Disclaimer- Check previous chapters. Thinking something marginally witty up every time is
getting boring.
A/N- Thanks to hatami, sarah, Dancing Kangaroo, AzianMu, Creature of the night,
weepingmask, and Rosealeena. Comments are always appreciated! -smiles-
We continue on. This is another pivotal chapter in a way that you'll... well, you'll see.
Switching Sides
by Starbrigid
Chapter Ten
False-Zoisite woke the following morning with an awful headache. He groaned, wondered if
he'd been drinking the past night, then opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. An
unfamiliar hotel room, a rather nice one. He sighed. Another awakening in an unfamiliar place?
Hopefully this one wouldn't bode so much angst and hassle to come as the previous one had.
He heard a loud knock on the door. He rolled over in bed and didn't answer it. A second later,
Kunzite stalked inside, looking pissed off at having been ignored. "Time to go search, Tuxedo
Kamen," he said curtly to the form in the bed.
"What... where am I?" False-Zoi asked sleepily.
Kunzite's fists clenched ever so slightly. "You just fell asleep in the middle of Tokyo, so we
took you to a hotel. We all stayed here."
"Oh," False-Zoi said, not terribly interested.
"So, we're going now," Kunzite announced imperially. False-Zoi made no move to. "You've
delayed our search for Zoisite enough already. The quicker we find him, the quicker you go
back to going to battles ridiculously overdressed and giving incredibly corny speeches."
The insult seemed to rouse False-Zoi a little, as well as the reminder of his and Zoisite's little
problem. Everything was so warped, he observed. "Okay, fine. Let's go," he said to Kunzite.
He was still wearing the clothes he'd fallen asleep in last night, and Kunzite apparently was
as well, though Kunzite's outfit was somehow not wrinkled, pristine as ever.
Typical.
The two of them strode out of the room. They were met by a glowering Sailor Pluto and a
rather humorous Nephrite, whose hands had been bound together.
Kunzite raised an eyebrow. "Will that not attract undue attention from the humans, Pluto-
sama?"
"It's the only way to make him stay," Pluto said, sounding slightly miffed at Kunzite's
questioning of her. "He tried to escape during the night, you know. I just barely stopped
him."
"Very well," Kunzite agreed, and the four of them exited the hotel, using the elevator to go
down several floors, briefly checking out at the front desk. They finally strode past the hotel
doors, making an exceptionally odd picture.
False-Zoi sighed. Their mission, he thought idly, and they had chosen to accept it. To find
Zoisite at any cost.
Well, not ANY cost. It just sounded cooler if he said it like that.
***
False-Mamoru had a very similar mission. He was going to visit the Odango Atama... and her
family as well. He grinned evilly.
He had stopped at his apartment and changed into black slacks and a black button-down
shirt. Wearing all black was surprisingly invigorating. Then, he drove his car to the Tsukino
house, relying on the frantic, automatic cues from this body on what to do. Despite them, he
nearly caused a number of accidents on his way.
He parked in a rather flashy maneuver almost directly in front of the Tsukino house, then
pulled his keys out, slammed the door of the car, and started towards the house. When he
reached the door, he leaned towards it and knocked, rather hard.
It was quickly opened by a woman he didn't recognize. She had long, rich purple hair and
wore an apron over her clothes. "Hello," she said, not smiling, but not unfriendly, either. "Can
I help you, sir? I'm preparing lunch for my family right now. We're having a day together at
home."
Perfect. False-Mamoru grinned at the news. "I'm Chiba Mamoru. You're Mrs. Tsukino, right?"
She nodded hesitantly. "Yes, I am. Hello... Mamoru-san, did you say?"
He nodded. "Has your daughter Usagi mentioned me at all?"
Mrs. Tsukino's brow furrowed. "No, I don't think she's ever talked about a Mamoru to us
before. Why? You know her?"
"Know her?" False-Mamoru's hand flew to his mouth in an exaggerated display of shock.
"She's never mentioned me to you? She told me that she had."
"Why?" Mrs. Tsukino asked.
"I'm her boyfriend," False-Mamoru said with the most casual, effortless of airs. "Surely she
must have mentioned something-"
Mrs. Tsukino's jaw was hanging open. She shut it for appearance's sake. "Kami-sama...
Gomen. Well, why don't you come in, Mamoru-san? I had almost finished preparing the food.
You can have lunch with me, Usagi, and our family."
False-Mamoru smiled bashfully, while inside he was grinning like a maniac. "Are you sure,
Tsukino-san? I wouldn't want to impose-"
"Nonsense," Mrs. Tsukino smiled. "Come on in." Yesssss! The Odango's MOTHER had invited
him in!
Mrs. Tsukino looked over her shoulder at Mamoru, who followed her across the threshold into
her home. She smiled. She was very shocked that Usagi was mature enough to go steady
with any boy at all, much less such a nice, responsible, handsome one like Mamoru-san. She
was very happy for her daughter, though a little distressed that Usagi hadn't told her.
Though, thinking of what reaction Kenji would certainly have when he heard the news, she
could certainly understand why Usagi hadn't...
False-Mamoru looked very impressed at her home, she noticed. "It's a very nice house," he
lied. "I like what you've done with it. Lots of homy touches." Yeah, he thought. It screams,
simpleton who's never going to go anywhere! Not really fitting for the ODANGO, is it?
She was preparing an American-style lunch for a change, simple hamburgers. She piled the
many burgers she had thrown together (she had made extra, knowing Usagi's appetite.)
False-Mamoru helped her. What a kind, thoughtful young man, she thought, nearly glowing
with happiness for her daughter.
Kenji, Shingo, and Usagi were all already at the table, looking very hungry. They all grinned
when she set the platter of food down in the middle of the table, and the three of them
reached for it at once. "Not so fast," Tsukino Ikuko scolded them. "We have a guest today."
She gestured for False-Mamoru to come in. He entered from the kitchen and winked at Usagi
before plopping down in an empty seat next to her. Usagi gaped. Oh, god.
"Who's this?" Kenji asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously. Shingo giggled.
"Watashi wa Chiba Mamoru," False-Mamoru said, smiling tentatively at Kenji. "I'm Usagi's
boyfriend."
"WHAT?" Kenji shrieked, and jumped to his feet. He pulled False-Mamoru out of his chair,
grabbed the taller man by the collar, and began to rattle him profusely. "HOW DARE YOU
TOUCH MY LITTLE GIRL? YOU HORRIBLE HENTAI! YOU. WILL. PAAAAAAAY!"
False-Mamoru was looking very distressed throughout all this. Ikuko hurried over and pushed
Kenji away from False-Mamo, the second of whom hurriedly took his seat again. She turned
to her husband, deceptively calm.
"Kenji? Can I talk to you outside for a second?"
Kenji followed, still looking angry at False-Mamoru. However, once they were outside the
dining room, he soon had greater problems to worry about. Usagi, Shingo, and False-Mamoru
could all hear Ikuko's enraged screams, even inside the dining room.
"How DARE you harass Usagi's boyfriend! You should be HAPPY she has such a NICE young
man for her own! I will NOT let you mess this up for her, Kenji! You WILL be on your best
behavior, or YOU'LL BE SLEEPING ON THE COUCH FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!"
Usagi, now that her parents were gone, was free to address False-Mamoru. "What the HELL
are you doing here?" she hissed. Shingo snickered.
False-Mamoru shrugged. "Was bored. Came to see you. Besides, with Kunzite-sama and
Kamen-san and the cow of a girl and the brainiac, we didn't really get a good enough chance
to talk."
"But..." Usagi growled, lowering her voice so Shingo couldn't hear. "You! HERE! You're not
even Mamoru, you're ZOISITE!"
"So?" Zoisite shrugged.
"But you're gay!" Usagi continued to protest. Shingo, who had caught this, looked
interested.
"Really?" he asked. Both Usagi and False-Mamoru ignored him.
"Yeah," False-Mamoru said nonchalantly. "So?"
"So what are you doing here? With my FAMILY!" Usagi nearly shrieked.
False-Mamoru smirked dangerously. "Yeah. What about that, huh?"
"But you're ZOISITE!" Usagi shrieked desperately. "The EVIL KING! You-"
"You're kind of boring, Odango," False-Mamoru commented. Then, for the first time, he
noticed the circle-shaped broach on her chest. "Hey. Pretty. Can I see?" His hand snaked
towards Usagi to inspect it-
Usagi's parent reentered at this point. Kenji was still shooting daggers at False-Mamoru with
his eyes. "Well," Ikuko said happily. "Now that's been taken care of, we can eat! Come on,
minna, food's getting cold!"
Everyone happily dug in except for Usagi. "Why aren't you eating?" Ikuko chirped, looking
slightly worried.
"I'm... not hungry..." Usagi muttered, face red hot. Her family gaped at her. "Don't worry, I
had a snack like two minutes before lunch," she tried to explain. They breathed a unified sigh
of relief.
"So, Mamoru-san," Ikuko asked cheerfully, turning to her guest. "How did you and Usagi
meet?" It was clear she thought of it as a destined meeting.
False-Mamoru grinned like a cat who had just gotten the canary. "Well actually, Tsukino-
san, that's a funny story..."
***
Kunzite, False-Zoisite, Pluto, and Nephrite had checked through all of the Azabu Technical
Institute. They also inspected Mamoru's apartment, which proved fruitless. "Where is that
little baka?" Nephrite moaned. His feet were getting tired.
All of a sudden, False-Zoi gasped, and his companions turned to look at him. "Aw, shit," he
muttered. "Shit. Shit. SHIT!"
"What?" Kunzite asked, looking doubtful.
"Kami, how could we have been so stupid?" False-Zoi shrieked. "He probably went to see the
Odango Atama!"
"The little blonde girl with the funny hair?" Kunzite asked. False-Zoi nodded, eyes wide. Both
Nephrite and Pluto gasped.
"Wait," Nephrite breathed. "Do you mean TSUKINO USAGI??"
"Yeah," False-Zoi commented. "That's the one. Why?"
"This is such a cock-up," Pluto muttered, shaking her head. "This is SUCH a cock-up."
False-Zoi and Kunzite stared at their two coconspirators in puzzlement. "What is it,
Nephrite?" Kunzite asked, looking slightly unsure.
He opened his mouth to speak, but they were interrupted. By the worst possible diversion
imaginable.
Queen Beryl appeared before them, a large hologram of her head and shoulders filling their
range of sight. "Kunzite! Zoisite!" she barked, not looking at them. "Where are my
nijizuishou?"
Suddenly, her eyes caught on Nephrite and Sailor Pluto, flanking her two Tennou. Her
subsequent bellow could be heard all throughout Tokyo.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF METALLIA IS GOING ON?!"
TBC.
Don't forget to review!
getting boring.
A/N- Thanks to hatami, sarah, Dancing Kangaroo, AzianMu, Creature of the night,
weepingmask, and Rosealeena. Comments are always appreciated! -smiles-
We continue on. This is another pivotal chapter in a way that you'll... well, you'll see.
Switching Sides
by Starbrigid
Chapter Ten
False-Zoisite woke the following morning with an awful headache. He groaned, wondered if
he'd been drinking the past night, then opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. An
unfamiliar hotel room, a rather nice one. He sighed. Another awakening in an unfamiliar place?
Hopefully this one wouldn't bode so much angst and hassle to come as the previous one had.
He heard a loud knock on the door. He rolled over in bed and didn't answer it. A second later,
Kunzite stalked inside, looking pissed off at having been ignored. "Time to go search, Tuxedo
Kamen," he said curtly to the form in the bed.
"What... where am I?" False-Zoi asked sleepily.
Kunzite's fists clenched ever so slightly. "You just fell asleep in the middle of Tokyo, so we
took you to a hotel. We all stayed here."
"Oh," False-Zoi said, not terribly interested.
"So, we're going now," Kunzite announced imperially. False-Zoi made no move to. "You've
delayed our search for Zoisite enough already. The quicker we find him, the quicker you go
back to going to battles ridiculously overdressed and giving incredibly corny speeches."
The insult seemed to rouse False-Zoi a little, as well as the reminder of his and Zoisite's little
problem. Everything was so warped, he observed. "Okay, fine. Let's go," he said to Kunzite.
He was still wearing the clothes he'd fallen asleep in last night, and Kunzite apparently was
as well, though Kunzite's outfit was somehow not wrinkled, pristine as ever.
Typical.
The two of them strode out of the room. They were met by a glowering Sailor Pluto and a
rather humorous Nephrite, whose hands had been bound together.
Kunzite raised an eyebrow. "Will that not attract undue attention from the humans, Pluto-
sama?"
"It's the only way to make him stay," Pluto said, sounding slightly miffed at Kunzite's
questioning of her. "He tried to escape during the night, you know. I just barely stopped
him."
"Very well," Kunzite agreed, and the four of them exited the hotel, using the elevator to go
down several floors, briefly checking out at the front desk. They finally strode past the hotel
doors, making an exceptionally odd picture.
False-Zoi sighed. Their mission, he thought idly, and they had chosen to accept it. To find
Zoisite at any cost.
Well, not ANY cost. It just sounded cooler if he said it like that.
***
False-Mamoru had a very similar mission. He was going to visit the Odango Atama... and her
family as well. He grinned evilly.
He had stopped at his apartment and changed into black slacks and a black button-down
shirt. Wearing all black was surprisingly invigorating. Then, he drove his car to the Tsukino
house, relying on the frantic, automatic cues from this body on what to do. Despite them, he
nearly caused a number of accidents on his way.
He parked in a rather flashy maneuver almost directly in front of the Tsukino house, then
pulled his keys out, slammed the door of the car, and started towards the house. When he
reached the door, he leaned towards it and knocked, rather hard.
It was quickly opened by a woman he didn't recognize. She had long, rich purple hair and
wore an apron over her clothes. "Hello," she said, not smiling, but not unfriendly, either. "Can
I help you, sir? I'm preparing lunch for my family right now. We're having a day together at
home."
Perfect. False-Mamoru grinned at the news. "I'm Chiba Mamoru. You're Mrs. Tsukino, right?"
She nodded hesitantly. "Yes, I am. Hello... Mamoru-san, did you say?"
He nodded. "Has your daughter Usagi mentioned me at all?"
Mrs. Tsukino's brow furrowed. "No, I don't think she's ever talked about a Mamoru to us
before. Why? You know her?"
"Know her?" False-Mamoru's hand flew to his mouth in an exaggerated display of shock.
"She's never mentioned me to you? She told me that she had."
"Why?" Mrs. Tsukino asked.
"I'm her boyfriend," False-Mamoru said with the most casual, effortless of airs. "Surely she
must have mentioned something-"
Mrs. Tsukino's jaw was hanging open. She shut it for appearance's sake. "Kami-sama...
Gomen. Well, why don't you come in, Mamoru-san? I had almost finished preparing the food.
You can have lunch with me, Usagi, and our family."
False-Mamoru smiled bashfully, while inside he was grinning like a maniac. "Are you sure,
Tsukino-san? I wouldn't want to impose-"
"Nonsense," Mrs. Tsukino smiled. "Come on in." Yesssss! The Odango's MOTHER had invited
him in!
Mrs. Tsukino looked over her shoulder at Mamoru, who followed her across the threshold into
her home. She smiled. She was very shocked that Usagi was mature enough to go steady
with any boy at all, much less such a nice, responsible, handsome one like Mamoru-san. She
was very happy for her daughter, though a little distressed that Usagi hadn't told her.
Though, thinking of what reaction Kenji would certainly have when he heard the news, she
could certainly understand why Usagi hadn't...
False-Mamoru looked very impressed at her home, she noticed. "It's a very nice house," he
lied. "I like what you've done with it. Lots of homy touches." Yeah, he thought. It screams,
simpleton who's never going to go anywhere! Not really fitting for the ODANGO, is it?
She was preparing an American-style lunch for a change, simple hamburgers. She piled the
many burgers she had thrown together (she had made extra, knowing Usagi's appetite.)
False-Mamoru helped her. What a kind, thoughtful young man, she thought, nearly glowing
with happiness for her daughter.
Kenji, Shingo, and Usagi were all already at the table, looking very hungry. They all grinned
when she set the platter of food down in the middle of the table, and the three of them
reached for it at once. "Not so fast," Tsukino Ikuko scolded them. "We have a guest today."
She gestured for False-Mamoru to come in. He entered from the kitchen and winked at Usagi
before plopping down in an empty seat next to her. Usagi gaped. Oh, god.
"Who's this?" Kenji asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously. Shingo giggled.
"Watashi wa Chiba Mamoru," False-Mamoru said, smiling tentatively at Kenji. "I'm Usagi's
boyfriend."
"WHAT?" Kenji shrieked, and jumped to his feet. He pulled False-Mamoru out of his chair,
grabbed the taller man by the collar, and began to rattle him profusely. "HOW DARE YOU
TOUCH MY LITTLE GIRL? YOU HORRIBLE HENTAI! YOU. WILL. PAAAAAAAY!"
False-Mamoru was looking very distressed throughout all this. Ikuko hurried over and pushed
Kenji away from False-Mamo, the second of whom hurriedly took his seat again. She turned
to her husband, deceptively calm.
"Kenji? Can I talk to you outside for a second?"
Kenji followed, still looking angry at False-Mamoru. However, once they were outside the
dining room, he soon had greater problems to worry about. Usagi, Shingo, and False-Mamoru
could all hear Ikuko's enraged screams, even inside the dining room.
"How DARE you harass Usagi's boyfriend! You should be HAPPY she has such a NICE young
man for her own! I will NOT let you mess this up for her, Kenji! You WILL be on your best
behavior, or YOU'LL BE SLEEPING ON THE COUCH FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!"
Usagi, now that her parents were gone, was free to address False-Mamoru. "What the HELL
are you doing here?" she hissed. Shingo snickered.
False-Mamoru shrugged. "Was bored. Came to see you. Besides, with Kunzite-sama and
Kamen-san and the cow of a girl and the brainiac, we didn't really get a good enough chance
to talk."
"But..." Usagi growled, lowering her voice so Shingo couldn't hear. "You! HERE! You're not
even Mamoru, you're ZOISITE!"
"So?" Zoisite shrugged.
"But you're gay!" Usagi continued to protest. Shingo, who had caught this, looked
interested.
"Really?" he asked. Both Usagi and False-Mamoru ignored him.
"Yeah," False-Mamoru said nonchalantly. "So?"
"So what are you doing here? With my FAMILY!" Usagi nearly shrieked.
False-Mamoru smirked dangerously. "Yeah. What about that, huh?"
"But you're ZOISITE!" Usagi shrieked desperately. "The EVIL KING! You-"
"You're kind of boring, Odango," False-Mamoru commented. Then, for the first time, he
noticed the circle-shaped broach on her chest. "Hey. Pretty. Can I see?" His hand snaked
towards Usagi to inspect it-
Usagi's parent reentered at this point. Kenji was still shooting daggers at False-Mamoru with
his eyes. "Well," Ikuko said happily. "Now that's been taken care of, we can eat! Come on,
minna, food's getting cold!"
Everyone happily dug in except for Usagi. "Why aren't you eating?" Ikuko chirped, looking
slightly worried.
"I'm... not hungry..." Usagi muttered, face red hot. Her family gaped at her. "Don't worry, I
had a snack like two minutes before lunch," she tried to explain. They breathed a unified sigh
of relief.
"So, Mamoru-san," Ikuko asked cheerfully, turning to her guest. "How did you and Usagi
meet?" It was clear she thought of it as a destined meeting.
False-Mamoru grinned like a cat who had just gotten the canary. "Well actually, Tsukino-
san, that's a funny story..."
***
Kunzite, False-Zoisite, Pluto, and Nephrite had checked through all of the Azabu Technical
Institute. They also inspected Mamoru's apartment, which proved fruitless. "Where is that
little baka?" Nephrite moaned. His feet were getting tired.
All of a sudden, False-Zoi gasped, and his companions turned to look at him. "Aw, shit," he
muttered. "Shit. Shit. SHIT!"
"What?" Kunzite asked, looking doubtful.
"Kami, how could we have been so stupid?" False-Zoi shrieked. "He probably went to see the
Odango Atama!"
"The little blonde girl with the funny hair?" Kunzite asked. False-Zoi nodded, eyes wide. Both
Nephrite and Pluto gasped.
"Wait," Nephrite breathed. "Do you mean TSUKINO USAGI??"
"Yeah," False-Zoi commented. "That's the one. Why?"
"This is such a cock-up," Pluto muttered, shaking her head. "This is SUCH a cock-up."
False-Zoi and Kunzite stared at their two coconspirators in puzzlement. "What is it,
Nephrite?" Kunzite asked, looking slightly unsure.
He opened his mouth to speak, but they were interrupted. By the worst possible diversion
imaginable.
Queen Beryl appeared before them, a large hologram of her head and shoulders filling their
range of sight. "Kunzite! Zoisite!" she barked, not looking at them. "Where are my
nijizuishou?"
Suddenly, her eyes caught on Nephrite and Sailor Pluto, flanking her two Tennou. Her
subsequent bellow could be heard all throughout Tokyo.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF METALLIA IS GOING ON?!"
TBC.
Don't forget to review!