Disclaimers

As per usual, don't own characters or series but writing and content are my own.

Background

Began at the end of May 2005. Planning to turn this into a huge saga.

Author's Note

Final revised version of this chapter (repost). More detail and character analysis / development included as well. Again, plot still in the works but hopefully a lot of you can relate to the issues I will bring up.

The way this is written, it's mostly from Usagi's point of view. However, since it's in third person, it may change to the narrator's point of view. This will explain the lack of honorifics because that is when the narrator is speaking. It's probably still confusing even if I tell you this but it doesn't detract too much from the actual flow anyway.

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CHAPTER 1

Still waiting

"KANPAI!!" The word was echoed around the table and she couldn't help but smile giddily as she and her friends clinked their bottles and glasses together.

The liquor sloshed inside her half-empty Bacardi Silver as she bumped it against the gin and tonic her neighbor held, making her aware of how many she had already polished off. She had acquired an unhealthy addiction to wine coolers, although she knew it was basically because she could withstand the 'fruity' concoctions better than beer, which of course led to her knocking back a few more than she was supposed to drink on occasion.

A smirk graced her face as she remembered the number of times one of her guy friends had noted that although such a drink might actually taste good, they couldn't openly admit to it. As if that would put their manliness in question. She brought the bottle to her lips again, hiding her involuntary laughter at the memory in the cool liquid.

She had to admit it was great to be back at school. Mind you, she definitely wasn't someone who loved the homework, the exams, or any of the pull-all-nighters-until-you-drop deadlines so much as someone who loved being with her friends. How she had made it to university was beyond her but here she was just starting her third year of college.

Kino Makoto, who sat with her boyfriend Nefuraito, and Aino Minako, who was chattering alongside them, often jokingly wondered the same. They were, however, rather quick to defend her whenever she put herself down, although their defense came with an accompanying smack to the head and she couldn't help but wonder if she wouldn't really become dumb in reality if they did it enough times. Usagi had to agree with them; she didn't doubt for a second that she herself was her biggest enemy. Too many inner demons to tackle still. Her life up to this point showed exactly how messed up her life and, in turn, she had become and she knew it would be a long time before she headed it in the right direction . . . if she ever did.

Yeah, well, that certainly doesn't stop me from having fun though, she thought wryly. Oh, and the fun all five of them had together! Looking at each of the girls gathered, her mind dredged up memories of sleepovers, outings, pranks, and even a few cringe-worthy fights. Of course, the number of incidents that she and Mina-chin had claimed were—and honestly they were!—accidents had to take the cake.

Mina-chin was usually lumped with her as the 'blonde duo,' mostly because they were a deadly combination when left alone in a room together. The Exploding Sink Incident came to mind. Whenever Mako-chan was coerced into the fray, their limits were boundless. A proverbial powerhouse, who considered the sword mightier than the pen and actually practiced this motto, Makoto literally plowed through anything that she couldn't overcome.

Usagi's skin prickled at the rise of happy memories as she watched the two bicker heatedly about Minako needing to cut her nails before she jabbed someone's eye out and from the look of it, that eye might be Mina-chin's own if she kept waving her hands as if she were giving a highly motivating sermon.

It was surprising that they were here at this point when so much had happened to all of them. Laughing and arguing over frivolous things was not something they had been able to do before and seeing the girls smiling so easily made Usagi feel for just a second that it might not last. Funnily enough, she would recall thinking this exact thing the year she was slated to graduate.

Rei nudged her with an elbow. "You ok?"

Usagi shook her head clear and gave her a small smile. Satisfied with that response, Rei returned to the conversation with a heated opinion about why affirmative action was positively evil in nature even if it was supposed to help people.

Rei voiced her beliefs rather vociferously but her advice was always solid. "You know yourself better than anyone else, and whatever you don't know, that's why we're here." She took things the extra mile, and Usagi couldn't help being thankful for that, especially because they had really needed it back then.

Throw Ami-chan into the mix and even her and Mina-chin would feel sheepish despite how often they unconsciously got into trouble. She was their tempering influence in the group. She was also quick on her feet: they got out of more jams then Usagi could count—not to say that her skills in addition were lacking—because Ami could spin just about anything. If Ami-chan really wanted to, she could be running her own syndicate right now. A vision of Ami dressed in a black suit, eyes peering sharply over a pair of clasped hands as she leaned forward against an oak wood desk popped into Usagi's mind. The idea was so absurd that Usagi burst into laughter.

Lucky for her, the entire table went into an uproar at the same time. Not that her friends didn't already consider her weird but she could almost imagine them adding 'randomly starts laughing' to the running tally they were keeping about her odd personality. Haha, they're so protective of me now that I wouldn't be surprised if they force someone I wanted to be with for the rest of my life to read it and sign a clause saying that he accepts me for all those things. She bit the inside of her lip. That might not be such a bad thing . . .

Just when Usagi decided to join the conversation again, Rei cried, "Are you serious?!"

The laughter that followed caused everyone else to crack up. Indeed, that laughter was very amusing given the fact that Ami was the one cackling crazily. While ordering her second Amaretto stone sour earlier that evening, Mina had convinced Ami to share a daiquiri with her. As they soon found out, it proved to be more than enough for Ami.

Nefu only had to utter 'Ami-san, you're as red as Rei-san's purse,' and she'd go into another fit of giggles. Usagi was getting light-headed from all the laughing she was doing, so she took another swig from her bottle only to notice that there was nothing left. Hmmm . . . Shrugging it off, she called out, "Hey, I heard you had one hell of a summer, Mako-chan. Wanna tell us about it?"

"Do I," came the enthusiastic reply. The actual retelling was so peppered with Rei and Mina-chin's own comments and stories that Usagi was surprised that she even understood the gist of Mako-chan's camping adventure to help reforest part of a woodland. By the time everyone had their say, Ami no longer had the appearance of a cherry and rather coherently began to describe her unfortunate vacation at the beach.

However, before any of them could stop her, Minako blurted out, "Ami-chan, you honestly went to the beach? The kind with a huge stretch of white sand and lots of palm trees lining the back?"

The rest of them sighed. And I thought I said stupid things.

"No, the kind you can find in the sandbox at the local park if you bring your own salt water," Ami answered sarcastically.

Thank kami that Rei could always be counted on to save a conversation turned sour. Raising her eyebrows, Rei smiled conspiratorially. "So, who's the guy?"

Ami-chan nearly sputtered and anyone who knows her knows she isn't the kind of person that sputters. Hell, she was one of the most calm, collected individuals Usagi knew. This had to be something. There was a pregnant pause as they looked at each other and then collectively went "Eh??!!"

Ami knew she wasn't getting off the hook until they wrung every detail from her. "If you recall the yearly week-long hiatus our extensive family takes to reunite with one another? Well, we were on the coastal beaches of Los Angeles this time.

"As you know, despite my relative love of water and all those other aquatic pleasures, I like to stay out of the sun, especially after such exposure as I had the previous day playing water-tag with the younger kids. I was spending time perusing my favorite chess strategies manual when a shadow—well, a few shadows actually—fell on the sand next to my beach chair. I looked up to find this guy literally leering at me. I still have no idea what he found so interesting since I was zipped up in a long, white beach parka and the only thing showing were my calves and feet."

"Obviously he noticed how beautiful you are!"

Ami only responded with a look that said 'Oh please.' before continuing, a blush gracing her otherwise straight-face, "Well, I must admit that he was a becoming sight, with the way the water dripped from his hair and down his well-toned chest."

This earned her a bunch of gaping mouths, which quickly turned into squeals when the girls laughed at her saucy grin. Rei grinned back. "You will do well, my protégé." Laughter rippled through the air again.

"And then?"

"Well, given the hundred-degree weather, we had brought a cooler filled with sodas, water, and a good amount of ice. I'm certain you understand the propensity of children and men to never put the lid down"—Nefu gave a strangled laugh even as he interjected an outraged 'Cheap shot!'—"so the chips of frozen water had turned into a liquefied mess by the time they appeared."

Everyone was thoroughly snickering by now, knowing that Ami-chan said it out of humor rather than because she was trying to be offensive. Man, that alcohol is really doing a great job of loosening her up!

Ami's eyes lost their sparkle as she flatly explained what happened next. "Since I faired pretty poorly at last year's US G/60 National Championships, I was reviewing the kifu I had put together afterwards, using my chess hikkei to recheck my moves."—there were some whispered, 'Hikkei? What's that?' to which Rei replied, 'You know that manual that Ami says is a must-have if you are serious about chess.' and the others quieted down with an 'Oh.'—"This year's championship was coming up soon as well, so I was putting myself through the paces to make sure that I had internalized the basics. Then that overgrown behemoth of a Homo sapien grabbed the book from my hand and I didn't want to rip any of the pages, so I let him take it.

"He was absolutely unbelievable!" Pitching her voice lower, she mimicked him, 'What kind of boring stuff is this? Come with us. We'll teach you something more exciting.' With that same inflection, might I add. Still gives the awful feeling that someone just stepped on my grave. How boorish! And before I could stop him, he tossed my book and jerked me so hard I almost fell out of the chair."

Rei was rather livid now. "You should've told him off!"

"Manhandling you like that? A good beating would be better!" Makoto said while slapping a fist into her open palm.

Ami smiled so sweetly at that moment, they all felt the hair on their arms raise straight up. Glad we're not on the receiving end of that. A flashback crossed the girls' minds of the hellish months those cheerleaders went through where they nearly went insane because Ami mentally played with them by moving things slightly, planting harmless tiny insects, and tampering with the seams of their clothes and bags. Involuntary chills wrapped around their spines, washing over them in waves.

"If it was just him hauling me from the chair, then I wouldn't be so angry. It was like the world went by in slow motion, watching the book fly through the air and land right into the cooler with a 'plop.' I actually heard something inside me snap. The next thing I knew, I had flipped the guy over my shoulder using the moment of the pull." Tilting her head at both Rei and Makoto, she said, "You are excellent teachers. We must continue the lessons some time."

They all knew how much she loved that manual. Her 'jii-san had sponsored it and part of the foreword was a message to her. He had taught Ami how to play chess when she was just a little girl. Even though he had to go live in the care of one of her aunts shortly afterwards, they were still very close because of their love for chess. Ami treasured the book even more after he passed away in their sophomore year of high school.

"You would think that after you take a man out, he would get the hint but I think I piqued his interest instead. It was military-style army boot camp for my little cousins after that and since most of them had gone through it before, we were thoroughly prepared." At this the thought running through their heads was War preparations?

"I supplied them with the modified Super Soakers in my possession. I had even come up with a way to get an endless supply of water running through some of them. You should have seen the way he flew through the air. I knew he had to be feeling sore a few days afterwards." The glint in Ami's eyes was just as scary as the previous smile.

A speechless silence followed. Minako was the first to break it. "Haha . . . I guess he kinda did deserve that. What if he genuinely liked you but didn't know how to act?" Then thinking about his behavior, "Or he could just be purely lecherous."

Makoto made a jab at her. "Do you even know what that means?"

"Hey!" Minako then retorted smugly, "I represent that."

"Don't you mean you resent that?"

"Hahaha . . . no doubt she does represent lechery. She's attacked a fair share of guys."

"Oh, you mean the Leaf-picking Incident?" Everyone started chuckling even as Minako's voice rose indignantly.

Wow. What are the odds that Ami-chan, the one who's least interested in boys, attracts a guy that hot enough to die for? I mean, none of us are extraordinarily cute or pretty. Not model quality for sure. We're the kind that just grows on people as they get to know us. Usagi released an inaudible sigh, picking at the label on the empty bottle in front of her. She bit her lip, cheeks warming at her next thoughts.

I'm still waiting for the guy that makes my skin prickle just by being in the same place as him, that makes me tingle when he accidentally brushes his hand against mine, that makes my body infuse with a contented warmth from a touch of his lips . . .

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Japanese

kanpai – cheers

Ojii-san – Grandfather; shortened to 'jii-san – Grandpa (*-san is used here to reference someone else's grandfather)

hikkei – (in case you miss this in the story) must-have guide or manual; possibly anything that is a must-have like a set of high quality kitchen knives for a chef.

kami – a god; could be a reference to the God but not necessarily since there is no ultimate overseeing god in the native Japanese Shinto religion.

kifu – if you have watched Hikaru no Go or any other anime with Go or Shougi (Japanese/Asian version of chess), this is used to keep track of moves and sometimes time taken by both sides. One way to learn is to study those who have preceded you. It is also a way to prepare for a match because you can know your opponent's style.

Please refer to my profile for pronunciation and explanation of the Dark Kingdom generals' names and for help with the suffixes.