Title: Blue
Author: Raya Light
SM Monthly Challenge Theme 06JAN06: Fight
Genre: Drama/Crossover
Version: Manga - Post StarS
Rating: G

Disclaimer: Ami owned by Takeuchi Naoko. Book, Yui, and Tetsuya owned by Yuu Watase (I think) creator of Fushigi Yuugi.

A/N - Time to start uploading more stories I have written for the daily theme challenge in the SM Monthly LJ community. Expect more in the near future! - Raya

Blue

Ami paused just inside of the doors of the National Diet Library, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. A smile crept onto her face as she let it out again and opened her eyes. There was something about the smell of libraries that seemed to drive away any tension and stress she felt. This library, in particular, seemed to have an exceptionally calming effect. After the rather stressful day of worrying about Usagi, high school mid-term exams, and college entrance exams, she felt that she really deserved the break.

Still smiling, she made her way over to the magazine racks and spent a few moments leisurely perusing her options. She finally selected a medical journal that she had been waiting impatiently for and several others she not yet had a chance to read, and turned to find a chair. As she walked through the library to her favorite corner, she also collected a couple books for her latest research project.

Ami reached the isolated table in the History section and quietly lowered her selections and school bag to its surface. Subconsciously protecting herself from being attacked from behind, she chose the chair in the corner and quickly arranged her space. She took a notepad, pens, and a calculator out of her backpack, arranged them in front of herself, and eagerly opened the medical journal to read the second part of the article on DNA splicing and repair and its implications on the latest cloning experiment. Happily, she lost herself in the miraculous world of modern science.

Ami was so engrossed in the article and her confirmation of its sources that she failed to notice the softly arguing couple that slowly worked their way into her isolated corner.

"You sniveling idiot," the girl exclaimed. Ami jerked her head up suddenly aware of their presence. "Go on then. See if I care."

"Oh, come on, Yui," the tall, dark haired man man said negligently as he removed his sunglasses. "You know I didn't mean anything by it. She was just..."

Yui cut him off with a toss of her short blonde brown hair. A stray sunbeam caught on the small blue earring she wore, glinting off of it into Ami's eyes. Embarrassed, the senshi stood the journal up on its end and tried to hide behind it.

"I don't care what she did," Yui told her boyfriend icily. "I couldn't care less about her. You, on the other hand..."

"I didn't do anything," he snapped in an exasperated tone. "All I did was say..."

"I heard what you said, Tetsuya-san," Yui replied formally as she turned and glared at him with her dark blue eyes. Tetsuya winced, and Ami tried to sink even further behind her journal. "I also heard how you said it, and saw the look you gave her. I was standing right there."

Cheeks burning with embarrassment, Ami tried to discretely pull over her tallest book, a treatise on the use of water in the treatment and rehabilitation of mental and physical disorders. The soft sound of it sliding across the table was drowned out by Tetsuya's defensive response.

"I didn't give her any kind of look. What's gotten into you lately? It's not that time of month yet, is it?"

Ami and Yui gasped simultaneously, both of their cheeks flaming madly. Ami desperately wanted to slip out of her chair and hide under the table, but she knew that any large movement like that would definitely make them notice her and embarrass everyone further. She couldn't even bring the treatise up now without attracting attention. She could only sit frozen hiding as best she could behind the journal.

Yui's red cheeks faded almost instantly to white, and her hands went instinctively to her abdomen. Tetsuya froze as her eyes seemed to get even colder. "No... What do you... How dare you..." she said distantly. Suddenly, she dropped her arms back to her sides and clenched her fists, and her eyes filled with tears. "You complete, total jerk of an idiot!" she yelled suddenly making both Tetsuya and Ami jump. "It's all your fault!" Spinning, she ran away from them.

"Yui!" he cried, reaching a hand out after her. He began to move after her, but froze as her response reached him.

"Leave me alone! I never want to see you again! Ever!"

"Yui?" he said more softly as he stared at the point where she had disappeared with a lost, confused look on his face.

Ami's medical journal chose just that moment to collapse. The sound of the stiff, hard spine hitting the table made both of them jump. Tetsuya spun around, searching for the source of the noise. When he spotted Ami sitting at the table, her blue hair and white uniform top emphasizing the burning red of her cheeks and her research paraphernalia all around, his eyes widened, and he flushed a deep crimson.

"Ummm..." he said nervously, shifting from one foot to the other. Quickly, he slid his sunglasses back on. "Sor... Sorry about that..."

"It... It's all right..." Ami replied weakly, quickly looking down at the journal. Her dark blue eyes flew up again when she heard the sound of a chair dragging across the floor. She watched with surprise as Tetsuya flopped down into the chair looking completely confused and dejected.

"I... I don't know what's gotten into her lately," he said softly, almost as if he were speaking to himself. "She's been so cold... Like... Like she's hiding something. Or hurting..." He shuddered, and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table and bury his face in his hands. His sunglasses fell off and danced on the table for a second before lying still and forgotten. "Yui, what's going on? What can't you tell me?"

Ami shifted uncomfortably and studied his forlorn figure. She didn't want to seem nosy, but now her curiosity was aroused. And even though he was a little slimmer than Mamoru, with his head buried in his hands like that and his dark hair, Tetsuya reminded her of her king when he was worrying about his gentle wife.

"What happened?" she finally asked softly. She deliberately kept her voice as quiet as she could so that he could choose to ignore her.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know," he replied through his hands. "She wanted to check out a book for a senior research project she and Miaka-chan are working on, so we came here. We saw an old friend of mine standing by the directory computers, so I stopped to say hi to her. We chatted for a few minutes, and Midori made some comment about missing a man to help her around the apartment. I told her that I'd be happy to stop by and help, and then Yui just took off. I could tell she was angry about something so I followed, and the next thing I know we're fighting. In a library."

Suddenly, his shoulders stiffened and he raised his head. "The library..." he said softly. His eyes widened. "The National Library. The book!" He jumped up frantically, knocking his chair down. The resounding crash almost drowned out his next few words. "No, Yui! Wait! Not there!"

Ami watched with wide, confused eyes as he began to run towards the front of the library once more. For a long moment, she stared at the aisle that the two of them had disappeared into, then blinked her eyes and shook her head. She quietly pushed her own chair back, stood up, and went to replace the chair Tetsuya had knocked over. 'That was strange,' she thought to herself as she returned to her studies once more.

Several minutes later, she sensed a presence and looked up quickly. She blinked as she realized that Yui had returned. Her face was suspiciously clean and bright. Ami studied her a little more closely, noted the slightly swollen, red eyes, and deduced that the other girl must have had a good long crying session and then washed her face.

"Um... Excuse me," Yui said softly in a slightly congested voice.

"Yes?" Ami replied trying to sound encouraging.

"Have... Have you seen a tall young man with dark hair? He was wearing a brown leather jacket, beige pants, and sunglasses."

Ami smiled gently, and then started. Quickly, she looked at the table. The sunglasses were still lying there. Yui's gaze followed hers, and then widened. Slowly, she made her way over to the table and picked up the sunglasses.

"Umm... Those are his," Ami said tentatively. "He was so upset about his fight with you that he forgot them."

Yui stiffened, her face becoming cold once more. Slowly, she turned and looked at Ami suspiciously. Ami just gave her a surprised look, and then sat back with a slight sigh.

"I was here for the fight," she said softly. As Yui's body relaxed and her face flushed, Ami smiled gently. "I wanted to escape and let you have your privacy, but I was trapped." She gestured to the books, the table, and her position in the corner. "You really should pay more attention to what is around you when you fight in public," she teased. When Yui tightened up again, Ami realized that while Tetsuya may have reminded her of Mamoru, this girl was nothing like Usagi. Quickly, she tried to change the subject.

"I understand you were looking for a book for a senior research project. What are you presenting on?" she asked curiously.

Yui blinked and relaxed a little once more. "Ancient Chinese culture," she replied. "My friend and I have been interested in it for several years now, so we thought it would be a good choice."

Ami nodded with a considering look. "That's a pretty broad subject," she said. "That will give you some room to play in."

The left corner of Yui's mouth quirked up. "That's what Miaka, my friend, does best," she quipped.

Ami smiled back. "I have two friends like that," she replied.

Yui's smile grew a bit bigger, and then faded again. "Did you see where Tetsuya-kun went?"

Ami shook her head with an apologetic look. "He muttered something about this being the National Library and a book." Her puzzled expression returned. "In fact, he seemed really worried about you finding that book. Like he thought you would get hurt or something."

Yui looked puzzled for a moment, too, and then she blinked with surprise. "It can't be... He couldn't possibly think that I'd..." Slowly, she shook her head, looking puzzled once more. "What exactly did he say?"

"Sorry," Ami replied, "I didn't catch more than that. But he was really worried. After you left, he was sad and confused. He was a bit worried because you haven't been yourself lately." Ami broke off, suddenly realizing that she was probably saying too much. Quickly, she got back on the subject of where he went. "And then, he just jumped up, said something about a book and you not going, and ran off."

Yui looked towards the front of the library with a strange expression on her face. "Why would he think I'd ever want to go back there?" she muttered softly.

"I don't think he was thinking too clearly," Ami said softly after a long pause. "He seemed really confused and worried." She paused, and then listened to her instincts. "He obviously cares about you."

"I know..." Yui responded softly. Her hand returned to her abdomen and began to rub it in small circles. Her expression began to smooth back out again. She turned and gave Ami a slight bow. "Thank you for your help. I'll leave you alone to study in peace. It was nice to meet you."

"Ami Mizuno," Ami replied with a small smile of her own. She bowed slightly back. "It was nice to meet you, too. Good luck with your research project."

Yui's eyes widened, as if she had recognized Ami's name, and she bowed again. "Thank you. Goodbye, Mizuno-san."

"Goodbye." Ami watched as the other girl hurried off towards the front of the library. She waited for a few minutes to see if either of them would return again, and then turned her attention back to the journal. Absently, she wondered just what section of the library Yui had been hurt in, and how it had happened. And then, an article about a miraculous operation on a six month old child grabbed her attention and she forgot all about it.