Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Dark Successor ❯ Where Are We Going, Anyway? ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter 8: Where Are We Going, Anyway?

 

Earlier that same day, Rei had just sat down in her homeroom. Her teacher, Ms. Fuchida, promptly stood at the ring of the bell. "Good day, all. First of all, I would like all of you to welcome our new student, Watari Yuri."

 

A small girl in the middle of the room drifted to her feet at her desk. Her hair was a pleasant violet, her skin quite pale, her eyelids seeming heavy over her golden brown eyes. She seemed unaffected by the class, indifferent to it.

 

As she proceeded to mechanically recite some basic facts about herself, Rei looked her over curiously. A pretty girl, but she looked a little sickly.

 

"Nice to meet you, Yuri-san," the majority of the class resounded. Yuri nodded and took her seat.

 

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Most of the all-girls class had stampeded out of the classroom when lunchtime hit. Eyeing the lingering Yuri, Rei stood and approached her.

 

"Hi, I'm Rei," she said politely, a small, soft smile gracing her face.

 

"Hm. And you should already know my name," Yuri said in what Rei took as weak sarcasm.

 

"Yes. Nice to meet you," Rei said.

 

"Yeah, the same," Yuri replied.

 

"Need me to show you around?" offered Rei.

 

"Sure, I guess I do."

 

"Come with me."

 

The two found themselves alone together at lunch. Rei's usual crowd of friends were a bit offset by this new girl and had conveniently scooted down a few spots at their table. Rei didn't mind... she was rather popular with them but they didn't mean all that much to her. Her other friends, her Senshi friends were the ones dear to her. A high level of friendship Rei certainly did not foresee this girl Yuri ever reaching with her. Most everything she said bore some hint of sarcasm or dissatisfaction towards their socialization process.

 

"So your father's an accountant, and your mother?" Rei carried on the conversation, outwardly undaunted but inwardly frustrated. Those who knew her well would sense this with certain slightly elevated tones and syllables in her speech.

 

"Mother divorced him years ago," she said, her eyes aiming over Rei's head, her fork prodding a meal she found little interest in as it rapidly got colder. Rolling down at the food, then a few seconds later looking towards Rei, the amber eyes shined, foretelling what seemed to be one of her first interests in conversation.

 

"You? Your parents?"

 

Rei seemed to light up ever so slightly. "I live with my grandfather at the Hikawa Jinja shrine. I also serve there as a Shinto priestess."

 

"Hmm," Yuri said.

 

Rei suddenly heard a beeping noise coming from her pocket.

 

"What's that? A pager or something?" Yuri asked, leaning towards Rei. She knew why her father would carry around one, but not this girl.

 

"Yes, of sorts," Rei answered with a tone suggesting less ambiguity than actually presented by her. In actuality it was more than enough to raise Yuri's curiosity.

 

"Hold on, let me go answer it," Rei excused herself as she made her way to the nearest bathroom. Getting inside a stall for privacy, she pulled out her communicator and turned it on.

 

"This is Rei, what is it?" she spoke into it. Usagi's head showed up on the video window.

 

"Rei-chan, we're going out to dinner after school," Usagi said.

 

"What?!" Rei replied, the white of her teeth showing, her black hair swishing with the angry motions of her head. "Didn't I tell you to not use this thing so casually? I thought something bad had happened!"

 

"Oh no, this is good," Usagi said obliviously. "Urawa-kun's in town, maybe for a long time, and we're all going out to eat with him."

 

Rei seemingly exhaled her frustration, her eyes shut in a struggling state of calm. "Fine then, so what should I do?"

 

"Mamo-chan said he'd pick you and Chibi-Usa up after school and you guys would meet us there," Usagi told her.

 

"Ok, Usagi-chan, I'll be ready. Please don't do this to me so much..."

 

"Sorry, Rei-chan, I just wanted to let you know," Usagi said meekly.

 

"Alright. I'll see you," said Rei, promptly turning off the communicator.

 

Rei fumed over this. "It'll be 'The Boy who Cried Wolf' when something actually does go wrong, and it certainly won't be MY fault if anything happens!!"

 

She slammed open the stall door and composed herself, returning to the cafeteria. Yuri was already gone, but had taken up both their lunch trays.

 

"Rei-chan," a girl with short brown hair called, "That girl said thanks for talking to her."

 

Rei didn't know what to say, but she smiled softly, similar to when she first greeted Yuri. "She needs friends," she told herself as she walked back to class. "Even if she doesn't want to admit it."

 

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Mamoru pulled up outside Chibi-Usa's school. The pink-haired child was very ready for him, and bounded her way to his car.

 

"Ready to go?" he asked.

 

"Uh-huh!" she nodded, her eyes closed and her smile wide. He started driving off.

 

"So this guy's Ami-chan's boyfriend??" she asked curiously.

 

"No, I don't think it's like that, but they're good friends, and I think they do like each other."

 

"I think I should hook them up!" she said, her red eyes glittering. Mamoru laughed, and her excitement sank a little, but his laugh proved good-natured by the time he finished.

 

"Well... it might be a good idea, but give them a chance to do it themselves first. It's a lot nicer when it happens that way."

 

"Alright," she agreed. "Mamo-chan?" she asked.

 

"Hmm?"

 

"How did you and Usagi-chan get together?"

 

"Well... there came a time when we both realized our own pasts. That's when we started to notice our feelings for each other."

 

Chibi-Usa didn't respond for a time, then finally said "That sounds sorta boring."

 

"Guess you had to be there," he said amusedly.

 

"Hey, we're there!" the little lady exclaimed, pointing at the turn he needed to take. Surprised at his absent-mindedness, he quickly turned in. Rei was waiting patiently for them on a bench. Seeing them, she rose and entered the front seat.

 

"Hiya Rei-chan!" Chibi-Usa chimed.

 

"Hi there Chibi-Usa-chan," Rei said politely. "Hi, Mamo-san," she added.

 

"I guess you heard the news?" Mamoru asked, not averting his sight from the road.

 

"Yes, Usagi-chan made sure to 'page' me," she said dryly. "I bet Ami-chan must be really happy."

 

"Usa-ko said Minako invited her friend too, a guy named Hiryu."

 

Rei's eyebrows shifted angles. "Hiryu? I think I know who that is," she said, remembering the mysterious visitor to the shrine. "Now that I think of it, Minako did mention a new guy at school. Guess that's him. He showed up at the shrine a few days ago, and I got the weirdest feeling from him."

 

"What kind of feeling?" Chibi-Usa asked.

 

"Well, sometimes I get vibes from people. Sometimes it has to do with evil forces, but I've gotten good vibes from people too. His was... it made me nervous, but I don't know what that should mean."

 

Mamoru's expression had been as it had for several minutes, but Rei just now noticed it. He looked concerned, unsettled. He looked over at Rei. "It's always a good idea to be wary of such senses, Rei, but be careful you don't treat him rudely either. Let's make sure this is a pleasant reunion for Ami, and that you don't offend Minako."

 

Rei looked away from him, her head straight with her body, a splash of surprise across her face. Mamoru isn't like this a lot, but it's impressive to see when he is... but no, she thought, it didn't matter if Mamoru was a cool or appealing guy, he was Usagi's after all. She was over him, but sometimes she wished her crush on him had never broken.

 

"Yeah, you're right," she agreed to him after what seemed moments to him and minutes to her. Chibi-Usa wasn't sure why these two were both acting so strangely, but she waited it out with as much patience as a child can manage. Finally, she broke the silence with an unrelated question.

 

"So where are we going, Mamo-chan?"

 

"Some pizza place called Uncle Pete's."

 

"Uncle Pete's?" Chibi-Usa gasped. "That place has the coolest games!"

 

"Uncle Pete's?!" Rei choked. "Usagi-chan must've done this... U, Uncle Pete's is a kid's place!"

 

Mamoru's eyes widened. "Uh..."

 

"So?" Chibi-Usa retorted. "It's fun and the food's good!"

 

"But it's a bunch of guys in costumes serving pizza to little kids!” Rei snapped defiantly. “We're all too old to go there!!"

 

Mamoru cleared his throat awkwardly. "Usa-ko said it was a pizza place, but didn't mention anything else..."

 

"Either she didn't know or she's flipped her lid," Rei snapped, "and in either case I'm not too happy about it."

 

"Now, now," Mamoru said. "If it's that bad we can leave."

 

"But I wanna go!" Chibi-Usa whined. "It's a lot of fun, Rei-chan, they have lots of games and prizes and stuff..."

 

"Games, you say? Usagi-chan probably wants to play at the arcade..." Rei's head sunk at least a foot as she sighed. "Why can't she think about Ami-chan and Urawa-kun?! They most certainly won't want to watch a bunch of animal robots sing cheap songs on a stage!!"

 

Chibi-Usa chan looked hurt. "Ok, I guess it's not really a place for guys your age, but I like the place."

 

"Sorry," Rei said. "I just don't know what Usagi was thinking. She's clearly lost it this time. Right, Mamo-san?"

 

"Hmm..." Mamoru said prolongedly. Rei's expression was blank as she waited for his reply, as was Chibi-Usa's. "Do I take a left...?" he finally said. "Or a right here?" Both girls sighed, sweatdrops hanging over their heads.

 

"He won't go there," Chibi-Usa told Rei blandly.

 

"Yeah, I realize this now," Rei said back with equally little expression.

 

****************************

 

The group of Usagi, Minako, Ami, Makoto, Hiryu, and Ryo were all parading down the sidewalk on their way to meet the others.

 

"So where are we going, Usagi-chan?" Makoto asked.

 

"Someplace we've never been, but it sounds pretty good," Usagi answered.

 

"It better be, I'm hungry," the tall brunette replied.

 

The birds sang endlessly to each other this peaceful afternoon. The light of the sun fought its way through the thin veil of clouds and splashed across everything faintly. Even though he was in the city, the beauty of the earth still reached out. Hiryu found himself enjoying this scenery, and Minako walked alongside him, watching a mix of him, the sidewalk below them, her friends, and the sky.

 

"Hiryu-kun, what's got you so interested?" Minako wondered.

 

"The world is an amazing place," he replied. She was amazed at how sincere and poetic he sounded for once. Maybe that's what she liked about him. She never knew what he'd do next, he was certainly a curious person.

 

"You're right. I never pay attention to it, but when I think about it, it really is."

 

Hiryu scratched the back of his neck and looked down at the sidewalk.

 

"Hiryu-kun?" she asked.

 

"Um, yeah?"

 

"How'd that science test go? Did you get yours back today?"

 

"I got a C on it," he replied. "Didn't really know half of it, but I guessed pretty well."

 

"Yeah... I'm a good guesser too," she said, giggling.

 

He stopped. Right in his tracks, there on the sidewalk. He stopped walking with no forewarning and just stared blankly at nothing, his mind caught in a vice. Here he was talking with her like this, why? Why was he doing this? Just to keep his eye on Urawa Ryo? He could do that from above. He'd accomplish his goals one way or another. So why was he spending his time with Minako and the others? To be polite? What did politeness matter? Why did he care what anyone thought? ...Why DID he care what people thought about him? Why did these gazing human eyes torture him so? What was wrong with him?

 

"Hiryu?? Why are you standing there?" Minako asked, backtracking to him.

 

"I..."

 

"What's wrong?" she asked, tugging on his arm to get him moving again. He sluggishly obeyed.

 

"I shouldn't be doing this..." he said, only partly to her, and partly also to himself.

 

"C'mon, we're friends, right? Ami-chan surely doesn't mind you coming." Her voice was full of encouragement. He just wanted to go along with it...

 

"Ok," he said defeatedly. She smiled. "Good, now hurry, the others are still ahead of us!"

 

****************************

 

The group arrived to see Mamoru waiting patiently, leaned against the building, Chibi-Usa walking around and looking at things, and Rei standing with her arms crossed, a displeased expression on her face.

 

"Hey all," Makoto greeted. "Is this the place?" She looked at the sign. "Uncle Pete's...? Uh..."

 

"Usagi-chan!! Just why are we going to eat here of all places?" Rei demanded.

 

"It sounds like a good place! People told me they have an arcade and good pizza."

 

"Usagi..." Rei said softly but angrily. "This place is for little kids! Did you not realize that? Have you ever even walked by here?"

 

The group slowly made its way towards the others and congregated near the door, as Rei and Usagi discussed the choice of restaurant.

 

"No, Rei, I haven't," Usagi said defensively, "Is that a reason to snap at me like that?"

 

"Usagi-chan!!" Rei growled. "Uncle Pete... Is a singing... And dancing..." she struggled for the next word, "RACCOON!!"

 

"Raccoon?" Usagi said, wide-eyed.

 

The front door opened, and, as if on que, a guy in a cheap gray raccoon suit came out. A little red vest around him and a 'straw' hat wrapped in a red band adourned his being snazzily.

 

"Hi, hi!" Uncle Pete greeted the group. All but Chibi-Usa's heads bore large sweatdrops. Undaunted, Uncle Pete bent down to Chibi-Usa as if proposing.

 

"Is it your birthday?" he asked kindly. "No," she replied.

 

"Um, well..." he stammered, standing up again.

 

Makoto and Ami talked under their breaths quickly, and with Ryo and Minako they began to leave. Rei went after them, sternly dragging Usagi along with her. Mamoru was very close in pursuit, and Chibi-Usa bounded after him. Hiryu stood in uncertainty.

 

"So it's your birthday?" Uncle Pete asked him.

 

"...Uhh... I don't think so..." he said nervously.

 

"Bashful birthday boy..." Uncle Pete chuckled. "Come on in and we'll sing you the Birthday Boogaloo!"

 

The misproportioned raccoon grabbed Hiryu by the shoulders and started to escort him through the doors, guffawing like a madman the entire time. Hiryu bit his lip and dragged his heels against the ground.

 

"Minako-chan! Please help!!" he screamed. After awhile of struggling with Uncle Pete and clinging desperately to the doorframe, she finally showed up and pulled him free.

 

"Are you that desperate for business?" she growled at the raccoon, who folded his hands over each other humbly.

 

"Forgive an old raccoon, whose eyesight's fading. You must be the young lad's mother!!"

 

Minako's eyes narrowed. "Mother...?! I'm only FOURTEEN!!" she screamed, kicking the raccoon and knocking him into the restaurant. Innumerable breaking and crashing sounds ensued.

 

"T...thanks..." Hiryu let out, still horrified. They caught up with the others.

 

"I hate raccoons," Minako muttered.