Through The Moon Prism

Rei: Royally Steamed

"Believe me, I know." Shaking her purple-furred head for a moment, she glanced back at the door. "I think it would help if you went to fetch us some drinks. Give both of you a moment to master your emotions."

"Probably. Okay, I'll be right back."

After letting Luna into the room again, Rei sighed to herself and made her way to the kitchen, her red hakama rustling around her legs. Familiar steps, familiar surroundings. The Shinto shrine really helped bring her peace in times like this, when her fiery temper got the better of her. She did the breathing exercises her grandfather taught her as she prepared tea, making sure there was plenty of sugar in the bowl for Usagi. Which annoyed her, but it was going to be far less annoying than hearing her complain, "Hey, why isn't there enough sugar?"

Why did she get under her skin so easily? She was a brat. Most brats she would simply scoff at and ignore. If she were to hazard a guess, it would be that it was being forced to work alongside her. There was no easy way to walk away from the temptation to get angry when that option didn't exist. They had to get along. They had to fight against Queen Beryl's forces, or the world would be in danger.

And like it or not, 'they' included Usagi Tsukino. World's whiniest superhero.

~ o ~

Training that afternoon went better than usual. Usagi threw her tiara and hit more targets than she normally did, though only by one or two. The sparring never yielded excellent results, but at least Usagi didn't fall on her tailbone very often. Ami's movements were really coming along, and so were Rei's; she definitely wished she had taken martial arts at a younger age to have more knowledge stored up, but Luna was quite encouraging, and a capable teacher despite not being able to show them many of the moves herself.

Rei didn't see the girls the next day. Sometimes, she regretted that they went to a different school, but it came in handy when she was upset with Usagi to simply attend classes and not worry so much about her. They could go to the public school, and she had T-A Academy as a safe haven from her 'leader's' ineptitude.

That night, she lied awake for far longer than she wanted to admit, trying to figure out what to do about the situation. Luna was right; Usagi wasn't evil, and she wasn't being stupid on purpose. Just ignorant and not as mature as she and Ami were. And even though it was difficult to admit it, she could see some potential in Usagi as a leader if she ever worked through her shortcomings. But she had to figure out a way not only to get past her impatience with her, but also show Usagi that just because she couldn't stand her on a regular basis didn't mean she 'hated' her, or that her admonitions were groundless due to said imaginary hatred — if Usagi thought she was only saying those things because she didn't like her, she definitely wouldn't listen.

But what could she do that would show her that she didn't want her to go jump in an active volcano?

It was only the next morning when asking her grandfather for advice that she got a hint of what to do. It was a little iffy, and she had to admit that it made her a little uncomfortable, but the old-fashioned coot might have a point. There were certain activities that fostered more closeness than others.

~ o ~

"A sento?!"

"Yeah," Rei sighed, feeling awkward enough for both of them without Usagi adding to it with her wrinkled nose and furrowed eyebrows. "You know, check it out? I've never been."

"But isn't that a little... old-fashioned? I mean, nobody uses public baths anymore; we all have them in our houses, so there's not much point."

That had been exactly what she first thought, so she couldn't fault Usagi for thinking it, too. Shrugging her shoulders, she leaned back against the telephone pole, playing with the hem of her fuku skirt. "Yeah, I know, I know. But to be honest, the shrine temple basically just has an old wooden ofuro tub and like, that's about it. So even if it's a super-traditional sento, it'll still probably have more modern facilities than I usually get to use."