~*~*~*~

Usagi was just finishing up with her homework when Mamoru had come in and interrupted her. She hadn't really bothered going back to it when he had turned to leave. Instead, she followed him out of her room, still curious as to WHY Mamoru would just give away the arcade. Sure he gave her the reason that he had grown up a little, but there had to be more to it. Mamoru wasn't the type of guy to just do something nice for someone else when it involved giving up something, or even sharing for that matter.

The first thing she noticed after leaving her room was Mamoru staring at her father, who had just entered the room with Krillin. They looked beat, like they had just gotten back from a session of hardcore sparring. She was a little worried about how her father and Mamoru were glaring at one another. She knew neither one of them were fond of each other. During times of peace they tried to keep their distance so as to not get on each other's nerves. It was only in times of a crisis that the two put aside their differences and got along. She didn't really hold it against the two for not liking each other either. She knew how her father felt about what had happened the first time she had met Mamoru. She liked what happened just as much as her father did, but still, she couldn't find it in her heart to hold it against the guy. She had grown up around him, and had watched him mature. Heck, the guy even saved her life, and was the only person who had stuck up for her in the fight against Cell. But even though she saw the good in him, she knew her father would always have a hard time seeing Mamoru as something more, instead of just the boy who had tried to kill his little girl on several accounts.

Sighing, she walked between the two and looked up at her father. She knew he wouldn't really do anything to Mamoru, he would never have done anything, ever. She knew that he just liked to intimidate the boy, which she found humorous. It was a perfect example of how males always have to act "manly" when their territory is being breached. "Dad. come on. He's not doing anything."

Goku looked down at his daughter with a smirk. "Nothing's going on here, is it Krillin?" He asked over his shoulder.

Krillin knew just as much as the next guy how Goku felt about the whole Mamoru situation, so he added his own grin, which was followed by a chuckle. "Everything's smooth."

Usagi silently sighed as she turned her eyes downward. She patted her father's chest with a half smiled. "Let's try to keep things calm around here for a while, daddy. You know how mom gets when we start rough-housing in the house."

Mamoru decided to ignore the three and just leave on his way. He knew that Goku was just testing him, that it was nothing more. Goku waited until the boy was just about to enter the hallway before he turned around. "See ya round', Sport."

Mamoru cringed at the name he had just been called. He was very tempted to turn around and tell Goku off. The way he saw it, now that he was out of High School, he was a man, NOT to be called 'sport' by anyone. He couldn't believe that Goku would go THAT low. But still, he decided to ignore it and just get out of there as fast as he could. He walked down the hall, quickly making his way to the front door in the family room.

Usagi giggled as she walked around the sofa and plopped down on it. "You give him such a hard time, dad. He's not that bad anymore. He can be a jerk a lot of times, but he's sort of nice part of the time too."

Goku eyed his daughter rather strangely. He had noticed that she wasn't so angry toward Mamoru anymore, well, at least not as much as she had been in earlier years. He walked around to the front of the sofa and sat next to her. "You just wait until you have children of your own. When someone tries to kill one of them we'll see how you feel. and if you ever really forgive them."

Usagi looked up at her father, frowning playfully. "Come on daddy. You forgive everyone. You ALMOST forgave Frieza even after everything he did."

Goku frowned. He remembered that time of his life very well. "I was a lot younger then, Usagi. I'm not so quick to forgive people who try to destroy everything I know and love."

"No, Goku, you were just naive." Krillin added as he leaned over the back of the sofa.

Goku impishly glared at his shorter friend. "Watch it there, Krillin. I didn't think he'd have any more power to try and kill me like that. And besides, if I really wanted to forgive him, as you both accuse, I would have tried to save him from dying along with the planet."

Usagi giggled as she latched onto her father's arm. "Give it up, daddy. You know you forgive everyone and that's all that's to it."

Krillin grinned. "She's got ya there, Goku. You do have a habit of forgiving others easily, but like you said, not so much anymore. Especially when it comes to Mamoru."

Goku pulled his arm away from Usagi and rested it on the back of the sofa. "What are you doing home anyway? Shouldn't you be out with your friends having fun?"

Usagi rolled her eyes in disgust. "Homework." She still couldn't believe she had been assigned homework on the first day. It was outrageous. What were her teachers thinking?

By the way his eyes widened, anyone could tell that Goku couldn't believe the news either. "What?! On the first day? That's horrible!"

Krillin nodded, interrupting Usagi, who was about to reply to her father. "It gets worse as the years go on from here now that you're older. And the work only gets harder."

Usagi groaned as she leaned back into the sofa. "My life as I know it is officially over."

~*~*~

~~Crown Arcade: One hour Later~~

Haruka and Michiru retired to the arcade for the evening, expecting to see Mamoru behind the counter working away they way he had all summer. The place hadn't been open for business since Mamoru and Usagi bought it three years earlier. Neither of the two knew how to run a business, not that they were legally allowed to. Neither of them had been old enough to run their own business without their parents cosigning. Chi-Chi, of course, didn't want to be any part of it. She didn't want anything to interfere with her daughter's studies, which would have meant that Chi-Chi would have ended up running the place. Piccolo just didn't want to get into the situation. He had been a little spiteful about the entire subject after losing so much money to "brats".

For three years the arcade had only been accessible to the immediate friends of the owners and no one else. But now, as Haruka and Michiru entered the store, which Mamoru had scheduled to be reopened in just a few weeks, they saw Motoki cleaning out the food area instead of Mamoru.

Haruka noticed three of Usagi's friends enjoying the newest games, which Usagi and Mamoru had ordered nearly a month before. She ignored them and made her way over to the counter. She leaned over, peering back at Motoki, who had yet to notice the new arrivals. "So what brings you here?" She asked rather sternly.

Motoki turned around, leaving his wash rag on the malt machine, which he had just started cleaning. "Whoa." He said, startled at the new face.

Michiru walked up from behind Haruka and stood next to her. "Hi, Motoki."

Motoki smiled at the two. He hadn't seen them since his parents had sold the arcade. "Why if it isn't Haruka and Michiru. I haven't seen you in a while."

Haruka sat down on one of the stools, motioning for Michiru to follow. "I believe it's been about three years. You just kind of disappeared."

Motoki leaned against the counter with a sigh. "I guess I didn't want to be a part of this place if it couldn't be mine. I actually came back to ask Mamoru for a job, but then he ended up giving his half to me like it was nothing. I offered to pay, he said it was a good opportunity for him to get away from this place. He wanted to get rid of his half, but he didn't want to give it to just anyone for Usagi's sake. He didn't want to leave her with, as he put it, 'any old asshole'."

For once Haruka wasn't appalled at Mamoru's actions. She could very easily tell that he had "grown up" in the last few years. And in doing so, he had actually begun to think of Usagi as a friend. As much as he had tried to hide it, and as much as she had tried to deny it, there was no getting around that fact. "So he gave it to you, just like that? The idiot didn't make you pay?"

Motoki chuckled with a quick shake of his head. "No, I didn't have to pay. But everything he does here will be free, if he still comes around."

Haruka frowned. "What do you mean 'if he still comes around'? Why wouldn't he?"

Motoki shrugged. "He said he wanted to do some living before he decided to settle down and go to college, whatever that means."

Michiru; "Well, I do know that he's getting his own place soon. He probably wants to experience life without being tied down to co-owning and running this place."

Motoki nodded. "Sounds reasonable. Whatever makes him happy. All I know is I'm working here again and that's all that really counts right now. I'll have this place up and running again in no time."

Haruka smirked with a sarcastic sigh. "Great, I guess I'll have to start paying for my games and food again."

Motoki grinned. "Tell you what, I'll give you discounts sometimes, but that's it. Unless Usagi wants to give you free stuff." His attention was taken away from the two girls to the door, which he had just noticed moving. He figured it was just another one of Mamoru or Usagi's friends. His eyes lit up when he realized exactly who it was. "Well I'll be."

Usagi walked through the door and immediately turned her eyes upward toward the counter. A huge smiled formed across her face as a feeling of joy entered her body. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was true what Mamoru had said. "You ARE back!" She cried out as she ran for Motoki.

Minako momentarily turned her eyes away from her game with Rei. "Usagi! You're here!" Taking her eyes off the screen for a split second was all she needed to crash into a road sign, which gave Rei a chance to pass her. "Dang it!"

Usagi wrapped herself around Motoki and held on tight. She hadn't expected to ever see him again after buying the arcade. But here he was, standing in front of her. He wouldn't be going anywhere anymore now. "I missed you so much!"

Motoki was taken off guard and was caused to step back upon impact of the girl latching onto him. He laughed as he grabbed a hold of her shoulders. "Usagi? Is that really you?"

Usagi looked up with a glimmering smile. "Of course it's me, silly! Don't you remember what I look like?!"

Motoki laughed. "You've grown up quite a bit. I almost didn't recognize you for a minute." He lifted one of his hands and placed it on top of the girl's head. "It's good to see you again, Usagi. I've missed your little race wars with Minako."

Usagi giggled as she detached herself from Motoki. "Don't worry. Now that you're back you'll see plenty of race wars." She turned to Haruka, who was glaring back at her. "What?"

Haruka snorted half in disgust. "You're an idiot sometimes."

Usagi frowned. "Whatever." She knew better than to get into it with Haruka anymore. It would only end up in a pointless argument. She knew Haruka only said things like that to get on her nerves anyway. It didn't really matter to Usagi anymore. "You're just mad that Mamoru gave his half of the arcade to Motoki. And now, if Motoki doesn't give you free stuff, you don't get anything free for that little remark." Her smile turned into a grin.

Haruka frowned at the girl. "Brat!"

"Retard!" Usagi retorted. "Now I'm NEVER going to change my mind." She crossed her arms and turned her back to Haruka.

Motoki couldn't help but laugh at the spectacle. "You're still going at it? I thought you all patched up your differences before I left."

Usagi let up on her frown a bit as she looked up to Motoki. "Well. we don't try to kill each other anymore, if that's what you mean. But Haruka has always been, and always will be a big jerk."

Haruka shrugged with a near silent laugh. "What can I say? She's fun to mess with."

Michiru rolled her eyes. She never really did understand why Haruka had always been so mean to Usagi, even after the summer from three years ago. Of course, she knew that Haruka, much like Mamoru, would never forgive Usagi for that. Being shown up by a ten-year-old had really hurt their pride. However, Haruka was having more of a problem getting over it than Mamoru. "Haruka doesn't mean half the stuff she says."

Haruka looked down at the girl next to her. "Excuse me? Do you decide for me what I mean and don't mean?"

Michiru giggled as she reached for Haruka's hand. "I didn't mean it like that, silly."

"Then how did you mean it?" She asked sternly.

Michiru leaned her head into Haruka's chest. "You'll never know." She said, softly.

Motoki smiled. Michiru and Haruka's relationship was the one thing he had heard about before he left. He hadn't really been all that surprised when Mamoru had told him the news. It was actually something he had seen coming for quite a while. Neither of the two girls had really ever showed a real interest in boys when he had known them. They seemed to be more interested in, well, themselves. They had been so attached, so close to each other. It was only a matter of time. "Those two sure hit it off well, didn't they?" He asked, turning down to Usagi.

Usagi couldn't help but smile every time she saw the two together like that. It was true, they were perfect together. Ever since she had known them they were always together. One never went somewhere without the other. It was like they were attached at the hip. "They're so cute."

Minako, Rei, and Ami made their way to the snack counter, each taking a seat. Minako was fuming at her mistakes. Taking her eyes of the screen has caused her the entire race, but she had blamed it on Rei. She had never lost to anyone but Usagi, and even then it was rare for her to lose. She was practically unbeatable. "I can't believe you cheated!" She accused Rei.

Rei, who sat to Minako's left, glared at Minako. She couldn't believe the accusations she was coming up with. "How could I have cheated?! You're the one who took your eyes off the stupid thing! I took my opportunity to pass you while I could. It's not my fault you couldn't. beat me!"

Ami covered her face in embarrassment. This was the exact reason why she would never play any type of game with Minako. Whenever it was all done and over the girl would usually gloat over her win, or be a poor loser and accuse the other person of cheating.

Minako narrowed her eyes at the brunet. "Excuse me?! I could beat you anytime. anywhere!"

Rei knew exactly what this was coming to. Minako was working her way up to another challenge. "Well, obviously you couldn't today. You must be losing 'it'."

Minako looked offended at the girl's comment. "How dare you!"

Ami turned her head away from her two bickering friends. "How embarrassing."

Motoki chuckled. This was really reminding him of the old days. These girls would always come in here in the best of moods, but would always leave fighting with one another. "Come on you guys. Calm down."

From watching the blonde for nearly three years, Haruka knew that she would never calm down until she won again, or at least lost to someone she figured was better than her. "Come on, shorty." She began as she stepped up from her chair. She walked to Minako and grabbed her by the arm. "You're going to race me." She pulled Minako off of her chair and dragged her across the room.

Minako didn't put up a fight. She needed to see if she still had 'it'. "This isn't over yet, Rei!" She was thrown into one of the chairs. She put her hands on the wheel and waited for Haruka to get situated.

Ami glanced over her shoulder, her face bright red. "Why did I agree to even come here and watch."

Rei slammed her fists on the counter. "She makes me so mad sometimes. How can she accuse ME of cheating?!"

Michiru looked down at the smaller girl and giggled. "Don't let it get to you, Rei. She probably doesn't mean. She never could. You guys have been friends too long for her to truly mean something like that."

Usagi bounced behind Rei. "Yeah, Rei. You know Minako. She gets a little excited over these things."

Rei grinned. "SHE gets a little excited? Have you ever listened to yourself when YOU play video games? You're just as bad."

Usagi blushed in embarrassment, wanting to change the subject. "Yeah, yeah." She quickly looked up to Motoki. "So, I guess we're business partners now."

Motoki smiled down at the young teenager. "That's what I hear. I know you're busy, so I won't really expect you to do much work around here. I'll watch after the place and make sure everything runs smoothly. You need to concentrate on your schooling. I know how crazy your mom gets when something interferes."

Usagi rolled her us in frustration. "Ain't that the truth. But, actually, I was thinking about all this on my way here. I don't really want to be tied down to this place. When I first bought it, I had all these great ideas about what I was going to do with it, but I never really found the time to do it. I was always busy with one thing or another.."

Ami turned toward Usagi. "And now with the entrance exams for High School coming up this year you have even less time."

Usagi groaned at the mention of the infamous High School entrance exams. She had been dreading this year for as long as she could remember, since she had first heard about them back in the first grade. This was the year that her mother would be putting even more pressure on her to do her homework now. Not that the thought of being unable to attend the same high school as the other girls wasn't enough stress. "Don't remind me."

Motoki nodded, knowing exactly how much stress could be put on a student in he position, especially one with Chi-Chi for a mother. "So you want to be a completely silent partner until the exams are over?"

Usagi slightly nodded. "Sort of, but not really."

Motoki cocked his head to the side. He didn't know why she didn't just come out with what she wanted to say. "Well, then, what do you propose we do about this?"

Usagi decided to sit down on the stool that Minako had previously been sitting on. "Well, I was thinking about giving you my half too. That way you don't need me to sign on any changes you want to make. I hated it when Mamoru would try to hassle me about buying something new for the arcade; the companies would want BOTH of our signatures in order to do it."

Rei nearly flipped out of her seat at what had just popped out of Usagi's mouth. She couldn't believe her ears. "Are you nuts!? We won't get any more free games if you do that! You can't just give away your half!"

Usagi looked down at the counter. "I know, but. I don't know. You guys already know how my mom feels about this place. She doesn't want me wasting my time working to 'restore' it. She wants me to study. I don't want her to get mad at me. She's actually starting to trust me with being responsible, I don't want to lose that. I've been thinking of selling to Mamoru for a while now anyway with all the stuff he's been talking about doing."

Motoki could see that this was a problem for Usagi. There WAS quite a bit of stuff that he wanted to do with the place now that he was a co-owner, and that WOULD cause a lot of hassle for Usagi. "So you want to sign over to me? Is that what you're saying?"

"Come on, Usagi. Think about what you're throwing away. free games and food!" Rei whined.

Michiru frowned at the brunet. "I think Usagi's already made up her mind."

Motoki didn't take his eyes off the smallest of the four girls. "Are you completely sure this is what you want to do?" Usagi took a deep breath as she nodded. "Alright. I can always let you back in on the co-ownership if you ever want back in."

Usagi looked up to Motoki with a smile. "Thanks, Motoki. You're a real pal." She slid off the stool. Her feet barely touched the floor before she turned back around with a huge grin. "Say, Motoki. do I still get free games?"

Motoki chuckled with a nod. "Of course. That's my payback to you. But you're friends are gonna have to start paying again."

Rei; "Great. No more free games, Usagi. Minako's really not going to like this."

Motoki sighed. "You guys are gonna try to get me with the guilt trip, aren't you."

Ami grinned. "Either that or Minako's going to be lurking around your house at night looking for a way in to smother you with your pillow while you sleep. I'd keep an eye out for a crazy blonde that just happens to be strolling about."

Everyone turned to look at Ami as if she was the one who had gone crazy. None of them would have ever expected something like THAT to come out of her mouth. Rei mischievously smirked. "I have to admit, Ami. I'm impressed."

Out of all the time he had known the blue-haired girl, Motoki had always thought of Ami as the sensible one of the group, but now he wasn't so sure. "Wow, Ami."

Ami blushed as she turned her head slightly away so no one could see her embarrassment. "I'm sorry. That just kind of slipped out."

Usagi giggled as she wrapped her arm around Ami's neck. "There's no need to be embarrassed. We all know Minako's a maniac when it comes to video games."

Rei; "Don't you mean boys?"

Motoki chuckled. "I'll say. The first thing she said to me when she walked in here was that I had grown into a 'hunk'. Not that I'm not flattered, but she could really get herself in trouble talking like that, especially next year when she gets into high school. It's a shame that she's only thirteen and already boy-crazy."

Usagi peered over Ami's shoulder with a huge, impish grin. "What about Ami?"

Ami frowned as she quickly lifted her head. "Just what are you talking about?!" She snapped.

Rei tapped Usagi on the back and prepared a grin of her own for Usagi to see when she turned around. "And just what about you, missy?"

Usagi spun around on the stool, her face seeming as if it couldn't comprehend what Rei was accusing her of. "Now wait just a minute! I don't." She paused to think for a moment, becoming angrier at the moment. "Just who are you saying I."

Rei frowned. "Who do you think?"

Usagi's face began to turn red with anger. "I can't believe you!"

Motoki could honestly say that he was confused at this point. He had lost the girls somewhere back when they had started talking about being boy- crazy. which somehow branched into something he didn't understand. He turned to Michiru, hoping that he wasn't the only one the girls had lost. "Are you following all of this?"

Michiru slowly nodded with a soft smile. "Naturally."

Motoki scratched his head and looked back at the bickering teens. "Uh.?" He had no idea what they were talking about.

Michiru giggled. "You can't understand them, silly. You're a male."

Motoki glanced back to Michiru. A cocked half a smile. "Oh, it's one of those female things." He stared at the three teens and scratched his head again. "Thirteen-year-olds, I didn't even understand them when I was one."

Michiru excused herself from the counter and walked to the other side of the room, where Haruka and Minako were just finishing up their game. "So who's winning?" She asked as she rested her arms on the back of Haruka's chair. "Are you slammin' her yet?"

Haruka stepped on the break pedal and spun the wheel around as fast as she could. "You know it." She could see an exasperated Minako out of the corner of her eye. Minako had never been able to beat her. She was the only person Minako would accept losing to. The car on the screen spun around just as it was crossing the finish line as a result of Haruka's actions. She always did like a fancy win.

Minako let her face drop into the wheel with a groan. "I can't believe I lost."

Haruka leaned over and patted the girl on the back. "You didn't think you'd actually be able to beat me, did you?" She grinned as she sat up to push herself out of the chair. "What a loser." She looked at Michiru and motioned to her to start making her way to the door.

Minako slowly lifted her face from the plastic wheel and turned around in her seat, letting her eyes fall upon Rei. Suddenly she didn't feel like arguing with her anymore. "Man, I got beat bad."

Rei, Ami, and Usagi stopped their bickering and turned toward the blonde. She got bummed out every time she lost to Haruka. None of them knew why she even bothered accepting the girl's challenges anymore. Rei stood up first and made her way across the room to comfort her friend. "Poor, poor Minako."

Minako pathetically looked up at Rei with her eyes becoming droopy. "Why o' why does SHE have to beat me every time."

Overhearing the girl's question, Haruka stopped on her way to the door and turned around. "Simply because I'm a much better racer than you are, little girl." She turned back to the door and raised her hand into the air. "See ya round', Motoki."

Motoki ran out from behind the counter in hopes to stop the two. "Wait. There's something I still wanted to ask you."

Michiru grabbed Haruka's wrist and turned around. She smiled at Motoki, knowing that Haruka wasn't. "Ask away." Haruka frowned at Michiru as she ripped her wrist out of the girl's hand.

Motoki ignored Haruka, taking no offense to her actions. "Mamoru and Usagi just recently bought the upstairs portion of this building. They were going to expand the arcade, but my sister's been dying to run or at least work in a coffee shop." Usagi looked up at Motoki, though not saying anything. She was interested in where he was going with this. "I was thinking about turning the upper floor into a coffee shop instead of using it for more games. It may bring in more revenue, plus it would be a way for my sister to learn more about running a business. What I was wondering is if either of you would be interested in working part time as a waitress. I know you have college to pay for now and I'm sure you want to start thinking about getting your own place away from your parents."

Haruka sneered at the offer. "Waitressing is for girls."

Motoki laughed softly at the reply he got from Haruka. He hadn't really expected her to jump at the chance to work in a coffee shop. "You are a girl."

Haruka shook her head. "I mean prissy girls."

"I'd love to.." Michiru interrupted. "I think it's a cute idea. I'd be happy to work for you."

Haruka tipped her head back with a long sigh. "How did I know."

Motoki grinned. "Great." He turned down to Usagi and her friends. "Are you alright with this?"

Usagi nodded with a smile. "I think it's a great idea!"

Ami nodded. "It's better than putting more mindless machines in."