Chapter 9: Setting the Mood
"Minna, we're here! Mmm! Something smells yummy!"
Usagi hurried into the house first, followed by her friends and their fiancees. The blonde had noticed a delicious aroma in the air the instant she had opened the front door. "My nose tells me we're just in time for dinner!"
"Usagi-chan, that food you're sniffing isn't for you" Rei muttered. "It's for our Ooarai friends and their guys. Don't be so greedy!"
Miho stepped over to welcome the new arrivals. "Konnichiwa! Minna, your timing is perfect! Saori and Hana are nearly done in the kitchen, and they've made plenty extra for everyone, Rei-san! I hope you're hungry!" She giggled at Usagi's big smile, "I'm sure someone is."
"Is Usagi ever not hungry?" Rei teased. She ignored the blonde's sour pout and stuck-out tongue. "I see your team's boyfriends have all safely arrived, Miho-san. I'm so happy for you."
The five males stood and bowed deeply to the group, then again to Usagi. "Arigatou gosaimasu, Tsukino-san" Yusei thanked her on behalf of his school friends. "Mere words can not express how grateful we are for your arranging this holiday week for us and our girlfriends!"
"Think nothing of it, Yusei-san. I'm always more than happy to help such wonderful friends" the odango-haired girl smiled. "Not just now, but in the future too." She turned to glare at Rei. "See, Rei-chan? At least someone appreciates me!"
"Every noodle shop and fast-food restaurant in Tokyo appreciates you" the miko retorted. "If it wasn't for your endless appetite, half of them would probably be out of business by now."
"Ohh! You're just so rude!"
The five teenage males from Tokyo walked up behind the two bickering girls and stared at the Ooarai boys. "You really do look just like us!" Yuuichirou exclaimed. "It's almost like we're seeing ourselves in a mirror!"
Taro and Toshiro grinned at each other. "Greetings, my twin from another dimension!" Taro chuckled.
"Likewise!" Toshiro laughed.
Minako giggled, "You know what? If Mako had fallen for someone else, I'd have two Taros all to myself!"
Makoto gave her future sister-in-law a blank stare. "Minako-chan, isn't one Taro enough? What on earth would you do with two... on second thought, don't answer that."
Mako murmured from the sofa, "Or I'd have two Toshiros, if the situation were reversed, Minako-san."
"Hey!" Minako stared at her. "Don't go getting any crazy ideas, Mako-san! We'll just have to settle for one each!"
"Settle?" her fiancee grinned. "I suddenly feel somewhat inadequate."
"You know what I meant, sugar dumpling!" Minako giggled again. "I can think of lots of words to describe you, my big strong stud muffin. And inadequate definitely isn't one of them! Silly boy!"
Yuji smirked at his older sibling, "I wonder what those other words are, Indiana?"
His brother blushed, then grinned, "You'll never know, Yuji."
Minako asked their guests, "So how was your first day so far? Everything good?"
"Not just good, Minako-sensei! Fantastic!" Yukari exclaimed, slipping her arms snugly around her Ryoto. "It couldn't be any better!"
"A few more hours and it'll be a lot better, Yukari-san! If you know what I mean!" the blonde winked.
"Hai!" the curly-haired girl and her boyfriend smiled happily. "I can't wait for Ryoto and me to finally put your lessons to good use!"
Rei caught Ami's eye. "Doesn't that sound familiar, Ami-chan? Do you and Ryo have a big study session planned for later tonight too?"
The blue-haired teen murmured, "Um... as a matter of fact..." Ami shyly averted her gaze, smiling happily as she gently squeezed her young lover's hand in hers.
"Say no more!" Rei chuckled.
Hana and Saori appeared from the kitchen and greeted their hosts, both girls wearing aprons over their skirts. "Hi! Dinner's almost ready!" Saori announced. "We tried to keep your kitchen neat and tidy the way you had it, Makoto-san. Thanks for leaving all those extra ingredients for us to use."
"Extra ingredients?" the brunette puzzled. She snickered, "What's here is just the usual stuff, Saori-san. It only looks like lots extra because I have to cook for Usagi so often."
"Ohh, now even Mako-chan is picking on me!" Usagi groaned. "No fair!"
"Tonight's dinner won't be nearly as delicious as yours are, Makoto-san, but we tried our best" Hana said. "And this time, I didn't cut my finger peeling the potatoes!"
Ryo presented the two temporary chefs with a bottle of wine. "We brought this along, just a little something to help set the mood."
"Arigatou, Ryo-san! That's very thoughtful of you. I'll go open it now." Hana gratefully accepted the bottle and returned to the kitchen to locate a corkscrew.
"Second drawer down, under the microwave" Makoto called out. "Did you find it?" She hurried off to assist Anglerfish's gunner while Yuuichirou strolled over to the piano and placed the CD player he carried beside the model Panzer. He then presented Miho with the large plastic bag he held, stuffed to overflowing with compact discs.
"I brought my entire music collection in case you'd like to dance later, Miho-san. There's a good mix of songs in there. I hope you can find something suitable for this very special occasion."
"I'm sure we will!" the Anglerfish commander spoke, gratefully accepting the bag. She peered inside. "I like your taste in music, Yuuichirou-san. There's a ton of songs here that'll be perfect to dance to!"
Ami asked, "Miho-san, do you think it's going to be somewhat crowded in the dining room tonight? I'm not sure if Mako-chan has enough chairs for everyone."
"Do you think we should have dinner in the living room, Ami-san? My team and their guys definitely want to dine together with you, but the only way we'll fit in there together is if the girls all sit in their boyfriends' laps!"
"That'll work!" Minako piped up. "It always works for me and my love muffin!"
"Usagi sitting in Mamoru's lap? While she's eating?" Rei exclaimed. "Poor Mamoru! He'll be wincing in pain from getting elbowed half to death before he's taken his first bite!"
"Fine!" Usagi muttered as Makoto returned with the opened wine. "We'll move the coffee table into the middle of the living room floor and eat there, Nasty-chan! Ok? Are you satisfied now?"
Rei ignored her friend's grumbling and gave Yuuichirou an alluring smile, her indigo eyes twinkling. "Am I satisfied? No, not yet. But I will be later tonight." She purred at her fiancee, "Supremely satisfied, lover. In that extra special way that only you can do."
"Good grief!" Makoto chuckled at the miko's amorous tone. "The house is full of Minakos!"
"So?" Minako giggled. "You say that like it's a bad thing, Mako-chan."
"This is one time it won't be" the brunette admitted with a grin.
. . . . .
As the teens enjoyed cordial conversation over dinner, Minako announced to the visiting couples, "Minna, we'll be leaving about an hour after dinner is over. We won't be back again until the day after tommorow, to give everyone lots of private personal time together. I know you'll make the most of it!"
Saori giggled, "Definitely, Minako-san! Um... Toshiro honey, did that secret book of yours happen to cover... Phase Three?"
Her young man blushed. "It definitely didn't mention anything like that, my love! Just what we told you earlier."
"Book? What book?" Minako asked.
Yusei quickly explained the book's contents to the curious blonde. "That's all it said, Minako-san. Just basic stuff about girls and dating that every guy should know."
"That gives me a great idea!" Minako blurted. "I'll write a new chapter for it! But go into way more detail, just like I do in my famous lectures!"
"Sure, why not?" Makoto grinned at the blonde. "You can title it 'Love-love 101!'"
"I'm sure Ami would be glad to help you write it, Minako-chan" Rei teased the blue-haired girl sitting nearby. "From what I've heard, she could contribute some very interesting suggestions. Isn't that right, Ryo-chan?"
"Rei-chan!" Ami gasped. "You're embarrasing us!"
"Hai! It's time to put all that studying you two do together down on paper!" Minako laughed. "Maybe I'll even learn something new!"
Miho murmured, "Minna, it's getting rather warm in here again. Makoto-san, do you still have that fan?"
"I'll go get it" the brunette chuckled.
. . . . .
After the dishes had been cleared away, Yuuichirou ambled over to his CD player. "Think we have time for a dance or three with our friends before we go home, Rei darling?"
"Absolutely, lover boy. Play something slow and soft for us."
"Hai, really slow, Yuuichirou-chan" Usagi said. "I'm way too overstuffed from Saori and Hana's yummy dinner to dance to anything fast. I think I overdid it again."
Rei glared at her. "Glutton."
"Meanie!"
"Girls, this isn't the time to bicker" Mamoru implored. "Let's end tonight's visit with our friends on a pleasant note, ok?"
"Rei started it, Mamo-chan!"
"Usako."
"Ok... I won't say any more. At least you're here with me tonight, so I don't feel lonely from always missing you so much." She slipped her arms around the boy who was once an Earthly Prince, courting his Moon Princess until that dark, fateful day when their whole world came crashing down. "Kiss me, Mamo-chan."
Their lips met as they stood amid their group of friends, again experiencing the sweet togetherness they once shared so very long ago.
The other couples were also soon holding each other close and swaying together to the gentle rhythm of a romantic ballad. Snuggled in her boyfriend's warm embrace, with her head gently resting on his shoulder, Miho whispered, "Feeling nervous, my Yusei? About... what happens later?"
"A little, darling" he admitted. "But every time I see your sweet smile, and the love in those beautiful eyes... I know I shouldn't be. I love you, Nishizumi Miho. With all my heart."
"And I love you, Ikeda Yusei. Tonight, when we're together in our room, let's allow our hearts to take control and lead us to share... something so very special."
"Hai."
. . . . .
After their second dance had ended, Miho and Yusei joined Yukari and Ryoto on the sofa, sitting a discreet distance away at its opposite end. "Waiting the next song out?" Miho smiled at the other couple.
"Hai! We're pacing ourselves, Nishizumi-dono. We don't want to tire ourselves out by dancing too much before we... go upstairs" her loader giggled.
"That's a good strategy, Yukari" her commander smiled. "We are too."
Miho noticed that her cigarettes and her purse were at opposite ends of the coffee table. She reached toward them, only to have her boyfriend promptly retrieve her pink lighter and click it to life. "Allow me, my sweet."
"I wasn't intending on having one now, darling" the brown-haired girl giggled. "I was just going to put them back in my purse, so I don't forget them. I'll wait until after we have dinner together at the restaurant tomorrow night."
"Oh!" Yusei chuckled, extinguishing the flame. "I guess I'm still feeling a touch nervous about... you know... later."
"To be honest, I'm sure we all are" Miho reassured her young man with a sweet smile. "Lighting a girl's cigarette for her is a very gentlemanly act, my Yusei. Was that mentioned in the book too?"
"Hai. In chapter... five, I think." Yusei regarded the young lady he adored through shimmering, love-struck eyes, "I've still got a lot to learn about being your perfect gentleman, but I promise to improve each and every day."
"You're doing wonderfully already, pampering me the way you are."
"I'm just getting started, my love. The best is yet to come." He took a moment to glance around the living room, watching Usagi and Mamoru slow dance, the odango-haired girl's incredibly long twin trails of blonde hair gently swaying in time to the song's romantic beat. He mused, "Isn't it strange how a terrible tragedy in our friends' past lives lead to us finding each other and falling so deeply in love. It's almost... a miracle."
"Hai. That's exactly what it was, my Yusei. A miracle. Without future Usagi's idea to send her younger self and the Sailor Senshi to visit our dimension, and Minako's help that night at the St. Gloriana shore party, we may never have met."
Yusei reached an arm around his girl and Miho snuggled against him, nestling close beside the boy who had quickly become the center of her universe. She sighed happily, knowing in the depths of her heart that tonight, and the days that followed, was merely the beginning of their journey through life together, as it undoubtedly was for all of the Ooarai girls and their soulmates. A happy life filled with joy and true, boundless love.
. . . . .