You thought we were finished? The fun has just begun!!

*maniacal laughter heard in the background* That's right, ladies and gents, we've only skimmed the surface, chipped the tip of the iceberg...*fake British accent* "Iceberg, right ahead!"

Uhhh... yeah... don't mind Ely, she's just a little loopy after studying for finals so much.

Enjoy the show! ^^

The Longest 24 Hours 3/8
sequel to Crazy for You
by Lazuli and Elysia
PG

*******

The moment she returned to Earth, she stared silently at the dark blue bottle that she held in her hands. He could he have gone through with such a thing? Did he actually love her that much? To go through something like this, just for her?

She just had to test it. Holding the bottle firmly in her hands, she whispered, "Forgive me Mamo-chan," then shook the bottle as hard as she could. She heard Mamoru rolling around inside, and she couldn't help but let a grin of satisfaction overcome her features as she heard her former words related back to her.

"USAKO!!! STTTOOPPPPP SHAAAKKKKINNGGG MMMMEEEE!!!!"

Usagi smiled and stopped shaking the bottle. All was fair in this game now. It wasn't fair in a way, she wished that Mamoru could be her genie, but she had to leave it for someone else. She only hoped that nothing would happen to drastically change the world, that whoever got the bottle would use it wisely... but that wasn't very likely. People like Mamo-chan were one in a million. She sighed and set the bottle down gently on the table next to the bed.

"I'll be back for you in twenty-four hours, Mamo-chan. Don't worry... it's not as bad as it seems. I love you."

Mamoru heard Usagi's words and sighed. It was going to be a long twenty-four hours. He stared around the confines of his new home to pass the time, and he now understood why Usagi didn't like to be in here for long. It was beautiful, he gave it that much, but it was like a gilded cage. It was clearly a prison, not a home.

He flopped down on a pillow, and stared up at the top of the bottle. He didn't feel any different. He wondered if the Council just stuck him in here for laughs, and didn't give him any powers at all. What a failure of a genie he would be!!

He wondered how long it would take before someone rubbed the bottle so that he could start granting some wishes. Suddenly he felt the bottle being lifted up and his nerves went on end. He froze when he saw who had lifted it up.

Rei.

He closed his eyes in horror as he heard her talking to herself.

"Look at this... another one of those stupid bottles. Just like that bottle Usagi had..." Her mouth turned downward and she glared at the bottle.

"That stupid blond... child... took my Mamoru away from me! How dare she!" She was about to throw the bottle to the ground, but instead decided to polish it a bit. "Wouldn't hurt to sell this... might get some good money... or maybe get Mamoru back to me somehow..."

She got what she expected though, in a way... Mamoru appeared before her, and her jaw dropped.

A handsome god-like figure appeared before her, with dark blue eyes... and... her widened eyes took in his outfit. She swallowed uneasily, her breath taken away. She almost forgot why she was here in the first place. It was all because of this very thing! She shook her head, closing her eyes. She was NOT seeing this half-naked male in her hospital room. Rei opened up one eye slowly, and was dismayed to see that the man was still there.

"Who are you?!!" she demanded. If she was having more delusions, she wanted an explanation.

Mamoru couldn't believe his luck. Rei didn't realize that it was him! This was perfect. He frowned inwardly for a moment, though. Why on earth was Rei in the hospital?

"I am... a genie... here to grant you three wishes..." he said awkwardly, not sure what to say. He was about to continue when Rei started shrieking.

"Go back in the bottle! You're not real! You're not real!" She picked up a pillow, and threw it at Mamoru, who had the good sense to duck and vanish, especially when he heard a key turning in the doorway.

"Hino-san? Are you quite all right? Do you need a sedative?" The doctor's eyes were quite concerned as he surveyed Rei's disheveled appearance and the pillow lying halfway across the room.

"I'm fine! Just tell that... thing to get out of my room! There's a genie in here! Tell it to get out!!"

Rei was so distraught that she didn't realize that Mamoru had already vanished and the room was quite empty except for the elegant lamp next to her bed.

"Another genie? Hmm... I can see what to do, ma'am. Usagi! Come in here please. Hino-san needs some of her medicine. Please."

Rei's eyes widened as she heard Usagi's name and she started to scream bloody murder when a familiar blond came into the room, a container of pills in one hand and a cup of water in the other. Her own eyes widened as she took in Rei, the bottle, and the doctor.

She took it all in calmly, however, and handed the medicine to the doctor, all the while keeping an eye on Rei and the bottle off to the side. She wished that she could make the girl vanish in a puff of smoke again, but she had no powers. She was mortal for the first time in centuries. It felt so wonderful to her.

Rei swallowed the medicine, but was still glaring at Usagi until she left the room. She ignored everybody until they left the room and left her alone. Well... almost alone. As soon as the lock clicked back into place, the handsome man appeared before her again.

"Well, what do we have here? An unhappy patient? I can fix that you know..."

"You stay away from me! You're the one who caused all my problems in the first place!"

"Me? We just barely met, Rei-san. How could I have done anything?"

"No! It was that blonde harpy--the one who was just in--wait, how do you know my name?"

Mamoru's eyes widened. Shoot! He almost gave himself away! He coughed and cleared his throat. "Uhhh, well, I'm a genie after all. We know a lot more than you think."

Rei looked at him skeptically. "You've got to be really stupid if you think I'm going to believe all this. You're not real! I don't know why I'm seeing you, but if I close my eyes, you'll just disappear.' She squinted her eyes shut. "So go away already!" she yelled.

Mamoru just stood there, waiting for her to calm down. Rei cracked an eye open and found him still standing there. "Why won't you leave?"

"You found the bottle and rubbed it, releasing me in the process. Now you're entitled to three wishes."

"I get wishes? You mean anything?" Rei asked incredulously. Mamoru blanched. He couldn't exactly grant her 'anything.' Briefly he remembered the Council specifying certain things he could not grant. If only he could remember what they said...

Then the thought came to him. "I can grant most anything, but there are just a few exceptions. I can't grant you power over the world, because that would be really messy. Nor can I help you kill anyone. It's not part of a genie's nature."

Suddenly the door opened without any warning. Rei looked alarmed and Mamoru held his breath. He hoped whoever it was wouldn't notice him, or better yet, not see him at all. To his surprise and Rei's dismay, Usagi entered the room, carrying a tray of food. She walked right by Mamoru, pretending she hadn't seen him at all. Setting the tray down on the bedside table, Usagi smiled briefly at Rei, then drew the curtains slightly to block the bright sun. As she went to leave the room, she winked discreetly at Mamoru, then said cheerfully, "Just push the button if you need anything, Hino-san." The heavy door closed behind her with a loud click.

Mamoru stared after the retreating figure of his love. Oh, how he wished he could go with her! But had had to fulfill his end of the bargain. He couldn't live a normal life without her.

The low sound of Rei's voice brought him back to reality, and he realized she was staring at him. "Gomen, Rei-san, did you say something?"

She smiled confidently, almost a little too much for Mamoru to believe it was sincere. "If this is all real, then I'm ready to make my first wish."

Finally! Now he was getting somewhere! "And what that would be?"

Rei's eyes narrowed. "I want you to send that Usagi girl back to where ever she came from. I never want to see her again."