Disclaimer still stands, buckos.

The two girls stood, breathless, outside in front of the apartment complex where Ami lived. Rei had run without stopping over woods, streets, and small children. Surprisingly, the exercise had done her some good and she felt less pissed off about spilling orange juice all over herself. Usagi was too busy pulling twigs and things from her clothing and hair to notice either where they were or her own exhaustion.

Get that off, get that off...ooh, a rose bud! When did we go by a rose bush? Strange. It's pretty, though. Reminds me of Mamo-chan...only he's not pretty. Get that off, and that, and- is that a blueberry stain? I didn't eat blueberries today! What the heck? OUCH! How did I get a twig stuck in THERE? Ow.

Usagi tossed away the sliver of wood with a glare of distaste and turned to look at Rei, then at the complex. It was huge. It looked like it was carved completely out of marble. It looked full of expensive things. The blond and the miko gave each other surreptitious glances. Rei motioned for Usagi to go first.

"You go in."

The future Queen shook her head and took a step back. "No, you go in."

Rei smiled dangerously. "Age before beauty."

"But you're not beautiful. And we're the same age!"

Annoyed again, the miko grabbed hold of her end of the chain and swung Usagi around in a circle. She whirled around and around in a circle, waiting until the blond was actually airborne before letting go. The future Queen went sailing forward in the direction of the door. Rei was yanked off her feet after her, having overlooked this particular flaw in her plan. The duo hit the entrance-way and tumbled into the lobby. Yelling and struggling against inertia, they rolled across the marble tile floor in a jumble of limbs, clothing and very long hair.

They bounced straight across the room into a slowly closing elevator, collapsing in a heap inside just before the doors fully shut. Rei lay breathing heavily, spread-eagled and limp, on top of Usagi. The other girl groaned as best she could with her face squashed into a corner. The miko fell off of her and rubbed her head. "Okay, that's the last time I ever do something like that again, handcuffed or otherwise." Usagi muttered a heartful agreement. The young Hino got to her feet and, after pulling the half-comatose blond up after her, pressed one of the button on the elevator's control panel.

It beeped and the floor felt very strange beneath their feet as the box-like mechanism was pulled steadily upward.

Rei sighed to herself and thought as to how she should phrase their situation. Should she mention that they had been drunk? Well, that was so obvious she wouldn't even need to. Rei decided that she should probably leave out the whole orange juice incident as well. She had been embarrassed enough for one morning, thanks. There was another beeping noise and the elevator doors opened. Dragging the inattentive Usagi out, the black-haired girl headed down the hall to the Mizuno's apartment.

They knocked on the door at the same time, and looked at each other in surprise. Rei blushed and turned her head. She knocked again and her fist hit Ami's forehead as she opened the door and leaned out. The miko stepped back in surprise and hid her manacled wrist behind her back, tugging Usagi's out of sight as well.

"Ah, Ami! Your head wasn't there a minute ago!"

Snickering at the chagrined Hino, Usagi waved at her scholarly friend with her free hand. "H'lo, Ami!"

The genius blinked sleepily at them and stifled a yawn. Managing a small smile, Ami returned the gesture. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. May I ask why you two have come to see me? It's not a youma attack or anything like that, is it?"

The two girls shook their heads and shot each other glances, waiting for the other to act first. Finally, the miko bowed her head and lifted her wrist, Usagi's wrist doing the same out of habit. Ami looked back and forth between the two of them, not comprehending. Taking notice of Rei's silence, Usagi took up the slack and tried to explain.

"Hi, Ami. Sorry to drop by without calling you first, but me and meanie-Rei over here," Usagi paused momentarily in her narrative to shoot daggers at the other girl, "woke up and found ourselves in her bed like this. We were wondering if you can help us out?"

Rei turned to look at Usagi, and found herself seriously contemplating murder for the first time in her life.

Ami looked at the two of them for a moment, still not saying anything. Rei and Usagi watched her, wondering why she wasn't laughing. They most certainly would have been, if the positions had been reversed. Then a most curious thing happened. The genius' whole face went a bright, bright red for a space of three seconds, before vanishing without a trace. Rei and Usagi looked at each other again, perplexed. They sure had been doing that a lot lately.

"So, you handcuffed each other together, you say?"

The two nodded and suddenly glared at each other like it was all their fault. Rei fielded Ami's question without looking away from Usagi. "That's what it seems like, Ami."

"And you do not remember how this happened?"

Usagi spoke for them this time, resisting the urge to give the miko's nose a good pinch. "Yeah. I guess we both had too much alco-whatsisname. Booze, and all that."

Unexpectantly, the young Mizuno smiled and clapped her hands, "Science has the answer, my friends." Not seeing their twin skeptical expressions, Ami bade them enter and walked over to a bookshelf. As Rei and Usagi goaded and pushed each other inside, she reached up on her tiptoes and pulled a thick tome from its resting place. The other girls watched on in stunned awe. Ami was built like a toothpick, and yet she was not crushed under the massive book. What kind of protein shakes was she drinking?

"I would suggest making a batch of sulfric acid from scratch, as we are far too young to be able to purchase some legally. With some adjustments, I'm sure it could eat through those handcuffs and the chain quickly and cleanly, without buring half your skin off." Ami spoke aloud as she pawed through the book's pages like a seasoned librarian. Rei could hardly contain her excitement.

"And how long do you think that will take, Ami?"

"Well, with the time it would take to gather the materials, research how much would be adequate, find subjects on which to test the product, and document the findings in a scientific magazine, about...four months." Ami stated, turning around to shelve the book. Again, Rei and Usagi pondered how a lightweight like the young Mizuno could lift such a heavy thing with such apparent ease.

"Four months?!" They groaned, and cursed their respective luck.

"Give or take a year."

There was dead silence for a minute before Rei voiced a question.

"Say Ami,"

"Yes?"

"Can you think of any one else we know who would be old enough to buy some acid?"

"...Setsuna, perhaps."

"Heh heh, acid."

"Usagi, shut up."