The Fool
Fandom: Sailor Moon
Verse: Pre-manga canon
Prompt: Friendship Blues
Group: SML
Title: ---
Characters: Rei
Summary: Before the Senshi, friendship was a double-edged sword.
The bells of the school rung out over the chatter of girls as they were released to lunch, temporarily drowning out the latest gossip about so-and-so's boyfriend, and the latest fashion trends. Rei had just taken her bento box from her desk when a pair of perfectly manicured hands slapped against the wood of it. "Hinosan," the girl, Kanada, giggled as she settled one knee into the seat ahead of Rei's. "We need you to do a reading for Kasumichan."
A glance at Nakada Kasumi--a scrawny transfer student too busy staring at her shoes and blushing to meet Rei's eyes--brought enough pity that Rei opened the desk again and drew out her cards. With a squeal and clap of her hands, Kanada tugged Nakada into the seat and proceeded to hover over the both of them. The sight of the familiar deck brought the rest of the A-3's class flocking to them.
"What do you need to know?" Rei asked the girl as she set the stack down in the middle of the desk.
"My boyfriend... is he the one?" Nakada whispered only after a poke from Kanada.
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes (you would think they'd come up with something more original, she thought), Rei nodded to the cards. "Shuffle them."
Nakada's hands shook a little as she cut the cards a few times, and then stacked it back together barely re-arranged. She smiled, though, when she handed it back to Rei. About to begin the cross-spread formation, Rei hesitated with her hand on the top card.
The world separated from her consciousness. Rei watched, a stranger to herself, as as she placed a single card on the table and put the rest aside. The girls of class A-3 went quiet; it was the beginning of the readings that no one talked about. Each fidgeted a little and glanced at the door.
After a short silence, Rei flipped the card over. As a collective, the girls in the class heaved a sigh of relief. The card upon the table was bright and cheerful--a boy walking with a bag.
A million miles away, she felt a spike of sympathy for poor Nakada. In the classroom, she merely blinked. "No," she stated after a moment.
"No?" Nakada echoed in question.
"The fool," Rei tapped the card. "You're dreaming, and he's using you. Get your head out of the clouds, feet on the ground, and pay attention to what he's doing, not the pretty words that he says."
Kanada took Nakada by the arm and hauled her from the seat. With an angry glare at Rei, she lead the girl away before she began to cry. The group dissolved slowly, in whispering pairs and groups, until Rei was left alone with her bento box.
As the world came crashing back around her ears, Rei stared at the card left upon her desk. Maybe it was she who was the fool.
Verse: Pre-manga canon
Prompt: Friendship Blues
Group: SML
Title: ---
Characters: Rei
Summary: Before the Senshi, friendship was a double-edged sword.
The bells of the school rung out over the chatter of girls as they were released to lunch, temporarily drowning out the latest gossip about so-and-so's boyfriend, and the latest fashion trends. Rei had just taken her bento box from her desk when a pair of perfectly manicured hands slapped against the wood of it. "Hinosan," the girl, Kanada, giggled as she settled one knee into the seat ahead of Rei's. "We need you to do a reading for Kasumichan."
A glance at Nakada Kasumi--a scrawny transfer student too busy staring at her shoes and blushing to meet Rei's eyes--brought enough pity that Rei opened the desk again and drew out her cards. With a squeal and clap of her hands, Kanada tugged Nakada into the seat and proceeded to hover over the both of them. The sight of the familiar deck brought the rest of the A-3's class flocking to them.
"What do you need to know?" Rei asked the girl as she set the stack down in the middle of the desk.
"My boyfriend... is he the one?" Nakada whispered only after a poke from Kanada.
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes (you would think they'd come up with something more original, she thought), Rei nodded to the cards. "Shuffle them."
Nakada's hands shook a little as she cut the cards a few times, and then stacked it back together barely re-arranged. She smiled, though, when she handed it back to Rei. About to begin the cross-spread formation, Rei hesitated with her hand on the top card.
The world separated from her consciousness. Rei watched, a stranger to herself, as as she placed a single card on the table and put the rest aside. The girls of class A-3 went quiet; it was the beginning of the readings that no one talked about. Each fidgeted a little and glanced at the door.
After a short silence, Rei flipped the card over. As a collective, the girls in the class heaved a sigh of relief. The card upon the table was bright and cheerful--a boy walking with a bag.
A million miles away, she felt a spike of sympathy for poor Nakada. In the classroom, she merely blinked. "No," she stated after a moment.
"No?" Nakada echoed in question.
"The fool," Rei tapped the card. "You're dreaming, and he's using you. Get your head out of the clouds, feet on the ground, and pay attention to what he's doing, not the pretty words that he says."
Kanada took Nakada by the arm and hauled her from the seat. With an angry glare at Rei, she lead the girl away before she began to cry. The group dissolved slowly, in whispering pairs and groups, until Rei was left alone with her bento box.
As the world came crashing back around her ears, Rei stared at the card left upon her desk. Maybe it was she who was the fool.