Title: Distraction
Author: Raya
SM Monthly Challenge Theme 10JAN06 (1st attempt) "Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on." – Bob Newhart
Genre: General
Version: Anime
Rating: G

Disclaimer: All characters were originally created by Takeuchi Naoko and Toei. I have merely borrowed them, in the manner of dolls, to play with for a while.

Distraction

'So, if y is one third of x, then the Fanning friction factor is 0.2, and the Reynold's Number becomes...'

"Ami-chan?"

"Yes?" Ami blinked as she looked up from her calculation. One part of her brain continued on its chain of equations, but the main part of her attention focused on the little pink haired girl who laying on the floor next to her. ChibiUsa's language workbook was open in front of her, and Ami absently noted that most of the questions had been answered.

"Ami-chan, why is Usagi so silly all the time? I mean, yesterday during that battle with Eugiel, she was whining about her hair getting all curly while you guys were lying there hurt. And those speeches she gives..." The little girl shuddered. "Some of them make sense, but usually they're way out of nowhere."

Ami smiled faintly as she nodded and hummed an agreement. Quickly, she wrote down the answer to the problem she had been solving, and then turned back to her little princess from the future. "It sure seems that way, doesn't it?" she said softly.

The younger girl gave her an irritable look. "It doesn't just seem that way, it is that way," she grumped. "She's such a dummy. Why can't she focus on things? Like you do."

Ami quirked a blue eyebrow. "Sometimes, I focus on things a little too much. I get so caught up in the details, I fail to see the bigger picture," she said gently. She chuckled at ChibiUsa's shocked expression. "Really. I do. So do Rei-chan, Mako-chan, and Minako-chan."

"Uh-uhn. No way," ChibiUsa disagreed.

"Oh, we do," Ami corrected. "Differently, but we do. I focus on details and gathering data. Rei-chan focuses on how well Usagi-chan is or is not fighting. Mako-chan focuses on taking out the enemy as much as she can by herself. And, Minako-chan focuses on being a distraction. Would you agree?"

Ami waited patiently while the little princess frowned down at her workbook in thought. Finally, reluctantly, the little girl nodded. "Sometimes, we focus a little too much. I always want as much data as I can get so I can be 100 sure we will be successful and not miss something important. I don't really need that much data, and the sooner I remember that, the sooner we can defeat the enemy and the less everyone gets hurt. Rei-chan is determined to protect Usagi-chan from a fatal blow, but in turn she is distracted from the battle and she can't focus all of her power where she needs to. Mako-chan is like Rei-chan, except that she tries to take on more than she can handle. The same with Minako-chan. Sometimes, she gets just a little too ambitious."

"Well, Usagi doesn't focus enough," ChibiUsa stated firmly. She looked almost angry. "And because she doesn't, you all end up getting hurt."

"Oh, she's focused," Ami countered gently. ChibiUsa stared at her in disbelief. "She knows exactly where we are, exactly how bad off we are, and when we are too focused. And so, she provides a distraction."

"If she would just fight properly to begin with, she wouldn't need to provide a distraction," the younger girl insisted.

"Ah. But that's not her nature or her purpose," Ami corrected. "She's the Princess. She should only need to fight as a last resort."

"But...!"

Ami smiled at ChibiUsa's confused, defiant expression. "She fights when she has to, and frankly we need her help. But, it's just not her nature. And so, she helps us out in other ways. Like providing us a distraction so we can catch our breath. Or, even more valuable, making us take a step back and see what's most important for ending a fight quickly: teamwork."

ChibiUsa's expression changed to a thoughtful frown. "So, her being silly makes you realize you have to work as a team?"

Ami chuckled. "She provides a bit of humor to distract us. An American actor once said: "Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on.' That's what she does for us. She makes us take a step back, realize what we are doing, and then move on as a team once more."

ChibiUsa turned her eyes towards her workbook once more, and stared at it in deep thought. Ami waited patiently, but when no more questions were forthcoming she finally turned back to her own books.