Chapter Ten: The Morning After
Smiling triumphantly to herself, Usagi wiggled her golden brows at the brunette's direction and held out her hand. "Well Mako-chan, it seems that you owe me two chocolate parfaits."
"What parfait?" Minako interjected, glancing at the two.
"No, I don't," Makoto retorted at the odango blonde. "It's too early to tell. Besides, there's no way on Earth that Rei could possibly--"
"But Ami-chan said she saw them holding hands in front of the bathroom. And senpai even said that Rei-chan is her new girlfriend!"
The brunette chuckled. "She was just hallucinating," she then said, swallowing a spoonful of choco puffs. The girls decided to spend the night at her apartment after helping her and Usagi clean up the party mess. Taking a sip at her glass of milk, she turned at the other blonde who seemed not to be enjoying her food. "Are you okay?"
"My head was aching because of you two," Minako said, digging her spoon to the bowl of cereal in front of her. "What the heck are you talking about? And what's with parfait and Rei-chan?"
"Mako-chan and I have a bet going on. Whoever wins will get two chocolate parfaits," Usagi provided helpfully.
"And what does it have to do with Rei-chan?" the longhaired blonde asked, still perplexed.
"Didn't you hear what Usagi-chan said?" Makoto interrupted casually. "If Rei-chan and Senpai become sweethearts, she wins. Apparently, it looks like I lost because Ami-chan told her this ground-breaking news but I still don't believe it since our miko hasn't confirmed it yet."
Minako dropped her spoon and gaped at the two. "No kidding! How come you didn't tell me about it? And how come you didn't let me join the bet?"
"Uhm, because you were busy singing your lungs out? And about the bet deary, it was just a 'spur of the moment' thing, plus you weren't there when we made it." Makoto answered playfully. "As for last night, I didn't know about it, too. Usagi-chan just told me this morning. And since Rei-chan and Ami-chan are still asleep, no confirmations nor denials so far."
The longhaired blonde looked pensively at her breakfast. Part of her was happy for her temperamental friend but the other part was actually worried. It isn't like Rei to force herself on something, or someone she didn't like.
"What? Don't tell me you have something against them?" the brunette asked, noticing the blonde's face. "You and Usagi-chan were the ones bent on pairing us with those guys."
"It's not like that," Minako said, her brows furrowed. "I swear I have nothing against them being together. But, if it's true, don't you find it odd that Rei-chan became Senpai's girlfriend all of a sudden? She doesn't even like him --or at least she pretends that she doesn't like him... It wasn't like her to change her mind so easily. This is Rei-chan we're talking about after all."
Makoto tilted her head, thinking. "I think it's kinda odd, now that you mentioned it..."
"What I find odd is that those two early-risers are still sleeping," Usagi suddenly said, taking a huge bite at her toast.
A moment of silence passed between them as they stared at each other.
Makoto let out a gusty sigh as she laid back on her chair. "Life is full of oddities today, don't you think?"
"Yeah," Minako agreed and drank the contents of her glass.
"Morning, guys," a groggy Ami suddenly said as she made her way towards the fridge.
"Morning," the three responded in unison as they watched the petite girl rummage through the fridge, her hair still slightly rumpled from sleep.
"My, aren't we a bit late today," Minako commented lightly. "Didn't have enough sleep?"
Covering her mouth to stifle a yawn, Ami rubbed her bleary eyes and turned at the blonde. "You have no idea. Rei-chan made me swear up and down not to tell you guys what I saw last night--"
The sound of metal hitting the floor resonated throughout the kitchen as the other three occupants of the room gaped at her, their mouths hanging wide open.
Realizing her mistake, Ami immediately snapped out of her sleepy stupor and covered her face. "Oh crap," she mumbled under her breath, thunking her head on the fridge's door. Lack of sleep really caused her brain to function improperly. She glanced back at her friends who seemed to lose the ability to speak. "Uhm... Could I take that back?"
Suddenly, Usagi burst out with fits of giggles, jumped out of her seat and began dancing. "Wohooo! I won! I won!"
Ami stared at the odango, baffled by her sudden weird behavior, and then searched the two for some explanation. "W-what's going on?"
"Don't mind her," Makoto said, recovering from her trance. "She was just suffering from post-birthday syndrome. Now, please take a seat and start talking."
Minako nodded her head exuberantly. "Yeah, spill the peanuts!
The brunette shook her head hopelessly. "Mina-chan, it's 'spill the beans,' not peanuts." The longhaired blonde just smiled widely. Then, Makoto turned at the blue-haired girl across her. "So, it's true then?"
"I don't know," Ami truthfully said. "I fled before Rei-chan had the chance to explain. Maybe Senpai was just making fun of her. But Rei-chan made me swear not to tell before we went to sleep... Plus she woke me up every thirty minutes so I could repeat my promise. I really think she got something big on her mind."
"Ooh, that's so cruel," Makoto muttered with a shudder.
"I guess we should wait for her to tell us about it," the petite girl said. "I have a fair guess that she wouldn't tell us anything even if we plague her with questions."
"Why not?" questioned Usagi, pouting. "We're her friends."
"Ami-chan's right," Minako agreed. "It's definitely one topic that Rei-chan doesn't want to discuss. Although my curiosity is killing me, I don't want to look pushy and I don't want to piss her off either."
The brunette grinned. Turning her head, a very sleepy Rei caught her eyes. "Ohayou, Rei-chan! Had a good night's sleep?"
The remaining three chuckled at the slight sarcasm on Makoto's voice.
The miko frowned. "Ugh! You have no idea. Odango here was snoring so loudly you could practically hear her from the moon!" She rubbed her eyes and then gazed slyly at her friends. "You weren't talking about me, were you? Because I think I heard you mention my name at least seven times."
Minako whistled. "Wow, pretty accurate."
Rei rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I found this under your couch last night," she said, handling a thick brown leather wallet to Makoto.
Bemusedly, the brunette took the thing and stared at it. "It must be Mamoru-san's," she said dismissively, not even bothering to open it. She tossed it to Usagi. "Here Usagi-chan. Better keep it or else, your boyfriend wouldn't be able to take you out to dinner."
Usagi grinned widely and began inspecting the thing on her hand, glad that she had the chance to look over one of Mamoru's personal belongings. The rest of the senshi went on about their business of eating breakfast when suddenly, they were shocked by their odango princess's loud scream. Rei literally jumped out from the sound, Ami almost burned her hand with the tea the she was pouring, and Makoto hit her head on the table after retrieving the fallen spoon on the floor.
Wiping the spilled milk on the front of her shirt, Minako glared at the odango blonde. "What is it this time?"
Tears started to well up on Usagi's eyes as she looked accusingly at the brunette who was wincing in pain and still busy from rubbing his sore head. "How could you do this to me...?"
Makoto looked baffled. "What?"
Usagi didn't say anything. Instead, she flipped the wallet open and showed it to the rest of her friends. Makoto's jaw almost fell when she saw what the blonde was upset about.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Minako muttered unbelievably.
Rei snatched the wallet from Usagi and take a good look herself. "This is Mako-chan alright."
"Why would Mamoru-san keep my picture?" the brunette asked incredulously after a moment of silence. "Shouldn't he be keeping Usagi-chan's instead?"
"That's what I'd like to know..." Usagi grumbled, enraged.
Suddenly, Rei hit the odango blonde on the head with the wallet after extracting some sort of ID from its insides. "Baka! This doesn't belong to Mamoru-san. Why don't you take a look at this before you start flinging accusations, hmmm?" With that, she tossed the thin plastic card on the table and it spun briefly before stopping of them.
The four senshi congregated around the table and found themselves staring at none other than Nephrite's driver's license.
"Come on, Aniki! Afraid to lose?"
Nephrite crossed his arms on his chest as he watched his younger brother dribble the basketball between his legs, taunting and daring him to steal the ball away. He grinned smugly. "To you? Fat chance." He then turned his back and walked calmly, sitting on the stone stairs near their back door. Wiping the sweat off his face, he then picked the plastic bottle of water beside him, flipped the cap, and took a drink. They have been shooting hoops for about an hour and with summer just around the corner, the morning temperature started to get awful.
He saw Jadeite stopped dribbling and cradled the ball with his right hand. The blond was unusually ecstatic this morning. Then again, Jadeite was always happy and on a sugar-high even without special occasions. If the blond were Peter Pan, Nephrite was sure Jadeite's feet wouldn't touch the ground. His brain was overflowing with 'happy thoughts.' However, this morning was different and he has a fair guess why.
"So, Hino-san is finally your girl," he said as-a-matter-of-factly, staring at his approaching brother. "That's good. Take good care of her."
His statement caught the young man off guard. Nephrite chuckled to himself.
"How did you know about Rei?" Jadeite asked, now standing three feet away from him.
Snorting, he said, "It's practically written all over your face. Congratulations, anyway."
The blonde grinned. "Gee, thanks," he replied.
"Based from her actions, I never thought you would succeed."
Jadeite's grin widened. "It pays to know something that they were afraid to tell."
Amused, Nephrite cocked an eyebrow. "You blackmailed her?"
"Well... You could say that."
The brunet laughed. "You're pathetic."
"Who's pathetic?" Jadeite glared at him. "You're pathetic. At least I did something to win her over. Not like you. I saw the way you looked at Mako-chan. You like her, don't you?"
Stifling his laughter, Nephrite gave him an amused gaze. "And what, my dear brother, made you say that?"
"Your eyes were following her all around as if you were some kind of a stalker!"
He inclined his head. Did I really do that? He wasn't even aware that he was doing it. Running a hand on his ruffled mane of hair, he smirked at his brother. "I thought you were busy ogling your o-hime-sama? I didn't know you had the time to look the other way." He then stood up, snatched the ball from the occupied blond and drove towards the basket, executing a perfect lay-up.
Frowning, Jadeite crossed his arms on his chest. "Cheater," he huffed.
Nephrite chuckled. "Come on, Jadeite-chan. Afraid to lose?"
The brunet saw the corner of his brother's lips curled into a smile and lunged towards him. With that, another round of basketball between the two brothers begun...
"This is sooo weird..."
Makoto glanced at the longhaired blonde and frowned. "That was the understatement of the year, Mina-chan."
"First, Rei-chan and Senpai suddenly became an item and then we found this!" Minako exclaimed, waving the brown leather wallet in the air.
Rei almost spat the water across the room but held on to her serious demeanor. She glanced at Ami's direction but the blue-haired senshi averted her gaze the moment their eyes met, idly sipping her tea.
"What's so weird about that?" Usagi asked with naivety. "Nephrite-san likes Mako-chan that's why he's keeping a picture of her in his wallet."
Rei cleared her throat loudly to get everybody's attention, relieved that her friends were not in the "detectives from hell" mode. "That guy is a stalker. Stay away from him, Mako-chan. Who knows what he might do to you."
The brunette cringed at the word stalker.
"I don't think he's that kind of person," interjected Ami in a voice full of reason. "From the way he spoke and carried himself, I think he's a decent man."
The miko raised brow, crossing her arms on her chest. "Oh c'mon, Ami-chan. It's like in the movies! They disguise themselves as someone who's decent and educated and then they kidnap their victims and then sacrifice them into a boiling pit of lava."
"Like Hannibal Lecter, right?" Minako asked vibrantly. "He's a genius but then he asked his victims to eat their own faces and bodies! Yuck! That's so gross!"
The petite girl sighed and shook his head, slowly massaging her temples. On the other hand, the brunette shuddered as she imagined herself being sacrificed by a handsome auburn-haired man to a group of hungry flesh-eating monsters.
"Anyway," Ami continued, "a picture in a wallet doesn't prove anything, except of course the fact that he likes Mako-chan... Just like what Usagi-chan said."
Rei grunted. "I can't believe you're defending him like that, Ami-chan. Have you forgotten he was a Shitennou?"
"Look who's talking!" Usagi said with a loud snort. "Weren't you the one who has a Shitennou boyfriend?"
"How did you..." Rei suddenly caught herself in short for words. Giving Ami a withering glance, she saw the petite girl meekly motioned the word 'sorry' with her mouth. She sighed hopelessly. "I was saving our butts!" she then exclaimed defensively.
Usagi clapped happily. "So it's true."
Ignoring the odango blonde, Makoto gave Rei a sharp glance. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
Recovering from her sudden outburst, the miko slowly averted her gaze. "Nothing. I did that just to shut him up. He was very annoying."
"Ami-chan," Minako called a little seriously afterwards. "I thought you didn't trust them yet, what made you change your mind?"
"Well I... I have reasons of my own and Mamoru-san trusts them and I don't think he would bring them here just to let them hurt us," she replied. "He also told me, they were his royal guards, when he was Prince Endymion."
"Yes," the longhaired blonde agreed. "From my 'princess memory,' I remember I saw Kunzite-san with him."
Ami smiled. "I think they were resurrected to have a second shot with life. I just realized that if that's the case, it's kind of sad if we don't give them a second chance. Wouldn't you agree?"
Usagi let out a sigh of contentment, smiling mysteriously.
Makoto nodded slowly, scratching her chin. "Now that you mentioned it, yeah. It does seem sad. But... weren't they've been resurrected before and yet, they still sided with the Dark Kingdom?"
"It's not like that, Mako-chan," Usagi replied less flippantly. "Beryl got to them first before we did."
The brunette didn't seem to believe her.
"Hey guys, don't you think it's kind of late to discuss that matter now?" Minako asked, raising a golden brow. "Come on, we have practically forgiven them the day we accepted them and became their friends. Besides, there's nothing to forgive in the first place. Mamoru-san was the one they had betrayed, not us."
The other blonde shifted on her seat uncomfortably and decided to nibble on her toast.
"But they tried to kill us," Rei pointed out.
"And that's the reason why they were resurrected... to make amends, to correct everything," Ami explained. "I think that's a very logical justification."
"Right!" Minako agreed. "You know, I think it's kind of amazing how they blended with us so easily. It is as if we have known each other all along. It may be possible that we were friends with them during that time in the moon, right? It's a natural occurrence since we were Serenity-hime's guardians, and they, Endymion's."
Usagi choked out on her food when she heard the word 'friends.' Makoto gave her a worried glance.
"Are you alright?" the brunette asked.
After drinking some water to alleviate the burning sensation in her throat, she smiled nervously. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry 'bout that 'finger-pointing' thingy earlier. I wasn't thinking."
Makoto let out a kind smile and shook her head. "Don't worry about it."
"Uhm guys?" Ami said, calling out their attention. "I think there is something else you should know."
The brunette snorted. "Don't tell us Zoi-kun and you were an item, too?"
The four went silent as Makoto's jest hung in the air. Ami just stood there, staring at the brunette. Minako, mistaking the blue-haired girl's silence for a yes, widely grinned, her blue eyes twinkling with excitement.
"No! Of course not!" the petite girl replied vehemently. "That's way too unthinkable. He doesn't even like me!"
Usagi raised a brow. "And how did you know that?"
"Because I knew."
Rei clucked her tongue disapprovingly, glaring at the blonde. "I can't understand why are you encouraging Ami-chan to like him, and Mako-chan to reciprocate Nephrite's -- if there were indeed -- feelings for her, and why are you tolerating Minako-chan to date the eldest Shitennou! And why, oh why, were you seemed happy now that Jadeite-that-evil-scumbag is now my wretched boyfriend!"
"Hey, I didn't say anything about Mako-chan and Nephrite-san!"
"But you were insinuating it!"
"For the record, Rei-chan," Minako said, interrupting Rei and Usagi's tongue-lashing. "I'm not dating Kunzite-san."
Makoto let out a derisive laugh. "Yeah, you weren't dating him alright, and my hair is a natural blonde," she said with sarcasm. "We saw you."
The longhaired blonde just stuck out her tongue. "It was just a friendly date."
"So you've finally admitted it that Senpai is your boyfriend," Usagi said, grinning slyly at the miko.
"This isn't about me," Rei shot back indignantly. "You knew something, I can sense it. Setsuna-san told me that it was them who brought them back and we all know that they wouldn't do anything without your blessing. She also told me that if I want to know something, I should ask Mamoru-san, your boyfriend. Funny how it all points out to one person... you."
Makoto scratched her head, glancing at their princess. "Is this true?"
Usagi just shrugged her shoulders and refused to give any direct answer. To her relief, Makoto's telephone suddenly rang and she had gladly volunteered to answer it before the brunette or the miko could make any protest. Makoto just shook her head and glanced at the annoyed Rei.
"You've talked to her?" Ami asked the miko with disbelief. "I've been wanting to clarify some... uh, issues with her but she's always busy. It seemed that she was avoiding me."
"Yeah," she replied. "She went to Hikawa Jinja yesterday to bring the outers' gift for Usagi."
"Call me paranoid or too assuming but, I don't know with you guys, I have this feeling that each of us was being paired off with a particular shitennou," the brunette then said. "Serenity's senshi and Endymion's shitennou... don't you think it's kind of fitting?"
"I had that in mind, too," the petite girl added.
"Maybe Usagi-chan will have a second daughter and she's going to need her own set of guardians that's why the shitennou were brought back to be our husbands so we can uh... produce four new inner senshi?""
Ami, Makoto, and Rei looked horrified at Minako's logic. The idea was very, very disturbing.
"That was sick," Rei choked out.
The blonde remained positive. "It's a possibility."
"Come on, Mina-chan," Makoto said. "Couldn't you think of anything else that wouldn't romantically link them to us?"
She grinned. "Sorry, can't help it. They were our dream-guys-turned-to-flesh!"
"Well not in my case!" Rei retorted.
Minako gave her three friends a knowing glance. "You're hypocrites if you would tell me you didn't at least find them attractive." They bristled at her comment. And then she turned to Rei, "I saw the way you study Jadeite-senpai when you thought nobody was looking."
The miko was stunned.
"You, Ami-chan," at this, she then turned at the startled girl. "I've noticed the way you give Zoi-kun that long second glances whenever he's passing by."
"Second glances? I most certainly did not!" came the indignant reply but that tell-tale blush was slowly creeping on her cheeks.
"And you, Mako-chan--"
Before Minako could say another word, Makoto shushed her and said, "I know what you're going to say that's why I'm sparing myself some little dignity. I stared, gawked, watched him to my heart's desire and thought that Motoki Onii-chan was nothing compared to him."
The blonde was amazed. "Wow, I'm impressed. Such courage!"
"However, I don't like him because he's too perfect! And creepy!"
Minako grinned widely. She was really enjoying this. It wasn't everyday she got to pin down her friends and hear their confessions. Well, sort of. Rei's rare silence and Ami's patented blush were admission itself while Makoto 'spoke' for herself. In one way or another, she was sure that her friends have some sort of feelings for those guys. They just didn't know it yet.
She sighed, noticing the dubious looks being shot at her direction. "Don't think that I'm not with you guys. I want to know the truth as much as you do. Unlike you, I'm taking this in a positive way. If Usagi-chan indeed was partly responsible for bringing them back to life, do you think she would let something bad to happen to us? I don't think so."
The three threw glances at each other
Nephrite wiped the sweat off his brow and chuckled at his younger brother who was slumped beside him, catching his breath. "I told you, you could not beat me, not in a million years."
Jadeite shot him a dirty look and huffed. "I was just being soft on you. You know, there was this saying: You have to respect old people." The blond let out a throaty chuckle.
"Baka!" he shot back, hitting his brother on the head. "I'm not THAT old, you doofus."
The blond was still laughing even though he was rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Anyway," he then said. "I never knew you were friends with Usagi-chan's boyfriend. And how did you meet them, especially Mako-chan? You were not spying on us, were you?"
"Why would I do that?" he asked in return. He shook his head. "Mamoru-kun was my classmate. He introduced me to the girls one day when I gave him a ride to the place where they were going to meet. And as for Mako-chan, our first meeting was kind of..."
Jadeite edged closer to him. "Kind of?"
"Special."
The younger shitennou tilted his head. "Special? Why?"
Nephrite chuckled. "Would you believe that she slept on me, I mean, on my shoulder even though she still didn't know me? The people probably thought she was my girlfriend."
The blond shuddered at the uncharacteristically goofy expression on his brother's face. Zoisite was right. Love makes smart people dumb. And it makes them look stupid, too. "Ugh, you should stop looking that way. It was horrible." The brunet glared at him.
"If you really like her, why don't just ask her out?" Jadeite continued. "Makoto is a sweet and kind person, she wouldn't say no." Then, he studied his brother's form. "Especially to you."
Nephrite laughed with mild sarcasm. "Hey, Mr. Love Guru is teaching me some strategies. What should I do, oh Great One?"
The blond frowned, annoyed. He threw his hands up in the air and sighed with resignation.
"Don't worry, Jadeite-chan, I have strategies of my own." He grinned at the expression on the boy's face. If there's one thing that Jadeite hated the most, it was attaching feminine and childish suffixes to his name.
"There you are!"
The two turned at the direction of the voice and saw Zoisite walking towards them with Mamoru trailing behind him. Nephrite smiled at them and waved, slowly getting up. "Hey there," he greeted as he approached them.
"Ohayou," Mamoru replied, smiling. "Are you busy?"
He shook his head. "No, we were just playing basketball. So, what can I do for you?"
"I want to talk to you about... something," he said. "I think you're in trouble."
"Oh." Nephrite nodded meaningfully. "Of course. Let's sit over there." He then pointed at the wooden bench underneath a big cherry tree.
Mamoru excused himself and nodded his thanks at the youngest shitennou, patting him in the shoulder, before following Nephrite towards the bench. Zoisite smiled back as he watched the dark-haired man's retreating form.
"You know what, Zoisite," Jadeite said, suddenly popping beside him. "This may sound weird but I think I've known Mamoru-san for a long time. He looked kind of familiar to me, like I've seen him somewhere."
"Funny, I feel the same way, too," he replied, glancing at his brother. "I thought I was the only one. When I saw him last night at Usagi-chan's party, it felt like I want to shout and laugh because I finally met him."
"This is really weird," he muttered. He then glanced at the two who seemed to be discussing something very important. "I wonder what they are talking about. Do you have any idea what on earth are they babbling about?"
Zoisite shrugged his shoulder. "I don't know. Beats me."
"Darn it, Mina-chan. I hate it when you made sense!" Makoto said, her lips twisting into a smile.
The blonde grinned proudly. "Why do you think I became the leader of the inner senshi?"
Rei rolled her eyes. "Point taken. You don't have to brag."
"What I'm just trying to say is that we should trust Usagi-chan," Minako added. "She wouldn't do anything disastrous, would she?"
The brunette sighed. "You know, we should drop the subject. I always trust Usagi and Minako-chan is right. Our princess wouldn't bring them back only to let them kill us in the end. And frankly, this topic is getting on my nerves! My only concern now is this!" She picked the wallet up and frantically waved it to the air. "Why is he keeping me in his wallet?"
"Because he likes you," Ami replied, rubbing her eyes wearily. "Oh God, I'm so sleepy... Just let me sleep..."
Minako turned to Rei, ignoring the blue-haired girl who dropped her head unceremoniously on the table and started to doze off. "What about you Rei-chan?"
"Fine... as long as Odango wouldn't ask about me and Jadeite."
The blonde nodded thoughtfully. "Alright. I know the two of you would give each of your own explanations when you're ready. For now, let us give ourselves a temporary restraining order."
"A what?" Makoto asked, scratching her head.
Shortly, Usagi returned to the kitchen, a wide grin plastered on her face. She looked at her friends for a moment and then clapped her hands happily. "Good, you've settled down already--"
Rei huffed, rolling her eyes. "Settle down my foot," she muttered sarcastically. "You owe us an explanation."
"Rei-chan..." Minako gave her a reprimanding look. "We have talked about this, haven't we?"
"Whatever."
"Who was that?" Makoto asked, eyeing Usagi suspiciously.
"Mamo-chan, he was just confirming our dinner tonight," she replied with a wide smile. She then turned at the blue-haired senshi. "Ami was going to tell us something, wasn't she?"
Hearing her name, Ami slowly lifted her head and blinked. "Oh... uh, it was nothing. It wasn't that important, considering what we had discovered today..." She glanced at them and almost doubled over with fear. The senshi were practically threatening her with their evil eyes. "Alright... Mina-chan asked me earlier what made me change my mind about trusting the shitennou... well, I've discovered something about them." She turned to Minako. "Do you remember the deal we had when we found out that they were brought back to life?"
The blonde nodded. "Yeah, it's been what, almost two months? I was kind of wondering why you haven't given me your analysis yet. I thought you were just busy."
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm done with it, actually. Maybe, putting it off was just my way of let's say, disagreeing with something inconceivable. Plus, scanning the two older shitennou was hard since we didn't get to see them everyday."
"So, how did you do it?" Usagi asked.
"Zoisite-kun used to talk about his brothers a lot so I asked him about the books they like and if I could borrow them..."
Minako gave her a teasing look. "I didn't know you were in 'speaking terms' with him. You hardly talk to each other when we're around."
Ami blushed. "Well, he's rather talkative when we're at the Computer club," she said. "Anyway, he brought Kunzite's copy of The Little Prince--"
"Hey, I have read that!" Minako exclaimed cheerfully. "We took that up in our English Class in sixth grade... though I couldn't understand a single word in it back then since it was after all, written in English. My favorite quote came from that book. It says, 'It is through the eyes that one can see rightly; what is naked is essential to the invisible man!'"
Makoto choked out a mortified laugh while Usagi couldn't hide a snicker.
"I'm really impressed Mina-chan," Rei said with a raised brow. "You made it sound like a pervert's guide book or something."
Ami shook her head hopelessly. "It is with the heart that one can see rightly; what is invisible is essential to the naked eye," she corrected. She then continued, "Kunzite's, and, fortunately, Nephrite's fingerprints were there. After some tests, the computer finally came up with a conclusion. It was negative."
"Meaning?" the longhaired blonde asked.
"They are as normal as the rest of Tokyo's population," she finished. "It's like their whole DNA code were rewritten."
"Normal means no powers, right?" Makoto asked.
Ami nodded.
"Everything is clear to me now," Minako said with full conviction. "They're meant to be here."
Rei groaned and threw her hands up to the air. "Come on! Spare us with this whole 'fate' theory." She then glanced at her watch and frowned. "I can't believe it's ten already! I promised Ojii-san that I would go home at 8:30."
Usagi snorted. "It wasn't our fault you overslept."
Minako clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Come on, people. We had bothered Mako-chan so much. Let's clean up already and leave her in peace. I have a fair guess that someone would be coming over. Let us give her enough time to make herself more beautiful."
The brunette rolled her eyes and said nothing.
Absently chewing the eraser in her pencil, Makoto kept on murmuring to herself and then scribbling equations on a piece of paper. Ever since she was still in Kindergarten, she hated Math. She didn't know back then that 'one apple plus one apple equals two apples' was already a mathematical equation. She just thought that their teacher was teaching them the fundamentals of making fruit salad. Counting and adding apples (and other fruits for that matter) were really a bore for Kino Makoto's young and, not to mention, impatient mind.
She suddenly stopped scribbling and groaned in frustration. No matter how hard she tried, she would never, ever get to solve this blasted problem without Ami's help. "She sure did make it sound easy," she grumbled moodily. "You can do this Mako-chan! All you have to do is substitute this number to the value of x and then-- Graah! I can't even remember which number to substitute!"
Then, she heard a cracking sound.
Makoto sighed and stared at the broken pencil in her hand. "Great. Three pencils in just an hour." She pushed her notes away and rested her head on the coffee table. For the life of her, she couldn't understand why everything revolves around Mathematics. Why, could the fundamental theorem of calculus solve the growing rate of unemployment in the country today? Would it be best for you to know the sum and difference of two cubes before you go on a date? Or are the Laws of Exponents good for your skin?
Their passion, or lack thereof, with math is one of the few things that she and her friends (except Ami, of course) have in common. When they were studying for the high school entrance exams, Usagi would complain about the relevance of Mathematics, accompanied by Minako's accordance (in an equally whiny voice). Rei would, naturally, sympathize with the two blondes. But, being the "cool" person that she was, she wouldn't admit that she was also 'number-intolerant' and was attending the study group (even though she didn't have to since her school didn't have entrance exams) for the same reason that they had-- mathematical inaptitude. Makoto, as if on cue, would then announce that it was time for dinner (or lunch, or whatever the case may be) and the study session would be untimely stopped. Needless to say, Ami would be pissed but she was such a sweet person to hold a grudge for a long time.
Speaking of dinner, she glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already thirty minutes past six. Makoto got up and was about to head for the kitchen when Nephrite's wallet caught her gaze. It was sitting on top of the shelf, surrounded by pictures of her parents and friends. Minako put it there so that she could see it easily just in case its owner happened to drop by.
Tilting her head, she made her way towards the shelf and picked the wallet up. It wasn't in her character to snoop around other people's belongings but there was this unmistakable pull, beckoning her to take a look and explore its insides. It wasn't like she's going to steal the money or anything. She's just going to take a look. That's all.
Flipping it open, Makoto frowned when her own face stared back at her. It was really weird seeing yourself in other people's possessions especially if you do not have any idea how it got there. She studied the picture once more. It looked like it was taken last year and apparently, she wasn't aware of it. She was smiling prettily, her eyes twinkling, as if somebody had just told her a funny joke.
Carefully, she pulled the photograph and turned it over. Her brows snapped at the date written on the back. She was right, it was taken last summer. She searched the wallet frantically, exploring every nook and cranny.
A few bills, some receipts, identification cards, reminders, his driver's license, and a strange letter. Makoto unfolded the paper and scratched her head. She couldn't understand a word of it. It was written in a language she hasn't seen before.
"What the heck is this?" she muttered. She returned the letter to its original position and then stared at the driver's license once again. Now she knew he's six feet one inch tall, his blood type is AB, and if ever he died in an accident, he would gladly donate his eyes and other internal organs.
Makoto snickered. "How noble."
There was, however, one information that she and her friends failed to notice earlier. And, it made the hair in the back of her neck rise and turned her blood cold.
The driver's license was also issued last year.
"I don't understand," she whispered, bewildered. "They were already here when we were still fighting Galaxia?"
The door chime sounded and it made her jump out of her skin, hastily putting the card back inside. Her heart started beating frantically and, strangely enough, she found it hard to breathe, as if an invisible hand was gripping her windpipe.
Slowly, just like in a suspense/thriller movie, she went to the door and took a peek at the small peep hole, bracing herself. Suddenly, she fought the urge to run and hide because for the first time in her life, Kino Makoto, the strong senshi of thunder and lightning, was actually afraid of someone...
And that someone was none other than an insanely gorgeous and handsome young man standing at her doorstep and carrying a bouquet of flowers. Her mind suddenly reeled with all the information she have discovered as Minako's words earlier echoed in her ears.
They were meant to be here...
Author's notes: Can't find anything to say so I guess I'll just thank you guys for still putting up with me despite of my long absences. Muchos gracias to Amethyst Serenity, Nezumi-chan, mako-chan fan, Ocianne, Patch18, Moonlightshadows (if you still want my fic in your site, sure, I'd be honored :D thanks!), meljoy, amy, thebodyfarm, shannon19, am1289, Angry Girl, and Merry Faerie for the awesome reviews.
Hopefully, chapter 11 will be out sooner. I would really try my best to update fast. Promise.
Don't worry guys, the secrets of the four shitennou will be revealed in a little while.
Btw, aniki means brother.
Till next time!
Don't forget to leave your review! c",)