Ami Mizuno finished up her work, the kitchen table covered with various maps of the Tokyo region. Over the past hour she had been plotting out the locations of all the Phage attacks, trying to see any pattern, but so far it looked entirely random. "I should call in Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna," Ami murmured, taking off her glasses to rub at her eyes, "maybe they'll see something I don't." The ringing of the doorbell brought Ami to her feet, she quickly put the maps away and then the casually dressed young woman hurried over to the door. Opening it a taller, brown haired woman smiled at Ami as she, Usagi and Hotaru entered. "Thank you for letting me take the girls out," Ikuko Tsukino said cheerfully, her eyes only a little haunted by memories and the losses of the past. "I should be thanking you," Ami chuckled as she waved the older woman over to the table, "they weren't too much trouble?" "Ami!" Usagi protested, the pink haired little girl giving her a wounded look. Ikuko chuckled softly as she answered, "No, they were just fine." A smile, "I think they liked the movie too." Hotaru smiled up at her as the black haired girl softly said, "Thank you very much, Miss Tsukino." Then she and Usagi headed back to Usagi's room, chatting softly. "What do you think of Hotaru?" Ami asked as she poured them some coffee. "Quiet," Ikuko smiled wryly, "but I think I like her." Ami took a drink of her coffee, silently glad that her off and on conversations with Ikuko had lead to this tentative friendship. "She can be shy," Ami calmly agreed, "but she warms up once you get to know her." Luna wandered in, the little black cat giving both of them an oddly innocent look for a feline as she said, "Meow." "Luna, she knows," Ami sighed. Luna looked a bit startled then she leapt up onto a chair then the tabletop. "Miss Tsukino," the cat said formally, "it's good to see you again." Ikuko nearly choked on her drink, "The cat talks?!" Ami took a drink of her coffee, smiling slightly as she said a bit wryly to Ikuko, "You get used to it eventually." "Sorry for startling you," Luna said a bit sheepishly. "It's all right," Ikuko managed to recover her composure. She looked at Luna, her eyes wide, "You were the cat that my Usagi had..." Luna nodded, her eyes touched by sorrow as she said quietly, "Yes, I was." A uncomfortable pause, "I've long wanted to say how sorry I was." Ikuko nodded, her own expression oddly bemused. "You were her ally as Sailor Moon, too?" she asked. Before Luna could answer that difficult question the doorbell rang again, making Ami frown slightly. "I wasn't expecting more guests this early," she noted, getting up and walking to the door. She opened it, blinking as she said, "Seiya?" Seiya Kou smiled at her warmly, "Good evening, Ami." He peered by to see the woman and cat sitting at the table then the black haired young man hesitated, "Ah, you have company. I'm sorry, we don't mean to intrude." "Sorry," Taiki smiled wryly, "we were in the neighborhood for a store opening and Seiya insisted we stop in." "You know the Three Lights?" Ikuko looked amused. "Meow!" Luna said cheerfully as Yaten hurried over to her, the white haired young man petting the cat with familiar affection. "Ma'am," Seiya bowed to Ikuko respectfully, his long black ponytail flowing over his fine suit, "any friend of Ami is a friend of ours." "Miss Ikuko Tsukino," Ami smiled slightly as she introduced them, "these three rogues are the Three Lights, Seiya, Taiki and Yaten Kou." "Rogues?" Taiki raised an eyebrow, his brown hair shining. "If the shoe fits..." Ami teased. "Meow," Luna sounded disapproving even as Yaten stroked her. Ikuko had to chuckle softly. "I wish I had one of your CDs handy," she admitted, "my son would love a autograph." Seiya looked thoughtful, "Taiki, do we have...?" Taiki sighed, rummaging around in his shoulder bag. "Would this do?" he produced a CD case and passed it to Seiya. Seiya whipped out a pen with practiced ease and signed it, then got his band mates to follow. "Our new CD single," he passed it to Ikuko with a charming smile, "I hope that'll do?" "Thank you very much," Ikuko said to him warmly. With a smile she got up, "Ami, I think I'll come by again later, all right?" "Don't let us rush you off," Taiki said politely. "It's all right," Ikuko said smoothly, "I need to get home to my family." She turned to Ami and smiled, "Thank you, Ami." "I should be thanking you," Ami answered as she walked Ikuko out. "I'm really sorry, Ami," Yaten said as Ami came back to the table, "we really didn't plan on interrupting." "It's all right," Ami said, silently wishing that Ikuko and Luna had been given a chance to talk for a bit. She suspected both would have profited from the conversation. She sat down again as she looked the three over, "So, what can I do for you?" "What makes you think we want anything?" Taiki asked curiously. "There's no store opening nearby here," Ami said dryly as she got some juice from the fridge, "and if there was, we both know it would have been a well advertized event. I may be focused on school work, but I do notice that much." "Ah..." Yaten flushed with embarrassment. "Well done, Miss Mizuno," Taiki conceded. "Oh my god," a voice blurted out, cutting off further discussion for the moment. Usagi gazed in shock at the three guests, her pink bunny print pajamas looking remarkably cute on her. "Sorry," Hotaru stood nearby, also dressed for a sleep over in her simple black pajamas, "we forgot we were going to make popcorn." "Usagi," Ami hid a smile, "I'd like you to meet the Three Lights." "It's a honor to meet you," Usagi squeaked, stars in her eyes. "Nice to meet you, too," Seiya smiled charmingly at the little girl, his thoughts racing. "Nice hair," Yaten hid a smile as he and Taiki took a turn being gushed over by both young women. Ami tried not to chuckle as even the ordinarily reserved Hotaru seemed overwhelmed by the music stars. 'It's nice to see them both doing something so normal,' she mused. After fetching a poster and CD for them to sign both Usagi and Hotaru finally retreated, both still clearly excited by the meeting. Taiki smiled slightly as he asked politely, "Babysitting?" After a moment's silent debate Ami said, "Hotaru, yes. Usagi is my adopted daughter." Seiya nodded slightly, "It must be difficult, taking care of her and handling school too." "It has it's challenges," Ami agreed mildly. "So," she looked the three boys over again, "what do you want?" "Taiki?" Yaten offered. "Oh no," Taiki quickly said, "it was Seiya's idea." "Well?" Ami looked at Seiya. Seiya sighed, "Thanks, guys." Turning towards Ami he smiled his most charming smile, "We need a little favor." Ami felt her lips twitch up in a reluctant smile, "Oh?" "We need a tutor," Seiya admitted, "or more accurately, we need a additional tutor. Taiki can help one of us, but we need someone else too." "Taiki?" Ami asked. "Both my brothers are decent students," Taiki hurried to reassure her, "it's just that we lack study time in between our performances and other obligations." "So you need someone to make what studying time you've got more efficient?" Ami asked them curiously. "You'll do it?" Yaten asked eagerly. "I didn't say that," Ami chuckled. Seiya reached out to take Ami's hands as he said, "Mizuno-sensei, we're desperate. Please help us." "I..." Ami started. "Please?" both Yaten and Taiki repeated, looking into her eyes hopefully. Ami sighed as she reluctantly gave in, "All right, but not every day. We all have busy schedules to meet, I suspect."
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