Get This Party Started
by Purple Mongoose/PallaPlease
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Yakking: I had no idea writing this fanfic was going to be half as fun as it's turning out to be! Somehow, someway, Party has actually slightly pushed to the side all my other works (Requiem, Siren, and fics in a different account, Dread and Baratie's), which are still being worked on, but not quite as quickly. I love plots, especially ones that twist and surprise you when you least expect it (I love being surprised and when I read a particularly delightful cliffhanger), but simply writing a romantic comedy? It's oddly liberating. I haven't been as amused writing a fanfic as this in at least eighteen months (and by amused I mean I haven't laughed out loud writing my own fic in that length of time).
Sanji: I'll yak more about him later. You know all you need to know for now!
Continuity: Remember how I said it would be (the SM continuity) a mix of manga and anime? The last chapter was the first hint of the manga (I mentioned Ryo, who was only in the anime, just like Yuuichirou, and last time the 'Fish-Eye incident,' which only happened in the manga – Ami bought a fish from the Dead Moon Circus, a fish that just so happened to be Fish-Eye). Neat, no? Sorry to say, no OP continuity, yet. I'll be mentioning Nami in a bit, though…
Bleh: Sorry – no cultural gag involving the honorifics. *sad face* But there is a different one I find simultaneously funny and embarrassing. Meheheheh. 0o; What kind of laugh was that?!
Summary: [One Piece/Sailor Moon] When Minako's plan for a relaxing evening after defeating the universe's greatest evil involved a nightclub, Ami was by no means expecting to actually enjoy herself!
Chappie: Minako and Makoto (though gifted in what they do) alone cannot bring about true love – but what of Usagi and Rei? Can the original senshi formulate a foolproof plan? Only with Mamoru's help (and intensive study of Sanji).
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I've got a theory it could be demons
A dancing demon! No, something isn't right there
I've got a theory some kid is dreaming!
And we're all stuck inside his wacky Broadway nightmare
I've got a theory we should work this out
It's getting eerie, what's this cheery singing all about?
-cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 'I've Got a Theory'
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The phone at the Chiba apartment began the tedious process of shrilly ringing around or at nine p.m., effectively drawing Mamoru's attention from slicing a sharpened knife carefully through a winding carrot as his petite little blonde all but danced from the back hallway. She paused on one leg, her hand working back to fiddle with the pink bow on the sock of her lifted foot, and she tapped her other hand to the wall for balance as she dropped her heel with a muted bang. "I'll get it, Mamo!" she chirped, bouncing with all the brilliant energy she seemed to be spun of toward the sleek black phone waiting in its cordless glory on the counter lining the kitchen. He smiled a gentle thanks, dropping his dark gaze back to the vegetable he was slicing into perfect thin fractions, and ignored her brief raspberry, a signal of her disgust at the carrots in general and an obnoxiously endearing bit of her affection.
"Hello-hello?" she sang into the phone, rocking up on her arched toes before plummeting back on her heel and curling her toes into the air beneath the silky cloth of her cashmere socks. "Mina!" Usagi cheered, her other hand flinging up to cup the bottom of the phone and tug it closer to her mouth so as to ease the translation of speech. "Oh, Mako, too! Why are you guys calling me and Mamo? You know tonight's our quality time, even if he is putting carrots in the soup," she stuck her tongue out expressively at him and he made a quick kissing sound that sparked a forgiving giggle from her.
She paused, then, as she grew suspiciously silent in a way that caused him to slowly slide the knife through the end of the carrot and straighten up, patting his hands over the spattered green apron as he judged with great worry her expression, she ceased her antsy motions. A smile spread over her face, the sort he recognized uneasily as being somewhat more unsettling than her unusual calmness, and she promptly exploded with vast amounts of cheer. "Ah!" she cried, tossing her hand in the air and dancing around in a happy circle before she tossed herself onto his couch, kicking her legs up into the air over the couch's abused arm as her chin drooped into the cushions. "You must be kidding, Mina! She isn't? Don't you dare kid me!" she squealed, rolling over onto her back and kicking her legs frantically, the stockings of her calves whispering past one another.
Listening intently to the two voices on the other line, she rolled up into a sitting position, the inside of her knees rubbing the arm of the couch as she pressed the phone tightly to the cute side of her face. Usagi nodded and he, curious and still a little on-guard, wiped his hands off on a fluffy towel that was more or less dry, padding in his slipper-sheathed feet over the tiles onto the carpeting of the compact living area. She made a quiet motion with her hand, fingers tucking in slightly as she puckered her lips in hope of him recognizing the gesture as a request for silence. Mamoru considered the benefits of kissing her, just to show her what she ought not to do, but decided against it, merely moving to seat himself precariously on the back of the couch, his legs propped on the floor in protective balance.
She gasped, clapped her fingertips over her lips, and breathlessly agreed to whatever it was her friends had asked, clicking the phone off decisively with her thumb and then smacking the power back on with a slipping tap. Punching the '3' speed dial, knowing her beloved had her number programmed into the cordless phone, she held it to her ear once more, tucking an absent strand of wisping yellow behind her dusky pink ear. "Mama?" she asked in her cheeriest voice, patting her free hand on her knees, legs tilted to the side as she unconsciously adopted her most charming face. "I need to stay over at Minako's house tonight for a study project we're doing with Makoto. Is that okay?" She paused for a moment, and joyously replied, "Many, many thanks, Mama!"
Turning to see Mamoru's expectant face, for this ploy had oft been exercised in the past, she brightly handed him the silent phone and leaned up to kiss his cheek momentarily, saying, "Love you, Mamo! I need to stay over at Minako's house so we can talk about girl things." She sprung toward the door, nearly tripping over her loose socks and wind-milling her arms to recapture her equilibrium, and scooped up her Hello Kitty knapsack, tucking her arms into the rope straps and shifting it into a more comfortable position. "Bye-bye, Mamo!" she waved happily, and she bounded out the door, shutting it loudly behind her.
"What just happened?" Mamoru asked the air as the stove began flashing somewhat alarming sounds of boiling water, the soup popping large bubbles that interrupted the film that had settled over its liquid surface.
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"Popcorn!" Minako declared pompously, thrusting her arm out and locking her elbow so the steaming bag delicately pinched betwixt her fingertips was prominently seen by all of the girls clustered in her small room. "Wait, we need to use the bowls, okay? Artemis gets fat on the stuff left behind if we just eat straight out of the bag," she continued, much to her feline's obvious consternation and Rei's slightly sinister amusement. "Is Usagi here yet?"
"I think she just got here, actually," Makoto responded, tilting her head to the side and listening with great care to the sound of muffled female voices near the front door. "Your mom's talking to her." Everyone made soft agreeing sounds and waited in general docility for her to pound in her usual boisterous steps up the stairs, taking the sudden quiet as reason enough to pour the popcorn into the decorative enamel bowls. Soon, below on the first floor, she made a loud sound of thanks to Mrs. Aino and they heard her footsteps traipsing over the carpeted staircase to the main platform of the second floor, complete with a stumbling noise and a murmured expression of sullen recognition before she fell through the door gracelessly.
"Hi!" cried Usagi happily from her sprawled position on the floor, taking the opportunity to wiggle out of her knapsack and shove it to the side; it wavered on its plastic base for a moment and, with a muffled whoompf sound, collapsed onto the furry leg of a large, overstuffed toy that was meant to resemble a teddy bear. "I came over as fast as I could, and I am now completely out of change for the bus, is that popcorn?" her speech reflected her own idiosyncrasies, her willing easiness in turning quite swiftly from one subject to another. "Oo, don't hog it all, Minako, pass me a bowl." She accepted her own portion eagerly as she drew herself up into a sitting position, legs arched while she knocked the door shut with her heel, and she fingered several pieces of the heated, somewhat buttered treat into her waiting mouth.
"Usagi, try not to bite off your own fingers," Rei teased and she was answered by the named girl sticking her tongue out rudely, masticated popcorn flashed in unwanted display.
"Point of order!" Minako cried, cutting in before one of the duo's infamous miniature wars could begin and ruin the entire purpose of this get-together, especially considering the strings Minako had been forced to pull to even obtain the rights for her friends to stay over on a school night. "We all know why we're here, right?" she demanded, narrowing her pale blue eyes as if daring anyone to challenge her otherwise.
Rei, never being one known to back down from a challenge, even one issued nonverbally by the excitable love senshi, raised her hand in wry exception as Usagi and Makoto made sounds of understanding. "Actually, I haven't the faintest idea why I'm here," she confessed in a tone suggesting she cared very little in any case, absently tucking a piece of popcorn on her tongue and chewing regally on it. A trio of insidious glares were sent in her direction, the ones from Minako and Makoto being slightly more venomous than that of Usagi's always childish ones, and she grinned disarmingly, waving her hand as though greeting them.
"Okay," Makoto said, her voice adopting a business quality as she leaned forward from where she was seated on the edge of Minako's bed, the blonde standing near the head of her own bed and Rei leaning casually back against the wall connecting door to window. "Long story short, when we were at that Party's Club place, Ami got picked up by some guy who, by the way, is really tall and probably half as crazy as Minako," here she ducked a lazy blow from Minako that was more or less aimed at her right ear, "and, apparently, he's a little fixated on her. We found out he's working at Crown Parlor, and found all sorts of goodies out about him. Well, kinda goodies, I think." She shrugged in an aura of meager helplessness. "It wasn't really a lot, truthfully."
"This is stupid," Rei informed them as Makoto agreed.
Minako smacked her shoulder and the brunette made a yelping sound, rubbing at her arm as she scowled at the smaller girl. The peppiest one of the girls yanked a chair away from her ram-shack desk, the aged computer on it making a creaking noise she steadfastly ignored, and she quickly stood on the chair's dip, fisting her hands and crossing her arms over her chest as she stared down her nose at the others. "Look at you!" she said in disappointment, whipping her arms back into a perfect Sailor V formation of justice, love, and the pure-hearted way, jabbing her finger at a random spot and wrinkling the fingers of her opposite hand around the matching upper thigh as she shook her head sadly.
"This is a mission to save the love of a young woman abandoned by the ways of blessed Aphrodite's cherubic son! Cupid's arrows have far too long missed striking her shimmering heart and she is falling into the dark grip of icy apathy." She posed triumphantly, sliding off the chair to prop one leg alone up on it as she switched her gaze to the ceiling, a powerful set to her jaw as she gazed at some undetermined point; mildly unsure of what to do, both Makoto and Usagi glanced up at the monotonous white-washed ceiling as Rei rolled her eyes and shielded her face, pretending she was not part of their antics. "It is now up to us to save our beloved comrade before true love forever ignores her existence!"
"Hurrah!" Usagi cheered, pumping her arm into the air and glowing with her eternal well of matchmaking predisposition.
"But how?" Makoto questioned, momentarily deflating.
This brought a lull in conversation that lasted but a few seconds as, judging it her turn, Usagi stumbled to her feet and stabbed her hands to her waist and glared cutely at their grouping, clicking her stocking heel on the door and sticking it into a fully closed position. "We have to do what Ami always tells us to do," she said, nodding with deep seriousness as Minako nodded her head in concurring motions, "and research!"
"We did," pointed Makoto, digging under one of the clumsy folds of Minako's bedspread and pulling free a wrinkled piece of ripped paper. Handing it over to Rei, who grabbed it before Usagi had the opportunity, she petted the thus far ignored white cat padding over to shiver happily into her lap.
"I can't believe you asked these sort of things in front of Ami of all people!" the priestess-in-training gaped in understatement, realizing when she was done intoning the words that, truthfully, it was not half as surprising as she made it out to be. "You asked him about sex?" she continued, disbelieving and yet not shocked. "Is he some kind of pervert?"
"Minako!" Usagi scolded. "Not that kind of research! We have to find out what he likes and doesn't like, what he does with his free time, and whether he likes nerdy girls or," she twisted her hand around vaguely, "girls like Minako."
"Hey!" the blonde girl cried in a muffled voice, having stuffed her head under her bedspread in search of something. "That was uncalled for!" She retreated from the mysterious underworld of her bed and, shaking out her marginally tangled gold hair and absently sweeping thin strands of her away from her lips and eyes, she motioned to a pair of faded binoculars. "Behold!" she said in her best showman's voice, the booming sort used by telemarketers and slightly crazed game show hosts, "The 'nocs I stole from my mum!" She added in a conspiratorial voice, holding her hand up to shield her mouth from the wall as she winked engagingly, "She spies on our neighbors and all, wot wot." At some point, a loose British accent worked its way into her speech and Makoto nabbed the binoculars from her, rubbing the side of her hand over Artemis' head in apology for the sudden movement.
"Like mother, like daughter," Makoto said sardonically and Artemis, feeling a parental sense of duty to the thrice-teased senshi he was assigned to, poked her reproachfully with his claws. "Ow, Art!" she griped, tugging on his tail and sending him haughtily walking to the more respectable Rei.
"Let me see that," Usagi spoke innocently, falling into a sitting position on her shins and reaching for the paper Rei held. A brief tug-of-war ensued and she finally succeeded, though the bottom of the paper was knotted and torn off in order for her to accomplish her deed, but it did not matter, as nothing had been writ on it. She scanned it and gasped, taken aback, and she rolled it into a crinkled ball, tossing the offensive paper at the other blonde's head. "Mi-na-ko!" she wailed. "That's horrible! We're trying to get Ami together with a guy who doesn't mind sex on – the – first – date?"
"Most guys wouldn't say no to an offer like that," Minako defended with grand hauteur, sticking her nose in the air and jabbing the balled paper into a small yellow trashcan by her bed.
"That reminds me," Makoto commented off-handedly, turning a bit to face their mildly fuming host, who looked sulkily back at her, "what did that big foot thing mean?" At the returned look of blank lacking comprehension, she prompted with a forward half-nod of her head, widening her eyes slightly and lifting her reddened brown eyebrows in a mystifying manner.
An understanding look suddenly blossomed on Minako's face and she grinned provocatively, the corners of her mouth curling in a vicious type as she bounded onto the bed, sliding to the tallest one of the girls and cupping her hand around ear and mouth as she whispered an explanation into Makoto's ear. The other two feigned elaborate disinterest, eyes flicking to the corners as they futilely attempted to catch even the faintest hint of what was being exchanged. The narrow green eyes on Makoto's face widened again, this time in obvious shock as she lurched back, her face a mix of disgust and wonderment while Minako, satisfied, bounced off her bed and giggled.
"Ew!" Makoto professed. "That's nasty! And you looked?"
Minako winked, flashing a v-sign to the trio as Rei latched onto the tracing thought, accurately guessing what the somewhat perverted blonde girl had whispered to their strongest member, and she made a face. Usagi was suitably lost, her hands fiddling in her lap as she peered around, trying to grasp at what was passing around her, and she sighed, deciding it probably was something she would not appreciate anyway.
"Anyway," Artemis interrupted the voiceless tirade filling the room, stretching in Rei's arms and purring sleepily as he rolled his head in the soft crook of her arm, his blue eyes half-lidded in contentment, "the gist of what you want to do is to get Ami in a relationship she most likely doesn't want. With this in mind, and knowing Usagi's track record for getting people together, much less yours, Mina," he stately ignored the twin cries of insulted pride as Rei stifled a giggle by thinning her lips and ducking her head, the raven tendrils of her hair obscuring her face, "I would recommend trying to get Mamoru to help. Don't let Luna in on it, you know how she is."
Reluctant noises of agreement sounded from all corners of the room and Usagi had to admit, "Luna won't like it if she even thinks we're meddling around with Ami's love life."
"Meddling?" said Minako indignantly, flopping onto her bed. "We aren't meddling!"
"Then what are we doing?" asked Rei pointedly, stroking Artemis' ears to his immense pleasure.
"Preventive polling of males in hopes of creating a more helpful environment for Ami, something that we know makes it easier to defend people," Makoto sniffed elegantly. "Are we gonna get Mamoru to help out or not?"
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Mamoru knew, deep inside where he tended to bury the things he desperately wanted to pretend were not real, what he had just agreed to could be summed up in a grand total of three words: complete, sheer idiocy. This, of course, would undoubtedly come back to haunt his every waking moment in a matter of days or weeks as one too many bargains he had made did so, but he more than knew that if he really ever wanted to be seen in public with Usako again, he was going to help her with the latest bizarre mission she had chosen. How, exactly, this applied to any of their duties as humanity's protectors and whatnot, as Usako had insisted it was with a great deal of passion, he was very unaware of, and somehow he had agreed to it before she burst into tears or he found out, both possibly at the same time.
He wished, though, as he stiffly dialed Motoki's phone number and prayed with massive quantities of sincerity and heartfelt adoration for God to strike him with sudden paralysis so he could not finish the phone call, he had dredged up whatever semblance of strength would have given him ability to stand up to her. It was impossible, no matter how much he wished it, to even think of crossing his girlfriend's soul-filled beliefs, even if he did think they were foolhardy and silly; why on Earth would she think Ami was even interested in a relationship with some guy she had just met? What little he had seen of the Thirtieth Century, she and the other senshi had been more than content with their duties, and though, granted, he did not know whether or not the senshi were married or mothers or whatever, he still found it difficult to imagine Ami – Ami, of all people; Mizuno 'dating is evil' Ami! – in love.
"Motoki," he said into the phone, keeping his voice low for fear any one of the girls currently crowded into his living room at eleven-thirty-two p.m. would pipe up and ruin the illusion of casual interest. "Sorry to call so late," he muttered apologetically, earning a yawning reply from the blonde on the receptive side of the line.
"No, it's okay," he heard a mumbled response. "Just out of curiosity, though, why are you calling me at almost midnight?"
Mamoru exhaled, turning so his back was facing the senshi from where he stood in the kitchen, trying to blend into the shadows spread unevenly throughout the eclipsed linoleum room and failing miserably as he was not wearing his Tuxedo Kamen uniform. "Usako and her friends have some notion that your new cook and Ami, you know Ami, have some chemistry or the like. They want me to bug you for information."
"That's funny," Motoki yawned again, his jaw cracking formidably, and he uttered a soft pseudo-curse before continuing in his slumber-eased mumble, "Sanji-san was asking me for information about Ami-chan all afternoon today. Seems she ducked out after Mina-chan and Mako-chan ordered food, and he was a bit upset at that. He's one of the most foul-mouthed people, bar none, to ever work at Crown."
"Please, Motoki, this is serious," Mamoru all but hissed into the phone, glancing briefly over his shoulder and granting the hovering girls a nervous smile; they blinked from where they had crowded around the entrance to the kitchen and sheepishly backed off, returning to their antsy seats in the living room, even the normally stoic Rei looking somewhat perturbed that it was taking longer than five seconds for him to accomplish the goal set before him. "Just tell me what you know before they kill me."
Motoki laughed completely unsympathetically. "Okay: his name is Brooks Sanji, and he's from America, but he speaks fluent Japanese and some Mandarin with a decent accent. Age is twenty-three, he's taller than I am by about two inches, and I'm willing to bet a strong wind could knock him over he's so thin. He cooks just as good as Mako-chan and just as fast, and he's got an incredible work ethic, even if he does smoke in the kitchen.
"On the other hand, it's impossible to dissuade him from flirting: he likes girls, he flirts with girls, and he'll ignore the other customers at times; that's not to say he forgets them, he just pays more attention to people in skirts. He has problems relating to guys, though, and I've been cursed at by him more in one day than the combined total of times Rei-chan has gone off on any man." Motoki paused to yawn again, and he said, "I think that's all I know, actually. Sorry, I have to go: Rika's spending the night, and she has some trip to leave on tomorrow."
"No problem," Mamoru cleared, shutting his cordless phone off when Motoki had hung his line up, and he set the phone on the counter with a soft clicking noise, dreading what needed to be done now. Clearing his throat, he muttered a few encouraging words and turned, jumping backwards and nearly cutting his hip on the jutting edge of the counter when he saw all four of the girls clustered together just a few inches behind him. "Usako! Girls!" he cried angrily, clapping his hand to his heart and glowering as they flushed embarrassed shades of peach red.
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Notes: So sad – no Sanji or Ami in this chapter at all. I'm probably going to write a Sanji perspective (not first-person mind you, but third-person limited) for the next chapter, mostly because I've only been able to write one side of him thus far. He might not be the brightest character from One Piece, but he does have depth, as do most OP characters, truthfully. :] Something to look forward to as the days pass by, no?
Feedback: It transfixes you. You cannot resist. You must review!
Disclaimer: Here's a trend we all can agree on – I don't own 'em!
Thanks: Dee-Chan, gotta love Sanji. *snark* He really has a very personal sense of morality and whatnot, does he not? (I love using archaic speech patterns. Mwahahaha! I am…kinda maybe sorta evil.) I love Minako and Makoto, but I think I'm going to write Makoto just a bit differently (she's obviously going to be more protective of Ami than Minako). BloodyVixen, I love Usopp! Ah! If there were no Kaya, I'd want him all to myself! But, alas, he and Kaya are just so absolutely adorable – I love toasty warm couples. And, as I'm sure you know, this thing called 'normal' is highly overrated. ;] Devils Little Doll, take that, critics! I get reviews from a vampire. *Trigun-esque V-for-Victory handsign* Yes, strep throat is quite painful. 0o; I'm still taking these horrible little red pills and choking on every other one. Blegh. Glad you like the fic, and I'm trying to keep the work up. *nods vigorously* SailorPikaAngel, I absolutely /love/ your reviews! They compliment certain parts in order, and…ah, I love all my reviews. Yours are so much fun, though. *^.^* I'll take a moment to talk about the opening kiss below, but first! Dontcha worry, Ami'll come around. By chapter eight. (Which was actually were the story was originally going to end – eight parts – but I can't stop writing. I…can't help it…) I do think the fish is a beta (we had three in my family, and they're gorgeous, if somewhat homicidal), which is also called the fighter. ;] The parents of the senshi never get the attention they deserve (and who actually thinks they wouldn't notice the weeks their daughters just disappear?). Oddball, the survey is actually based on one my dad has been writing for the past three years in preparation of my coming to dating age (when I'm sixteen, and I don't want to date…guys are morons at this age, and especially guys in Mississippi). Meheheh. And I think I know what you mean – the overall feel was similar, right? Yatta! I'll keep working!
As for the kiss…initially, it was supposed to have been him kissing her, then greeting her (he had recognized her fully and whatnot), but I found I didn't like that much. Thusly, it changed to him recognizing her one level, kissing her, and then remembering who she was. And the really sad thing is that he would really do something like that. .; Sanji likes de wimmens. *giggles and falls off chair*