
the counter. Now that she was done
talking herself, she could hear the voices in the other room. They must have gotten home while she was on
the phone. Usagi’s voice stood out over
the others, and Rei grinned.
In the livingroom,
Ami and Makoto stood by Minako as Usagi threw her arms around her neck and held
on as if she hadn’t seen Minako for a year.
For a moment, Rei smiled warmly at the sight. Then the smile turned to a smirk. “You know, Odango,
there are some women who wouldn’t take kindly to you hanging onto their
girlfriends like that.”
“Rei!” called Usagi happily. She tried to take a step towards Rei without
letting go of Minako. When she realized
she couldn’t, she whimpered slightly, her eyes darting between her friends as
she tried to decide what to do.
Rei made it easy on her princess and
moved over to the group. As soon as she
was close enough, Usagi latched onto her with one arm and pulled her even
closer.
“Yeah, I missed you, too, Usagi,”
said Rei quietly as she returned the hug.
After a few moments, she wriggled away from Usagi’s stranglehold. “Okay, okay, that’s enough. You’re wrinkling my shirt,” she complained,
using her hands and making a show of smoothing out her t-shirt.
The girls settled down in the livingroom, with Ami, Usagi, Rei, and Minako squeezing
together on the couch. As Makoto
slouched down in her chair and propped her feet up on the coffee table to get
comfortable, Rei began to explain in
better detail what her hosts had already been told by Usagi.
“We came here from the hotel,” went
on Rei, already reassured more than once that it was okay they were here. “If we’d been 15 minutes later, we would have
run right into Minako’s father.”
“At least I know he’s looking for
me,” said Minako.
“He’s been by the shrine, too,”
added Rei. “I bet he’s hitting each one
of our homes trying to find out where we’ve gone.”
“I guess that explains the note that
was on the door,” threw in Makoto.
“What note?”
“The one that’s in my trashcan,”
answered Makoto around a grin. “Does he
really think I’d call him to rat you guys out?”
Minako shrugged. “I guess he’s hoping you’re all more
‘reasonable’ than I am.” She caught
Artemis as he jumped up onto her lap and held him loosely as she went on. “I never told him about you and Ami, only
that you were moving into a new apartment.
My parents still think Ami lives with her mom.”
Luna joined the girls and Artemis up
on the couch by moving onto Ami’s lap.
She was greeted by a light scratching around her ears, to which she
responded with a low, involuntary purr.
Then, remembering herself, she settled more seriously and faced
Minako. “Are you certain you don’t want
to go back home? It may be possible that
this whole boarding school idea is just a knee-jerk reaction to everything
that’s happened. You may still be able
to reason with your parents.”
Minako shook her head. “No, Luna, my parents thought this out. They want me away from all of this. And away from Rei. Now, with my running away like this, there
won’t be any other sort of reasoning. My
mom wasn’t just talking, either, the other day when she said she wished they’d
sent me back to
Luna nodded, and for a moment,
silence fell over the group. In her
chair, Makoto fidgeted a bit, drawing Ami’s attention. When she sat up straighter and leaned forward
slightly, her eyes holding Ami’s the whole time, she got everyone else’s
attention as well. Finally, she said to
Ami, “It can’t hurt just to mention it.
Let her decide what she wants to do.”
A tiny frown formed on Ami’s lips,
clearly indicating she didn’t like the idea, but she nodded slowly once in
agreement.
“Okay,” said Makoto. She took a moment to gather her thoughts and
figure out how to approach this. “Um,
well, me and Ami sort of started discussing this a few
nights ago after everything happened.
Well, not this, exactly. More
like that it was a shame you didn’t have more control over what was happening
to you, and how I kind of sympathized because I remember how frustrated I felt
when I had to go through Yoshiro-san for the final word on everything. I was making all the decisions, but,
ultimately, he had control over everything, and that annoyed me to death.”
“Who’s Yoshiro-san?” asked Usagi.
“Oh.
He’s my guardian. He was,
anyway.”
More than a little confusion passed
among the girls. “You have a
guardian? Since when?” asked Rei.
“Had a guardian,” corrected
Makoto. “And since my parents died. You guys don’t really think anyone would let
an eight-year-old live by herself, do you?”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t
that exactly what you were doing?”
One corner of Makoto’s mouth turned
up into a lopsided grin. “Yeah, more or less.
Yoshiro-san was never a family man.
He only took me on out of respect for my father, since they were good
friends and business partners. He also
thought I was too financially independent to be reliant on the state for my
upbringing. Which basically means he
didn’t trust them, so he decided to do it his way instead. I went through three nannies in one month
before he finally agreed to let me try it on my own. He kept an eye on me, mostly through his
assistants, and he made sure I knew how to handle my money before he turned
control of my bank account over to me.
Actually, Ami’s got a term for it all.”
“Salutary neglect,” said Ami when
Makoto waved it off to her.
Usagi’s eyes narrowed as she turned
the words over in her head. “Salu-what-what?”
Ami smiled at the blonde. “It means, on paper, Makoto belonged to him,
but he wasn’t really taking care of her the way a parent should. He didn’t harm her, and he made sure she had
all the necessities she needed to live, but he never really cared for her,
either. The relationship was purely a
legal one.”
“Which was exactly the way I wanted
it,” interjected Makoto. “If he’d really
tried to be a father to me, he wouldn’t have made out any better than those
nannies he hired. And he’s a good man,
regardless of how it all sounds. His
handling of my larger accounts is the only reason I can live like I do, and he
doesn’t get anything in return for what he does for me.”
Minako bit the corner of her lip and
nodded. “Mako-chan, I’m not really
seeing what any of this has to do with me.
I mean, it’s kind of neat finding out you have a guardian and all…”
“That’s the thing,” interrupted
Makoto. “And it’s what I keep
saying. He’s not my guardian
anymore. When I turned 14, Yoshiro-san
decided since I was already living as an adult and had proven I could handled
it, there was no reason I shouldn’t be completely recognized as one. So, he helped me petition the court to make
me an emancipated minor.”
“It means she’s legally an adult,”
said Ami when two pairs of blue eyes turned to her. “But Makoto’s situation was different than
Minako’s,” she added by way of caution.
“Her guardian endorsed the idea.
I don’t think Minako’s parents will simply agree to it, and they do have
the right to challenge it. Aside from
that, if you were successful, it absolves your parents of any responsibility
towards you. They’ll still be your
parents, but they won’t have to support you anymore, nor will they have to
house you, and since you’ve already graduated 9th grade, they aren’t
compelled to educate you any further.
You would become completely independent and responsible for yourself.”
“Actually, if you can’t prove you
have a place to live and a way to support yourself, the court won’t even
consider the request,” said Makoto a bit ruefully.
“That isn’t a problem,” replied
Rei. “She lives at the shrine with
me. Grandpa can give her a job if she
has to have one.”
“Mina?” said Artemis quietly when
the girl sat silent as everyone talked around her.
All eyes were on her now, and Minako
felt the pressure from the need to make a decision.
“Minako,” said Ami gently, “you
don’t have to decide right away. It was
just an idea we had that we thought might help.
Keep in mind, though, that if you do decide to try this, you won’t be
able to take it back, no matter what the outcome might be.”
“Thanks, Ami,” answered Minako,
reaching across two laps to take her friend’s hand and give it a squeeze. “But I suppose, if I’m being honest, that the
decision has already been made. I knew
when I left I wouldn’t likely be going back there, and we can’t hide out for
much longer. So, if I try Mako-chan’s idea, and it doesn’t work, my parents ship me off to
boarding school overseas. If I don’t try
Mako-chan’s idea, eventually I’m going to have to go
back, and my parents will still ship me off to boarding school overseas. From my point of view, I’ve got nothing to
lose, and we haven’t come up with any better ideas.”
“If you want, I can call Yoshiro-san
in the morning,” offered Makoto. “Find
out how to get all this started.”
Minako nodded. “Thanks, Mako-chan. I’d appreciate it.”
“No problem,” answered Makoto. She stood and stretched her arms out in front
of her. “I say we all eat, cause I’m starving. And none of that hotel nonsense. You guys stay here tonight.” She turned and started to head towards the
kitchen, not waiting for either Rei or Minako to protest. “Come on, Usagi, you and Ami can help
me. I’ve got a foolproof dessert recipe
for you to try out.”
Ami stood as well, keeping Luna with
her. “There are some leftovers in the refrigerator
for you and Artemis,” she said to the cat.
“I’ll get them for you if you come out here with us.”
Taking the hint, Artemis jumped down
and followed them into the kitchen.
Once alone, Rei and Minako filled in
the spot Usagi had vacated and moved closer together. Rei put her arm around Minako’s shoulders and
held her, Minako’s head resting on Rei’s chest.
Minako closed her eyes and listened to the sound of Rei’s heart, the
steady beat slowing down her world and calming her. Just like this, forever, she
thought. This is how it’s supposed to
be.
*
* *
Sitting on the bedroom floor, a few
books scattered around her and her notes from the day illuminated by her booklight, Ami highlighted the particular section of the
lesson she was having issues with. She
read over the paragraphs more slowly, taking apart the individual sentences to
find their meaning. Even as she did
this, she still wasn’t coming up with the same conclusions her teacher had
reached. Perhaps she would bring it up
in class tomorrow. Hideo-sensei always
did seem to enjoy a challenge to her own way of thinking.
The bed shifted behind her, and Ami
looked up from her notes, pushing her glasses back up from where they had slid
down her nose as she did.
Makoto sat on the edge of the bed,
blinking sleepily. She yawned once, then squinted down at Ami.
“There you are,” she said, her voice sleepy-rough. She stood slowly and pointed towards the
doorway. “Be right back.”
Ami turned back to her books and
reanalyzing the passage until a toe disturbed her by nudging against her thigh.
“It’s almost one,” said Makoto. “Come to bed.”
“In a few minutes,” answered Ami
without looking up. “Just let me finish
this.”
Makoto stayed where she was,
standing over Ami, and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re mad at me, aren’t you?”
Ami slowly closed her book and
removed her glasses before looking fully up at Makoto. “No, not really,” she answered quietly.
“Don’t lie,” teased Makoto, a grin
tugging at the corners of her mouth. “If
you were really obsessing over your schoolwork the way it looks like you are,
you’d be out at your desk because you don’t care if anyone sees you studying. But you’re in here hiding because you don’t
want Rei or Minako to wake up and see you, which means you’re upset with me
about bringing up that whole thing with Minako, and you’re using schoolwork as
an excuse for not coming to bed.” Makoto
nodded, pleased with her breakdown of the situation. “Yep, that’s how it is.”
Ami offered back a small smile for
Makoto’s mental efforts and rose from the floor. She went over to sit on the bed, tucking her
feet under her as she did. “I’m more
concerned than I am angry,” she said. “I
really do wish you hadn’t brought that up, Mako-chan.”
“Why?” asked Makoto as she sat on
the bed beside Ami.
“It was just an idea, and you heard Minako. She doesn’t really have anything to lose if
this doesn’t work.”
Ami’s lips formed a thin line, and
her eyes cast down.
“Come on, Ami,” said Makoto, her
finger reaching for Ami’s chin to tilt it back up. When they were eye to eye again, Makoto
lifted a finger and tapped it against Ami’s forehead. “Tell me what’s going on up here.”
“She can’t win, Mako-chan,” answered
Ami solemnly. “From a purely legal
perspective, if her parents choose to fight this, they’ll win, because they
haven’t done anything wrong, and no judge will take away their right to raise
their daughter just because they won’t let her date whoever she wants to. And I’m afraid of what will happen
afterwards. This could very well destroy
whatever relationship Minako has left with her parents, because there is going
to be a lot more anger and hurt feelings, not to mention hurt pride, caused by
this.”
“Ami, sweetie, Minako’s relationship
with her parents went out the window when all of this started.”
Ami shook her head. “If that were true, they wouldn’t care one
way or the other where she is right now or what she’s doing.”
“Okay,” sighed
Makoto. “If that’s what you’ve really
been thinking, why didn’t you say any of that earlier?”
“Because when you first brought it
up, I had no idea Minako was going to run away.
I certainly never believed this would become a viable option for her.” Ami took a breath, then
reached over to finger the sleeve of Makoto’s nightshirt. “And because I don’t have a better solution
for her. I can tell her to be cautious,
but how can I completely take away the only real chance she thinks she has to
be with Rei when I can’t give her something to replace it?”
Taking the hand that was tracing
along a seam over her shoulder, Makoto twined her fingers around Ami’s. “Have a little faith, Ami. And who knows? Maybe this time Fate will wind up smiling on
all of us at once.”