interstellar5555 | Sometimes you just gotta talk [Closed]

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Sometimes you just gotta talk [Closed]

Who: Rei Hino & Koumei, possibly others.
What: Rei talks to some people? Sort of a catch-all
When: February
Where: Vista City
Warnings: None except maybe language.

The news was difficult, a text and then nothing. It didn't matter if they'd split up before then, it still hurt seeing it and knowing he was gone. Somewhere, presumably home. A bitter pill, but one she had to swallow for the moment. Of course she wasn't about to leave it at that. A quick call and a few curt promises and Rei was out and about to meet someone. Sitting in the lot of a favorite cafe, her little car idling, she waited for that walking mop of red hair. When it appeared, she beeped lightly, not wanting to get out into the cold.

((ooc: Closed catch-all for a few scenes. If you want to catch Rei, poke me on Plurk and we can discuss a scene.))

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The sentient mop had the good grace to attempt to travel incognito-- a pair of wide-framed sunglasses further obscured his face from the roaming paparazzi, a dusty and shapeless coat and ragged flat shoes made him appear like he was little more than a college kid who had been away from home for far too long...but, there was no hiding that hair.

It was impossible to miss the news of Yosuke's departure and the strange circumstances under which he was fired, especially since Koumei himself liked to keep tabs on Flashstep because of another person in that band. What he hadn't expected, though, was that Rei would want to talk to anybody about it...nonetheless him.

He responded to the beep with a little wave of acknowledgement before going out to meet Rei in her little car. Hopefully the vehicle itself was clean, or Rei had a destination in mind that was safe for them to talk. There was no way they could entirely shake the eyes that followed the stars from both labels, but they could at least try to minimize anything that could be gleaned from their interactions.

That was the point of the car. The guards couldn't join them there, and the noise of the motor would keep them from being listened in on. She had a lot going on in her head, right now and Koumei was as good a person as any to talk to. He was an outsider, at that, and that was good.

The door opens, the car swept for bugs and dangers with her psychic probing and it hadn't seemed to be a problem.

"Hey. Thanks for coming out. I just needed to talk to someone outside of the band. And it was between you and Mai. And I know what she'll say."

Usagi was not what you would consider "happy" at the moment. Which was a rare feat considering she pretty much existed on pure sunshine. But with all the new information, Usagi didn't really feel all that great, and with the... somewhat fight with Haruka?

She just needed to get away from the house and thing. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to feel, she didn't know if she could even succeed in her current condition. She just wanted to save everyone.

But how was she even supposed to do that when she kept pushing away the person she wanted to save most?

Well, fate was... actually no, Usagi knew that the senshi were all bound together, it wasn't hard to sense her before she saw her. More importantly, as she looked at Rei...

While Usagi wasn't exactly the most skilled at... most things, she had an acute ability to read people, especially her senshi.

She moved over to the park bench and smiled, pushing all her issues aside and doing her best to be there for Rei.

"Miss Hino, is everything okay?" she asked as she looked at the older girl.

"Probably nothing that would be encouraging, correct?"

While he hadn't had occasion to speak to Mai personally, he had heard enough to understand a few basics of her reputation. Beside that, it was the only conceivable reason why Rei would go to Koumei instead.

Circling around, he climbed into the passenger side of the vehicle and buckled his seat belt. Passing a cursory glance outside to make sure that they weren't being closely followed, he allowed himself to relax enough to lean back into the seat. It was astonishingly comfortable, for a little car.

"So. What's bothering you so much that you want to talk to me?"

Rei wasn't exactly pleased with how this day had gone, no. She may have been sulking a little in her favorite park, in fact, because she just...didn't want to be around the label right now. Di -no, Minako, was out of reach but the more she thought about the girl the more she couldn't stop. It hurt almost as much as missing Yosuke. But neither of those things was practical, so instead she just...pouted alone.

The sound of a voice, and that presence...it draws her up, out of her thoughts, and she looks over at the blonde girl

"Hey, Serena. I guess? I dunno. I mean, it's not okay. But there's not a lot I can do to fix it right now."

"Boys are weird, probably." Rei said with a smile.

Once he was inside, she started rolling off down the street at an easygoing pace, not fast, not slow, just...driving. There wasn't any particular place to be, and it was better to just go and not worry. Security wouldn't bug them too much.

"What I wanted to talk to you about, I guess, was the circumstances around Pride. Have there been a lot of firings? And did my...well...ex-boyfriend get into trouble recently?"

"Well, sometimes just talking about it to someone you can trust can help, I'm sure the Doctor or Miss Luce will be more than happy to listen," she offered since she wouldn't dare count herself among Rei's trusted as things were now.

"Or distracting yourself helps too," she didn't take a seat, because she didn't expect to stay. Staying would have to imply Rei wanted to be around her and she made it absolutely clear that she needed to go slowly. Usagi didn't really know how to do friendship "slowly." So she was just trying to be polite.

Ami would be so proud of her.

--An interesting line of questioning, and one that he hadn't fully expected. Koumei glanced sideways at her to study her face while they drove, forming his responce carefully and concisely.

"...two members of my band were fired in recent weeks, including Nariko, and Terry was missing for a few days. There have been other firings too...including Yosuke, unfortunately. But, none of us really know the circumstances why for him-- he was a popular member of a very popular band.

"What's going on, Rei? Did something happen?"

"Distracting myself is sort of what I'm trying to do," Rei said softly. She also slid over, a silent invitation to sit, though it would be on Serena to take the hint. Rei off stage wasn't much of a talker, and this girl still made her nervous, but she could at least politely allow someone to sit.

"But it's not the kind of thing you can talk out. Yosuke and I broke up. And then he was fired."

"I heard about Nariko as well," Rei nodded, keeping her jaw set and eyes on the road. However, his question? That was a big one.

"Did some members of your band or Pride disappear for a few days, after that haunting stuff happened? I know Mai did, but anyone else?"

Usagi was sorely tempted to sit down. She wanted to, of course. She wanted to be beside Rei at every opportunity when not with Minako and Haruka. She wanted to hug the other girl tight and assure her that things would be alright, to tell her everything.

She could pick up on the hint and wondered if it would be wise for her to sit down. But then, when had she done anything wise? She swallowed and took a seat next to Rei, yet couldn't bring herself to look at her. She focused on her knees because if she looked at Rei, she would want to hug her.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Miss Hino," she offered gently. "And that he got fired." Fired... wait, fired, no one rescued him, so where had he gone! She swallowed and couldn't help but wondered what being 'fired' meant in this place. Was he okay? She prayed he was. She wasn't sure she could bring him back in this place.

"Is... is there anything I can do?" she bit her lip. Was that too forward again? Too much? "I understand if you don't want to, of course," she offered quickly after the question. "You... know... if you don't mind my saying... sitting alone on a park bench isn't going to help you get distracted."

"Terry did," he replied. "He disappeared for about three days-- and he's not telling us anything about what happened."

Rei let out a breath, honestly more bothered by how Serena was clearly more on edge than she was than the presence of the girl at all. It was nervewracking, knowing that she was missing something, and that because she was missing something it was upsetting this other girl, but she bit down on a sharp comment.

"Honestly, I don't even know anymore," Rei said, looking down at her hands and squeezing her knees. "I've spent the last few days writing songs, or trying to, and it's just a jumble. Do you have a cure for writer's block? Or...some special words of inspiration? It's pretty obvious that I mean something to you in that...other life..."

She waved a hand at the park, "before all of this. So what would I do in this situation if there wasn't something horrible going on?"

She pressed her lips together and pulled at her fingers in thought. Should she really tell her?

"Well, I think the best cure for something like that, is to do something fun, maybe something different and new. As for... words of inspiration, that is a little harder. You... never had a relationship like the one you had with Yosuke. Not with anyone. Uh... you actually super hated men with few exceptions." Like Mamoru, her grandfather of course, Artemis... "But..." she tilted her head and leaned back.

"I think it's good you care so much, isn't it? It means that you really put your heart into the relationship, that it mattered. If you had broken up, and it meant nothing, then it makes you wonder why you were even in that relationship in the first place, why did you stay in a relationship that meant nothing, right? But I think you should get out of your head! We can go do something together, if you want? Does this place have an amusement park or something? Or maybe we can go to the aquarium or even just the mall. Some place where you wouldn't normally go so you don't focus on what you aren't doing and just something new and fun!"

"Just like Luce," Rei said quietly, a shiver running down her spine.

"They got to Luce too?"

The surprise was clear on his face and in his tone-- but, it did so much to provide some clarity for why Luce had been strangely quiet in recent weeks.

"She snuck into their laboratory, yes. And she was caught doing that," Rei answers, tone hushed. Even if it was safe, she was still sort of afraid.

That strikes Rei in an odd way, her eyes jerking up to look at Usagi. It wasn't...exactly...news. She'd always preferred girls to guys, found them easier to get along with, generally found them more appealing, heck she'd even gone out with Gaige and Nariko a few times before finally committing to Yosuke. He was a good boy, but hormones and fun aside, something had nagged at her. It wasn't right.

"That...makes a little bit of sense. When we were intimate together, that was nice...but we didn't really connect the same way I felt we should. Good things, yes, but that's not really a big surprise. That I like girls more. Obviously, he matters to me, he always will. But I can't say I would've married him." It was fun, harmless fun.

"As for going somewhere. I think I'll pass on the amusement park and the aquarium, but the mall? That's okay. I tend to avoid it, when Luce isn't around. If you don't mind me driving us there?"

Usagi didn't really clarify that Rei hadn't expressed an interest in women either because perhaps she had and Usagi had missed it. She seemed to be missing a lot of things about her senshi and that...

That hurt. But she nodded and tilted her head. Marry?

"You never wanted to get married, I don't think. You..." she pressed her lips together, realizing she honestly shouldn't say more.

"Ah, the mall is fine! And... sure, if you don't mind me in the car?"

The hurt makes her eyebrow twitch slightly, and she almost...almost...rethinks the invitation. But no. This was the work of Blanche, not Serena. She'd have to get used to the girl.

"I'll be fine. I'm not frightened of you, Serena. I'm just...a little frightened of everyone, in a way. I don't really want to push you away, though, especially since I'll probably enjoy myself. Once I push myself to socialize, I usually do."

If Rei wasn't frightened, she had a somewhat weird way of indicating that. Still, Rei had never been one to lie, she hoped that still applied even with the brainwashing.

"Well, we don't want to push you too far out of your comfort zone, but don't worry, if need be I can always walk myself home if you need to leave early. Ah... er, unless we go really far, of course. I only know of one or two malls."

It was true, she wasn't scared. She was more unsettled, and there was a wide difference between them. It was just difficult being around someone who made her head hurt like that, and there was nothing for it.

"If that happens, I'll pay for a cab, don't worry about that." Rei smiled gently, and admittedly that was a very real possibility. But a part of the aim today was to again provide aid to these mysterious people. She knew she should be helping them, and that they were out for her benefit, after all.

"We can get you some new outfits, while we're at it."

"REALLY!" Usagi clasped her hands together and smiled bright. Ah, she'd love some new outfits.

Except she suddenly waved her hands in front of her, shaking her head.

"Ah, I can't have you spending money on me like that! You worked hard for it!" Even if it was all apparently magic and brainwashing, Rei had still gotten up on stage to earn all that.

"You already said you'd spend a cab on me and now you are going to buy me outfits?" she knew she couldn't fight too hard on this since Rei would get angry at having her intentions questioned much more.

"But let's go let's go let's go!" she reached out and was about to grab Rei's arm and hug it close. Only she stopped in mid-motion and pulled her hands back and smiled, a little more subdued, a little more restrained. "Sorry, let's... ah, let's go."

"Serena," Rei drew herself up to her full height and looked right at the blonde, her jaw set tight. This wasn't something she was going to stand for.

"Let me make some things perfectly and completely clear. I, not you, dictate who and what I spend my money on. And I, not you, get to decide what is and isn't too much. You clearly came with Alex and Di to do something for me. You won't disclose to me who or what I am. I understand you want me to be patient. I accept that. However, I want to help. I'm strong enough to lift a small car, and I can feel how much being around me hurts you. I cannot use those talents yet, presumably because the individual who brought me here is keeping tabs on me."

She exhaled, fists clenched tightly.

"So you are going to let me help you. It's not much, and it's money that I can pass off as spent on myself in the wake of a failed relationship. I'll also be sending you home with gift certificates for the other two. I don't understand fully what's going on, but I was brainwashed. I know that. I figured that much out. I don't even know how far I can rebel, but I know that I'm becoming more myself. And I know that person isn't the sort of person who wouldn't help someone doing her a favor."

A beat.

"Do you understand?"

Edited 2016-02-28 07:14 (UTC)

Usagi really hated being short sometimes. But she wasn't scared, she could never really be scared of Rei or any of the girls, because they loved one another too much. She suspected that despite the brainwashing, the spirit of Mars would act if either she or Minako or Haruka were in real danger. She wanted to answer all those questions. She wanted to say everything right then and there.

At the mention of her hurting her... She pressed her lips togehter.

"Okay Rei." She smiled, not at all upset at Rei's comments. It was like having the old Rei again. She nodded.

"I understand."

She tilted her head.

"It... the being patient... it's... I know it's hard. I... I might have screamed by now if I was in your position."

"It... I'd... I'll answer questions about... about you. About things that are just about you back home, if you want? And... if it gets to be too detailed, I'll just say 'pass.' Ah, but you're so smart this might be a bad idea. You're the only one who can keep up with our precious doctor," which is what they had nicknamed Ami in case she ever showed up.

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Sometimes you just gotta talk [Closed]

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In the Park - Later in the day

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