Lonely and Lost
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all characters used within the following story are copyright and owned by Naoko Takeuchi.
A.N.: Me second fanfic xx; It's a one-shot thing. I got tired of all the fanfics making Rei out to be horrible, or cruel and loveless. She isn't. I know if I were Rei, this is how it would probably go:
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Rei sighed, tears burning her eyes. She wiped them away, refusing to let them take over. "No, damnit." She stood up stubbornly. She stalked over to her mirror, raking her fingers through her hair. She quickly dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve.
Usagi rushed out of the temple, running away from Rei. "How could she?" she thought to herself. "Why is she doing this?" She slowed down, breathing in deeply. She dropped to her knees, tears flowing from her eyes.
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The phone rang, and Rei looked over quickly. She picked it up, checking the caller ID. Her finger pressed the "on" button, long enough for wailing to be heard before the button was pressed again.
Usagi kept calling her. Didn't she realize by now that Rei didn't want to talk? Rei sighed, wishing she could take a hint.
About twenty minutes later, the phone rang again. Rei stalked towards it, ready for Usagi's call. It wasn't though, she saw, when she looked at the number. She answered it. "Hey, Ami."
"Hello, Rei," amy replied stiffly.
Rei fell silent. Finally, she said "What? Did Usagi come crying to you? Talking about how much of a bitch I am?"
Ami sighed. "Rei, I just don't understand...why are you always so cruel to her?" She heard Rei scoff. "She's not just over-reacting Rei! You ARE a bitch to her!"
Rei winced. "Yeah, Ami. I'm a bitch. Everyone seems to think so. I'm a cruel, heartless, loveless bitch. I'm horrible, aren't I?" Rei hung up the phone, not waiting for Ami's reply.
The phone rang 7 different times that night, and none of the calls were answered.
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The girls sat around at a café, minus Rei.
"Oh, wow..." Minako murmured. "That was cold..."
"She's just being a bitch, Usagi. Ignore her." Makoto offered.
"I agree, Minako stated, wedging her way into the conversation again. "Don't you, Ami?"
Ami looked down at her drink, stirring it with her straw. "I'm not gonna take sides on this one, guys... I'm worried about Rei."
Usagi scoffed. "Rei's fine. She always is. She's incapable of feeling anything."
As the other girls nodded, Ami looked up at Usagi sadly, though no one seemed to notice. She hadn't told any of them about her call to Rei.
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Rei was sweeping the porch outside, when she looked up, seeing Makoto and Minako walk towards her. Her face lit up into a smile. "Hey, guys!"
The two girls stopped in front of her. "Hi, Rei," Makoto greeted, rather coldly. Rei's face became blank, devoid of emotion.
"You think you're so much better than her, don't you, Rei?" Minako asked, snidely. "You're no better than her. She's the one that's actually in love. She's the one that isn't stuck up. She isn't cruel to others just to bring herself up. You are, though, Rei."
Makoto cut in at this. "You're so bitchy, Rei. All you do is yell at people. You're so full of yourself. You don't know how stressful Usagi's life is! How can you even criticize her?" Makoto started yelling, at the last statement.
Rei held in her tears, not even letting them surface. Her face remained blank. "I see. Is this how all of you feel?" She watched them both nod. She nodded back. She reached inside her robe, pulling out her transformation wand from a pocket. "Take this, then. It's no fun working with someone you hate, is it?" She asked, pushing the wand into Makoto's hands. She turned, walking inside.
"Rei! You're just running from your problems! Face up to them and stop being so cowardly!" Minako yelled after her.
Rei stopped for a moment, pausing. She turned her way to her two friends. Tears finally fell down her cheeks. "I know I'm a coward, Minako. But... I'm going to continue being me. This is who I am. And this is who you hate. I won't change."
"You'll regret this, Rei," Makoto told her, her eyes slanting. "You've gone too far."
Rei nodded. "I'm fully aware I'll regret this. But this is what's best for all of us." She walked inside, closing the door behind her.
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Makoto slammed the red transformation wand down on the table in Usagi's room. They just met up in an emergency meeting. "Rei quit," she spat out, angrily.
Minako sat down next to Usagi. "Just let her go. She'll come crawling back."
Usagi nodded. "We're her only friends. Of course she will."
Ami stared at the wand. "I guess," she murmured quietly, a worried look on her face.
"Oh course she will," Makoto agreed. "With an attitude like hers, she'll never make any other friends."
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Rei walked home from school, taking her time. She clutched her bag to her. Mamoru stopped next to her, panting. "I heard about the fight..." Rei stopped and turned to him.
"Yes. It seems to be a popular subject these days, doesn't it?" she asked him stiffly.
"What was it about? Usagi's really upset."
Rei closed her eyes, hesitating, then she opened them again. "You. The fight was over you." Without waiting for his reply, she turned, rushing off.
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Mamoru wrapped his arm around Usagi. "I ran into Rei today."
"Oh?" Usagi asked, nonchalantly, stirring her drink a bit.
"Yeah. She told me the fight was about me."
Usagi nodded. "She told me I needed to shut up about you. That I obsess with you."
Mamoru looked down, watching the liquid in Usagi's glass.
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It was their weekly meeting. Four girls sat around the table in Ami's room, Luna sitting on the table.
Makoto took a sip of her drink. "I'm surprised she hasn't come crawling back yet."
Minako nodded. "I know. Especially after what she said."
Usagi smiled a bit, though it was rather small. "Just give her a bit more time."
Luna looked at Ami, who was watching the other girls. "I don't think she's gonna come back this time."
Ami smiled bitterly. "Neither do I."
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Rei walked into the local book store, searching for new manga. She stopped, watching her four former friends down the aisle. She turned to leave, when she heard Usagi shout out "Rei!" She turned towards her. "What?"
Usagi ran over to her, the other girls close by. "We want you to come back..." Rei smiled slightly- not very much. "We miss you."
Rei stubbed her toe against the floor, watching herself do it. "And let me guess? You want me to apologize first?"
"Of course we do," Minako interrupted.
Rei shook her head. "Then I must decline your request."
"But Rei!" Ami exclaimed. "You have to come back! You're part of our group!"
Rei smirked a bit. "Sorry, Ami. You guys seem to get along better without me."
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"I don't understand!" Usagi complained, rather loudly. They were outside a café.
"Neither do I," Makoto agreed. "Why can't she just apologize and get over it?"
"She doesn't think she needs to," Ami interjected. "In her mind, she didn't say anything wrong."
"Is she that stupid?" Minako asked.
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Usagi knocked on the door to Rei's room. "Rei, open up."
Rei opened the door. Her skin was pale, her eyes were dull. The room beyond her was in shambles. "What? Wanting me to apologize again?"
Usagi pushed past her. "What you said was hurtful, Rei."
"I don't believe I invited you in."
"God damn it, Rei! Stop being so stuck up!"
"No, Usagi!" Rei yelled, color rushing to her face. Usagi had obviously hit a sore spot. "I'm not the stuck up one! You are!"
"No, I'm not!" Usagi yelled back.
"Yes..." Rei answered her quietly. "Yes, Usagi. You are. You told me that I was mean. I make fun of you too much, I'm cruel. I'm a bitch."
"You are," Usagi swore, angrily.
Rei ignored her comment, continuing. "But, Usagi... you don't think about other people. You run to others and never try to solve your problems yourself. You always have them gang up on me when we fight." Usagi fell silent at this. "And..." Rei continued, tears threatening to spill over, "you can't take a fucking clue!"
Usagi watched Rei, stunned.
Rei continued on, tears flowing down her cheeks now. "I don't wanna hear about you and Mamoru! I don't wanna hear about how happy you are! I don't... I don't wanna be reminded... of what I don't have..." Rei stumbled, falling to her knees.
Usagi knelt down next to her. "What do you mean?"
Rei pulled away from Usagi sharply. "You're perfect. You're fucking perfect. Everything about you is perfect. You have a loving family, you have a boyfriend, lots of friends, you're a fucking PRINCESS, for Christ's sake!"
Usagi winced a bit. "You're life isn't so bad, Rei..."
Rei closed her eyes. "Yes... it is, Usagi. I don't have any family, other than Grandpa... and he's so old... he won't be around much longer... I have a hard time making friends at school, and no matter how hard I study, my grades are just never good enough. No one wants me around..."
Usagi shook her head. "That's not true."
"Yes, it is..." Rei got up, stumbling past the door. "Please leave, Usagi. I don't want to talk anymore... and I'm not coming back." She stumbled away, leaving Usagi alone.
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Usagi sat down, staring at the table blankly. The other girls sat around her. "I never knew... that she was so unhappy."
Ami watched her. "I think she just got tired of being the bad guy."
Luna looked up at Ami sadly. "I think I have to agree..."
Ami wiped away tears from her eyes. "We always blamed her. For everything. She was always the nemesis..."
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No one had heard from Rei in over a week. All of them were worried, so they decided to stop by the shrine.
Minako knocked on the door, surprised to see Rei's grandfather answer the door. Usually Rei did. "Um... Hi... We're looking for Rei."
The old man nodded. "Come in girls. I think there's something I need to talk to you about."
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Rei stepped her foot down, walking off the steps. She walked inside the large building, looking around. Walking to her left, she quickly found her bags. She left the airport, stepping foot into the City of Los Angeles. The city of lost angels.
She dropped her bag on accident. She leaned down to pick it up, but before she could, a young man picked it up, handing it to her. He smiled. "Hello, miss."
Rei blushed a bit and stumbled over her English. "Th.. Thank you..."
He smiled and handed her the bag. "I didn't catch your name. Mine's Rob."
Already, Rei was feeling right at home. In the city of lost angels.
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A/N: So... what'd you guys think? Did you like it? Hate it? Please R/R :D