Ami Mizuno felt a moment of pure dread as she walked towards the
busy highschool. Normally, going to her classes would put a little
spring in her step, but it was that day once again. Valentine's Day. She
pushed her short blue hair out of her eyes, squaring her shoulders in
her boy's school uniform as she strode on.
As Ami walked through the halls she made herself smile, the
white line of her scar bold on the bridge of her nose. The girls called
out their warm greetings to her, a few young men tossed her mild frowns
at her bold behavior and, she noted with a weary sigh, there several
young women waiting for her by her locker.
'And so it begins,' Ami thought as she stood in front of her
locket.
"Good morning, Ami-sama," the girl's face was beet red, a
package clutched to her chest.
"Good morning, Katie," Ami smiled back, glad she had a good
memory for names.
If it was possible Katie went redder. "Here," she passed the box
over before adding, "Happy Valentines Day!" And with that, she all but
fled. The other girl's went through much of the same ritual, finally
leaving her alone.
Her cheeks flaming Ami put the girl's three boxes of chocolates
in her school bag, then she hesitated as she grabbed the handle of her
locker door. "I might as well get it over with," Ami sighed, firmly
pulling the door open and letting a small flurry of cards fall from the
compartment to land all around her feet.
"You want some help with that?" Haruka asked with a impish
little grin as she walked past Ami to her own locker.
Ami knelt down, scooping up the envelopes and putting them in a
shopping bag that she had brought. "You probably have your own to deal
with," she smiled.
"She's got you there," Michiru smirked.
"At least now they're mostly focused on Ami," Haruka noted as
she opened up her own locker, unleashing a smaller pile of cards for
her.
"What's that in the back of your locker?" Michiru noted,
curiously taking a look over Ami's shoulder before going to her own.
Reaching deeper inside Ami pulled out an expertly wrapped box.
She flipped up the card that was attached, reading 'To Ami, from S.' She
blinked before saying, "I wonder who it's from?"
Michiru and Haruka exchanged a long look before shaking their
heads. "I think you'll be able to figure it out," Haruka murmured. She
blinked in surprise as Ami carried the love letters with her in the bag,
"I thought you usually threw them out?"
Ami shrugged awkwardly, "Normally I would, but this is
Valentine's Day. At least I owe them the effort of trying to read all of
them." She looked down at the bulging bag, "Somehow."
"That's good of you," Michiru said gravely. After Ami left them
she looked over at Haruka, "Ami can be remarkably clueless about this
kind of thing. What if she doesn't figure it out?"
"Setsuna could have just signed it," Haruka pointed out to her
dryly, "she might not want Ami to know it was her."
Michiru made a face, "I think I'm getting a headache."
Ami went into her homeroom class, blinking in surprise as she
walked over to her assigned desk. "Oh dear," she murmured, shifting the
boxes of chocolates that had been left on top of her desk by various
classmates.
Her classes seemed to be remarkably long and tedious that day as
Ami tried her best to concentrate. It didn't help that her thoughts were
occupied by trying to determine the identity of the anonymous gift
giver. Of course, there was one obvious suspect...
Ami slipped out on the lunch break, carrying the bento box and
chocolates as she strode towards the nurse's office. She tapped on the
door, and Setsuna called out, "Come in."
The black haired woman smiled as Ami entered, her reddish eyes
glowing with a kind of simple pleasure. 'It's her,' Ami realized, 'of
course it's her.' She walked inside over to where Setsuna sat there by
her desk.
"Well, isn't that interesting," Setsuna smiled slightly as she
nodded at the box of chocolates that Ami carried. She poured them each a
cup of tea, pushing one over to where Ami sat.
"Found it in my locker this morning," Ami put them down on the
desk, sitting down by Setsuna, "I wonder how it got there?"
"An admirer must have come early," Setsuna mused, looking down
to avoid Ami's gaze, "to slip that inside there."
Ami felt her cheeks redden, "I was a bit surprised, to be
honest. I hadn't quite realized that this person was an admirer."
Setsuna looked up to meet Ami's eyes, and Ami was a bit
surprised to see fear in them. "I hope you weren't... disappointed,"
Setsuna said softly.
"It was just a bit unexpected," Ami reached out, tentatively
putting her hand on Setsuna's, "but pleasantly so."
Setsuna smiled in relief, "I'm glad."
They sat there for a few moments in silence, then Ami frowned at
Setsuna slightly. "You might have said something to me earlier," she
scolded gently as she picked up her cup, taking a graceful drink of her
tea.
Setsuna shrugged, "I thought about it, but I didn't want to
spring this on you." She smiled wryly, "You've been very difficult to
get to know."
Ami blushed, "Fair enough." She opened the gift carefully,
setting aside the paper to reveal the chocolates within. "Want one?" she
held up the open package to Setsuna.
"Thank you," Setsuna plucked a chocolate out, biting through
half of it, savoring the taste. She offered the uneaten half to Ami
wordlessly.
'An indirect kiss,' Ami thought with a blush, but she still took
the chocolate into her mouth, enjoying the sweet melting. "And thank
you," Ami murmured.
"We'd better get to eating our lunches," Setsuna offered with a
soft laugh, "or lunch hour will run out at the rate we're going." She
picked up her own cup of tea, washing down the sweetness of the
remaining chocolate.
Ami unwrapped her bento, popping the lid off, "Too bad."
"Haruka and Michiru suggested I invite you over for dinner
tonight," Setsuna noted as they settled down to eat, "as they're going
out on a romantic evening together."
Ami took another drink of her tea to wash down some food then
raised an single eyebrow, "And are you going to follow their
suggestion?"
"What do you think?" Setsuna asked.
"Dinner for four could be good," Ami agreed. Setsuna looked
curious and she added, "I doubt we can just leave Chibi-Usa and Hotaru
to fend for themselves."
Setsuna chuckled softly, "Good point. I forgot they left her
with me, to be honest."
"I occasionally get surprised to come home and have Chibi-Usa
there waiting for me," Ami murmured as she scooped up some rice, "even
though I've been caring for her for months."
"You make a remarkable parent," Setsuna said with a little smile
on her face, delicately eating some fried beef from her lunch.
Ami actually looked suspiciously at Setsuna a second, food half
way to her mouth. "You can't be serious," she finally said, "I feel like
I'm bumbling my way through."
"Join the club," Setsuna answered serenely. She took a
thoughtful drink of her tea, "I suspect if you asked your mother, she'd
tell you much the same thing."
"Don't even mention my mother," Ami groaned, "you have no idea
the amount of teasing I've been getting from her."
Setsuna's eyes twinkled with her amusement but she kept her
voice perfectly level as she said, "You poor thing."
Ami smiled at her dangerously, "Just you wait." She drank more
tea, "Once I tell my mother about this," she nodded to the chocolates,
"she's going to decide you're serious about me. That's when the motherly
interrogation starts."
Setsuna paused, "Having met your mother, I suspect I'm in
trouble."
"Oh yes," Ami agreed. She paused, "Mom was already asking me
pointed questions about why you, Haruka and Michelle were all living
together."
"She doesn't think we're..." Setsuna blinked, her cheeks going
red.
Ami just laughed softly,
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