A slightly singed and battered Sailor Iron Mouse knelt in the dark room after yet another failure. She squeaked in fear as she knelt before the shadowy figure. "My lady, I'm sorry..." the white haired young woman quailed. "Silence!" the woman's voice boomed from the darkness. "You have attacked again and again, but each time you have failed to find the Star Seeds!" "I'm doing my best," Iron mouse whimpered. "I'm giving you one more chance," the voice said threateningly, "find me a Star Seed, or your position is forfeit!" Sailor Iron Mouse tried to sound confident as she stood and said, "I won't fail you." "See that you don't." The form of Sailor Iron Mouse shifted as she left the office of the TV studio, adopting her human disguise as she hurried away from her dread mistress. 'I'm out of time,' she moaned, 'what am I going to do?!' "Chuko Nezu," her assistant called aqs she hurried to catch up, "are you ready to do today's assignment?" "What was it again?" Iron Mouse asked distractedly. "We were going to interview Seiya Kou, for the Sunday morning broadcast," the redhead said mildly, towering over the other woman. "Seiya Kou?" Iron Mouse murmured, a glimmer of an idea appearing in the back of her mind. 'He's famous and good looking, maybe HE has a Star Seed?" The tall redhead smiled to herself as she saw the wheels turning in her supposed boss' head. 'Take the bait,' she urged, 'or should I say bight the cheese, little mouse.' Meanwhile, at school Ami Mizuno and Setsuna Meiou were sharing their usual lunch break. "So, you agreed to tutor?" Setsuna asked, her long green hair shimmering darkly. "Yes." with a nod Ami munched on her rice as the blue haired younger woman asked, "You disagree?" Setsuna gracefully stabbed a sausage and chewed. "I wouldn't go that far," she answered, "but be careful. I rather suspect Seiya's intentions aren't exactly honorable." "Agreed," Ami nodded, "which is why I'm insisting we do group study sessions with Taiki and Yaten. Should keep him out of trouble, I hope." "Very wise." Setsuna agreed as she finished up her lunch. She smiled, "Hotaru was telling me about her and Usagi going out with Mrs. Tsukino, they had a great time." "I know, Usagi told me," Ami agreed. She smiled a bit sadly, "I thought they'd get along, considering how similar Usagi and her mother are." "How did Usagi take it?" Setsuna asked. "Pretty well," Ami reflected, "though I think she was also distracted a bit by the arrival of the Three Lights." Setsuna chuckled softly, "Hotaru showed me her signed CD." Finishing up her own lunch Ami snapped the lid onto her bento box. "Today's our first tutoring session," she sighed, "wish me luck." "You'll be fine," Setsuna said, gazing at her fondly. "You have a bit of rice on your cheek," she murmured, bending forward and licking it away. "Setsuna..." Ami shivered slightly, unaware they were being watched. Seiya Kou paused at the door to the doctors office, then backed away slowly before he turned away. Yaten blinked as Seiya returned as the white haired young man asked, "Was Ami there? I thought you wanted to ask her a question." "She's busy," Seiya said dryly, his long black ponytail swinging as he hustled the other two young men away. "Busy?" Taiki blinked then smiled, "oh ho!" "Hey, we should go back...." Yaten started to turn around before Seiya grabbed him and kept them going. "Do you really want to have Ami pissed at you?" Seiya asked, "Especially since we just talked her into helping with tutoring?" "Good point," Yaten conceded reluctantly. "Besides, there's a certain look in Ami's eye that tells me I do not want to see what she's like when she gets mad," Taiki noted thoughtfully. Seiya looked at him in surprise then nodded slightly, "Good point." "So ready for your interview this afternoon?" Yaten asked teasingly, "I've heard the reporter is a real cutie." "Maybe you can seduce her for good reviews," Taiki added. "I won't dignify that with a response," Seiya sighed. "You just did," Yaten smirked. "What are you three doing, hanging out in the halls?" Ami asked curiously as she walked up to where they were talking. "Sorry," Taiki said smoothly, "we were just deciding where to look for you." "Oh?" Ami looked at the three of them with a amused sort of suspicion. "Nothing bad," Seiya said quickly. He smiled at her charmingly, "It just that something's come up. Do you think we could star out tutoring session a bit later today?" "A interviewer booked a session with us just this morning," Yaten looked apologetic, "and she's too important to cancel out on." "Or more accurately, her station is too important," Taiki corrected. Ami nodded slightly, "That should be all right, as long as it isn't too late." "We'll do our best," Seiya bowed. With that the group of four headed back to class, Ami largely unaware of the fame she was acquiring just by being near them. By now the boyish young woman was being regarded as a unofficial fourth member of the band, and certain sharper fans were already selling photos of her along with the members of the Three Lights. Of course, Seiya and the others were aware, but chose not to tell Ami. Part of her appeal was a odd innocence that could be disturbed by such knowledge, and it would be difficult for her to stop her popularity at this point anyway. So, it was probably best just to leave her be, the three brothers had decided. "Is she still getting all the love letters?" Yaten asked softly. "Yup, nearly as much as Seiya," Taiki nodded seriously. "It's too bad she isn't in the band, we'd be even more popular." "I wonder if Ami can sing?" Yaten whispered as they reached their class, walking inside to a chorus of adoring female sighs. Class dragged on till the end, only Ami and Taiki seeming to really enjoy the work. Once the final bell rand Seiya nearly jumped up as he sighed, "Finally done." "Till tomorrow," Ami noted, giving him a scolding look. "Well, there's that," Yaten sighed. He brightened as he asked, "Should we go see if we can find our reporter?" "Sounds like a plan," Taiki agreed. Meanwhile, outside the school, a very frustrated Iron Mouse transformed, the white haired young woman drawing many glances due to her strange garb. "Mistress is going to kill me if I don't find a Star Seed," she groaned. She brightened, "I know, I'll unleash as many Phages as I can! I'll be sure to find one that way." "But what about finding Seiya, ma'am?" her assistant wondered. "Pfft," Iron Mouse waved, "he's not here, but there are plenty of students around. One of them MUST have a Star Seed!" "Did you hear screams?" Ami blinked as they slipped on their shoes near the front entrance. "Uh..." Seiya frowned, "it occurs to me that we'd better call our manager, first. Excuse us, Ami!" With that the three brothers hurried off, leaving a very relieved Ami behind. Ami herself raced out of the building, looking for a secluded corner to transform. Running into the garbage area she froze, seeing that Haruka, SEtsuna and Michiru had already gathered. "Looks like we had the same idea," she said, shutting the door as all of them shouted their transformation phrases. "Another Phage?" Sailor Pluto asked as they raced towards the front of the building. "It could be," Sailor Mercury responded, "but it might also be a Youma too. Be prepared for anything." "Always am," Sailor Uranus answered, the sandy haired young woman grinning cockily. They bounded around the building then gazed in shock at the chaos there. More than one Phage rampaged around, while the three black bikini clad Starlights fought to contain the damage and protect the innocent bystanders. "About time you got here," Star Fighter said, her black ponytail swaying as she blasted a Phage backward. "We'll try to be more timely," Sailor Neptune replied dryly. "Work with the Starlights to weaken the Phages," Sailor Mercury ordered crisply, "then I'll try to heal them." "So, the Sailors are here too?" Iron Mouse scowled, "doesn't matter. I'll defeat them too and prove my worth to the Queen!"
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