@senshixshitennouweeks This is my (very late im super sorry!!) second entry to the Rei x Jadeite week of last year. Prompt was "Recognition".
It's kind of a re-write, or rather an 'expansion'?, of episode 3 of Sailor Moon classic, the one where Jadeite hijacks a radio station, but from Rei's perspective.
Inspired by: sm episode 3 obviously, the manga, and this song. Enjoy!
(AO3 link)
The day had come to an end.
Rei took a deep sigh after closing the shoji screen of her room behind her. She couldnāt wait to slip under the covers and just be done with it. That had been a weird day, for sure. Not tiring or particularly busy, justā¦ weird. She couldnāt pinpoint exactly what was that had disturbed her peace of mind; even her meditation didnāt go as well as usual and she somehow found herself continuously distracted; maybe it was all the fault of the nonstop chatter at school about that new late-night radio show. She didnāt catch a lot about it except that it was some kind of romantic program and it involved love letters. And that had been more than enough to irritate her greatly. Why in the world were so many girls at her school suddenly so invested in some random, superficial, romantic show?
Well, it was surprising, but not entirely implausible.
Even though the T.A. Academy was a very austere and strict environment, where girls had virtually no time nor incentive to dwell on frivolous things such as talks of romance, sentimental gossip and the likes, she knew her classmates were not immune to that altogether. She had occasionally overheard excited, secretive whispers in the hallways, accompanied by nervous giggles and flustered faces. There had been fleeting rumors about girls having some kind of secret relationship inside the school, right under the nunsā noses. And one time, a girl was found in possession of a novel that wasnāt exactlyā¦ innocent. She had to spend a few hours in the punishment room waiting for her parents to come and then endure a probably embarrassing lecture from them and the nuns. All the girls had talked about it for days.
But this was different. She had heard about the damned radio show three times already, from different groups of girls, all in a single day. With a little too much enthusiasm for her liking too, and very little effort to conceal it. What in the world might even be the deal? It was just a stupid radio show. She sighed, and quickly changed into her night robes.
She shot a suspicious look at the radio in front of her bed. Maybe I should check just to see what the fuss is all about. She pursed her lips, pondering the idea. Her senses were strangely alert, like when an imminent danger is near; there was probably something behind this that was worth the bother to discover. Something nasty. Maybe it was a big scam. A scam made to prey on naive girls with their heads filled with romantic bullshit.
Yes. She hated the thought enough that she finally decided to momentarily leave the comfort of her bedsheets to go and pick up the radio from the shelf and put it on her nightstand, near her bed.
Fidgeting with the dial to find the correct frequency, she stopped when the buzzing of the static softly melted into a smooth jazzy melody. Her hand froze, still on the dial, as a voice broke through the music, low and sultry.
āI want to see you. I want to see you one more time,ā the voice pleaded, suddenly filling the room, almost startling her. It took her a moment to recollect herself, and realize that she had in fact found the right program, and that it was likely the host that she was listening to. Reading through what was undoubtedly a passionate love letter. Yes, he was just reading a letter, nothing more.
The man sure knew how to use his voice, she mentally conceded, quite bitterly. For a cheap radio show, there was no denying that the host was putting quite the effort into making it sound almost believable. Almost. She crossed her arms and slightly lifted her chin, determined to keep listening, but with renewed defiance.
āIf only you knew how much I regret our partingā¦ā he continued, and she quickly found herself completely unable to move as she listened, barely breathing. āI still think of you every day, every night, wishing I could still see your smile, wishing I could hold you in my armsā¦ close to meā¦ closer than weād ever been beforeā
With a sharp breath, Rei adjusted herself on the bed, shifting her position to distance herself just a bit from the radio. Her heart was pounding, and she couldnāt understand why. She did expect something incredibly corny, maybe even embarrassing to listen to. But this was having a completely unexpected effect on her. For a silly radio show, and one that she had never even listened to once before, something about it feltā¦ too personal somehow. Was it because of the words? Unlikely. She never was particularly susceptible to cheesy romantic talk. On the contrary. Was it the voice? Sure, the host was extremely good at conveying the feelings of what he was reading and making it feel real. But Rei knew she was better than that. She was above falling for such insidious little traps. She sighed, then closed her eyes, trying to shake off the lingering sensation and focus instead on understanding why that voice was evoking such a strong reaction. There had to be a logical reason for that, a serious reason; she just had to concentrate harder.
(Keep reading on AO3 as it turned out a bit too long to post all on tumblr)
