[It's for this Minako's sake too! If Rei knew what the older girl was thinking, she'd probably shout at her for being too self-sacrificing again. But maybe that's just getting her Minakos crossed. (Except this Minako totally does the same thing, let's be real.)
Of course, annoyingly, Minako totally sees through her. The way she just hooks arms with her and drags her over isn't even unexpected anymore, but gosh, does it fluster her every. single. time.]
That's... I don't even know them all!
[Oops. Score another one for Minako. Time to cover with more annoyance, even as she lets her guard down a little again.]
... That's not what I meant! I don't mind listening together, but I won't sing. You'll have to learn them on your own.
[ Score one for Minako, more like Minako has already won the match a long time ago and is just enjoying the extended afterparty a little too much. She's already popping in the CD even as she's talking to Rei, like she's not even surprised the other girl gave herself away by accident.
It always works like this, after all. ]
Why..? What do you have against singing?
[ So maybe Minako is pretending like the Rei in her world wouldn't react the same way as this Rei is doing just to see a reaction.
[Is she trying to get her worked up? ... Probably. Rei manages to keep a lid on it and not shoot back with some snide comment. But there's no stopping her blush. Does this Minako even know what she'd already done? All that 'Reiko Mars' nonsense...]
Nothing in particular! I just don't want to.
[Whoops, that came out a little more fiery than she'd intended. ... Maybe it's not too late to move houses, somewhere where she won't have to endure this practically ever day? (Like she'd ever leave Minako... even this Minako.)]
Minako Aino songs wouldn't suit me, anyway.
[There, she managed a calmer, more rational response. Too late, as usual.]
[ It's a good thing that she's so used to Rei being Rei - any Rei, really - that the prickly comments don't even remotely hurt her anymore. It's just Rei being Rei, so she knows she doesn't mean it in any truly insulting way. Her smile doesn't fade in the slightest. ]
Oh? Then what kind of songs would suit you?
[ She has a whole karaoke set, Rei.... don't test her. Never test Minakos. You know how it ends. ]
It wouldn't do if I was the only one singing here! I'm not enough of an attention hog that I don't want to share with you, you know?
[Whoops, that question might be bringing back memories of that one time she did sing. Which means she's getting all flustered again.]
... None of your business!
[This Minako is not getting her to sing. She may be older and have years of experience with girls named Rei Hino, but there's no way that's happening.]
You don't have to feel bad about that because of me. I don't mind if you sing.
[ Okay, not technically. Minako is just fine with being in the spotlight and solo and all that, that's not the problem here.. It's just that she wants to make Rei sing as well.
Which is why she's - oh so subtly, obviously - shoving a microphone into the girl's hands. ]
So come on, let's do this together! [ And now for her final weapon, the hidden ace up her sleeve-- puppy eyes. ] Do it for me..?
Well, it's actually much harder to resist when there's nowhere to escape to. Maybe she can sing really, really quietly just so Minako will stop bugging her about it?]
... Fine. But if you tell anyone...
[She can set fire to anything and everything Minako loves! (She won't, but she'll do... something!)]
[ There we go, that microphone is already being shoved straight into Rei's hands. ]
Don't worry, I won't tell anyone! [ And she might actually keep herself to that one.. she does have some consideration for Rei's feelings, after all, and she doubts just telling everyone about Rei having sung will really help shove her a little out of her shell more. No, all of this isn't even for blackmail materials' sake - she just genuinely wants to hear Rei sing.
See, she's just thinking of your own good here, Rei.. ]
Are you ready? Oh, wait-- you can pick the song too, I'm fine with anything!
[Despite everything else, Rei does trust her. So if she says she won't tell, she believes it. (If she had danced around the issue, it'd be a different story, but she didn't!)
Rei doesn't want this responsibility, though. Picking songs, teaching Minako the words... where will it end?]
Let's just do the first one.
[There, that was easy (and dismissive) enough! Unfortunately for Rei, the first song on the album is... well...
Yeah, she's just going to keep her mouth shut through the whole intro chorus. Hoping there's a way out of this she just hasn't figured out yet.]
[ Of course Minako doesn't know the lyrics yet, but thank god there's lyrics included.. and she's good at improvising, so she's actually doing fairly well even though it might be the first time she's ever heard the song. Maybe it's some lingering instinct that crosses worlds or something like that - and hey, even if this Minako isn't an idol, it's not like she's a bad singer.
But it's not hard to notice that Rei isn't really singing along.. ]
I love you baby baby, switch off the lights, baby baby, kiss me--
.. Hey, it's no fun if you're not going to join in after all, you know?
[Sigh. Well, she held out as long as she could. Which wasn't long at all. At least the verse is a little calmer... she just has to take a deep breath and steel her nerves against how embarrassing this is going to be.]
The weather is good today, I see your reflection in the window...
[She starts off very quiet, but she doesn't even have to look at the lyrics. She's heard it all before, and not caring to learn it doesn't mean she wouldn't have ended up picking up on the words regardless.
She's not a bad singer either, if clearly not a professional by any stretch. Her deeper voice doesn't really match the song, but she can carry the tune well enough.]
I inscribe my love in my diary, same as usual.
[So glad there's no one else here to see this. She'll rise to the challenge for now, but she's going to make sure they never speak of this again.]
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Of course, annoyingly, Minako totally sees through her. The way she just hooks arms with her and drags her over isn't even unexpected anymore, but gosh, does it fluster her every. single. time.]
That's... I don't even know them all!
[Oops. Score another one for Minako. Time to cover with more annoyance, even as she lets her guard down a little again.]
... That's not what I meant! I don't mind listening together, but I won't sing. You'll have to learn them on your own.
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It always works like this, after all. ]
Why..? What do you have against singing?
[ So maybe Minako is pretending like the Rei in her world wouldn't react the same way as this Rei is doing just to see a reaction.
Just maybe. ]
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Nothing in particular! I just don't want to.
[Whoops, that came out a little more fiery than she'd intended. ... Maybe it's not too late to move houses, somewhere where she won't have to endure this practically ever day? (Like she'd ever leave Minako... even this Minako.)]
Minako Aino songs wouldn't suit me, anyway.
[There, she managed a calmer, more rational response. Too late, as usual.]
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Oh? Then what kind of songs would suit you?
[ She has a whole karaoke set, Rei.... don't test her. Never test Minakos. You know how it ends. ]
It wouldn't do if I was the only one singing here! I'm not enough of an attention hog that I don't want to share with you, you know?
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... None of your business!
[This Minako is not getting her to sing. She may be older and have years of experience with girls named Rei Hino, but there's no way that's happening.]
You don't have to feel bad about that because of me. I don't mind if you sing.
[She only minds if she's the one singing.]
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[ Okay, not technically. Minako is just fine with being in the spotlight and solo and all that, that's not the problem here.. It's just that she wants to make Rei sing as well.
Which is why she's - oh so subtly, obviously - shoving a microphone into the girl's hands. ]
So come on, let's do this together! [ And now for her final weapon, the hidden ace up her sleeve-- puppy eyes. ] Do it for me..?
[ Can you refuse that face. ]
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......
Well, it's actually much harder to resist when there's nowhere to escape to. Maybe she can sing really, really quietly just so Minako will stop bugging her about it?]
... Fine. But if you tell anyone...
[She can set fire to anything and everything Minako loves! (She won't, but she'll do... something!)]
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Don't worry, I won't tell anyone! [ And she might actually keep herself to that one.. she does have some consideration for Rei's feelings, after all, and she doubts just telling everyone about Rei having sung will really help shove her a little out of her shell more. No, all of this isn't even for blackmail materials' sake - she just genuinely wants to hear Rei sing.
See, she's just thinking of your own good here, Rei.. ]
Are you ready? Oh, wait-- you can pick the song too, I'm fine with anything!
/shamelessly revives a few old threads
Rei doesn't want this responsibility, though. Picking songs, teaching Minako the words... where will it end?]
Let's just do the first one.
[There, that was easy (and dismissive) enough! Unfortunately for Rei, the first song on the album is... well...
Yeah, she's just going to keep her mouth shut through the whole intro chorus. Hoping there's a way out of this she just hasn't figured out yet.]
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But it's not hard to notice that Rei isn't really singing along.. ]
I love you baby baby, switch off the lights, baby baby, kiss me--
.. Hey, it's no fun if you're not going to join in after all, you know?
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The weather is good today, I see your reflection in the window...
[She starts off very quiet, but she doesn't even have to look at the lyrics. She's heard it all before, and not caring to learn it doesn't mean she wouldn't have ended up picking up on the words regardless.
She's not a bad singer either, if clearly not a professional by any stretch. Her deeper voice doesn't really match the song, but she can carry the tune well enough.]
I inscribe my love in my diary, same as usual.
[So glad there's no one else here to see this. She'll rise to the challenge for now, but she's going to make sure they never speak of this again.]