Last Kiss
"Oh look guys! Isn't that dress cute?" Minako Aino said to her friends and fellow Sailor Scouts.
"Totally Mina! Go buy it!" Usagi said. "Before I do!" All the girls giggled at Usagi's joke.
"I agree Mina, buy it." The girls turned to the familiar voice.
"Mamarou!" Usagi exclaimed and jumped into his arms.
Mamarou laughed and said, "I'm glad to see you too. Are you girls buying dresses for tonight?"
"Well, Mina is. I think everyone else already has their dress." Ami said.
"Yeah" Makoto chimed in. "Hey, have you talked to Ken lately? He's still coming right?"
"What about Chad?" Rei asked.
"And G-" Ami began but was interrupted by Mamarou.
"Yes, Greg is. Yes, they're all coming don't worry!" He said with a laugh.
"Hey guys?" Mina said, "I'm going to go try this dress on, ok?" She gave them her sweet little smile and they couldn't help but smile back.
"Sure Mina. We'll meet ya in the food court." Usagi said.
Mina found the dress in her size and took it into the dressing room. She sighed and sat down on the chair next to her. All day she acted as if she was excited about going to the ball, but she was actually depressed. All the other girls had a date except her. Her last true love was in England and since then she had many dates and boyfriends, but it seemed she was looking for love in all the wrong places. She wished and hoped and prayed that she would someday find her love. But so far that was a dream. "Being the romantic one isn't all it's cracked up to be." Mina said with a sigh as she slipped off her shoes. After undressing, she put the dress on. Pretending to be a model, she spun around and looked at herself in the mirror. She sighed. It seemed that every dress she tried on was cute, but only on the hanger. This had to have been the fifth dress she had tried. For some reason it didn't look good on her. She took the dress off and put her other clothes back on.
Just as she was putting the dress on the rack, she noticed something she hadn't seen before. She had been to this mall at least a million times and she didn't remember a store named "Golden Rose" before. Especially across from the store she was in, "The Chatterbox". Mina cautiously wandered into the store. As she was looking at a dress, an old sales woman came up from behind.
"Can I help you dear?" She said sweetly to Mina. Mina turned and looked at her. The first things she noticed were the lady's eyes. They were big, brown, and beautiful. They were so deep. It was as if they lead right to her very soul.
"Well, I need a gown for this evening's Crystal Ball. And-"
"And nothing suits you at the other stores, correct?"
Mina smiled "Right! Can you help me?"
"I'm sure the right dress will find you," said the old sales women. Mina had no idea what she meant by this but for some reason, felt that the woman was right. As she walked around she noticed that all the dresses were rather expensive. How could she pay for them? Well, the Crystal Tokyo Ball was important. She was expected to be there. She remembered the first time she heard about it.
"Minako! " Mamarou shouted.
Mina turned around. "What is it Mamo-chan?"
He walked over to her with a smile on his face. "Guess who's throwing a ball?"
"Um…the baseball team?" Mina said with a smirk.
Mamo laughed. "Crystal Tokyo is. And we are all expected to be there."
"But Mamarou, how is that possible?" she asked, sounding rather puzzled.
"It's a secret ball. Only future royalty and citizens are going to be there. We will all assume our future identities. " Then with a smile, "Fun, huh?"
Mina couldn't help but laugh, but even then she was worried. In her physic dreams of the future, she hadn't seen any significant other for herself. One of her darkest fears was being unloved.
Now as she looked at the dresses, she felt tears welling up. Just then, a dress fell off its hanger. She quickly looked down. What she saw took her breath away. The dress lying on the ground was gorgeous. It was her dream dress. It was a light orange-yellow dress with a big bow in the back. It was off the shoulder and the brooch on it was a golden rose. It looked like real gold. The dress was low cut, but not to low cut and it came with a sheer shawl to wrap around your shoulders.
Noticing that this was the only dress like it, she picked it up and headed for the dressing rooms. She undressed and then, as if this were made of glass, carefully slipped the dress on. She tied the bow in the back and looked into the mirror. She felt like Cinderella. The dress fit her perfectly. Almost as if it were made for her.
Usagi sat down next to Mamarou at a table in the food court. "Man, I'm starving!" She replied.
"What else is new?" Mako said as everyone laughed including Usagi.
"Look! Here comes Mina!" Rei said. "It looks like she found her dress!"
Mina was walking over with a hanger bag and a smile. She took an empty seat next to Ami. "Hey guys!"
"Hi Mina. Find your dress?" Ami said.
"Yep" Mina replied, beaming with happiness and anticipation. After a pause, Usagi couldn't stand it anymore.
"Well?"
"Well what?" Mina said, although she knew what Usagi meant.
"Well let us see!" Rei finished for Usagi.
"No can do!" Mina said with a smile. "It'll be a surprise for tonight!"
After checking his watch, Mamarou said, "Well, we should start heading home. I'm sure we all have a lot to do before tonight. Especially you girls who take forever to put make-up and everything on." He laughed and stood up. "The limo will pick you up at 6:30. I'll have your crowns ready." He gave Usagi a soft kiss before leaving. "I'll see you all then." He walked off. Usagi sighed dreamily.
"I love him!" The other girls giggled and started sharing stories about their boyfriends. Mina felt left out, but she didn't want to ruin her friends' fun. So she stood up.
"I have a lot to do. I'm going to start home. See ya!" She walked off with her dress still hidden in its dark hanging bag.
"Poor Mina." Rei said with sympathy.
"Yeah," Mako chimed in. "I feel bad for her. You'd think that the princess of the planet of love could find some."
"What do you mean?" Usagi asked, puzzled.
"Usagi, Mina left because she's left out. She has no boyfriend. Remember?" Ami said. For the first time, Usagi noticed how many times when she talked about how much she loved Mamarou, Mina had either changed the subject or left the room.
* * *
Mina sat down at her vainity. She looked into the mirror then picked up some eye shadow. It was gold. Perfect for her gown. She applied it carefully. It was glittery. She brushed it up to her eyebrow. Mina opened her eye. She smiled. The make-up looked great! She repeated the process on her other eye. She then applied a dark lipstick. It was a brownish red. It looked terrific! Now, she was ready to put her dress on. She walked over to the chair where she laid the dress. She slipped off her bathrobe. Underneath it was her stockings and bra. She carefully slipped the dress over her head making sure not to smear her make-up. After getting it on, she carefully tied the bow in the back. She looked into her full mirror and twirled, watching her dress spin out. "Everything is perfect!" Mina said to her reflection as she modeled it off. Just then, she heard a horn honk. It was the limo. She opened her window and waved at it ,signaling that she was coming. She took one last look into the mirror. Mina then noticed something. The red bow in her hair. "Tonight," she said, "I feel love in the air. So, tonight I must forget about the past ,and focus on the future. My future." She took the bow out of her hair and threw it down. She replaced it with an orange bow. Perfect. She ran over to her closet for shoes. Then, she realized that she didn't have any shoes that would match this dress. "Damn!" she cursed, grabbing black high heels and slipping them on. Mina hurridly ran to her front door. She opened it and walked to the limo.
She got in and was surprised to see that her friends weren't there. She figured that they all had their own limo, for them and their dates. Jealously surged through Mina. She silently scolded her self, saying that she should be happy that her friends had dates.
"Excuse me Miss." The driver said ,inturrupting her thoughts.
"Yes?" Mina answered.
"I have two things to give you. This," he said handing her a small glass case, "is from King Endymion." It was her crown. Mina smiled and put it on. She felt confident now that she would have a good time.
"And this is from and old lady." The driver said ,handing her a wrapped box.
"Thank you." Mina said ,skeptical. She carefully unwrapped it. Inside, were two orange shoes with the same golden rose as on her dress on the toe part. She smiled and slipped her black shoes off and put the new ones on. They were so perfect. Now nothing could keep Mina away from that ball. She knew that this was going to be a special night.
"Oh look guys! Isn't that dress cute?" Minako Aino said to her friends and fellow Sailor Scouts.
"Totally Mina! Go buy it!" Usagi said. "Before I do!" All the girls giggled at Usagi's joke.
"I agree Mina, buy it." The girls turned to the familiar voice.
"Mamarou!" Usagi exclaimed and jumped into his arms.
Mamarou laughed and said, "I'm glad to see you too. Are you girls buying dresses for tonight?"
"Well, Mina is. I think everyone else already has their dress." Ami said.
"Yeah" Makoto chimed in. "Hey, have you talked to Ken lately? He's still coming right?"
"What about Chad?" Rei asked.
"And G-" Ami began but was interrupted by Mamarou.
"Yes, Greg is. Yes, they're all coming don't worry!" He said with a laugh.
"Hey guys?" Mina said, "I'm going to go try this dress on, ok?" She gave them her sweet little smile and they couldn't help but smile back.
"Sure Mina. We'll meet ya in the food court." Usagi said.
Mina found the dress in her size and took it into the dressing room. She sighed and sat down on the chair next to her. All day she acted as if she was excited about going to the ball, but she was actually depressed. All the other girls had a date except her. Her last true love was in England and since then she had many dates and boyfriends, but it seemed she was looking for love in all the wrong places. She wished and hoped and prayed that she would someday find her love. But so far that was a dream. "Being the romantic one isn't all it's cracked up to be." Mina said with a sigh as she slipped off her shoes. After undressing, she put the dress on. Pretending to be a model, she spun around and looked at herself in the mirror. She sighed. It seemed that every dress she tried on was cute, but only on the hanger. This had to have been the fifth dress she had tried. For some reason it didn't look good on her. She took the dress off and put her other clothes back on.
Just as she was putting the dress on the rack, she noticed something she hadn't seen before. She had been to this mall at least a million times and she didn't remember a store named "Golden Rose" before. Especially across from the store she was in, "The Chatterbox". Mina cautiously wandered into the store. As she was looking at a dress, an old sales woman came up from behind.
"Can I help you dear?" She said sweetly to Mina. Mina turned and looked at her. The first things she noticed were the lady's eyes. They were big, brown, and beautiful. They were so deep. It was as if they lead right to her very soul.
"Well, I need a gown for this evening's Crystal Ball. And-"
"And nothing suits you at the other stores, correct?"
Mina smiled "Right! Can you help me?"
"I'm sure the right dress will find you," said the old sales women. Mina had no idea what she meant by this but for some reason, felt that the woman was right. As she walked around she noticed that all the dresses were rather expensive. How could she pay for them? Well, the Crystal Tokyo Ball was important. She was expected to be there. She remembered the first time she heard about it.
"Minako! " Mamarou shouted.
Mina turned around. "What is it Mamo-chan?"
He walked over to her with a smile on his face. "Guess who's throwing a ball?"
"Um…the baseball team?" Mina said with a smirk.
Mamo laughed. "Crystal Tokyo is. And we are all expected to be there."
"But Mamarou, how is that possible?" she asked, sounding rather puzzled.
"It's a secret ball. Only future royalty and citizens are going to be there. We will all assume our future identities. " Then with a smile, "Fun, huh?"
Mina couldn't help but laugh, but even then she was worried. In her physic dreams of the future, she hadn't seen any significant other for herself. One of her darkest fears was being unloved.
Now as she looked at the dresses, she felt tears welling up. Just then, a dress fell off its hanger. She quickly looked down. What she saw took her breath away. The dress lying on the ground was gorgeous. It was her dream dress. It was a light orange-yellow dress with a big bow in the back. It was off the shoulder and the brooch on it was a golden rose. It looked like real gold. The dress was low cut, but not to low cut and it came with a sheer shawl to wrap around your shoulders.
Noticing that this was the only dress like it, she picked it up and headed for the dressing rooms. She undressed and then, as if this were made of glass, carefully slipped the dress on. She tied the bow in the back and looked into the mirror. She felt like Cinderella. The dress fit her perfectly. Almost as if it were made for her.
Usagi sat down next to Mamarou at a table in the food court. "Man, I'm starving!" She replied.
"What else is new?" Mako said as everyone laughed including Usagi.
"Look! Here comes Mina!" Rei said. "It looks like she found her dress!"
Mina was walking over with a hanger bag and a smile. She took an empty seat next to Ami. "Hey guys!"
"Hi Mina. Find your dress?" Ami said.
"Yep" Mina replied, beaming with happiness and anticipation. After a pause, Usagi couldn't stand it anymore.
"Well?"
"Well what?" Mina said, although she knew what Usagi meant.
"Well let us see!" Rei finished for Usagi.
"No can do!" Mina said with a smile. "It'll be a surprise for tonight!"
After checking his watch, Mamarou said, "Well, we should start heading home. I'm sure we all have a lot to do before tonight. Especially you girls who take forever to put make-up and everything on." He laughed and stood up. "The limo will pick you up at 6:30. I'll have your crowns ready." He gave Usagi a soft kiss before leaving. "I'll see you all then." He walked off. Usagi sighed dreamily.
"I love him!" The other girls giggled and started sharing stories about their boyfriends. Mina felt left out, but she didn't want to ruin her friends' fun. So she stood up.
"I have a lot to do. I'm going to start home. See ya!" She walked off with her dress still hidden in its dark hanging bag.
"Poor Mina." Rei said with sympathy.
"Yeah," Mako chimed in. "I feel bad for her. You'd think that the princess of the planet of love could find some."
"What do you mean?" Usagi asked, puzzled.
"Usagi, Mina left because she's left out. She has no boyfriend. Remember?" Ami said. For the first time, Usagi noticed how many times when she talked about how much she loved Mamarou, Mina had either changed the subject or left the room.
* * *
Mina sat down at her vainity. She looked into the mirror then picked up some eye shadow. It was gold. Perfect for her gown. She applied it carefully. It was glittery. She brushed it up to her eyebrow. Mina opened her eye. She smiled. The make-up looked great! She repeated the process on her other eye. She then applied a dark lipstick. It was a brownish red. It looked terrific! Now, she was ready to put her dress on. She walked over to the chair where she laid the dress. She slipped off her bathrobe. Underneath it was her stockings and bra. She carefully slipped the dress over her head making sure not to smear her make-up. After getting it on, she carefully tied the bow in the back. She looked into her full mirror and twirled, watching her dress spin out. "Everything is perfect!" Mina said to her reflection as she modeled it off. Just then, she heard a horn honk. It was the limo. She opened her window and waved at it ,signaling that she was coming. She took one last look into the mirror. Mina then noticed something. The red bow in her hair. "Tonight," she said, "I feel love in the air. So, tonight I must forget about the past ,and focus on the future. My future." She took the bow out of her hair and threw it down. She replaced it with an orange bow. Perfect. She ran over to her closet for shoes. Then, she realized that she didn't have any shoes that would match this dress. "Damn!" she cursed, grabbing black high heels and slipping them on. Mina hurridly ran to her front door. She opened it and walked to the limo.
She got in and was surprised to see that her friends weren't there. She figured that they all had their own limo, for them and their dates. Jealously surged through Mina. She silently scolded her self, saying that she should be happy that her friends had dates.
"Excuse me Miss." The driver said ,inturrupting her thoughts.
"Yes?" Mina answered.
"I have two things to give you. This," he said handing her a small glass case, "is from King Endymion." It was her crown. Mina smiled and put it on. She felt confident now that she would have a good time.
"And this is from and old lady." The driver said ,handing her a wrapped box.
"Thank you." Mina said ,skeptical. She carefully unwrapped it. Inside, were two orange shoes with the same golden rose as on her dress on the toe part. She smiled and slipped her black shoes off and put the new ones on. They were so perfect. Now nothing could keep Mina away from that ball. She knew that this was going to be a special night.