The Cupid 500
Chapter Seven
Last time: things happened. Some of them were good, and some of them were bad.
There were only a very few things that irritated her, Usagi Ai Tsukino, in the world. These things weren't necessarily evil or bad in any way, they simply made her become faintly reminiscent of a nuclear warhead that is about to explode and put an end to our miserable existence on this earth. These infuriating things were generally called "pet peeves". One of those "pet peeves" was when men tried to make her feel inferior to them. The second was when her door wasn't closed completely. She would be a nervous wreck until she heard that click of the door closing. The third pet peeve was when good intentions went completely and infuriatingly wrong.
Such as they had gone in this situation.
"Quatre," she said carefully, as if she was talking to a stupid kid, "I'm going. If I don't, Aunt Elizabeth will go nuts and probably send a squadron of mafia hit men down here to kill us all. I'll leave a note mentioning your name, and then where would that leave you?"
Her blonde haired companion scowled. "I'm not letting you leave. All you're doing is running away from a potential world-shattering ordeal. You know there are things here that need to be straightened out, and you're running away from them!"
Usagi glared at him and kicked out experimentally at him. She was disappointed that his pilot reflexes were still in effect. He jumped back from her foot, and stared at her. Her lips drew back in a snarl.
"I'm not running away from anything Quatre! Just because Saori's going to never mind I don't think-"
"Usagi Ai Tsukino, if you don't talk right now I swear by God I'll rip you apart, find your diary wherever it is, and read it. I'm sure you don't want that now, do you?" Quatre asked quietly, looking for all the world like a kittenish Hitler.
"Quatre!" Usagi gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"
"How much do you want to bet? You like bets, don't you, Usagi?" Quatre asked viciously.
Color stained Usagi's pale cheeks like wine. Her lips went white from Usagi's effort to suppress whatever comment was trying to force its way out. Her eyes seemed to become darker and deeper.
"I had hoped to part on good terms Quatre. I'm going to England to get away from you, my family, my friends, and Duo. I need time to think, and you've become my temporary enemy for trying to stop it."
Quatre was amazed to find that he couldn't budge under the intensity of her eyes. Usagi sighed, deflated, and came forward to kiss Quatre lightly on the cheek.
"I'll write every day, saa? Oh, don't look so shocked, Q-kun! You of all people should have known that I wasn't going to be stopped by anyone. Now, if Saori-chan stops by anytime during the day, be entirely comfortable with her. And Quatre," she said before she had walked completely out the door, "please don't let Mamoru, Minako, and Hiiro do anything bad to my house, okay? I'd really like to come home to, well, a home. Okay?"
The blonde boy had only opened his mouth when the brown door had slammed and Usagi was running full out to the car. He stepped quickly over to the window, and glared long and hard at the silver haired man driving the convertible that Usagi was loading her bags into. Saori was in the car with them, along with Yohji and Ami. Quatre felt the floor giving way below him, and he gladly succumbed to weak knees.
What in God's name was going on? Yesterday Usagi had been ranting about what a witch Saori was, the last time he checked Yohji was being his normal playboy self, and Ami was studying. Before that Usagi's hated enemy Mamoru Chiba was in jail for dealing drugs, and now he was house-sitting for her! A few weeks back Duo and Usagi had been a perfectly normal couple, and Quatre's life was just hunky dory. WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
"Usagi happened," a small voice said sorrowfully.
A completely shell-shocked Quatre lifted his head up and looked at the small boy sitting in front of him with completely uninterested eyes. The small boy rearranged himself and then bowed his head. He then looked back up at the still uninterested Quatre, and sighed.
"It's a type of law. Much like Murphy's Law, which states that the worst possible thing will happen at the worst possible time in the worst possible place, Usagi has a law all of her very own. This law is now coming into effect. See, Usagi is what we in the Department of Supernatural Love call a Type A. That means that she is a cross-dimension love. This essentially means that she is automatically a contestant for the spot of every man's "true love". Usagi is like a wild card in the world of love. Everyone every born is already destined for another person, and that law does not exclude Usagi. But since Usagi is somewhat a freak of nature in this respect, in that she can replace any other "true love" and make everything still be right, but then this kicks out one other female. This completely throws the system out of whack. The lines are going haywire with wishes asking for "true love". We can't screen everyone, and so eventually people are going to be disappearing from their worlds and then reappearing in this one, looking for Usagi! This can't be allowed! Quatre Winner, we are either going to have to find Usagi's true love, or kill her. Good day."
Quatre stared at the empty space for quite a while longer, and then blinked very slowly. That was pretty damn funny, he decided, before fainting.
"I hate airplanes," Usagi declared.
Saori looked around at her from the back seat. "Oh come on, you know you're just saying that because you're going to miss us all when you're in England! Planes are wonderful! They can fly-"
"I can do that by myself!"
Ami smiled hopefully at her from Yohji's lap. "You can stay here instead, Usagi-chan. You don't have to go on that plane. Who knows? It might crash, or blow up, or you might even get stranded on an island and die from malnutrition and dehydration. Usagi? Are you alright?"
Usagi's face had turned a nasty green color, and she was gripping Yohji's sleeve like someone would grip the steering wheel. "Ami," she said in a tightly controlled voice, "please don't say things like that, or I really will do something you're going to hate me for."
Yohji gently pried Usagi's perfectly manicured nails off of his sleeve and placed it back in her lap. "Now, now, Usagi, Ami-chan was only trying to make you not go on the flight. You know that won't really happen-"
"With my luck it will!" the blonde girl muttered through her tightly grit teeth. "I've only been on a plane once, and do you know what happened? Everyone got food poisoning! After that, the stewardess tried to hijack the plane, but then Sailor Moon appeared and beat the living daylights out of her because everyone else was unconscious because they were willing to eat the nasty slop but Sailor Moon only ate a little bit of it because she had a delicate stomach and had a severe headache and used this as an excuse to bludgeon that stupid stewardess nearly to death, which made Sailor Moon a very happy little superhero with a headache!"
Usagi paused, and then smiled cheerily at Yohji, Ami, and Saori, who were all staring at her in disbelief. "Anyway," a delighted Usagi continued, "the last time one of my friends went on a plane, he was killed. Oh don't worry," she said quickly in response to Saori's horrified gasp, "I brought him back to life- hey! I gotcha Ami! I can't freaking die! Mom will just bring me back to life. And if she doesn't, that damned Crystal will. Actually," she said with a speculative look toward her wallet, "I'm not sure if this stupid thing will bring me back to life or not. I haven't tried it yet," she said with a sigh.
Diamond frowned at Usagi in his rearview mirror. "What do you mean, Usagi? I will be very upset if you've done something to the Crystal. I'm back here to make sure you don't do anything stupid, you know."
Usagi laughed and placed her sunglasses on the top of her head, arranging the glasses as stylishly as possible. "I didn't do anything that I'm aware of. I know someone that owes me a big favor. I can always ask him to ask his mom about it. Besides, what stupid thing could I possibly do?"
Everyone gave her the exact same look, and she cringed. Okay, so she knew that maybe she wasn't the most reliable person in the world. And she knew that sometimes she acted like a dithering idiot, and that sometimes she seemed like a shallow, superficial blockhead that didn't think about anything except for cars, boys, and clothes. And sometimes when she actually gave it a serious moment's thought, it hurt.
Usagi turned her eyes to the side and watched the scenery fly by at seventy miles per hour. It sometimes just looked like a seamless blur, much like how her life felt much of the time. Propping her elbow on the side, she rested her chin in the palm of her hand and thought.
It was time to do some serious soul searching. She had been putting it off long enough. It was time to create Usagi Tsukino anew- or was it time to stop all creation and be created? Apparently she wasn't cut out to be God, she thought with a faint trace of humor.
What to do in England, though? For starters she could take a tour, and learn something about the place that she was going to be staying in. Then she could go on a serious guy hunt, and then chat it up with her Aunt. Then she could try to find something out about her mother's past- that, according to ever family movie ever made, was much fun. And then maybe (just maybe, mind you) she could learn something about those rich, upper class manners. She knew a lot from being Serenity, of course, but some of her memories were seriously impaired. Also, her manners were learned from the viewpoint of a princess, so a commoners' learning would be much different.
"-when you're in England?"
Usagi shook her head and smiled sheepishly. "Excuse me? I wasn't listening."
Ami gave her that "all-knowing" look and smiled indulgently. "I was just asking who you were going to say with while you're in England."
The small blonde rolled her shoulders back, and leaned against the hot leather seats. "I'll be staying with my Aunt Elizabeth. She wants to introduce me to all sorts of relatives. I have this one cousin, apparently, who's a complete idiot and is staying at a school quite a ways away, but they're pulling him back home for my visit. Just what I wanted, ne? To meet my idiot cousin."
Saori laughed and readjusted her own sunglasses. "Well, what's his name?"
Usagi sighed irritably. "Saori, he's a whole lot younger than we are. He's only about sixteen! Anyways, I don't know the name. It's like Dunhill, or Dirtpile, or Dursleaf, or something like that. It begins with a 'D'," she said helpfully.
Yohji snickered. "Well aren't you informative," he said sarcastically. "I'll know not to ask you for information in the future. Ow! No hitting!"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Right. Just don't hit."
"Yohji, quit taking hallucinogens. I hear sometimes they make you have flashbacks, and who know what happens to people like you when you're high on-"
"Usagi!" Ami cried, scandalized.
"Gomen," Usagi muttered insincerely before pulling her sunglasses back over her eyes.
"I still don't see why she had to go," Wufei complained, setting his coffee mug down on the table.
Hiiro stared at him, and then turned back to his paper. Minako, who had her head on his shoulder, straightened and smiled consolingly at him.
"No worries, Wufei-kun. Sere-chan just needs to get away from everyone for a while."
"She's just trying to get away from Duo," he muttered bleakly.
Minako grinned and took a drink out of her own mug. "No doubt about that. The only ones who haven't figured that out are Usagi herself and Duo. And the only reason Duo doesn't know is because he wants very much to forget Usagi." She leaned over and plucked the "Life" section of the newspaper from Hiiro's discard pile. "And we all know that's impossible. Jeez, some people have killed because of that girl," she said with a shake of her head.
"He also has no idea she's leaving," Wufei pointed out, choosing to ignore that last comment.
Minako paused, and then flipped open to the movies section. "And then there's that, too," she said as if she had known all along.
"We had better not be the ones to tell him," Hiiro finally said quietly.
Wufei frowned. He and Duo didn't always see eye to eye on things, but Duo was still his ally and friend. "Why shouldn't we tell him? Doesn't he deserve to know?"
Minako frowned at him. "Well what do you think? If he finds out that we knew she was leaving and didn't tell him he'll either go psycho and kill us all, he'll get a clue and go after her, or he'll say fine, go home, and then go and cry like a baby." Then she laughed. "And who would have thought that Miss Perfect Usagi Tsukino would be a major-league heartbreaker? Ugh. I can't wait to get away from this city," she said crossly.
Not expecting this comment, Wufei glanced over at Hiiro, who by all rights should have been exploding and begging Minako not to leave. The man didn't even flinch. He looked back over at Minako, who seemed to look pained, like she had been hoping for a reaction. Well, that made sense. He himself had set up tests for Usagi to prove her love for him. She had failed them, which was a fact that still sometimes made him hurt at night. But he knew, just like everyone else, that she belonged with Duo.
It was just a matter of making them see that.
"Guys?" Quatre said weakly from the door.
The three people in the room looked up at either a very tired or very high Quatre in curiosity. The blonde plunked down in a chair beside Wufei and then dropped his head into his hands. Then Quatre made a very strange sound, which he had probably picked up from Usagi. The sound was somewhere between a gargle and a sigh. Yes, Wufei decided, it was very definitely a Usagi sound. It was probably brought on by Usagi, with their luck, he thought sourly.
"Quat-kun, what's wrong?" Minako asked worriedly, touching Quatre on the shoulder.
He raised his eyes, and Minako was struck by how possessed he looked. Like in the cartoons, when they looked up through their bangs and had those creepy shadows over their eyes. Geeeeeyyyyyyyaaaahhhhhhhh, she thought nervously. He looked like a wreck!
"Quatre?" she asked nervously.
"We have a problem," he said finally.
Hiiro set his paper down. "And what's that?" he asked seriously.
Quatre got a very strange look on his face. "There is a little boy loose who can disappear and reappear, or can run very, very, very quickly. He is very young. He is very small. He knows Usagi. Oh yes, speaking of Usagi. Has she left yet? I need to tell her to fall madly in love with someone before she accidentally gets herself killed by a small child who can disappear," he said as an afterthought, and then collapsed face first onto the table.
Minako reached over and rapped her knuckles against Quatre's head. There was no response. She sighed, and then sat back in her chair. Without saying anything, she turned back to her movie section and began reading again.
"Well aren't we going to do anything?" Wufei demanded.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because this happens all the time."
"Injustice," he muttered angrily, before getting up to pour himself some more coffee.
"I hate planes," Usagi repeated before buckling herself in.
"It's okay," the boy beside her muttered. "I don't like them much myself."
The blonde turned her head and gave the boy (who was only about fifteen or sixteen) a very lofty stare. "And who, may I ask, are you? And why are you talking to me? Have I met you somewhere before?"
The boy scratched his black hair. "Uh, no, I don't think so. I'm Harry Potter, miss. I'm talking to you because I hate planes, and no, I don't think I've ever met you before this very moment."
Usagi grunted. "Well, I suppose that's alright, then. If I had met you somewhere before I was going to-but that's not the point, now, is it?"
Harry grinned. "No miss, it isn't. What's you're name? Were you born in Japan? What do you do for a living?"
She actually laughed, and then looked around guiltily. "My name is Serenity Usagi Ai Tsukino," she said with a half bow from her seat, "and yes I was born in Tokyo and have lived there all of my life. I fix and rebuild cars for a living. I haven't gotten around to working on my new car yet. My last was totaled," she said with deep regret.
Harry tried not to grin. "What happened to you last car? What kind was it?"
Usagi sighed and fidgeted in her seat. "I was drinking and driving. I crashed my beloved Jeep, and then got this nice convertible. Thing is that I hate convertibles, but I got it because I was going to prove to myself that a convertible could be cool if it tried very hard. It hasn't worked yet, since I haven't gotten my friend Hiiro over to help me with it. It'd be nice if Duo could help- bah!" She shook her blonde head angrily. "I've got to stop thinking like that. How about you, Harry? What are you doing in Japan? What school do you go to? What's your favorite subject?"
Harry paled considerably. "Erm," he floundered.
She grinned and tapped her temple. "Let me guess. You go to a famous school for magic, and enjoy the classes that show you how to fight evil, correct?"
Relieved, Harry nodded. "Yeah. I'm glad you know about it. I was sweating bullets right there! I've never had a conversation about school with a muggle, which I assumed you were, before. Did you go to Hogwarts too, Miss Tsukino?"
Usagi stared at him from beneath a calm mask. What? What?? What??? What was this? An actual magic school? Where they taught defense against evil? Maybe she could get a job there! She knew all about evil! She forced a smile. Truth time.
"Uh, Harry? I have a confession. I was just joking around back there. But, since you entrusted me with something that's probably forbidden, I'll entrust you with this. Ever heard of Sailor Moon?" she asked in a whisper. She was being very light with her Sailor Moon confessions lately, she thought with a scowl.
Thoroughly mortified now, and frantic about what the Ministry was going to do to him, Harry nodded absently. Of course he had heard about the Sailor Senshi. Who hadn't? They only saved the world every day! But where was this going? He looked at the seriousness of the woman's face, and decided quickly that he knew what was coming.
"You're Sailor Moon, aren't you?" he asked in a dead whisper.
She nodded, and then sighed. "I hate it," she confessed. "I mean, I love the fighting, but dying just gets really irritating, you know? I mean, every year someone new is out to either kill me or marry me. It gets old really fast, since everyone gets the chance to kill me once. I think the only one that managed not to kill me was- ah, never mind. They all did," she said grumpily.
Harry laughed. "I can't sympathize with actually dying, but I do know what it feels like to always be hunted. There's this guy named Voldemort, and he's always out for my blood. He's made an attempt on my life every year I've been at school. He killed this guy named Cedric, and also my Mum and Da," he said, finishing quietly.
Usagi slipped an arm across his shoulders. "I know how you feel, Harry. In my past life- yes, I have had and remember a past life- my mother was killed by this woman named Beryl. I never new my dad, but I assume she killed him, too. She killed all of my friends, my fiancé, my people, and even my frigging cats. Luckily for me, though, I was reborn and got to kill her when I was fourteen," she said cheerfully.
"You don't seem too upset over this Beryl woman," Harry said cautiously. He really hoped she didn't cry. He knew women who sometimes burst into tears spontaneously. He never knew how to deal with that.
She shrugged. "Of course I don't. I was all upset over it at first, but then my reincarnated fiancé got busted for dealing drugs, I met Duo and his gang, and I met Yohji and his gang, I got myself a house, my ex-fiancé got out of jail and is now a test subject, my transformation is changed due to a mutation in my crystal, insane children are running around scaring the hell out of me and my friends, and I'm on my way to England to visit my Aunt, who's the leader of a crime-ring. Life's way too interesting to get upset about a past that died a long time ago. Learn all you can, grieve some, and then move the hell on," she said with a wink. "Know what I mean?"
Harry grinned. He was glad that he had met this woman, as strange as she was. Wait until he told Ron and Hermione! He could picture him telling them. 'Yes, I met a crazy lady on the plane named Serenity Usagi Ai Tsukino, and she lectured me about moving on after the destruction of everything. She offered me vodka, and I tried it, but thought it tasted gross. She laughed. I had a lot of fun.' Ron would say that he was bonkers, and Hermione would lecture him on drinking at his age. He laughed, and Usagi looked down at him in surprise.
"What was that for?"
"I was just thinking about what I was going to tell my friends when I saw them again," he explained.
Her expression cleared, and she laughed as well. "I'll just tell my friends that I met a charming young man on the plane, and we drank vodka for a while before he barfed it all out into the barf bag. Yohji will then demand that I find this young man so that he can lecture him on how a man should hold his alcohol. The Mamoru will start a game of strip poker and lose on purpose, quickly followed by Yohji and then Minako." She sighed, and then groaned. "And I'm letting them baby-sit my house! What was I thinking?"
"You lose!" Minako squealed.
Yohji sighed and removed his last article of clothing. Minako smiled brightly at him. "I'd compliment you, but Ami would throttle me. Isn't that right, Ames?"
The blue haired woman who had removed ten of her bracelets and three pairs of socks, nodded. "Yes Minako, I would throttle you. And then I would beat you. And then I would call in Usagi and tell her that you had sex with Duo."
A look of horror dawned on Minako's face. "No!"
Ami nodded. "Yes Minako. I really didn't want to resort to your level of threatening, but being around Yohji, you, and Usagi so often has made a negative effect on my personality. I am now tempted to threaten you some more, but will refrain from doing so. It would be rude, and excessive. I will save that threat for later," she said with an evil little smile.
"Ami!" Minako whined.
"Minako! Get back to the game," Mamoru commanded.
They played on in silence before Minako swore aloud. "I don't want to!"
Ami arched an eyebrow. "Minako, I'm down to my bra, shirt, and underwear. Yohji's naked as the day he came into this world. Mamoru just needs to lose a shoe-why didn't you take that off before, by the way, and save your underwear? Never mind, I know. Face it Minako, it's either your underwear or your bra."
"Ami! I can't decide which to lose! My FAVORITE bra, or my Hello Kitty underwear! Okay, I made up my mind. I'll lose my bra, because I just got these panties for Halloween-"
"Why, may I ask, are you getting underwear for Halloween?" Yohji asked curiously.
Minako shrugged and tried to hide a blush. "I think it was a dare. This smelly old man said that if we wore our underwear on our heads, he would give us each a new pair. I cheated though, and sat in a tree the whole time. Then I came back and the old man gave me these."
Ami shook her head hopelessly. "Minako, you're crazy."
"Ami-"
Minako was cut off by the phone ringing. Sighing, she stood and padded over to the telephone. Holding it to her ear, she twirled the cord around her finger.
"Yeah? This is the Usagi residence, I suppose. No, she's not here. I'm going to tell her you said that. Okay then, give me one good reason why I shouldn't. Oh! Hi Usagi! Um, we're watching music videos. Honestly. It's me, Yohji, Mamoru, and Ami. No. No! Eeeewwww. Oh, really? How old? Aw. That blows. Usagi! I'm hanging up! Right now, you little butt!"
Minako hung up and came back to the game. "It was Usagi. I told her we were watching music videos. She's hanging out with a sixteen year old bishie, that cheating bastard," she said admiringly. "Now, don't forget. Music videos! Oi, speaking of bishies, I wonder how Saori's dealing with Duo?"
Duo looked up as soon as he heard Saori enter the house. She came right over to him and sat down, curling her long legs beneath her perfectly muscled body. He frowned at her.
"Where have you been all day?"
Saori shrugged and picked up a Reader's Digest. "I saw Usa-chan off, and then went over to her house with Ami, Yohji, and Diamond. We met Mamoru and Minako there, and played a game of Twister." She paused, and then laughed. "Jesus, Usagi and them sure do like to play games. Their favorite is strip poker, but they were going to play that later, because Diamond and I didn't want to."
Duo actually couldn't speak for a long second. Usagi's name still made him freeze. Would he ever-- He stopped that thought right in its tracks and focused on Saori's betrayal. How could she even associate with Usagi? Usagi was a playgirl, caring about nothing except looks and impressions. Saori was better than that, or so he had thought But if Usagi was such a bad card, why did he miss her? And if Saori was so great, why didn't he love her more? A great bitterness welled up like an infected wound in his heart.
"Since when are you and Usagi such close friends that you "see her off" and then go play Twister at her house? And where were you seeing her off to?"
She looked at him in surprise. "I thought you knew. I assumed that at least Wufei would tell you. Usagi's gone to England somewhere to "clear her mind" and "get away from it all". This whole break up thing is throwing her world into chaos, I think. Anyways, why wouldn't I be friends with her? She saved my life that one time, and anyone who's a friend of hers is a friend of her other friends, too. I haven't met the other ones yet. They're all famous, you know. She's buddies with Rei Hino, Makoto Kino, Michiru Kaioh, Haruka Ten'ou, Setsuna Meioh, and the Three Lights too, from what I've heard. She's certainly the odd one. I don't know what to make of her."
Trying to hide the emotions that he was afraid were shown clearly on his face, Duo snorted and sat back in his chair. "I'm sure she surrounds herself with those famous people just to make up for her lack of success."
Saori set down her magazine, and looked at him solemnly. "I've been thinking about how to tell you this, and I think that now is the best time, while we're both angry at the other. Duo, this isn't working out. I've been trying to make it work, but before I was friends with Usagi I felt like I was always living in her shadow. Now that I'm friends with her, I realize that I was trying to live in her shadow, though Usagi is at this moment trying her damndest to make that shadow disappear."
The woman paused, as if expecting a response. How could he speak? Duo felt like he had been utterly robbed of breath. Was it possible for life to fall apart so completely? First Usagi, and now Saori? Was it some kind of giant conspiracy against his mental state and his love for anyone? His shock must have shown on her face because her face softened, and she sighed and stood.
"She's hurting really bad, Duo, and she'll be the last one to admit it. She's a strong person. You should know that, from all your years together, unless you were too wrapped up in your image of each other to deal with what was beneath. You two are made for each other, and even if you don't get together, no one else if going to work for you. I've got to go home now, Duo. I hope we can still be friends."
Standing and walking over to him, she leaned down to kiss him softly on the cheek. Then without another word she picked up her coat and keys and walked out of his apartment.
Duo sat there for quite a while longer, trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. Was it possible that Saori was right? No, of course not. Usagi had always been very good at fooling people, and this was just another one of those instances. Then something Saori had said resurfaced in his mind.
"She saved my life that one time," he whispered to himself, and then everything clicked.
Usagi was Sailor Moon. It all made perfect sense. Why she always kept that crystal nearby. Why she sometimes made references to the past that didn't make sense. Why she was reluctant to help Saori that one time. Why she always looked like she wanted to say something to him, but kept herself back. Why Yohji's eyes had lit in recognition when he had seen her. Why Saori was suddenly friends with her arch enemy after Moon had saved her life. Why Usagi sometimes looked like she wanted to cry when she looked at the moon.
"Dammit Usagi," he growled, before grabbing his coat and dashing outside to hail a cab.
He was going to Usagi's house to, hopefully, get some answers.
Usagi stumbled off the plane with Harry in tow. Both of them blinking at the sunshine, they staggered towards the baggage claim. Harry, Usagi was amazed to see, had lots of crap. Well shit, she thought with glee, so did she! They grabbed their bags (about five each, and Harry had one really big trunk too) and headed towards the street where their ride should be waiting.
Sure enough, there was a sign that read "Tsukino/Potter". Usagi and Harry looked at each other in surprise.
"Well I guess that's both of us, then!" Usagi said cheerfully.
They lugged their bags over to the man, who silently led them out of the airport and to a very nice black car. He opened the trunk and placed their bags inside with a careless ease that made Usagi think longingly of her own garage. The man opened the sleek doors for them, and then slid into the driver's seat.
The expensive quality ate at both woman and boy as they drove towards their Aunt Elizabeth's house. Silence draped heavily over the car's interior. The driver refused to speak, and any word that Usagi tried to utter sounded utterly ridiculous in the deafening quiet. It was a great relief to all three of the people in the car when they pulled up in front of the mansion. Harry gasped out loud, and Usagi grinned. Finally. Something she could relate to. She could relate very well to a big, rich, beautiful house.
Usagi stepped daintily out of the car, and then yanked the spellbound Harry out with her. There was a tug on the hem of her skirt, and then a soft giggle.
"Ossu, Usagi-chan" someone said softly
Smiling, Usagi looked down. And then her smile melted from her face. "You!" she gasped.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Cliffhanger! *dances* Is that not the coolest thing in the world? I never knew how much fun it was to make cliffhangers with a "YOU!" as one of the last words! Wahoo! Alright! Good times have come again! *does Happy Fish On Tuesday Dance* This is too much fun. Can anyone guess who the "YOU" is? I don't think it will be TOO terribly hard, unless I'm a lot worse at writing clearly than I ever imagined. ALSO, I have one more VERY important announcement.
I AM NOT EVER GOING TO POST EVER AGAIN UNLESS YOU READ AND REVIEW WATERGODDESS' FICS! They're really great, and deserve to be read. You know how damn hard it is to get reviews for original fics. I mean, I tried with my single chapter for Dedication, and well, can we say "Crap" really loudly? My other one.. Jesus, I can't even remember what it's called, did really badly too. There's just so damn many of them that they only get like three seconds on the front page, and if you're not on the front page you're in the abyss.
AAAAAAAHAHAHA! And guess what! I have even more news! My parents are making me do something with myself other than the things I've been getting grounded for, so I joined up with Jazz Choir (yeah! ME in jazz choir!) and we're gonna go to this big clinic in April and compete. Know what else? Our choir sounds good when we sing! I'm not even joking! I'm an alto, and it's weird, because the soprano's notes are usually only a half note above ours, and so it's so hard to sing.... But enough about choir.
Let's see, do I have anything else to ramble on about? I really don't think so, except for that if you haven't seen Cowboy Bebop or Inu Yasha, you better get into gear. Those are the coolest shows in the entire world, and I'm not even joking here. Oh yeah, and if you haven't read my fic Godforsaken and like kinda disturbing GW/SM crossovers, I very much suggest it. Hell, I wrote it and it's the creepiest thing I've ever read on ff.net that isn't some kind of bloody slasher gory fic. God, I just wrote a bit more of it and I'm not gonna be able to sleep for a long time now! You'd think I'd learn, but no.
Also, if anyone has any good ideas, email me, IM me, or write it in the review. I'm always looking for fun new things to add in, and I'm also going to start on an Inu Yasha/Sailor Moon fic soon, so if you have any ideas for that, SAY SOMETHING! The basic idea for my fic is this: Usagi dies and can come back to life if she kills Naraku. She also discovers that she's a full blooded youkai because of her current family. That's the basics of it. So.... any ideas, anyone?
THANKS TO:
Kimeno-pebols: does this answer your question? Lol! And no, I'm afraid this is going to be solely a Duo/Usagi fic, gomen! Have any fun ideas on what to do with Usagi and Harry while they're in England, though?
Lady Dragon 626: I'm glad you like the story! It's so much fun to read your reviews! *grin*
Lunarian Amethyst: Lol, I'm glad I can make you laugh! That's my goal in life!
Sapphireskies: seems like Lunarian Amethyst isn't the only one I can make laugh... I'm glad you liked my ending bit. I was listening to my BNL CD and went "hmmmm."
Lilaclight: Don't worry! I'm planning on completing this one! I like writing this!
Chibi-Morri: Wigs! You bet I pulled out the mafia! Really, did you expect otherwise?
MistressCoCoLoVeR: Mafia Princess.. Sounds like fun, ne? Usa just can't keep her hands out of royalty!
Celestial DreamBlaze: *smiles sheepishly* I have a tendency to, um, go all out sometimes. And yeah! A yacht would be fun! But a plot? A plot? There is no plot! *hides plot under the bed*
Solarmistress17: I'll update, I'll update. No worries!
THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!
Chapter Seven
Last time: things happened. Some of them were good, and some of them were bad.
There were only a very few things that irritated her, Usagi Ai Tsukino, in the world. These things weren't necessarily evil or bad in any way, they simply made her become faintly reminiscent of a nuclear warhead that is about to explode and put an end to our miserable existence on this earth. These infuriating things were generally called "pet peeves". One of those "pet peeves" was when men tried to make her feel inferior to them. The second was when her door wasn't closed completely. She would be a nervous wreck until she heard that click of the door closing. The third pet peeve was when good intentions went completely and infuriatingly wrong.
Such as they had gone in this situation.
"Quatre," she said carefully, as if she was talking to a stupid kid, "I'm going. If I don't, Aunt Elizabeth will go nuts and probably send a squadron of mafia hit men down here to kill us all. I'll leave a note mentioning your name, and then where would that leave you?"
Her blonde haired companion scowled. "I'm not letting you leave. All you're doing is running away from a potential world-shattering ordeal. You know there are things here that need to be straightened out, and you're running away from them!"
Usagi glared at him and kicked out experimentally at him. She was disappointed that his pilot reflexes were still in effect. He jumped back from her foot, and stared at her. Her lips drew back in a snarl.
"I'm not running away from anything Quatre! Just because Saori's going to never mind I don't think-"
"Usagi Ai Tsukino, if you don't talk right now I swear by God I'll rip you apart, find your diary wherever it is, and read it. I'm sure you don't want that now, do you?" Quatre asked quietly, looking for all the world like a kittenish Hitler.
"Quatre!" Usagi gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"
"How much do you want to bet? You like bets, don't you, Usagi?" Quatre asked viciously.
Color stained Usagi's pale cheeks like wine. Her lips went white from Usagi's effort to suppress whatever comment was trying to force its way out. Her eyes seemed to become darker and deeper.
"I had hoped to part on good terms Quatre. I'm going to England to get away from you, my family, my friends, and Duo. I need time to think, and you've become my temporary enemy for trying to stop it."
Quatre was amazed to find that he couldn't budge under the intensity of her eyes. Usagi sighed, deflated, and came forward to kiss Quatre lightly on the cheek.
"I'll write every day, saa? Oh, don't look so shocked, Q-kun! You of all people should have known that I wasn't going to be stopped by anyone. Now, if Saori-chan stops by anytime during the day, be entirely comfortable with her. And Quatre," she said before she had walked completely out the door, "please don't let Mamoru, Minako, and Hiiro do anything bad to my house, okay? I'd really like to come home to, well, a home. Okay?"
The blonde boy had only opened his mouth when the brown door had slammed and Usagi was running full out to the car. He stepped quickly over to the window, and glared long and hard at the silver haired man driving the convertible that Usagi was loading her bags into. Saori was in the car with them, along with Yohji and Ami. Quatre felt the floor giving way below him, and he gladly succumbed to weak knees.
What in God's name was going on? Yesterday Usagi had been ranting about what a witch Saori was, the last time he checked Yohji was being his normal playboy self, and Ami was studying. Before that Usagi's hated enemy Mamoru Chiba was in jail for dealing drugs, and now he was house-sitting for her! A few weeks back Duo and Usagi had been a perfectly normal couple, and Quatre's life was just hunky dory. WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
"Usagi happened," a small voice said sorrowfully.
A completely shell-shocked Quatre lifted his head up and looked at the small boy sitting in front of him with completely uninterested eyes. The small boy rearranged himself and then bowed his head. He then looked back up at the still uninterested Quatre, and sighed.
"It's a type of law. Much like Murphy's Law, which states that the worst possible thing will happen at the worst possible time in the worst possible place, Usagi has a law all of her very own. This law is now coming into effect. See, Usagi is what we in the Department of Supernatural Love call a Type A. That means that she is a cross-dimension love. This essentially means that she is automatically a contestant for the spot of every man's "true love". Usagi is like a wild card in the world of love. Everyone every born is already destined for another person, and that law does not exclude Usagi. But since Usagi is somewhat a freak of nature in this respect, in that she can replace any other "true love" and make everything still be right, but then this kicks out one other female. This completely throws the system out of whack. The lines are going haywire with wishes asking for "true love". We can't screen everyone, and so eventually people are going to be disappearing from their worlds and then reappearing in this one, looking for Usagi! This can't be allowed! Quatre Winner, we are either going to have to find Usagi's true love, or kill her. Good day."
Quatre stared at the empty space for quite a while longer, and then blinked very slowly. That was pretty damn funny, he decided, before fainting.
"I hate airplanes," Usagi declared.
Saori looked around at her from the back seat. "Oh come on, you know you're just saying that because you're going to miss us all when you're in England! Planes are wonderful! They can fly-"
"I can do that by myself!"
Ami smiled hopefully at her from Yohji's lap. "You can stay here instead, Usagi-chan. You don't have to go on that plane. Who knows? It might crash, or blow up, or you might even get stranded on an island and die from malnutrition and dehydration. Usagi? Are you alright?"
Usagi's face had turned a nasty green color, and she was gripping Yohji's sleeve like someone would grip the steering wheel. "Ami," she said in a tightly controlled voice, "please don't say things like that, or I really will do something you're going to hate me for."
Yohji gently pried Usagi's perfectly manicured nails off of his sleeve and placed it back in her lap. "Now, now, Usagi, Ami-chan was only trying to make you not go on the flight. You know that won't really happen-"
"With my luck it will!" the blonde girl muttered through her tightly grit teeth. "I've only been on a plane once, and do you know what happened? Everyone got food poisoning! After that, the stewardess tried to hijack the plane, but then Sailor Moon appeared and beat the living daylights out of her because everyone else was unconscious because they were willing to eat the nasty slop but Sailor Moon only ate a little bit of it because she had a delicate stomach and had a severe headache and used this as an excuse to bludgeon that stupid stewardess nearly to death, which made Sailor Moon a very happy little superhero with a headache!"
Usagi paused, and then smiled cheerily at Yohji, Ami, and Saori, who were all staring at her in disbelief. "Anyway," a delighted Usagi continued, "the last time one of my friends went on a plane, he was killed. Oh don't worry," she said quickly in response to Saori's horrified gasp, "I brought him back to life- hey! I gotcha Ami! I can't freaking die! Mom will just bring me back to life. And if she doesn't, that damned Crystal will. Actually," she said with a speculative look toward her wallet, "I'm not sure if this stupid thing will bring me back to life or not. I haven't tried it yet," she said with a sigh.
Diamond frowned at Usagi in his rearview mirror. "What do you mean, Usagi? I will be very upset if you've done something to the Crystal. I'm back here to make sure you don't do anything stupid, you know."
Usagi laughed and placed her sunglasses on the top of her head, arranging the glasses as stylishly as possible. "I didn't do anything that I'm aware of. I know someone that owes me a big favor. I can always ask him to ask his mom about it. Besides, what stupid thing could I possibly do?"
Everyone gave her the exact same look, and she cringed. Okay, so she knew that maybe she wasn't the most reliable person in the world. And she knew that sometimes she acted like a dithering idiot, and that sometimes she seemed like a shallow, superficial blockhead that didn't think about anything except for cars, boys, and clothes. And sometimes when she actually gave it a serious moment's thought, it hurt.
Usagi turned her eyes to the side and watched the scenery fly by at seventy miles per hour. It sometimes just looked like a seamless blur, much like how her life felt much of the time. Propping her elbow on the side, she rested her chin in the palm of her hand and thought.
It was time to do some serious soul searching. She had been putting it off long enough. It was time to create Usagi Tsukino anew- or was it time to stop all creation and be created? Apparently she wasn't cut out to be God, she thought with a faint trace of humor.
What to do in England, though? For starters she could take a tour, and learn something about the place that she was going to be staying in. Then she could go on a serious guy hunt, and then chat it up with her Aunt. Then she could try to find something out about her mother's past- that, according to ever family movie ever made, was much fun. And then maybe (just maybe, mind you) she could learn something about those rich, upper class manners. She knew a lot from being Serenity, of course, but some of her memories were seriously impaired. Also, her manners were learned from the viewpoint of a princess, so a commoners' learning would be much different.
"-when you're in England?"
Usagi shook her head and smiled sheepishly. "Excuse me? I wasn't listening."
Ami gave her that "all-knowing" look and smiled indulgently. "I was just asking who you were going to say with while you're in England."
The small blonde rolled her shoulders back, and leaned against the hot leather seats. "I'll be staying with my Aunt Elizabeth. She wants to introduce me to all sorts of relatives. I have this one cousin, apparently, who's a complete idiot and is staying at a school quite a ways away, but they're pulling him back home for my visit. Just what I wanted, ne? To meet my idiot cousin."
Saori laughed and readjusted her own sunglasses. "Well, what's his name?"
Usagi sighed irritably. "Saori, he's a whole lot younger than we are. He's only about sixteen! Anyways, I don't know the name. It's like Dunhill, or Dirtpile, or Dursleaf, or something like that. It begins with a 'D'," she said helpfully.
Yohji snickered. "Well aren't you informative," he said sarcastically. "I'll know not to ask you for information in the future. Ow! No hitting!"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Right. Just don't hit."
"Yohji, quit taking hallucinogens. I hear sometimes they make you have flashbacks, and who know what happens to people like you when you're high on-"
"Usagi!" Ami cried, scandalized.
"Gomen," Usagi muttered insincerely before pulling her sunglasses back over her eyes.
"I still don't see why she had to go," Wufei complained, setting his coffee mug down on the table.
Hiiro stared at him, and then turned back to his paper. Minako, who had her head on his shoulder, straightened and smiled consolingly at him.
"No worries, Wufei-kun. Sere-chan just needs to get away from everyone for a while."
"She's just trying to get away from Duo," he muttered bleakly.
Minako grinned and took a drink out of her own mug. "No doubt about that. The only ones who haven't figured that out are Usagi herself and Duo. And the only reason Duo doesn't know is because he wants very much to forget Usagi." She leaned over and plucked the "Life" section of the newspaper from Hiiro's discard pile. "And we all know that's impossible. Jeez, some people have killed because of that girl," she said with a shake of her head.
"He also has no idea she's leaving," Wufei pointed out, choosing to ignore that last comment.
Minako paused, and then flipped open to the movies section. "And then there's that, too," she said as if she had known all along.
"We had better not be the ones to tell him," Hiiro finally said quietly.
Wufei frowned. He and Duo didn't always see eye to eye on things, but Duo was still his ally and friend. "Why shouldn't we tell him? Doesn't he deserve to know?"
Minako frowned at him. "Well what do you think? If he finds out that we knew she was leaving and didn't tell him he'll either go psycho and kill us all, he'll get a clue and go after her, or he'll say fine, go home, and then go and cry like a baby." Then she laughed. "And who would have thought that Miss Perfect Usagi Tsukino would be a major-league heartbreaker? Ugh. I can't wait to get away from this city," she said crossly.
Not expecting this comment, Wufei glanced over at Hiiro, who by all rights should have been exploding and begging Minako not to leave. The man didn't even flinch. He looked back over at Minako, who seemed to look pained, like she had been hoping for a reaction. Well, that made sense. He himself had set up tests for Usagi to prove her love for him. She had failed them, which was a fact that still sometimes made him hurt at night. But he knew, just like everyone else, that she belonged with Duo.
It was just a matter of making them see that.
"Guys?" Quatre said weakly from the door.
The three people in the room looked up at either a very tired or very high Quatre in curiosity. The blonde plunked down in a chair beside Wufei and then dropped his head into his hands. Then Quatre made a very strange sound, which he had probably picked up from Usagi. The sound was somewhere between a gargle and a sigh. Yes, Wufei decided, it was very definitely a Usagi sound. It was probably brought on by Usagi, with their luck, he thought sourly.
"Quat-kun, what's wrong?" Minako asked worriedly, touching Quatre on the shoulder.
He raised his eyes, and Minako was struck by how possessed he looked. Like in the cartoons, when they looked up through their bangs and had those creepy shadows over their eyes. Geeeeeyyyyyyyaaaahhhhhhhh, she thought nervously. He looked like a wreck!
"Quatre?" she asked nervously.
"We have a problem," he said finally.
Hiiro set his paper down. "And what's that?" he asked seriously.
Quatre got a very strange look on his face. "There is a little boy loose who can disappear and reappear, or can run very, very, very quickly. He is very young. He is very small. He knows Usagi. Oh yes, speaking of Usagi. Has she left yet? I need to tell her to fall madly in love with someone before she accidentally gets herself killed by a small child who can disappear," he said as an afterthought, and then collapsed face first onto the table.
Minako reached over and rapped her knuckles against Quatre's head. There was no response. She sighed, and then sat back in her chair. Without saying anything, she turned back to her movie section and began reading again.
"Well aren't we going to do anything?" Wufei demanded.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because this happens all the time."
"Injustice," he muttered angrily, before getting up to pour himself some more coffee.
"I hate planes," Usagi repeated before buckling herself in.
"It's okay," the boy beside her muttered. "I don't like them much myself."
The blonde turned her head and gave the boy (who was only about fifteen or sixteen) a very lofty stare. "And who, may I ask, are you? And why are you talking to me? Have I met you somewhere before?"
The boy scratched his black hair. "Uh, no, I don't think so. I'm Harry Potter, miss. I'm talking to you because I hate planes, and no, I don't think I've ever met you before this very moment."
Usagi grunted. "Well, I suppose that's alright, then. If I had met you somewhere before I was going to-but that's not the point, now, is it?"
Harry grinned. "No miss, it isn't. What's you're name? Were you born in Japan? What do you do for a living?"
She actually laughed, and then looked around guiltily. "My name is Serenity Usagi Ai Tsukino," she said with a half bow from her seat, "and yes I was born in Tokyo and have lived there all of my life. I fix and rebuild cars for a living. I haven't gotten around to working on my new car yet. My last was totaled," she said with deep regret.
Harry tried not to grin. "What happened to you last car? What kind was it?"
Usagi sighed and fidgeted in her seat. "I was drinking and driving. I crashed my beloved Jeep, and then got this nice convertible. Thing is that I hate convertibles, but I got it because I was going to prove to myself that a convertible could be cool if it tried very hard. It hasn't worked yet, since I haven't gotten my friend Hiiro over to help me with it. It'd be nice if Duo could help- bah!" She shook her blonde head angrily. "I've got to stop thinking like that. How about you, Harry? What are you doing in Japan? What school do you go to? What's your favorite subject?"
Harry paled considerably. "Erm," he floundered.
She grinned and tapped her temple. "Let me guess. You go to a famous school for magic, and enjoy the classes that show you how to fight evil, correct?"
Relieved, Harry nodded. "Yeah. I'm glad you know about it. I was sweating bullets right there! I've never had a conversation about school with a muggle, which I assumed you were, before. Did you go to Hogwarts too, Miss Tsukino?"
Usagi stared at him from beneath a calm mask. What? What?? What??? What was this? An actual magic school? Where they taught defense against evil? Maybe she could get a job there! She knew all about evil! She forced a smile. Truth time.
"Uh, Harry? I have a confession. I was just joking around back there. But, since you entrusted me with something that's probably forbidden, I'll entrust you with this. Ever heard of Sailor Moon?" she asked in a whisper. She was being very light with her Sailor Moon confessions lately, she thought with a scowl.
Thoroughly mortified now, and frantic about what the Ministry was going to do to him, Harry nodded absently. Of course he had heard about the Sailor Senshi. Who hadn't? They only saved the world every day! But where was this going? He looked at the seriousness of the woman's face, and decided quickly that he knew what was coming.
"You're Sailor Moon, aren't you?" he asked in a dead whisper.
She nodded, and then sighed. "I hate it," she confessed. "I mean, I love the fighting, but dying just gets really irritating, you know? I mean, every year someone new is out to either kill me or marry me. It gets old really fast, since everyone gets the chance to kill me once. I think the only one that managed not to kill me was- ah, never mind. They all did," she said grumpily.
Harry laughed. "I can't sympathize with actually dying, but I do know what it feels like to always be hunted. There's this guy named Voldemort, and he's always out for my blood. He's made an attempt on my life every year I've been at school. He killed this guy named Cedric, and also my Mum and Da," he said, finishing quietly.
Usagi slipped an arm across his shoulders. "I know how you feel, Harry. In my past life- yes, I have had and remember a past life- my mother was killed by this woman named Beryl. I never new my dad, but I assume she killed him, too. She killed all of my friends, my fiancé, my people, and even my frigging cats. Luckily for me, though, I was reborn and got to kill her when I was fourteen," she said cheerfully.
"You don't seem too upset over this Beryl woman," Harry said cautiously. He really hoped she didn't cry. He knew women who sometimes burst into tears spontaneously. He never knew how to deal with that.
She shrugged. "Of course I don't. I was all upset over it at first, but then my reincarnated fiancé got busted for dealing drugs, I met Duo and his gang, and I met Yohji and his gang, I got myself a house, my ex-fiancé got out of jail and is now a test subject, my transformation is changed due to a mutation in my crystal, insane children are running around scaring the hell out of me and my friends, and I'm on my way to England to visit my Aunt, who's the leader of a crime-ring. Life's way too interesting to get upset about a past that died a long time ago. Learn all you can, grieve some, and then move the hell on," she said with a wink. "Know what I mean?"
Harry grinned. He was glad that he had met this woman, as strange as she was. Wait until he told Ron and Hermione! He could picture him telling them. 'Yes, I met a crazy lady on the plane named Serenity Usagi Ai Tsukino, and she lectured me about moving on after the destruction of everything. She offered me vodka, and I tried it, but thought it tasted gross. She laughed. I had a lot of fun.' Ron would say that he was bonkers, and Hermione would lecture him on drinking at his age. He laughed, and Usagi looked down at him in surprise.
"What was that for?"
"I was just thinking about what I was going to tell my friends when I saw them again," he explained.
Her expression cleared, and she laughed as well. "I'll just tell my friends that I met a charming young man on the plane, and we drank vodka for a while before he barfed it all out into the barf bag. Yohji will then demand that I find this young man so that he can lecture him on how a man should hold his alcohol. The Mamoru will start a game of strip poker and lose on purpose, quickly followed by Yohji and then Minako." She sighed, and then groaned. "And I'm letting them baby-sit my house! What was I thinking?"
"You lose!" Minako squealed.
Yohji sighed and removed his last article of clothing. Minako smiled brightly at him. "I'd compliment you, but Ami would throttle me. Isn't that right, Ames?"
The blue haired woman who had removed ten of her bracelets and three pairs of socks, nodded. "Yes Minako, I would throttle you. And then I would beat you. And then I would call in Usagi and tell her that you had sex with Duo."
A look of horror dawned on Minako's face. "No!"
Ami nodded. "Yes Minako. I really didn't want to resort to your level of threatening, but being around Yohji, you, and Usagi so often has made a negative effect on my personality. I am now tempted to threaten you some more, but will refrain from doing so. It would be rude, and excessive. I will save that threat for later," she said with an evil little smile.
"Ami!" Minako whined.
"Minako! Get back to the game," Mamoru commanded.
They played on in silence before Minako swore aloud. "I don't want to!"
Ami arched an eyebrow. "Minako, I'm down to my bra, shirt, and underwear. Yohji's naked as the day he came into this world. Mamoru just needs to lose a shoe-why didn't you take that off before, by the way, and save your underwear? Never mind, I know. Face it Minako, it's either your underwear or your bra."
"Ami! I can't decide which to lose! My FAVORITE bra, or my Hello Kitty underwear! Okay, I made up my mind. I'll lose my bra, because I just got these panties for Halloween-"
"Why, may I ask, are you getting underwear for Halloween?" Yohji asked curiously.
Minako shrugged and tried to hide a blush. "I think it was a dare. This smelly old man said that if we wore our underwear on our heads, he would give us each a new pair. I cheated though, and sat in a tree the whole time. Then I came back and the old man gave me these."
Ami shook her head hopelessly. "Minako, you're crazy."
"Ami-"
Minako was cut off by the phone ringing. Sighing, she stood and padded over to the telephone. Holding it to her ear, she twirled the cord around her finger.
"Yeah? This is the Usagi residence, I suppose. No, she's not here. I'm going to tell her you said that. Okay then, give me one good reason why I shouldn't. Oh! Hi Usagi! Um, we're watching music videos. Honestly. It's me, Yohji, Mamoru, and Ami. No. No! Eeeewwww. Oh, really? How old? Aw. That blows. Usagi! I'm hanging up! Right now, you little butt!"
Minako hung up and came back to the game. "It was Usagi. I told her we were watching music videos. She's hanging out with a sixteen year old bishie, that cheating bastard," she said admiringly. "Now, don't forget. Music videos! Oi, speaking of bishies, I wonder how Saori's dealing with Duo?"
Duo looked up as soon as he heard Saori enter the house. She came right over to him and sat down, curling her long legs beneath her perfectly muscled body. He frowned at her.
"Where have you been all day?"
Saori shrugged and picked up a Reader's Digest. "I saw Usa-chan off, and then went over to her house with Ami, Yohji, and Diamond. We met Mamoru and Minako there, and played a game of Twister." She paused, and then laughed. "Jesus, Usagi and them sure do like to play games. Their favorite is strip poker, but they were going to play that later, because Diamond and I didn't want to."
Duo actually couldn't speak for a long second. Usagi's name still made him freeze. Would he ever-- He stopped that thought right in its tracks and focused on Saori's betrayal. How could she even associate with Usagi? Usagi was a playgirl, caring about nothing except looks and impressions. Saori was better than that, or so he had thought But if Usagi was such a bad card, why did he miss her? And if Saori was so great, why didn't he love her more? A great bitterness welled up like an infected wound in his heart.
"Since when are you and Usagi such close friends that you "see her off" and then go play Twister at her house? And where were you seeing her off to?"
She looked at him in surprise. "I thought you knew. I assumed that at least Wufei would tell you. Usagi's gone to England somewhere to "clear her mind" and "get away from it all". This whole break up thing is throwing her world into chaos, I think. Anyways, why wouldn't I be friends with her? She saved my life that one time, and anyone who's a friend of hers is a friend of her other friends, too. I haven't met the other ones yet. They're all famous, you know. She's buddies with Rei Hino, Makoto Kino, Michiru Kaioh, Haruka Ten'ou, Setsuna Meioh, and the Three Lights too, from what I've heard. She's certainly the odd one. I don't know what to make of her."
Trying to hide the emotions that he was afraid were shown clearly on his face, Duo snorted and sat back in his chair. "I'm sure she surrounds herself with those famous people just to make up for her lack of success."
Saori set down her magazine, and looked at him solemnly. "I've been thinking about how to tell you this, and I think that now is the best time, while we're both angry at the other. Duo, this isn't working out. I've been trying to make it work, but before I was friends with Usagi I felt like I was always living in her shadow. Now that I'm friends with her, I realize that I was trying to live in her shadow, though Usagi is at this moment trying her damndest to make that shadow disappear."
The woman paused, as if expecting a response. How could he speak? Duo felt like he had been utterly robbed of breath. Was it possible for life to fall apart so completely? First Usagi, and now Saori? Was it some kind of giant conspiracy against his mental state and his love for anyone? His shock must have shown on her face because her face softened, and she sighed and stood.
"She's hurting really bad, Duo, and she'll be the last one to admit it. She's a strong person. You should know that, from all your years together, unless you were too wrapped up in your image of each other to deal with what was beneath. You two are made for each other, and even if you don't get together, no one else if going to work for you. I've got to go home now, Duo. I hope we can still be friends."
Standing and walking over to him, she leaned down to kiss him softly on the cheek. Then without another word she picked up her coat and keys and walked out of his apartment.
Duo sat there for quite a while longer, trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. Was it possible that Saori was right? No, of course not. Usagi had always been very good at fooling people, and this was just another one of those instances. Then something Saori had said resurfaced in his mind.
"She saved my life that one time," he whispered to himself, and then everything clicked.
Usagi was Sailor Moon. It all made perfect sense. Why she always kept that crystal nearby. Why she sometimes made references to the past that didn't make sense. Why she was reluctant to help Saori that one time. Why she always looked like she wanted to say something to him, but kept herself back. Why Yohji's eyes had lit in recognition when he had seen her. Why Saori was suddenly friends with her arch enemy after Moon had saved her life. Why Usagi sometimes looked like she wanted to cry when she looked at the moon.
"Dammit Usagi," he growled, before grabbing his coat and dashing outside to hail a cab.
He was going to Usagi's house to, hopefully, get some answers.
Usagi stumbled off the plane with Harry in tow. Both of them blinking at the sunshine, they staggered towards the baggage claim. Harry, Usagi was amazed to see, had lots of crap. Well shit, she thought with glee, so did she! They grabbed their bags (about five each, and Harry had one really big trunk too) and headed towards the street where their ride should be waiting.
Sure enough, there was a sign that read "Tsukino/Potter". Usagi and Harry looked at each other in surprise.
"Well I guess that's both of us, then!" Usagi said cheerfully.
They lugged their bags over to the man, who silently led them out of the airport and to a very nice black car. He opened the trunk and placed their bags inside with a careless ease that made Usagi think longingly of her own garage. The man opened the sleek doors for them, and then slid into the driver's seat.
The expensive quality ate at both woman and boy as they drove towards their Aunt Elizabeth's house. Silence draped heavily over the car's interior. The driver refused to speak, and any word that Usagi tried to utter sounded utterly ridiculous in the deafening quiet. It was a great relief to all three of the people in the car when they pulled up in front of the mansion. Harry gasped out loud, and Usagi grinned. Finally. Something she could relate to. She could relate very well to a big, rich, beautiful house.
Usagi stepped daintily out of the car, and then yanked the spellbound Harry out with her. There was a tug on the hem of her skirt, and then a soft giggle.
"Ossu, Usagi-chan" someone said softly
Smiling, Usagi looked down. And then her smile melted from her face. "You!" she gasped.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Cliffhanger! *dances* Is that not the coolest thing in the world? I never knew how much fun it was to make cliffhangers with a "YOU!" as one of the last words! Wahoo! Alright! Good times have come again! *does Happy Fish On Tuesday Dance* This is too much fun. Can anyone guess who the "YOU" is? I don't think it will be TOO terribly hard, unless I'm a lot worse at writing clearly than I ever imagined. ALSO, I have one more VERY important announcement.
I AM NOT EVER GOING TO POST EVER AGAIN UNLESS YOU READ AND REVIEW WATERGODDESS' FICS! They're really great, and deserve to be read. You know how damn hard it is to get reviews for original fics. I mean, I tried with my single chapter for Dedication, and well, can we say "Crap" really loudly? My other one.. Jesus, I can't even remember what it's called, did really badly too. There's just so damn many of them that they only get like three seconds on the front page, and if you're not on the front page you're in the abyss.
AAAAAAAHAHAHA! And guess what! I have even more news! My parents are making me do something with myself other than the things I've been getting grounded for, so I joined up with Jazz Choir (yeah! ME in jazz choir!) and we're gonna go to this big clinic in April and compete. Know what else? Our choir sounds good when we sing! I'm not even joking! I'm an alto, and it's weird, because the soprano's notes are usually only a half note above ours, and so it's so hard to sing.... But enough about choir.
Let's see, do I have anything else to ramble on about? I really don't think so, except for that if you haven't seen Cowboy Bebop or Inu Yasha, you better get into gear. Those are the coolest shows in the entire world, and I'm not even joking here. Oh yeah, and if you haven't read my fic Godforsaken and like kinda disturbing GW/SM crossovers, I very much suggest it. Hell, I wrote it and it's the creepiest thing I've ever read on ff.net that isn't some kind of bloody slasher gory fic. God, I just wrote a bit more of it and I'm not gonna be able to sleep for a long time now! You'd think I'd learn, but no.
Also, if anyone has any good ideas, email me, IM me, or write it in the review. I'm always looking for fun new things to add in, and I'm also going to start on an Inu Yasha/Sailor Moon fic soon, so if you have any ideas for that, SAY SOMETHING! The basic idea for my fic is this: Usagi dies and can come back to life if she kills Naraku. She also discovers that she's a full blooded youkai because of her current family. That's the basics of it. So.... any ideas, anyone?
THANKS TO:
Kimeno-pebols: does this answer your question? Lol! And no, I'm afraid this is going to be solely a Duo/Usagi fic, gomen! Have any fun ideas on what to do with Usagi and Harry while they're in England, though?
Lady Dragon 626: I'm glad you like the story! It's so much fun to read your reviews! *grin*
Lunarian Amethyst: Lol, I'm glad I can make you laugh! That's my goal in life!
Sapphireskies: seems like Lunarian Amethyst isn't the only one I can make laugh... I'm glad you liked my ending bit. I was listening to my BNL CD and went "hmmmm."
Lilaclight: Don't worry! I'm planning on completing this one! I like writing this!
Chibi-Morri: Wigs! You bet I pulled out the mafia! Really, did you expect otherwise?
MistressCoCoLoVeR: Mafia Princess.. Sounds like fun, ne? Usa just can't keep her hands out of royalty!
Celestial DreamBlaze: *smiles sheepishly* I have a tendency to, um, go all out sometimes. And yeah! A yacht would be fun! But a plot? A plot? There is no plot! *hides plot under the bed*
Solarmistress17: I'll update, I'll update. No worries!
THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!