(Tokyo, Japan-Three weeks later.)
Serena ran the last few blocks to school in a mad dash to get to her homeroom. She ran so fast that her pigtails trailed straight out behind her like a pair of yellow streamers. "Oh no!" she cried panting, "I can't believe I overslept again! I'm gonna be late AGAIN!"
She turned a sharp corner and felt an impact. She was on the ground before she knew it, as was the guy she ran into. Automatically, she started to apologize (this sort of thing happens to her all the time), but then she recognized him. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I was just late for.Oh, it's you, Darien."
He stood up and dusted himself off. He was tall, with a medium build, short jet-black hair, blue eyes, and a very handsome face. He and Serena had become romantically involved some time ago, when they first learned the truth about each other. The truth being that he was Tuxedo Mask and she Sailor Moon, the Champion of Justice. Of course, he still loved to tease her like he did before then. "Late again, Meatballhead?"
"DON'T CALL ME." she was about to say "Meatballhead," but then she realized that she was still late for class and took off running again. Darien chuckled and walked away laughing softly to himself.
The late bell rang just as she stepped onto the grounds, and about a minute later, she ran through her classroom door and skidded to a stop, panting to catch her breath. She was startled to see four strange kids standing in front of the class and Miss Haruna glaring at her from her desk.
Miss Haruna rose to her feet. "Late again, Serena? That's the third time this week!" "The fourth, actually," Serena corrected.
The teacher sighed. "Sit down, Serena." And Serena did so. "Now that we're all here, I have a very special announcement to make." All eyes turned to Miss Haruna. "Today, we have four exchange students joining us all the way from America. Come on in, kids!"
All the heads in the classroom turned as Miss Haruna beckoned the four students in.
The first was an amazingly handsome guy with dark brown eyes and black hair in a rat tail. He was tall and muscular with a dark complexion. The second was a rather plain-looking girl with braided pigtails and brown eyes behind thick glasses. The third was an extremely tall, pretty girl with long, blazing red hair, a freckled face, and emerald-green eyes. She stood about 6'4," an inch or two taller than the first one. And last was a guy with scruffy, dirty-blond hair. He was shorter than the rest, and rather skinny, his grey eyes and blank expression made him all the more dull.
"Would you kids like to introduce yourselves?" asked Miss Haruna.
The tall girl spoke up first. "I'm Miranda Kolovski, but my friends call me Andi. I come from Richmond Virginia, and I like football, singing, dancing, acting. . ." Andi went on for a long time, but everyone had tuned her out. Some of the guys were admiring her pretty face, and the girls were all captivated by the handsome guy.
Andi finally finished, and then the other three introduced themselves. "I'm Chris from Utah," said the skinny boy.
"I'm Fred from Nevada," said the heartthrob.
"I'm his sister, Paula," said the plain girl.
The brevity of their responses startled the class out of their daydreams about Fred and Andi, and everyone said "Hello." Miss Haruna directed them to their seats: Fred beside Serena, Chris between Ami and Lita, Paula beside Molly, and Andi between Lita and Fred.
"Hey! I'm Serena," she said to Fred.
"Pleasure," he responded with a flirtatious grin.
Then Lita-one of Serena's friends and another of the Sailor Scouts: Sailor Jupiter-chimed in. "And I'm Lita. Hey, Ami, Serena and I are gonna go meet some friends at the arcade after school. You guys are welcome to come along if you want to," she said.
"Sounds like fun," said Andi with a bright smile.
Fred and Chris nodded their agreement.
After school, Serena, Lita, and Ami-Sailor Mercury-led the four exchange students to the video arcade where they were supposed to meet up with their friends, Rei and Mina. Rei and Mina were Sailor Scouts as well: Sailors Mars and Venus.
Andi seemed to be the most excited of the bunch. Everything around her seemed to give her a thrill. Fred was grinning, but it was not the same. Paula and Chris didn't smile. In fact, they didn't even talk very much. Fred and Andi seemed to be making all the conversation.
Then they caught sight of Rei and Mina across the arcade making their way over to the group. Lita smiled and said to them, "Mina, Rei, this is Fred, Andi, Paula, and Chris. They're exchange students from America."
Mina smiled and wasted no time in beginning a flirting contest with Lita over Fred, but Rei on the other hand, only frowned at them and grunted a hello. When Andi set down her backpack to shake hands with her, she merely looked at it as though it was covered with slime. She was very cold to them. More so than to most people, and Serena and Ami both wondered why. Mina and Lita were too busy with Fred to notice.
After the arcade, the nine of them decided to go to a nearby diner for lunch. The scouts-with the exception of Rei-were all anxious to show the exchange students a good time in Tokyo. During the meal, Rei, Chris, and Paula were all quiet, while the rest talked enthusiastically, trying to get acquainted.
Then Rei pulled the scouts away from the others for a moment. She lead them outside with extreme exasperation on her face.
"Rei, what's up?" Lita asked.
Ami nodded. "Yeah, you're not yourself today. Did something happen at school?"
"No," said Rei, "But I. . ."
"Oh my GOSH! Did you see how cute Fred is?!" Mina squealed.
"MINA!" Rei shouted, "Can't you guys take ANYTHING seriously? I need to tell you. Those exchange students. I'm getting serious Negavibes from all four of them!"
"All of them?" Serena looked puzzled, "Even Fred and Andi?"
"Especially Fred and Andi."
"No way, Rei!" Said Mina. "You're just imagining things"
"It's not my imagination, Mina! Not every cute guy in the world is a prince charming, you know! Look, I know what I sense from them, and they can't be trusted. We can't look suspicious, but we have to keep an eye on them."
"Yeah, Rei, because snubbing them like you did wasn't suspicious at all," Mina shot back.
"Actually, it was normal for her," Serena put in with a giggle.
"You stay out of it, Meatball Head!" Rei shrieked.
"DON'T CALL ME MEATBALLHEAD!"
When the scouts walked back in and rejoined the group of exchange students, a new air of awkwardness hung over the table. The conversation was mostly between Fred and Andi.
"So, Andi," said Fred at one point, "Paula and I are staying with the Wakatsuki family, and Chris is staying with the Takeshi's. What about you? Who are you staying with?"
Andi reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "Let's see. . ." Referencing it, she responded, "The Hikawa Jinja Temple on Cherry Hill."
Rei choked on her food and nearly spit it out all over Paula. "That's where I live!"
Serena ran the last few blocks to school in a mad dash to get to her homeroom. She ran so fast that her pigtails trailed straight out behind her like a pair of yellow streamers. "Oh no!" she cried panting, "I can't believe I overslept again! I'm gonna be late AGAIN!"
She turned a sharp corner and felt an impact. She was on the ground before she knew it, as was the guy she ran into. Automatically, she started to apologize (this sort of thing happens to her all the time), but then she recognized him. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I was just late for.Oh, it's you, Darien."
He stood up and dusted himself off. He was tall, with a medium build, short jet-black hair, blue eyes, and a very handsome face. He and Serena had become romantically involved some time ago, when they first learned the truth about each other. The truth being that he was Tuxedo Mask and she Sailor Moon, the Champion of Justice. Of course, he still loved to tease her like he did before then. "Late again, Meatballhead?"
"DON'T CALL ME." she was about to say "Meatballhead," but then she realized that she was still late for class and took off running again. Darien chuckled and walked away laughing softly to himself.
The late bell rang just as she stepped onto the grounds, and about a minute later, she ran through her classroom door and skidded to a stop, panting to catch her breath. She was startled to see four strange kids standing in front of the class and Miss Haruna glaring at her from her desk.
Miss Haruna rose to her feet. "Late again, Serena? That's the third time this week!" "The fourth, actually," Serena corrected.
The teacher sighed. "Sit down, Serena." And Serena did so. "Now that we're all here, I have a very special announcement to make." All eyes turned to Miss Haruna. "Today, we have four exchange students joining us all the way from America. Come on in, kids!"
All the heads in the classroom turned as Miss Haruna beckoned the four students in.
The first was an amazingly handsome guy with dark brown eyes and black hair in a rat tail. He was tall and muscular with a dark complexion. The second was a rather plain-looking girl with braided pigtails and brown eyes behind thick glasses. The third was an extremely tall, pretty girl with long, blazing red hair, a freckled face, and emerald-green eyes. She stood about 6'4," an inch or two taller than the first one. And last was a guy with scruffy, dirty-blond hair. He was shorter than the rest, and rather skinny, his grey eyes and blank expression made him all the more dull.
"Would you kids like to introduce yourselves?" asked Miss Haruna.
The tall girl spoke up first. "I'm Miranda Kolovski, but my friends call me Andi. I come from Richmond Virginia, and I like football, singing, dancing, acting. . ." Andi went on for a long time, but everyone had tuned her out. Some of the guys were admiring her pretty face, and the girls were all captivated by the handsome guy.
Andi finally finished, and then the other three introduced themselves. "I'm Chris from Utah," said the skinny boy.
"I'm Fred from Nevada," said the heartthrob.
"I'm his sister, Paula," said the plain girl.
The brevity of their responses startled the class out of their daydreams about Fred and Andi, and everyone said "Hello." Miss Haruna directed them to their seats: Fred beside Serena, Chris between Ami and Lita, Paula beside Molly, and Andi between Lita and Fred.
"Hey! I'm Serena," she said to Fred.
"Pleasure," he responded with a flirtatious grin.
Then Lita-one of Serena's friends and another of the Sailor Scouts: Sailor Jupiter-chimed in. "And I'm Lita. Hey, Ami, Serena and I are gonna go meet some friends at the arcade after school. You guys are welcome to come along if you want to," she said.
"Sounds like fun," said Andi with a bright smile.
Fred and Chris nodded their agreement.
After school, Serena, Lita, and Ami-Sailor Mercury-led the four exchange students to the video arcade where they were supposed to meet up with their friends, Rei and Mina. Rei and Mina were Sailor Scouts as well: Sailors Mars and Venus.
Andi seemed to be the most excited of the bunch. Everything around her seemed to give her a thrill. Fred was grinning, but it was not the same. Paula and Chris didn't smile. In fact, they didn't even talk very much. Fred and Andi seemed to be making all the conversation.
Then they caught sight of Rei and Mina across the arcade making their way over to the group. Lita smiled and said to them, "Mina, Rei, this is Fred, Andi, Paula, and Chris. They're exchange students from America."
Mina smiled and wasted no time in beginning a flirting contest with Lita over Fred, but Rei on the other hand, only frowned at them and grunted a hello. When Andi set down her backpack to shake hands with her, she merely looked at it as though it was covered with slime. She was very cold to them. More so than to most people, and Serena and Ami both wondered why. Mina and Lita were too busy with Fred to notice.
After the arcade, the nine of them decided to go to a nearby diner for lunch. The scouts-with the exception of Rei-were all anxious to show the exchange students a good time in Tokyo. During the meal, Rei, Chris, and Paula were all quiet, while the rest talked enthusiastically, trying to get acquainted.
Then Rei pulled the scouts away from the others for a moment. She lead them outside with extreme exasperation on her face.
"Rei, what's up?" Lita asked.
Ami nodded. "Yeah, you're not yourself today. Did something happen at school?"
"No," said Rei, "But I. . ."
"Oh my GOSH! Did you see how cute Fred is?!" Mina squealed.
"MINA!" Rei shouted, "Can't you guys take ANYTHING seriously? I need to tell you. Those exchange students. I'm getting serious Negavibes from all four of them!"
"All of them?" Serena looked puzzled, "Even Fred and Andi?"
"Especially Fred and Andi."
"No way, Rei!" Said Mina. "You're just imagining things"
"It's not my imagination, Mina! Not every cute guy in the world is a prince charming, you know! Look, I know what I sense from them, and they can't be trusted. We can't look suspicious, but we have to keep an eye on them."
"Yeah, Rei, because snubbing them like you did wasn't suspicious at all," Mina shot back.
"Actually, it was normal for her," Serena put in with a giggle.
"You stay out of it, Meatball Head!" Rei shrieked.
"DON'T CALL ME MEATBALLHEAD!"
When the scouts walked back in and rejoined the group of exchange students, a new air of awkwardness hung over the table. The conversation was mostly between Fred and Andi.
"So, Andi," said Fred at one point, "Paula and I are staying with the Wakatsuki family, and Chris is staying with the Takeshi's. What about you? Who are you staying with?"
Andi reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "Let's see. . ." Referencing it, she responded, "The Hikawa Jinja Temple on Cherry Hill."
Rei choked on her food and nearly spit it out all over Paula. "That's where I live!"