A Tear in Time

Chapter Five - Cake and Other Things


--+--

"Am I late for school Artemis? Tell Mom I'm sick. I don't wanna take that English test today..." groaned a sleepy Minako. Crying into the night did that to you. Poor Minako-chan.

Now Trowa - who had been chosen to wake up this normally perky blond - had remembered who Artemis was when he'd heard Minako explain her part of their tale and had no idea as to why she thought that's who he was. He wasn't around not-a-morning-person Minako that much. Good thing too. English test?

"Get up Aino, you're not at home. Come get some breakfast." his voice stern. Was he just pretending that she wasn't at home? That wasn't Artemis. Or her mom. Her mom didn't sound like a guy anyway. Oh wait... the whole hole in the swallowing up thing. Right... crap. What time was it? She didn't have school and she still had to get up early! Stupid mommy/Artemis-wanna-be! Making her get up at this un-godly hour when there was no school for her!

"Don't make me bring up a hose." apparently he had an odd sense of humor. Who knew? But then again he did like Hiiro's bad jokes. (1)

And so Minako got up, using a large amount of effort and got ready for the day. Trowa had brought up a nice denim skirt and a pretty orange, yellow-flowered shirt. I like orange too, Minako-chan. Don't worry, he wasn't in the room when she changed. He was outside the door, waiting for her. That was gonna take a while. Since Minako was a teen with a huge bathroom and lots of perfume. She'd missed her chance to try them all last night.

--+--

Yum. And so several plates of eggs benedict, bacon, sausage, toast, ham, more eggs - scrambled & sunny-side up - orange juice and ketchup later, breakfast was over. Well with the exception of Usagi who was still inhaling food... and maybe a few utensils as well.

She'd attempted to copy Relena and eat slowly and not so much. Didn't go well though when she smelled the food. The power of the pig. She needed the energy anyway. Being woken up so freaking early for nothing! Minako agreed. All too much. She'd thrown a blow dryer at Trowa when he walked in on her putting on all sorts of weird make-up.

Note to self: purple eye-shadow, bright red lipstick, and fake eyelashes DO NOT go well together. It had also taken all of Trowa's power and control not to laugh at her. He understood why she threw the stupid hair thing at her. He, being a clown, had had tomatoes thrown at him by stupid little brats. He'd once even lost his temper and had thrown a throwing knife at one of them. It missed, purposely. But the mother sued. This caused a lot of problems for our silent preventor. Catherine yelled at him a lot too. She lost her voice for three weeks though. He'd laughed at her misfortune. Ok... now we're getting pretty off topic. Trowa's sounding a bit ooc.

Nothing big happened that weekend. No sight of the evilmonsters and the only fights that took place were between Usagi and her new rival, Wufei Chang. Many food-throwing contests ensued during the meals.

...That and Minako and her "stupid wall!" fights whenever she got lost in the big... mansion/place/kingdom/house-thing. Luckily Quatre followed her around a lot. He'd been assigned to watch her. It ain't like he was a stalker or anything.

And then there was that big storm that brewed up that scared the hell out of Usagi. There was much clinging to the walls on her part. Zechs too... Sorry Mamo-chan!

It was only at night Usagi cried...

--+--

"Waaahhhh! MOM! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP? NOW I'M GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL AGAIN AND HARUNA-SENSEI IS GONNA GIMME ANOTHER DETENTION!" Usagi screamed aftershooting up and realizing it was 7:49. What she didn't realize was that she wasn't in Kansas no more.

Don't worry, it only took Usagi about 1.32 seconds to figure out that she wasn't sleeping in her pink bedroom. Or with any of her stuffed bunny rabbits. Or with Luna at her feet... sniff sniff...

Getting up Usagi stretched her arms and got ready for the day. She noticed, oddly enough, that her window was open. A nice breeze wafting in...

"Mmmm, why do I smell lilacs? It reminds me of Chibi Chibi..." she sighed, remembering the cute little girl. Remembering Galaxia... the Sailor Starlights... where was that scent coming from?

Opening her door she looked out, the scent was stronger out there. Stepping out she tripped over something. Something small and made of gold. With wings.

It was her locket! Forgetting about the familiar smell of lilacs and her memory of having Chibi Chibi as her 'sister' quickly she picked it up and gave it a big hug. Her locket was back! She didn't care how it got there, she was so glad it was back. The familiar shape - a golden heart - she thought back to when it was created. Her senshi had given her power during the last attack from Nehelenia and how the evil queen had captured Mamoru. Sweet memories. At least they were there. At least she could remember her friends and her love and yes, even her past battles. Nehelenia had been healed. Beautiful dreams... (2)

But now Usagi realized that her locket had just been outside her door! How did it get there? Did someone find it and put it there? If so, how did they know it was hers? Wait! Didn't Pluto say that the crystal disappeared? It was back now though! Maybe she could use it to go home! Home! She could...

Don't cry Princess. It's ok. Pluto had been right. The guinzushou(sp?) was gone. She'd opened the locket to find an empty space in the middle. It was now just a useless trinket. What if someone had stolen it? But how? Had one of the boys taken it? Should she have trusted them? Things just seemed to get worse...

"I just want to go home! I don't want to be here anymore God! Help me get home! I want to wake up in the morning and be late for school! I want my old stupid bad grades back and I want Shingo back so I can pick on him! I do want to be Sailor Moon and save the world from evil but in my own time! I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!" she cried.

Curling up in a fatal position she cried. It wasn't long before none other than Duo came down the hall. In seeing her cry he couldn't help but worry. He knew they weren't the best of friends but hey, maybe if he helped her she wouldn't kick him so much.

"Tsukino? Why are you crying?" he asked, kneeling down next to her. She in turn wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

He was somewhat uncomfortable with her arms around him, crying. At least she hadn't punched him or kicked him. Who knows, after this odd incident they might even get along a bit better.

She'd dropped her locket. He picked it up, fingering the wings a bit. He wondered where it came from. It looked like a jewelry box or something.

And so they stayed like that. How long? They couldn't tell...

--+--

Outside, near the gardens, an object had been set on the concrete walkway. It was small and made of silver. Inscence... the smell of lilacs wafting from the mysterious item. Next to it lay an envelope. The name "Usagi Tsukino" written across in a red ink.

Funny how no-one seemed to notice the falling flowers that were surrounding the area.

--+--

"Ooh... did the stupid portal have to be fifty feet above the ground? Stupid idiots! I better not have broken anything." grumbled a mysterious someone. Indeed this person had fallen from a portal. Her so called 'friends' had probably done it on purpose. Just because she had been chosen to come for the others. She'd also landed on a rather prickly bush and had to pay the price. She just had to land in a stupid forest too! Stupid tree! Stupid high heels! Stay calm. Calm, calm, calm...

'Oh well, might as well get to work. Ok, this should be simple: Get the girls. And... oh no... what comes after that? Oh crap!' she thought. What a time to forget their plan!

'Now I know why the evil guys on t.v.. always get caught. Something always goes wrong in kidnapping schemes! I don't even know if I'm near those two! Ugh, damn senshi!' her evil thoughts were pretty evil. Would this give us a clue as to who she was?

And with that the girl headed off through the forest of trees to what was some sort of city. What city was this? What makes you think I know? Oh right, I'm the writer here! Of course I know! But that doesn't mean I'm going to tell you! So back to our mystery girl, she'd had finished pulling twigs out of her pretty hair and started down a hill.

Stupid hill. And with that she tripped and went rolling down the hill. It was like Jack & Jill only without the crown and pail of water. And she wasn't Jack or Jill. And little bunny Foo-Foo wasn't around to bop her on the head. Like I said, stupid hill!

Who was this girl? Why was she after Usagi and Minako? Did she know them or something? You guys probably already know who it is! Or do you?

--+--

--Minako's POV--

"Why am I doing this again? Right, I wanna impress Quatre! Ok focus! Focus! Not on that cutie! Ok! Now it says to add two eggs, and half a teaspoon of vanilla..."

(Yes people, Minako was attempting to cook/bake. This should prove to be interesting.)

"Vanilla? Like the ice cream? They should be more specific! Hmph! I hope we have some in the freezer. This is gonna be the best cake he ever ate!

"Next, preheat oven to 350 degrees. That's funny. There are two types. It says sell-see-uss degrees and fare-enn-hite degrees. So which one is it? Um... must be one of them! I don't wanna ask, I wish I'd payed more attention in Science class!"

Minako then played 'Eenie Meenie Minie Mo'.

"Sell-see-uss it is then! Sounds like a pretty name."

(Uh-oh...)

"Now to mix flour and salt and sugar. Then in a separate bowl mix butter and milk and the other stuff..."

--End Minako's POV--

So Minako began to bake! Not noticing the fact that she had already destroyed half the kitchen. She'd also had a bit of trouble earlier getting rid of the cooks. The others were... doing other things, giving her time to herself. How she came up with this hair-brained idea is beyond even me.

But anyways, back to the mixing and the messing up of the kitchen and the 'baking'.

So basically there was mixing and the messing up of the kitchen and 'baking'.

--+--

"AaahhH! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT! SOMEONE PUT IT OUT! IT'S ON FREAKING FIRE SO PUT IT OUT!" Minako screamed to no-one. She was the only one in the kitchen but was under the impression that others were in there with her.

I'm pretty sure you can tell that the oven was indeed on fire. Why? It's all Sell-see-uss's fault!

Now Minako wasn't stupid. She grabbed the fire extinguisher on the wall and... started banging at the oven. Ok, maybe she was stupid. And to think she was Sailor V! A heroine loved by many who was supposed to prevent this sort of thing. The effect of meeting Usagi. What? I'm not being mean! It's probably the truth! ...Oh, she hadalways been like that. I see...

At least she'd managed to dent the crap out of the oven. The banging resulted in the extinguisher blowing up from the heat, which caused her to fly, which caused the extinguisher's contents to fly out. Thus causing the fire to disappear. Did I leave anything out? Besides the fact that Minako's poor hair ribbon could take no more.

The faithful hair accessory stood up against many battles, boys, and bad hair days. I'll be sure to put in a funeral.

But today the red ribbon kicked the can, pushed up the daisies, it freaking DIED, it's up in Ribbon Heave-

"I THINK THEY GET IT!" shouted the senshi of love.

Three hours later one could here the triumphant cries of Minako Aino coming from the kitchen. Why? Because she'd finally finished cleaning up the kitchen so it was spotless, that's why! And it was a little while ago that Minako really, really wished her saint of a pal Makoto were with her. Of course she'd also managed to order a nice two-layer cake with pink strawberry flavored frosting.With candles!

Pleased with herself, Minako decided to go turn on the "boob tube" and watch something romantic, humorous, dramatic, and with Clint Eastwood in it. All in one.

But she couldn't find anything and settled with some old John Wayne flick instead. Wow! That guy must've been a real hit for it to still play over a thousand years after it was made!

BANG! Poor Johnny was shot! Ooohh that had to hurt!

"OW! Right in the gut!" cried Minako, who was falling all over the place after getting "shot". She attempted to stand up but was on the couch, and fell to her doom, barely missing the now battery-less remote control. (3)

"Oooohh, help me somebody! I've been shot!" Minako continued, thinking maybe one of the guys would hear her fake pleas and rush to her aide. Of course they'd get mad that she'd been acting but at least she'd know if they cared about her! Now that's smart! Go Minako! You guy-wrangler you!

One Trowa Barton had been in the study for about an hour, filing out some paperwork and whatnot when he heard the distressful cries coming from downstairs. Sounding as if someone were in immense pain, a feminine someone. Who could it be? He didn't wait a second to figure it out and rushed out of the room and downstairs.

He found a Miss Aino lying on the ground clutching her stomach saying something about being shot... He saw no blood. No real wound. And no real indications that she'd really been shot.

"...What are you doing?" he couldn't help but ask. That and he wanted to know her reason for interrupting him.

Thus causing Minako to stop rolling on the floor and look up at the somewhat monotonous voiced man with a green eye. He didn't look happy. He never did anyway so whatever. And what was with that one eye? Minako had a single thought in her head, what would happen if she were to cut just a little of it off for him? He deserved to be able to see properly!

"Oh..." was her smooth reply, "I was just... doing nothing. I uh... fell and landed on my stomach! Yeah, and it hurt! But I think I'm fine now and-" her reply cut off by the sound of the gatebell. That meant one thing.

"CAKE!" she cried, getting up and rushing off to get her Quatre's cake. She passed an unbelievable Trowa and rushed out the door to claim her prize.

Meanwhile Trowa couldn't help but think that this girl had really lost it, maybe when she fell, what was with the cake? His face still impassive, he stepped out to see Minako running at the speed of light down the driveway towards the gate. No way would he show the fact that he might have actually been worried about her.

"Hi!" Minako said cheerfully at the man dressed up like a slice of pie holding her box of cake.

The guy just replied with an 'enthusiastic' "That'll be $23.44. Have a Sugar Sweet Day." traded money with cake and attempted to squish himself back in his little car. Where did Minako get that money? Quatre, of course, who couldn't resist her sweet charm as well as the fact that she wouldn't let him work until he gave her the money.

So it really was Quatre's cake..

Trowa watched as Minako headed back up the steps toward the place, he noticed the new box in her hands as well as her looking a lot happier now than in the past few days. He wasn't sure why though, maybe she just liked sugar. Of course it was, seeing her and Usagi always fought over the last cookie and all.

She met him at the door and stopped. He was in the way.

"Move." she said, not wanting to waste any time in getting the cake to her beloved and make it appear as though she had baked it.

Now being ordered around by a little blond-haired 17 year old was not on Trowa's agenda today. And because of that he had decided that being out on the doorstep was nice due to the lovely weather that day. In meaning he was not going to move. Who would have thought Trowa had it in him to play around with someone like Minako? Or anyone else for that matter?

"..." he looked down at her, noticing that that odd red ribbon that she usually wore was missing from her hair, he also couldn't help but think that she didn't look right without it.

'What am I thinking? ... Get a hold of yourself Barton.' he thought.

--+--

Usagi had eventually cried herself to sleep, and in the arms of one by the name of Duo had been carefully laid down in her big, comfy, pink bed where she peacefully rested.

Duo considered himself a sentimental man, probably figured that after the Eve Wars when asked by Une to take care of Mariemaia for a few days. At the time he thought that Une was insane and had grown another head - because it at once matched her personality(s) and he WAS a preventor. Not. A babysitter.

Yep, he remembered that day well, he liked that fact, because most days he remembered well were crummy days, days full of death and sorrow...

--+--


Notes:

(1) In Ground Zero: In Rose, Duo shows Trowa and Quatre Heero's hand-stitched teddy-bear. Trowa busts up laughing.

(2) Okay I can't really remember if this was how she got it. But, who cares? This is my story! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

(3) In the flashback part of the R Movie little Minako is flippin' through different channels and comes upon some Western film and acts it out- getting shot and all. I thought it funny and cute. As well as her other "acts".