A Tense Situation
Written For Sailor Moon Platonic Week.
Day 5: Body Swap.
----
Minako sighed as she rubbed her temple in frustration, “So, what did we learn about listening to your leader when she says, ‘Wait for backup’?” she said looking at Ami and Rei, whose bodies had been swapped in a confrontation with a monster, sitting on Rei’s bed.
The Inner Guardians fell back to the Hikawa Shrine after the monster had retreated to discuss what to do from here.
“I said the same thing!” Ami in Rei’s body said, “Rei was the one who charged in.”
“Hey, don’t go throwing me under the bus! It could’ve hurt someone!” Rei in Ami’s body argued.
“We were the only ones around!” Ami refuted.
“Man, it’s no fair that this happened to you two!” Usagi said.
“Thanks, Usagi, I-” Ami began to say, before being cut off.
“I mean, do you have any idea what I would give to trade brains with Ami?” Usagi said, crossing her arms in a huff, “Rei already has good grades anyway!”
Makoto smacked Usagi in the back of the head in frustration, “Not the point, Usagi!”
“Owww!”
“Regardless, Ami, you said the readings you took said that this should be undone when the monster is destroyed, right?” Minako asked.
“I’m Rei, Mina, that’s Ami.” The now blue-haired Rei said, pointing at Ami.
“Oh, right, right.”
“That’s correct. So I guess we’ll just have to wait it out.” Ami said, looking a bit anxious.
“Well, if that’s the case, how about you all head home. Ami can stay here tonight so we can make sure we’re both prepared if we end up having to go to school for one another.” Rei said, standing up from her bed.
“Alright. We’ll let you guys know if anything comes up.” Mina said, before she, Usagi, and Mako took their leave.
Almost immediately after they left the now raven-haired Ami began rummaging through her bookbag, “Well, I guess first I should get you acquainted with my class schedule. Thankfully I keep a copy of it on me at all times, just in case. Also, we should-”
“Yeah yeah, before we get into that, I wanted to talk to you about something else.” Rei said, rubbing her left shoulder with her right arm.
“Oh? What is it?” Ami asked, tilting her head.
“Well, I didn’t wanna bring this up in front of the others but… your body, it’s so… tense.” Rei said, opening and closing her fists.
“Oh, I guess it is. I suppose I had just gotten used to it, but I will say there was a noticeable difference when I got sent into your body.” Ami said, touching her finger to her chin.
“Wait! Are you telling me this is how you feel… all the time?” Rei asked, concerned.
“Well, I wouldn’t say all of the time, just… y’know… most of the time.” Ami said sheepishly.
“That’s really not good, Ami.” Rei said, approaching the girl.
“It’s fine, really.” Ami said, looking down at the floor, “It helps me stay on top of things.”
“I think our doctor in training should know that that’s a terrible way to look at it.” Rei said, looking at Ami, who was still avoiding eye contact, “Alright, c’mon.” Rei said, grabbing Ami’s wrist and dragging her to the center of the room.
“What? What are you doing?” Ami asked.
“I’m going to teach you some techniques for this, you clearly need them.” Rei explained, sitting down on the floor and crossing her legs.
“What? No, we don’t have time for-”
“That type of thinking is exactly why your body is wound so tight it feels like it could snap if I move it wrong. C’mon, if nothing else you owe it to me so you don’t do this to my body too. Now sit down.” She instructed, pointing down at the floor in front of her.
Ami reluctantly complied, sitting down and crossing her legs, “Okay, great, now what?”
“This is a technique my grandpa taught me. I want you to close your eyes, and clear your mind.” Rei said, before closing her eyes, “It’s alright if you can’t get it completely cleared, that’s perfectly normal, especially for a beginner.”
“Mmhm, got it.” Ami said, closing her eyes, clearly just wanting to get this over with.
“Ami, this isn’t going to help you if you don’t actually try.” Rei said, calmly.
“Alright, alright.”
“Good. I’ve found a way that helps is to imagine a clear blue sky, and whenever you have a thought pop into your head to distract you, just imagine it as a cloud floating by. Now, I want you to try to identify the place where the tension is stemming from. Oftentimes it’s in your gut, but (as you well know) it can spread out across the body.” Rei informed, trying to do this herself, although it was difficult while leading another person.
“Okay…” Ami said, seeming to be going along with the exercise.
“Alright, now take some deep breaths, in…” Rei said, inhaling slowly, “... and out…” She said as she exhaled, repeating this a few times, “And as you’re doing this, I want you to envision the tension leaving your body, like dark energy leaving your body after we defeat a monster.”
Ami giggled at the comparison, but did as she was instructed, “Alright.” She said, inhaling and exhaling a few more times.
Rei walked her through some more breathing techniques and mental tricks before she decided Ami was well equipped, at least for now, to deal with this on her own.
“Alright, you did really good, Ami.” Rei said, looking at Ami with a smile (although she’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel a bit weird about congratulating herself).
“Thank you, Rei. I’m sorry for being so resistant to this, it’s just… with so much going on, school, Sailor stuff… this,” She said, gesturing at herself and Rei, “It’s just… it’s a lot.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. Everyone needs a reminder to slow down from time to time.” Rei said nonchalantly, “But make sure you do these exercises at least semi-frequently. We’d be in a real pinch if the brain of our group was out of commission because she worked herself into a frenzy.” She said with a smile.
“Okay, okay, I’ll remember. And… thanks again, Rei. Or should I say, Ami?” Ami said with a smirk.
“Yeah, no, absolutely not. We’re not doing that.”
----
Anyway then they beat the monster and went back to normal the end.
And that does it for Day Five. Come back tomorrow for Day 6: Tea.
But until then, please let me know what you thought! Comments, reblogs, likes, etc. are much appreciated!
And until next time, take care everyone!