Many thankies for the kind reviews… please keep them coming, its all very encouraging. And, just a response to messages:

An1m3cH1Ck411: yes, Mako is the skiing, but I think that was downhill skating wasn't it, and not figure skating?

Meanwhile, please enjoy, and well, write to me soon.

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Saturday 6:30pm

She hesitated as she opened the heavy doors leading to the small restaurant that they were celebrating at. She looked down at herself self-consciously, she could only hope that she wouldn't stand out too much from the rest of the group. It felt odd to her, the transformation she had gone through. From the bookworm that other students picked on and passed over when picking out team-mates for PE classes to the sudden class favourite.

It was already the second day since the happiest day of her life had passed. Time flew by unknowingly and she hardly knew where the days went. She had walked around, her head in the clouds, her feet above the ground. She didn't know how she passed those days, only that all her friends were with her. She remembered celebrating with her mother on the night of her success. School had flown by on Friday like a dream, she was very unlike herself, her concentration span had been below her normal standards. She had never been like that before.

The only thing that she had noticed was that Asuka had kept his distance, not that he had much time to himself because the autograph frenzy had begun yet again. Unbelievably, a picture/autograph frenzy had also begun with her. At first she was shocked but happy, now, she was just tired.

Haruna-sensei had overlooked her most conscientious student daydreaming for the day, she had even organized a celebratory dinner with the whole class tonight. She had had afternoon tea with her friends yesterday at the Crown Cafe, and dinner with Asuka in a small but regal restaurant.

She smiled fondly as she remembered going home that afternoon after school with her friends, going into a room full of white lilies, and a large invitation card leaning against her bookshelf for dinner that night at one of the most expensive restaurants in the district. Her friends flew into a frenzy, sorting through her wardrobe, looking for the 'right' dress. In a way, she was glad that it happened, otherwise, she would have had to go through the headache of it herself.

Asuka always seemed to have the right timing. He knew exactly when to say things, when to do things for the greatest effect. On ice, his jumps were legendary, and took the audience's breath away by the sheer impulsiveness. In real life, his actions took her breath away by the embarrassment that it caused with her friends. He probably knew, somehow, that she was to have lunch with her friends, and somehow, knew that they would all be going to her house, on that particular day. Usually, her friends steered away from her apartment and had fun in the Arcade, or at the Temple, it was just this day that they had to have all been at her house, in her room…

In the end, she had allowed Minako to do her makeup last night, and she had done it like a professional. She wore a pale blue spaghetti stripped long dress. It was a sleek, slim dress, with a bell-bottomed flare towards the ankles. Rei had said that it would look good when she danced. She hadn't imagined herself dancing, but she was glad that she had followed their advice.

The secluded restaurant was one of natural beauty. Each table was in its own large room, the glass walls facing a man-made lake and Tropicana trees. They had their full privacy, no noise from other patrons. Each building only accommodated 4 rooms, with a total of 10 traditional western buildings, all of a different style, and you couldn't see anyone else in sight.

She didn't know how Asuka had managed to book a table in this restaurant, but it was certainly impressive. In all the places that she had ever gone to with her mother, this one in particular topped the list of the most splendid ones. They had two personal waiters, one violinist, and one pianist in the room with them, although they discretely disappeared when they wanted to be left alone. She could only smile when Asuka had asked her to dance, beside the grand balcony facing the deep blue water.

Now that she thought back on the previous night, she was sure that her mother and her friends had known about the plans beforehand but didn't tell her about it. Her mother had conveniently been too busy to drop her off at the restaurant, when later, a limousine arrived at her front door. The way her friends had insisted to go to her apartment for a change, something they had never asked for in their lives.

For a long time she stood in front of the café thinking about the previous night with Asuka. She wasn't quite sure how long it was until Usagi appeared from behind her and slapped her hard on the shoulders. "Hey Ami, we are at the right place, aren't we?"

"Um, I was just…"

"Sorry I'm so late."

"It's alright Usagi-chan."

The rest of the evening passed with drinks, toasts, chitter-chatter, she didn't really know what was going on, in a way, she didn't care. Asuka wasn't here celebrating with the rest of the class, Ami wondered where he was and her mind drifted to wherever he was, she didn't quite know where…

A little way away, three darkly shrouded men stood in the shadows, perched on the roof of the restaurant that faced the small café filled with delighted teenagers. The three men's faces although unseen beneath the obscuration, projected hate and evil to the otherwise calm surroundings of the night. They scanned the Function Room, waiting for their rivalry to appear, when at last the loathed foe appeared, they rubbed their hands in anticipation. They would wait for the right time to strike.

He walked quickly through the park, feeling the crisp air against his skin. His head told him that this wasn't a good idea, asking the car to drop him off early, but at the same time, it felt right. He felt that he was supposed to be here, clearing his head before the big celebrations. The night air was cool against his skin, the soft breeze pushed his hair away from his forehead. He closed his eyes to enjoy the moment, it reminded him of…

A hand gripped his shoulder as he felt himself being lifted above the ground. Immediately opening his eyes, he realized that what he was feeling at the moment was true, someone was lifting him several feet of the ground by the shoulder. Wait a minute, several feet, he was 5 feet 9, so whoever it was doing this had to be at least 8 feet or so tall! He twisted his head to behind him, in order to see who was doing this to him. It was an action that he would regret for the rest of his life. A creature from his darkest nightmares stared straight into his eyes. He eyes rolled to the back of his head, as he slumped into the strength that held onto him, he fainted.

The creature looked at this pathetic human being, wondering how this man could bring the downfall of the Bishoujo Senshi. Flinging his head back, he laughed maniacally. His laughter faded quickly, leaving an indescribable trail of sound behind him as he left into the night.

"To avenge…"

"To avenge the death…"

"To avenge the death of our Queen!"

"Our Royal Lady Queen…"

"Queen Beryl."

"For her deepest wish…"

"…and that of our present King…"

"…the master, the Royal King - Lord Takeuchi…"

"We will avenge…"

"…and revenge…"

"…kill all obstructions…"

"…this SailorMercury…"

"…she who destroys our plans…"

"…shall be destroyed in return!"