In a wide open outdoors space, somewhere in Tokyo, are white plastic tents set up on a grassy field. There are a number of people dressed casually, but a lot more are dressed in loose flowing clothing, wearing beads or flower crowns, or something similarly fitting for a New Age festival.
There are stalls everywhere, lined up in rows. Vendors selling crystals and gemstones for meditation; people offering horoscopes, palm reading, or other forms of divination; others still selling incense and bead necklaces not unlike the ones being worn by the festival goers. There are a few people passing out pamphlets for other events, or trying to drum up interest.
Mostly the atmosphere is very chill and relaxed. No one is in a hurry, no one is fussing, and many people are content to sit in the grass, talk with friends and enjoy the weather.
Rei is also here, Her hair tied up in a red scrunchy behind her head. A necklace and bracelets of wooden beads hang off of her. She's wearing a tan top that shows a bit of midriff and darker brown skirts that go down to her ankles. She at least looks kinda like she belongs here.
It's a sea of soothing earth tones. In contrast, Usagi wears her customary bright pink, showing more tummy than not because it's nice and warm and Papa'd left for work before she got up. A short black skirt and comfortable sandals, and she's pretty much in her standard summertime uniform.
She's looking for Rei, something that she keeps getting distracted from.
"Oh, basket weaving! It looks interesting! Thank you so much for the pamphlet!"
As she leaves, she looks over the material for a moment before putting it in her purse next to a small stack of others.
Luna is at home. Though she'd be welcome here, more likely than not, it's also not just a social gathering.
Usagi resumes her search, and just as someone with a pamplet on the upcoming book fair heads her way, she's darting across the green and waving an arm. "Rei-chan~!"
She doesn't tackle, that's something she only thinks to do to Mamoru. But she does practically skid to a stop with a large, beaming grin. "Hieee!"
Rei hears Usagi calling her, because how could she not? She turns her head to see blonde tails and bright pink coming her way, and between those two things the bunny is more or less unmistakable. "Usagi-chan!" she calls out, waving widely. When Usagi comes close, she tilts her head and smiles. "Hey. How've you been?"
It's not just a social gathering, no. Which is why Rei takes a step forward and slips one arm around Usagi's, and places her other hand on her upper arm. She leans against her slightly and says, "So what should we do first? Horoscopes, maybe? Look at crystals? Or..."
Someone is suddenly there right next to them, wearing thick rimmed glasses and saying, "Hey, you're Rei Hino! Oh my god I've read all about you!"
Huh? Rei slowly turns the other person, raises her eyebrow, and then... seems to suddenly change modes, puffing out her chest and egotistically gesturing to herself. "Yes, it's me. The great Rei Hino. Oh hey what's that I'mgonnagooverherenow."
She walks away, despite the protests of her apparent fan wanting more of her attention, and drags Usagi along with her.
She perks up a little, wanting to do all the things. Her arm curls up as her hand goes over Rei's, and suddenly, Reality comes in with glasses!
Usagi blinks, and by the time she can think to say anything, she's being dragged away.
Usagi giggles. "Am I out with a celebrity?"
She peeks behind them before looking back around, not paying Glasses any more attention. "Ohhh, what about horoscopes? Has anyone read you and gotten it right before? Ohhh, but crystals are all so pretty!"
She feels giddy! And she really does hope Rei has a good time!
Rei rolls her eyes after the fan apparently gives up, and then side-eye glances at Usagi. Then she grins, because Usagi gushing over her is different.
"Well, I am a psychic you know, and you've seen my readings before." There has been at least one time, during the Scorn situation, where Rei's readings led to a direct visit from ancient animal spirits. There's also been the whole reading on Mamoru before he was known for a fact to be the prince.
"Sometimes people go to my shrine looking for that kind of thing. Sometimes people write articles about me. It's a thing." She talks about this pretty nonchalantly, as if being a celebrity is no big deal.
She taps her chin, looking upwards. "Sometimes! Sometimes I get something pretty accurate. Other times it's way off base but you know... that's the luck of the draw!"
She glances towards the crystals, pursing her lips. She raises an eyebrow. "Huuh. Something is going on over there."
Rei's eyes linger over at a booth full crystals, still holding onto Usagi's arm. "Oh, it's probably nothing. How about horoscopes? Maybe I could find us a good one? Being psychic and all."
Rei seems to be having a good time so far. She's smiling. Though there's a certain chill she has now that Usagi might not be used to seeing from the otherwise confrontational and opinionated miko.
Of course Usagi gushes. Even if this were a normal social outing and not a date!
She makes an excited little noise and hugs Rei's arm. "You're very good at it, too! And I'm not just saying that!"
The truth of it can be recalled from previous times Usagi's gushed at Rei!
She giggles and hugs tighter. "When you become super famous, I want tickets to your show!"
Psychics had shows, right?
She blinks and leans over to follow Rei's gaze. "What's going on where?"
And then Rei effectively distracts Usagi! "Oh! Yes! Hee! And maybe we can get them to read my love line. How confused do you think they'll be?"
Usagi notices, of course! And hopes she has something to do with the chill! But she also hopes it's because Rei feels comfortable here.
Certainly, 'Rei with Usagi as a close friend' and 'Rei with Usagi as a date' are different, and yes it does have something to do with the chill. As if on some level things are right in the world, even if at the same time things are new and exciting.
Rei giggles. "Well, I'm still holding out on the hope that it'll be a concert and not a presentation, but I'll be happy to give you good seats. Maybe I could even get you a backstage pass!"
At the mention of the crystals and things going on over there, Rei shrugs. "Someone apparently knows how to charge them. I think that's all there is. At least, I can feel some kind of energy coming off of them."
Rei blinks, and then giggles at the mention of Usagi's loveline being read. "I can only wonder!" Then she taps her chin. "Hey... have I ever read your palm before? I don't recall."
Come to think of it, it's just never come up. She's never actually done readings that were 'for fun' or things like that before. Maybe she should.
For Usagi, it's almost like shifting in bed, moving from a comfortable position to one that's just jackpot.
"Oh, me, too! But either way, there's gonna be a Rei on stage!"
Usagi gasps. "You mean crystals can be charged? You know..." She looks around a bit. "Crystals that aren't magical?"
Ohhh new things to learn! Yay!
Usagi opens her mouth to automatically say yes, but then she's blinking, as well. "I don't think you have! I think I've wanted you to, but I didn't wanna be all 'Hey Rei, you're exhausted from this thing, read my palm!'"
Rei flips her hair, confidently. "Of course! Either way I'll be glad to give you my autograph."
On the subject of crystals, Rei shrugs. "Yeah, kinda. Some people have magical potential that hasn't fully awakened yet. It's more common than you might think."
After hearing that she hasn't read Usagi's palm before, she sticks out her tongue. "Well that's no good. Here."
She disentangles her arm from Usagi's, then moves to step in front of her. Rei extends her hand, palm up, and winks at Usagi. "Here, give me your hand. I'll read it right now, if you'd like."
Usagi giggles again. "Well, I need to get it before you're famous! Otherwise, where's the bragging rights?" She clicks her tongue.
Usagi makes interested noises! She wants to learn more! "So like...kind of how you'd be if you weren't a senshi?" Because of course, Rei was already magic before!
Usagi stops and holds out her hand, blushing a little at the wink. She bites back a grin.
Usagi talks about bragging rights and Rei laughs. "Oh of course! Though I don't have anything to sign yet."
Rei nods. "Yeah, exactly! And if I were still like that I might go to a place like this selling charms and other stuff." Which, in a way, is a bit nostalgic if she thinks about it. It's kindof a wistful 'what if' scenario. Would she still meet Usagi under those conditions? Maybe. She likes to think that they would.
Rei takes Usagi's palm, which totally isn't an excuse to hold Usagi's hand. Then she looks closely at the palm, lightly and almost teasingly tracing her fingers across creases before looking up at Usagi's eyes for a reaction.
"Well, you've got a really long lifeline. You have a long, healthy life ahead of you! Your loveline is unbroken. Well, you'll be staying with someone for a long time, though it might not always be easy. You are more emotional than logical, to the surprise of no one. And... huh." Rei blinks, and leans down to look a bit closer at Usagi's palm. She takes a closer and closer look...
...and then kisses it suddenly. From the glint in her eyes, and her giggling, she totally did that on purpose.
"Good! And don't worry, we'll find something!"
Those are the kinds of thoughts Usagi gets sometimes. Would she still meet everyone if she were normal? She, too, likes to think so. Likes to think that the bonds she has with everyone transcends ancient duty.
There's a squirm and a quiet giggle at the tickling finger. She sticks her tongue out when Rei looks up at her.
She tries to peek at her hand as Rei talks, wanting to see the story the fire reader does.
At the 'huh' and the lean, Usagi tries to get a better look! Oh no! What's seen!
And then the kiss, and the eyes and the giggle!
Usagi blushes and bites back a grin.
"I'll get you back for that!" And she goes to kiss one of Rei's palms.
They probably would meet again, and they would get to know each other. At least Rei likes to think so. Sure there's destiny and past lives... but they were close in those past lives too, weren't they? Maybe the bonds came after the closeness, maybe even as a result of it, which would be a nice thought.
Rei doesn't fight it when Usagi decides to kiss her palm, watching with a sparkle in her eyes. "Vengeance is yours~," she teases, playfully.
Then she decides to be a little bit bold, slipping a finger underneath Usagi's chin and trying to draw her closer, as Rei herself leans in. Her voice lowers as the distance between them shortens. "Of course, the thing about revenge is..." Then, with a whisper, "... it escalates."
Usagi could, if she wanted to, back off from this now without any complaint... but if she doesn't, then her lips are going to learn firsthand why Sailor Mars is known as the Senshi of Passion.
It is perhaps easier for those bonds to be so unbreakable because of that closeness. Without that rooted seed, there would be very little to grasp onto this time around.
She's about to preen her victory, but it's silenced by a finger beneath her chin.
Usagi doesn't back away. The only reason she didn't try to kiss first was, well, the last time ended with ulcers...
Her fingers grip at Rei's shirt, a loose hold that's more to hold on. This kiss is different than it is from Mamoru's. Less of a sharp tilt of the neck for one.
It's different, but not in a way that makes one better than the other.
Rei may be the Senshi of Passion, so perhaps it's fitting she's kissing a girl who sparked galactic wars spanning two life times.
(Okay, so that was actually more to do with jealousy than smoochy skills...)
Lips brush against lips, and Rei's eyes half-lid as she enjoys the kiss. It's a soft, gentle moment, but Rei does linger. It's not just a matter of kissing, but wanting to take the moment to know what it feels like to kiss Usagi specifically.
Right now, it feels pretty nice.
Rei's phone vibrates. She ignores it to keep brushing her lips against Usagi, kissing a bit deeper.
Then somewhere, in the back of her mind, a thought nags at her. There are a finite number of people who would text her, and very few of them are people that she could just outright ignore. She reaches into a pocket in her skirt, holds her phone up behind Usagi, looking past her to read the text. It's from Ami.
'So ... where are you and Usagi going?'
Huh? That's a weird question to ask. Rei keeps kissing as she thumbs in. 'We're at a New Age festival.'
It doesn't occur to her that she may have missed the point of that text. It might occur to her later, when she isn't focusing on the taste of Usagi's lip gloss.
Pretty nice indeed!
Usagi's close enough to feel the vibration. At first she thinks its hers, and chooses to ignore it. And then Rei's answering a text, very much able to multitask!
And Usagi tries to keep a straight face, tries to keep up the kiss and then--
Her own phone vibrates.
She pulls back with a giggle, really finding the whole thing amusing!
TXT Ami: Don't forget to take embarassingly cute pics of Rei so we can tease her about them later.
Usagi blushes, but she grins as she texts back.
TXT: Heehee okay!
She looks up at Rei, still very much amused.
Usagi breaks away, and Rei giggles and smiles. As much as she could continue kissing all day, her eyes do go to her phone. Which she probably would have ignored if she knew that it wasn't a youma attack or something.
TXT Ami Mizuno: Oh! Is that tonight? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Have fun!
TXT Rei Hino: We will!
TXT Ami Mizuno: Also make sure to take embarassingly cute pictures of her <3
TXT Rei Hino: Hahahaha, only if I can tease her about them later!
TXT Ami Mizuno: That's the point!
TXT Rei Hino: XD
She flips her phone closed, smiles softly at Usagi, and looks into her eyes for a moment. That was nice.
Then she blinks, and for a moment she looks confused. "... is Ami-chan tracking us right now?"
She blushes, then bites her lower lip. Her hands move behind her back and she scuffs her foot. "Well, it's not like I mind people knowing."
She glances off towards the tends, and then back to Usagi. "So... horoscopes?"
Usagi smiles back, and then 'hrks!' a bit at Rei's question.
She relaxes somewhat at Rei's admission, though. As it is, she looks like she just got caught sneaking cookies before dinner. "Well...that's good because...Imayhavetoldherthisisadate..."
She scrambles at the excuse to change topics! "Oh, yes please! Do they do the whole thing? Do I gotta know what time I was born?"
Rei blinks at Usagi's admission. Somehow it just didn't occur to her that the gossip mill would start up so quickly.
She really shouldn't underestimate the senshi grapevine.
"Well it is a date."
Rei taps her chin and makes a 'hmmm' sound. "Knowing the exact time probably helps, but they might be able to make do without it if you don't remember."
Rei looks from tent to tent, eyes and senses separating the frauds from those who might have some talent. When she finds one that might be interesting, she starts to head in that direction. "Over here. Let's try this one."
Now she relaxes!
She not exactly sure why she felt so guilty about telling Ami. Perhaps because of...the reaction she'd gotten from her? And she doesn't get why, really. She just knows something had been a touch off. (Of course it could also have to do with the topic they'd been discussing before. Odds are, Ami felt Usagi was trying to steer away from her issues? She hopes not!)
She rocks back on her heels. "True~!"
She follows Rei as she works, looking between tents and a concentrating girl. It's very interesting, watching people's faces. Then she has to take a skipping jump to backtrack and catch up!
"I think I was born in the afternoon!"
Rei glances behind her as Usagi calls out the time she was born, and with a smile says, "Right! Got it!" When she reaches the booth in question, there's no line, so Rei sits right down and pats the seat while looking at Usagi.
The woman behind the counter certainly looks the part of a fortune teller. She's wearing a turban, colorful robes of purple and red, but instead of a crystal ball she has astrological charts and books in front of her.
"Hey don't I recognize you?" the astrologer asks, leaning in to get a closer look at Rei, who is now looking a little hesitant. "You're that girl, right? From the Hikawa shrine?"
"That's right! My--" She has to consider what exactly to say Usagi is. Old habits lean towards 'friend' but that seems to be changing. "--date and I would like to have our horoscopes read, if that's alright."
There's some further discussion. Rei is an Aries and Usagi is a Cancer. Exact dates are given. Times are a bit more vague. Rei was born at 9:45 am, Usagi was born in the afternoon. The astrologer starts to go through her charts, making notes.
Rei looks over at Usagi, checking to see if she's having a good time.
Usagi sits next to Rei and looks all around the booth while information is given. She smiles and beams at the woman when Rei calls her her date before looking around some more.
As the astrologer takes notes, Usagi starts to fidget. Not from boredom, but because she wants to ask questions!
It's probably because Rei looks over at her that Usagi bursts!
"Is it fun, doing people's horoscopes? What if someone's born in Germany but are getting their horoscope done in Japan?"
She stops herself from asking more! And she gives Rei a little bit of a sheepish look...
The astrologer looks up at Usagi's question, hands still resting on her books and charts. "Well, I think it's pretty fun. It's rewarding, especially when I get it right. Thinking about the different signs and the stars and how they all play together is very interesting to me. I guess that's why I got into it."
Rei gives Usagi a sideways glance, and then snorts laughter. She finds this whole thing funny.
The astrologer. "As for time zones, well, I guess that really depends? Horoscopes are more art than science, so it's a matter of how you interpret things. Some might want to compensate for the time difference, while others might not think it's that important. I prefer not to worry about it."
Rei chimes in. "Tarot cards are also flexible like that. There are some commonalities, but different readers see the cards differently. Some don't use reversed cards, for example."
The astrologer nods eagerly, but then gets to her reading.
"So you said you two are dating, right?" She gets into her notes, looking them over. "Well, it looks like you two could make it work. Aries is the Cardinal Fire sign and Cancer is the Cardinal Water sign. Fire and Water can make for a steamy relationship, but the fighting can be especially nasty. You'll both have to put your egos aside from time to time if you want it to work."
Now it's Rei's turn to grin a little awkwardly. That part... isn't far off.
Then the woman addresses Usagi. "There will be times when you want to hold onto things and time when you'll want to burn all of your bridges. This is an emotional day, and you might be left not knowing where you started or where to go, but you'll see who cares for you."
Then she turns to Rei. "You are likely going through a rough patch in your social life, likely because you are too critical of yourself and things around you. On the other hand you tend to maintain good relations for people so don't worry too much."
Usagi listens to both of them, eagerly soaking it in! She may not retain all of what's said, but important bits will stick.
And of course, there's a tongue sticking out at Rei for that snort!
Usagi nods thoughtfully at the summary of their relationship. "Oh yes. We sometimes argue a lot." Nod, nod! "But sometimes opposites balance eachother out, right?"
She has a perfect example of this, but maybe bringing up her boyfriend while on a date with Rei isn't a good idea!
(She's also curious about Mamoru's stuff.)
But then her eyebrows crease together in confusion. She looks at the lady for a moment before turning to Rei. "Burning bridges...?"
She's not sure what that means, really.
But she turns back to the lady. "I do like holding onto things. And people. And I think that's last bit's about the past? Which golly!"
And then she's watching Rei while her own horoscope is given. Hers makes more sense to Usagi. She knows Rei holds herself to a higher standard, but she tries to help with that!
Bringing up Mamoru while on a date with Rei might potentially be weird to... well... people who don't know them personally. Rei wouldn't think it was bad, and it's not as if she'd get jealous, but explaining it might be a little strange. Unfortunately it doesn't occur to Rei to bring it up.
Rei sticks her tongue out back at Usagi. Bleeh!
The astrologer watches this, and then giggles. At least some of her reading was spot on. "Apparently. Sometimes they do balance out. She'll certainly be a knight in shining armor for you, if you let her be. Aries tends to be fiery and passionate, and that could work for you or against you."
Rei is now starting to laugh a bit awkwardly, because that really is accurate.
Usagi's reading is... either inaccurate or at least not immediately apparent. "In the past? Maybe. I can only really go by my gut, there."
Rei stands up, pulling out a few bills to place it in the tip jar. "Well I can see what you mean with regards to me at least, and yeah maybe I am a bit critical. Thanks!"
Then she offers her hand to Usagi and asks, "Should we go see what else there is?"
Perhaps after a couple more dates, Usagi won't feel awkward to bring him up!
She's giggling at the astrologer's continuation of their match. "Oh, she has very shiny armor! And the fire tends to work for, more often than not." An affectionate side eye!
Usagi nods and strokes her chin in thought. "Yeah. You seem to have nice guts. I'll remember to watch out for those days!"
Usagi adds a few bills to the tip jar, too!
"Thank you! This was fun!" She waves and waves! And then she takes Rei's hand and beams at her. "Yes! Think they have food somewhere?"