I am back. I have a lot of university stuff to deal with but I wanted to get this chapter out before my Reading Week.

Chapter 9: White Noise

Ami stayed at Hugo's flat a little longer before she decided it was time to head home. She had to get some reading done for tomorrow and she was already terrified of falling behind. However that was not what really concerned her. Like a horrible smell, memories of that morning's conversation with Mamoru danced through her head and got her worried all over again.

I have too much to worry about, she thought anxiously. Reading for pathology and the Phantom – guess which one worries me the most!

Hugo's eyes watched her silently. 'I've already kept you long enough,' she muttered meekly. 'You aren't well so you should get back to bed… and maybe call your mother to reassure her you're OK…'

Her change in demeanour was obvious to Hugo. As she picked up her bag to leave, he followed after her, seeing her to the door.

'Something's worrying you,' he said bluntly.

Ami looked up at him with wide eyes. The last thing she wanted was to make him think it was because of him. She immediately worried that he would mistake her sudden awkwardness for regret. She found herself chanting in her head: It's nothing to do with you, Hugo. I promise. Over and over again, faster and faster those words whirled through her mind.

'It's just I've fallen behind on my reading,' Ami said slowly. 'I really should get going else I'll never get it done.'

Hugo folded his arms, clearly not convinced. 'Well, I won't keep you either, then.'

'Thank you, Hugo,' she immediately nodded, her heart quickening a little. Her eyes were completely drawn to his posture which, though it showed he doubted her, was calm, relaxed and comfortable. It could trick her into feeling the same way, almost. She was still conscious of her thoughts. 'A-and thank you for the invite to the museum,' she swiftly added with a higher, brighter tone. 'I'm looking forward to it.'

It was true. She had enjoyed their small coffee date together and now the thought of spending the whole evening with him without Christabel or Daniel around was pretty exciting. She didn't know what to expect, and she wasn't quite sure yet how to feel. If this led to another date, would that make them officially dating? Would they have to tell the others? Would that make it awkward for Dr. Roser to be her tutor?

She might use me as a go-between, she thought to herself. I hope that doesn't happen!

Ami caught a confused look flash across Hugo's face. He bit his bottom lip and narrowed his eyes, as if trying to concentrate.

Is he trying to hear my thoughts? she wondered, suddenly panicked. He wouldn't, would he? Not on purpose—

'No, I wouldn't!' Hugo quickly blurted out, panicked. 'I-I promise I would never—um, that is.' He started his sentence again. 'I was trying to block them out.'

What? she thought. 'My thoughts?'

He nodded, twirling his index finger at the point of his temple. 'Sometimes, if I think really loud inside my own head, I can block out the thoughts of others. It can make it really hard to concentrate, though.'

'Oh,' Ami mumbled, looking down. 'I… I see.'

She shyly glanced up to gaze at his face, now relaxed again. Guard down, she thought. A small smile crossed her lips. His achingly handsome face, made all the more beautiful by how laid back he looked.

His hair is incredible, she mused, focusing her eyes on its curly blondness. Rippling from base to tip.

Hugo looked down and chuckled. His milky cheeks were tinted the slightest shade of pink.

Ami gasped, 'O-oh, you heard that?!'

He inclined his head to the side. 'Yes. Very clearly.'

'Oh my God!' She covered her mouth to stifle another audible gulp. 'I-I-I'm so sorry. I… I really should—'

'What?' Hugo snickered. His blithe, rosey expression made him look all the more handsome. 'You have nothing to apologise for. What are you supposed to do? Not think? No, it's me who should apologise.' He took a deep breath. 'I really should try and find a way to switch it off. It's just so new to hear someone's thoughts so clearly…'

'New?' she repeated. 'So, you haven't always been able to do this?'

'Oh, I've always been able to do it.' His eyes peeked down at her, trying to hide another smile. 'It's just never been quite as clear as with you.' He took a small step towards her and whispered, 'You are a loud thinker.'

Her heart sped up again. Was it possible to even think loudly? 'So… you can always hear something? Or are there times when people's thoughts—?'

'Fall on deaf auditory cortex?'

Ami couldn't help but giggle at his drollness.

'I'm not entirely sure,' he shrugged, returning to his uncertain awkward self. It reminded her of when he first spoke to her about his coma. It was like he was apologising. 'Most thoughts sound like white or pink noise to me. Like the murmurer of a computer monitor but more organic.'

He stopped to look at her wondering if he should go on. Ami could feel her eyes gloss over as she focused entirely on his voice.

'Then, now and again, I will randomly hear a voice so clear that I could have sworn I heard it with my own ears. But then I'll look at the person and their mouth won't be moving. Yet I will hear random words bleat out from them, clear as I'm speaking now.'

Their eyes met again. His face broke into another smile, 'I guess some people think louder than others.'

Ami blinked and looked away. Would she have to be careful about what she thought around him? She hoped it wouldn't come down to that. After all, she had so many thoughts going on in her head out side of academic concerns. There was the Phantom, the crystal, her business as a Sailor Senshi—

Her head whipped up so quickly she almost cracked her neck. Had he heard any of that? Then she wondered, Would he even have understood what any of it meant if he had?

Hugo tilted his head, 'Usually the more nervous someone is, the clearer it gets.'

Though she knew she was blushing again, a small smile crept across her face. She looked up again, 'I think I understand now.' Her heart was beating so fast she was certain he could hear the blood rushing through her brain if he wanted. Placing her palms over her chest, she realised just how quickly her heart was beating. It was practically humming.

If I think like this you can hear it, right? she thought intentionally.

Hugo laughed, 'Something like that.'

He sighed. 'As I said, it isn't always like that. Very rarely is it like that. Sometimes I'll just hear a whirring or whooshing when suddenly a random word will jump out. Money. Helicopter. Bills. Really random, random, random words. Sometimes it's all I need to know what someone is thinking, and then sometimes I can tell just from the whirring sound what someone is feeling—'

He abruptly stopped, his face fading into mild surprise.

'What's wrong?'

'It's just,' he chuckled despite himself, 'I've never really talked about this before. I've always been able to do it but no one has ever asked me about it and it never crossed my mind to tell anyone. I just kept it to myself, thinking I was making it up or just… really intuitive. Or mad!'

He groaned very, very loudly and flopped louder still against the door, suddenly unsure of himself. 'God, I probably do sound like I'm mad!'

Mad meant "insane" in British English, Ami reminded herself. She saw him smile again so she guessed he heard that.

'That's what you think most of the time,' he explained. 'Just random English words as your brain buzzes away, trying to find the one you want.' And he looked at her to add, 'You're so cute.'

Cute means "adorable" in English, she thought with a deeper blush.

Hugo smirked, and added, 'It is "kiwamete kawai".'

Ami breathed sharply.

Every part of her felt light, frightened and excited at the same time. Extremely, exceedingly, incredibly. Now she was just bleating English synonyms for kiwamete. They were such odd words to go with "cute" but when told in his voice, by his tongue, it made sense. He was expressing a sense of passion, of great pleasure. Frankly, Ami thought her whole body might just give way underneath her. She clutched her hands against her chest in a bid to calm herself down. She thought she was making a fool of herself; one look at Hugo's face showed he was immensely enthralled by her reaction.

He took a very conscious step back. 'Sorry, I'm making you uncomfortable.'

The distance between them had felt noticeable. The puff of air hit her bared skin and the hairs on her arm rose, then bubbled up… but no rash or irritation. That was her usual reaction to these situations. It was her body's way of saying that Hugo was different. It was remarkable how he made her feel uncharacteristically wild yet natural at the same time.

She rubbed her goosebumps.

She couldn't remember the last time, if any time, a man had drawn her in quite this much. Looking at him right now, he was so familiar and yet not Him familiar. Not Dark Kingdom or dangerous. The more she got to know him, the less like Zoisite he became.

But then I didn't actually know Zoisite at all, she concluded.

Hugo turned to the door. 'I'm keeping you from your reading, aren't I?'

Ami shook her head, 'Oh, no, no… I'm distracting you. Um, but you're right, I should be going.'

He opened the door for her.

'Just remember I'm pretty open-minded.'

She glanced up at him curiously. Another array of words ran through her head before she smiled, 'Ha, funny.'

'Thank you,' he nodded, pleased to have broken the ice again. Then his tone shifted again to general, helpful, normal Hugo. 'But seriously, Ami. If something is troubling you, even if it's something you think I won't understand, just… know you can try anyway,' he clarified, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. His lips then spread into a warm smile. 'You'd be surprised at just how mellow I am about most things.'

His choice of words made it difficult for her to understand completely what he was saying, and she guessed just by his tone that he was being purposely vague. She knew he was trying his best to be supportive, though.

'Thank you, Hugo,' Ami nodded, looking down at her feet.

Her heart seemed to be in control of what she said next, rather than her brain:

'Perhaps, once I've worked it all out in my head, I could tell you,' she stumbled out. 'But it's a bit too up in the air right now. Nothing for you to worry about, I promise.'

'Then I guess I'll wait. You know, until you've worked it all out.'

The warmth in his expression made her feel more buttery than ever.

She stepped backwards outside the flat. 'Thank you, Hugo.'

'No problem,' he said, then pointed quickly. 'Mind the stairs!'

Ami realized then she had been slowly backing towards the top of the tight, narrow steps. She gripped the banister immediately and tried to suppress a blush.

Nice one, Ami, she scolded herself.

Hugo chuckled.

Their eyes remained locked to each other until it was impossible to see each other anymore down the darkness of the slightly curved stairway. It was not until she reached the bottom that she heard his front door close slowly, reluctantly.

She had to go.

'Anything to report from Mr. Congenial up there?' Helen asked once Ami reappeared in the doorway which led back into the café. 'Looking any better?'

'Well,' she replied slowly, thinking of what had just occurred a few seconds ago. 'He was laughing when I left.'

A knowing smile crept across Helen's face as she turned back to the coffee machine. 'I told you,' she said knowingly.

He's keen on you, Ami remembered. She was certain her cheeks were lighting up again. Then she remembered Hugo's invite for tomorrow night, and her hue almost certainly deepened.

After waving goodbye to Helen, Ami finally began to think about what Mamoru had told her that morning. She had two tasks that she had to complete: to find out more about that Goshenite crystal, its properties, its history and its meaning; and to find a new, secure container for it. On both fronts Colbert Dunsten was her best bet. As silly as it might have seemed, the owner of a New Age shop was a logical person to ask about the properties of a crystal as well as something to put it in. He would probably think she was insane for being so protective of this supposedly ordinary crystal, but she had to be practical.

In the end, this crystal wasn't "ordinary" and it needed to be contained.

Practicality aside, Ami still felt as if she was floating down the pavement as her mind kept wandering back to the conversation she had just had with Hugo.

It was difficult to describe how she felt; both uncertain and excited at the same time. Perhaps the thing that struck her the most was how easy it would have been to just lean in and kiss him. No one had ever made her feel that way. In a life filled with moments where she had avoided intimacy at all costs, she was overwhelmed at how intense the desire she had for Hugo was.

Desire?! She covered her lips and lowered her head, embarrassed before the other pedestrians, as if they too could read minds.

Pushing it out of her mind she turned towards the small square where the Darkstone New Age shop was. She would pretend she was just passing by, thank Colbert for how nice he was yesterday and ask how his head was doing. That would give her a good chance to bring up the question of crystal meanings.

The shop bell rang out.

Kris looked up from the table of crystals she was tidying. She beamed, clearly surprised to see Ami there. 'Hiya, sweets!' she greeted her. 'What brings you here?'

'Oh, I was just… passing,' Ami said slowly.

She took a moment to look around. She hadn't quite taken in the shop the first two times she had been there. It was actually quite small, covered floor to ceiling with shelves of various objects. It was mainly carved objects made of different minerals, jewellery, books and a long spice rack. Just to the side of it was a smaller shelf of a variety oils. Glancing up at the ceiling, she saw numerous dream catchers and wind chimes dangling above her head.

'How is Mr. Dunsten?'

Kris walked back towards the counter and hopped onto a stool. 'He's fine. Today's his day off – he's just upstairs listening to his Bowie.'

That was a disappointment. Ami tried not to show it though, and turned to look at the table that Kris had just been rearranging. It really was the centrepiece of the shop that had not caught her eye before. In fact, had it even been here the first time?

'This is new...' she muttered a little louder than she had intended.

'I gave it a complete overhaul!' Kris announced proudly.

The crystals were arranged in a rainbow of colour, starting with the reddish oranges in the top left, all the way down to the palest blue and virtually clear ones in the bottom right. Immediately, she found herself drawn to that corner, as it shared the most similarities with Goshenite.

'It used to be all jumbled up by crystal types,' Kris went on. 'I said to Uncle Cole, "We ought to make it look like a pick and mix - it'll attract more customers!" So he gave me free reign to get the table looking down I want. I'm actually pretty pleased with myself – I've been setting it up since seven this morning.'

Ami smirked. It looked more like a sweets selection rather than a collection of minerals and stones. Each tiny box contained small, tumbled stones with a name and number next to it. Casting her eyes along, noticing some stones shared the same number, Ami finally noticed a large book that was permanently attached to a stand. It was open at a page entitled "Crystal index" and listed an endless list of words that ended in "-ite". A neon coloured sign stuck out to the side of the book reading, "Can't find what you're looking for? Let us source it for you! Ask at the till."

'That was my idea too,' Kris chuckled. 'See, what I have done is organised the stones to look pretty and labelled them with the pages in this book. Try one and see.'

Ami looked back at the book, then at the table again. 'The only stone I know is Goshenite. Maybe a few others but—'

'That's as good a place as any to start,' Kris assured her. 'We have Goshenite stones.' They did, in between Danburite and Petalite. 'They're a bit clearer and smaller than yours but that's because these are designed for keyring and necklace – see to your left!'

She turned and saw the little turntable with various twisted metal keychains and necklaces attached to them. Some were very basic, some were shaped like pretty little bird cages. If Kris had set this all up herself, she had done a brilliant job. Even Ami could feel her inner magpie awaken.

Kris pointed to the shelves just beyond the table. 'I set up the bigger stones for crystal healing just beyond the table. This way we are appealing to the casual shopper who just wants a cute bit of jewellery with a vaguely significant stone in it. Anyway, look up Goshenite!'

Maybe she wouldn't need Colbert after all. If this book was even vaguely informative, it would be a good start. She flipped the page to "G" and ran her finger down until she saw what she was looking for. Then she searched the book for the relevant page, all while keeping the conversation going with Kris:

'Do you usually work here on the weekend, then?'

'Just Sunday and some evenings if I have an early finish. It's all money, isn't it? Plus it helps me keep an eye on Uncle Cole. Mum always worries about him and she can't really get out to help herself.'

'Is she is elder sister, then?'

'By about five years,' Kris sighed, thinking how polar opposite her mother and uncle were. 'Mum has always been the no-nonsense, straight talker while Uncle Cole has always been the type to… dart around the subject.' She folded her arms, her mind drifting off, 'It was always Uncle Jack who kept Uncle Cole in line.'

'Uncle Jack?'

Ami looked over her shoulder, she saw a genuine sadness flicked across her friend's face. Kris looked up, realising she was looking at her, 'Cole's partner-in-crime here at the shop. He died in a car crash in Italy about six years ago.'

'I'm sorry, that's awful,' Ami said softly.

'It's fine,' Kris nodded. 'There are times when I… I still miss him. He was such a great guy. They used to travel all over the world and bring me back different crystals that were native to that area.' She opened her arms and chuckled, 'It's how all of this got started!'

They smiled at each other.

Kris nodded towards the book. 'Found the page yet?'

'Oh, just a moment!' Ami muttered, turning back to the book. Her hand was already resting a few pages before the one she wanted; she had been letting her eyes linger over the vast and exotic names of these various minerals. Okenite. Menalite. Novaculite. Opal. Clear Topaz – which was interesting as Ami thought topaz was always yellow – and Goshenite!

'Here it is.'

The picture used to depict the stone was very different from her crystal or the ones for the key rings; it was a raw stone, a mixture of white and greyish-silver.

Goshenite (Clear Beryl).

Even just reading that name caused shivers the run down her spine. One of the most defining aspects of Queen Beryl she could remember was her necklace of clear stone. It must have been Goshenite. Since then, Ami had faced so many enemies. Yet it was that wild red hair and those burning ruby eyes that stuck in her head the most. Perhaps it was because ultimately that woman had tormented her in her previous life as well as her life as Ami Mizuno.

The page listed for all the crystals their Crystal system –

'What is a crystal system?' she asked.

'It is supposed to refer to the basic structure of the crystal,' Kris replied. 'Many have different forms. I admit I've never really thought much about it.'

Ami nodded. It also listed what their chemistry (what they were made from), hardness and where they were sourced from. Then, a double space between, it listed the "Non-scientific" factors including their chakra, zodiac, ruling planet and what they could be used for. Among those attributed to Goshenite were silly pseudo-science claims such as "Good for eyesight, throat infections and the spine."

It was hard not to giggle.

Beneath that there was a blurb describing the stone in greater detail. This was what she needed! She read it to herself:

"Aside from the generic properties of all beryl, Goshenite is useful for past-life regressions and healing your troubled soul from your previous existence. It may be that you suffered a trauma that you cannot remember ever occurring in this life. This stone will highlight that pain and clear it from your spirit, ensuring that your suffering does not extend into your present life.

"It is the ultimate seer stone, allowing you to combat outside influences of negative energy to promote a greater sense of well-being. It's purity in qualities and appearance has won it the name 'mother of the crystals'."

Ami's mouth twisted in bemusement. This wasn't as informative as she had hoped, and none of what this said matched what the Phantom was doing. It really just confirmed what Colbert had already said. Ruled by the Moon, related to the zodiac Leo, a crown chakra…

'What do you know about gemstones?' she asked Kris. It was a slightly stupid question considering where they were. That said, Kris was the niece of the proprietor of the shop, not the actual owner. 'I mean... their history and meaning.'

The beautiful dark-haired woman sipped from a milkshake cup and leaned back a little in her chair. 'It depends on what you wanted to know. Uncle Cole knows more about identifying them but I'm pretty wised up on their uses and meanings.'

'Why is Goshenite a "seer stone"?' Ami immediately queried. 'You called it that when we first identified the stone, and it says it here in this book.'

'Heh, yeah, I probably got it from that book or one of the many other books we have on crystals,' she smirked, pointing to the bookshelf. Then she saw the disappointed look on Ami's face and quickly added, 'But I know a bit more than what's in these books.' She twisted her cup around on the table. 'So… I guess the reason is because Goshenite is one of the many types of beryl, which is considered a queen of sorts among crystals.'

Ami turned back to the page. Her eyes kept being drawn to the word "Beryl" and all the awful things she associated with it. To hear Kris describe it as a "queen of crystals" as well, it was all starting to feel a little… too coincidental. 'What is so special about Beryl? Aren't there… lots of crystal families?'

'In ancient times, people believed that beryl crystals were purely magical,' Kris said. She looked up slightly, as if she was trying to recall knowledge from a part of her brain she rarely used. It had to be strange being a student of medicine yet working in a new age shop.

'Compare it to, say, Sapphires or Diamonds,' she continued. 'They have "magical" properties – wisdom and purity respectfully – but they were first and foremost valued for their beauty. Beryl yields a popular gem too, which is emerald, but it comes in an array of different colours all with different names and properties. There is even a non-emerald green beryl, which is a sort of limey-colour. I remember Uncle Cole saying once that it was "gorgeously alluring". I guess the ancients felt the same way. It was just a very, very magical crystal.'

Sapphire. Diamond. Emerald.

This was giving Ami flashbacks to another part of her past she would sooner forget. The worst part was that, providing the future hadn't changed, those certain people were still waiting for her in the future. Perhaps good had triumphed in the end but it was still a fear that something could still go wrong. The future was not set in stone. Sailor Moon had proven that when she refused to let the universe die quietly, as much as Sailor Cosmos tried to convince her she should.

Kris waved her hand in front of Ami's face. 'Hey, space girl! Come back to Earth!'

That snapped her out of her train of thought. 'I'm sorry. Don't know what happened there.'

'That's okay,' Kris chuckled. 'The boys phase out when I talk gems too.'

The image of Hugo's eyes glazing over came to Ami's mind. She shook it away as soon as she had thought of it.

'But I'm genuinely interested!' Ami protested. 'My personal favourite gemstone has always been blue sapphires.'

'Classic. I don't think I have one personally. I love too many of them. Maybe Opal?'

'What do sapphires mean?' Ami continued to ask, thinking back to Dr. Roser's necklace. 'You said they are one of the most popular gemstones, but what do they mean in your "new age" knowledge.'

Kris relented and continued in her talk. 'Um, well they are the traditional birthstone of September but even that is pretty meaningless seeing as there are no set birthstones for anyone any more. Except if you're a June baby; that has almost always been Pearl.'

'What are you?'

'Ha, I'm an August baby,' Kris said blithely. 'Leo the Lion. Onyx and Peridot. Ruled by the Sun. You?'

'Tenth of September.'

'How fitting! Virgo the Virgin. Sapphire. Ruled by Mercury.'

'Hugo is June, isn't he?'

'Yep. The ever changeable twins. Hughie is also a Gemini born on the cusp of Cancer, I think,' came the immediate response. 'The seventeenth, so he's a magical Gemini. Gemstones are Pearl and Alexandrite. Also ruled by the planet Mercury. Then Danny is a Scorpio. Ruled by Mars and Pluto. Gemstones: Tourmaline and Opal. I envy him. I love opals…'

'Do... ruling planets mean anything?'

Kris burst out laughing and shook her head. 'Sweetie, you do know it's all nonsense, right? Crystals are just crystals. They have a placebo effect, at best! This is all just fluff and prettiness.'

She couldn't very well tell her the true power crystals seemed to have but Ami played along nonetheless. 'I know that,' she said simply. 'But it is still interesting. The history of all of this.'

Kris looked over at the display.

'It goes back to cultures thinking that gemstones were somehow connected to the stars. These days there are so many - pardon my language - bullshit birthstone charts where no one knows whether they are coming or going. But Uncle Cole insists on going by the ancient beliefs...' she then leaned to whisper into Ami's ear, 'although frankly, I think a lot of his "mythical" interpretations are based on what he believes.'

Ami smiled at that. 'So... how do you decide what planets rule which gemstones?'

'Colour, mainly,' Kris muttered. 'So, like, pink is Venus, white is the moon, yellow is the sun, red is Mars, green is Jupiter, purple is Saturn and blue is Mercury. Bear in mind, the ancients didn't know the other three planets existed.'

Ami remembered Dr. Roser's necklace at that moment, recalling the beautiful violet stone that had sparkled beside the traditional blue sapphire. Immediately, she found herself asking, 'What about a stone like Tanzanite? They're oddly coloured.'

After a moment of consideration, Kris got to her feet again and walked over to her rainbow table. Ami watched curiously as she reached into one of the small wooden boxes of tumbled stones and pulled out a blueish-lavender rock.

'Voilà!'

'This is tanzanite?'

'Yep, wouldn't know it, would you?' Kris said, handing it to Ami.

It was true - they looked very, very different. They walked back towards the till, Ami slipping into a stool opposite the cashier side of the desk. They both stared at the stone in silence.

'Of course, most jewellery crafters heat-treat Tanzanite to make the colour pop,' Kris continued. 'Blue, violet, indigo, with the last of those being considered a perfect grade gem. Tumbled stones are often just the unusable pieces, seeing as the stone is precious and rare.'

'I saw Dr. Roser earlier with one in her necklace,' Ami said, placing it on the counter gently. 'It looked like a sapphire but was such a pretty hue. I couldn't even tell what colour it was supposed to be for certain.'

Kris hummed. 'Oooo! Sounds like she got an untreated tanzanite. I maybe in the minority but I think a pure gem, untreated, can actually be so gorgeous and beautiful all by itself. Like,' and she stopped for a second to pull out another book, much thinner and more worn. 'Give me a sec,' she muttered as she flipped through the pages. She then placed it on the glass counter as it showed a colourful spread of blue-purple gemstones. One of the largest pictures on the page was a very unusual mixture of blue, purple, silver and green colour. Kris tapped it, 'That is an untreated tanzanite.'

Ami leaned on her elbows, 'It's gorgeous!'

Kris smirked. 'It is a dazzler. Very different from all other forms of zoisite.'

The moment that name was uttered a scolding shot through Ami's heart.

'Oh… tanzanite is a type of zoisite?'

'Yes,' she nodded. 'It comes in quite a few different colours like green, pink, yellow and grey but Tanzanite has always been the most popular. There are even examples of zoisite stones growing alongside sapphires, that's how you get Anyolite, which is Ruby in Zoisite. I'm surprised you even know what zoisite is.'

Ami took a moment to collect herself, looking down at the booklet again. 'I guess I'd just heard the name and have never taken a moment to think about it before.'

There was a silent moment as she looked at the hunk of rock in the palm of her hand, as if it could tell her anything at all about the man Zoisite. That was stupid. It was nothing to do with him… right? It was just a rock. A piece of earth grown on the Earth.

It was impossible not to think of Hugo again.

She clung to the tanzanite stone hard. The moment she did, she started to feel a little calmer. A smile crossed her face. That's right. It's just a stone, she kept telling herself. No more related to that Zoisite than Kaorinite was to Kaolinite. Or that Zoisite was to Hugo.

Kris leaned on her elbow again and smirked. 'I'm guessing you like this one, then?'

'Sorry?' Ami bleeped, snapping out of it.

'You looked strangely peaceful,' she observed. 'The tanzanite is having a right affect, it seems?'

'Oh?' Ami looked back at the stone. 'Is that what it's supposed to do? Calm you down?'

'Why not look it up in the book?' Kris suggested tactfully.

Ami turned back to the stand. She gave her friend one last look before aiming straight for the book and hurling it open to the index page again. 'Should I look up Tanzanite or Zoisite?' Kris told her that they both had pages, the mineral and the specific gemstone. She decided to go straight for the big guns and turned to page fifty-eight, for Zoisite.

It looked nothing like the tanzanite stone she currently clasped in her hand; yellow, instead of blue, although the caption noted that zoisite came in a variety of colours.

Zoisite

Chakra, Crown, Heart. Zodiac, Gemini. Ruled by Mercury.

She found herself reading the book aloud this time: 'A mineral innately connected with healing of the body and mind, all variants of this stone are thought to bring a soothing affect upon the user - see Tanzanite and Thulite for more specific properties. Thulite?'

'A reddish-pink, third variant of Zoisite,' Kris explained, going into full-saleswoman mode. 'Found in Norway. See fifth row down, box thirty-four. Good for children with nervous problems, allegedly.'

Ami's eyes immediately fell on the dark candy coloured rock,

She looked back to the book and continued on. 'It is usually used as a means to convert negative energy into positive energy. Rather than focusing on the past, this stone encourages you to focus on the now…'

She looked back to Kris. 'Is tanzanite much different?'

'It is good for studying and soothing a troubled mind if it is stressed, overworked or what not. Allegedly.'

Sounds like something Hugo could use, Ami remarked to herself. 'It sounds like a very helpful, as well as pretty, stone,' she said simply. Ironically, she thought to herself. How could something so lovely spawn a creature so… lacking in empathy?

She walked back to the counter and placed the stone down again, 'It suppose this would make a nice necklace or keychain, right?'

Kris immediately perked up again. 'Ooo, is that a sale? Please say yes. Then I can brag to Uncle Cole that my marketing scheme worked.'

Ami was a little dumbstruck. She hadn't considered actually buying the stone really but, now it was out of her hand, she was finding herself wanting to pick it up again. To touch and caress it. It was strange. Like an old memory was trying to escape but she couldn't quite recall it.

It would make a nice necklace or keychain, she thought, echoing her words earlier.

Then she remembered her original purpose for going to the shop, aside from wanting to investigate the Goshenite crystal. 'Actually, one of the reasons I came here was—'

'…the loud sound did seem to fade,

came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase…'

They both immediately turned as Colbert Dunsten walked through the drapes leading to the back of the shop. His headphones were on, the mild tune of music ringing from them as he clutched his walkman to him.

'That weren't no D.J. that was hazy cosmic jive.

THERE'S A STARMAN WAITIN'…!'

He suddenly looked up and realised it wasn't just his niece in the front of the shop. Kris hid her face in her hand, trying not to laugh. Ami was biting back a giggle too; Mr. Dunsten seem very into the song he was singing, as if he were the performer himself.

Colbert pulled his headphones down and pressed "Stop" with a click. He stared at Ami with an unreadable expression, as if trying to size her up. She presumed he must have been embarrassed.

'Good God,' he chuckled awkwardly. 'Pardon me, lovey. I didn't think anyone was—'

She held up her hand to assure him. 'Not at all. It sounded like a fun song there.'

He gasped. 'What? You don't know the Space Cowboy?! Sacrilege!'

Confused, she glanced at Kris.

She laughed, 'David Bowie. Uncle Cole is a big fan.'

'Oh,' Ami nodded. She knew the name, probably knew some of his songs too. He was the singer in that film with the labyrinth and all the muppets in it.

The older man chuckled kindly, 'I was just joking, lovey. Oh, you're that girl from the other day, right? Nice girl with the nice piece of Goshenite. Um, Amy?'

'Ami, yes.'

'Ami. Ami, That's the one!' he chirped, clicking his fingers in triumph. With a little hobble, he wandered over to Kris's side on the counter.

Kris rolled her eyes, 'Leave it out, Unc. You aren't that old!'

Colbert snorted out another chuckle. 'Perhaps not but you don't have to be old to have stiff legs.' He then turned to Ami, smiling brightly. 'So, what brings you back? Couldn't get enough of it last time, eh?'

Before she could answer, Cole was distracted by the crystal table.

'Well, well. Kris, look at this!' he shouted, wandered towards it. He stared at the beautifully decorated and designed table. 'This is… this is…'

'Like it?' Kris asked, confident the answer would be yes based on her tone.

He smirked, 'It's lovely, sweetheart. You are too good to me.'

She rolled her eyes, 'Well, you would still be living in the ancient past were it not for me.'

Colbert chuckled again and then turned back to Ami. 'Sorry, lovey. What were you going to say?'

Now, she would say it. 'I was actually wondering if you had any little bags to keep crystals in.'

Kris raised an eyebrow. Her expression read: Please tell me you aren't getting suckered into this crystal magic stuff. Please!

'I just think, if I'm going to keep the Goshenite, I might as well keep it well,' Ami said, as if trying to assure Kris that she still had her sanity. Then she picked up the Tanzanite stone again. 'I've also been talked into buying this, too, it seems.'

That cheered Kris up. Med student by weekday, saleswoman by weekend. 'Are you going to put it in a necklace?'

'Maybe…' Ami muttered.

Before she knew it, Kris had grabbed one of the simpler, more inexpensive necklaces from the turntable and showed it to her. 'This one is good to start out with.'

As she walked back to the counter, Colbert turned and got out a small pocket that presumably was indeed used to put crystals into. Immediately, Ami noticed it was very prettily designed: pale white with a golden thread design on it… but it was semi-transparent.

Mamoru's warning echoed in her head.

'Um,' she said hesitantly. 'Do you have… something opaque?'

'Oh…' Cole looked down at the bag, a confused look on his face. 'Huh, girls usually prefer these ones,' he muttered. He then quickly smiled, 'I'm sure I do somewhere. It won't be as pretty as this one, though. Is that okay?'

'That's fine.'

'Hm.' He slowly walked to the back of the shop to look into her request why Kris got out a small paper bag to put the items in. 'Very specific request,' she said, a little bemused.

'I just don't want—' Ami began, then realised she had no valid excuse outside of "I don't want the Phantom to be able to see me." If she said that, she would sound like an insane person. She started again, 'I don't want them to get damaged. You know, in thin material.'

Kris was already perplexed enough not to question any further.

Colbert came out with a different pocket for crystals. This one was a deep blue colour and made of a velvety material. More importantly, you couldn't see the crystals through it.

'This is a nice one,' he began, as if he was worried about selling it. 'As I said, it's plain, but the colour is pretty, right?'

Ami nodded, 'That is perfect. Exactly what I need!'

The shop owner nodded and handed it to Kris while picking up his walkman again. 'Well, I'm off to grab lunch. I'll get you something, sweetheart.'

'Okay thanks,' Kris replied.

The doorbell rang and Colbert went out just as a couple of young girls came in. He greeted them cheerfully. 'Come on in, we've completely revamped our, what's it called, visual merchandising!'

They chuckled and walked straight over to Kris's rainbow table of crystals, all gasping and cooing over the variety. 'I just want them all,' one of them muttered. 'Look here, Lisa! There's a book saying what they all mean!'

Kris called over to them in a sweet ringing voice. 'Just let me know if you need any help!'

Ami handed her what she owed.

Putting it away in the till, Kris hopped back onto the stool and pulled out her book on pathology. Ami was once again reminded of all the reading she needed to do too.

'I need to do that once I get home,' she admitted, pointing at the book.

'That's the one downside on having a part-time job here,' Kris sighed. 'You never know how much you'll be able to get done.'

Relieved, Ami threw her bag down and leaned her back against the door the moment she got in. She was ready to just lie down and take a nap… but there was little chance of that with all the reading she wanted to get done. So, instead, she would simply push her ear-plugs in and try to get into the swing of things. A good round of Population Science and Ethics would be a nice, simple way to get into it all.

Sitting down at her desk, Ami pushed the earbuds in to block out all the sound she could. She tapped her pencil against the table as she desperately tried to switch off. Just focus on the words on the page. Focus.

She got about a quarter down the first page before the day's events started playing through her head again. As easy as it was to block out the sounds of the world, it was impossible to silence the ones in her head.

Hugo's voice rang out in her mind:

'If you really concentrate, you can mute other people's thoughts...'

'Easy for you to say,' she grumbled.

In that moment, she craved the study sessions with the others. They always got so much done.

She opened her laptop and started the dial up. 'We really need to organize another one for Tuesday.' Tomorrow would have been good too but, of course, she and Hugo would be at that museum.

Quickly, she typed out an email to the others to suggesting they book a study room again and go at it together. Judging by what Kris said earlier, she would be up for it. As for Dan, he only ever seemed to get work done while he was with them.

Ami chuckled, 'He's probably playing Silver Knight, again.'

Then there was Hugo. She was glad he seemed a little better but she was still a little worried.

Her thoughts turned again to their discussion. His mind reading. How "real" it had turned out to be. Even after all this time, all the challenges she had faced as a Sailor Senshi, some things still came out to surprise her now and then.

She hadn't thought about Hugo's gift much beyond the novelty of him, now and then, knowing how she was feelings or thinking. Previously, he had jokily brushed it off as "mind reader"... but he had meant it. He lived his life with a constant backing-track going on inside his head and had to consciously choose to drown it out.

With that in mind, Ami thought worriedly. Can I… really see him as an ordinary person?

First, she learned about his coma. Now, there was this. Maybe the two were connected?

The strangest part about this revelation was that none of it felt like a violation. Ami had seldom considered Hugo could pop into people's heads whenever he wanted. If anything, now it was explained to her, it was more in the line of overhearing someone else's conversation. Most of it is nonsense or doesn't make sense, he had said. None of it felt intentionally and, if anything, she felt guilty for "thinking so loudly".

'That's what you think most of the time […] Just random English words as your brain buzzes away, trying to find the one you want.'

Thinking about it, Ami tended to think exclusively in English when with Hugo, Kris or Dan. It was the only way she could keep the language straight in her head. If she couldn't think of a good word, she would run through the thesaurus of her mind for one that was right. Correct, true, positive. She would do this so quickly she barely noticed, but Hugo did.

His intuition was off the charts. Greater than Rei's or Mamoru's by a long shot. They were the only other "psychics" she knew. Both were impressive in their own way, and were both very different from each other. Hugo's ability marked him out as special, just like it did with them. "Special" in their sense, in the way of the Sailor Senshi.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She thought of all she had learned about the crystals again.

Reaching over for her bag, she pulled out the brown paper bag that contained the new stone Tanzinite, the necklace and the pouch for the Goshenite. Immediately, she went to where she had hidden it earlier and tossed it in, glass tube and all.

'Thought I'd forget, did you?' she said spitefully, lest the Phantom was watching right now. She was too proud to admit even to herself that she had almost forgotten.

She tossed in back into the draw she usually kept it in and sat back at her desk.

Her eyes were fixed on the Tanzanite stone. Slowly, she unwrapped the twisted metal necklace and eased the stone into the little "cage" for it. Finally, she undid the clasp and fastened it around her neck.

Let's see if you really work, then, she thought.

Still, the fact that this stone was a "Zoisite" still bugged her.

'Hugo is special,' she said to herself. 'Like we are. Does that mean that he could still be—?'

Her hand snaked up to clutch the stone, thumb rubbing it delicately.

But he had been so forthcoming about what it was like to be him, about how his power was so intense that he could hear the vibrations of the human brain. He had made it sound so beautiful.

More still, he had trusted her with this very personal secret. Other people knew about his coma but this special ability was something he had kept private for his whole life. Yet, he had told her. Her.

Ami bit her bottom lip nervously as the corners of her mouth tugged into a smile.

She picked up her pencil and started to scan the words of the page again. Underline this, margin notes next to that. Then the second page, then the third… then Hugo was back on her mind again.

She put the pencil down again and pondered.

There was no denying it. Hugo was special – not a golem of the Dark Kingdom, or a man who just resembled one. He was separate from normality. He was extraordinary. He was an enigma she wanted to explore further and further... and she loved him for it.

Ami blushed.

Love? she questioned herself. Had that word really just crossed her mind? No, no, it was too early for that... Right?

Her chest tightened.

Her heart ached.

Her blood felt like it was prickling the inside of her veins.

She opened her hands to look at them. They were damp with nerves.

Yes, she liked him and more than just as a friend. She had to admit that; his personality pleased her, his ambitions were in line with her own. They were both very similar. She liked Hugo very, very much. She thought about him more than anyone else and felt different whenever she was with him.

No, no time to think about this now, she told herself strictly. I have work to do.

With that, she resolutely picked up her pencil one more time and resolved to read until she was done. Books before boys, after all.

Couple of notes on the Crystal stuff: The stuff about the colours, I for the most part made up to match the the Senshi colours, with the exception of Venus, which I kept true. In reality the colours do not match up that perfectly. Purple and yellow are colours closer related to Mercury than blue, which is traditionally associated with Jupiter. Even then the "colour association" of gemstones is really unreliable.

One thing that is true is Tanzanite is a communication stone that also soothes an overactive imagination, making it a good gemstone for Gemini, seeing as they are notoriously hyperactive mentally and tend to suffer from sudden mood swings. The Zoisite stones are also considered to be ruled by the Airy element, which is ruled by Mercury, Venus and Uranus. They are bodily healing stones but chiefly tend to focus on emotional healing.