A Kiss for a Friend
by amiwakawaiidesu
(based on characters and situations from "Sailor Moon", created by
Naoko Takeuchi.)
"Mamoru...oh my God!"
Crunching through the snow, Ami stumbled over half-buried rocks
and churned-up twigs to the body of her friend. Incredibly,
Mamoru had slid more than a hundred meters down the side of the
hill, and now he was lying face-down and still.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God..." Ami mumbled, closing on the body--but
even then a plan was forming in her head. She had studied first
aid, and the cold logic of survival took over. Praying his neck
wasn't broken, she moved his head enough to clear his airway, then
rolled him all the way over to check if he was breathing. It
didn't look like it, but it was hard to tell through his parka and
she couldn't get his zipper open with her gloves on.
"Baka," she cursed herself, tearing off her gloves even as she
called out for help: "Tasukete! Tasukete, kudasai!"
The cries, however, simply echoed through the gulch; the ski lodge
couldn't be more than two or three kilometers away, yet it might
as well be in Tokyo. There was no one to help her but herself.
"Just hang on, Mamoru..." she said, opening his coat; "I'm sure
someone's looking for us..."
Damnably, however, Mamoru wasn't breathing--and Ami suddenly found
herself bending over his face, pinching his nostrils but unable to
act.
This is silly, she thought; I have to breathe for him! It's not
like I'm kissing him...! But what would Usagi think? If Usagi
saw me doing this, she'd never understand...
Shimatta! How did all this happen...?
* * *
Ironically, the sun had been shining in a bright blue sky two days
ago, glistening on the snow-capped mountains of Yamanashi. Ever
the sport, Yuichirou had gotten lift passes for Rei and all her
friends--then promptly twisted his ankle falling off the roof of
the shrine. Thus, he was not on hand as Rei and her buddies took
an excursion bus to the mountains.
"What an idiot," Rei said, looking out the window of the excursion
bus. "What was he doing on the roof in the first place?"
"I thought he said something about fixing the roof tiles," Mamoru
said, generously.
"Well," Usagi offered, pulling herself even closer to Mamoru, "I
think it was very generous of Yuichirou to give his pass to
Mamoru."
"And a good thing," Rei replied; "otherwise, we'd hear you whining
all the way up there and back."
"Puh-leeze," Usagi said; "at least I have a boyfriend."
"Well I had him first."
"Oh, yeah? Well...nyah!" Usagi said, sticking out her tongue.
Reflexively, Rei answered in kind.
"Girls, please," Mamoru said, noting the attention of strangers on
the bus; "this is embarrassing!"
"Yeah," Mina said, looking up from the bag of potato chips she was
stuffing her face with; "chill out already."
Mako, meanwhile, sighed in her seat across the aisle, opposite
Ami.
"Honestly," she said, "why do they always have to fight like
this?"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it," Ami said, looking up from her
book. "I'd worry when we stop fighting with each other."
Mako shrugged, and smiled. "I guess."
"Anyway," Ami said ominously, looking out the window; "we have
more important things to worry about..."
"What is it?" Mako asked, leaning suddenly closer to Ami. "The
Dark Kingdom? The Death Busters...?"
Ami smiled. "No, I was thinking about the weather. They say
there's a chance that a storm could move in."
"Oh, is that all?"
"I just like to be prepared," Ami said, fishing in her pocket and
bringing out a cell phone.
"What do you need that for?" Mako asked--lowering her voice
slightly to add; "you've already got a communicator to talk to
Luna."
"Yes, but Luna's not going to teleport up here when Usagi falls
off the mountain during a snowstorm."
"I heard that," Usagi said.
But Ami just smiled slightly, and returned to her reading.
And in fact it appeared that her fears were unfounded. Although
the Kuroyama lodge was a little out of the way, in a valley ringed
with mountains that must have been an avalanche hazard, the
weather remained clear as the visitors checked in and ventured
onto the slopes. Since they were planning to stay at the lodge
for a couple of days, Ami decided to start slow and prudently on
the safest run, but Usagi--prodded by taunts from the skillful
Rei--managed to drag Mamoru and Mako onto a much more difficult
course.
"I swear, we'll never see them again," Ami told Mina--who was a
lot more interested in flirting with boys around the ski lift.
"Oh, don't worry about them. They'll be fine."
Well, maybe I should lighten up, Ami thought to herself. Just
because we're a hundred kilometers from the nearest city, in some
godforsaken cleft in the mountains, doesn't mean we HAVE to have
some kind of disaster...
Yet, sure enough, the weather began to turn as the afternoon wore
on and Ami saw no sign of her friends. While other skiers headed
in for cover, Ami and Mina defied the warnings of the ski patrol
to go out looking for their friends. Finally--truly lost--Ami
gave up and used her pocket computer to locate the missing party,
which was wandering near a copse of trees, impaired by Usagi's one
good ski.
"Holy cow!" Mina laughed, looking at the remains of Usagi's other
ski, snapped clean in two; "how did you do that?"
"Believe me," Mako said; "you don't want to know."
"Please, everybody," Ami said, raising her voice above the wind;
"we have to go."
Progress was slowed, however, by Usagi on her one good ski.
Finally, as a proper blizzard began to blow up, and the sun went
down, Mamoru suggested he should just go ahead and carry his
future wife.
"I don't think that's smart!" Rei said.
"Why not?" Mamoru asked.
"Well, you're not exactly an expert skier--you'd kill yourself
trying to carry her!"
"Good point!"
"Here," Rei said to Usagi; "take one of my skis!"
"Rei, the binding's stuck!"
"Oh, geez," Makoto muttered.
"Hell," Rei said, finally taking command. "Mamoru, go with Ami
and get help! We'll help meatball head!"
"I heard that!" Usagi yelled.
"Why me?" Mamoru asked.
"Because you're biggest and strongest," Rei said, "and Ami's got
the computer! Move it!"
Mamoru thought to protest, but he had to admit that Rei was in her
element. For her part, Ami thought about using her phone, but
finally figured it was better to wait. Certainly, the storm was
brewing up, and soon--even with her computer and Mamoru's
flashlight--she had to admit she was lost.
"Which way?" Mamoru yelled.
"I..."
"What?"
Ami felt foolish, and hesitated to respond.
"I don't know. I'm all turned around and lost my bearings!"
If Mamoru was scared, however, he didn't show it.
"We passed a shed a ways back! Let's go there and use your
phone!"
"Good thinking! Good thing you're the king!"
* * *
As it happened, the structure they passed was more than just a
shed; it appeared to be a small cottage for the use of workers
away from the lodge. At the time it was empty, but there was
power, a sofa and some chairs, and--most importantly--a phone with
a land line to the lodge.
"Thank God," Mamoru said, dialing a number on the phone and
reaching a startled worker at the other end of the line. He, in
turn, transferred the call to the front desk, whose manager
informed Mamoru that Rei's party was already safely back at the
lodge, rescued by the ski patrol.
"Thank goodness," Mamoru replied. "So what about us?"
"You're lucky you got to cover," the manager replied, pausing to
back away from the suddenly loud and intrusive Usagi. "Stay
there, and we'll get you in the morning."
"But..." Mamoru said, glancing at Ami in the suddenly small
confines of the building, "...I guess you're right."
Then, smiling incongruously, he hung up the phone.
"What's so funny?" Ami asked, patting her gloved hands against the
sides of her parka.
"It's Usagi," Mamoru said. "I think she was trying to tell you to
keep your hands off me."
Ami chuckled, despite herself.
"Mamoru," she finally said, a moment later, "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For getting us lost. I wasn't prepared."
"Oh, please," Mamoru said, surveying the facilities at hand;
"you're too hard on yourself. We're alive, and we'll be fine."
For a long moment, Ami didn't know what to say, or what to do.
She prided herself on being the support for her friends--friends
who happened to be the reincarnated court of the royal houses of
the Solar System. She didn't want glory, or even attention; she
just wanted to be ready and helpful, whatever way she could.
But this is silly, she thought; you've got to help Mamoru, in the
current situation.
"It doesn't look like there's a cot or a bed," Mamoru noted. "Oh
well--I guess it's the floor for me."
Ami didn't reply to that at first, but--after the pair had
surveyed the facilities of the house, and helped themselves to a
minimal snack from the kitchen--Ami felt unsatisfied with Mamoru's
gallantry. There were blankets on the sofa--warm enough to keep
out the chill in the air, combined with a parka--but it could not
be comfortable at all on the floor or propped up on a chair.
"I think," Ami suggested, "we should both just sleep on the
couch."
"No, I'll be fine."
"No, really. One of us could be at one end, and the other at the
other end."
"No, I'll be fine. Besides, we've got lights and a little
heat..."
At which point, the power went out.
"...and I've got a girlfriend who will kill me, if she finds out
about this."
* * *
Somehow, despite the fact that the storm was still howling
outside, and the cottage was soon freezing cold, Ami did not feel
nearly as miserable as she thought she would, huddled under
blankets and a parka. In the dark, she managed to engineer a
barrier of blankets between herself and Mamoru, yet she could feel
his warmth nearby, and could just make out his features as her
eyes adapted to the dark.
"Ami," Mamoru said, "I've got a confession to make."
"Um, okay..."
"I didn't think this trip was a very good idea. But I let Usagi
talk me into it."
Ami sighed relief. Although she hadn't thought of it, her mother
would completely freak if she saw her there with a college student
several years her senior.
"Well, I guess it's good to be in love," Ami offered.
Mamoru snorted.
"Don't get me wrong," he said; "I do love her. But sometimes, I
don't know..."
Ami smiled.
"And I do owe her a lot," Mamoru continued; "until I met her, I
had no idea who I was, or why I was born. I'm a better person,
now that I know who I am."
"The future king of the world. Hard to imagine."
"Yes."
"Do you ever wonder, though," Ami asked, "what would have happened
if you hadn't met Usagi?"
For a moment, Mamoru was lost for words.
"I don't know. Maybe I'd have met another girl."
"There's always Rei."
"Yes, there's always Rei."
"I have to admit," Ami ventured, "you and Rei do seem kind of
similar; you're both leaders, smart and popular."
"You'd be surprised," Mamoru said, "how much it can wear on a guy,
dating a strong girl."
Ami chuckled.
"What about you?" Mamoru asked. "There must be some kind of guy
you'd be fond of."
In the dark, Ami was glad he couldn't see she was turning bright
red.
"I don't know..." she said; "this is embarrassing...!"
"Well, it's not like you're a troll, Ami. I'm sure there's lots
of guys--nice guys--who'd be proud to have you for a girlfriend."
The red on Ami's face intensified, spreading right down to her
neck and shoulders.
"Speaking hypothetically, of course."
"Yes," Ami said, "well, speaking hypothetically--I picture
someone smart and handsome, like a young Einstein. Someone with a
lot of interests, with a big library."
"I've got a big library," Mamoru noted, and Ami nodded.
"I like men with big libraries."
Despite himself, Mamoru snort-giggled, and suddenly both of them
were laughing.
"I'm sorry," he said; "I shouldn't be asking you personal
questions."
For a long moment, warm and snug in the freezing cold room, Ami
didn't know what to say.
"Mamoru?"
"Hm?"
"I think we all love you," she said; "the Senshi, I mean."
"Well, there are worse things in the world than working with six
beautiful women."
Still blushing, Ami was confused for a moment, then remembered
Chibi-Usa.
"What's that English expression?" Ami said. "The optimist
believes this is the best of all worlds, and the pessimist fears
he's right?"
"I didn't know you were that fluent in English."
"I...can...speak...English...very...well," Ami said, in English.
Mamoru chuckled, and sank down slightly in his end of the couch.
"Oyasumi, Mizuno-kun."
"Oyasumi, Chiba-san."
* * *
Cozy as they were, Ami and Mamoru were unaware that--even as the
storm was dying down--snow was beginning to pile up around the
cottage. And indeed, when they woke up early the next morning,
they found the doors and windows completely blocked.
"The phone?" Ami suggested.
"The phone," Mamoru agreed, moving to try the line out of the
cottage. It was, however, not functioning, and Ami's phone was
likewise inert.
"Maybe it's all this snow," Mamoru said.
"Or maybe I didn't charge the battery enough."
"Well, there is a vent near the roof in the back. I'll try that."
"We could just wait," Ami suggested. "They've got to know we're
here."
"I'll be careful," Mamoru said.
Men, Ami thought, dutifully following behind the future king to
help out. Sure enough, there was a vent high up toward the back
of the house, and it came loose with a few turns of a screwdriver.
Although it was small, it was wide enough to let Mamoru squeeze
outside.
"Wow," Mamoru said, finding himself on the sloping roof of an
attached shed--up to his knees in snow; "it's like an avalanche
hit us."
"Do you see anything?" Ami said, standing on a ladder to peer
through the vent.
"It looks like we're next to a crevasse," Mamoru answered;
"amazing we didn't fall into that."
"So, do you see anybody out there?"
"Wait a second; I'll move out a little farther..."
Whereupon, suddenly, Mamoru's boot caught a patch of ice on the
edge of the roof, and he suddenly disappeared from Ami's view--
together with half of the snow on that side of the building.
"Mamoru!"
But Mamoru was already gone, bouncing and rolling down the side of
the cleft in the rock. By the time Ami had squeezed herself out
the vent, he was already long gone.
"Oh, God, Usagi will kill me," Ami muttered, gingerly picking her
way off the rooftop, then crashing down the slope after Mamoru;
"she'll kill me, she'll kill me, she'll kill me...!"
Thankfully, Mamoru's descent had not begun a general avalanche,
and Ami finally found his lifeless body just a few minutes later.
Panic seized her for a moment, but then she collected herself,
rolled Mamoru over and called out for help.
Someone has to be there, she thought, even as she sank to the
ground next to Mamoru, lowered her head next to his and pinched
his nose. She paused...just a second...then lowered her mouth to
his and breathed in twice. Then she felt for a pulse--which was
there, but faint--and resumed the cycle of breathing.
Ichi, ni, san, breathe...ichi, ni, san, breathe...
Winded by her run, Ami knew she couldn't keep it up for long, but
suddenly--as if she were being lifted out of a long, bad dream-
she felt strong arms pulling her up and away, and only struggled
for a moment before she realized they'd been found by the ski
patrol.
"You all right, miss?" a gentleman asked.
"Oh, I'm fine," Ami said, woozily; "just...don't say anything to
the rabbit."
"Who?"
"Usagi, the rabbit," Ami repeated. "Whatever...just help him."
* * *
Luckily, Mamoru was not gravely injured; he had a few fractured
bones for his trouble, but the local hospital confirmed that his
neurological functions were fine. Clearly, Ami's quick thinking
had averted a disaster.
"Ami..." Usagi said, standing with the other girls outside
Mamoru's room; "I don't know how to thank you..."
"Usagi..."
"Arigato," Usagi said finally, embracing her old friend; "domo
arigato!"
"You know," Mako said, "that was really quick thinking there, that
artificial--"
"Makoto!" Mina interrupted, "we promised not to mention that!"
"Mention...what?"
"Uh...nothing," Mako said, awkwardly wrapping a long arm around
the back of her head.
"Ami...?" Usagi said, suspiciously.
"Oh, for crying out loud," Rei said; "Usagi, thanks to your dumb
luck, Ami was here to give Mamoru artificial respiration!"
"Oh, is that all," Usagi said, eliciting a surprised sigh of
relief from the girls.
"What's artificial respiration?"
Ami smiled.
"It's absolutely not like a kiss," she said. "It's not like a
kiss at all."
THE END
by amiwakawaiidesu
(based on characters and situations from "Sailor Moon", created by
Naoko Takeuchi.)
"Mamoru...oh my God!"
Crunching through the snow, Ami stumbled over half-buried rocks
and churned-up twigs to the body of her friend. Incredibly,
Mamoru had slid more than a hundred meters down the side of the
hill, and now he was lying face-down and still.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God..." Ami mumbled, closing on the body--but
even then a plan was forming in her head. She had studied first
aid, and the cold logic of survival took over. Praying his neck
wasn't broken, she moved his head enough to clear his airway, then
rolled him all the way over to check if he was breathing. It
didn't look like it, but it was hard to tell through his parka and
she couldn't get his zipper open with her gloves on.
"Baka," she cursed herself, tearing off her gloves even as she
called out for help: "Tasukete! Tasukete, kudasai!"
The cries, however, simply echoed through the gulch; the ski lodge
couldn't be more than two or three kilometers away, yet it might
as well be in Tokyo. There was no one to help her but herself.
"Just hang on, Mamoru..." she said, opening his coat; "I'm sure
someone's looking for us..."
Damnably, however, Mamoru wasn't breathing--and Ami suddenly found
herself bending over his face, pinching his nostrils but unable to
act.
This is silly, she thought; I have to breathe for him! It's not
like I'm kissing him...! But what would Usagi think? If Usagi
saw me doing this, she'd never understand...
Shimatta! How did all this happen...?
* * *
Ironically, the sun had been shining in a bright blue sky two days
ago, glistening on the snow-capped mountains of Yamanashi. Ever
the sport, Yuichirou had gotten lift passes for Rei and all her
friends--then promptly twisted his ankle falling off the roof of
the shrine. Thus, he was not on hand as Rei and her buddies took
an excursion bus to the mountains.
"What an idiot," Rei said, looking out the window of the excursion
bus. "What was he doing on the roof in the first place?"
"I thought he said something about fixing the roof tiles," Mamoru
said, generously.
"Well," Usagi offered, pulling herself even closer to Mamoru, "I
think it was very generous of Yuichirou to give his pass to
Mamoru."
"And a good thing," Rei replied; "otherwise, we'd hear you whining
all the way up there and back."
"Puh-leeze," Usagi said; "at least I have a boyfriend."
"Well I had him first."
"Oh, yeah? Well...nyah!" Usagi said, sticking out her tongue.
Reflexively, Rei answered in kind.
"Girls, please," Mamoru said, noting the attention of strangers on
the bus; "this is embarrassing!"
"Yeah," Mina said, looking up from the bag of potato chips she was
stuffing her face with; "chill out already."
Mako, meanwhile, sighed in her seat across the aisle, opposite
Ami.
"Honestly," she said, "why do they always have to fight like
this?"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it," Ami said, looking up from her
book. "I'd worry when we stop fighting with each other."
Mako shrugged, and smiled. "I guess."
"Anyway," Ami said ominously, looking out the window; "we have
more important things to worry about..."
"What is it?" Mako asked, leaning suddenly closer to Ami. "The
Dark Kingdom? The Death Busters...?"
Ami smiled. "No, I was thinking about the weather. They say
there's a chance that a storm could move in."
"Oh, is that all?"
"I just like to be prepared," Ami said, fishing in her pocket and
bringing out a cell phone.
"What do you need that for?" Mako asked--lowering her voice
slightly to add; "you've already got a communicator to talk to
Luna."
"Yes, but Luna's not going to teleport up here when Usagi falls
off the mountain during a snowstorm."
"I heard that," Usagi said.
But Ami just smiled slightly, and returned to her reading.
And in fact it appeared that her fears were unfounded. Although
the Kuroyama lodge was a little out of the way, in a valley ringed
with mountains that must have been an avalanche hazard, the
weather remained clear as the visitors checked in and ventured
onto the slopes. Since they were planning to stay at the lodge
for a couple of days, Ami decided to start slow and prudently on
the safest run, but Usagi--prodded by taunts from the skillful
Rei--managed to drag Mamoru and Mako onto a much more difficult
course.
"I swear, we'll never see them again," Ami told Mina--who was a
lot more interested in flirting with boys around the ski lift.
"Oh, don't worry about them. They'll be fine."
Well, maybe I should lighten up, Ami thought to herself. Just
because we're a hundred kilometers from the nearest city, in some
godforsaken cleft in the mountains, doesn't mean we HAVE to have
some kind of disaster...
Yet, sure enough, the weather began to turn as the afternoon wore
on and Ami saw no sign of her friends. While other skiers headed
in for cover, Ami and Mina defied the warnings of the ski patrol
to go out looking for their friends. Finally--truly lost--Ami
gave up and used her pocket computer to locate the missing party,
which was wandering near a copse of trees, impaired by Usagi's one
good ski.
"Holy cow!" Mina laughed, looking at the remains of Usagi's other
ski, snapped clean in two; "how did you do that?"
"Believe me," Mako said; "you don't want to know."
"Please, everybody," Ami said, raising her voice above the wind;
"we have to go."
Progress was slowed, however, by Usagi on her one good ski.
Finally, as a proper blizzard began to blow up, and the sun went
down, Mamoru suggested he should just go ahead and carry his
future wife.
"I don't think that's smart!" Rei said.
"Why not?" Mamoru asked.
"Well, you're not exactly an expert skier--you'd kill yourself
trying to carry her!"
"Good point!"
"Here," Rei said to Usagi; "take one of my skis!"
"Rei, the binding's stuck!"
"Oh, geez," Makoto muttered.
"Hell," Rei said, finally taking command. "Mamoru, go with Ami
and get help! We'll help meatball head!"
"I heard that!" Usagi yelled.
"Why me?" Mamoru asked.
"Because you're biggest and strongest," Rei said, "and Ami's got
the computer! Move it!"
Mamoru thought to protest, but he had to admit that Rei was in her
element. For her part, Ami thought about using her phone, but
finally figured it was better to wait. Certainly, the storm was
brewing up, and soon--even with her computer and Mamoru's
flashlight--she had to admit she was lost.
"Which way?" Mamoru yelled.
"I..."
"What?"
Ami felt foolish, and hesitated to respond.
"I don't know. I'm all turned around and lost my bearings!"
If Mamoru was scared, however, he didn't show it.
"We passed a shed a ways back! Let's go there and use your
phone!"
"Good thinking! Good thing you're the king!"
* * *
As it happened, the structure they passed was more than just a
shed; it appeared to be a small cottage for the use of workers
away from the lodge. At the time it was empty, but there was
power, a sofa and some chairs, and--most importantly--a phone with
a land line to the lodge.
"Thank God," Mamoru said, dialing a number on the phone and
reaching a startled worker at the other end of the line. He, in
turn, transferred the call to the front desk, whose manager
informed Mamoru that Rei's party was already safely back at the
lodge, rescued by the ski patrol.
"Thank goodness," Mamoru replied. "So what about us?"
"You're lucky you got to cover," the manager replied, pausing to
back away from the suddenly loud and intrusive Usagi. "Stay
there, and we'll get you in the morning."
"But..." Mamoru said, glancing at Ami in the suddenly small
confines of the building, "...I guess you're right."
Then, smiling incongruously, he hung up the phone.
"What's so funny?" Ami asked, patting her gloved hands against the
sides of her parka.
"It's Usagi," Mamoru said. "I think she was trying to tell you to
keep your hands off me."
Ami chuckled, despite herself.
"Mamoru," she finally said, a moment later, "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For getting us lost. I wasn't prepared."
"Oh, please," Mamoru said, surveying the facilities at hand;
"you're too hard on yourself. We're alive, and we'll be fine."
For a long moment, Ami didn't know what to say, or what to do.
She prided herself on being the support for her friends--friends
who happened to be the reincarnated court of the royal houses of
the Solar System. She didn't want glory, or even attention; she
just wanted to be ready and helpful, whatever way she could.
But this is silly, she thought; you've got to help Mamoru, in the
current situation.
"It doesn't look like there's a cot or a bed," Mamoru noted. "Oh
well--I guess it's the floor for me."
Ami didn't reply to that at first, but--after the pair had
surveyed the facilities of the house, and helped themselves to a
minimal snack from the kitchen--Ami felt unsatisfied with Mamoru's
gallantry. There were blankets on the sofa--warm enough to keep
out the chill in the air, combined with a parka--but it could not
be comfortable at all on the floor or propped up on a chair.
"I think," Ami suggested, "we should both just sleep on the
couch."
"No, I'll be fine."
"No, really. One of us could be at one end, and the other at the
other end."
"No, I'll be fine. Besides, we've got lights and a little
heat..."
At which point, the power went out.
"...and I've got a girlfriend who will kill me, if she finds out
about this."
* * *
Somehow, despite the fact that the storm was still howling
outside, and the cottage was soon freezing cold, Ami did not feel
nearly as miserable as she thought she would, huddled under
blankets and a parka. In the dark, she managed to engineer a
barrier of blankets between herself and Mamoru, yet she could feel
his warmth nearby, and could just make out his features as her
eyes adapted to the dark.
"Ami," Mamoru said, "I've got a confession to make."
"Um, okay..."
"I didn't think this trip was a very good idea. But I let Usagi
talk me into it."
Ami sighed relief. Although she hadn't thought of it, her mother
would completely freak if she saw her there with a college student
several years her senior.
"Well, I guess it's good to be in love," Ami offered.
Mamoru snorted.
"Don't get me wrong," he said; "I do love her. But sometimes, I
don't know..."
Ami smiled.
"And I do owe her a lot," Mamoru continued; "until I met her, I
had no idea who I was, or why I was born. I'm a better person,
now that I know who I am."
"The future king of the world. Hard to imagine."
"Yes."
"Do you ever wonder, though," Ami asked, "what would have happened
if you hadn't met Usagi?"
For a moment, Mamoru was lost for words.
"I don't know. Maybe I'd have met another girl."
"There's always Rei."
"Yes, there's always Rei."
"I have to admit," Ami ventured, "you and Rei do seem kind of
similar; you're both leaders, smart and popular."
"You'd be surprised," Mamoru said, "how much it can wear on a guy,
dating a strong girl."
Ami chuckled.
"What about you?" Mamoru asked. "There must be some kind of guy
you'd be fond of."
In the dark, Ami was glad he couldn't see she was turning bright
red.
"I don't know..." she said; "this is embarrassing...!"
"Well, it's not like you're a troll, Ami. I'm sure there's lots
of guys--nice guys--who'd be proud to have you for a girlfriend."
The red on Ami's face intensified, spreading right down to her
neck and shoulders.
"Speaking hypothetically, of course."
"Yes," Ami said, "well, speaking hypothetically--I picture
someone smart and handsome, like a young Einstein. Someone with a
lot of interests, with a big library."
"I've got a big library," Mamoru noted, and Ami nodded.
"I like men with big libraries."
Despite himself, Mamoru snort-giggled, and suddenly both of them
were laughing.
"I'm sorry," he said; "I shouldn't be asking you personal
questions."
For a long moment, warm and snug in the freezing cold room, Ami
didn't know what to say.
"Mamoru?"
"Hm?"
"I think we all love you," she said; "the Senshi, I mean."
"Well, there are worse things in the world than working with six
beautiful women."
Still blushing, Ami was confused for a moment, then remembered
Chibi-Usa.
"What's that English expression?" Ami said. "The optimist
believes this is the best of all worlds, and the pessimist fears
he's right?"
"I didn't know you were that fluent in English."
"I...can...speak...English...very...well," Ami said, in English.
Mamoru chuckled, and sank down slightly in his end of the couch.
"Oyasumi, Mizuno-kun."
"Oyasumi, Chiba-san."
* * *
Cozy as they were, Ami and Mamoru were unaware that--even as the
storm was dying down--snow was beginning to pile up around the
cottage. And indeed, when they woke up early the next morning,
they found the doors and windows completely blocked.
"The phone?" Ami suggested.
"The phone," Mamoru agreed, moving to try the line out of the
cottage. It was, however, not functioning, and Ami's phone was
likewise inert.
"Maybe it's all this snow," Mamoru said.
"Or maybe I didn't charge the battery enough."
"Well, there is a vent near the roof in the back. I'll try that."
"We could just wait," Ami suggested. "They've got to know we're
here."
"I'll be careful," Mamoru said.
Men, Ami thought, dutifully following behind the future king to
help out. Sure enough, there was a vent high up toward the back
of the house, and it came loose with a few turns of a screwdriver.
Although it was small, it was wide enough to let Mamoru squeeze
outside.
"Wow," Mamoru said, finding himself on the sloping roof of an
attached shed--up to his knees in snow; "it's like an avalanche
hit us."
"Do you see anything?" Ami said, standing on a ladder to peer
through the vent.
"It looks like we're next to a crevasse," Mamoru answered;
"amazing we didn't fall into that."
"So, do you see anybody out there?"
"Wait a second; I'll move out a little farther..."
Whereupon, suddenly, Mamoru's boot caught a patch of ice on the
edge of the roof, and he suddenly disappeared from Ami's view--
together with half of the snow on that side of the building.
"Mamoru!"
But Mamoru was already gone, bouncing and rolling down the side of
the cleft in the rock. By the time Ami had squeezed herself out
the vent, he was already long gone.
"Oh, God, Usagi will kill me," Ami muttered, gingerly picking her
way off the rooftop, then crashing down the slope after Mamoru;
"she'll kill me, she'll kill me, she'll kill me...!"
Thankfully, Mamoru's descent had not begun a general avalanche,
and Ami finally found his lifeless body just a few minutes later.
Panic seized her for a moment, but then she collected herself,
rolled Mamoru over and called out for help.
Someone has to be there, she thought, even as she sank to the
ground next to Mamoru, lowered her head next to his and pinched
his nose. She paused...just a second...then lowered her mouth to
his and breathed in twice. Then she felt for a pulse--which was
there, but faint--and resumed the cycle of breathing.
Ichi, ni, san, breathe...ichi, ni, san, breathe...
Winded by her run, Ami knew she couldn't keep it up for long, but
suddenly--as if she were being lifted out of a long, bad dream-
she felt strong arms pulling her up and away, and only struggled
for a moment before she realized they'd been found by the ski
patrol.
"You all right, miss?" a gentleman asked.
"Oh, I'm fine," Ami said, woozily; "just...don't say anything to
the rabbit."
"Who?"
"Usagi, the rabbit," Ami repeated. "Whatever...just help him."
* * *
Luckily, Mamoru was not gravely injured; he had a few fractured
bones for his trouble, but the local hospital confirmed that his
neurological functions were fine. Clearly, Ami's quick thinking
had averted a disaster.
"Ami..." Usagi said, standing with the other girls outside
Mamoru's room; "I don't know how to thank you..."
"Usagi..."
"Arigato," Usagi said finally, embracing her old friend; "domo
arigato!"
"You know," Mako said, "that was really quick thinking there, that
artificial--"
"Makoto!" Mina interrupted, "we promised not to mention that!"
"Mention...what?"
"Uh...nothing," Mako said, awkwardly wrapping a long arm around
the back of her head.
"Ami...?" Usagi said, suspiciously.
"Oh, for crying out loud," Rei said; "Usagi, thanks to your dumb
luck, Ami was here to give Mamoru artificial respiration!"
"Oh, is that all," Usagi said, eliciting a surprised sigh of
relief from the girls.
"What's artificial respiration?"
Ami smiled.
"It's absolutely not like a kiss," she said. "It's not like a
kiss at all."
THE END