Chapter 8:
After Minako had rushed from the dining room, Ami and Rei exchanged glances. "What do you think, Ami-chan?" the miko asked. "Should we get involved in this madness, or stay out of it and watch Minako and Usagi crash and burn?" She smiled evilly, "I'm leaning toward the latter."
"I believe we should try to help them... at least a little" the blue-haired teen replied. "For Setsuna's sake, if nothing else."
"I suppose so. Anyway, I want a front row seat to this train wreck." Rei and her friend returned to the living room, where the miko promptly froze at the sight before her unbelieving eyes.
Her Yuuichirou stood near the window, holding the telescope's tube against one eye and peering through it. On his head he wore a green and white-striped dish towel, tied at the back and loosely fashioned as a pirate's head scarf. His other eye was covered by a playing card that hung down from where he had wedged it under the front of his improvised nautical headgear. Ryo and Taro looked on with wide grins as the Shinto apprentice squinted through the eyepiece.
"Goodness!" Ami began to giggle softly. "He's so funny!"
Not realizing his fiancee was sternly glaring at him, Yuuichirou intently watched the new arrivals walk toward the house. "Arr! There be scoundrels approaching, mateys! Prepare to be boarded!"
Rei's sudden groan and sharp rebuke startled the teen. "Kumada Yuuichirou!"
"Oh oh!" The apprentice hastily sprang away from the brass instrument and cringed, his face turning bright red. "I guess I got a little carried away again, Rei darling! Gomen!"
"You look utterly ridiculous!" The raven-haired girl tried to sound furious but couldn't fully conceal her smile as Ami stood giggling beside her. "You promised me no more pirate nonsense, Yuuichirou-chan! And what do I see here?"
"Uhh..."
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"
Her fiancee hesitated, wilting under his girl's disapproving glare. He replied with a sheepish grin, "Uh... arr?"
"Put that telescope down this instant! And take off Mako-chan's good dish towel! Mamoru's university friend will think you're completely insane!"
"Of course, my love! Right away!" Yuuichirou snatched the cloth from his head, the playing card fluttering to the floor as the doorbell chimed again.
Outside, Usagi impatiently reached out to stab the button a third time when the front door burst wide open, revealing a beaming Aino Minako.
The blonde instantly launched into her planned greeting. "Konbanwa, minna! Welcome to Mako-chan's big eclipse party and fancy... dinner..." The bubbly girl's smile faded. "Minna? Where's the new guy?"
"Right behind us, Minako-chan." Seeing the puzzled look on her friend's face, Usagi slowly turned around. "Nobuo-san? He was right here a second ago. Where did he go?" She craned her neck around her fiancee, peered back toward Mamoru's parked car and spotted the young man nervously standing beside it. "Ah, there he is!"
Nobuo watched the new face appear behind Usagi and Mamoru, that of an incredibly attractive teenage girl with a red bow in her long blonde hair. "Uh... hello..." he mumbled weakly, his hands beginning to quiver.
Minako spied the handsome university freshman and her smile instantly reappeared, as bright and bubbly as ever. "Hi hi!" She waved enthusiastically at him and gestured for the young man to come toward the house but he hesitated, seeming firmly rooted to the spot. "Well! Someone's really shy, Usagi-chan!" she giggled.
"His name is Nobuo" Usagi said. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Listen, I need to tell you something very important about him, Minako-chan. He's a... a... gynecologist or something. I can't remember the exact word, but-"
Mamoru slapped his hand against his forehead. "Gynophobic, Usako."
"He's a what?" Minako was paying scant attention to her odangoed friend or Usagi's fiancee. Instead, she took a step towards the boy, and then another. Nobuo's face blanched white, his hands beginning to tremble uncontrollably at the sight of the unfamiliar girl approaching him, his feet suddenly feeling as though they were made of lead. He let out a sharp gasp when Minako left Mamoru and Usagi behind and began striding down the driveway.
"Konbanwa, Nobuo-san! Please join us!" Minako urged. "We've been expecting you!" Another female appeared in the doorway behind her, a raven-haired beauty with sparkling indigo eyes. A moment later a third girl followed, a cute primly-dressed teen with shorter blue hair who gave the boy a shy, friendly smile.
"So... many... girls!" Panic flooded over the young man like a tidal wave and he suddenly found his legs, turned and bolted down the street and away from the old house. "Ahhh!"
"Wait!" Minako blurted. "Don't run away, Nobuo-san! Aren't you going to stay with us for dinner?" She quickened her pace, breaking into a run after the fleeing boy with Usagi sprinting to catch up.
"This evening is off to a great start, Ami-chan" Rei chuckled, watching the pair of matchmakers tear down the deserted road in hot pursuit of the frightened male. "Too bad they don't have a net to throw over him."
Usagi caught up to the other blonde as they swiftly closed on their target. She yelled, "It's ok, Nobuo-san! That isn't Setsuna chasing you! She's Aino Minako and she's engaged too! So there's absolutely nothing to be worried about!"
"Not yet" the miko snorted from the front step. "Give it a minute."
The now-panting nineteen-year-old slowed then stopped, breathing heavily. "She... is?" he turned and managed to wheeze.
Minako quickly caught up to him. "Of course I am, silly! Why wouldn't a beautiful goddess like me be engaged? Now stop all that shy running away nonsense and come with us!" She reached out and grasped his left arm in a tight clench. "It's nearly dinner time, and we've saved you the seat of honor at the end of the table, Nobuo-san! I'll introduce you to everyone else after we go inside. Starting with my Taro, my very own love muffin!" She winked, "He's the tall handsome one!" then frowned and waggled a cautionary finger at the boy. "But don't get any crazy ideas, he's all mine!"
Nobuo stood lost in a cloud of confusion. "Nani? I don't... but... what about all those other girls?" he mumbled.
"Rei and Ami? They're just our friends, and they're engaged too. Enough of this smalltalk! You have a date with destiny!" the determined blonde answered.
"I do? Minako-san, I can't-"
Refusing to take no for an answer, Minako had Usagi grab his other arm and the teenage matchmakers began marching the hapless student back towards the house. "There is one single girl here today, and you're going to meet her in just a minute!" Minako promised, giggling mischeviously.
"Hai!" Usagi nodded. "You'll see in a jiffy what a wonderful young woman Setsuna is. Please don't be afraid of her, Nobuo-san. She won't bite you. She's so refined and dignified. The perfect lady!"
. . . . .
As the trio neared Mamoru on the front step, Nobuo noticed a greenish-haired young woman of about his own age strolling around the corner of the house. Setsuna walked up to Mamoru. "Konbanwa, Mamoru-san."
"Good evening, Setsuna-san. Enjoying some fresh country air?" Mamoru asked.
"Not entirely by choice. Minako locked me outside. Accidentally, I assume." She noticed the two blondes forcefully escorting an unfamiliar boy toward her and her eyebrows arched upward. "Who would this be? A friend of yours, Mamoru-san?"
"Hai. My lab partner from the university."
Minako and Usagi briskly marched their squirming and heavily perspiring prisoner up the driveway. "We have a friend of Mamo-chan joining us for dinner today, Setsuna-san" Usagi told her. "This is Wakahisa Nobuo. Nobuo-san, allow me to introduce you to the lovely, talented, and single, Meiou Setsuna."
"Isn't she nice?" Minako prodded, nudging her victim with her elbow. "Go ahead, Nobuo-san. Say hello."
"Gaaa!" the boy gurgled. "I mean... konbanwa, Meiou-san." He bowed stiffly, unable to do much else with his blonde captors at either side clamping him firmly in place.
The young woman frowned disapprovingly at the two sixteen-year-old girls for just an instant before donning a pleasant smile and returning a polite bow to the unexpected guest. "Konbanwa, Wakahisa-san. A pleasure to meet-" Setsuna suddenly gasped in mid-bow and stamped her foot down forcefully on a nearby insect. "A cockroach!"
"Gomen nasai?" Nobuo gasped.
"Not you, Wakahisa-san. I meant the bug."
"Oh."
"I detest those foul things" Setsuna muttered.
"Minna, let's go inside!" Minako ordered. She smiled sweetly at Setsuna and Nobuo. "Where you can make yourselves comfortable and get to know each other in a much more romantic setting than out here. We even have candles and everything!"
"Hai! It's almost dinnertime!" Usagi nodded hungrily. Following Minako and Nobuo into the house, she scowled at the raven-haired miko blocking her path. "Get out of my way, Rei-chan! Can't you see I'm starving?"
"Should I be surprised?" Rei shot back.
"And don't do anything to spoil the romantic mood!"
As Usagi passed her, the miko snickered, "Too late, baka. You and Minako have already taken care of that. What do you have planned for your victims next, Usagi-chan? A candlelit dinner at gunpoint?"
"Quiet, Rei-chan!"
Chapter 9:
Minako dragged the trembling young man into the center of the living room. "Minna! Guess what?"
"They're finally locking you up in an insane asylum?" Rei guessed. "And throwing away the key?"
"No, of course not, silly! I was just going to introduce Setsuna's date for the evening and her new boyfriend to the rest of the gang!"
"Excuse me, my what?" Setsuna glared at her while Nobuo wilted.
"I'm... not going to make it" he softly groaned, his heart pounding and knees turning to jelly.
"Oops!" Minako giggled. "Forget I said that last part, Setsuna-san. Too early! Anyway, minna, this is uh... something Nobuo. Gomen, I forgot his family name." She asked, "What was it again, Nobuo-san? And why are you shaking all over like that? Are you cold? You can't be cold because it isn't winter yet and anyway the sun is still up-"
A female voice new to the trembling boy carried down a short hallway. "She's babbling again, Yuji honey."
The lines of dread crossing Nobuo's face etched themselves even deeper at the mere thought of still another girl lurking in the house. His fears were realized when Kino Makoto emerged from the kitchen a moment later, the tall attractive brunette carrying what seemed to the wide-eyed student to be a huge butcher knife, its lethal-looking blade stained red with fresh blood.
"Just finishing up with the strawberries" Makoto told her friends as she casually waved the sharp knife. "For the daifuku we're having for dessert later."
"You're making strawberry mochi, Mako-chan?" Usagi gasped. She hungrily licked her lips. "Sugoi! Extra servings for me, please!"
"Well it's official, Yuuichirou darling" Rei grumbled to her fiancee. "There'll be no desserts left for anyone else to eat, not after the human food sponge over there gets her greedy little paws on them."
Usagi angrily whirled around. "You take that back, Rei-chan!"
"I can't" the miko teased. "You've already eaten all the words."
"Ohh! Someday I'm going to get really mad at you!" Usagi fumed. "And blow my top! Just you wait!"
"You will? And then what? Are you going to gnaw my leg off?"
"That's so rude!"
"Um, while we're all waiting for Usagi to explode or something, would someone mind introducing Yuji and me to our newest arrival?" Makoto asked. "Anyone?" She turned toward the kitchen and yelled, "Yuji honey, come out here and meet our guest!"
"On the way, my speedy Mako!" a young male voice replied.
"Hehehe!" Minako snickered. "Speedy Mako! Is Yuji talking about the way you drive, Mako-chan? Or something much more personal? I remember you didn't waste much time when you and your lover boy were alone together at that secluded cove in Hawaii!"
"You promised me you wouldn't mention that again!" Makoto growled. "Ami-chan, would you mind doing me a big favour?"
"I'll certainly try, Mako-chan" the blue-haired girl smiled back. "Just name it."
"The next time you help Minako get a car unstuck, don't just spin a little sand in her face. Bury the baka!"
Minako ignored Ami's subsequent giggle. "I'll have to remember that cute name later, Mako-chan. When we all say goodnight and you and your Yuji are heading upstairs" the blonde continued teasing her with a sly wink.
"No you won't!" the brunette ordered her future sister-in-law. "You'll forget it again. Permanently! Or else!"
"This is Wakahisa Nobuo, Mako-chan" Usagi piped up. "Nobuo is Mamo-chan's friend from school."
Yuji appeared beside his girl and the couple bowed to him. "I hope you won't be too disappointed by dinner tonight, Nobuo-san" the brunette apologized. She shot a stern glare at Minako. "I normally like more time to prepare meals for special occasions, but a certain someone forgot to tell me you were joining us until the very last minute."
"That was me" Minako giggled. "Gomen!" After the other boys had greeted the teen, the two matchmakers steered him over to the sofa where he gratefully collapsed. "You just wait right here until dinner is ready, Nobuo-san" Minako said, though her suggestion sounded more like a direct order to the boy. "We have to go finish setting the table and-"
"And cleaning up the mess you made with all that broken glass" Makoto reminded her. "I still can't believe you destroyed four of my good-"
"Hai! That too! We'll take care of everything!" Minako next grabbed Setsuna by the hand and led the young woman toward the sofa. "Sit here beside Nobuo and keep him company, Setsuna-san. I'm sure you'll find lots of interesting things to talk about!"
"I... suppose." Setsuna reluctantly complied, puzzled to see the boy squirm away from her until he had pinned himself tightly against one arm of the long leather couch. Satisfied for the moment, Minako retreated with a giggle to the dining room with her female friends following and shut the door behind her. With the other males having vanished upstairs to wash up before dinner, the unattached pair were suddenly alone.
The greenish-haired young woman and the fidgeting, nervous student sat quietly staring at the far wall until Setsuna finally broke the ice. "What are you majoring in at the university, Nobuo-san?"
"Me?" he gasped. "You're talking to... me?"
"Of course. There isn't anyone else around at the moment" Setsuna smiled.
"I'm... uh... it's really hot in here" he squeaked, wiping one arm across his damp forehead. "Are you hot?"
The Senshi of Pluto surprised herself with her answer. "You tell me" she chuckled, then thought with sudden alarm, 'What am I saying?'
. . . . .
Inside the dimly-lit and windowless dining room, Minako was even more optimistic than usual. "Minna, I think it's going absolutely fantastic so far! Don't you think?"
"Are you always so oblivious to everything around you?" Rei grumbled. "That boy is a nervous wreck, Minako-chan."
"No no, he's just shy" Usagi insisted. She lowered her voice, "It's because of his condition, you know."
"What condition?" the miko asked. "Does he change into a vampire or a youma or something during every full moon? Considering how awfully this so-called date is going so far, I wouldn't be at all surprised."
The dining room door swung open and Makoto entered carrying a pair of long slender white candles. "Gomen. We only have these left." She grinned at Ami who turned away, the petite teen's face turning a guilty shade of crimson. "You and Ryo must be having way more romantic dinners here than I thought, Ami-chan."
"And even more studying too, I bet!" Minako teased her blushing blue-haired friend. "Living carefree and burning the table at both ends!" She took the candles from Makoto and pushed the door closed. "Even two of these will help, Mako-chan. Like I always say, two is better than one! Besides, it's kind of dark in here."
"Thanks to you it is" the brunette muttered. "I feel like I'm standing in a coal mine. Maybe I should get my flashlight out so everyone can see what they're eating."
"It isn't that dark, silly!" The blonde jabbed the candles into two holders and placed them at opposite ends of the table. "There! The perfect finishing touch! Would you mind lighting them for me, Rei-chan?"
While Rei fumbled through her purse, struggling to find her lighter amid the shadowy gloom, Makoto snorted "I'm surprised you didn't ask Rei to use her fire soul on the candles, Minako-chan. It sounds almost ridiculous enough to be another one of your crazy ideas."
"I'm not that bad, silly! I'm just the fun spontaneous type!"
"You're something, that's for sure" the brunette muttered. "But I guess no one has figured out exactly what yet. Minna, round up your guys and take your seats. Yuji and I will be bringing out the food in a minute or two."
"Finally!" Usagi blurted. She pointed at an empty chair. "Remember the next part of our plan, Minako-chan. We need to make sure Nobuo sits at that end, and put Setsuna right alongside him. Wedge them really close together!"
"Are you going to tie them both to their chairs as well?" Rei groaned. "So they have no chance of escape?"
"Hai, Usagi-chan! Then we can all watch the beginnings of love blossoming before our very eyes!" the second blonde swooned. "So romantic! My honey muffin and I love our romantic dinners, especially in a dark intimate place."
"Oh?" Rei snorted. "Where do you usually dine with Taro? In a closet?"
"Whatever works" Minako giggled.
Chapter 10:
With Minako's dining preparations wrapped up, she and Usagi set to work on the next phase of their matchmaking master plan. Together they pried Wakahisa Nobuo from the sofa and wisked the student into their designated spot for him at the far end of the dining room's polished mahogany table. Nobuo's fearful eyes regarded the wood panelling of the four walls surrounding him and he swallowed hard. 'I'm... trapped!'
"You're going to love Mako-chan's cooking, Nobuo-san!" Usagi promised the young man. "She's the very best, in Tokyo or anywhere else. And I should know!"
"I'm... honoured to... join you for... dinner" the young man managed to stutter, still deeply shaken from his close encounter with the tall, attractive and oddly mysterious Meiou Setsuna. He managed a feeble smile. "Arigatou, Usagi-chan."
"Now don't pay too much attention to the food, Nobuo-san" Minako waggled a finger at him. "After all, there's a whole evening of fun ahead, with that eclipse later and lots of friendly people to talk to. Oh, which reminds me, we're still missing someone!" She vanished for a moment, retrieving Setsuna and steering her into the dining room. As if on cue, Usagi pulled out the chair at the seated boy's immediate right. "You can sit here, Setsuna-san."
"I know what you and Minako are trying to accomplish tonight, Usagi-chan" the young woman quietly told the blonde before she sat down. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but your blatantly obvious plan is unfortunately destined to fail."
"Nani? Plan? Whatever plan are you talking about?" Minako asked in the flickering candlelight, donning a smile that was the very picture of sweet innocence. "We just want you and Nobuo to relax and enjoy your meal before the big event starts. And aren't the place settings in here really nice? Just like a fancy French restaurant! Ooh la la!" She waved her hand toward the nearest candle, promptly knocking it over. "Oops!"
Ami quickly leapt for the candle and turned it upright before its flame singed the tabletop.
"I can't see much in this room" Nobuo mumbled. "It's awfully dim."
"All part of the atmosphere, Nobuo-san!" Minako reassured him. The other boys followed Mamoru into the room and she grasped her Taro's hand. "We're sitting in these chairs with me next to Setsuna, love muffin."
"I'm surprised Minako isn't sitting in your lap during dinner, Taro-chan" Rei said.
"That happens after dinner" Minako giggled.
Her fiancee peered up at the chandelier, its lone functioning bulb adding a feeble orange glow to that of the candlelight beneath. "Minako darling, why are so many of the light bulbs damaged? They weren't broken like that last weekend."
"Sshhh! Never mind those silly hot bulbs, honey sugar. They got what they deserved."
Usagi took the spot next to Nobuo with Mamoru politely pushing in her chair for her before sitting beside his fiancee. A moment later Makoto and Yuji entered carrying the evening meal's first course. "Mako-chan truly is an exceptional talent in the kitchen, Nobuo-san" Mamoru remarked. "What she accomplishes in there can only be described as magical."
"And she's magical in other places too!" Minako grinned. "Not just the kitchen. Isn't that right, Yuji-chan?"
"Don't encourage her, Yuji honey" the brunette muttered with a deepening blush. Placing trays piled high with dumplings and taro potato in soy sauce on the table, she announced, "Minna, we'll be starting with satoimo and traditional tsukimi dango, followed by a surprise main course."
"Ohh! I love surprises!" Usagi exclaimed. She licked her lips. "Especially the tasty food kind!"
"And that's no surprise to anyone" Rei teased the hungry blonde. "Quickly, Nobuo-san. Get your dumplings now before Usagi makes them all disappear."
Usagi's tongue shot out. "Stop exaggerating about my appetite, Rei-chan!"
"Was I? Oh, and Nobuo-san? Watch out for flying elbows. We wouldn't want you to get hurt."
Usagi indignantly crossed her arms. "Hmph!"
Yuji placed two wine bottles at the center of the table near the miko and her fiancee and removed their corks. Yuuichirou grinned up at him from his seat. "Arr! The cabin boy brought our grog! Good work, Yuj- Ouch! That hurt, darling!"
Rei pulled her finger back from where she had poked it firmly between his ribs. "That's what you get for more of that ridiculous pirate talk, Yuuichirou-chan! You heard what I said earlier. So stop pushing your luck and knock it off!"
"Aye ay- Ow!"
"Now!"
"Yes dear."
Minako suddenly lunged toward the nearest open wine bottle and snatched it up.
"Feeling rather thirsty, Minako-chan?" Ami asked with a soft giggle.
"I'm just getting this for our important guest, Ami-chan. He can't possibly reach it from way down there at the end." She passed the bottle to him. "Here you are, Nobuo-san. Now go ahead and fill Setsuna's wine glass like the perfect gentleman we all know you are."
"Uh... hai."
The nineteen-year-old steeled his frayed nerves and clenched the bottle tightly with both hands, almost as though he were trying to strangle it. Breathing rapidly, he tipped the bottle nearly upside down, his trembling fingers making its thin neck rattle against the rim of her glass as he poured her wine.
"That will be sufficient, Nobuo-san" Setsuna nodded politely as the beverage gushed in. He didn't react and she touched his hand for good measure. The student instantly froze at the feel of her soft slender fingers against his, continuing to pour the wine until her glass overflowed and red liquid dribbled onto the table. She hastily pulled the bottle away from him before the pool in front of her grew any larger.
"Gomen nasai!" he gasped. "I made a huge mess! I'm so sorry!"
"Don't be" Rei reassured him as Setsuna discreetly contained the puddle beneath her napkin. "We're all well used to Usagi spilling things and making a mess every time she eats or drinks. Besides, it's hard to see anything with everyone sitting in pitch darkness like this."
"It's not that dark, Rei-chan!" Minako protested. "I prefer to think of it as an intimate dining experience! And romantic!"
"If it was any more 'romantic' in here, we'd need to use Ryo's telescope to find our food" the miko smirked at her.
"That's right, the telescope!" Usagi blurted. "Setsuna-san, Nobuo told me he's interested in stars and planets and spacey things" she said after downing her first dumpling. "Maybe he has other interests too. Why don't you ask him?"
"Hai, ask him!" Minako goaded her on enthusiastically. "Don't just sit there frowning at me like that!"
Rei joked, "And that's an order, Setsuna-san. From the two most spaced-out people on the entire planet."
"Quiet, Rei-chan!" Usagi hissed, angrily stabbing another dumpling with her chopsticks.
"You don't need to spear it like a fish, Usagi-chan" Makoto laughed from the far end of the table. "Those dumplings aren't going to swim away."
"Can't be too careful." Usagi eyed the morsel before popping it into her mouth.
"So, you enjoy astronomy, Nobuo-san?" Setsuna asked the teen.
The university freshman shyly averted his gaze. "Uh... hai. Astronomy, and timepieces. I... have a small collection of antique clocks at home." Falling silent again, Nobuo nervously took a bite of potato.
"You have?" she smiled back. "I do as well."
Rei whispered to the blue-haired girl sitting across the table from her, "That's the first thing that's gone right all evening, Ami-chan."
"Hai, what a wonderful coincidence!" Minako bubbled with glee. "Setsuna has a million clocks all over her apartment, Nobuo-san! I don't know how she can get any sleep at night with all that ticking and tocking and gonging going on." The blonde leaned closer, giving the older girl a not-so-subtle nudge and a sly wink. "Setsuna-san, maybe you should invite Nobuo over to your place some evening for an even more personal dinner. Just the two of you, all alone together! You can talk about clocks and watches and uh... other fun stuff. And later on, when the time is just right, you can show him your cookoo!"
A gurgled choking sound from Nobuo was accompanied by faint groans from Rei and Makoto and the clatter of Ami's chopsticks falling onto the table.
"Nani? Did I say something inappropriate?" Minako asked her friends in puzzlement. Her blue eyes abruptly grew wide. "Oh! Hehe! I meant her cookoo clock, minna! You know, the one hanging on her living room wall that's shaped like a doll house and has that little bird that keeps popping out every hour." She giggled, "You girls have very naughty minds!"
"Minako-chan, you still have that unique way of phrasing things that's just... unbelievable" Rei sighed.
A sudden sharp ding from a timer in the kitchen had Makoto scrambling to her feet. "Excuse me a moment. That'll be the main course."
"I'll be happy to take care of it for you, Mako darling" Yuji said. "Please sit and relax now, you've been really busy in there."
She pecked his cheek. "Arigatou honey, you're too sweet to me. But I'll do it. I just need to add my secret Kino Makoto finishing touch."
As she turned to leave, Minako teased, "Hai, go do it, Speedy Mako! But don't forget to save some of that 'special touch' of yours for Yuji later!"
Makoto whirled around. "I know you can't see me glaring at you through the stupid gloom in here, but trust me, Minako-chan. I am glaring at you" the brunette growled." Very, very hard."
After she had left, Rei mused, "That reminds me, I should still talk to Mako-chan about her driving today. She needs to take it down a notch or two."
"I told you, Rei-chan, my star student isn't as fast as you think she is" Minako said.
"She's your only student" the raven-haired girl reminded her. "Something I'm sure all of Tokyo is grateful for."
"Mako-chan drives really fast?" Usagi exclaimed. "Like the scary way you always do, Minako-chan? Wow, that's a big surprise!"
"I assumed she would be the much more cautious type at the wheel too, Usako" Mamoru agreed.
"Maybe it's because there's a full moon tonight, Mamo-chan. People always do weird things on a night like this."
Rei tried her best to hold her tongue but couldn't resist such an opportunity. "So what's your excuse every other night, Usagi-chan?"
"Nani? What did you just say?" Usagi slapped the table with her hand and the nearby candle toppled over again, this time going out and darkening the room even more. "Rei-chan, you're a miserable meanie!"
"And you're a clumsy baka."
"Ohh! Some day, Rei-chan!"
"Stop fighting, you two!" Minako yelled. "You're making my romantic atmosphere leak away!"
As revenge for Minako teasing his beloved Makoto, Yuji joined in, imitating the sound of a deflating balloon. "Pffffft!"
"Rei started it!" Usagi yelled back. "Blame her, not me!"
Amid the growing uproar, Ryo smiled lovingly at Ami, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief. He playfully whispered in her ear, "Can't you just feel the romance in the air tonight, Ami darling?"
His future bride launched into a fit of giggling, quickly covering her mouth with her napkin. She decided to make her shy young man blush in return, and softly answered, "Not at this particular moment, my Ryo-kun." She reached for his hand and gently squeezed it. "But I certainly hope to feel something later tonight. Something... quite wonderful, that always takes my breath away."
"Ami-chan!"
. . . . .