Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and related characters to Sailor Moon belong to
Naoko Takeuchi, not me. Just so we are clear on that. All other
original characters are of my design, thank you very much.
Note: The "*...*" indicate the character's thoughts.
Thank you for reading, and enjoy!
HAL :-)
Dragon of the Moon--Chapter 2
"We do not know the true value of our moments until they have undergone
the test of memory."
-Georges Duhamel, The Heart's Domain
*The hungry predator approaches his target silently. His species,
blessed with uncanny abilities of stealth and surprise, knows how to
use them to his advantage. His victim slept, a quiet sullen form not
ten feet away, perilously unaware of the danger...*
*...so far, so good...*
*...the predator crouches lower, dragging his body against the
ground, senses on high alert as he stares foward...*
*...closer he comes....closer....*
*...body tenses, haunches ready for the spring, he stops, making
absolutely sure his victim has not moved...*
*...she hasn't moved...perfect...*
*...no escape for his quarry this time...he launches into the air,
yelling...*
"WAKE UP MINA...AAAHHHHH!!"
PLOP!! CRASH!!
"That you, Artemis?" a voice called out.
Minako, wearing her orange pajamas and a toothbrush in her mouth,
focused her eyes at the "carnage" in her room. On top of her bed, a
writhing mass of stuffed oversized dolls wiggled, and a low groan was
heard from under them. She began to giggle, then broke out laughing.
"HAHAHAHA!! Honestly, Artemis," she giggled, "you really need to
work on that 'bending tiger, shy dragon' bit some more," and she went
back to the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth.
A small white head popped through the mass of cute dolls, fuming.
"Ughh! That's 'crouching tiger, hid...,' ohhh, never mind," he
grumbled.
Later, as Minako walked down the hillside street from her home,
Artemis caught up with her and saw that she sported a far-away look on
her face, her bookbag lazily moving back and forth in her hand.
"Is there something the matter, Mina-chan?" asked the white cat.
"Huh?" said Mina startlingly, "umm, no, nothing's the matter,
Artemis. What do you mean?"
Artemis looked at her dubiously, "Well, this is the third day you
had woken up early for school, which is quite a surprising feat,
indeed..."
Mina stopped, and glared down at her guardian cat. "Well, what's
wrong with that, may I ask? Since when did it become a crime to wake up
early for school, hmmm?" she questioned, placing her hands on her hips.
"Mina," countered the cat, "in all our time together, you NEVER
woke up early...at least never three hours ahead of the school bell."
Mina's face darkened.
"Humph! Baka cat," she huffed, "just goes to show how much you
know, which isn't much at all, it seems," and she turned on her heel
and walked away.
*Ouch, that stings,* winced Artemis, but he was determined to get
to the bottom of it, and called out, "Was it the demon attack?"
Mina suddenly stopped, and then slumped her shoulders.
*So, I was right,* thought Artemis, and walked over to Mina, who
had leaned against a tall wall, her head drooping.
Finally, she said shamefacedly, "I'm sorry, Artemis. I was very
mean and rude to you back there. Please forgive me?"
He shook his head, and said, "No, Mina...forgive me. I was the
one pressing a little too hard on you," and he rubbed his head against
her ankle.
Smiling, Mina picked him up and rubbed noses with him.
"Apology given..." she started.
"...and apology accepted," Artemis finished, and purred.
She leaned against the wall. "Thanks, Artemis," she sighed, "but
you were right. It was the demon attack that's on my mind.
"So I had surmised," he repiled, "what's the trouble?"
"That's just it, Artemis. I just don't know, and it's driving me
crazy. I haven't had a good night's sleep for the past couple of
days."
"Well, what can you tell me what's bothering you, Mina?" asked
Artemis.
Mina thought for a bit, and said, "All I can think of is the
smashed crystal we found by the monster's body."
"Anything special about it?"
"Only that it was crystal clear like glass or plastic, but it
melted away so fast Ami had no chance to study it."
"Melted?"
"Yeah, like snow or melting ice cream...it melted away into the
ground."
Artemis now thought for a while, until Mina asked, "You might
know something?"
Artemis slowly shook his head, and said, "Not without a sample or
at least looking at it myself, but the fact you said melted away like
ice cream..."
"Yeah?"
Artemis closed his eyes and deeply sighed. "I'm sorry, Mina. I
guess we're not helping each other much, huh?"
"Guess not," she sighed, "Oh well, maybe we'll get another chance
soon with another demon."
Artemis looked at her sharply, and said, "Careful, Mina. A demon
is not likely to just give you his crystal."
Mina gave him a mischeivous look. "Oh no, I'm thinking of using
my profound powers of love to get that crystal," she said sarcastically
and batted her eyes mockingly at the cat.
Artemis tilted his head as he regarded Mina skeptically.
"Mina..."
"I'm kidding, you silly cat," she giggled.
"I was about to say...you better get going to school. I'll talk
to Luna about the crystal later," he said.
Mina glanced at her watch and sucked in her breath, "Oooh, yes, I
better go," and she put the cat down, picked up her bag, and started
running down the street.
"Bye, Artemis!" she called out as she looked back.
"Better watch out where you're going..." he said, but Mina didn't
hear him in time. A jogger had come around the corner Mina was
approaching, and with Mina's head turned, the collision was inevitable.
CRASH!!!
"OOOF!! OWW, HEY!! WHOA!!"
Both the jogger and Mina were tangled up, and tumbling backward
toward the street curb. Mina spotted they were heading toward a puddle,
and shrieked, "Aiee!!" and closed her eyes, awaiting for the incoming
splash...
SPLASH!!!
A few seconds later, a voice said quietly, "Umm, miss?"
Mina still had her eyes closed, but was puzzled...she heard the
splash, but she didn't feel wet.
*What's happened? How come I'm not...uh oh,* she dreaded.
She opened her eyes slowly and gazed into a set of deep hazel
eyes, along with soft facial features that accompanied them, but the
eyes held her.
*Oh...my...goodness,* she thought dreamily and her breath caught.
The jogger's eyebrow raised, and he spoke again, "Umm, you think
you can stand up now, so I can stand up myself?"
Mina blinked, and suddenly realized what had happened. She was
not wet becuase she was being held up in the air by the jogger's hands
on her waist, but unfortunately for the jogger, the rest of him was IN
the puddle.
*Oh, man...* she thought, and immediately blushed.
"OH! Oh, I'm so..." she stuttered as she stood up, and the
jogger managed to take his body out of the puddle, drenched in puddle
water.
"...so SORRY!" she finished, and the jogger sighed heavily. "I
didn't mean...well, what I'm saying is, umm...I didn't see...err, I
didn't know," she mumbled.
The jogger shook his head as well as his dripping clothes and
said, "It's..all right."
"No, it's not!" Mina cried, and she beat her head, "I wasn't
looking where I was going, I bumped...no, crashed into you, you saved
me from the water but you're all wet because of me I'm such a ditz oh
I'm so so sorry mister..." and she began to tear up.
"Miss? Miss??" the jogger interrupted and grabbed the hand Mina
was beating herself with.
Mina slowly looked at him again, and was surprised that the young
man was grinning at her.
"It's really all right," he continued, "this jogging suit was due
for a wash anyways, though I would have preferred not to be washed and
drip-dried along with it."
A giggle escaped Mina and she clasped a hand over mouth. The man
began to chuckle. Both tittered, then broke out in uproarious laughter.
"Hahahaha!...oh my!," Mina chortled, and regarded the wet jogger
again. "I could at least pay for the cleaning..."
The jogger shook his head, and said, "Nah, it's okay, really it
is. I'll just pop it in the laundry when I get home."
"Do you you live far?" Mina asked.
"Nope," he said, "I'm up the road you just came down from, at 56
Minatu-ku, at the top of the hill,' and he pointed the way.
Mina's eyes widened, and exclaimed, "I live two doors down from
you! In Number 48! You mean you live in Hilltop Manor?"
He cocked his head. "Hmm, never heard it called THAT before,"
he said.
Mina flushed again, and said, "Oh...well, it's because...well,
it's a big house..." *Nice work, Mina,* she inwardly kicked herself.
He nodded. *Four bedrooms, three baths, two floors, large rooms,
with fairly-sized backyard, porch, garage,* he thought dizzingly, and
said, "Yeah, I guess it does deserve that title, doesn't it?"
Mina giggled, and thought, *Whew, at least he's not crabby like
the other neighbors we had. He looks cute too...even when he is wet,*
and she mildly blushed.
The jogger smiled again, and struck out his hand. "I'm Roland
Drake, by the way."
Mina took his hand and shook it. "Minako Aino, and pleased to
meet you, Mr. Drake-san."
"The pleasure's all mine, Aino-san," he chuckled, "but please,
call me Rolie. All of my friends do."
"Then you can call me Mina...Rolie-san," smiled Mina.
"Of course...Mina-san," smiled back Rolie.
For a brief moment, both looked at each other's eyes, and beheld
each other. Time seemed to stop, as if it's accomodating them to try
to look beyond those eyes.
*Long blonde hair...sparkling blue eyes...lovely smile...very
cute...no, beautiful,* thought Rolie wonderingly.
*Those deep hazel eyes of his...black hair...charming...I feel at
ease with him...handsome, too,* dreamily thought Mina.
It lasted a moment, but for both of them, it seemed a lifetime,
though somehow familiar...
Rolie broke his gaze first, looked at his watch, and said, "I
think I held you long enough, Mina. Don't you have school to go to?"
Mina blinked, and her eyes widened.
"Oh no! I better jet!" she gasped, and picked up her bag, but
before she left, she quickly bowed and said, "Umm, nice to meet you,
and I'm sorry again, Rolie. Bye!" and she zoomed down the opposite
way.
"Nice to have met you...too, Mina," he said as he waved, and
chuckled again, "Hehe...wow, she took off like a rocket."
He looked down at his damp clothes and sighed, "Oh well, might as
well go home and out of these rags into something drier and settle in
some more."
He walked up the hill street, and soon paused in front of Mina's
house, and just as she had said, it wasn't far from his own home. As
he glanced about, he could have sworn he saw something peer from a
second story window, but it had dropped out of sight when he looked.
*Hmm, a pet cat or something?* he thought, and he shrugged, and
continued his walk to his house.
When he arrived at the walkway, he gazed at his new home, and
shook his head.
"'Hilltop Manor,' is it?" he muttered, "Geez, Archie, couldn't
you have picked something a little bit bigger? Like the Japanese
Imperial Palace, perhaps? The Taj Mahal? Buckingham Palace?"
He entered and walked through barely-furnished rooms, still
muttering, "The White House? Hey, if you get the Versailles Palace, I
can make a killing with the rent!
He went up the stairs to his room, took of his jogging suit,
showered, and put on a pair of shorts and t-shirt, and placed the wet
suit in the washer downstairs. He then made his way to the backyard.
Rolie shook his head again as he gazed at the wide expanse of the
yard. "I can play a football game in here, if it weren't for those
trees at the far side. Though it does give a splendid view of the
city. Ah, well, might as well get to my exercises," he said, and he
began his regimen.
His training did not go unnoticed, however. Deep in the trees at
the far end of the yard, a pair of eyes monitored his progress.
*Hmm,* thought Artemis, *well, he seems to like being in shape,
but after that affair with Mina, he still bears watching, I'd say.*
Later that day, at the Crown Game Center, things were not going
so good with Motoki Furuhata.
"What do you mean, your driver got lost? How can a delivery
driver get lost?" he spoke tersely on the office phone. "A new driver?
What happened to the old one?...Too many speeding tickets, running
lights, uh huh...oh, just wonderful...no, not until your new guy comes
in with that shipment of chocolate ice cream, I'm going to have to beat
half my clients off with a stick...ohh, very well, how soon then? AN
HOUR?? It'll be melted by then!...Ughh, fine fine, an hour
then...hopefully the riot squad can bail me out alive. Yeah, next time,
have your drivers carry a map, okay? Good day," and he closed the
phone hard, and shook his head.
"Mamoru-kun's gonna kill me, and if he won't, Usagi-chan will,"
he muttered, and went out from the back office to the front counter.
For half an hour he kept watch at the wall clock, as if counting
down his final minutes on earth, until the door opened and a new
customer walked in. Initially Motoki took no notice of the customer,
until he took his seat at the counter stool, and cleared his throat.
"Ahem," the customer said.
"Oh, good afternoon, sir," Motoki said listlessly, "what will you
have?"
The customer raised an eyebrow, and said, "Screwdriver, on the
rocks."
Unflinching, Motoki answered, "Got it, screwdriver, on..." and he
paused, catching what he had just said, and blinked. He turned back to
the customer, a young black-haired man wearing a black jacket, who was
sporting a mischievous smile on his face.
"Umm, sir?" Motoki said, lost.
"Gotcha! I'm kidding," laughed the man.
Motoki realized the joke's on him, and laughed along with him.
"Hahaha! You got me, sir. I apologize."
"Not a problem. You looked like you were waiting for a firing
squad with that face, so let's say I gave you your proverbial "last
puff on cigarette" routine," the man chuckled.
"Well, thanks for that. So what can I get you?" asked Motoki.
"Hmm, let's see...a chocolate soda?"
Motoki's heart sank again, and said, "You could have been one of
the shooters. I'm sorry sir, but we are right now out of chocolate.
We ran low in supplies from a benefit last night, and I made a
last-minute order, but my delivery is...delayed," he said sourly.
"Ahh, so that explains the long face. And chocolate sodas are
your specialty?"
Motoki nodded, "And for a couple of friends of mine, it's a
reward for good grades."
The man nodded, and said, "I see. Well, how about 'Plan B'?"
Motoki looked puzzled. "'Plan B?'"
"'B' as in 'backup,' an alternative to...wait, no 'backup' plan?"
Motoki shook his head.
"Hmm, then with your permission, a suggestion? Let's see," and
he scanned the items on the wall menu, and pointed to one item, "...and
how about a smoothie?"
Motoki regarded the man skeptically. "I don't know, one of them
is very fond of chocolate."
"Then we will have to make this especially good for this friend
of yours," he said, and walked behind the counter, and asked, "mind if
I give it a try?"
Motoki shrugged, and let him through, and the man proceeded to
prepare his concoction. After a few minutes, he turned back to
Motoki, with a tall glass in hand, filled with a pink frothy fluid.
Motoki looked at it, and asked, "A strawberry smoothie?"
The man nodded, but added, "With a special ingredient. Try it.
You will need to like it enough so you can sell it to your friend."
Motoki shrugged, and thought, *Well, what have I got to lose,
either this or face the wrath of Mamoru and Usagi,* and he put in a
straw and took a sip.
His eyes widened, and sipped again, and again, each time smiling
as he sipped.
"Wow, this has a kick to it!" Motoki said excitedly, "so what did
you add to it?"
"Extra strawberries. This is an all-natural strawberry-banana
smoothie, none of the manufactured stuff. Just add your regular
ingredients, but at the end, add a small cup of fresh strawberries, and
blend them for a few seconds, and you have a smoothie with rich
texture."
"Yes, it does add a zing to it. Oh, thank you, sir! I'll make
you one myself right now," said Motoki, and took his turn making the
smoothie, while the man walked back to his stool.
Soon, Motoki came back with another tall glass, and handed it to
the man, and asked, "What is your name, sir?"
"The name's Roland Drake," and stuck out his hand.
Motoki shook it firmly, "Motoki Furuhata, at your service sir,
and if I must say, you probably saved my skin today."
Rolie chuckled, "Please call me Rolie, Furuhata-san, and it's a
pleasure to give you the repreive."
Motoki nodded, "And you can call me Motoki, Rolie-san. Cheers!"
and they both clinked the glasses, and sipped their drinks.
Then Rolie wondered aloud, "Furuhata...Furuhata..."
"Yes, sir?"
"Hmm, your name sounds familiar...do you by chance know of a
Yoshiro Furuhata?"
Motoki eyes widened and his breath caught, and said, "Yes...he's
my father."
Now Rolie's eyes widened. "He is?" he excalimed, "Well, this is
a surprise!" and shook Motoki's hand again. "You're Yoshiro's son?
And running this place? Amazing! Your dad must be proud of you!"
Motoki nodded slowly, and said quietly, "He is."
"Well, he must be. The guy knew how to run a business,
especially that music store of his. How is he, by the way? I would
like to see him."
Motoki shook his head, looking down at his drink, and said,
"Papa passed away four years ago...cancer."
Rolie gasped, and whispered, "Oh no...oh, I'm so sorry,
Motoki-san."
Motoki looked up, smiled sadly, and nodded.
Rolie gripped Motoki's hand, and said, "Your father was a good
man, Motoki, a very good businessman, and I'm sure a wonderful father
to you."
"Yes, he was," Motoki sighed, "he made friends everywhere, as was
his nature. I wouldn't have been surprised if you were his friend,
Rolie-san."
"I was when I spoke to him last, and I would like to pay my
respects to him and your family, if I may?"
"I would be honored, Rolie-san."
"A toast, then," said Rolie, and raised his glass, "to Yoshiro
Furuhata, a great friend, with a keen eye in business, and a great
father to his son."
"And daughter," Motoki added, "my sister, Unazuki, who helps me
waiting tables."
Rolie sighed, and nodded. "I'll drink..err, sip to that," he
chuckled. Motoki chuckled with him, and they both clinked their
glasses again.
After a few quiet sips, Rolie continued, "So, Motoki, your father
ran some stores here in Tokyo. What has become of them?"
Motoki stirred his glass slowly, and said, "Well, Papa may have
been good in the business world, but his succesors were not. I was
still in school, so I couldn't do anything yet, so my uncle Hiro, my
father's brother, took over the businesses, but he couldn't handle it
all as deftly as my father had. He had to give in to corporate
partners, who then sold the stores. What's left was this place, the
Crown Game Center, and the original music store Papa had started years
ago."
"Hmm, corporate takeovers, huh?" nodded Rolie.
"Yes," Motoki nodded, "we of course went to litigation, but it
was becoming an expensive affair, so Uncle Hiro decided to settle with
the music store and the Center, but he wanted someone on the family to
manage this place, while he ran the music store. I volunteered, so I
became manager of this place, with Uncle Hiro's help. He really owns
the place, I just operate it, so it frees him to operate the music
store, so that's how we stand now."
"Well, it looks like your uncle chose well for a manager...but
for the missing chocolate, I think you're gonna have to bribe me for my
eternal silence," Rolie chuckled.
Motoki laughed, and said, "I'll introduce you to him sometime,
but right now," and he glanced at the wall clock, "the stampede should
be arriving any minute, and I better get ready for that shipment, so if
you pardon me, Rolie-san?"
"Of course, Motoki-san," Rolie said and shook Motoki's hand
again, and as Motoki went to the gameroom, Rolie turned around on the
stool and watched the main door, slightly puzzled.
*Stampede? A stampede of what?* Rolie thought, and his answer
practically rumbled to the door.
First one, then three, then a small swarm of children and
teenagers made their way into the gameroom, vocal challenges flying
through the air of who is the best gamer. The Crown Game Center had
come to life, the air filled with electronic sounds and the steady
chatter of customers and gamers.
"Yikes! It's a virtual human tidal wave," muttered Rolie as he
sweatdropped, and he turned around again to face the counter, suddenly
finding the menu items more interesting. He never saw a small group of
four giggling and chattering teenage girls enter the Center and make
their way to a booth at the far end of the Center's cafeteria, roughly
20 feet away from Rolie's spot on the counter.
One of the four, a tall brunette, was shaking her head in
disbelief.
"Honestly, Usagi-chan," she was telling another who had long,
blond pig-tails, "if it were someone else doing that to the teacher,
aside from you, I wouldn't have believed it with my own eyes."
"Oh, Makochan, you're just saying that," blushed Usagi.
Another blonde with a red bow nudged the brunette's ribs. "Look
at her, will you?" she said, "Little Miss Modesty here makes it sound
so easy!" Usagi giggled some more.
The fourth girl, who had short blue hair, admonished her
red-bowed companion, "Minako Aino, the idea! We should be proud for
Usagi for what she had done. It shows how far she had gone, which was
very impressive indeed."
Usagi smiled at her friend, "Aww, thanks, Ami-chan. You have
been a great help. You, Mina, Makochan, heck, even Rei had a hand on
it, even though she thinks she could do it better."
"Ehh, don't fret about Rei, Usagi," said Makoto, "you have
witnesses to back you up. And didn't Mamoru-san help you in techniques
as well?" and she winked at Usagi, who turned a deeper shade of red.
"Yes, Usagi-chan, what WERE those techniques Mamoru showed you,
hmm?" a male voice interjected.
All eyes popped open to the familiar voice, and Usagi jumped out
of the booth and pounced the newcomer.
"Mamochan!" she cried happily, and hugged her boyfriend.
"Ooof! Hiya, Usako!" Mamoru chuckled, and gave her a quick peck
on the cheek.
"Save me, Mamochan! They're trying to get me to reveal our
secret!" Usagi exclaimed, and the other girls rolled their eyes.
"Oh, really? And it has been utter torture, hasn't it?" said
Mamoru.
"Totally!" Usagi nodded.
"How can I join in the fun?" he said with a mischievous gleam in
his eye.
Usagi gasped at looked at him, shocked. "Mamochan? You
don't...you don't mean..." she whimpered.
"We can resort to that old, reliable method of..." and he
dramatically paused. Everyone waited in suspense.
"...tickling!" he declared, and he tickled Usagi's ribs.
"EEK!!" she shrieked and laughed. The others sweatdropped and
shook their heads.
"Can you believe those two?" Mina muttered.
"I bet they had this planned all along," growled Makoto.
"With both of them, I wouldn't be surprised," huffed Ami.
Chuckling, Mamoru finally stopped tickling Usagi and put her down
at her seat, and asked, "So, how did it go?"
"Well, we're kind of waiting for Rei-chan as well..." Ami began
to say.
And just as she said that, Rei came in through the door and
quickly made her way to the booth where Mamoru and the other girls
were.
"Hi, guys! Sorry I'm late, but had a big test that needed
finishing..." she began to say.
"AHA!" Usagi interrupted, jumping at an opportunity to get the
better of Rei. "You're late, Rei! We arranged this meeting at a
certain hour, and you missed it! What do you have to say for yourself,
hmm? Hmm??"
A surprised Rei looked at Usagi, but her suprise was brief, and
grinned; she will not take the bait.
"Well, Meatball-head, it certainly wasn't due to detention,
unlike SOME people I know..." she said pointedly at Usagi.
Usagi's face instantly changed from mischeivous to insulted, and
her face darkened.
"Don't call me meatball-head, you...you..." she grumbled aloud.
"AHEM!" the others at the booth utterred loudly.
Usagi stopped, looked back at her friends at the booth, at
Mamoru, and finally at Rei, who was grinning and had crossed her arms
in triumph.
"Nice try," she said smugly.
"Ooooh," Usagi muttered, defeated, and sat back down.
Mamoru cleared his throat and asked, "Well, Rei's here, so what's
the result, Usako?"
Usagi brightened, reached into her bookbag, and handed him a
paper triumphantly. "I aced the speech test!" she declared.
Rei's eyes widened, and Mamoru beamed a big smile. Sure enough,
the paper had red mark on it that said "Very Impressive! Good work!"
"Usako, I'm so proud of you," said Mamoru, and hugged his
girlfriend. Rei took the paper from Mamoru's hands and looked at
closely, and looked at the other girls who were clapping and nodding
their heads together.
"Yep, seeing is believing, Rei-chan," said Mina.
"Even hearing her as she said it was more a pleasant surprise,"
commented Makoto.
"It even caused a stir at school. The teacher was so impressed
at Usagi's poise and presentation, that he even commented to the other
teachers. Usagi Tsukino getting a perfect score in speech class!"
mentioned Ami.
Rei looked at the paper skeptically, and huffed, "Humph, well,
she did have SOME experience in speechmaking, you know?"
"Aww, c'mon Rei, admit it," piped up Makoto, "you're just as
proud at Usagi like all of us, aren't you?"
All eyes turned on Rei, who looked back Usagi, who had an
expectant look on her face. She finally giggled, "Hehehe, you know I
am, you silly."
Usagi hugged her friend tightly. "Ohh, thank you, thank you,
Rei," she sighed gratefully.
"Ahem!" a new voice broke in, and they all turned and saw Motoki
watching them. "I assume with all the giggling and clapping everything
was satisafactory?" he asked.
"Yes indeed, Motoki-san," said Mamoru, "Usagi not only was
satisfactory, but according to reliable sources, she floored them all
with a perfect score on her speech test." He proudly showed the grade
to Motoki, who smiled in wonder.
"Well, well! Congratulations, Usagi-chan. All that hard work
has paid off, after all," he said.
"Oh yes, Motoki-san," she nodded, "thanks to all of my friends,"
and she hugged Rei's shoulders, who winked back at her.
"Well, this calls for a small celebration; a special surprise
for just such an occasion," and he turned back to the counter where a
tray with filled glasses awaited him.
Usagi brightened even more. "Ooh, goodie! My favorite,
choco...wait a minute...pink chocolate?" she exclaimed.
Motoki laughed as he placed a tall glass in front of each of
them, "Oh no, not chocolate. This is special."
"Strawberry shakes?" asked a puzzled Mamoru.
"No, Mamoru. These are strawberry-banana smoothies, made with
all-natural ingredients. No chemicals, no prepackaged stuff or
whatnot, but very delectable," he said.
"But Motoki, we said..." Mamoru began to say.
"I know, Mamoru. You and I had agreed to my special chocolate
shakes Usagi likes, but my shipment of chocolate didn't arrive on time.
I'm sorry, but please try this. I swear you will like it," said
Motoki.
Usagi looked at her glass sadly and thought, *Aww, I wanted my
special chocolate shake...no. Motoki worked hard on this like I did on
my test, and I'm not going to disappoint him.*
She sighed and took a small sip. Her eyes widened, sipped some
more, and she began to giggle.
"Mmmm, Motoki, this tastes wonderful!" she said excitedly, and
sipped at her drink heartily. The others, surprised at Usagi's
enthusiasm, sipped their own drinks, and they too echoed Usagi's
giddiness.
"Wow, Motoki, this sure is great stuff!" exclaimed Mina.
"No kidding, Mina," said Makoto, "Motoki-san, you gotta give me
the recipe for this thing! It's great!"
"Very delicious," commented Rei.
"And all-natural?" asked Ami, and Motoki nodded. "Very
healthy...and delicious," she judged.
Even Mamoru was surprised, and said, "Incredible, Motoki. How
did you come up with this?"
Motoki flushed, and said, "well, I can't really take credit for
this, Mamoru. This concoction is actually a friend's, one I just met
today."
"Really?" piped up Makoto, "my compliments to him. He must be a
whiz on sweets!"
"I'll do better than that," Motoki laughed, "I'll introduce him
to you. He's still here, so I'll bring him over," and Motoki left the
group.
A minute later, Motoki came back with a young man in tow.
"Minna," he announced, "allow me to introduce to you all Roland
Drake, a friend of my late father. Rolie-san, these are my friends."
Rolie bowed, "Pleased to meet...you..." and he stopped. His
gaze had fallen on one girl who was sitting in the far corner of the
booth, who was staring back at him in shock.
Mina couldn't believe his eyes, and her breath had caught.
"Ro..Rolie-san?" she finally whispered.
"Mina-san?" answered Rolie. Both stared at each other's eyes
for what seemed a long time, while the others looked on confused.
"Rolie-san? You're okay?" asked Motoki, lightly shaking Rolie's
arm.
"Mina? Snap out of it, girl!" said Makoto, who was alos shaking
Mina's arm.
Both Rolie and Mina blinked and shook their heads, looked at
their friends, at each other, and to everone's surprise, broke out
laughing.
"HAHAHA...oh dear," Rolie chuckled aloud, "forgive me, minna,
allow me to explain..."
"No, wait, Rolie-san, I'll explain it..." began Mina, and then
she recalled the puddle incident, and blushed furiously. "On second
thought..." she muttered.
Rolie seemed to read her mind, slapped his forehead and blushed,
"Err, oh boy..."
"Will SOMEONE please tell us what's going on?" impatiently cried
Usagi, and looked up and down at Rolie. "Who are you, an old boyfriend
of Mina or something?" she asked.
Everyone sweatdropped, and Mamoru shook his head.
"Usagi..." Mina hissed, and blushed even redder. Usagi suddenly
caught what she just said, and her face crumpled.
"Usagi no baka," muttered Rei, and looked at a chuckling Rolie,
and said, "Please forgive our friend here, Mr. Drake-san. At times her
tact goes flying out the window," and she glared at Usagi, who was
feeling very small then.
Rolie laughed, "It's quite all right. I must admit I was
surprised to see Mina again, as I take she was of seeing me."
"You mean you WERE boyfriend and girlfriend?" queried Makoto.
Mina shot her an angry glare and kicked Makoto's foot under the table.
"Whoa, whoa now," said Rolie, holding his hands up. "Mina and I
are NOT, nor were we, a couple. We never even met each other until
this morning, and it was only for a few minutes. Hardly enough time
to set engagements, don't you think?" and looked askance at Usagi, who
blushed shamefacedly.
Mamoru nudged Usagi to stand up, and she bowed at Rolie. "Gomen
nasai, Mr. Drake-san. It was very rude of me to jump to conclusions
like that. Please forgive me?" she pleaded, and turned to Mina.
"Mina-chan, I'm so sorry..." she whimpered.
Mina looked at Rolie, who nodded, and she sighed, "It's all
right, Usagi-chan. I forgive you."
"Same here," added Rolie, "apology accepted."
Motoki patted Rolie's back, and said, "Well, if you excuse me,
Rolie, everybody, but I have customers waiting and a shipment to get
to. Make yourselves acquianted."
"Of course," said Rolie, and added, "and please bring another
round of smoothies, please? I'm buying."
Motoki nodded and left, and everyone looked at him strangely.
"Mr. Drake-san, you don't have to.." began Mamoru.
"Please, call me Rolie. Motoki explained that this lovely lady
aced a big test," he said, motioning to Usagi, "and a celebration was
in order, so I hope my smoothies were to satisfaction?"
Usagi brightened up again, and asked, "You made these smoothies?"
Rolie nodded, "Well, I have dabbled here and there, picking up a
thing or two. I had wanted a chocolate shake, but Motoki explained his
problem, I made a suggestion for all-natural smoothies, I helped him
prepare, and voila!"
"Well, Rolie-san, you sure did save Motoki's hide. These
smoothies were indeed delicious," said Mamoru, and stuck his hand out,
"My name is Mamoru Chiba."
"A pleasure, Chiba-san," said Rolie, and took Mamoru's hand.
As their hands clasped, something strange occurred. Both men
felt something...a brief jolt that quickly coursed through their
bodies. Both noticed it, but made no reaction to it, as they stared
at each other.
*Whoa, what was that?* thought Mamoru, and said, "Please, call me
Mamoru."
*A static shot, and we're not even on a carpet...interesting,*
thought Rolie, and answered, "Of course, Mamoru-san."
They weren't the only ones who noticed the jolt. All the girls
had puzzled looks on their faces. *That's strange,* thought Rei, as
she reached back and scratched her neck, *I felt something, but I
can't...seem to pinpoint it...here?*
"And these are my friends," Mamoru continued, motioning to Ami
to speak.
"I'm Ami Mizuno, but call me Ami, Rolie-san. Nice to meet you,"
Ami replied.
"Same here, Ami-san," said Rolie, and shook her hand, though this
time, the jolt was less pronounced.
"My name is Makoto Kino, but you can call me Makochan. Any
friend of Motoki's a friend of mine!" said Makoto.
"I'm honored, Makochan," replied Rolie, and as expected, felt
the low jolt when he shook Makoto's hand.
Mina was next, and she flushed. "Umm, Rolie-san and I have
introduced ourselves already," she said in a low voice.
"That we have, but I take it no one here knew how?" asked Rolie.
Everyone shook their heads, and Rolie chuckled, "I'm afraid we brought
back the Spanish Inquisition, Mina."
She embarrasedly nodded.
Rolie turned to the raven-haired girl next to him, who had her
hand out already. "I'm Rei Hino, Rolie-san. I'm also a miko in
training at my grandfather's shrine," she said.
*Hmm, a miko, is it? Wonder if she can feel these jolts?*
thought Rolie as he shook her hand, but she showed to outward reaction
when they shook.
"Interesting trade, Rei-san. I would like to visit, if I may?"
said Rolie, and she nodded.
*There it is again,* thought Rei, *but not as strong as the last
time. Something about this guy...*
Finally Rolie turned his gaze at Usagi. Unknowingly to him,
Usagi had been staring at him the whole time he was acquainting with
the senshi and Mamoru. As their eyes finally locked, Rolie felt the
same feeling he had with Mina from that morning. A feeling
of...recognition, of deja vu, of something was telling him that this
girl was somehow familiar...
*But what??* he thought, exasperated, *this is truly strange, and
I wonder how this jolt will be* and he brought out his hand.
Usagi was transfixed. She had been watching Rolie since she felt
something jolt through her body when Mamoru and Rolie shook hands, and
as he exchanged greetings with the other senshi, the feeling grew, and
it was beginning to get to her.
*What is this I'm feeling?* she thought, *something about
Rolie...I should know about? But I don't even know him...don't I?*
and she took out her hand to greet Rolie.
"Us...Usagi...Tsukino," she stuttered.
BEEEEP!! BEEEEP!! BEEEEP!!
The high-pitched sound broke through the din of the Game Center's
noise, and Rolie blinked. he took his hand back and reached into his
pocket.
"Umm, excuse me, Usagi-san, minna," he said, and pulled out a
beeping cellphone, and stood a few steps away from the group.
The group watched silently as Rolie talked quietly on the phone.
They had all felt something unusual happen, but neither could speak,
lost in their thoughts.
Eventually Rolie began talking animatedly into the phone, and
then turned back to the group, with an exasperated look on his face.
"You want to hear an extremely pissed off caller?" he said, and
held the phone out to the group, and everyone heard the caller's voice
yelling on the receiver. The girls giggled, and Mamoru and Rolie
chuckled.
When the voice stopped, Rolie spoke into the phone again, "Your
loud lecture was loud enough to be heard out here, Arch. Yeah, ALL of
them heard you, so pipe down, will you? Huh? Ohh, fine, fine...old
windbag. Are you done? All right, I'll be at the house when you get
there. See ya," and Rolie closed the phone, and turned to the group
again.
"I'm sorry, minna, but I can't stay for that second round of
smoothies with you all," he declared.
"Aww, are you in trouble, Rolie?" asked Makoto.
"No, Makochan," chuckled Rolie, "it's just an old friend of mine
who's being a pain in the rear. He said he just arrived in Tokyo, and
stuck in customs, and alone...hehehe, as if he was expecting me to
pick him up in a limousine or something. So he wants me back at
Hilltop Manor to finish his lecture on me," and he shook his head.
Usagi picked up on the house name, and asked, "Oh! You live
in Hilltop Manor now?"
"Yes, I do," replied Rolie, "I liked Mina's name for it. It does
suit the title."
Everyone gave Mina amused inquiring looks, while she blushed
again.
"Oops, sorry Mina," chuckled Rolie, and added, "I'm afraid you're
on your own on this one. Minna, please don't be harsh on her?"
"Oh, we won't be harsh...too much," laughed Makoto mischievously.
Looking at Mina's red face, Rolie added, "I owe you one, okay,
Mina?"
Mina looked up at hims and gave him a weak smile. "Hai," she
muttered.
Rolie grinned, and said, "Nice to meet you all! Good day!" and
he turned to the door.
"Bye, Rolie-san!" said the girls and Mamoru, and he was gone.
All eyes now turned to Mina, who slunk lower in her seat,
blushing furiously.
"I feel like a deer to the slaughter," she whimpered.
"That's 'lamb to the slaughter,'" corrected Ami.
"Or 'a deer caught in headlights,'" added Rei.
"But in either case, it's amount to the same thing," said an
evil-chuckling Makoto.
Mina shook her head in defeat, but noticed that Usagi didn't say
anything. She had been staring at Rolie the whole time, and had a
faraway look on her face.
*Something's on her mind too, * she thought, *...about Rolie?
Did she get that weird feeling too? I wonder if...*
Her train of thought derailed as the questions began to fly:
"So, Mina, what's the story, hmmm? What's he like? Did you see his
eyes? How did you meet him? He seems to know you? Huh? Mina, you
gotta tell us about this guy! C'mon! He does live near you, doesn't
he? Omigosh, Mina!!"
Usagi caught on the other senshi's questioning, and joined in
the melee. Mina sweatdropped as she sipped her smoothie.
*Oh well, it didn't last anyway. That man...oooh, Roile SO owes
me for this* she thought as she weathered the onslaught.
END CHAPTER 2
4-30-02
Naoko Takeuchi, not me. Just so we are clear on that. All other
original characters are of my design, thank you very much.
Note: The "*...*" indicate the character's thoughts.
Thank you for reading, and enjoy!
HAL :-)
Dragon of the Moon--Chapter 2
"We do not know the true value of our moments until they have undergone
the test of memory."
-Georges Duhamel, The Heart's Domain
*The hungry predator approaches his target silently. His species,
blessed with uncanny abilities of stealth and surprise, knows how to
use them to his advantage. His victim slept, a quiet sullen form not
ten feet away, perilously unaware of the danger...*
*...so far, so good...*
*...the predator crouches lower, dragging his body against the
ground, senses on high alert as he stares foward...*
*...closer he comes....closer....*
*...body tenses, haunches ready for the spring, he stops, making
absolutely sure his victim has not moved...*
*...she hasn't moved...perfect...*
*...no escape for his quarry this time...he launches into the air,
yelling...*
"WAKE UP MINA...AAAHHHHH!!"
PLOP!! CRASH!!
"That you, Artemis?" a voice called out.
Minako, wearing her orange pajamas and a toothbrush in her mouth,
focused her eyes at the "carnage" in her room. On top of her bed, a
writhing mass of stuffed oversized dolls wiggled, and a low groan was
heard from under them. She began to giggle, then broke out laughing.
"HAHAHAHA!! Honestly, Artemis," she giggled, "you really need to
work on that 'bending tiger, shy dragon' bit some more," and she went
back to the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth.
A small white head popped through the mass of cute dolls, fuming.
"Ughh! That's 'crouching tiger, hid...,' ohhh, never mind," he
grumbled.
Later, as Minako walked down the hillside street from her home,
Artemis caught up with her and saw that she sported a far-away look on
her face, her bookbag lazily moving back and forth in her hand.
"Is there something the matter, Mina-chan?" asked the white cat.
"Huh?" said Mina startlingly, "umm, no, nothing's the matter,
Artemis. What do you mean?"
Artemis looked at her dubiously, "Well, this is the third day you
had woken up early for school, which is quite a surprising feat,
indeed..."
Mina stopped, and glared down at her guardian cat. "Well, what's
wrong with that, may I ask? Since when did it become a crime to wake up
early for school, hmmm?" she questioned, placing her hands on her hips.
"Mina," countered the cat, "in all our time together, you NEVER
woke up early...at least never three hours ahead of the school bell."
Mina's face darkened.
"Humph! Baka cat," she huffed, "just goes to show how much you
know, which isn't much at all, it seems," and she turned on her heel
and walked away.
*Ouch, that stings,* winced Artemis, but he was determined to get
to the bottom of it, and called out, "Was it the demon attack?"
Mina suddenly stopped, and then slumped her shoulders.
*So, I was right,* thought Artemis, and walked over to Mina, who
had leaned against a tall wall, her head drooping.
Finally, she said shamefacedly, "I'm sorry, Artemis. I was very
mean and rude to you back there. Please forgive me?"
He shook his head, and said, "No, Mina...forgive me. I was the
one pressing a little too hard on you," and he rubbed his head against
her ankle.
Smiling, Mina picked him up and rubbed noses with him.
"Apology given..." she started.
"...and apology accepted," Artemis finished, and purred.
She leaned against the wall. "Thanks, Artemis," she sighed, "but
you were right. It was the demon attack that's on my mind.
"So I had surmised," he repiled, "what's the trouble?"
"That's just it, Artemis. I just don't know, and it's driving me
crazy. I haven't had a good night's sleep for the past couple of
days."
"Well, what can you tell me what's bothering you, Mina?" asked
Artemis.
Mina thought for a bit, and said, "All I can think of is the
smashed crystal we found by the monster's body."
"Anything special about it?"
"Only that it was crystal clear like glass or plastic, but it
melted away so fast Ami had no chance to study it."
"Melted?"
"Yeah, like snow or melting ice cream...it melted away into the
ground."
Artemis now thought for a while, until Mina asked, "You might
know something?"
Artemis slowly shook his head, and said, "Not without a sample or
at least looking at it myself, but the fact you said melted away like
ice cream..."
"Yeah?"
Artemis closed his eyes and deeply sighed. "I'm sorry, Mina. I
guess we're not helping each other much, huh?"
"Guess not," she sighed, "Oh well, maybe we'll get another chance
soon with another demon."
Artemis looked at her sharply, and said, "Careful, Mina. A demon
is not likely to just give you his crystal."
Mina gave him a mischeivous look. "Oh no, I'm thinking of using
my profound powers of love to get that crystal," she said sarcastically
and batted her eyes mockingly at the cat.
Artemis tilted his head as he regarded Mina skeptically.
"Mina..."
"I'm kidding, you silly cat," she giggled.
"I was about to say...you better get going to school. I'll talk
to Luna about the crystal later," he said.
Mina glanced at her watch and sucked in her breath, "Oooh, yes, I
better go," and she put the cat down, picked up her bag, and started
running down the street.
"Bye, Artemis!" she called out as she looked back.
"Better watch out where you're going..." he said, but Mina didn't
hear him in time. A jogger had come around the corner Mina was
approaching, and with Mina's head turned, the collision was inevitable.
CRASH!!!
"OOOF!! OWW, HEY!! WHOA!!"
Both the jogger and Mina were tangled up, and tumbling backward
toward the street curb. Mina spotted they were heading toward a puddle,
and shrieked, "Aiee!!" and closed her eyes, awaiting for the incoming
splash...
SPLASH!!!
A few seconds later, a voice said quietly, "Umm, miss?"
Mina still had her eyes closed, but was puzzled...she heard the
splash, but she didn't feel wet.
*What's happened? How come I'm not...uh oh,* she dreaded.
She opened her eyes slowly and gazed into a set of deep hazel
eyes, along with soft facial features that accompanied them, but the
eyes held her.
*Oh...my...goodness,* she thought dreamily and her breath caught.
The jogger's eyebrow raised, and he spoke again, "Umm, you think
you can stand up now, so I can stand up myself?"
Mina blinked, and suddenly realized what had happened. She was
not wet becuase she was being held up in the air by the jogger's hands
on her waist, but unfortunately for the jogger, the rest of him was IN
the puddle.
*Oh, man...* she thought, and immediately blushed.
"OH! Oh, I'm so..." she stuttered as she stood up, and the
jogger managed to take his body out of the puddle, drenched in puddle
water.
"...so SORRY!" she finished, and the jogger sighed heavily. "I
didn't mean...well, what I'm saying is, umm...I didn't see...err, I
didn't know," she mumbled.
The jogger shook his head as well as his dripping clothes and
said, "It's..all right."
"No, it's not!" Mina cried, and she beat her head, "I wasn't
looking where I was going, I bumped...no, crashed into you, you saved
me from the water but you're all wet because of me I'm such a ditz oh
I'm so so sorry mister..." and she began to tear up.
"Miss? Miss??" the jogger interrupted and grabbed the hand Mina
was beating herself with.
Mina slowly looked at him again, and was surprised that the young
man was grinning at her.
"It's really all right," he continued, "this jogging suit was due
for a wash anyways, though I would have preferred not to be washed and
drip-dried along with it."
A giggle escaped Mina and she clasped a hand over mouth. The man
began to chuckle. Both tittered, then broke out in uproarious laughter.
"Hahahaha!...oh my!," Mina chortled, and regarded the wet jogger
again. "I could at least pay for the cleaning..."
The jogger shook his head, and said, "Nah, it's okay, really it
is. I'll just pop it in the laundry when I get home."
"Do you you live far?" Mina asked.
"Nope," he said, "I'm up the road you just came down from, at 56
Minatu-ku, at the top of the hill,' and he pointed the way.
Mina's eyes widened, and exclaimed, "I live two doors down from
you! In Number 48! You mean you live in Hilltop Manor?"
He cocked his head. "Hmm, never heard it called THAT before,"
he said.
Mina flushed again, and said, "Oh...well, it's because...well,
it's a big house..." *Nice work, Mina,* she inwardly kicked herself.
He nodded. *Four bedrooms, three baths, two floors, large rooms,
with fairly-sized backyard, porch, garage,* he thought dizzingly, and
said, "Yeah, I guess it does deserve that title, doesn't it?"
Mina giggled, and thought, *Whew, at least he's not crabby like
the other neighbors we had. He looks cute too...even when he is wet,*
and she mildly blushed.
The jogger smiled again, and struck out his hand. "I'm Roland
Drake, by the way."
Mina took his hand and shook it. "Minako Aino, and pleased to
meet you, Mr. Drake-san."
"The pleasure's all mine, Aino-san," he chuckled, "but please,
call me Rolie. All of my friends do."
"Then you can call me Mina...Rolie-san," smiled Mina.
"Of course...Mina-san," smiled back Rolie.
For a brief moment, both looked at each other's eyes, and beheld
each other. Time seemed to stop, as if it's accomodating them to try
to look beyond those eyes.
*Long blonde hair...sparkling blue eyes...lovely smile...very
cute...no, beautiful,* thought Rolie wonderingly.
*Those deep hazel eyes of his...black hair...charming...I feel at
ease with him...handsome, too,* dreamily thought Mina.
It lasted a moment, but for both of them, it seemed a lifetime,
though somehow familiar...
Rolie broke his gaze first, looked at his watch, and said, "I
think I held you long enough, Mina. Don't you have school to go to?"
Mina blinked, and her eyes widened.
"Oh no! I better jet!" she gasped, and picked up her bag, but
before she left, she quickly bowed and said, "Umm, nice to meet you,
and I'm sorry again, Rolie. Bye!" and she zoomed down the opposite
way.
"Nice to have met you...too, Mina," he said as he waved, and
chuckled again, "Hehe...wow, she took off like a rocket."
He looked down at his damp clothes and sighed, "Oh well, might as
well go home and out of these rags into something drier and settle in
some more."
He walked up the hill street, and soon paused in front of Mina's
house, and just as she had said, it wasn't far from his own home. As
he glanced about, he could have sworn he saw something peer from a
second story window, but it had dropped out of sight when he looked.
*Hmm, a pet cat or something?* he thought, and he shrugged, and
continued his walk to his house.
When he arrived at the walkway, he gazed at his new home, and
shook his head.
"'Hilltop Manor,' is it?" he muttered, "Geez, Archie, couldn't
you have picked something a little bit bigger? Like the Japanese
Imperial Palace, perhaps? The Taj Mahal? Buckingham Palace?"
He entered and walked through barely-furnished rooms, still
muttering, "The White House? Hey, if you get the Versailles Palace, I
can make a killing with the rent!
He went up the stairs to his room, took of his jogging suit,
showered, and put on a pair of shorts and t-shirt, and placed the wet
suit in the washer downstairs. He then made his way to the backyard.
Rolie shook his head again as he gazed at the wide expanse of the
yard. "I can play a football game in here, if it weren't for those
trees at the far side. Though it does give a splendid view of the
city. Ah, well, might as well get to my exercises," he said, and he
began his regimen.
His training did not go unnoticed, however. Deep in the trees at
the far end of the yard, a pair of eyes monitored his progress.
*Hmm,* thought Artemis, *well, he seems to like being in shape,
but after that affair with Mina, he still bears watching, I'd say.*
Later that day, at the Crown Game Center, things were not going
so good with Motoki Furuhata.
"What do you mean, your driver got lost? How can a delivery
driver get lost?" he spoke tersely on the office phone. "A new driver?
What happened to the old one?...Too many speeding tickets, running
lights, uh huh...oh, just wonderful...no, not until your new guy comes
in with that shipment of chocolate ice cream, I'm going to have to beat
half my clients off with a stick...ohh, very well, how soon then? AN
HOUR?? It'll be melted by then!...Ughh, fine fine, an hour
then...hopefully the riot squad can bail me out alive. Yeah, next time,
have your drivers carry a map, okay? Good day," and he closed the
phone hard, and shook his head.
"Mamoru-kun's gonna kill me, and if he won't, Usagi-chan will,"
he muttered, and went out from the back office to the front counter.
For half an hour he kept watch at the wall clock, as if counting
down his final minutes on earth, until the door opened and a new
customer walked in. Initially Motoki took no notice of the customer,
until he took his seat at the counter stool, and cleared his throat.
"Ahem," the customer said.
"Oh, good afternoon, sir," Motoki said listlessly, "what will you
have?"
The customer raised an eyebrow, and said, "Screwdriver, on the
rocks."
Unflinching, Motoki answered, "Got it, screwdriver, on..." and he
paused, catching what he had just said, and blinked. He turned back to
the customer, a young black-haired man wearing a black jacket, who was
sporting a mischievous smile on his face.
"Umm, sir?" Motoki said, lost.
"Gotcha! I'm kidding," laughed the man.
Motoki realized the joke's on him, and laughed along with him.
"Hahaha! You got me, sir. I apologize."
"Not a problem. You looked like you were waiting for a firing
squad with that face, so let's say I gave you your proverbial "last
puff on cigarette" routine," the man chuckled.
"Well, thanks for that. So what can I get you?" asked Motoki.
"Hmm, let's see...a chocolate soda?"
Motoki's heart sank again, and said, "You could have been one of
the shooters. I'm sorry sir, but we are right now out of chocolate.
We ran low in supplies from a benefit last night, and I made a
last-minute order, but my delivery is...delayed," he said sourly.
"Ahh, so that explains the long face. And chocolate sodas are
your specialty?"
Motoki nodded, "And for a couple of friends of mine, it's a
reward for good grades."
The man nodded, and said, "I see. Well, how about 'Plan B'?"
Motoki looked puzzled. "'Plan B?'"
"'B' as in 'backup,' an alternative to...wait, no 'backup' plan?"
Motoki shook his head.
"Hmm, then with your permission, a suggestion? Let's see," and
he scanned the items on the wall menu, and pointed to one item, "...and
how about a smoothie?"
Motoki regarded the man skeptically. "I don't know, one of them
is very fond of chocolate."
"Then we will have to make this especially good for this friend
of yours," he said, and walked behind the counter, and asked, "mind if
I give it a try?"
Motoki shrugged, and let him through, and the man proceeded to
prepare his concoction. After a few minutes, he turned back to
Motoki, with a tall glass in hand, filled with a pink frothy fluid.
Motoki looked at it, and asked, "A strawberry smoothie?"
The man nodded, but added, "With a special ingredient. Try it.
You will need to like it enough so you can sell it to your friend."
Motoki shrugged, and thought, *Well, what have I got to lose,
either this or face the wrath of Mamoru and Usagi,* and he put in a
straw and took a sip.
His eyes widened, and sipped again, and again, each time smiling
as he sipped.
"Wow, this has a kick to it!" Motoki said excitedly, "so what did
you add to it?"
"Extra strawberries. This is an all-natural strawberry-banana
smoothie, none of the manufactured stuff. Just add your regular
ingredients, but at the end, add a small cup of fresh strawberries, and
blend them for a few seconds, and you have a smoothie with rich
texture."
"Yes, it does add a zing to it. Oh, thank you, sir! I'll make
you one myself right now," said Motoki, and took his turn making the
smoothie, while the man walked back to his stool.
Soon, Motoki came back with another tall glass, and handed it to
the man, and asked, "What is your name, sir?"
"The name's Roland Drake," and stuck out his hand.
Motoki shook it firmly, "Motoki Furuhata, at your service sir,
and if I must say, you probably saved my skin today."
Rolie chuckled, "Please call me Rolie, Furuhata-san, and it's a
pleasure to give you the repreive."
Motoki nodded, "And you can call me Motoki, Rolie-san. Cheers!"
and they both clinked the glasses, and sipped their drinks.
Then Rolie wondered aloud, "Furuhata...Furuhata..."
"Yes, sir?"
"Hmm, your name sounds familiar...do you by chance know of a
Yoshiro Furuhata?"
Motoki eyes widened and his breath caught, and said, "Yes...he's
my father."
Now Rolie's eyes widened. "He is?" he excalimed, "Well, this is
a surprise!" and shook Motoki's hand again. "You're Yoshiro's son?
And running this place? Amazing! Your dad must be proud of you!"
Motoki nodded slowly, and said quietly, "He is."
"Well, he must be. The guy knew how to run a business,
especially that music store of his. How is he, by the way? I would
like to see him."
Motoki shook his head, looking down at his drink, and said,
"Papa passed away four years ago...cancer."
Rolie gasped, and whispered, "Oh no...oh, I'm so sorry,
Motoki-san."
Motoki looked up, smiled sadly, and nodded.
Rolie gripped Motoki's hand, and said, "Your father was a good
man, Motoki, a very good businessman, and I'm sure a wonderful father
to you."
"Yes, he was," Motoki sighed, "he made friends everywhere, as was
his nature. I wouldn't have been surprised if you were his friend,
Rolie-san."
"I was when I spoke to him last, and I would like to pay my
respects to him and your family, if I may?"
"I would be honored, Rolie-san."
"A toast, then," said Rolie, and raised his glass, "to Yoshiro
Furuhata, a great friend, with a keen eye in business, and a great
father to his son."
"And daughter," Motoki added, "my sister, Unazuki, who helps me
waiting tables."
Rolie sighed, and nodded. "I'll drink..err, sip to that," he
chuckled. Motoki chuckled with him, and they both clinked their
glasses again.
After a few quiet sips, Rolie continued, "So, Motoki, your father
ran some stores here in Tokyo. What has become of them?"
Motoki stirred his glass slowly, and said, "Well, Papa may have
been good in the business world, but his succesors were not. I was
still in school, so I couldn't do anything yet, so my uncle Hiro, my
father's brother, took over the businesses, but he couldn't handle it
all as deftly as my father had. He had to give in to corporate
partners, who then sold the stores. What's left was this place, the
Crown Game Center, and the original music store Papa had started years
ago."
"Hmm, corporate takeovers, huh?" nodded Rolie.
"Yes," Motoki nodded, "we of course went to litigation, but it
was becoming an expensive affair, so Uncle Hiro decided to settle with
the music store and the Center, but he wanted someone on the family to
manage this place, while he ran the music store. I volunteered, so I
became manager of this place, with Uncle Hiro's help. He really owns
the place, I just operate it, so it frees him to operate the music
store, so that's how we stand now."
"Well, it looks like your uncle chose well for a manager...but
for the missing chocolate, I think you're gonna have to bribe me for my
eternal silence," Rolie chuckled.
Motoki laughed, and said, "I'll introduce you to him sometime,
but right now," and he glanced at the wall clock, "the stampede should
be arriving any minute, and I better get ready for that shipment, so if
you pardon me, Rolie-san?"
"Of course, Motoki-san," Rolie said and shook Motoki's hand
again, and as Motoki went to the gameroom, Rolie turned around on the
stool and watched the main door, slightly puzzled.
*Stampede? A stampede of what?* Rolie thought, and his answer
practically rumbled to the door.
First one, then three, then a small swarm of children and
teenagers made their way into the gameroom, vocal challenges flying
through the air of who is the best gamer. The Crown Game Center had
come to life, the air filled with electronic sounds and the steady
chatter of customers and gamers.
"Yikes! It's a virtual human tidal wave," muttered Rolie as he
sweatdropped, and he turned around again to face the counter, suddenly
finding the menu items more interesting. He never saw a small group of
four giggling and chattering teenage girls enter the Center and make
their way to a booth at the far end of the Center's cafeteria, roughly
20 feet away from Rolie's spot on the counter.
One of the four, a tall brunette, was shaking her head in
disbelief.
"Honestly, Usagi-chan," she was telling another who had long,
blond pig-tails, "if it were someone else doing that to the teacher,
aside from you, I wouldn't have believed it with my own eyes."
"Oh, Makochan, you're just saying that," blushed Usagi.
Another blonde with a red bow nudged the brunette's ribs. "Look
at her, will you?" she said, "Little Miss Modesty here makes it sound
so easy!" Usagi giggled some more.
The fourth girl, who had short blue hair, admonished her
red-bowed companion, "Minako Aino, the idea! We should be proud for
Usagi for what she had done. It shows how far she had gone, which was
very impressive indeed."
Usagi smiled at her friend, "Aww, thanks, Ami-chan. You have
been a great help. You, Mina, Makochan, heck, even Rei had a hand on
it, even though she thinks she could do it better."
"Ehh, don't fret about Rei, Usagi," said Makoto, "you have
witnesses to back you up. And didn't Mamoru-san help you in techniques
as well?" and she winked at Usagi, who turned a deeper shade of red.
"Yes, Usagi-chan, what WERE those techniques Mamoru showed you,
hmm?" a male voice interjected.
All eyes popped open to the familiar voice, and Usagi jumped out
of the booth and pounced the newcomer.
"Mamochan!" she cried happily, and hugged her boyfriend.
"Ooof! Hiya, Usako!" Mamoru chuckled, and gave her a quick peck
on the cheek.
"Save me, Mamochan! They're trying to get me to reveal our
secret!" Usagi exclaimed, and the other girls rolled their eyes.
"Oh, really? And it has been utter torture, hasn't it?" said
Mamoru.
"Totally!" Usagi nodded.
"How can I join in the fun?" he said with a mischievous gleam in
his eye.
Usagi gasped at looked at him, shocked. "Mamochan? You
don't...you don't mean..." she whimpered.
"We can resort to that old, reliable method of..." and he
dramatically paused. Everyone waited in suspense.
"...tickling!" he declared, and he tickled Usagi's ribs.
"EEK!!" she shrieked and laughed. The others sweatdropped and
shook their heads.
"Can you believe those two?" Mina muttered.
"I bet they had this planned all along," growled Makoto.
"With both of them, I wouldn't be surprised," huffed Ami.
Chuckling, Mamoru finally stopped tickling Usagi and put her down
at her seat, and asked, "So, how did it go?"
"Well, we're kind of waiting for Rei-chan as well..." Ami began
to say.
And just as she said that, Rei came in through the door and
quickly made her way to the booth where Mamoru and the other girls
were.
"Hi, guys! Sorry I'm late, but had a big test that needed
finishing..." she began to say.
"AHA!" Usagi interrupted, jumping at an opportunity to get the
better of Rei. "You're late, Rei! We arranged this meeting at a
certain hour, and you missed it! What do you have to say for yourself,
hmm? Hmm??"
A surprised Rei looked at Usagi, but her suprise was brief, and
grinned; she will not take the bait.
"Well, Meatball-head, it certainly wasn't due to detention,
unlike SOME people I know..." she said pointedly at Usagi.
Usagi's face instantly changed from mischeivous to insulted, and
her face darkened.
"Don't call me meatball-head, you...you..." she grumbled aloud.
"AHEM!" the others at the booth utterred loudly.
Usagi stopped, looked back at her friends at the booth, at
Mamoru, and finally at Rei, who was grinning and had crossed her arms
in triumph.
"Nice try," she said smugly.
"Ooooh," Usagi muttered, defeated, and sat back down.
Mamoru cleared his throat and asked, "Well, Rei's here, so what's
the result, Usako?"
Usagi brightened, reached into her bookbag, and handed him a
paper triumphantly. "I aced the speech test!" she declared.
Rei's eyes widened, and Mamoru beamed a big smile. Sure enough,
the paper had red mark on it that said "Very Impressive! Good work!"
"Usako, I'm so proud of you," said Mamoru, and hugged his
girlfriend. Rei took the paper from Mamoru's hands and looked at
closely, and looked at the other girls who were clapping and nodding
their heads together.
"Yep, seeing is believing, Rei-chan," said Mina.
"Even hearing her as she said it was more a pleasant surprise,"
commented Makoto.
"It even caused a stir at school. The teacher was so impressed
at Usagi's poise and presentation, that he even commented to the other
teachers. Usagi Tsukino getting a perfect score in speech class!"
mentioned Ami.
Rei looked at the paper skeptically, and huffed, "Humph, well,
she did have SOME experience in speechmaking, you know?"
"Aww, c'mon Rei, admit it," piped up Makoto, "you're just as
proud at Usagi like all of us, aren't you?"
All eyes turned on Rei, who looked back Usagi, who had an
expectant look on her face. She finally giggled, "Hehehe, you know I
am, you silly."
Usagi hugged her friend tightly. "Ohh, thank you, thank you,
Rei," she sighed gratefully.
"Ahem!" a new voice broke in, and they all turned and saw Motoki
watching them. "I assume with all the giggling and clapping everything
was satisafactory?" he asked.
"Yes indeed, Motoki-san," said Mamoru, "Usagi not only was
satisfactory, but according to reliable sources, she floored them all
with a perfect score on her speech test." He proudly showed the grade
to Motoki, who smiled in wonder.
"Well, well! Congratulations, Usagi-chan. All that hard work
has paid off, after all," he said.
"Oh yes, Motoki-san," she nodded, "thanks to all of my friends,"
and she hugged Rei's shoulders, who winked back at her.
"Well, this calls for a small celebration; a special surprise
for just such an occasion," and he turned back to the counter where a
tray with filled glasses awaited him.
Usagi brightened even more. "Ooh, goodie! My favorite,
choco...wait a minute...pink chocolate?" she exclaimed.
Motoki laughed as he placed a tall glass in front of each of
them, "Oh no, not chocolate. This is special."
"Strawberry shakes?" asked a puzzled Mamoru.
"No, Mamoru. These are strawberry-banana smoothies, made with
all-natural ingredients. No chemicals, no prepackaged stuff or
whatnot, but very delectable," he said.
"But Motoki, we said..." Mamoru began to say.
"I know, Mamoru. You and I had agreed to my special chocolate
shakes Usagi likes, but my shipment of chocolate didn't arrive on time.
I'm sorry, but please try this. I swear you will like it," said
Motoki.
Usagi looked at her glass sadly and thought, *Aww, I wanted my
special chocolate shake...no. Motoki worked hard on this like I did on
my test, and I'm not going to disappoint him.*
She sighed and took a small sip. Her eyes widened, sipped some
more, and she began to giggle.
"Mmmm, Motoki, this tastes wonderful!" she said excitedly, and
sipped at her drink heartily. The others, surprised at Usagi's
enthusiasm, sipped their own drinks, and they too echoed Usagi's
giddiness.
"Wow, Motoki, this sure is great stuff!" exclaimed Mina.
"No kidding, Mina," said Makoto, "Motoki-san, you gotta give me
the recipe for this thing! It's great!"
"Very delicious," commented Rei.
"And all-natural?" asked Ami, and Motoki nodded. "Very
healthy...and delicious," she judged.
Even Mamoru was surprised, and said, "Incredible, Motoki. How
did you come up with this?"
Motoki flushed, and said, "well, I can't really take credit for
this, Mamoru. This concoction is actually a friend's, one I just met
today."
"Really?" piped up Makoto, "my compliments to him. He must be a
whiz on sweets!"
"I'll do better than that," Motoki laughed, "I'll introduce him
to you. He's still here, so I'll bring him over," and Motoki left the
group.
A minute later, Motoki came back with a young man in tow.
"Minna," he announced, "allow me to introduce to you all Roland
Drake, a friend of my late father. Rolie-san, these are my friends."
Rolie bowed, "Pleased to meet...you..." and he stopped. His
gaze had fallen on one girl who was sitting in the far corner of the
booth, who was staring back at him in shock.
Mina couldn't believe his eyes, and her breath had caught.
"Ro..Rolie-san?" she finally whispered.
"Mina-san?" answered Rolie. Both stared at each other's eyes
for what seemed a long time, while the others looked on confused.
"Rolie-san? You're okay?" asked Motoki, lightly shaking Rolie's
arm.
"Mina? Snap out of it, girl!" said Makoto, who was alos shaking
Mina's arm.
Both Rolie and Mina blinked and shook their heads, looked at
their friends, at each other, and to everone's surprise, broke out
laughing.
"HAHAHA...oh dear," Rolie chuckled aloud, "forgive me, minna,
allow me to explain..."
"No, wait, Rolie-san, I'll explain it..." began Mina, and then
she recalled the puddle incident, and blushed furiously. "On second
thought..." she muttered.
Rolie seemed to read her mind, slapped his forehead and blushed,
"Err, oh boy..."
"Will SOMEONE please tell us what's going on?" impatiently cried
Usagi, and looked up and down at Rolie. "Who are you, an old boyfriend
of Mina or something?" she asked.
Everyone sweatdropped, and Mamoru shook his head.
"Usagi..." Mina hissed, and blushed even redder. Usagi suddenly
caught what she just said, and her face crumpled.
"Usagi no baka," muttered Rei, and looked at a chuckling Rolie,
and said, "Please forgive our friend here, Mr. Drake-san. At times her
tact goes flying out the window," and she glared at Usagi, who was
feeling very small then.
Rolie laughed, "It's quite all right. I must admit I was
surprised to see Mina again, as I take she was of seeing me."
"You mean you WERE boyfriend and girlfriend?" queried Makoto.
Mina shot her an angry glare and kicked Makoto's foot under the table.
"Whoa, whoa now," said Rolie, holding his hands up. "Mina and I
are NOT, nor were we, a couple. We never even met each other until
this morning, and it was only for a few minutes. Hardly enough time
to set engagements, don't you think?" and looked askance at Usagi, who
blushed shamefacedly.
Mamoru nudged Usagi to stand up, and she bowed at Rolie. "Gomen
nasai, Mr. Drake-san. It was very rude of me to jump to conclusions
like that. Please forgive me?" she pleaded, and turned to Mina.
"Mina-chan, I'm so sorry..." she whimpered.
Mina looked at Rolie, who nodded, and she sighed, "It's all
right, Usagi-chan. I forgive you."
"Same here," added Rolie, "apology accepted."
Motoki patted Rolie's back, and said, "Well, if you excuse me,
Rolie, everybody, but I have customers waiting and a shipment to get
to. Make yourselves acquianted."
"Of course," said Rolie, and added, "and please bring another
round of smoothies, please? I'm buying."
Motoki nodded and left, and everyone looked at him strangely.
"Mr. Drake-san, you don't have to.." began Mamoru.
"Please, call me Rolie. Motoki explained that this lovely lady
aced a big test," he said, motioning to Usagi, "and a celebration was
in order, so I hope my smoothies were to satisfaction?"
Usagi brightened up again, and asked, "You made these smoothies?"
Rolie nodded, "Well, I have dabbled here and there, picking up a
thing or two. I had wanted a chocolate shake, but Motoki explained his
problem, I made a suggestion for all-natural smoothies, I helped him
prepare, and voila!"
"Well, Rolie-san, you sure did save Motoki's hide. These
smoothies were indeed delicious," said Mamoru, and stuck his hand out,
"My name is Mamoru Chiba."
"A pleasure, Chiba-san," said Rolie, and took Mamoru's hand.
As their hands clasped, something strange occurred. Both men
felt something...a brief jolt that quickly coursed through their
bodies. Both noticed it, but made no reaction to it, as they stared
at each other.
*Whoa, what was that?* thought Mamoru, and said, "Please, call me
Mamoru."
*A static shot, and we're not even on a carpet...interesting,*
thought Rolie, and answered, "Of course, Mamoru-san."
They weren't the only ones who noticed the jolt. All the girls
had puzzled looks on their faces. *That's strange,* thought Rei, as
she reached back and scratched her neck, *I felt something, but I
can't...seem to pinpoint it...here?*
"And these are my friends," Mamoru continued, motioning to Ami
to speak.
"I'm Ami Mizuno, but call me Ami, Rolie-san. Nice to meet you,"
Ami replied.
"Same here, Ami-san," said Rolie, and shook her hand, though this
time, the jolt was less pronounced.
"My name is Makoto Kino, but you can call me Makochan. Any
friend of Motoki's a friend of mine!" said Makoto.
"I'm honored, Makochan," replied Rolie, and as expected, felt
the low jolt when he shook Makoto's hand.
Mina was next, and she flushed. "Umm, Rolie-san and I have
introduced ourselves already," she said in a low voice.
"That we have, but I take it no one here knew how?" asked Rolie.
Everyone shook their heads, and Rolie chuckled, "I'm afraid we brought
back the Spanish Inquisition, Mina."
She embarrasedly nodded.
Rolie turned to the raven-haired girl next to him, who had her
hand out already. "I'm Rei Hino, Rolie-san. I'm also a miko in
training at my grandfather's shrine," she said.
*Hmm, a miko, is it? Wonder if she can feel these jolts?*
thought Rolie as he shook her hand, but she showed to outward reaction
when they shook.
"Interesting trade, Rei-san. I would like to visit, if I may?"
said Rolie, and she nodded.
*There it is again,* thought Rei, *but not as strong as the last
time. Something about this guy...*
Finally Rolie turned his gaze at Usagi. Unknowingly to him,
Usagi had been staring at him the whole time he was acquainting with
the senshi and Mamoru. As their eyes finally locked, Rolie felt the
same feeling he had with Mina from that morning. A feeling
of...recognition, of deja vu, of something was telling him that this
girl was somehow familiar...
*But what??* he thought, exasperated, *this is truly strange, and
I wonder how this jolt will be* and he brought out his hand.
Usagi was transfixed. She had been watching Rolie since she felt
something jolt through her body when Mamoru and Rolie shook hands, and
as he exchanged greetings with the other senshi, the feeling grew, and
it was beginning to get to her.
*What is this I'm feeling?* she thought, *something about
Rolie...I should know about? But I don't even know him...don't I?*
and she took out her hand to greet Rolie.
"Us...Usagi...Tsukino," she stuttered.
BEEEEP!! BEEEEP!! BEEEEP!!
The high-pitched sound broke through the din of the Game Center's
noise, and Rolie blinked. he took his hand back and reached into his
pocket.
"Umm, excuse me, Usagi-san, minna," he said, and pulled out a
beeping cellphone, and stood a few steps away from the group.
The group watched silently as Rolie talked quietly on the phone.
They had all felt something unusual happen, but neither could speak,
lost in their thoughts.
Eventually Rolie began talking animatedly into the phone, and
then turned back to the group, with an exasperated look on his face.
"You want to hear an extremely pissed off caller?" he said, and
held the phone out to the group, and everyone heard the caller's voice
yelling on the receiver. The girls giggled, and Mamoru and Rolie
chuckled.
When the voice stopped, Rolie spoke into the phone again, "Your
loud lecture was loud enough to be heard out here, Arch. Yeah, ALL of
them heard you, so pipe down, will you? Huh? Ohh, fine, fine...old
windbag. Are you done? All right, I'll be at the house when you get
there. See ya," and Rolie closed the phone, and turned to the group
again.
"I'm sorry, minna, but I can't stay for that second round of
smoothies with you all," he declared.
"Aww, are you in trouble, Rolie?" asked Makoto.
"No, Makochan," chuckled Rolie, "it's just an old friend of mine
who's being a pain in the rear. He said he just arrived in Tokyo, and
stuck in customs, and alone...hehehe, as if he was expecting me to
pick him up in a limousine or something. So he wants me back at
Hilltop Manor to finish his lecture on me," and he shook his head.
Usagi picked up on the house name, and asked, "Oh! You live
in Hilltop Manor now?"
"Yes, I do," replied Rolie, "I liked Mina's name for it. It does
suit the title."
Everyone gave Mina amused inquiring looks, while she blushed
again.
"Oops, sorry Mina," chuckled Rolie, and added, "I'm afraid you're
on your own on this one. Minna, please don't be harsh on her?"
"Oh, we won't be harsh...too much," laughed Makoto mischievously.
Looking at Mina's red face, Rolie added, "I owe you one, okay,
Mina?"
Mina looked up at hims and gave him a weak smile. "Hai," she
muttered.
Rolie grinned, and said, "Nice to meet you all! Good day!" and
he turned to the door.
"Bye, Rolie-san!" said the girls and Mamoru, and he was gone.
All eyes now turned to Mina, who slunk lower in her seat,
blushing furiously.
"I feel like a deer to the slaughter," she whimpered.
"That's 'lamb to the slaughter,'" corrected Ami.
"Or 'a deer caught in headlights,'" added Rei.
"But in either case, it's amount to the same thing," said an
evil-chuckling Makoto.
Mina shook her head in defeat, but noticed that Usagi didn't say
anything. She had been staring at Rolie the whole time, and had a
faraway look on her face.
*Something's on her mind too, * she thought, *...about Rolie?
Did she get that weird feeling too? I wonder if...*
Her train of thought derailed as the questions began to fly:
"So, Mina, what's the story, hmmm? What's he like? Did you see his
eyes? How did you meet him? He seems to know you? Huh? Mina, you
gotta tell us about this guy! C'mon! He does live near you, doesn't
he? Omigosh, Mina!!"
Usagi caught on the other senshi's questioning, and joined in
the melee. Mina sweatdropped as she sipped her smoothie.
*Oh well, it didn't last anyway. That man...oooh, Roile SO owes
me for this* she thought as she weathered the onslaught.
END CHAPTER 2
4-30-02