"Mizuno-Kun!"
Naru called out as she caught up to her new found love. Ami just
smiled sweetly and waved at Naru before giving a small kiss on the lips
as they headed towards their classroom. Who would have thought
that Ami Mizuno ,the shyest girl in class 1-1 and oh yeah Sailor Mercury
would fall for a civilian and specifically one of her own gender!
Wait...I think we need to back
up a bit don't we...very well then let's do just that!
Two months earlier...
It
was a rather dreary day in Tokyo. The wind had been howling all
day and the rain was unforgivable! It was the kind of day that
those that didn't have to go out didn't but if you did...God have mercy
on your soul! On this day four girls were gathered at the Hikawa
Shrine huddled in a bedroom apparently having a study session.
"So
you see Tuskino-san that's how you solve this problem." One
girl said to the other. This girl was wearing glasses that some
would say she honestly didn't need but her self-consciousness wouldn't
allow her to part with them. "I see Ami-chan. " Usagi
replied to her friend as she applied what the genius girl showed her.
"So
then does that same thing apply to this problem?" Another girl
asked and when Ami looked at the problem she shook her head "no"
and then showed her how to solve it. The girl nodded as she saw
how Ami went about it and was just floored with how she was able to
grasp the subject matter in the textbook. It was one of the qualities
that the girls admired about Ami.
As
night came and the weather let up the girls went their separate ways
and to their respective homes. When Ami got home of course there
was a note from her mother on the dry erase board telling her that she
wouldn't be home and that she was going to have to make something to
eat for dinner. Ami filed the note away in that LARGE filing cabinet
they call her brain but as she was going to her room the light for the
"voicemail" on the phone was blinking...who could that be?!
Mizuno-san...I'm sorry to
bother you but I need someone to talk to. I'm having a..."problem"
with something and I just need someone to talk to. I usually talk
to Usagi about this but...
[BEEEEEPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!]
(Naru-san is having issues
with something and its something she usually talks to Tuskino-san about?
I'll talk to her about it in the morning!)
That
was the thought process that Ami had and it was a promise that she kept
when she got to school(early as usual) and while she was going over
some of the material that she knew they would be studying Naru came
in when she saw Ami at her desk. "Mizuno-san...good morning!"
Naru exclaimed and Ami returned the greeting. Naru had started
to spend time talking to the girl genius before class everyday after
the slumber party they had at Usagi's. Ami truly felt honoured
that Naru wanted to talk to her because outside of Usagi and Makoto
not many students really spoke to her all that much. It was definitely
a good change of pace for sure!
"Ami...when
you aren't studying what do you do for fun?" Naru asked and this
got Ami to look up from her book. To be honest it was something
she never really had to think about because her whole life revolved
around the text and she knew this. What DID she like to do if
she wasn't studying? "You know Osaka-san...I never thought
about that. My whole life has been based around studying and wanting
to be my absolute best because of my goal of what I want to do when
I get out of school." Ami explained and Naru nodded politely.
This was all common knowledge to anyone that asked that question that
Ami wanted to be a doctor like her mother. Was there anyway to
break that mold?
The
day went by rather uneventfully and Ami being Ami went up onto the roof
and studied alone. While Usagi and her friends having lunch Naru
kept stealing glances over at where Ami sat and frowned at the fact
that she still would try to isolate herself from the rest of the class
during social periods. This HAD to bother her even just a little...didn't
it?
"Something
wrong Naru-chan?" Usagi asked but her friend just shook it off.
Naru wasn't about to tell her friend the situation she was having or
what it related to. Naru was going to try her best to really get
to know Mizuno Ami no matter what!
Days
blended into weeks and Naru made it a point every day before class to
try to talk to Ami and not just about school either! Naru had
convinced herself that if she found a topic outside of schoolwork that
Ami could relate to then maybe...just MAYBE she could start to get the
"Bookworm of 1-1" to open up a bit to her. Her big chance
came when she walked into class one day and saw the Minidisc that Ami
was listening to while studying. Out of the corner of her eye
Ami saw the young lady and politely took out the earbuds as Naru took
what became her customary spot in front of Ami before class.
"Usagi
told me you liked Minako's music. I was surprised how into it
you were when we had the slumber party awhile back." Naru stated
and she could tell Ami was smiling a bit behind the book she was reading.
Over the past few days Naru had begun to chip away at the wall that
Ami had when she was around people she didn't know all that well and
Naru was starting to become a good friend to her. This "daily
ritual" during the school days was something that Naru enjoyed
and ,even though she didn't readily admit it, Ami enjoyed talking to
Naru. She was a nice girl whom meant well and knew that if she
wasn't so damn busy with cram school she'd definitely hang out with
her some.
"Usagi
let me borrow hers for awhile but then I finally broke down and bought
the disc for myself. Its a good tool to use when I have to memorize
different material or when I have a bad day. I usually don't have
anyone to talk to so when I'm alone I usually just listen to the disc
to help me concentrate." Ami explained and Naru just nodded.
She was beginning to understand Ami but at the same time she silently
wished that the girl would learn what fun was every so often!
The following month
Golden
Week was had come and that meant that the kids had time off for a little
while. Ami was busy pouring over notes for school to try and keep
pace if not get ahead of the class per usual when she got a phone call
from Usagi.
"Ami-chan"
Usagi started "What are your plans for the day?" she asked
and when her friend told her Usagi mentally faceplamed. "Come
on Ami you need to learn to have some fun in your life. I'm at
the ice cream shop with Naru-chan and she wanted to know if you wanted
to join us but you're busy so I'll tell her that you can't make it."
Usagi sad somberly and hung up the phone. As Ami listened to the
dial tone at the other end a part of her felt AWFUL! There was
almost no logical explanation for her to have this feeling but at the
same time it was nice that Naru thought of her. Naru ,a civilian,
was thinking of Ami Mizuno...did we enter the twilight zone or something
here?
Minutes
later Ami closed up her textbook and got changed to go out. As
she did she sent Usagi a message that she would meet up with them at
the park but NOT to tell Naru! Odd behaviour much? When
Usagi got the text she started smiling and kept her promise to Ami to
not tell her friend...which was hard because Naru was good at reading
Usagi like a book. This time it wasn't going to be so easy because
of the fact that Usagi found a way to divert her attention every time
she got close.
When
Usagi and Naru got to the park Ami was waiting for the girls at the
entrance patiently. This got Naru to show her "WTH?!"
face that quickly turned into a smile as the trio made their way in
and had an absolute ball! Naru and Ami did the bottle toss and
Ami nailed the targets on the first shot which got the attention of
the attendant and Naru couldn't help but be impressed. What else
was this girl good at?!
The
trio would get to find out as they did the various games and Ami had
a hard time carrying some of the prizes she got. One of the games
she won a big plushie that Naru joked looked like her in a way and when
she won it Ami gave it to her new found friend. This was the kind
of day that Naru wanted Ami to have and slowly Ami started to let her
guard down around the girl. When the day was over the girls were
BEAT! It was the kind of day that after you get home your head
hits the pillow and you go "night night" real quick!
All three girls did just that but when Ami went off to dreamland her
dreams started revolving around her new friend in Naru Osaka!
Three days later...
The
class was given a pop quiz and naturally Ami passed! Usagi had
to do cleaning duty and Naru stayed behind to help her. Ami had
gone off to cram school and this gave Naru a chance to try and talk
to her best friend about her newest..."problem". "Usagi...what
did/do you do when you like someone? How easy is it for you to
express yourself when you have feelings for someone and they don't know
you like them?" Naru asked and this line of questioning was unusual
for Naru. Sure she glanced at pictures of boys that she admired
but this sounded different somehow. What was going on?
"Well
Naru...I think the first thing you have to do is know yourself first
if the feelings are real. If they are then you have to figure
out how to come out and tell the person you like how you honestly feel.
The hard part is if the person you like doesn't like you then it gets
scary because you could lose that friend...make sense?" Usagi asked
and Naru nodded as the finished up on the cleaning duty and Naru had
her mission now: Tell Ami Mizuno how she felt about her!
Two Days Later...
Sometimes rehearsing helps!
Its
not that the conversation didn't go well...it would have if Naru didn't
stumble over what she was going to tell her new friend. The time
was perfect as it had been before school started and Naru was talking
to Ami about what was getting covered and she asked to see Ami's notes(she
had legitimately forgotten her notebook for one of the classes) when
the subject of "crushes" came up but it was Ami that brought
it up! This caught Naru so off guard that she couldn't say anything
and the rest of the day was kind of awkward. When lunch came Usagi
had asked Naru if she got to tell the person she liked how she felt
but Naru dodged the question. She was so ashamed at how she acted
around Ami that she didn't want to talk about it.
Osaka Residence
Naru
sat at her desk almost in tears! Its not easy for one to admit
how they feel about someone but it was even HARDER because in this case
the person that she was crushing on was a fellow female classmte!
How in the [BLEEP] does that work?!
Naru
didn't have much time for moping about it when she glanced out of a
window and saw a light on over by the ice cream parlor not too far from
her house. Something was happening because it looked almost like
a light show over there and her curiosity? Well it got the best
of her!
"SUPREME THUNDER!!!"
"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!!!!"
Sailor
Mercury and Jupiter were fighting a monster that Nephrite had brought
out but this was a tough bastard! It was absorbing a lot of the
attacks they threw at it and even Mars was having trouble. Just
how tough WAS this thing?!
Naru
cursed herself for not being all THAT athletic when she ran and got
to the parlor and ended up behind the monster. Mercury noticed
this and told her to back away but it was too late as the monsters started
going after Naru and Mercury led the chase after the youma. This
was honestly the first time that she remembered chasing a youma because
it was going after a civilian....why?!
That
thought process would be put on hold as the monster trapped Naru and
after draining a significant amount of energy threw her like a rag doll
into a set of steel girders that were near a construction site!
This pissed off Mercury to the point where she delivered an attack that
was about as cold at dry ice to the creature! When Sailor Moon
got there and saw what Mercury did she didn't say a thing...didn't need
to either as the piece came into place as she hit the "Twilight
Flash" and Mercury knelt down next to the unconscious Naru.
The last time she felt like this was when she almost killed Sailor Moon
as Dark Mercury but why now?
That
night at the hospital where Saeko was on the night shift Ami brought
in Naru and took her to one of the vacant rooms to let her rest.
She would have taken her back HOME but trying to explain whom she was
to the mother might not have been easy considering she would have probably
shown up as Mercury and NOT Ami.
A
few hours later and Naru woke up but still fairly weak to the point
where she didn't bother sitting up. This was going to have to
be the time to tell Ami because if she didn't then when would be the
"appropriate" time after this? "Mizuno-san"
Naru started "I'm sorry about tonight. I saw that light coming
from the parlor and I let my curiosity get the best of me." she
finished quietly but Ami just shook her head and placed her hand in
Naru's before speaking.
"I
don't suppose I can convince you that what you saw was an illusion can
I?" Ami asked and Naru just gently shook her head. Ami knew
that if she told Naru who she was then she would be putting a civilians
life in danger. What could she do now though? "The
person you may have seen attack that monster before you blacked out...that
was me. I promise you that when you feel better I'll tell you
anything you want to know but at the same time can you keep it between
us?" Ami asked and Naru complied. She was starting to get
Ami's trust and she didn't want to lose it. This was the LEAST
she could do for her
As
the conversation continued it was for the most part light-hearted and
small talk but then the subject came up that both girls dreaded and
Ami ,oddly enough, was the first to bring it up! "Naru...when
you said in a message a few months ago you wanted to talk about something...was
it about me?" Ami asked and Naru knew she was busted then.
How to go about talking about a subject that could do irreparable damage
to their fragile friendship.
"I'd
be lying to you if I told you it wasn't Ami." Naru explained and
Ami just listened for the explanation to come "Do you remember
the slumber party we had over Usagi's house?" Naru asked and Ami
nodded waiting to see where this was going "When you were singing
I thought you were absolutely adorable and slowly my perception of you
started changing. A day or two later and when you reverted back
to your old habit of isolation I was concerned because I think you are
a good girl and someone that needs a person to talk to at the least
but maybe down the line become something more. I...had chased
after boys most of my time on this planet admittedly but something about
you captured a place in my heart. I'll never be able to explain
it I don't think but you are someone I honestly and truly care about
and I don't want to see you get hurt." Naru explained and b the
time she was finished Ami was by her side sitting in a chair next to
the bed.
"Osaka-san
I...I've felt the same way since that night! I didn't know how
to express it to you or anyone in the school because ,to be frank, there's
still people that perceive me as a snobbish bookworm but honestly I'm
just trying to do my best in school. You understand that right?"
Ami asked and Naru just smiled. She wouldn't expect anything less
from the whiz kid of the class and the fact that Ami reciprocated Naru's
feelings made her feel good inside.
And this brings us to...
Present Day...
Naru
hadn't said much to anyone about her and Ami dating...hell it took a
good while for Usagi to figure it out but when she did she was quite
happy for them and made a promise to not tell too many people in the
school. It was a promise that she kept even when Rei asked about
Ami going to the jewelery store a little more frequently than normal
but Usagi found a way to deflect the questioning to something else.
She didn't know how Rei would take it and made certain to not leave
any hints about it after the fact.
Was it a hard pill for Saeko to swallow? Not really because when she saw how much Naru truly cared for her daughter she became an accepted member of the family. It was something that Naru would treasure always and whenever she woke up in the morning she did so knowing one thing: She was the one that captured Ami's heart!