Vodka, If You Please
By: June Goddess
Usagi, Ami, and Rei walked into the Crown. They all looked very worn out. Usagi led the way to the stools where Motoki and Mamoru conversed. Usagi looked awful. But that was nothing compared to Ami and Rei. They looked slightly ill and shocky.
Mamoru, being a med student, immediately straightened to attention. Motoki's face registered friendly concern, then confusion as Usagi sat her friends down and walked around behind the counter. When she reached into his front apron pocket for the master key, he couldn't do more than stutter, "Wh-what are you doing?" She didn't even glance at him. Instead she opened the secret cabinet that held liquor for 'one of those days.'
Mamoru's eyebrows shot up when he saw the bottle of Vodka she lifted to the counter. Motoki made a move to take the bottle, but she easily side-stepped him. Usagi continued on to the glasses. She pulled three out of another cupboard and poured each small glass half-way. She glanced at her two companions, completely ignoring the protests of both Motoki and Mamoru, and sighed deeply before filling each glass to the brim. She expertly slid two of the glasses to Ami and Rei while she took a generous drag of her own glass.
Rei muttered incomprehensibly before taking a drink.
Ami looked at her glass, looked at Rei, and finally looked at Usagi, who seemed to be waiting for something. "You can't be serious," Ami protested. "I am not going to drink this stuff."
Usagi gave her a hard look. She reached over and forced Ami's hands around the glass. In a voice that brooked no arguments she said, "Yes. You are. Drink. Now." Her forceful words shocked the two college boys, but not as much as Ami's response.
"Bloody hell, Usa! You can't really expect me to drink this!" Her furious whisper and ice-cold blue eyes sent chills down Motoki's and Mamoru's spines.
Usagi's face, if anything, hardened further at her refusal. They stared at each other in silent battle, their blue eyes clashing dangerously.
Ami yanked her hand out of Usagi's and violently tossed back half of the glass. Her eyes glowered as she asked sarcastically, "Happy, now?"
Usagi's eyebrow rose sardonically. "Ecstatic."
Her flat response sparked a bit of resentment in the righteous blue-haired girl. But she refused to say anything.
Rei, who had ignored the two while she guzzled down her drink, now turned to Usagi. "So. What's the plan again?" She seemed to have gotten her fire back since the earlier shock.
Usagi didn't glance at her as she put away the Vodka. "We lay low for awhile. It's too risky to be seen. Until then, finish your drink and act like nothing out of the ordinary has happened." She placed the keys back in Motoki's front apron pocket. "Are you quite finished Ami-chan?" she inquired politely.
Ami gave the girl a dirty look before pasting on a very fake smile. "Why, yes, Usa-chan! I do believe I am!" Her overly bright voice brought a wince to Rei's otherwise impassive features.
"Good." Usagi's satisfied voice was also out of character. "Now, then. How about you explain something for me, Ami, my dear. I would very much like to know what the hell you were thinking."
Motoki heard the quiet menace in the blonde's voice and wondered at it. How could this strange girl be the Usagi he had known for so many years. He watched as Ami defiantly flipped her short-cropped hair and replied in a venomous tone, "Why should I tell you? Your small brain probably couldn't grasp more than two thoughts at once."
Rei's eyes flashed in unease. This was not going too well. Ami was actively defying Usagi's direct orders. Not even Rei did that in her worse rage. She worriedly glanced at Usagi. As she feared, Usagi's eyes narrowed to slits and her jaw set determinedly. An all-out war was about to begin, and it was up to the fiery priestess to stop it.
Mamoru watched the transformation in Usagi with fascination. This tigress was not the Odango Atama he knew. He was stunned to feel desire for the small blonde well up inside him. It couldn't be the worst possible time. His mind vaguely registered Ami's retort, but his whole being was fixated on the blonde.
Usagi was furious. How dare Ami do this?! She was leader, but no one would think it with the way she was disobeyed. Before she could respond to the girl's ridiculous barb, she became aware of her surroundings once again. "This isn't the time nor the place, Mizuno," she said pointedly with a meaningful glance at the other customers who had become slightly interested in the scene taking place.
Ami visibly sank back into her former resentment. However, she remained silent, much to the relief of everyone. She even turned back to her drink taking quiet sips while refusing to look at anyone.
Rei sighed as the tenseness of the gathering abated somewhat. She took a long drag of her own drink, enjoying the fire the alcohol produced in her throat. She glanced at her two companions. She sighed again. Who could have guessed that their sizes would have already been snatched at the shoe sale?