Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.
A.N.: Thanks a bunch for the reviews. Sniff, sniff. They really got me motivated. Arigato gozaimasu, minna-san!
* * *
Chapter Two: Ohayou, Minako-chan!
"I am at peace. I will be calm. The world is a beautiful place filled with beautiful things..."
Closing her eyes, Rei breathed in and out to soothe her raging temper and... failed. No matter how hard she tried, the image of Jadeite and that annoying smirk on his face kept on popping in her head.
"That's it!!" she screamed. "I'm going back there and make sure he *stays* dead forever!" She spun on her heels and proceeded to climb down the temple steps, but abruptly stopped when Makoto pulled her mane of hair. "Yeouch!" Frowning, she turned at the tall brunette. "Hey, what was that for?!"
Makoto just grinned. "Don't be stupid Rei-chan. Even if you go back, you won't find him there."
"Mako-chan's right," Minako agreed, nodding. "You'll only show how much you like him."
"Like him?! My foot!" the miko blurted out. "Are you crazy?"
"Jeez, no need to scream," the blonde said with a snicker, fiddling her ear. "That voice of yours had probably reached the planet Pluto."
Rei moodily rake her hand through her hair and snorted. "That jerk should be thankful. If he hadn't answered his freaking mobile phone and he hadn't left so freaking early, I could have kicked his freaking butt."
"You know Rei-chan," Usagi said with a teasing tone. "If that temper of yours could turn everything into gold, we could have been rich! We could buy everything!" Then she imagined herself swimming in a pond of ice cream and chocolate fudge. "Hmmmm.... ice creeaamm..."
Rei hit her in the head. "Baka."
"Youma." The odango blonde then stuck out her tongue as she rubbed her bruised head.
Ami, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention to Rei's ranting and raving. As usual, her mind was busy analyzing and processing what might be the possible cause of the shittenou's resurrection. 'None of them made sense,' she mused. 'Are they really the shittenou, or are they just clones? And *if* they are just clones, who in his right mind would dare clone them, anyway? And *if* they are the real ones, why didn't they attack us? And why did they act as if they never knew us? Are they plotting something diabolically evil? Is there a new threat? Are there new enemies?
Or is this some kind of a sick joke?'
She shook her head frustratingly. It is indeed much easier to ask questions than to search for answers.
Turning her gaze at her friends, Ami sighed hopelessly and sweat-dropped.
Rei and Usagi were having their tongue-lashing bout, while Minako and Makoto were sharing some gossips about Tokyo's newest teen idol.
"Oh well," she groaned. "Looks like it didn't bother them a bit."
"Those two are really good-looking," Minako suddenly said with a dreamy sigh, catching the other senshis' attention.
Makoto raised a brow. "Are you referring to Zoisite and Jadeite?"
The longhaired blonde nodded eagerly "Yes, I am," she replied. "Jadeite- senpai is really cute but I don't go for boys with the same color of my hair and eyes! People would probably think of us as twins when we're together."
Rei snorted. "You really have a bad taste."
"Look who's talking!" Usagi teased and giggled hysterically. "Have you forgotten that you have this 'thing' for Yuuichiro-kun? Now talk about good taste!"
"Oh yeah?" Rei retorted. "If it wasn't for fate, Mamoru-san wouldn't have asked you to be his girlfriend in the first place!"
Unmoved, Usagi crossed her arms on her chest. "Hah! If it wasn't for your short skirt, boys wouldn't like you anyway!" she taunted. "Contrary to your element, you're as cold as a block of ice!"
"Take that back, you dumb blonde!" Rei snarled.
Usagi stuck out her tongue and pulled her lower eyelid down. "Make me, you fire-breathing priestess!"
"Why, you overgrown dumpling head..."
With that, Rei started chasing Usagi around the stairs and to the temple grounds. Ami sighed and shook her head helplessly.
"I thought Usagi-chan is going to borrow Rei's new manga?" she said.
Minako giggled. "At that rate, I don't think Rei-chan would let her."
"Shimatta, I forgot!!!" Makoto suddenly exclaimed. Ami and Minako abruptly gaped at her. "The Karate Club has a meeting after class and I'm suppose to attend it!"
"Mako-chan suffered from amnesia again, hehee," the blonde said with a snicker. "I wonder what would be your memory like when you're sixty?"
"I wonder what would you look like if you're bald?" the brunette countered in a steely voice, her green eyes narrowing.
Minako hastily took refuge behind Ami's back. "I'm just kidding Mako- chan!" she said. "You're beginning to react like Rei-chan."
Makoto glanced at her wristwatch. "I guess I can still make it." Then she looked at the two. "Please tell Usagi and Rei that I'm going. I think those two are still busy killing each other."
"Sure," Ami replied. "See you tomorrow."
"See ya!" Makoto wave her hand and turned to leave.
.
..
...
* * *
"Aaaargh, damn it!"
Minako immediately jumped out of bed, almost knocking poor Artemis over. She glanced at the alarm clock at the night table. It says ten minutes before eight o' clock.
"I'm late!!!" she screamed, her voice echoing throughout her room. All of a sudden, she carelessly picked the white cat up. "You stupid cat, why didn't you wake me up? I'm having this three-week long marathon to school because of you!"
"Great," Artemis muttered sleepy with sarcasm. "Now it's my fault that you sleep like a hibernating bear. For your information, smart girl, my claws are worn out from scratching your face and yet you're still asleep. Instead of whining and complaining, why don't you put me down and go to the bathroom and take a bath?"
The blonde immediately dropped him and scampered to her feet, digging up her school things and uniform from the cabinet all the while.
"Old habits are really hard to die," Artemis mumbled and then went back to sleep.
After an amazingly few minutes, with a toasted bread still stuck in between her teeth, Minako began her high speed dash across the streets.
"Great Kami, please don't let Sensei catch me again," she muttered to herself as she ran on the pavement. "I hope Usagi's late too."
Stopping abruptly at the bus stop, she anxiously awaited the bus to arrive when an unfamiliar car pulled over before her. Minako squinted when suddenly the car window on the passenger side went down.
"Setsuna-san!" she exclaimed when she recognized the older senshi.
"Ohayou, Minako-chan," Setsuna greeted. "We're going to pass by at Juuban High. Come, we'll drop you by."
"Oh, thank you very much!" She bowed and hastily boarded the car.
Once inside, Minako made herself comfortable and let her eyes wander. 'This car is quite expensive,' she mused to herself with a soft whistle. Then, she glanced at the driver. 'I wonder who he is? He must be Setsuna- san's boyfriend.'
The last thought was added with a giggle.
"Minako-chan," the older senshi called, bringing her back from her reverie. "I would like you to meet Kunzite-san. We're studying at the same university."
Kunzite glanced and smiled at her through the rear view mirror. Minako, with her eyes as wide as saucers, gasped and abruptly placed a hand on her mouth to prevent a scream from escaping.
"Ohayou," he said in a friendly tone, without tearing his gaze off the streets. "I believe you're one of Zoisite-kun's classmates? He told me stories about you. Aino Minako, ne?"
"H-hai," she replied, calming herself. "So, you're Akimatsu-kun's older brother, the one he was talking about the other day."
"The eldest, actually," he corrected.
Minako made a face and swallowed an imaginary lump on her throat.
Setsuna smiled and turned to her. "You're sensei will probably be mad if he caught you."
"Yeah," she said with a sigh, momentarily forgetting her uneasiness. "That neko no baka didn't wake me up. I just hope that I reach school before sensei do."
Then she heard Kunzite chuckled. "Your cat knows how to wake you up? That's amazing."
"Er, well," she stammered. "I trained him."
"You probably must be patient," he said. "Cat's are difficult to teach tricks."
Minako scratched her head and grinned sheepishly. "Artemis is, well, different."
After few minutes, Kunzite pulled the car over in front of Juuban High. Minako hastily jumped out at the car and bowed at the two.
"Domo arigatou gozaimasu," she said, still bowing.
"That's nothing," Kunzite said with a smile. "You should go now or you will be very, very late." Then he winked at her.
Minako felt the temperature rise on her cheeks. Her heart made an unexpected somersault when her blue eyes met his gray ones. 'What a beautiful way to start your day!' her inner voice cried with glee. 'It is indeed a good morning!'
"Uhm," she stammered again. "Arigatou, Akimatsu-san." Then she turned at Setsuna. "Thank you very much for introducing me to... er, Kunzite-san. Please send my regards to Hotaru-chan and the others."
"Sure." Setsuna replied and she waved at the younger girl. "Take care."
"Ja ne," she said and hurried inside, her rich blonde hair bouncing on her back as she runs.
"Kawaii," Kunzite murmured to himself, watching the blonde girl's retreating form. "Aino Minako, her name suits her perfectly."
"You're saying something?" Setsuna asked softly, glancing at the man beside her.
"Uhm, no," he replied absentmindedly. Then he gave his head a light shake. "Why do I have this feeling that I've met her before?"
"Maybe you have."
"I-I beg your pardon?"
"Oh, nothing," Setsuna answered, and smiled at him. She turned her gaze outside and sighed.
Wrinkling his brows, Kunzite started the engine and sped off.
* * *
Usagi choked out the morsel of rice from her mouth, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. She abruptly grabbed her canned juice and drank its contents. Makoto let out a sigh and brushed the stray morsels out of her sleeves.
"Are you really sure it is him?" Ami asked, her spoon hanging in mid-air and already halfway to her mouth.
Minako nodded exaggeratedly and raised her right hand as if making an oath. "I swear by the graves of my ancestors! It_is_him!"
"And you said Setsuna-san's with him, eh?" Makoto said, raising a brow. "That is weird."
"I nearly fainted when she introduced Kunzite to me," the blonde said in an agitated tone.
"I think the world is coming to an end," Usagi suddenly said in a rather teary voice. "I just hope Mamo-chan's with me when it happens."
"Usagi-chan," the brunette interrupted with a big sweatdrop in her head. "The world is not coming to an end. The senshis are still here, remember?"
Ami nodded to emphasize Makoto's point
Suddenly, Minako's expression became different. From a worried to a dreamy one. "But... he's so cute! How can a villain be so cute?" she said with a dreamy sigh, her eyes becoming heart-shaped.
"Eh?!" the three exclaimed in unison.
Makoto groaned. "Ugh. Don't tell me you have a crush on him?"
The blonde pouted. "I don't know. I just saw him."
"Mina-chan," Ami sternly said, pointing a finger to her. "You can't have a crush on him until we figure this out."
Usagi suddenly snickered. "That's way to serious, Ami-chan."
"Hey," Makoto butted in. "Aren't Mamoru-san and Setsuna-san go to the same university?"
"Well yeah," Usagi replied with a nod. "Why?"
The school genius snapped her fingers. "Then it means that Kunzite is also Mamoru-san's schoolmate!"
"Yeah!" Minako exclaimed. "Then we could ask him to spy for me... I mean, for us!"
"Minako!" admonished the three.
"Just kidding!"
"But don't you think it's kinda odd?" Makoto then said, scratching her chin. "If they all go to the same university, then how come Mamoru-san didn't tell Usagi anything about him? It is impossible that he haven't met Kunzite by chance when Setsuna-san knew him well enough to ride in his car."
"I dunno," Minako said, shrugging her shoulders. "Beats me."
The girls went silent for a while, and then suddenly, Usagi made a disgruntled sound.
"Why don't we just leave those things as they are?" she said with a frown. "We're just giving ourselves some headache from making a lot of fuss about it." The she opened her mouth widely and stuffed some dumplings in it, and chewed.
Minako beamed. "Usagi's right!" she exclaimed with glee. "What's the point of pondering all of this things? It'll only make us confused." Then, she grinned devilishly at Ami and Makoto. "So for the meantime, just let me fill my mind with thoughts of him, okay?"
Ami shook her head and stared at the two blondes. "Aren't you bothered by this?" she asked. "The old enemies are back and they may be planning something against us."
"You're being paranoid, Ami-chan," Usagi commented casually. "Why, they haven't done anything wrong. The city's still normal and Luna is as calm as an old lady who's taking a dip in a Jacuzzi."
"Aaaand," Minako seconded. "There are no reports of abnormalities in the city and even the outers are not giving us a visit or a warning. Normally, if there's a threat, the outers would pop out from nowhere and they would speak about death and destruction in those chilly and scary voices of theirs. And most of all, Rei-chan haven't had any visions about them."
"You're right," the brunette agreed with mild sarcasm. "They haven't done anything wrong... YET. They haven't destroyed the world... YET. The outers haven't given us a warning... YET. And Rei-chan haven't had any visions about them... YET." She sighed. "I can't believe you're not taking this seriously."
"And you're telling us that you're serious about this?" the longhaired blonde asked. It was more of a statement than a question. "Wasn't it you who asked them to come with us three weeks ago?"
"The only reason I did that is because I wanted to know if they're going to melt once they were hit by Rei-chan's flying paper thingys."
"And they didn't."
Leaning a little, Makoto suddenly stared at Minako's blue eyes, scrutinizing her face.
The blonde glanced at Usagi and Ami, and then back at the brunette in front of her, feeling that she will shrink under Makoto's intent gaze. "What?"
"You like one of them," Makoto said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Minako-chan's in love?!" Usagi shrieked. Then she gaze the other blonde a teasing look.
Minako blushed. "What the heck are you talking about? I'm in love? With whom?"
The brunette smirked. "Oooh, so that's the reason why you're defending them like that."
"Puuleeeaase!" Minako picked up some grass from the ground and threw it at the laughing brunette.
"Hey!"
Frowning, Ami suddenly cleared her throat and glared at her friends. "Uhm, excuse me, but... aren't we discussing about our would-be enemies here?"
"Oh, of course," Makoto nodded, grinning sheepishly.
Usagi scratched her head and glanced at Minako.
"Let's have a deal, Ami-chan," Minako suddenly suggested, flipping her hair enthusiastically. "Why don't you check up on them in your computer and if the results aren't bad, we'll stop with this whole bunch of paranoia. And if your speculations are correct, I'll be the one who'll send them all to the nether regions where they truly belonged. Okay?"
Ami chewed her lip and thought for a moment. Well, the blonde's suggestion is not that bad. And besides, of all the words that Minako had spoken these past few minutes, it is the only one that has a sense in it.
The blue-haired girl turned her gaze at Makoto for any objections. The brunette just shrugged her shoulders in response.
"Alright," Ami replied. "We'll have this *your* way."
Beaming brightly, Usagi and Minako cheered and hugged each other. It would mean fewer jobs and less worry for them.
Then, after another round of eating and gossiping, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break. The girls got up and fixed their lunch boxes, and then hastily went back to their respective classrooms.
.
..
...
* * *
Ami smiled cheerfully to herself as she carefully fixed her glasses. A day like this is really one of her favorites.
The May sun shone brightly and the sound of the birds singing was heard from a distance. Voices of students passing by echoed through the corridors as the results of Juuban High's Preliminary Exams stared back at the blue-haired genius.
Students began to gather near the bulletin board, all of them eager to know the results of their deadly exam. Different noises filled the hallway; some out of agony, while some out of contentment.
Ami moved her eyes and searched for her name. And as usual, she found it at the top, just as she had expected, with perfect scores in all subjects. Her smile grew wider and.....
... the world suddenly stopped. And Ami literally stopped breathing.
Because right beside her name, Akimatsu Zoisite's name was written, with perfect scores in all of their subjects, just like her...
(A/N: Well, that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed it.)
A.N.: Thanks a bunch for the reviews. Sniff, sniff. They really got me motivated. Arigato gozaimasu, minna-san!
* * *
Chapter Two: Ohayou, Minako-chan!
"I am at peace. I will be calm. The world is a beautiful place filled with beautiful things..."
Closing her eyes, Rei breathed in and out to soothe her raging temper and... failed. No matter how hard she tried, the image of Jadeite and that annoying smirk on his face kept on popping in her head.
"That's it!!" she screamed. "I'm going back there and make sure he *stays* dead forever!" She spun on her heels and proceeded to climb down the temple steps, but abruptly stopped when Makoto pulled her mane of hair. "Yeouch!" Frowning, she turned at the tall brunette. "Hey, what was that for?!"
Makoto just grinned. "Don't be stupid Rei-chan. Even if you go back, you won't find him there."
"Mako-chan's right," Minako agreed, nodding. "You'll only show how much you like him."
"Like him?! My foot!" the miko blurted out. "Are you crazy?"
"Jeez, no need to scream," the blonde said with a snicker, fiddling her ear. "That voice of yours had probably reached the planet Pluto."
Rei moodily rake her hand through her hair and snorted. "That jerk should be thankful. If he hadn't answered his freaking mobile phone and he hadn't left so freaking early, I could have kicked his freaking butt."
"You know Rei-chan," Usagi said with a teasing tone. "If that temper of yours could turn everything into gold, we could have been rich! We could buy everything!" Then she imagined herself swimming in a pond of ice cream and chocolate fudge. "Hmmmm.... ice creeaamm..."
Rei hit her in the head. "Baka."
"Youma." The odango blonde then stuck out her tongue as she rubbed her bruised head.
Ami, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention to Rei's ranting and raving. As usual, her mind was busy analyzing and processing what might be the possible cause of the shittenou's resurrection. 'None of them made sense,' she mused. 'Are they really the shittenou, or are they just clones? And *if* they are just clones, who in his right mind would dare clone them, anyway? And *if* they are the real ones, why didn't they attack us? And why did they act as if they never knew us? Are they plotting something diabolically evil? Is there a new threat? Are there new enemies?
Or is this some kind of a sick joke?'
She shook her head frustratingly. It is indeed much easier to ask questions than to search for answers.
Turning her gaze at her friends, Ami sighed hopelessly and sweat-dropped.
Rei and Usagi were having their tongue-lashing bout, while Minako and Makoto were sharing some gossips about Tokyo's newest teen idol.
"Oh well," she groaned. "Looks like it didn't bother them a bit."
"Those two are really good-looking," Minako suddenly said with a dreamy sigh, catching the other senshis' attention.
Makoto raised a brow. "Are you referring to Zoisite and Jadeite?"
The longhaired blonde nodded eagerly "Yes, I am," she replied. "Jadeite- senpai is really cute but I don't go for boys with the same color of my hair and eyes! People would probably think of us as twins when we're together."
Rei snorted. "You really have a bad taste."
"Look who's talking!" Usagi teased and giggled hysterically. "Have you forgotten that you have this 'thing' for Yuuichiro-kun? Now talk about good taste!"
"Oh yeah?" Rei retorted. "If it wasn't for fate, Mamoru-san wouldn't have asked you to be his girlfriend in the first place!"
Unmoved, Usagi crossed her arms on her chest. "Hah! If it wasn't for your short skirt, boys wouldn't like you anyway!" she taunted. "Contrary to your element, you're as cold as a block of ice!"
"Take that back, you dumb blonde!" Rei snarled.
Usagi stuck out her tongue and pulled her lower eyelid down. "Make me, you fire-breathing priestess!"
"Why, you overgrown dumpling head..."
With that, Rei started chasing Usagi around the stairs and to the temple grounds. Ami sighed and shook her head helplessly.
"I thought Usagi-chan is going to borrow Rei's new manga?" she said.
Minako giggled. "At that rate, I don't think Rei-chan would let her."
"Shimatta, I forgot!!!" Makoto suddenly exclaimed. Ami and Minako abruptly gaped at her. "The Karate Club has a meeting after class and I'm suppose to attend it!"
"Mako-chan suffered from amnesia again, hehee," the blonde said with a snicker. "I wonder what would be your memory like when you're sixty?"
"I wonder what would you look like if you're bald?" the brunette countered in a steely voice, her green eyes narrowing.
Minako hastily took refuge behind Ami's back. "I'm just kidding Mako- chan!" she said. "You're beginning to react like Rei-chan."
Makoto glanced at her wristwatch. "I guess I can still make it." Then she looked at the two. "Please tell Usagi and Rei that I'm going. I think those two are still busy killing each other."
"Sure," Ami replied. "See you tomorrow."
"See ya!" Makoto wave her hand and turned to leave.
.
..
...
* * *
"Aaaargh, damn it!"
Minako immediately jumped out of bed, almost knocking poor Artemis over. She glanced at the alarm clock at the night table. It says ten minutes before eight o' clock.
"I'm late!!!" she screamed, her voice echoing throughout her room. All of a sudden, she carelessly picked the white cat up. "You stupid cat, why didn't you wake me up? I'm having this three-week long marathon to school because of you!"
"Great," Artemis muttered sleepy with sarcasm. "Now it's my fault that you sleep like a hibernating bear. For your information, smart girl, my claws are worn out from scratching your face and yet you're still asleep. Instead of whining and complaining, why don't you put me down and go to the bathroom and take a bath?"
The blonde immediately dropped him and scampered to her feet, digging up her school things and uniform from the cabinet all the while.
"Old habits are really hard to die," Artemis mumbled and then went back to sleep.
After an amazingly few minutes, with a toasted bread still stuck in between her teeth, Minako began her high speed dash across the streets.
"Great Kami, please don't let Sensei catch me again," she muttered to herself as she ran on the pavement. "I hope Usagi's late too."
Stopping abruptly at the bus stop, she anxiously awaited the bus to arrive when an unfamiliar car pulled over before her. Minako squinted when suddenly the car window on the passenger side went down.
"Setsuna-san!" she exclaimed when she recognized the older senshi.
"Ohayou, Minako-chan," Setsuna greeted. "We're going to pass by at Juuban High. Come, we'll drop you by."
"Oh, thank you very much!" She bowed and hastily boarded the car.
Once inside, Minako made herself comfortable and let her eyes wander. 'This car is quite expensive,' she mused to herself with a soft whistle. Then, she glanced at the driver. 'I wonder who he is? He must be Setsuna- san's boyfriend.'
The last thought was added with a giggle.
"Minako-chan," the older senshi called, bringing her back from her reverie. "I would like you to meet Kunzite-san. We're studying at the same university."
Kunzite glanced and smiled at her through the rear view mirror. Minako, with her eyes as wide as saucers, gasped and abruptly placed a hand on her mouth to prevent a scream from escaping.
"Ohayou," he said in a friendly tone, without tearing his gaze off the streets. "I believe you're one of Zoisite-kun's classmates? He told me stories about you. Aino Minako, ne?"
"H-hai," she replied, calming herself. "So, you're Akimatsu-kun's older brother, the one he was talking about the other day."
"The eldest, actually," he corrected.
Minako made a face and swallowed an imaginary lump on her throat.
Setsuna smiled and turned to her. "You're sensei will probably be mad if he caught you."
"Yeah," she said with a sigh, momentarily forgetting her uneasiness. "That neko no baka didn't wake me up. I just hope that I reach school before sensei do."
Then she heard Kunzite chuckled. "Your cat knows how to wake you up? That's amazing."
"Er, well," she stammered. "I trained him."
"You probably must be patient," he said. "Cat's are difficult to teach tricks."
Minako scratched her head and grinned sheepishly. "Artemis is, well, different."
After few minutes, Kunzite pulled the car over in front of Juuban High. Minako hastily jumped out at the car and bowed at the two.
"Domo arigatou gozaimasu," she said, still bowing.
"That's nothing," Kunzite said with a smile. "You should go now or you will be very, very late." Then he winked at her.
Minako felt the temperature rise on her cheeks. Her heart made an unexpected somersault when her blue eyes met his gray ones. 'What a beautiful way to start your day!' her inner voice cried with glee. 'It is indeed a good morning!'
"Uhm," she stammered again. "Arigatou, Akimatsu-san." Then she turned at Setsuna. "Thank you very much for introducing me to... er, Kunzite-san. Please send my regards to Hotaru-chan and the others."
"Sure." Setsuna replied and she waved at the younger girl. "Take care."
"Ja ne," she said and hurried inside, her rich blonde hair bouncing on her back as she runs.
"Kawaii," Kunzite murmured to himself, watching the blonde girl's retreating form. "Aino Minako, her name suits her perfectly."
"You're saying something?" Setsuna asked softly, glancing at the man beside her.
"Uhm, no," he replied absentmindedly. Then he gave his head a light shake. "Why do I have this feeling that I've met her before?"
"Maybe you have."
"I-I beg your pardon?"
"Oh, nothing," Setsuna answered, and smiled at him. She turned her gaze outside and sighed.
Wrinkling his brows, Kunzite started the engine and sped off.
* * *
Usagi choked out the morsel of rice from her mouth, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. She abruptly grabbed her canned juice and drank its contents. Makoto let out a sigh and brushed the stray morsels out of her sleeves.
"Are you really sure it is him?" Ami asked, her spoon hanging in mid-air and already halfway to her mouth.
Minako nodded exaggeratedly and raised her right hand as if making an oath. "I swear by the graves of my ancestors! It_is_him!"
"And you said Setsuna-san's with him, eh?" Makoto said, raising a brow. "That is weird."
"I nearly fainted when she introduced Kunzite to me," the blonde said in an agitated tone.
"I think the world is coming to an end," Usagi suddenly said in a rather teary voice. "I just hope Mamo-chan's with me when it happens."
"Usagi-chan," the brunette interrupted with a big sweatdrop in her head. "The world is not coming to an end. The senshis are still here, remember?"
Ami nodded to emphasize Makoto's point
Suddenly, Minako's expression became different. From a worried to a dreamy one. "But... he's so cute! How can a villain be so cute?" she said with a dreamy sigh, her eyes becoming heart-shaped.
"Eh?!" the three exclaimed in unison.
Makoto groaned. "Ugh. Don't tell me you have a crush on him?"
The blonde pouted. "I don't know. I just saw him."
"Mina-chan," Ami sternly said, pointing a finger to her. "You can't have a crush on him until we figure this out."
Usagi suddenly snickered. "That's way to serious, Ami-chan."
"Hey," Makoto butted in. "Aren't Mamoru-san and Setsuna-san go to the same university?"
"Well yeah," Usagi replied with a nod. "Why?"
The school genius snapped her fingers. "Then it means that Kunzite is also Mamoru-san's schoolmate!"
"Yeah!" Minako exclaimed. "Then we could ask him to spy for me... I mean, for us!"
"Minako!" admonished the three.
"Just kidding!"
"But don't you think it's kinda odd?" Makoto then said, scratching her chin. "If they all go to the same university, then how come Mamoru-san didn't tell Usagi anything about him? It is impossible that he haven't met Kunzite by chance when Setsuna-san knew him well enough to ride in his car."
"I dunno," Minako said, shrugging her shoulders. "Beats me."
The girls went silent for a while, and then suddenly, Usagi made a disgruntled sound.
"Why don't we just leave those things as they are?" she said with a frown. "We're just giving ourselves some headache from making a lot of fuss about it." The she opened her mouth widely and stuffed some dumplings in it, and chewed.
Minako beamed. "Usagi's right!" she exclaimed with glee. "What's the point of pondering all of this things? It'll only make us confused." Then, she grinned devilishly at Ami and Makoto. "So for the meantime, just let me fill my mind with thoughts of him, okay?"
Ami shook her head and stared at the two blondes. "Aren't you bothered by this?" she asked. "The old enemies are back and they may be planning something against us."
"You're being paranoid, Ami-chan," Usagi commented casually. "Why, they haven't done anything wrong. The city's still normal and Luna is as calm as an old lady who's taking a dip in a Jacuzzi."
"Aaaand," Minako seconded. "There are no reports of abnormalities in the city and even the outers are not giving us a visit or a warning. Normally, if there's a threat, the outers would pop out from nowhere and they would speak about death and destruction in those chilly and scary voices of theirs. And most of all, Rei-chan haven't had any visions about them."
"You're right," the brunette agreed with mild sarcasm. "They haven't done anything wrong... YET. They haven't destroyed the world... YET. The outers haven't given us a warning... YET. And Rei-chan haven't had any visions about them... YET." She sighed. "I can't believe you're not taking this seriously."
"And you're telling us that you're serious about this?" the longhaired blonde asked. It was more of a statement than a question. "Wasn't it you who asked them to come with us three weeks ago?"
"The only reason I did that is because I wanted to know if they're going to melt once they were hit by Rei-chan's flying paper thingys."
"And they didn't."
Leaning a little, Makoto suddenly stared at Minako's blue eyes, scrutinizing her face.
The blonde glanced at Usagi and Ami, and then back at the brunette in front of her, feeling that she will shrink under Makoto's intent gaze. "What?"
"You like one of them," Makoto said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Minako-chan's in love?!" Usagi shrieked. Then she gaze the other blonde a teasing look.
Minako blushed. "What the heck are you talking about? I'm in love? With whom?"
The brunette smirked. "Oooh, so that's the reason why you're defending them like that."
"Puuleeeaase!" Minako picked up some grass from the ground and threw it at the laughing brunette.
"Hey!"
Frowning, Ami suddenly cleared her throat and glared at her friends. "Uhm, excuse me, but... aren't we discussing about our would-be enemies here?"
"Oh, of course," Makoto nodded, grinning sheepishly.
Usagi scratched her head and glanced at Minako.
"Let's have a deal, Ami-chan," Minako suddenly suggested, flipping her hair enthusiastically. "Why don't you check up on them in your computer and if the results aren't bad, we'll stop with this whole bunch of paranoia. And if your speculations are correct, I'll be the one who'll send them all to the nether regions where they truly belonged. Okay?"
Ami chewed her lip and thought for a moment. Well, the blonde's suggestion is not that bad. And besides, of all the words that Minako had spoken these past few minutes, it is the only one that has a sense in it.
The blue-haired girl turned her gaze at Makoto for any objections. The brunette just shrugged her shoulders in response.
"Alright," Ami replied. "We'll have this *your* way."
Beaming brightly, Usagi and Minako cheered and hugged each other. It would mean fewer jobs and less worry for them.
Then, after another round of eating and gossiping, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break. The girls got up and fixed their lunch boxes, and then hastily went back to their respective classrooms.
.
..
...
* * *
Ami smiled cheerfully to herself as she carefully fixed her glasses. A day like this is really one of her favorites.
The May sun shone brightly and the sound of the birds singing was heard from a distance. Voices of students passing by echoed through the corridors as the results of Juuban High's Preliminary Exams stared back at the blue-haired genius.
Students began to gather near the bulletin board, all of them eager to know the results of their deadly exam. Different noises filled the hallway; some out of agony, while some out of contentment.
Ami moved her eyes and searched for her name. And as usual, she found it at the top, just as she had expected, with perfect scores in all subjects. Her smile grew wider and.....
... the world suddenly stopped. And Ami literally stopped breathing.
Because right beside her name, Akimatsu Zoisite's name was written, with perfect scores in all of their subjects, just like her...
(A/N: Well, that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed it.)