~*~*~*~
~~Tomoe House~~
That night, Professor Tomoe rushed his way home from the school. There wasn't a moment to lose now that a certain special lady had surfaced once again. Every time she came about her stay was shorter and shorter as a result of a sever loss of energy. Putting her inside a small child hadn't been the best of ideas. The girl was too rambunctious, and those friends of hers weren't making things any better. They only encouraged her to be even more rowdy than she would normally be. That was where Kaori had come into play. It was her job to keep Hotaru calm and quiet, and now more than ever, away from her friends. Keeping her away from them was of the utmost importance at the moment.
Once home, he threw down his briefcase and made a running dash to the back of the house. He hoped that she wasn't too angry. Whenever she went through one of these 'episodes', he was usually there to give her the heart crystal since she was so temperamental.
Coming upon the door, he reached out for the knob and slowly pressed down on it, which caused it to become unlatched. He gently pushed forward on the door and peered into the dimly lit room. 'She' was sitting at the very back of the room with her head hung low.
Hotaru gracefully lifted her head to look upon the Professor with her purple, glowing eyes. "You're late, Tomoe."
The Professor put his right arm over his stomach and bowed down, making sure that he kept his head below Hotaru's. "I'm sorry. If I had left the school early people may have gotten suspicious. We want to keep this on the down low. I hope Kaori wasn't too brash with you."
Hotaru put her arms on the arms of the chair and pushed herself to her feet. "Quite frankly, Professor, I despise the woman. She gives me nothing but trouble. But I'll respect your judgment, for now. You can go now." She said, shooing him off with a flick of her hand. Standing up, Tomoe turned around to be on his way. "Oh by the way, Professor," She began, causing him to pause and turn back to face her, "I've asked Kaori to begin searching the school for the Pure Heart Crystals. Someone is sure to have one in a school for the gifted."
Tomoe had nothing to say in reply, as he found no reason why they shouldn't begin their search. He turned back around toward the door and made his way out into the hallway, where he found Kaori waiting for him. "What?"
"Did she tell you?" Kaori asked rather calmly. She had been standing outside the room the entire time, listening in on the conversation, but she didn't tell the Professor that. Tomoe firmly nodded, knowing what had to be done next. Saying nothing to the redhead, he turned down the hall and began making his way to the laboratory. "What do you think about it?" She asked rather angrily. She hated it when he ignored her like that.
He didn't even bother to turn around address the woman properly. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. Have you found a possible candidate for a Pure Heart Crystal?"
Kaori smiled, taking her opportunity to join Tomoe at his side down into the basement laboratory. "Not yet. I was planning on doing that right now."
Tomoe frowned as he grabbed for his lab coat. "Well hurry up, we don't have all the time in the world. She's ready for them now. I expect Viluy is still working on finding good Heart Crystals to keep Hotaru from taking over again."
Kaori grinned at the sound of that young brat's name. "She's on it. I don't know why you hired all these other girls."
The Professor put his coat on and walked down small stairway into his lab, still with his back turned to the woman he was holding a conversation with. "I hired the girls of Witches Five to just in case you weren't performing right. Like I said, we don't have all the time in the world. If you screw this up," He paused as he turned around to Kaori, who was directly behind him.
Kaori didn't give him a chance to finish his sentence before she jumped right in. "I won't screw this up. Have you no faith me in?"
Tomoe smirked as he walked to a rather large machine, which looked exactly like the one that he had stashed away in the old, broken down lab at the Mugen School. " 'She' doesn't."
~*~*~
Makoto hadn't really felt like talking to anyone after her conversation with her parents, not even her friends. Instead of meeting up with them like she had planned, she had decided to stay home in the solitude of her own room for the remainder of the night. She wanted time alone to think. Things really had gotten out of hand with her parents; her father mostly. She never really understood why he didn't like her. She had always gotten the feeling that he hated her because she was a girl, but she knew it wasn't that. He wasn't a sexist man. She always saw him treating her mother well, which was the only reason why she had put up with most of his crap anyway. She knew her mother was happy with the man, and that's all that mattered to her. Now if he were beating them, that would have been another story. She would have told him what's what long ago.
Makoto also knew that her father didn't hate children, which was another thing that had crossed her mind in the past. He was great with other people's children. Whenever her cousins would come over he would always play with them as if they were his own children, but he would always leave her out of the fun. Because of that, the other kids had tended to tease her. As if that wasn't bad enough, once they learned that she was a fighter, they made fun of her even harder for being a tomboy, which was something her father had wanted in the first place. She had learned to blame her father for their taunts; their laughter at her expense.
The earliest memory of her father that Makoto held was when she was about three years old. She could still see it perfectly in her mind. She remembered sitting on the floor of her grandparents' house on a hot, summer day. She was looking up for some reason. All she could remember at that point was feeling distressed as she cried for her mother. Out of the corner of her eye she could see two, male figures standing to her side. They were laughing for some reason. She didn't understand why they weren't coming to help her. She had fallen, that was it. She remembered that much. She had tripped and hurt herself on a chair that had been set out for guests. Shortly after falling she began to cry as she looked upward. Seeing that her mother was no where in sight, she had turned around, looking for anyone else that might help her up. The only people in sight were her father and grandfather. All she remembered after that point was her father walking to her and yelling at her to get up just after exchanging words with her grandfather. She hadn't heard what was said, but she sure heard her father yelling at her for crying. In the background of all the commotion she could hear her grandfather essentially yelling at his son for her actions. He was yelling at his son because SHE was crying. All she remembered after that was being taken away from that entire mess by the hands of her grandmother. In the background she could barely make out her father yelling at her mother for something.
Makoto never really did figure out why that day turned into turmoil, but she did know that that was the first day she began to dislike her father. It all sort of went downhill from there. It was bad before, but nothing like that. Her father began to distance himself more and more from her. He started taunting her for being weak, even though she was still very young. It wasn't long ago after the "incident", as it was referred to by Makoto and her mother, that her father had enrolled her into Mr. Satan's martial arts courses. She was the youngest in the class' history after Pan. Makoto had begged her father not to make her enroll, but he wouldn't have it anyway. He had always told her that he wouldn't be having a weakling for a daughter. That was when she started to realize that he resented her for being a girl. It obviously wasn't ONLY because she was a girl, but she was positive that the fact played a bit of a role in his near hatred for her.
The only times her father had ever taken a real interest in her was when she was training, or when she was sparring with him. He too had trained under Mr. Satan, which was why he worshiped the ground the imbecile of a man walked on. The only times Makoto could even remember her father being proud of her was when she won her competitions, or at least when she came close. He must have figured she wasn't such a weakling after she started learning to fight. But the glory of fighting didn't last long. Once she began training under Goku the contests stopped. Goku had always found them to be a waste of time. He had always said they didn't require much skill. It was mostly used as entertainment for the masses. The only contests he had ever let her enter in were the Tenkai-ichi Budaki tournaments that were held once a year, and the occasional children's only version of it. Her father never came to support her in these tournaments and her mother had no interest in watching her only child take part in such a violent sport.
Any part of her life other than fighting was of no concern to her father, as he had said many times in the past. He paid hardly any attention to the girl, and when he did it was usually when she was doing something bad and needed disciplining. Her feeling never mattered to him, it was just what he wanted and nothing more. It was because of his behavior towards Makoto that her father and mother grew so far apart over the last few years and she knew it. Her mother had always told her that their fights had nothing to do with her, but deep down inside, Makoto knew otherwise. She had always heard their fights after she had been yelled at, and she had always heard her mother standing up for her. But along with the defense came attacks from her father to her mother. He would just scream at her for no reason, and then seconds later, want to make up again.
Makoto didn't know what to think anymore. All she knew was that her father hated her, and the feeling was almost completely mutual. She couldn't stand him anymore. She couldn't stand his attitude toward herself or her mother. She didn't want to have to put up with it anymore. Her entire life had been a joke to him. He never cared about her. He never cared about anything that had to do with her. He hated her friends, he hated the fact that she would sometimes want to do things other girls would do.
There she sat, on her bed in the dark with her knees pulled tightly against her chest. She didn't know what to do anymore. Her life had already been ruined before she got a real chance to live it; her father had personally made sure of it.
Sighing in the dark, she rested her head against her knees and closed her eyes. Things seemed to be spiraling out of hand faster than she could keep up. She hoped that this trip her parents were to take would help their relationship. Maybe if they were happier together things wouldn't be so rough on her anymore. Of course, knowing her father, that was just wishful thinking never to come true.
She gently lifted her head and stretched out on the bed, leaning her head against the soft pillow. Closing her eyes again, she wanted to cry, but she didn't. She wouldn't give her father another reason to accuse her of being weak. It had been nearly ten years since she last cried. Her father had made it more than clear to her that she wasn't to cry once she started training, and she hadn't once.
~*~*~
The Next Day:
A twinkling light made its into Makoto's room the next morning, causing her to flinch awake. The light hit her eyes just right enough to wake her. She sat up with a long yawn. "Huh?" Looking down, she realized that she was still in her school uniform. "I must have fallen asleep." She stretched out her arms and legs with a groan of satisfaction. Waking up without the alarm was always a good feeling to have. She lifted her hands to rub her eyes and jumped out of bed, barely taking notice of the time. She walked to her closet and pulled out a fresh uniform for school.
Getting dressed rather quickly, she rushed herself out of her room. She could hear her father snoring from down the hall in her parents' room, as usual. He never got up until late in the day on his days off. He must have already called in for vacation time. "Lazy fool." She made her way into the kitchen, where she found her mother happily humming away as she worked on making breakfast for her daughter. "Hi, mom."
Mrs. Kino stopped what she was doing to look at her daughter. "Well good morning, sleepy head. I was wondering when you were going to wake up. I was about to come and get you."
Makoto scratched her head. "What? What time is it?" She looked down at the clock on the microwave. According to the time she had twenty minutes to get to school when she normally allowed herself thirty minutes to get ready for school. She usually liked to be out of the house by this time so she could get there in time to hang out with her friends before school. "Oh no. I must have forgotten to set my alarm." Becoming panicked, she rushed to the front door and grabbed her shoes.
Mrs. Kino giggled as she left the kitchen and joined her daughter in the living room. "Calm down, dear. There's no need to rush."
Makoto struggled with her shoes as she stared up at her mother. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"
"You seemed so tired last night at dinner, I wanted you to get as much sleep as you could." Mrs. Kino grabbed her daughter by the hand and helped her up. "I hope you don't mind."
Makoto smiled at her mother. She would have rather been waken up, but her mother's intentions were pure so she didn't really let it bug her. "No prob, mom. But I hope you have breakfast ready cause I really gotta get going."
Mrs. Kino ran into the kitchen, but it wasn't long before she was back out again with a brown sack. "I made it to go. I knew you'd want to be heading out as soon as you got up." She handed her daughter the sack and wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulder. "Now promise me you won't take anything your father said last night to heart. I know he didn't mean what he said about you're friends."
Makoto frowned. She didn't want to be reminded of her father at the moment. He wasn't exactly at the top of her buddy list. "I never do." She clenched the breakfast her mother had made for her tightly. "Thanks again, mom. I'll see you after school." With that, she started out for school.
~*~*~
~~10th Street Middle School~~
Makoto took her time getting to school, even though she had left her house in a hurry. She still wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, but there wasn't a really much of a choice. It was either go to school or stay home, with her father. In times like this school was pretty much a refuge from her father, however, she was also a bit more on edge whenever she had a run in with her father, which mean trouble for her.
Coming upon the front entrance, she paused to look upon a group of lower- classmen. They seemed so full of themselves now that they weren't in elementary school anymore. It was pitiful, really. They pranced around as if they owned the world, but they were nothing. The upper-classmen would show them that they weren't as hot as they thought they were. The same thing had happened to her class the year before. They would learn soon enough.
Grinning at the stupidity of these students, she made her way for the door and let herself inside. The halls were filled with the laughter of her fellow classmates. Ignoring them as she always had, she turned the corner to her right and ran up the stairs, but was soon stopped by a teacher. "Excuse me." She said to the male teacher. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew she had seen this man somewhere before. He looked like someone she knew, but not at the same time.
The teacher frowned down at the girl. "There's absolutely no running in the hallway, young lady." He replied, harshly.
Makoto frowned back at the teacher. She didn't think she deserved that. "I said excuse me, what else did you want? An apology?"
The teacher didn't appreciate they way he had been spoken to by such an insolent brat. It reminded him too much of another student he had once taught. "Watch your mouth, girl. You're the student here. Haven't you ever heard of a little thing called respect?!"
Angry, Makoto decided not to press the matter any further. She wasn't in the mood to argue with him in her current mood. Knowing her temper she would end up in the principal's office for some sort of assault. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." She mumbled softly under her breath.
The teacher reached out and grabbed Makoto by the arm as she tried to pass by him. "I'm sorry, young lady. That didn't sound very sincere."
Makoto became angry at the contact this man was making with her. Where did he get off thinking he could just grab her arm like that? He wasn't her father. She brashly ripped her arm away from his grip, fighting herself NOT to punch him. "Don't you EVER touch me again!"
Becoming angry, the teacher bent down and got right into the teen's face. "Look, little girl, I'm the teacher and you WILL do as I say. Now apologize the correct way and nothing will happen to you. If you refuse any longer there WILL be consequences."
Makoto couldn't believe it. Why was this guy so stuck on such a small offense? So she was running in the hallway, who cares? "Excuse me? Consequences for running up stairs? You're wasting my time. I have to get to class." And with that, she started on her way again. Once again, she didn't make it very far before the brazen man had grabbed her arm. "What is with you? I told you not to touch me!" She was suddenly pulled closer to him, with her face right by hers. It was that point, being at that close of a proximity that she realized exactly WHO she as dealing with you. "It's you!" She yelled out, causing an echo to travel down the hall for all to hear.
Surprised, the teacher released the student with a stern frown. "Excuse me?"
Makoto stared hard into the teacher's eyes as she slowly backed down the stairs. She knew for a fact that this guy was just crazy enough to give her detention for running in the hallway and then brushing it off as nothing. "Mr. Koch! It's you, isn't it?"
The teacher stood up straight and glared down at the girl. He had no idea who she was, yet she knew him. How could that be? He had just transferred from the elementary school to this school. "How do you know who I am?"
Grinning, Makoto casually leaned against the wall just to anger the man even further. "You're the only one stupid enough to try to get someone in trouble over such a trivial event." She could tell that the man was still confused, so she decided to help clear things up for him. "Remember about, oh, let's say six years ago? There was a little girl in your first-grade class, her name was Usagi."
She didn't even need to go any further before he knew what she was talking about. Usagi was one student he would never forget. She was the one student who had given him the most trouble in his entire career with the way she talked back to him in front of all his students. He had never met a more frustrating child. How her parents could ever put up with her mouth, he didn't know. But he did know one thing for sure, he was glad to rid himself of her when the year was over. "I remember. She was a mouthy little brat."
Makoto frowned as she stood straight without leaning on the wall. "I can't believe you. She only acted the way she did because you were pissing her off with all your rants. You called her stupid numerous times, what did you expect?!"
Mr. Koch cocked a brow in fascination. "What a mouth you've gotten, what was your name again?"
Makoto rested a hand on her hip. "Makoto. And what I say is MY business. I'm exceptionally angry at the moment, which means bad news for you. So if you don't mind I'm going to leave now. I don't want to see you just as much as you don't want to see us. "
"Ah, right. The other mouthy one." He rested his hand against the wall, blocking Makoto's way up the stairs. "The only place you're going is the principal's office."
Makoto sighed. She didn't have time for this. "You haven't changed a bit. You're still just a rude, old man. But I've got news for you, I HAVE changed. I'm not seven years old anymore. And because of that, I'm just going to ignore you and be on my way. You aren't my teacher, so don't act like it!" Before he could react, she teleported directly behind him. "Have a nice day."
Mr. Koch turned around in awe. "How did you do that?" Makoto said nothing, she just continued on her way. "I'm not through with you, Makoto! Get back here!" He knew it was no use to try and call her back. The girl was stubborn; she always had been and always would be. He wondered where Usagi was, and how she was doing. Sighing to himself, he slowly turned back toward the stairs. He would have to do nothing more than report Makoto's behavior to the office since she refused to go with him. He would let them deal with her. Like she had said, he wasn't her teacher so he couldn't do anything to her.
~*~*~
~~Tomoe's Lab: Four Hours Later~~
Kaori stared at the computer screen with a wide grin. She had been working all night to find a possible carrier of the first Pure Heart Crystal, and had so far come up with nothing. It had been nearly sixteen hours since she first began her search. The day was already half wasted and she had already gotten five phone calls from the Professor wanting to know why she hadn't come by with the name of a candidate. Each time he called, his voice had become more and more angry.
Now, as she sat at the screen at this very moment, she was hardly worried anymore. She had searched the database and found the perfect student to target. She had achieved a straight A average throughout her entire High School career, and now that she was coming upon her third year of college she still managed to maintain her high average. She was the perfect candidate. Anyone THAT dedicated to school just had to have a pure heart.
Reaching for the receiver, Kaori dialed the Professor's private phone line at the school. It was a matter of seconds before someone picked up. "Professor Tomoe?"
"Yes?" Tomoe asked rather sternly.
"I think I found someone that might work out for us. She's a student at the school, and should be there in about three hours, three o' clock. I'll be there around that time." She didn't even wait for a reply before she slammed the phone down on its base. "We'll see who can't get the job done." She briskly stood to her feet, causing the chair to fall on its side. "That stupid girl better be ready to swallow her words."
~*~*~
~~10th Street Middle School~~
It was already noon and the girls had been at school for about hours already and were eagerly awaiting the lunch bell to ring. On this day, Makoto was a little more eager than usual. Because of her run in with her former teacher she hadn't been able to ask Rei if she could stay at her house will her parents were gone. She knew that if she came home and told her father that she hadn't been able to ask that he would totally flip. It wasn't about being afraid of him or trying to please him anymore, it was ultimately about doing anything to keep from listening to his bitching.
The five girls all stared up at the clock as they counted down the last ten seconds until lunch in their heads. When the bell rang they were the first to dart out of the room, as always. Since the year before, Usagi and Minako had made it their business to be in the very front of the lunch line so they had time to go back and get seconds before lunch ended. Rei, Ami, and Makoto, on the other hand, had always taken it slow on their way to lunch. They had no reason to rush for they knew they would be getting food either way.
Rei noticed that Makoto had been particularly quiet that day, which definitely wasn't like her at all. She was usually quite talkative at school, something must have happened the night before. She hadn't even come to hang out with them like she had originally planned. "Are you all right?"
Makoto kept her eyes downward, not knowing exactly how to ask Rei her question. She honestly didn't want to ask in front of the rest of her friends. She didn't want to have to tell them about what her father said about all of them.
Rei looked up to Ami, who seemed a little concerned. "Makoto?" She inquired again.
Makoto popped her head up and turned up to Rei. "Oh. Were you talking to me?" Rei nodded, causing Makoto to sigh. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little preoccupied."
Ami could definitely tell that something wasn't right with her friend, and she was pretty sure what the root of the problem was. It was the same thing every time. Whenever Makoto was upset about something it was usually caused by one, single person each and every time. "Is it your father again?"
Makoto nodded with a deep sigh. "He's so stupid."
Ami wrapped her arm around Makoto's shoulders to comfort her. "What did he do this time?"
Makoto frowned as she looked down the hallway, which was almost completely empty. Their pace had slowed down dramatically, which allowed everyone else to go on ahead of them. She quickly glanced out the windows to her right. "Well," She started. She decided just to go on ahead and tell them what her father had said. Keeping the truth from them would only be protecting her father in essence, "my parents are going on a trip without me."
Rei; "What? Really?" She put her hands on her hips. "Wait, what about you?"
Makoto looked to Rei. "Well, they want me to stay with a friend. But my dad was really picky about who it would be. He said Usagi was weird because she had a tail. He said Minako was too ditzy, and," She paused as she turned back to Ami, "He said you were too weak." She turned back to Rei. "But he had nothing to say about you."
Pulling her arm away from Makoto, Ami balled up her hands into fists. "Where does he get off calling me weak!?" She flinched in shock as she turned to look at her friends. "Did I just say that out loud?"
Makoto growled at the thought of her father lounging around the house, not even thinking about how he might have hurt her with his words. "I'm really sorry, Ami. You know my dad, he's. well."
"An idiot!" Rei shouted in anger. She couldn't believe the things he had said about HER friends.
Makoto grinned. "To put it bluntly, yes."
Rei patted her friend on the back with a warm smile. "Well don't worry, I gotcha covered. You can stay at my house during your vacation from your father."
Makoto cocked her head to the side. She hadn't thought of it as a vacation for herself. But now that she thought about it, it seemed plausible. She would be getting away from him for a long while. She wouldn't have to put up with his moans and groans about petty things. "Are you sure? You haven't asked your grandfather yet."
Rei smirked. "Don't worry about him. You know grandpa. He loves all my friends. I'm sure he won't mind."
"Thanks, Rei." Makoto turned back down to Ami, who still seemed to be fuming over what her father had said. "Ami, if it's any consolation."
Ami dropped her frown and put on a smile. "No, no. It's all right. After all, it IS your dad we're talking about. I just wish he'd get to know a person before he starts making accusations."
"Believe me, I know exactly what you mean." Makoto put her arms around the two girls' shoulders and sped up the pace to the lunchroom. "Please don't tell Usagi and Minako what my dad said. I didn't even really want to tell you guys. I know it'll crush them, especially Usagi."
Rei and Ami nodded, knowing that it was in the best interest of their friend's feelings. "Agreed."
~*~*~
~~Lunch Room~~
Usagi and Minako had already gotten their food and sat down when the others finally arrived. Stuffing her face with a spoonful of food, Minako looked at Usagi, who was preparing to do the same thing. "Where were they?" Usagi just shrugged as she began her own feeding-fest. Minako looked back down to her own food, deciding to ask them herself when they got seated.
Usagi threw down her spork and picked up her napkin to wipe her face off before she took a drink of her soda. Noticing someone pass just outside the lunchroom, she turned her head in curiosity to see who it was. Normally, the administrators didn't allow students outside the lunchroom because of a vandalism incident that had happened the year before. "Oh my god!" She yelled without even thinking about what she was saying.
Flinching in surprise over her friend's outburst, Minako glared around the room for anything that may have caught Usagi's attention so abruptly. Seeing nothing, she turned back to Usagi. "What? What is it?" Noticing that Usagi seemed to be staring out the window, she too looked outside to see an older looking man walking away from the building. "Looks like a new teacher."
Keeping her eye on the man, Usagi smirked as she slowly pushed herself up. "You've gotta be kidding me. This is way too good!"" She walked to the door that led outside and gently nudged it open.
Minako jumped out of her seat and raced to Usagi's side. "Are you nuts!?" She grabbed a hold of Usagi's arms and tried to pull he away. "We're gonna get in trouble! You know we aren't allowed to wander around at lunch anymore!"
Usagi wasn't thinking about that. She had something else on her mind, something she deemed more important than following that little rule at the moment. "Come on!" She grabbed Minako by the wrist and pulled the girl out of the building. "Hey!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. He didn't stop, but that didn't keep her from perusing him.
"Usagi! What are you thinking!?" Minako tried to pry her wrist away from Usagi, but she was being jostled around so much that she couldn't get a good enough grip.
The teacher stopped short upon hearing that name, the name he had learned to hate in his earlier years of teaching. Fearing what would happen after his next actions, he slowly turned toward the noisy girls behind him. He didn't have to think about what the girl looked like before he realized that he knew her. He would be able to pick out her hairstyle anywhere, seeming as she was one of the only people he had met who constantly wore it that way. The tail bouncing behind her legs was also a dead giveaway. Smirking, he put his hands behind his back and casually began walking towards the duo. "Son Usagi."
Minako lifted her head in curiosity. "Huh?" Now that she had seen his face, she knew exactly who he was. "Mr. Koch! It's you!"
Releasing her grip on Minako, Usagi grinned. "I knew it. I can spot a rat five miles away."
Mr. Koch frowned at the girl. "I see you still have an attitude problem. I would have thought your parents would have done something about it."
"You're the only problem here, not my attitude. We've been over this a million times." Usagi mimicked her old teacher's actions and put her hands behind her back.
Mr. Koch narrowed his eyes into a stern glare. "And you still have no respect!"
Usagi frowned. "I have plenty of respect, just none for you! I thought YOU would have changed, Mr. Koch. But I see you're still the same snake you always were!"
Minako grinned. "Yeah!" Mr. Koch glared down at Minako, which had no effect on her like it used to. "You're just a rude old man!" Mr. Koch knew this was a battle he wouldn't win against these two. He had learned that long ago. No punishment was too great for them, they would always come back with more insults.
Inside, Makoto, Ami, and Rei stood in the salad line, waiting to pay for their food. Rei was the first to notice their friends standing outside talking to a strange man. "Who's that Minako and Usagi talking to?"
Makoto and Ami looked just outside at the man Rei was pointing to. Ami shrugged for she had never been in his class, but Makoto knew exactly who he was. "That's our first grade teacher. He tried messing with me this morning, but I told him what's what."
Ami frowned. "You mean that's the one who gave you guys such a hard time?"
Makoto nodded. "He's so mean to all of his students, especially Usagi. She didn't get the best of grades, but that only because she couldn't really concentrate on what she was doing."
Ami grinned. "I'll say. You should have tried to tutor her."
Rei frowned at the man. "So that's the guy, huh?" She hadn't had the 'pleasure' of being in his class since her grandfather hadn't let her attend public school until second grade, but she had heard plenty of stories about him.
The three watched as their two friends turned around to walk back inside. Makoto motioned for them to come over. Complying, Usagi and Minako made their food was still there, and then made their way over to their friends. "You saw, didn't you?" Usagi asked with a huge grin of excitement.
Makoto nodded with a smirk. "So he got to you too, didn't he?"
Minako shook her head. "Actually, we went to him. Usagi just HAD to go talk to him."
Usagi smiled. "What? I wanted to see if was really him. You can't blame a girl for curiosity, can you?"
Makoto; "Not when it comes to you and that man. You two HATE each other." Makoto reached for a plate as she came upon the front of the line. She dug into her pocket and pulled out her money.
Usagi sighed. "Well, I can say one thing, he's still a huge pain."
"Don't I know. He tried yelling at me for running in the hallway this morning, but I wouldn't take it. I think I confused him when I teleported out of his reach." She slapped her money down on the counter for the lunch lady and continued onto the salad bar, with her friends close behind.
Minako crossed her arms. "I can't believe he didn't learn anything from having us in his class."
Ami; "Well, you know what they say, ' you can't teach an old dog new tricks'. And that applies directly to teachers. Once they've set their teaching methods, they rarely ever change."
Minako; "At least we don't have to worry about him for a teacher anymore. That would have totally sucked."
Usagi and Makoto nodded as they exchanged a look of relief. "Agreed."
~*~*~
~~Mugen School: Hidden Lab~~
Three hours after she had called the Professor, Kaori arrived at the hidden lab. Tomoe had already been there for nearly thirty minutes in order to prepare the creature she was to use in order to steal the supposed Pure Heart Crystal. She walked to the center of the room, where the Professor was at the moment. "Is it ready?"
Tomoe pressed a large, white button. "As ready as it'll ever be."
Kaori grinned as she reached into a giant machine, coming out with the same briefcase she had used before. "Perfect." She tucked it tightly under her arm and began making her way to the door.
Tomoe frowned at the woman. "Do try to make sure no one's around when you do the job this time. There were too many witnesses yesterday." Kaori didn't turn around to address the Professor, nor did she stop. She just continued on her way with a quick nod of compliance.
~~Tomoe House~~
That night, Professor Tomoe rushed his way home from the school. There wasn't a moment to lose now that a certain special lady had surfaced once again. Every time she came about her stay was shorter and shorter as a result of a sever loss of energy. Putting her inside a small child hadn't been the best of ideas. The girl was too rambunctious, and those friends of hers weren't making things any better. They only encouraged her to be even more rowdy than she would normally be. That was where Kaori had come into play. It was her job to keep Hotaru calm and quiet, and now more than ever, away from her friends. Keeping her away from them was of the utmost importance at the moment.
Once home, he threw down his briefcase and made a running dash to the back of the house. He hoped that she wasn't too angry. Whenever she went through one of these 'episodes', he was usually there to give her the heart crystal since she was so temperamental.
Coming upon the door, he reached out for the knob and slowly pressed down on it, which caused it to become unlatched. He gently pushed forward on the door and peered into the dimly lit room. 'She' was sitting at the very back of the room with her head hung low.
Hotaru gracefully lifted her head to look upon the Professor with her purple, glowing eyes. "You're late, Tomoe."
The Professor put his right arm over his stomach and bowed down, making sure that he kept his head below Hotaru's. "I'm sorry. If I had left the school early people may have gotten suspicious. We want to keep this on the down low. I hope Kaori wasn't too brash with you."
Hotaru put her arms on the arms of the chair and pushed herself to her feet. "Quite frankly, Professor, I despise the woman. She gives me nothing but trouble. But I'll respect your judgment, for now. You can go now." She said, shooing him off with a flick of her hand. Standing up, Tomoe turned around to be on his way. "Oh by the way, Professor," She began, causing him to pause and turn back to face her, "I've asked Kaori to begin searching the school for the Pure Heart Crystals. Someone is sure to have one in a school for the gifted."
Tomoe had nothing to say in reply, as he found no reason why they shouldn't begin their search. He turned back around toward the door and made his way out into the hallway, where he found Kaori waiting for him. "What?"
"Did she tell you?" Kaori asked rather calmly. She had been standing outside the room the entire time, listening in on the conversation, but she didn't tell the Professor that. Tomoe firmly nodded, knowing what had to be done next. Saying nothing to the redhead, he turned down the hall and began making his way to the laboratory. "What do you think about it?" She asked rather angrily. She hated it when he ignored her like that.
He didn't even bother to turn around address the woman properly. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. Have you found a possible candidate for a Pure Heart Crystal?"
Kaori smiled, taking her opportunity to join Tomoe at his side down into the basement laboratory. "Not yet. I was planning on doing that right now."
Tomoe frowned as he grabbed for his lab coat. "Well hurry up, we don't have all the time in the world. She's ready for them now. I expect Viluy is still working on finding good Heart Crystals to keep Hotaru from taking over again."
Kaori grinned at the sound of that young brat's name. "She's on it. I don't know why you hired all these other girls."
The Professor put his coat on and walked down small stairway into his lab, still with his back turned to the woman he was holding a conversation with. "I hired the girls of Witches Five to just in case you weren't performing right. Like I said, we don't have all the time in the world. If you screw this up," He paused as he turned around to Kaori, who was directly behind him.
Kaori didn't give him a chance to finish his sentence before she jumped right in. "I won't screw this up. Have you no faith me in?"
Tomoe smirked as he walked to a rather large machine, which looked exactly like the one that he had stashed away in the old, broken down lab at the Mugen School. " 'She' doesn't."
~*~*~
Makoto hadn't really felt like talking to anyone after her conversation with her parents, not even her friends. Instead of meeting up with them like she had planned, she had decided to stay home in the solitude of her own room for the remainder of the night. She wanted time alone to think. Things really had gotten out of hand with her parents; her father mostly. She never really understood why he didn't like her. She had always gotten the feeling that he hated her because she was a girl, but she knew it wasn't that. He wasn't a sexist man. She always saw him treating her mother well, which was the only reason why she had put up with most of his crap anyway. She knew her mother was happy with the man, and that's all that mattered to her. Now if he were beating them, that would have been another story. She would have told him what's what long ago.
Makoto also knew that her father didn't hate children, which was another thing that had crossed her mind in the past. He was great with other people's children. Whenever her cousins would come over he would always play with them as if they were his own children, but he would always leave her out of the fun. Because of that, the other kids had tended to tease her. As if that wasn't bad enough, once they learned that she was a fighter, they made fun of her even harder for being a tomboy, which was something her father had wanted in the first place. She had learned to blame her father for their taunts; their laughter at her expense.
The earliest memory of her father that Makoto held was when she was about three years old. She could still see it perfectly in her mind. She remembered sitting on the floor of her grandparents' house on a hot, summer day. She was looking up for some reason. All she could remember at that point was feeling distressed as she cried for her mother. Out of the corner of her eye she could see two, male figures standing to her side. They were laughing for some reason. She didn't understand why they weren't coming to help her. She had fallen, that was it. She remembered that much. She had tripped and hurt herself on a chair that had been set out for guests. Shortly after falling she began to cry as she looked upward. Seeing that her mother was no where in sight, she had turned around, looking for anyone else that might help her up. The only people in sight were her father and grandfather. All she remembered after that point was her father walking to her and yelling at her to get up just after exchanging words with her grandfather. She hadn't heard what was said, but she sure heard her father yelling at her for crying. In the background of all the commotion she could hear her grandfather essentially yelling at his son for her actions. He was yelling at his son because SHE was crying. All she remembered after that was being taken away from that entire mess by the hands of her grandmother. In the background she could barely make out her father yelling at her mother for something.
Makoto never really did figure out why that day turned into turmoil, but she did know that that was the first day she began to dislike her father. It all sort of went downhill from there. It was bad before, but nothing like that. Her father began to distance himself more and more from her. He started taunting her for being weak, even though she was still very young. It wasn't long ago after the "incident", as it was referred to by Makoto and her mother, that her father had enrolled her into Mr. Satan's martial arts courses. She was the youngest in the class' history after Pan. Makoto had begged her father not to make her enroll, but he wouldn't have it anyway. He had always told her that he wouldn't be having a weakling for a daughter. That was when she started to realize that he resented her for being a girl. It obviously wasn't ONLY because she was a girl, but she was positive that the fact played a bit of a role in his near hatred for her.
The only times her father had ever taken a real interest in her was when she was training, or when she was sparring with him. He too had trained under Mr. Satan, which was why he worshiped the ground the imbecile of a man walked on. The only times Makoto could even remember her father being proud of her was when she won her competitions, or at least when she came close. He must have figured she wasn't such a weakling after she started learning to fight. But the glory of fighting didn't last long. Once she began training under Goku the contests stopped. Goku had always found them to be a waste of time. He had always said they didn't require much skill. It was mostly used as entertainment for the masses. The only contests he had ever let her enter in were the Tenkai-ichi Budaki tournaments that were held once a year, and the occasional children's only version of it. Her father never came to support her in these tournaments and her mother had no interest in watching her only child take part in such a violent sport.
Any part of her life other than fighting was of no concern to her father, as he had said many times in the past. He paid hardly any attention to the girl, and when he did it was usually when she was doing something bad and needed disciplining. Her feeling never mattered to him, it was just what he wanted and nothing more. It was because of his behavior towards Makoto that her father and mother grew so far apart over the last few years and she knew it. Her mother had always told her that their fights had nothing to do with her, but deep down inside, Makoto knew otherwise. She had always heard their fights after she had been yelled at, and she had always heard her mother standing up for her. But along with the defense came attacks from her father to her mother. He would just scream at her for no reason, and then seconds later, want to make up again.
Makoto didn't know what to think anymore. All she knew was that her father hated her, and the feeling was almost completely mutual. She couldn't stand him anymore. She couldn't stand his attitude toward herself or her mother. She didn't want to have to put up with it anymore. Her entire life had been a joke to him. He never cared about her. He never cared about anything that had to do with her. He hated her friends, he hated the fact that she would sometimes want to do things other girls would do.
There she sat, on her bed in the dark with her knees pulled tightly against her chest. She didn't know what to do anymore. Her life had already been ruined before she got a real chance to live it; her father had personally made sure of it.
Sighing in the dark, she rested her head against her knees and closed her eyes. Things seemed to be spiraling out of hand faster than she could keep up. She hoped that this trip her parents were to take would help their relationship. Maybe if they were happier together things wouldn't be so rough on her anymore. Of course, knowing her father, that was just wishful thinking never to come true.
She gently lifted her head and stretched out on the bed, leaning her head against the soft pillow. Closing her eyes again, she wanted to cry, but she didn't. She wouldn't give her father another reason to accuse her of being weak. It had been nearly ten years since she last cried. Her father had made it more than clear to her that she wasn't to cry once she started training, and she hadn't once.
~*~*~
The Next Day:
A twinkling light made its into Makoto's room the next morning, causing her to flinch awake. The light hit her eyes just right enough to wake her. She sat up with a long yawn. "Huh?" Looking down, she realized that she was still in her school uniform. "I must have fallen asleep." She stretched out her arms and legs with a groan of satisfaction. Waking up without the alarm was always a good feeling to have. She lifted her hands to rub her eyes and jumped out of bed, barely taking notice of the time. She walked to her closet and pulled out a fresh uniform for school.
Getting dressed rather quickly, she rushed herself out of her room. She could hear her father snoring from down the hall in her parents' room, as usual. He never got up until late in the day on his days off. He must have already called in for vacation time. "Lazy fool." She made her way into the kitchen, where she found her mother happily humming away as she worked on making breakfast for her daughter. "Hi, mom."
Mrs. Kino stopped what she was doing to look at her daughter. "Well good morning, sleepy head. I was wondering when you were going to wake up. I was about to come and get you."
Makoto scratched her head. "What? What time is it?" She looked down at the clock on the microwave. According to the time she had twenty minutes to get to school when she normally allowed herself thirty minutes to get ready for school. She usually liked to be out of the house by this time so she could get there in time to hang out with her friends before school. "Oh no. I must have forgotten to set my alarm." Becoming panicked, she rushed to the front door and grabbed her shoes.
Mrs. Kino giggled as she left the kitchen and joined her daughter in the living room. "Calm down, dear. There's no need to rush."
Makoto struggled with her shoes as she stared up at her mother. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"
"You seemed so tired last night at dinner, I wanted you to get as much sleep as you could." Mrs. Kino grabbed her daughter by the hand and helped her up. "I hope you don't mind."
Makoto smiled at her mother. She would have rather been waken up, but her mother's intentions were pure so she didn't really let it bug her. "No prob, mom. But I hope you have breakfast ready cause I really gotta get going."
Mrs. Kino ran into the kitchen, but it wasn't long before she was back out again with a brown sack. "I made it to go. I knew you'd want to be heading out as soon as you got up." She handed her daughter the sack and wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulder. "Now promise me you won't take anything your father said last night to heart. I know he didn't mean what he said about you're friends."
Makoto frowned. She didn't want to be reminded of her father at the moment. He wasn't exactly at the top of her buddy list. "I never do." She clenched the breakfast her mother had made for her tightly. "Thanks again, mom. I'll see you after school." With that, she started out for school.
~*~*~
~~10th Street Middle School~~
Makoto took her time getting to school, even though she had left her house in a hurry. She still wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, but there wasn't a really much of a choice. It was either go to school or stay home, with her father. In times like this school was pretty much a refuge from her father, however, she was also a bit more on edge whenever she had a run in with her father, which mean trouble for her.
Coming upon the front entrance, she paused to look upon a group of lower- classmen. They seemed so full of themselves now that they weren't in elementary school anymore. It was pitiful, really. They pranced around as if they owned the world, but they were nothing. The upper-classmen would show them that they weren't as hot as they thought they were. The same thing had happened to her class the year before. They would learn soon enough.
Grinning at the stupidity of these students, she made her way for the door and let herself inside. The halls were filled with the laughter of her fellow classmates. Ignoring them as she always had, she turned the corner to her right and ran up the stairs, but was soon stopped by a teacher. "Excuse me." She said to the male teacher. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew she had seen this man somewhere before. He looked like someone she knew, but not at the same time.
The teacher frowned down at the girl. "There's absolutely no running in the hallway, young lady." He replied, harshly.
Makoto frowned back at the teacher. She didn't think she deserved that. "I said excuse me, what else did you want? An apology?"
The teacher didn't appreciate they way he had been spoken to by such an insolent brat. It reminded him too much of another student he had once taught. "Watch your mouth, girl. You're the student here. Haven't you ever heard of a little thing called respect?!"
Angry, Makoto decided not to press the matter any further. She wasn't in the mood to argue with him in her current mood. Knowing her temper she would end up in the principal's office for some sort of assault. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." She mumbled softly under her breath.
The teacher reached out and grabbed Makoto by the arm as she tried to pass by him. "I'm sorry, young lady. That didn't sound very sincere."
Makoto became angry at the contact this man was making with her. Where did he get off thinking he could just grab her arm like that? He wasn't her father. She brashly ripped her arm away from his grip, fighting herself NOT to punch him. "Don't you EVER touch me again!"
Becoming angry, the teacher bent down and got right into the teen's face. "Look, little girl, I'm the teacher and you WILL do as I say. Now apologize the correct way and nothing will happen to you. If you refuse any longer there WILL be consequences."
Makoto couldn't believe it. Why was this guy so stuck on such a small offense? So she was running in the hallway, who cares? "Excuse me? Consequences for running up stairs? You're wasting my time. I have to get to class." And with that, she started on her way again. Once again, she didn't make it very far before the brazen man had grabbed her arm. "What is with you? I told you not to touch me!" She was suddenly pulled closer to him, with her face right by hers. It was that point, being at that close of a proximity that she realized exactly WHO she as dealing with you. "It's you!" She yelled out, causing an echo to travel down the hall for all to hear.
Surprised, the teacher released the student with a stern frown. "Excuse me?"
Makoto stared hard into the teacher's eyes as she slowly backed down the stairs. She knew for a fact that this guy was just crazy enough to give her detention for running in the hallway and then brushing it off as nothing. "Mr. Koch! It's you, isn't it?"
The teacher stood up straight and glared down at the girl. He had no idea who she was, yet she knew him. How could that be? He had just transferred from the elementary school to this school. "How do you know who I am?"
Grinning, Makoto casually leaned against the wall just to anger the man even further. "You're the only one stupid enough to try to get someone in trouble over such a trivial event." She could tell that the man was still confused, so she decided to help clear things up for him. "Remember about, oh, let's say six years ago? There was a little girl in your first-grade class, her name was Usagi."
She didn't even need to go any further before he knew what she was talking about. Usagi was one student he would never forget. She was the one student who had given him the most trouble in his entire career with the way she talked back to him in front of all his students. He had never met a more frustrating child. How her parents could ever put up with her mouth, he didn't know. But he did know one thing for sure, he was glad to rid himself of her when the year was over. "I remember. She was a mouthy little brat."
Makoto frowned as she stood straight without leaning on the wall. "I can't believe you. She only acted the way she did because you were pissing her off with all your rants. You called her stupid numerous times, what did you expect?!"
Mr. Koch cocked a brow in fascination. "What a mouth you've gotten, what was your name again?"
Makoto rested a hand on her hip. "Makoto. And what I say is MY business. I'm exceptionally angry at the moment, which means bad news for you. So if you don't mind I'm going to leave now. I don't want to see you just as much as you don't want to see us. "
"Ah, right. The other mouthy one." He rested his hand against the wall, blocking Makoto's way up the stairs. "The only place you're going is the principal's office."
Makoto sighed. She didn't have time for this. "You haven't changed a bit. You're still just a rude, old man. But I've got news for you, I HAVE changed. I'm not seven years old anymore. And because of that, I'm just going to ignore you and be on my way. You aren't my teacher, so don't act like it!" Before he could react, she teleported directly behind him. "Have a nice day."
Mr. Koch turned around in awe. "How did you do that?" Makoto said nothing, she just continued on her way. "I'm not through with you, Makoto! Get back here!" He knew it was no use to try and call her back. The girl was stubborn; she always had been and always would be. He wondered where Usagi was, and how she was doing. Sighing to himself, he slowly turned back toward the stairs. He would have to do nothing more than report Makoto's behavior to the office since she refused to go with him. He would let them deal with her. Like she had said, he wasn't her teacher so he couldn't do anything to her.
~*~*~
~~Tomoe's Lab: Four Hours Later~~
Kaori stared at the computer screen with a wide grin. She had been working all night to find a possible carrier of the first Pure Heart Crystal, and had so far come up with nothing. It had been nearly sixteen hours since she first began her search. The day was already half wasted and she had already gotten five phone calls from the Professor wanting to know why she hadn't come by with the name of a candidate. Each time he called, his voice had become more and more angry.
Now, as she sat at the screen at this very moment, she was hardly worried anymore. She had searched the database and found the perfect student to target. She had achieved a straight A average throughout her entire High School career, and now that she was coming upon her third year of college she still managed to maintain her high average. She was the perfect candidate. Anyone THAT dedicated to school just had to have a pure heart.
Reaching for the receiver, Kaori dialed the Professor's private phone line at the school. It was a matter of seconds before someone picked up. "Professor Tomoe?"
"Yes?" Tomoe asked rather sternly.
"I think I found someone that might work out for us. She's a student at the school, and should be there in about three hours, three o' clock. I'll be there around that time." She didn't even wait for a reply before she slammed the phone down on its base. "We'll see who can't get the job done." She briskly stood to her feet, causing the chair to fall on its side. "That stupid girl better be ready to swallow her words."
~*~*~
~~10th Street Middle School~~
It was already noon and the girls had been at school for about hours already and were eagerly awaiting the lunch bell to ring. On this day, Makoto was a little more eager than usual. Because of her run in with her former teacher she hadn't been able to ask Rei if she could stay at her house will her parents were gone. She knew that if she came home and told her father that she hadn't been able to ask that he would totally flip. It wasn't about being afraid of him or trying to please him anymore, it was ultimately about doing anything to keep from listening to his bitching.
The five girls all stared up at the clock as they counted down the last ten seconds until lunch in their heads. When the bell rang they were the first to dart out of the room, as always. Since the year before, Usagi and Minako had made it their business to be in the very front of the lunch line so they had time to go back and get seconds before lunch ended. Rei, Ami, and Makoto, on the other hand, had always taken it slow on their way to lunch. They had no reason to rush for they knew they would be getting food either way.
Rei noticed that Makoto had been particularly quiet that day, which definitely wasn't like her at all. She was usually quite talkative at school, something must have happened the night before. She hadn't even come to hang out with them like she had originally planned. "Are you all right?"
Makoto kept her eyes downward, not knowing exactly how to ask Rei her question. She honestly didn't want to ask in front of the rest of her friends. She didn't want to have to tell them about what her father said about all of them.
Rei looked up to Ami, who seemed a little concerned. "Makoto?" She inquired again.
Makoto popped her head up and turned up to Rei. "Oh. Were you talking to me?" Rei nodded, causing Makoto to sigh. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little preoccupied."
Ami could definitely tell that something wasn't right with her friend, and she was pretty sure what the root of the problem was. It was the same thing every time. Whenever Makoto was upset about something it was usually caused by one, single person each and every time. "Is it your father again?"
Makoto nodded with a deep sigh. "He's so stupid."
Ami wrapped her arm around Makoto's shoulders to comfort her. "What did he do this time?"
Makoto frowned as she looked down the hallway, which was almost completely empty. Their pace had slowed down dramatically, which allowed everyone else to go on ahead of them. She quickly glanced out the windows to her right. "Well," She started. She decided just to go on ahead and tell them what her father had said. Keeping the truth from them would only be protecting her father in essence, "my parents are going on a trip without me."
Rei; "What? Really?" She put her hands on her hips. "Wait, what about you?"
Makoto looked to Rei. "Well, they want me to stay with a friend. But my dad was really picky about who it would be. He said Usagi was weird because she had a tail. He said Minako was too ditzy, and," She paused as she turned back to Ami, "He said you were too weak." She turned back to Rei. "But he had nothing to say about you."
Pulling her arm away from Makoto, Ami balled up her hands into fists. "Where does he get off calling me weak!?" She flinched in shock as she turned to look at her friends. "Did I just say that out loud?"
Makoto growled at the thought of her father lounging around the house, not even thinking about how he might have hurt her with his words. "I'm really sorry, Ami. You know my dad, he's. well."
"An idiot!" Rei shouted in anger. She couldn't believe the things he had said about HER friends.
Makoto grinned. "To put it bluntly, yes."
Rei patted her friend on the back with a warm smile. "Well don't worry, I gotcha covered. You can stay at my house during your vacation from your father."
Makoto cocked her head to the side. She hadn't thought of it as a vacation for herself. But now that she thought about it, it seemed plausible. She would be getting away from him for a long while. She wouldn't have to put up with his moans and groans about petty things. "Are you sure? You haven't asked your grandfather yet."
Rei smirked. "Don't worry about him. You know grandpa. He loves all my friends. I'm sure he won't mind."
"Thanks, Rei." Makoto turned back down to Ami, who still seemed to be fuming over what her father had said. "Ami, if it's any consolation."
Ami dropped her frown and put on a smile. "No, no. It's all right. After all, it IS your dad we're talking about. I just wish he'd get to know a person before he starts making accusations."
"Believe me, I know exactly what you mean." Makoto put her arms around the two girls' shoulders and sped up the pace to the lunchroom. "Please don't tell Usagi and Minako what my dad said. I didn't even really want to tell you guys. I know it'll crush them, especially Usagi."
Rei and Ami nodded, knowing that it was in the best interest of their friend's feelings. "Agreed."
~*~*~
~~Lunch Room~~
Usagi and Minako had already gotten their food and sat down when the others finally arrived. Stuffing her face with a spoonful of food, Minako looked at Usagi, who was preparing to do the same thing. "Where were they?" Usagi just shrugged as she began her own feeding-fest. Minako looked back down to her own food, deciding to ask them herself when they got seated.
Usagi threw down her spork and picked up her napkin to wipe her face off before she took a drink of her soda. Noticing someone pass just outside the lunchroom, she turned her head in curiosity to see who it was. Normally, the administrators didn't allow students outside the lunchroom because of a vandalism incident that had happened the year before. "Oh my god!" She yelled without even thinking about what she was saying.
Flinching in surprise over her friend's outburst, Minako glared around the room for anything that may have caught Usagi's attention so abruptly. Seeing nothing, she turned back to Usagi. "What? What is it?" Noticing that Usagi seemed to be staring out the window, she too looked outside to see an older looking man walking away from the building. "Looks like a new teacher."
Keeping her eye on the man, Usagi smirked as she slowly pushed herself up. "You've gotta be kidding me. This is way too good!"" She walked to the door that led outside and gently nudged it open.
Minako jumped out of her seat and raced to Usagi's side. "Are you nuts!?" She grabbed a hold of Usagi's arms and tried to pull he away. "We're gonna get in trouble! You know we aren't allowed to wander around at lunch anymore!"
Usagi wasn't thinking about that. She had something else on her mind, something she deemed more important than following that little rule at the moment. "Come on!" She grabbed Minako by the wrist and pulled the girl out of the building. "Hey!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. He didn't stop, but that didn't keep her from perusing him.
"Usagi! What are you thinking!?" Minako tried to pry her wrist away from Usagi, but she was being jostled around so much that she couldn't get a good enough grip.
The teacher stopped short upon hearing that name, the name he had learned to hate in his earlier years of teaching. Fearing what would happen after his next actions, he slowly turned toward the noisy girls behind him. He didn't have to think about what the girl looked like before he realized that he knew her. He would be able to pick out her hairstyle anywhere, seeming as she was one of the only people he had met who constantly wore it that way. The tail bouncing behind her legs was also a dead giveaway. Smirking, he put his hands behind his back and casually began walking towards the duo. "Son Usagi."
Minako lifted her head in curiosity. "Huh?" Now that she had seen his face, she knew exactly who he was. "Mr. Koch! It's you!"
Releasing her grip on Minako, Usagi grinned. "I knew it. I can spot a rat five miles away."
Mr. Koch frowned at the girl. "I see you still have an attitude problem. I would have thought your parents would have done something about it."
"You're the only problem here, not my attitude. We've been over this a million times." Usagi mimicked her old teacher's actions and put her hands behind her back.
Mr. Koch narrowed his eyes into a stern glare. "And you still have no respect!"
Usagi frowned. "I have plenty of respect, just none for you! I thought YOU would have changed, Mr. Koch. But I see you're still the same snake you always were!"
Minako grinned. "Yeah!" Mr. Koch glared down at Minako, which had no effect on her like it used to. "You're just a rude old man!" Mr. Koch knew this was a battle he wouldn't win against these two. He had learned that long ago. No punishment was too great for them, they would always come back with more insults.
Inside, Makoto, Ami, and Rei stood in the salad line, waiting to pay for their food. Rei was the first to notice their friends standing outside talking to a strange man. "Who's that Minako and Usagi talking to?"
Makoto and Ami looked just outside at the man Rei was pointing to. Ami shrugged for she had never been in his class, but Makoto knew exactly who he was. "That's our first grade teacher. He tried messing with me this morning, but I told him what's what."
Ami frowned. "You mean that's the one who gave you guys such a hard time?"
Makoto nodded. "He's so mean to all of his students, especially Usagi. She didn't get the best of grades, but that only because she couldn't really concentrate on what she was doing."
Ami grinned. "I'll say. You should have tried to tutor her."
Rei frowned at the man. "So that's the guy, huh?" She hadn't had the 'pleasure' of being in his class since her grandfather hadn't let her attend public school until second grade, but she had heard plenty of stories about him.
The three watched as their two friends turned around to walk back inside. Makoto motioned for them to come over. Complying, Usagi and Minako made their food was still there, and then made their way over to their friends. "You saw, didn't you?" Usagi asked with a huge grin of excitement.
Makoto nodded with a smirk. "So he got to you too, didn't he?"
Minako shook her head. "Actually, we went to him. Usagi just HAD to go talk to him."
Usagi smiled. "What? I wanted to see if was really him. You can't blame a girl for curiosity, can you?"
Makoto; "Not when it comes to you and that man. You two HATE each other." Makoto reached for a plate as she came upon the front of the line. She dug into her pocket and pulled out her money.
Usagi sighed. "Well, I can say one thing, he's still a huge pain."
"Don't I know. He tried yelling at me for running in the hallway this morning, but I wouldn't take it. I think I confused him when I teleported out of his reach." She slapped her money down on the counter for the lunch lady and continued onto the salad bar, with her friends close behind.
Minako crossed her arms. "I can't believe he didn't learn anything from having us in his class."
Ami; "Well, you know what they say, ' you can't teach an old dog new tricks'. And that applies directly to teachers. Once they've set their teaching methods, they rarely ever change."
Minako; "At least we don't have to worry about him for a teacher anymore. That would have totally sucked."
Usagi and Makoto nodded as they exchanged a look of relief. "Agreed."
~*~*~
~~Mugen School: Hidden Lab~~
Three hours after she had called the Professor, Kaori arrived at the hidden lab. Tomoe had already been there for nearly thirty minutes in order to prepare the creature she was to use in order to steal the supposed Pure Heart Crystal. She walked to the center of the room, where the Professor was at the moment. "Is it ready?"
Tomoe pressed a large, white button. "As ready as it'll ever be."
Kaori grinned as she reached into a giant machine, coming out with the same briefcase she had used before. "Perfect." She tucked it tightly under her arm and began making her way to the door.
Tomoe frowned at the woman. "Do try to make sure no one's around when you do the job this time. There were too many witnesses yesterday." Kaori didn't turn around to address the Professor, nor did she stop. She just continued on her way with a quick nod of compliance.