Power Transcendent
Sailormoon Fanfiction by Jessica
(None of the characters of Sailormoon belong to me, nor do I receive any
profit from my use of them. So there.)
-------------------
Chapter 1
Minako sighed very deeply as she leaned back against a tree, her eyes
closed. She smiled dreamily as the summer sun played with the shadows of
leaves across her face. Everything seemed so peaceful and serene...
"But Mako-chan...!" Minako nearly jumped out of her skin at Usagi's
strident, whining exclamation. Opening her eyes, she saw three of her
friends and fellow Senshi, Usagi, Makoto and Ami. Ami was sitting on a
bench across from Minako, engrossed in a book. Minako ruefully wished
for her concentration as she looked at the other two sitting next to her,
Usagi holding a pitifully empty lunch bag and looking lustfully at
Makoto's beautifully prepared meal.
"Usagi-chan...this would be the third time I've had to share my lunch
with you this week!" Makoto protested. "I get hungry too, you know?"
"And she's being very generous by using the word 'share.'" Ami noted
absently as she turned a page. "You tend to eat most of it."
Usagi pouted. "But it's not my fault! I just wake up too late for
breakfast and I just have to eat my lunch in class." She sniffed. "But
then I don't have anything for lunch...and I get so hungry..."
Makoto sighed the sigh of the long-suffering and food-deprived as she
allowed Usagi to take a few morsels from her lunch. "I don't see how any
of that isn't your fault, but..."
Minako coughed gently and everyone glanced over at her. "You know Usagi-
chan, the eye of the beholder is always bigger than your stomach." She
said chidingly. Everyone simply gave her a look for a long moment. She
shrugged. "Hey, it's true!"
Undaunted, she reached into her own lunch, blinking as her fingers
brushed a folded piece of paper that she hadn't placed there. She drew
it out surreptitiously and glanced down at it, sure that it was a letter
from one of her many secret admirers, but wanting to make certain before
she began showing off.
~Minako...please come to my apartment after school today. I have
something very important to ask you. But please, please don't tell
anyone. Ami.~
The Senshi of Love glanced up. Sure enough, Ami was looking at her, a
worried expression on her face. As soon as she realized she'd been
spotted, her eyes darted back to her book, but a small pink flush
remained on her cheeks.
"Hey, what's that?" Makoto asked, finally digging into her own lunch.
She had managed to save about half from the voracious Moon Princess.
Usagi looked over as well. "Oooooh! I bet it's a letter from a secret
admirer!" She purred. "Let me see!" She reached out for the paper. Out
of the corner of her eye, Minako noticed Ami's fingers tightening around
her book. Minako snatched it back and shoved it into her bag.
"Not so fast!" She said teasingly. "This admirer wants to remain a
secret, and, as the Goddess of Love, it's my duty to respect his
wishes!"
Usagi pouted. "You've never kept any of the others secret."
Minako winked. "This one's different."
Usagi pouted a little more, but quickly cheered up when she managed to
get a couple more sympathy bites from Makoto. The rest of the day passed
slowly for Minako, her mind filled with theories about her secret
meeting with Ami. Of course, as she was leaving school, having said
goodbye to her friends, she had to admit the answer was obvious.
"Ami-chan's in love!" She said to herself, taking a long way around to
Ami's apartment building. She did want to keep her friend's secret, so
she didn't want anyone noticing where she was headed. "That has to be
it...and this proves she's a genius, coming to me for help!" She sighed
theatrically. "It's a hard burden, always being sought out for romantic
advice. But I guess that's just the way it has to be...I mean, who else
could the poor thing possibly go to?"
Ami buzzed her in as soon as she reached the building and Minako tried
to think up sage words of advice for any possible scenario the Senshi of
Water might have gotten herself into as the elevator climbed to the
penthouse. She smiled cheerfully as Ami let her in, determined not to
let the other girl know she had figured out her secret. It would be much
better for her to tell Minako herself. "So, how's your mom?" She asked
conversationally as she sank into the plush sofa in the living room.
"Oh...Mother's at the hospital...she'll be there until late tonight..."
Ami said nervously, sitting across from Minako. She shifted around a
little bit. "Minako-chan..." She said softly.
This was it...Minako sat up, looking attentive but not overwhelming, she
hoped. "Yes, Ami-chan?"
Ami started to speak several times, but stopped herself. Finally she
took a deep breath. "I'll never be able to say it...here..." Her cheeks
red, Ami looked down at the table between the two as she held out a
piece of paper. Now slightly confused, Minako took it and looked down at
what she held.
When her eyes took in what was on the paper, the Senshi of Love released
it as if it burned her. It drifted gently down to the surface of the
table, Minako still staring at it in disbelief. Ami continued to stare
intently at nothing in particular.
PRACTICE ENGLISH EXAM
STUDENT: Mizuno Ami
SCORE: 78/100
Minako finally found her voice. "A 78?" She looked at her friend,
stunned. "You...you got a 78? On a TEST?"
Ami bit her lip, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Minako
mentally berated herself for being so shocked. Ami's studies meant so
much to her, and Minako's reaction couldn't have helped at all.
"Hey...it's okay..." She said more gently. "I mean, 78...it's almost a
B!"
"I've never gotten a B in my entire life, let alone a C." Ami said
miserably. "But I've just been so busy this semester with my other
subjects, and Senshi business, and helping all of you study..."
Minako winced. "I'm sorry Ami...if we were messing you up, you should
have said something!"
Ami smiled a bit and shook her head, looking up at Minako for the first
time. She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. "No, no! I love helping you
all...it's one of my favorite things, it really is!" She said earnestly.
"And I can't imagine what would happen to you and Usagi without me to
help you study!"
Minako grinned a bit and rubbed the back of her head. "Ami-chan...you
didn't have to say it like that..."
"Like what?"
"Never mind."
Ami smiled again, with a little more feeling. "Besides, it's only a
practice exam from cram school...the real thing won't be for a couple of
weeks." She blushed. "Actually, that's really why I asked you over..."
It took a couple of moments for that to sink in. "You want me to tutor
you?" She smiled at Ami's tentative nod. "Wow...that's sort of unusual,
isn't it?" She giggled. "Sure, I can do that."
Ami smiled, relieved. "Great! Just...please don't tell the others." She
looked embarrassed. "I know it's just a silly practice test, but..."
Minako cut her off with a huge smile and a V hand signal. "Hey, don't
worry about it! My lips are sealed." Minako had always been a little
worried for the shyest of the Sailor Senshi's self-esteem, and she had
no intention of doing anything that would hurt Ami's pride.
Ami whipped out a day planner and laid it open on the table. "Now when
should we do this? I have cram school and of course there's the usual
studying with the others...it will be hard, but I'd like to get as much
work in as possible..." The short-haired girl continued planning rapidly,
with only the occasional input from Minako.
What have I gotten myself into? Minako wondered, a little dazed by Ami's
implacable efficiency. She glanced up at the other girl's face, noting
absently the rather cute way her eyebrows were drawn together in
concentration as her fingers danced the pen over the planner. Well,
maybe it wouldn't be so bad to spend a little more time alone with her.
That was a rather odd thought, and Minako would have looked at it a
little more closely, but at that moment the communicators around both
girls' wrists crackled to life, a familiar voice sounding out in tinny
stereo. "This is Jupiter! There's a youma attacking the crowd in front
of the bookstore near the arcade. Mars and I are keeping it busy, but we
need help!" As she spoke, the words "Burning Mandala!" sounded out
faintly behind her, followed by a whoosh and a muffled screech.
Minako frowned. "This is Venus. I have Mercury with me. We're on our
way." Both girls stood up and rushed towards the door. As they rushed to
the elevators, the communicator came on again, this time to the sound of
a snore that was shortly cut off by a squeak of pain. "Luna here...don't
worry, she'll be there soon." As the elevator descended, Minako and Ami
gave each other a quick smile. When it reached ground floor, the two
pelted out of the building and ducked behind it. Finally away from any
prying eyes, it was time.
"MERCURY CRYSTAL POWER!"
"VENUS CRYSTAL POWER!"
Transformed, the Senshi dashed off. The screams of terror and fleeing
crowds made the location of the attack easy enough to find, even they
hadn't known where they were going. They turned the corner to find the
street in front of the bookstore was a war zone. Quite a few people were
still there, immobile statues covered in a thick, inky liquid. Jupiter
was standing in the middle of the street, lightning crackling around her
as she launched an attack towards the youma, a massive black spider
streaked with green with a humanoid torso clad in chitinous armor that
matched its markings. It was battered and even smoking from a couple of
places, showing damage from the battle thus far.
It rushed towards Jupiter, who was also a bit the worse for wear,
dancing nimbly out of the way of the streaking electricity while a
stream of the black goo jetted from its mouth towards the Senshi.
Jupiter rolled out of the way as well, and the youma skidded to halt and
turned just as Jupiter climbed to her feet.
"Where's Mars?" Mercury asked worriedly, peering at the street below.
"I can't see her." Venus replied. "But we're not finding out up here.
Let's go!" She ran over and leapt on top of a nearby car. "Hey, Youma!"
The spider lifted its head to look at her, and Jupiter glanced behind
her, a smile of relief on her face. "I can't allow you to destroy the
peace in this city and harm these innocent people! I am Sailor Venus!
Prepare to be punished in the name of Venus!"
The spider stared at her for a moment, then leapt high into the air,
coming down onto the hood of the car Venus was standing on, crushing the
vehicle and sending the Senshi of love flying. "I am the daeva Spinne."
It said in a guttural hiss, turning to where Sailor Venus lay sprawled
on the pavement. "Prepare yourself."
"SHABON SPRAY!" Mercury had been just a step behind Venus and had waited
patiently for the right moment. Cold mist filled the area, but Venus
could just make out the silhouette of the daeva. That was enough.
"VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN!" The golden, heart-shaped links streaked out
towards the creature in the mists. When the air cleared an instant later,
Spinne had fallen on its side, its spider's legs bound tightly in the
chain. It struggled, but was unable to reach its hands down far enough
to free itself.
"Remember me?" A voice from above said. On the roof of the bookstore,
looking rather battered herself, was Sailor Mars, smirking. The creature
froze for a moment, sensing the sudden onset of doom. On the street,
Jupiter was smiling as well.
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!"
"SUPREME THUNDER!"
The flaming arrow streaked towards the daeva, meeting the lightning
halfway and bonding with it, detonating in a ball of fire and thunder
when it made contact. Spinne shrieked as it took the full force of the
combined attack, and continued to shriek as the flames faded. Black
energy crackled around its singed and cracked carapace for a moment,
then it seemed to somehow implode, falling into itself in an instant.
And the daeva was gone.
Sailor Moon ran up an instant later, just as the black goo began to
slough off the trapped humans, evaporating the instant it touched the
ground. The people fell after being freed, but immediately began
struggling to their feet. "Is the fight over?" Sailor Moon asked,
surprised.
"Yeah, no thanks to you." Mars said, leaping from the roof to the
sidewalk below. Sailor Moon stuck her tongue out at her.
"We'd better go." Mercury said, looking at the people beginning to
gather. That seemed like a good idea, so the Inner Senshi dashed off
down a side street before anybody really noticed them.
-------------------
In a dark cavern, illuminated only by the flickering light of an orb in
the center of it, a figure stared into that light. He was tall, pale and
handsome, and his waist length hair was a dark shade of midnight blue
that had an almost metallic glint in the pale light. He wore a long robe,
colored a shade of blue very similar to that of his hair. A saber was at
belted at his side in a golden scabbard. His face betrayed no emotion
save a hint of irritation.
The orb's surface was displaying the last few moments of the fight
between the Inner Senshi and Spinne. The figure frowned slightly as
Spinne met its end, and two other figures entered the cavern at the same
moment. The orb began playing the image of the fight from the beginning
once again.
"You see Lady Meson?" One said in an irritated tone. "It's as I
said...he sent a daeva to earth without permission and now look! It's
been defeated. A breach of security and a waste of resources like this
cannot..." He fell silent as the other lifted her hand.
"Enough Gluon." Meson stepped close to the orb and into the light. She
was a picture of contrasts. Tall and slender, she walked with the
deliberate grace of an assassin. Her costume hugged her form tightly, a
bodysuit of some unreflective white material. It came down her arms,
tapering off as it reached over her hands. It had a diamond shaped cut
in the center of the torso, revealing an expanse of dusky skin. The
shoulder plates were white as well, each a sharp, three-tiered triangle.
A long, inky black cape hung from these plates, shimmering in the light.
Her beautiful, dark face was set in a cruel smile, and her snow-white
hair swept behind her head in a series of spikes. A symbol was tattooed
on her forehead, three red disks arranged in a triangle, bound by fiery
lines.
She joined the other in watching the end of the fight play out. "Well
Muon?" She asked in a brusque, no-nonsense tone. "What have you
discovered?"
"This was unsatisfactory." The other finally said in a voice of deep
velvet. He gestured, and the orb flashed images of Venus, Mercury, Mars
and Jupiter. "These were the only ones who actually fought." An image of
Sailor Moon appeared. "She arrived late...we never saw her powers." A
final gesture, and the images vanished, leaving only the orb glowing
with a sickly greenish light.
"As I said...unsatisfactory. There are ten of these warriors, these
Sailor Senshi. Spinne failed to provide me even a glimpse of the other
five."
Meson nodded. "Nevertheless...we now know that they are powerful...for
only four to take a daeva..."
Muon made a noncommittal sound. "That knowledge is of use to you, not me.
At any rate, we certainly knew that already. Many have fallen to these
Senshi in the past. Thus far, I have seen nothing that warrants my
attention."
Meson smiled slightly. "I'm certain that you'll find something. After
all, Tachyon did say that you would make your greatest discovery upon
this world. And she has never been wrong."
Muon turned to leave, his robe swirling about him as he faded into the
shadows. "I hope for the sake of your master that the child is correct
here as well...we have had a fruitful alliance, Hadron and I. I would
hate to see it end because he has wasted my time."
After the sound of Muon's footsteps had faded into echoes, Gluon joined
his mistress in the light. Shorter than the other two, he was dressed
far more simply than Meson. A simple green sleeveless shirt with a pair
of black pants and boots, with a green streak of fire on the side of
each leg. Around his neck was a golden pendant that bore the same symbol
as that on Meson's forehead. His hair, a deep and vivid green, hung
freely down to his shoulders. "Lady Meson..." He began.
"Yes, Gluon?" Meson replied, still looking into the orb.
"I don't understand why Lord Hadron insisted that he come...he has no
loyalty to you or Lord Hadron, or to anyone else. He is...unpredictable,
and that makes him a danger to our plans."
Meson smiled a bit. "How little you understand him, Gluon. Muon is in
fact very predictable...he feels nothing except curiosity. His life is
devoted solely to the satisfaction of that curiosity. He will do
anything our Lord asks of him, without regret or pause, because despite
what he said, he believes in Tachyon's prediction. It has always been
like this...he lends his considerable power and brilliant mind to Lord
Hadron's conquest, and in return we preserve whatever Muon deems worth
studying. He isn't loyal, true. But he is reliable and logical." She
turned towards Gluon, a dangerous smile on her face as she stepped
towards him. Gluon looked a bit shaken, but made no move.
"In that sense, I trust in him far more than you." Meson followed Muon's
path into the shadows of the cave, her voice fading gradually as she
walked.
"Prepare your minions Gluon...you will take charge of the initial phases
of the invasion. You will be responsible for seeing the Sailor Senshi do
not threaten our plans. You know what I expect...don't fail me." Those
last words echoed in the darkness. Gluon looked after her for a long
moment.
"Muon." He finally whispered, and he clenched his fist.
-------------------
A general meeting of Sailor Senshi seemed to be in order, and that
evening they gathered in Mamoru's apartment. Michiru and Haruka were out
of town for the week, but all the rest came to discuss the sudden attack.
"So what did it do when it appeared Rei?" Mamoru asked, standing in the
doorway to his kitchen.
Rei shrugged a bit. "Nothing really...it just started shrieking and
spitting that black stuff over everyone it could. There didn't seem to
really be any kind of plan behind it at all. Just usual
youma...daeva...stuff."
Setsuna was sitting in an armchair, a lightly dozing Hotaru in her lap.
She glanced up at Rei's comment. "Doesn't that seem odd?" Everyone
turned to look at her. "How many monsters, of any kind, have appeared
that didn't have any kind of plan at all? This one appeared intelligent,
too intelligent to indulge in this kind of random desruction."
"Don't you know Puu?" Chibi-usa asked. She was sitting on the floor next
to the chair. "I know you couldn't tell us much...but you should know
something, right?"
The Guardian of Time frowned slightly. "No...I don't know anything." She
closed her eyes. "There's...nothing about any of this in the timeline. A
few little ripples...but absolutely nothing that would suggest any kind
of danger." She winced and opened her eyes. "Paradox gives me a
headache."
Makoto frowned. "What do you mean?"
Setsuna looked even more serious than usual. "When Pharaoh 90 and the
Death Busters attacked, my vision was clouded because they came from
outside of the usual timeline. This is different...I *still* can't see
this afternoon's attack on the timeline. All I see is a peaceful, very
ordinary day. Somehow these events have been masked from the rest of
causality."
"Could you do that?" Ami asked.
Setsuna nodded. "It's an abuse of power, and sort of dangerous, but I
could do it. Only someone who can perceive and manipulate the timeline
could."
"So whoever's behind this..." Ami's eyes widened as Setsuna nodded.
"Has powers like mine." Everyone was silent for a moment as that fact
sunk in. Usagi was the first one to speak up.
"Hey, let's not get all depressed already!" She smiled. "Maybe Spinne
was it...there's been random monsters before, after all."
Mamoru was shaking his head. "I'm not so sure, Usako." He said. "It was
intelligent, so we have to assume it had a plan." He thought for a
moment, a pensive look on his face. "If a monster shows up in town, and
just starts making a lot of noise and attacking random people, what
happens?"
"We show up and kick some tail!" Makoto replied instantly. She blinked
and started. "It *wanted* us to show up?!"
Ami nodded. "I agree...someone sent it to draw us out...maybe just to
see what we were capable of." She thought for a moment. "So thinking
about it that way, I suppose we didn't fall right into the trap. Only
four of us fought, and only five of us were there. They can't know what
we can really do."
Makoto clenched her fist. "Sending your servant to get killed just to
spy is really low, even for a monster."
Rei stood up. "Well, I have to head back to the Shrine...and I'm going
to do a fire reading." She smiled. "Maybe I can see something even if
Setsuna can't."
Setsuna smiled at that. "I hope so." She said, in a voice that wasn't
too hopeful at all.
Makoto yawned. "In that case, I'm going too." She smiled. "I'm still a
little wiped out from this afternoon."
Usagi bounced up and leaned against Mamoru. "Can I stay a bit longer
Mamo-chan?" She asked, blushing softly.
Mamoru smiled. "Of course..."
"Can I stay too?" Chibi-usa interrupted. Usagi bristled.
"No you can't...!" Mamoru squeezed her shoulder lightly and Usagi
coughed and closed her eyes. "Why don't you stay at Hotaru's house
tonight?"
Chibi-usa smiled up at Setsuna. "Can I Puu? Please?"
"Of course." She replied, with a look of quiet amusement.
Ami started chatting with Mamoru and Usagi, and Minako slipped out with
Setsuna and her entourage. Stepping into the elevator, Minako rocked
back on her heels, smiling as she listened to the chatter of the two
young girls. When they reached ground level, Minako noticed Setsuna
giving her a mysterious little smile. She tilted her head curiously in
return, and the Guardian of Time just shook her head.
"Do you need a ride home?" She asked.
"No, but thanks. I think I'd rather walk."
Setsuna nodded, as if she had just confirmed something. "Walk slowly."
She advised, before saying goodbye and heading off towards the parking
garage. Minako shrugged and headed down the street towards home, taking
a little extra time to notice her surroundings. When Sailor Pluto gave
advice, it tended to pay to listen.
After a block or so, she heard footsteps approaching her from behind,
quickly. She turned and saw Ami jogging towards her, waving. Minako
waved back and waited.
"I thought I could catch you!" Ami said, breathing heavily as she
reached her friend.
"I guess you were right!" Minako grinned. "What can I do for you, Ami-
chan?" They began walking again, and Ami smiled brightly at Minako. "I
just realized I never really had a chance to thank you." She blushed.
"It was really hard for me to ask for help studying...thank you for
being so kind."
Minako smiled back. "Don't be silly Ami-chan...we're friends, aren't we?
Besides, we've never spent a lot of time alone together...it'll be fun!"
Ami covered her mouth and chuckled softly. "It will!" Her steps slowed
as they reached the next corner and Minako followed suit. "Well,
goodnight Minako-chan...I'll see you tomorrow."
Minako nodded. "Sure...but I was going to get some dinner at the little
restaurant down the street from here...want to join me?"
"Well, I would but I have to study a little bit...I have a couple of
practice English exams back home and I wanted to..." She made a tiny
sound of surprise as Minako grabbed her wrist and started pulling her
down the street.
"Oh, no! No English tonight!" Minako declared. "If I'm going to study
with you, you have to not study with me." She smiled back at Ami. "Fair
trade, right?"
Ami had regained her footing and was following along at her friend's
brisk pace. She smiled back, still looking a bit dazed from her sudden
change of plans. "I guess that's fair..." Minako slowed down to a more
reasonable pace.
When they reached the restaurant, a charming little American-style cafe,
the greeter gave them a very strange look for a moment, then smiled and
told them they could sit where they liked. As they walked towards a
corner booth, Minako said quietly, "I wonder what her problem was..."
"I'm not sure, but...oh!" Ami suddenly stopped and covered her mouth,
laughing quietly. Minako looked at her oddly.
"Ami-chan? Are you alright?"
"I will be...as soon as you let me go." Minako's eye dropped to her hand,
still holding Ami's other wrist loosely. She released it, blushing. "I'm
sorry! I forgot!"
Ami was still laughing. "It's okay, it's okay...well, I guess that
explains the funny look."
"Yeah..." Minako rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. They found a
booth near the corner and sat. In a moment, a waiter walked over with a
couple of menus.
"May I get either of you something to drink?"
Minako picked up her menu and ran her eyes across it. As she did so, she
heard Ami say, "I'll just have an iced tea. What would you
like...darling?" Minako did a double-take and looked across the table.
Ami was looking at her, just a tiny smile on her face, but her eyes were
shining with mirth. Minako was overcome with shock for a moment, but
quickly decided not to be outdone.
"Oh, tea sounds nice...in fact..." She looked up at the waiter with a
sweet smile. "Why don't you just bring us a large glass with two
straws?" The waiter, perhaps a bit more cosmopolitan than the greeter,
just smiled and withdrew. As soon as he was out of sight, Ami and Minako
held their menus up in front of their faces, shaking with silent
laughter. "I almost choked when you called me darling!" Minako whispered,
tears of laughter forming in her eyes.
"I know!" Ami agreed, almost squeaking as she talked. "I hope he didn't
notice...you looked like someone hit you in the head with a board for a
moment!"
Minako carefully wiped her eyes, still breaking into a fit of giggles
every few seconds. "Well, how was I supposed to know you had a sense of
humor like that!"
Ami's smile suddenly melted off her face and she became intently
interested in her menu. An awkward silence fell over the table, and
Minako instantly knew she said the wrong thing.
Just as she was getting ready to speak up, the waiter returned with a
large glass and a pitcher of iced tea, along with two straws. "Are you
ready to order?" He asked pleasantly.
"We...need just a minute." Minako replied. The waiter, sensing the
sudden change in the vibe of the table, nodded and walked off.
Minako was quiet for a long moment, the only sound the clinking of ice
cubes as she moved the glass in a little circle. "Ami-chan...I didn't
mean that like it sounded...I know you have a sense of humor...it's just
that..."
"I don't really play jokes much. I know." Ami said softly, still staring
at her menu. "And maybe it's silly to let it get to me like that...but I
really don't like everyone to think of me as just a smart, mousey little
bookworm."
"Ami-chan..." Minako leaned forward earnestly. "I promise, I've never
thought of you like that!" Ami lifted an eyebrow and Minako blushed.
"Okay...maybe at the very beginning, when we just met...but I didn't
know you, and you get so quiet around people you don't know. But I know
better now...you're smart, but you're sensitive and artistic and kind
and one of the bravest people I know." She chuckled slightly. "I hate to
think what you all must have thought of me when we first met."
Ami looked up and smiled. "Oh, we were all starstruck. You were Sailor V,
you know. Usagi was the most blatant about the hero worship, but we all
felt it a little."
"Even you?"
"Even me." Ami looked back down at the menu, still smiling. "I had a
little scrapbook of all the newspaper articles about you I could
find...part of it was because I thought you had to be the princess...or
at least connected with us somehow. But a lot of it was just because I
thought you were really cool."
Minako felt her face flaming and she suddenly developed a deep
fascination with her own menu. She hadn't really been expecting that,
and it made her feel terribly self-conscious. "So...um...what made you
decide to start the joke with the waiter, anyway?" She fumbled.
"You, of course." Minako blushed even deeper. Ami covered her mouth with
her hand. She knew she was embarrassing her friend, but she wanted to
tell her the truth. -And maybe it'll make the foot in her mouth go down
easier.- She thought. "It's true...I don't feel nearly as shy whenever
I'm around you. You just bring people out of their shells, it's the way
you are. You and Usagi are a lot alike in that."
Minako smiled through her blush. Out of the corner of her eye she saw
the waiter returning. She snatched her straw, pulled off the wrapper and
began drinking. She glanced up at Ami and twitched her eyebrows over in
the direction the waiter was coming from. Ami giggled softly and
followed suit.
The waiter came back to the table, glad to see whatever trouble there
had been was gone now. The two girls were sitting closer, both sipping
from their straws and looking into each other's eyes. The blonde one had
a little flush in her cheeks and both were smiling around the straws. He
felt very happy for them indeed. Happy couples always left better tips.
Minako was enjoying herself immensely...pulling this on the waiting
staff here was kind of juvenile, but that worked for her on multiple
levels. It was just too funny! Ami really did have pretty eyes
too...she'd never had a chance to look at them this closely. They were
like icy pools of snowmelt in winter...cool and pure and beautiful. She
woke from her little zone-out with a jerk when she realized the waiter
had returned and was asking for their order. Ami smiled at her softly.
After they had ordered, Minako smiled at her friend. "So you forgive
me?" She asked softly.
Ami smiled back. "Of course Minako-chan...sorry I overreacted."
"Don't be!" Minako bonked her knuckles against the side of her head. "I
can be such a ditz sometimes." She winked, and Ami laughed gently.
The rest of the meal passed with simpler conversation and overt displays
of affection whenever anyone glanced their way. When they stood to leave,
Minako stepped close and placed her head against Ami's shoulder, and Ami
slid her arm around the other's waist. Somehow, they managed to keep
from breaking into laughter until they had left the diner.
Minako leaned over, pressing her hands against her knees as tears fell
down her cheeks. "Oh, that was so much fun!"
"Yes it was!" Ami agreed, leaning against a wall covering her mouth as
she laughed.
"Thanks for thinking of it." Minako grinned up at the Senshi of Water,
giving her a playful wink.
Ami smiled and blushed. "Thanks for being around...I wouldn't have been
brave enough to try that with anyone else." She stood straight and
yawned a bit. "Well, I really have to get home now...Mother will start
worrying about me."
Minako made a sour face. "Yeah...mine will be worried about me too...or
at least waiting around to scold me about being late." She smiled. "I'll
see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Of course!" Ami walked down in the direction of her building and waved
goodbye. Waving back, Minako walked in the opposite direction towards
her home.
-------------------
A short time later, Minako was laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling.
The only sound was her own soft breath and the purring snores of Artemis,
sleeping curled at the foot of the bed. Her mother, thankfully, had
already been asleep when she got home. Minako didn't think she had the
energy to deal with her given the stress of the day in general.
She sighed deeply. This was the sort of time she hated...she was too
wound up to sleep, but she didn't have the energy to stop her mind from
wandering.
-So I bring people out of their shells?- She thought to herself. -That's
sort of funny.- The truth was, she'd never really gotten out of her own.
But she didn't know how to be any other way. First as Sailor V, now as
the leader of the Inner Senshi, she had to be a little apart from
everyone. She had her duty...there was always that, ever since she'd
transformed for the first time.
Was she happy? She was, she really was, all things considered. Her
buoyant, energetic front wasn't really a front, at least not for the
most part. She smirked at the thought. In public, the way she acted was
the way she would act if she were free to act as she wished. A twisted
thought, but it was true. If she were free, she'd really be her public
persona. If she wasn't a Sailor Senshi.
Not that she wanted to quit...in the past, from time to time, she had
thought about it...even really wanted to. But she couldn't. Not just
because of a sense of duty to a kingdom long destroyed, but because she
couldn't live with the guilt of not fighting when she knew that she
could. It just wasn't in her nature.
Rolling over on her side, she continued to think. She was just lonely,
that was the real problem. The others, they were her best friends, they
would always be there for her, and she would always be there for them.
But she still had to hold them at arm's length to a degree. She didn't
know any other way. In all honestly, not a day went by that she could
look back and really decide how much of what she did was really her, and
how much was just an act...the mask was so close it was getting mixed up
with her real identity.
She closed her eyes and let out a muffled chuckle as she remembered the
restaurant. No ambiguity there, that was all her. Ami's out of character
behavior had caught her totally off guard. She never had time to slip
behind the front. And it was *fun*...maybe the funniest thing she'd done
in weeks.
Ami...so, Minako brought the shy little senshi out of her shell, huh?
And in return, Minako got shocked out of hers. Minako smiled as she
snuggled down, finally ready to sleep. Spending more time with Ami
really should be fun, she decided. It had been an interesting day. There
was a new enemy, but for the time being that could only be dealt with as
events unfolded. Right now, she was just going to be happy and go to
sleep. And as she drifted off, the last thing she thought of was a cute
furrowed brow, and eyes like cool winter pools.
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