A/N Thanks for the reviews!
Enjoy :D
She was crying.
Why was she crying?
Rei did not like it. In fact, she hated it.
She wanted to take all the pain away, and so she did exactly that.
The only way she knew how.
"Minako," Rei said, her hand was hovering over Minako's soft skin.
But then she couldn't think of anything else to say, so she didn't. She felt pathetic.
Rei was lying on her back, naked. And Minako was naked too, cuddled into her side.
And she just wouldn't' stop crying.
Rei looked at her alarm clock and frowned, Minako's surgery was in three hours. They really didn't want to get up.
Her shoulder was wet from where Minako's head lay, and she felt a hand timidly go into her hair and stroke her scalp.
"I love your hair," Minako said.
Of all the things to say, that was the last thing Minako said to Rei before forcing herself out of the bed.
She dressed in Rei's clothes and gave Rei a final, chaste kiss before smiling and pinching her nose.
"Thank you," Minako muttered since Rei wasn't talking.
Rei grabbed Minako's wrist, she didn't want her to leave and she had this sick feeling of dread in her stomach.
"No." she said and offered the best smile she could, "thank you."
Rei groaned, her head was pounding with pain and she felt pathetic.
It wasn't a physical pathetic, but an emotional pathetic. She felt useless, and she was trying to remember what images in her dream made her feel so.
Her blurry vision focused on a white ceiling above her.
Wait, her room wasn't white... it was pale yellow.
"You're awake!" A nurse who had been next to her mopping the floor gave her a smile.
Rei's confused eyes made the nurse smile in assurance and pour her a glass of water.
"You were hit by a car," she explained, "you've been unconscious for sixteen hours."
Rei's eyes bulged and she accepted the water with a wince, her throat was dry and her lips chapped, she couldn't seem to find her voice.
The doctor came in then, he noticed she was moving to sit up with the nurse's aid and gave Rei an equally bright smile.
"You're awake, Hino-san, how are you feeling?"
Rei's head hurt and she felt pathetic. But other than that,
"I feel fine."
"That's good, do you remember anything?"
Rei sipped her water. She remembered soft skin.
"No... I remember I was walking home from school..."
The doctor gave her a frown, "you saved a young girl from being hit by a car and took the hit."
Rei tried to remember, "I did?"
The doctor frowned more, "do you remember your name?"
"Hino Rei."
"How old are you?"
"I turn seventeen in March," Rei said.
"Do you know what month it is?"
Rei's headache suddenly vanished and she blinked, "February."
The doctor sighed before smiling weekly, "good to know."
"Wait," Rei put the water on the table nearby and thought hard, "did the girl have an orange skirt?"
"Yes," the doctor smiled encouragingly, "she did."
Rei sighed in relief, she remembered now.
"You're a hero," the doctor chuckled, "the girl and her family have been waiting since yesterday."
Rei didn't appreciate the term 'hero', really. She had sensed danger while she was walking and was just being human when she pushed the girl out of the way.
"The car that hit you was a drunk driver," the doctor continued to fill her in as he started getting out a small flashlight to check her eyes, "You were hit by its front, and rolled into the windshield. Then the car was stopped when it hit a tree."
Rei was suddenly aware of an extreme pain down her right side. Who drunk and drove at 4 in the afternoon on a Wednesday? The idiot.
"You fractured a rib Hino-san," the doctor was satisfied with her health as he nodded in approval, "you will have to stay in the hospital for at least 24 hours before you are free to be discharged. You also have a concussion."
Rei decided that was why her head hurt so much.
It had nothing to do with that soft skin in a dream she couldn't even remember.
--
--
School was... vanilla.
Minako had always found vanilla to be nice, but not exciting. She preferred mango. She could even settle for strawberry, but mango sounded better. It tasted better, too.
The classes here were smaller than public school classes.
It had been two days and Minako was the centre of attention which didn't seem to be going away. It was all well, she liked being the centre of attention, but sometimes even she liked a break.
All the rich girls at the school were just as desperate to be idol Aino Minako's friend as anyone else. Sugao lied; she couldn't be normal or herself, she was still an idol here.
Minako didn't really mind though, she was more than used to people fawning around her.
There were also a few people who seemed nice enough, and not that bothered by her status.
Lots of the younger girls had asked for her autograph or for a picture.
The uniforms were cute, and class was exactly as she imagined it to be: boring.
That was normal enough, right?
Vanilla.
Couldn't she at least have some sprinkles?
Lunch was expensive in the cafeteria but that wasn't an issue, after all, she had millions in her accounts waiting to be spent.
Even the teachers sucked up to her because of her idol status.
The English teacher had requested an autograph for his niece. Likely story.
It was the beginning of period one on her third day when everything went from vanilla to mango.
Mango with extra sprinkles, whipped cream, and even a cherry on top.
A new student came in late that morning, you see.
Technically, they weren't new; they had been on absence for about a week according to the whispers and gossip of students.
Apparently the girl was anti-social.
But Minako never forgot the face or the name. It was the girl she had met just that Sunday at church.
Hino Rei.
She walked into math class with a bandage on her forehead and the slightest limp.
Many girls whispered at her entrance, creating stories about how she got her wounds, and Minako was speechless.
She rarely got speechless.
"Nice to have you back Hino-san," their math teacher smiled at her.
Rei bowed and then sat in the front row desk that was vacant.
She never noticed Minako for she never looked at any of her classmates as she simply pulled out a notebook and started writing.
Maybe no one else noticed, but Minako saw stiffness in her posture, and she was uncharacteristically curious and worried.
--
--
"Looks like we're classmates," Rei looked up from her lunch to wonder who was talking to her.
No one at school really did, you see.
She was in the middle of chewing and so finished quickly to swallow and greet the gorgeous girl who sat down next to her.
"Aino-san?"
Minako grinned, glad that Rei remembered her name.
"How are you?" Minako pulled out her hot bun and took a delicate bite.
Rei liked her presence, she felt warm in her stomach, and so decided to continue the conversation, "fine..."
Minako giggled, and bravely asked, "How'd you get the bandage?"
Rei never missed a beat as she swallowed again and replied, "I hit my head."
Minako wanted to know on what, but she kept to herself.
"So, how long have you been going to this school?"
"Since primary," Rei answered, "I didn't know you went here."
Minako was used to people knowing these things about her and so she had to refrain from frowning.
"As of three days ago, it was on the news."
Then Minako remembered how Rei had said she didn't watch much TV, and she felt childish for being annoyed.
"Oh," Rei surprisingly said, oblivious to Minako's annoyance. "I think I remember someone mention that to me..."
Rei frowned, where had she heard it before? Ah, that day at the shrine.
There was a ringing of church bells to signify the end of lunch and Rei let out an irritated sigh.
"Class time," she put her lunch away and stood up trying to hide the wince of pain it caused.
Minako nodded and looked around; she didn't exactly know where they were. She had kind of followed Rei.
They were in what seemed to be a garden, away from the school.
Rei's hair was nice in the afternoon sun.
Minako shook her head from the thought and got up from her seated position.
Why was she thinking such random things around Hino?
What was so special about her?
--
--
"What's she like?" Makoto asked as they tried to distract themselves from Usagi's amazing ability to eat two cake slices in the time span it took them to eat half of one.
Rei blinked, "huh?"
"Minako-chan!" Usagi said in a mouth full that was actually 'minwanko-sham'. But they understood what she said, surprisingly.
Rei put her cake down, her appetite a little lost. "She's... nice."
"Nice?" Makoto raised an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah," Rei explained, glad Usagi was done eating, "I've only talked to her a few times but she seems nice enough."
"You've talked to her?!" Usagi's eyes went twice their normal size.
"What did she say?" Ami asked but then blushed from her forwardness.
Rei chose not to tell them about the church, or about the fact that she believed they were on the way to a small friendship, because her friends were all fans and would probably demand-
"Can you get me an autograph?" Makoto and Usagi said at the same time while Ami blushed some more.
"No," Rei said, her stomach finding it okay to eat the cake again, "she gets asked for that stuff like every day."
Usagi pouted but Makoto and Ami seemed fine with the explanation.
"Introduce us!" Usagi whined.
Rei really did not know why she put up with Usagi, why she hung out with these girls whenever she had time, or why she didn't want to disappoint her friends by refusing them.
"Maybe," she said.
For some reason she couldn't explain, it was like she was meant to make Usagi happy... and it was confusing.
But Usagi's bright smile was totally worth it.
But the rant about Aino Minako's latest CD was not.
--
--
It felt immoral, that she was selfishly using the news of her saving a cute nine year old girl from a drunk driver to spend time with her dad.
Her father had done a few interviews with her and gone on another of their scheduled press dinners to advertise his heroic daughter.
Rei didn't like being called a 'hero', but she went along with it for her father.
She was about to yell at him when they were alone, but he said something to her as he dropped her off at the shrine in his private limo that evening before she had the chance.
"Rei," he said and put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm really proud of what you did to save that girl."
And Rei's angry words died in her throat, her father had never really been proud of her, or so she felt.
"And when I exploited your action," he explained gently, "it is true it makes me look good to the public eye, but it felt nice to... show you off."
Rei hugged her father for the first time in almost two years that night.
And when he drove off, she felt immoral because she was glad that the drunk driver had almost hit the girl.
So how was she a hero?
--
--
Minako was shocked.
Aghast, amazed, stupefied.
And in awe.
Hino Rei 'hit her head on something'? She failed to mention that 'something' to Minako.
Rei never bothered to reveal that she hit her head on the windshield of a speeding car that an idiotic drunken man almost drove into an innocent little girl.
This news made Minako like Rei even more. As a person, of course... as a... friend.
She was proud of her friend and she was very attracted to the fact that Rei never boasted about saving a girl's life.
So that explained why Rei limped sometimes, or winced and touched her head, or grabbed her side in agony.
She had been hit by a car, rather forcefully.
And here she read the detailed report in the newspaper where she thought she would be reading upon the latest gossip involving her.
What surprised her further was the fact that Rei was Senator Hino's daughter. She certainly never mentioned that either.
There was so much about her Minako didn't know and wanted to know.
Rei was the flavour of mango times ten.
--
--
"I didn't know idols read the news," Rei actually joked, and Minako giggled in response.
Minako had brought up the topic casually at lunch.
Rei was obviously in a good mood, and she wondered why.
"Ah," Minako sighed dramatically, "I know a hero."
Then she paused in her giggles when Rei's smirk left her face.
There was an awkward silence.
"I'm no hero," Rei said finally.
"Yeah you are," Minako was confused by the sudden mood change.
Rei snorted. "And you're not a celebrity," she sarcastically remarked.
Minako frowned and fidgeted with her thumbs, biting her lip. This was new territory in their relationship. They had only been pleasant with each other so far.
"I'm not." Minako said finally.
Rei looked at her confused, "Minako-san," Rei said in a straight voice, "you are a famous singer. A celebrity."
"So I am," Minako grinned, "glad you've noticed."
Rei looked at her funny. It was adorable.
Minako sighed, "Just because I'm famous as an idol to other people, doesn't mean I see myself as one."
This was only sort of true, but Minako wanted Rei to not be so... frowning, even though it was cute.
Her smile was way sexier.
"O...kay..." Rei looked kind of lost.
"Look," Minako tried again, "everyone sees me as an idol all the time, but I like to pretend I'm not one often."
Rei then smiled a half-smile.
"You make strange sense."
Minako grinned, "You have to be strange to understand."
Rei was now smiling a full smile.
Sexy.
"My father and I aren't that close," Rei explained, "we rarely talk and we live separately."
Minako's grin faded a little at the brief sadness Rei allowed in her eyes.
"When I saved that girl and we talked... he said he was proud of me."
"..."
"I guess," Rei let out a sigh, "I feel guilty because after he said that, I was glad that drunk driver caused the accident. So how am I a hero?"
Minako was silent for awhile before she gave Rei a toothy smile, "Did you save the girl because you wanted your father's attention?"
Rei gave that adorable confused look again, "no..."
"Right," Minako checked her nails, "you saved her selflessly, so that makes you a hero. It's just in your favour that your father was proud of you. I would be proud to have a daughter who selflessly risks her life for another."
Rei blushed now and nodded slowly.
"You are a hero, Hino."
And then Rei grinned "and you're not a celebrity."
Minako grinned with her, "exactly."
Rei realised that it felt different when Minako called her a hero, it felt justified.
It felt flattering.
TBC