1:04pm
“Minister Hino Imaruru’s office.”
“I want to speak to Hino Imaruru.”
“I’m sorry, may I ask who is speaking?”
“Is he there?”
“I’m sorry, but he’s unavailable at the moment, may I take a message?”
“Where is he?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m unable to divulge this type of information, if you would leave your name and contact details, I’ll ask him to call you as soon as possible.”
“My name is Hino Rei,” Rei fumed as she spoke to the ‘overly polite’ switchboard operator, “and I want to talk to my father now.” She growled on the last word, to make sure that the woman understood her meaning.
“If you will just wait a moment, I’ll put you through.”
Rei bit her lip and took a deep breath to stop herself from exploding at the cellular phone that she held in her hands playing stupidly mind-numbing ads about the government and the ministry. She thumped her fists at the thick wooden pole that was part of the frame of a doorway, holding a wooden sign that had the name of the particular section of the grounds etched in gold.
“Good morning Minister Hino Imaruru’s office.” Said a irritatingly young and cheery voice that she guessed was his secretary.
“Hino Imaruru.”
“And who is speaking please?”
“Get him.” Rei growled.
“I’m sorry but Hino-san is in a meeting at the moment and is unavailable to answer your call,” the chirpy voice said, “can I take a message for you?”
“Get him on the line now, I want to talk to him. And if he doesn’t have time, tell him that I, his daughter, will make sure that he will never be busy again.” Rei threatened with her meanest voice, she knew enough about politics to know how important family was, and if his only family member did not stand on his side of politics, he would never win.
“Oh! I’m sorry Miss Hino, I’ll tell him right away!” The woman
immediately said, sounding surprised and somewhat afraid of her.
“No! Minako! We’re here for Rei-chan remember?” Makoto grabbed Minako by the wrist and dragged her away. They stayed away from the main entrances of the dojo, instead, entering by a small forgotten door by the side of the ground that Ami had managed to scavenge using her computer.
In the distance, they heard Rei’s voice, loud and clear as she was speaking, Usagi stopped behind one of the statuettes and signaled them to do so. Usagi knew that she was clumsy, that she made many mistakes in life, but she was also Princess Serenity, and she knew when she had to give her friends space and privacy.
“Oka-san, you owe me this much, I’ve never asked for much, now I’m asking you to support us, and to publicly give him your support by not accepting his resignation, is that too much to ask for? I am asking for one thing in the seventeen years that I have been your daughter?
Rei held the cellular phone tightly in her hands as though she would squeeze it into pieces, she felt angry that she had to beg so hard, but she knew the stakes, she had to succeed; she couldn’t let Kenta-kun lose his whole future for her. “Rei, I want to do what is best for you, I know that he is doing this for power, I know him, I groomed him myself, I encourage him with Kyoru-san’s daughter, don’t you think I know what his motives are? It’s not love, I’m stopping you from being burnt by a one-sided love.”
She couldn’t help but smile at the irony at the way that the ‘fire’ was being perceived, “you know as well as I do that you want him to resign because of your political campaign, you said as much when you were talking to him earlier, I heard you! That’s all you ever cared about, that’s all you know - what’s best for your politics, what’s best for you, I was never part of it.”
“Chigaimasu Rei! (That’s not true Rei!) I’m thinking of you as well, what is best for you, what is in your best interests.”
“Iie! Maybe I want to get burn, maybe I like the fire; did you ever think of that? You don’t know what my best interests are; you don’t even know what my interests are. Let me ask you, did you know that all my life I’ve wanted to be Shinto? No! You sent me to a catholic school because it was a good school in your mind, when I would have preferred something else. I’m proud of being part of that school, but I’m offended by going to a catholic school when I believe in something else. Iie! You are not acting for my best interests! I am asking you for one favor, when was the last time I asked for something, it nearly seven years ago when I asked that ota-san’s funeral be a private matter held in the dojo, but no, you refused - it became a media circus. I think I deserve one wish to be granted!”
“Yes, that was a mistake, to let it be a public affair, but you can’t hold it against me forever, I want the best for you too, that’s why I sent you off to your grandfather’s…”
“Iie! You sent me here because you didn’t want me in the way!” Rei’s voice began to choke as tears came rolling down her cheeks, in one angry swipe, she pushed them to the ground, her voice nasally and raspy, she spoke in a low voice “and now you want me back to help you. If you won’t take Kenta-kun back into your campaign, you can forget about me coming with you to campaign in the upcoming months, I swear I will campaign against you if I am asked anything about your policies. I’m not going to keep quiet anymore, when I step out this door, you can kiss your politics goodbye.”
The girls stared at each other in shock, none of them had ever thought that Rei might be leaving them to join her father’s campaign, they all knew how much she hated the political limelight. One by one, the pieces fell together as they finally realized the reason why Inouye-san was there in the first place, why the meeting had been cancelled…
“No, I am not threatening you, I am telling you: if you won’t do one simple thing for me, then why am I throwing away three months of my life to support someone that I can’t help but dislike. Your excuses, that this isn’t just because of politics… maybe there’s a part of me that wants to believe it, but the way that you are acting… I can’t…”
“Rei, you can’t throw tantrums like that, you are seventeen, nearly eighteen years old, you’re not a little girl anymore, you are a grown woman.”
“I was never good enough for you, you wanted a boy, Kenta-kun was your golden boy, until he makes a ‘mistake’, and then you disown him. Is this what will happen to me? If I don’t go with you, I’ll lose you? I am less to you then Kenta-kun was…”
“Chigaimasu! (That’s not true) Rei, you are the only family I have…”
“And I am a thousand miles away so that you are free to pursue your politics.” Rei spat in anger, “this is the best decision isn’t it? You are asking him to resign as a best solution to a problem that was caused, its politics, isn’t it? Admit it, that was the first thing that came to your mind when he offered to resign, that you’d get out of the problem, you’d still be able to win”
“Rei… I… yes, that’s right.”
“Is that the only solution?”
“The best solution.”
“The best solution,” Rei repeated, “that was the solution you came up with… so you made a decision, to cut ties with someone that made one mistakes.”
“Hai.”
“You…” Rei was about to speak when she found the phone snatched out of her hand by a quietly intent Ami, she was shocked to find her friends standing before her, and the intensity of Ami’s anger that she could ‘see’ vibrating from her. Ami’s extremely deep blue eyes were darker than usual, her face was expressionless, but those eyes, and the pursed lips showed a determination that none could match. The others also had a similar anger vibrating from them, and most importantly, there was concern in the anger. It was although her previous life flashed before her; Queen Serenity, the queen that dealt with problems using her heart, hoping to win over others by pure sincerity; Lady of Mercury, the First Lady that used her mind and logic to win over others… but she couldn’t yet remember the other queens. She dropped her hands, and ran to the others, finding herself in a deep hug amidst her closest friends.
“Excuse me, Hino-san,” Ami’s soft but strangely unwavering voice, “I am but a student, one of your daughter’s friends, and I know little of politics, but I have something that you may be interested in. If you let Inouye-san resign, you will come across as the moralistic, but heartless leader - successful, yes, but they will remember you for being too harsh when it came to punishing. Inouye-san is extremely popular, many believe that he deserves some sympathy, if you push him away, you are denying that.”
“I don’t have to listen to this…”
“But you do, you have to because it will come to your advantage. Imagine this, if you are to accept him back, to embrace him back into your life, you come out the sympathetic father figure, on one side, you have a popular young man who looks up to you as a father, on the other side, you have your daughter. Your daughter whom the media is curious about, and knows that she does not step out much, but she is here for you, for your campaign. Hino-san, I believe that by refusing his resignation, you have nothing to lose, you get your votes, you have Inouye-san back, and your daughter. You want the best for your country don’t you, and you want the best for your daughter - I don’t believe there is any reason for you not to accept them.”
Before he had the chance to speak, Usagi also grabbed the phone, “she’s your daughter, you have to love her! Don’t you? She is the only family you have, how can you not let her be with someone she loves, she loves you, she loves him, why are making her choose between the two. You’ve been young and in love once, love is about risk, and it’s also about being loved back. Don’t you remember when you were young? You made your choices, let her make hers, you can’t make them for her, and you can’t punish her for them - not if you love her like a daughter. You have to trust her; you have to be there to advise her, and even if she doesn’t listen to you and gets hurt, you have to be there for her, you can’t make her choose between him and you! That’s just cruel! And a father can’t be cruel to a daughter he cares about.”
“May I speak to my daughter now?” Came his quiet tone.
“Oka-san?”
“Pack your bags, I want to see you sitting at the head of my dinner table tonight… with Kenta Inouye… as my assistant, as my partner… and if you must, as the person that you want to be with. I will rip his resignation letter in front of the press to show my support for you two - that is what you want, isn’t it? Fax the letter, and I’ll do it for the noon-news. But if he dares to fool around with your heart… I will… I will” his voice quivered with emotion as he struggled to speak, then, his composure returned, “I will expect you two at eight then.”
“A…Arigato oka-san!” Rei said softly as she pressed the phone to
her heart, tears freely flowing. She found herself in the embrace
of her friends once again, her voice faltered, “arigato, all of you for
helping me…”