It was very late afternoon with the evening soon to fall. Grandmother Reiko had insisted that she give Ami a ride home on her scooter to avoid having the walk in the dark. Even though she didn't mind such a walk, Ami appreciated the thought. That was until she found out that the older woman loved the feel of speed so applied the gas as much as possible. She was terrified at first but quickly found that she enjoyed the rush as well. To introduce Reiko-san to Haruka-san... Too speed demons in human form!
"Are you sure here?" Reiko asked as she took Ami's helmet to put it away. She was still wearing her own and a light leather jacket.
"Oh yes. It's just across the gardens here. A bit of a walk will help clear my head for the evening. It was a most wonderful afternoon!" Indeed it had been. Keiichi told her stories about his family and all the places they had gone in the world. Reiko had joined in with ones about her daughter and some about her grandson that made him blush. Ami had added a few of her own, carefully leaving any hint of the Senshi out of it. The older woman's jaw shifted slightly at hearing about how Ami lived with her mother but otherwise said nothing. It was easy to tell that she didn't approve of the distance between mother and daughter.
"That it was and I hope we might have more like it. Remember young lady that the door is always open to you for any reason whatsoever." Reiko gave the young woman a tight hug and kiss on the cheek. "And thank you for helping to bring my grandson back to us," she whispered. "I will never forget that."
Ami blushed and nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak so just gave a respectful bow. She waved as Reiko zoomed off before turning to start the short walk. Tomorrow was school and she was nowhere near her level of ready. If she pulled an all-nighter Ami knew she could be but did she really want to do that? Everything that had happened today had caused everything to spin round and round in her mind. What she so wanted to do was sit in a nice, hot bubbly bath and just relax. Not to even read a book. Just...let all the thoughts sort themselves out.
"So...she finally appears."
Cringing, Ami turned around to see her friend Rei Hino standing there. Behind her were the other three Senshi. All wore expression ranging from: anger-Rei, relief-Usagi, and puzzlement- Makoto & Minako. On Minako's shoulder was the white cat Artemis and on Usagi's the black cat Luna. She knew that she must be a bit of a sight with her cheeks red and clothes ruffled from the wind of the ride, the black circles under her blue eyes, and just looking exhausted. "Rei, I..." she started to say.
"You didn't show up Ami. We had a fight and you didn't show up. You didn't even respond on the communicator! Ami where were you!"
Eyes wide at the level of anger in her friend's voice, Ami took a step back from Rei. "Rei...I'm sorry. I...I... Is...is everyone alright?" Is someone had gotten hurt because she had failed to be there...
"We're all fine Ami-chan," Usagi said in her usual upbeat voice. "It wasn't that tough of a monster. It was like all the others but we were worried about you."
"Yeah! When we couldn't get you on the communicator and then you didn't show we thought something happened to you," Minako nodded.
"We were about ready to call you mom," Makoto added. That was the ultimate last resort as they hadn't had much contact with Ami's mother and what they had had wasn't the best. She thought the girls were interrupting Ami's studies a little too much.
"So where were you Ami?" Rei repeated, stepping closer to Ami until they were almost nose to nose. "And that it was an easy fight isn't the point, it's that you weren't there when we needed you. So..."
Ami knew Rei had a temper but she hadn't had it directed at her in this way for a long time. "I...I was with...Keiichi-chan. He..."
The grin that came with the brunette's face was nearly ferocious in its intensity. "I knew it. You decided to spend time with him rather than fulfill your duties."
"Rei-chan, that's kinda harsh don't you think?" Usagi tried to interject but got waved off.
"Let Ami answer for herself. Well? Well Ami?" Rei asked but didn't give Ami time to answer. "He's a foreigner, isn't he? Is that what drew you to him? He's different, yes? I just bet he is. Choosing him over us. That's how it starts, isn't it? You find someone else and then you stop paying attention to your duties, to your Princess, to us!"
"Rei! Knock it off!" Makoto called out. She looked at the other two, horrified. They hadn't ever seen Rei like this before.
Within Ami, a kernel of an emotion that she rarely felt was expanding. It fed off of the turmoil from everything that had happened that day. Her breaths were coming faster and faster, fists clenching and clenching.
"That was him that dropped you off, right? Gave you a nice little kiss too. Is that what you were doing all day Ami? Our little Ami playing kissy face like Usagi does with Mamoru all the time."
"Hey!" Usagi yelled.
Rei kept up the list of 'offenses' that she just knew Ami had committed. "Bet you did more than kissy face. Bet you and your boyfriend..."
"At least I *have* a boyfriend!" Ami said through gritted teeth. "I don't drive them away like you do Rei!"
The air was suddenly filled with the sound of a palm meeting a cheek.
Time seemed to stop as Rei looked at the hand that had left a red mark on Ami's cheek. Usagi holding her hands up to her mouth, horrified. Makoto and Minako, horrified as well and starting to move to separate the two. Ami standing there, staring at Rei, a blank expression on her face, and then her vision going red!
The next thing Ami knew was hearing voice saying things like "Ami! Get off of her!" "Grab her arms!" Usagi wailing. "Shut up Usagi!" Someone yelling words that made no sense whatsoever and Ami realizing it was her who was doing it. She felt two strong hands reach under her arms and pull her to her feet and then another set of arms wrapping tight around her and then her face buried in a sweater. Was someone sobbing? Oh...it was her doing it.
"What the fuck got into you Rei?!" Was that Usagi? Using language like that? Rei's voice fading a little, interjected with Makoto's who sounded furious. More arms, from behind this time, with Minako saying something to Usagi who was gently cooing to Ami. "It's okay Ami. It's okay."
"Where does she keep that computer..." Minako was saying and her hand moving about. The strange feeling of her reaching into the transdimensional pocket where they kept things. "Got it. Now how to scan... What? Can't be worse than a PlayStation." A series of loud and unfriendly beeps. "Stop that." Slapping was heard against metal followed by squeaks. "Found it...scanning...scanning...says she's normal. For a cat. Oh... I scanned Artemis."
"Give me that!" a new voice said a was followed by typing and beeping. "Why we don't have thumbs... There! According to this, no toxins or adverse chemicals. High amount of tannins though..."
"What the hell are tannins?"
"It's the stuff in tea. Good quality I think..."
"Assam tea. With lemon," Ami whispered, her mind grabbing something to orientate itself.
"Assam with lemon?" Artemis said. The owner of the voice was a white cat with a crescent moon on its forehead. "Ewww... Gotta have milk in it or its deadly. Scotch is even better..."
"When did you have Scotch?" Luna asked primly, glaring at her companion.
"Um...I didn't. We'll leave it at that." Luna was always such a fuddy duddy.
"Ami? What happened? What's wrong?" Usagi asked her friend. She used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe Ami's eyes.
"If that Keiichi guy did anything to her I'll kill'em!" Minako said, slamming a fist into her palm. "Ow."
"Not before I do..." Makoto replied, walking over with Rei following behind. The tall girl gently peeling Ami away from Usagi and smiled at her. "I didn't think you had it in your Ami-chan. You laid her out with one punch!"
"I tripped..." Rei muttered, rubbing her jaw. Her clothes were a little disheveled from how Ami had been pulling at them when she was sitting on top of her..
Ami could help herself from smiling just a little at that information. Of the Senshi, she was never considered the 'toughest' or the best fighter. "I'm...I'm sorry Rei for that. It was...uncalled for."
"Apology accepted but I think you might have had it coming..." The brunette didn't say 'sorry' very much but in this case, and from Makoto's 'guidance', she made the exception. "I apologize too. First and last time you'll hear me say that I handled it badly. And shut up Minako!" They all chuckled at that.
"Let's...go inside and I'll tell you..." Ami said, a headache beginning to throb behind her eyes.
Sitting in the living room of the condo, Ami told her friends all that had happened the previous day and today. Gasps at the mention of the car accident and about Keiichi witnessing the aftermath. Makoto got up to pace a little with her arms clasp over her chest. She didn't say anything but it was affecting her a little harder than the others. Someone gave Ami's hand a squeeze at how she took care of him while he slept. Makoto's eyes lit up a little at the mention of the various kinds of food to be had.
"...and it was Reiko-sama you saw on the scooter. She gave me a ride home." Ami closed her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts. The couch moved slightly as Minako got up from one side and was replaced by someone else. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that it was Rei who had also taken hold of her hand.
"And that's why you couldn't come?" she asked softly.
Ami nodded. "Keiichi was in such pain and I had to help him get through it so he could begin to heal. He's my friend... I...care about him. It was wrong of me..."
Rei shook her head. "No it wasn't. That was good that you were there for him. It's...hard." The brunette glanced up at Makoto who gave the slightest of nods. Rei had lost her mother as a little girl and was estranged from her father. She didn't talk hardly at all about it but like with Makoto, there were times when she needed her friends with her. Even if she couldn't say as much. "You are a good, kind hearted person Ami-chan and I'm...sorry about everything I said. I was worried that we...I were losing you to him. That he was going to be more important to you than us."
For just a moment Ami had an almost insulted look on her face before it changed to one with a gentle smile. "Rei-chan! That is never, ever going to happen! We have all been together in the past, now, and in the future. I care about Keiichi but even with that I am still your friend and a Sailor Senshi and guardian to our Princess. I told them, because I believe it to be true, that you're closest thing I have to sisters."
"Any guy we get involved in is just going to have to accept that you all come first, right? Even if we can't tell them exactly why," Minako said. The others just looked at her and then slowly nodded. All except Usagi.
"Now wait a minute... I've got Mamo-chan and I'm certainly not going to say that the rest of you..." Usagi started to protest but stopped when she saw Ami's smile.
"I know what Mina-chan means. We have duties Usagi. In our past lives Queen Serenity charged us with protecting her daughter, you."
"Our 'princess' who's a klutz..." Rei said softly and smiled at the face Usagi gave. The pair lived to tease each other.
"Be that as it may," Ami continued. "It's our duty now and in the Crystal Tokyo to come. As Mina-chan said, any others will just have to understand that duty comes first."
"You sound like Haruka and Michiru and how they go one about 'duty' and 'the mission'," Makoto groused a little. She admired and respected Haruka, Sailor Uranus but to a point. Sometimes the ends do not justify the means.
"You're not disagreeing though," Rei said softly. "The ones who can accept are special. The ones who can't accept that are not worthy of us. I know that sounds horrible but..."
Usagi sighed. These kinds of discussions... They were the kind that she just knew would be common when she eventually became Neo-Queen Serenity and that was a reason she so dreaded the future. "But you're right. And if I can make a royal proclamation it is that you are all to find that special person because your princess wishes you to be happy!"
Somehow, Ami had feeling that she just might have...