"Cake and Ice Cream" Ami led the way into the living room and sat shyly on the couch next to Michiru who moved over, a gesture for the rogue to sit between her and the blue haired girl. All eyes were on the tall teen as she sat gracefully on the couch, stretching her arms along the back side of it behind the other occupant's heads. Emerald eyes danced as they took in all the pretty girls sitting and laying in various spots across the room. Makoto took delightful note that there was not a male in sight. Minako cleared her throat, speaking animatedly, "We have another guest tonight, though she is a bit late. Everyone, officially meet Kino Makoto, 'The New Transfer'." Utena shook her head as her new girlfriend introduced the chestnut haired girl, despite not having been formally introduced herself. She chanced a glance at the genius, hoping that the girl was fairing well considering the way Makoto made her entrance. To the pink haired girl's surprise, Ami was currently sporting a small smile and looked very at ease-compared to how tense she was earlier this evening, Utena would have to say she looked down right calm. "Perhaps we should have everyone introduce themselves to Makoto, as I'm sure she doesn't know all your names," Michiru's elegant manner of speech seemed to put the rest of the room at ease and Minako was the first on her feet. "All right then! I'm Aino Minako, star volleyball player and soon to be school lead in the upcoming play the drama club is putting on! My interests include idol chasing, reading up on celebrities, and sleeping! I'm also a Libra and I love the color orange!" She flashed the emerald eyed girl a V-sign and an enigmatic grin, much to her companion's embarrassment. Ami blinked several times and watched Makoto out of the corner of her eye. The girl didn't so much as crack a smile at the blonde's antics, but actually appeared as though she were absorbing and analyzing it. Her demeanor was outwardly calm, but the blue haired girl sensed that inside she was churning and sifting through the information of her surroundings. Green eyes met up with baby blues and the rogue winked at the small girl, producing a blush. Utena was watching the interactions between the two and decided to take one for the team, in hopes that most in the room would not notice the blush across the genius' cheeks. Not bothering to stand up, the pink haired girl stayed in her spot on the chair as she introduced herself, "Ah, well, officially I'm Tenjou Utena. Er... I play basketball and am a new student at this school like you, Makoto-san." She finally acknowledged the girl's eagle-eye gaze and nodded briefly, only to be surprised when the tall girl nodded back. From across the room came a loud squeal, "This is sooooooo much fun!" Everyone looked to see the meat-ball head blonde jumping up from her redheaded friend's grasp. "I'm Tsukino Usagi! You can call me Usa-chan! Or Bunny! I like eating and drawing cartoons. My favorite foods include onigiri, apple pie, cake, ice cream, curry, ramen, strawberry short cake, jello, chicken strips, hamburger, hot dogs, ice cream sundaes, French fries, meatloaf, potato chips, spaghetti, spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, pocky, strawberries..." Everyone stared at the girl in awed rapture as she spouted off a never ending list of foods; everyone, that is... except Makoto. The chestnut haired girl had settled for a view of the small girl sitting next to her and watched intently as the smile on her face grew larger and less forced the longer the meat-ball head went on. It was obvious to Makoto, that out of all of Ami's friends, Tsukino was the most prized. As if sensing she was being watched, the blue haired girl cocked her head in the rogue's direction and felt the breath leave her lungs when she looked into Makoto's intense gaze. Usagi's rambling became background noise as Ami lost herself in those emerald eyes. This was the Kino Makoto she was familiar with, the intense and overbearing rogue that the genius found herself enthralled with at first glance. It was that overbearing nature that allowed the short teen to take the first step in officially introducing herself at the hospital. Most people would shy away from it and wait for Makoto to approach them first, but Ami found herself sympathizing and understanding that powerful strength. Somewhere deep inside she knew the chestnut haired girl would understand her initiation. That day in the hospital, only just the week before, actually seemed many, many months ago. The genius knew the reason for that, though. Ever since Makoto transferred, Ami could not help but watch her every move, her every glance, and take note of her every action towards various students. She was obsessed with the girl; an enigma, a ball of yarn where each length of string was a different color and a different texture. The more you unraveled that ball, the more confused you became by it. "JEEZE USA-CHAN!" Ami finally tore her eyes away from Makoto to the redheaded girl who'd so charmingly interrupted her blonde friend, "Why don't you just say what foods you don't like! Otherwise we'll be here all night as you list off every food in the known universe..." Usagi blinked several times before turning back to the tomboy, "I don't like carrots." She stuck out her tongue for effect. "You know, though, speaking of food... we should help ourselves to that cake and ice cream, don't you agree Mako-chan?" The tall girl raised an eyebrow at the meatball head, "You all haven't eaten yet?" Minako interrupted before anyone could respond, "Yeah, well, Rei and Haruka are outside doing the dirty work, we didn't want to start without them. And Usagi-hime is fine, don't listen to her." Her blue eyes gave the blonde a narrow glance, "You can go two hours without eating, you know..." Before Usagi could begin another set of wails, the blue haired girl spoke up, "I don't mind if Usagi, or anyone for that matter, wants to start in on the cake and ice cream. I'd rather it be enjoyed and eaten before it become stale." And as if on an after thought, "I know Rei wouldn't mind, as long as you left some for her." "Haruka wouldn't mind, either way." Michiru added. Everyone began to murmur in agreement about indulging in the goodies waiting in the kitchen until Utena interjected her own thoughts, "How about we at least finish introductions before gorging ourselves?" Ami turned to Makoto, silently asking the girl what she wanted to do. The rogue smirked, "It doesn't matter to me." "Introductions, then cake, how's that? I'm sure you can wait just a few more minutes, Usagi-hime." The volleyball player stated, leaning against the pink haired girl's legs. The meatball head grunted, but then mumbled that she could last just a little bit longer as long as everyone hurried up. "You took the most time, Usa-chan, with your listing of foods..." The redheaded girl snarled and then waved towards the rogue, "I'm Naru, by the way..." ------------------------------------------- Rei was breathing hard as she walked up the steps after having chased a group of girls down them just moments ago. They'd been smoking near the well, flicking ashes down it as they pleased and the raven haired girl nearly blew her stack as she screamed like an Amazon. The scream frightened the girls into running and the Miko wasted no time in following. Luckily for them, Rei wasn't as adept at sports and simply screamed even more when she couldn't catch up. As she neared the top, she smiled to see the place was mostly deserted and decided to do one last check for any stragglers that had gotten left behind. The fiery teen took in a deep breath, wiping the sweat from her brow and began one last trudge around the shrine grounds. She hadn't got as far as twenty feet when lavender eyes noticed a portly young man step out from behind some dark bushes. "Who the fuck are you?" He stayed half in the shadows, but Rei could tell he was about her age and had a mop of dark brown hair combed neatly across his wide head. The boy was wearing a simple button up shirt and slacks and his most noticeable feature was the protruding round belly which made him look pregnant. "Hino Rei-sama, I've come to give you a message," His voice was surprisingly not deep at all, but not girly; to put it simply, it sounded like he had yet to go through puberty. The sexy teen crossed her arms in front of her chest, eyeing him suspiciously. "Fuck off, you're trespassing on this property and I've just about had it with you bastards tonight." To her annoyance, he didn't make a move to leave. "Didn't you hear me? I'm not fucking afraid of you and don't really fucking care what you have-.." "It's about Kino Makoto." Rei felt her eyes widen and she closed her mouth abruptly. After several seconds, she narrowed her gaze at the stranger and breathed in sharply before replying, "What about her?" Though it was dark, the raven haired girl could almost see him smiling in the shadows and he reached into his back pocket, producing an envelope. "This, this is evidence. I've already tried warning your friend, Mizuno Ami, but she didn't heed it. You'll all have to listen now, now that I've got proof," his voice was rapture and moving excitedly as he spoke to Rei. She cringed slightly as she felt bad auras coming from the young man; but her curiosity and animosity towards the roguish tomboy was too overpowering for her to pay attention to such things. "What's in it?" She asked warily. He chuckled heavily, "She's a criminal, you know. The things she's done and probably will continue to do... unfortunately the police can't pin anything on her, so she's free to roam about. But I'm against having her at this school. You could blow the whistle on her with this." Rei pursed her lips and as her voice became acid as she spoke, "Then why not do it yourself?" This seemed to take the boy by surprise as he faltered slightly, "I... I'm too connected. It has to come from a pure source." "If she's a criminal, why hasn't anyone else looked into this? You'd think with all the fights and what not, someone would have looked into her background..." "Juvenile records are sealed off to everyone except the police and the family of the particular child," he retorted. "So how did you get it?" The lavender eyed girl was now much more suspicious of this young man. If he claimed to have what he had, he would've been just as dirty and tainted as Kino and that would make him much less credible. While on the other hand, he could be making something up just to get in with the popular crowd and Rei wasn't in to the whole idea of creating lies about people. As if sensing her dilemma, the chubby teen set the envelope on the grass and pushed it over to Rei with his foot, "My means of acquiring such information are secret. But please, do check the facts if you feel it necessary. I'm sure you'll be more than pleased." "What did she do, exactly?" Rei asked again. "Oh, you know, the typical preteen stuff: breaking and entering, assault, murder, you know," Again, though she could not see his shadowed face, the raven haired girl could sense the smile in his voice, making her stomach slightly queasy. "I'll leave it to you, Hino Rei-sama. You care for your friend, don't you? She's chosen to ignore the facts; I hope you'll be the voice of reason." The dark figure turned to leave. "Wait! Who are you?" "Don't worry about it," He responded as he continued to disappear into the shadows. Rei stared down at the envelope next to her foot. She wondered why her Ami-chan would ignore such a warning as that wasn't like the logical girl-unless there wasn't a warning for her to ignore. The Miko hadn't heard anything about it from the blue haired genius, neither from Usagi or Minako. She mentally slapped herself; of course she wouldn't have heard anything after the outburst she'd had the other day at school, no doubt they were refraining from bringing up anything about the rogue so as to not upset her. The envelope seemed to stare up at her like Pandora's Box, begging to be opened. Could this be the evidence she needed to back up her own feelings about Kino? Those restless nights were beginning to take a toll on the raven haired girl and if she could only express what she knew, perhaps the world would fall back into the place it was before the aggravation known as Kino Makoto entered their lives. Picking up the envelope, the Miko continued to walk the grounds, lost in deep thought. From behind a statue just a short distance away, a short dark haired girl with deep purple eyes emerged, with a look of discontent on her face. -------------------------------------- "Mako-chan, why was that boy all bloody?" Dazzling blue eyes watched the tall girl keenly, fishing for whatever information lie behind the scene from earlier. Minako had decided to keep her voice low and away from the others until she could sort out exactly what had happened; not that it mattered because come Tuesday, the rumors would be worse than those of the kidnapping. Makoto balanced two plates in her hands as she walked down the hall and didn't turn around when she answered, "His nose was broken." A laugh escaped the blonde's lips. This sounds like the Kino Makoto everyone knows best, she thought presumptuously. She followed the rogue into the living room whose only current occupant was Ami. It was curious that not a word passed between them, but yet the girl somehow knew that Makoto would bring back cake and ice cream for her. "Really, Mako-chan, stop with the smart ass answers and tell me! You're really not the violent type, are you? Well, not physically violent... though you do have the stature to be so. You're so warrior-like, tall with taut muscles and an overpowering presence. I bet in your past life you were a samurai." Minako made a chopping motion, "Hai-ya!" "Jeeze, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were in love with Makoto-san." Two pairs of blue eyes looked up to see the pink haired girl standing in the door way with only a bowl of ice cream and a quirked eyebrow. The blonde girl merely rolled her eyes at her girlfriend, "Just because I appreciate beauty in all forms..." Utena snorted, "Translation: You're going to ogle everyone so I'd better get used to it?" Minako nodded enthusiastically causing Ami to smile. Makoto sat next to the blue haired girl, handing her the plate with cake and ice cream on it. The two share a brief glance where the genius silently thanked the tomboy before turning back to the other two girls. Baby blue eyes blinked as they surveyed the plate in her hands, "Um... You forgot my spoon..." Makoto shook her head, reaching into the pocket of her corduroys and pulling out two spoons. "Didn't want to lose them on the journey back." She handed the small girl a spoon and began to dig in to the cake on her plate with the other spoon. "Aww... you two are so cute together." Ami blushed heavily at this statement and proceeded to nibble on small spoonfuls on the ice cream wishing she could just leave the room. Seeing this, Utena poked the volleyball player and gave her an admonishing look, motioning towards the reddened genius. Minako stuck her tongue out at the pink haired girl and turned back towards the 'cute' couple. "Mako-chan, no more deterring, did you or did you not throw that guy through the door?" Emerald eyes didn't bother to look up, "I did not." Minako sighed again, "Okay, I see what you're doing. Did you cause the bloody nose on him?" "Nope." "Are you in any way related to him getting thrown through the door?" "Yes." "How?" The rogue finally looked up from her plate; her eyes were smirking with amusement at the blonde on the floor. "I watched it." "You watched it?" "Yep." "Oh... who did it then?" Makoto shrugged, "A person." The volleyball player growled in frustration at the short answers she was being given. Above her, Utena chuckled, forcing down her desire to laugh at the conversation. Ami, who still hadn't looked up from her plate, was smiling inwardly at her girlfriend's antics. It still felt weird to the blue haired girl, referring to this rogue as her girlfriend, but she liked it-though she probably wouldn't share it with anyone, not even Makoto; she just wanted it for her own pleasure for now. The blonde girl sighed, "What is the name of that person?" "Tomoe Hotaru." All three girls froze instantaneously at the name. Not only had Minako dropped her jaw, but her spoon as well, as she gawked at the chestnut haired girl. Utena simply stared; she wasn't sure if the tall teen was telling the truth or not. As for Ami, the smile she was once feeling had now turned to a frown. Hotaru was a good friend of hers-the two often discussed various books while the genius was on duty in the library. "You're not serious," the pink haired girl finally voiced. "As a heart attack," smoothly replied the rogue. "Why did she do it?" The blue haired girl's voice was soft and disbelieving as she stared at the tomboy. Emerald eyes found baby blues and Makoto smiled sadly at her small classmate. "Don't go thinking anything bad about her. She was simply defending herself-she didn't want to be here in the first place, but I'd dragged her along. I told her to get going after it happened because I didn't want her to get in trouble." Minako's dazzling blue eyes became teary, "You're such a good friend, Mako-chan." She smiled at the tall girl. "Mm... Well, don't tell anyone that." The chestnut haired girl smirked as the blonde laughed, "And everyone outside this room is to believe that I assaulted him, is that clear?" Utena and Minako nodded in understanding and continued on with their cake and ice cream. Ami's eyes still hadn't left Makoto and concern was still very evident on her face. She was now very curious as to what could cause Hotaru to hurt someone like that. Even if she was just defending herself, she'd never seen the photographer use that violence nor had she heard anything about the girl being violent. The genius decided she would just have to ask the Goth about it at school; she would not betray the girl's friendship with Makoto by violating their trust with questions about the incident. She just knew-no matter how odd it felt to rely on such feelings-that the tall girl would never lie to her. Another glow presented itself inside the blue haired girl as she considered the chestnut haired girl once again. Last night she had been so gentle, holding the genius in her arms and whispering soothing words to her while Ami cried against the rogue. It'd made her reconsider the cold, reticent nature of the Makoto she'd watched at school. And now, with the way she was protecting Hotaru, Ami wondered if the green eyed girl wasn't simply a nice and wonderful person underneath all the roughness. Perhaps the true personality of Makoto desired to break out from the harsh one she'd erected. The tall teen turned towards the scrutinizing gaze of the genius and gave her one of those rare smiles and Ami felt nothing but warmth spread through her body. "WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING HERE?!" A shout came from the entrance of the living room. Everyone looked up to see Rei standing in the door way, flames shooting from her lavender eyes. All the warmth in the blue haired girl's body shot out as though someone popped a balloon inside of her.
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