AN: Okay, this chapter is intended to show just how young our heroines are. As you can probably tell by the names I use and the fact that I call Rei "miko" (meaning "shrine maiden"), that I emphasize Hikawa Jinja as a Shinto shrine (it is not a temple), and that I like to have my characters eat authentic Japanese foods, I am not a NA dub fan. I admit that the dub is how I "met" Sailor Moon, but I soon realized it wasn't giving us the real picture. I've thought about whether or not to edit out my Japanese and I've come to the conclusion that it is too personal to me to take out. If this causes problems, I am sorry. I am willing to post a definitions list at the end of chapters if readers would prefer, just let me know in a review or PM. A little background on this chapter: Usagi likes to drown her sorrows in food and I play that up a bit in my fanfics, but I didn't want to go the stereotypical ice cream/ cheesecake route. Yes, while in Japan, I, too, drowned heartaches in ice cream and cheesecake. But mostly, I went for the tasty salty snacks and unusual candies found in the convenience stores (conbini), especially potato chip flavors I can't find here in the US. So for novelty, I had the senshi do that, too. Well, this AN is too long, so very quickly: thank you to Yasaboo, moonburnscars, supersaiyanx, Comet Moon, and OoOSakuraOoO!! 12-28-06 PS: All the snacks are real except one, bet you can guess which one!
Rei and Ami paced back and forth in front of Luna. Luna's voice was hushed, but her tone was harsh. Both girls' heads hung low as she berated them about letting Tuxedo Kamen escape with their leader in tow. The fact that Sailor Moon had answered her summons quickly and had assured them she was fine and would be home soon did nothing to appease the guardian feline. The cat's red eyes glowed hotly and both girls felt like they had betrayed, or at the very least, failed their best friend and leader.
When Usagi stormed in, Luna was cut short, her mouth frozen open as she fell silent in shock. Usagi was pale with anger; her hands shook a bit. She pinned Luna with a quelling glare. "It is not their fault, Luna. If Mars had attacked, she would have flambéd me."
Rei gave Usagi a weak grin, but she was upset by how visibly shook up Usagi was. She crossed the small room, intent on comforting her friend, or at least getting more information with which to justify an attack on Mamoru. Usagi, however, held up her hands in a silent request for patience and time. Sinking down onto one of the cushions by the low table, she placed her head on her hands. The three exchanged a glance before taking up the remaining three positions at the table, Luna settling on the tabletop.
After a few moments of awkward silence and building anxious impatience, Usagi threw back her head and took a deep calming breath. She gave her friends a patently false smile, but the determined look in her eyes told them one thing. She was still angry, but she was trying to control it. "Rei-chan, do you have any snacks?" she asked hopefully.
Rei and Ami smiled at each other before pulling out two convenience store bags. "We anticipated you." Ami busied herself setting out the myriad snacks they had bought after confirming Sailor Moon was alright and before they returned to face Luna's anger. Luna sighed, even though she understood Usagi's adrenaline-inspired hunger.
Among the snack foods were the requisite potato chips. Usagi's favorite, seaweed-garnished; Rei's favorite, soy sauce and garlic; and Ami's guilty binge, roasted sea-salt flavor, were set out in color-coded bowls. There were wasabi-spiced strips of seaweed, popcorn and chocolates as well. The girls munched away happily for a few minutes, with no comments until Usagi took a long sip of her hot tea and sighed softly, leaning away from table a bit. The other three took their cues from her and stopped munching long enough to listen to her.
"Well," she sighed, "ask away."
All three opened their mouths, but Rei was fastest. "Did he do anything, Usagi-chan? Did he hurt you?"
The blonde met the brunette's eyes, "Only my feelings. Nothing new about that." A sardonic edge tinted her words. "It was like Mamoru-baka had possessed Tuxedo Kamen-sama. It wasn't," she paused for a moment, searching for words. "He . . . he wasn't his usual suave, aloof self." She frowned in confusion, trying to put her finger on what she meant.
Ami nodded. "Yes, I know, Usagi-chan. He seemed as if he was baiting us, trying to irritate us. Not unlike his usual behavior in the arcade or on the street."
Rei grimaced, "I understand how you feel now, Usa-chan. He'd never been rude to me before. It's so . . . arrogant."
Usagi frowned at her tea. She really didn't want to be having this discussion. Mamoru was cold, cruel, and a complete jerk, and yet he was the man that saved her on a sometimes-nightly basis. How could he be so intriguing and wonderful when disguised and so horrible and irritating at all other times? Luna raised her invisible eyebrows when Usagi failed to launch into one of her favorite topics, which generally was that Mamoru was a socially unredeemable person.
"What happened after you two disappeared?" Ami queried, her face showing her worry.
Usagi's eyes looked sad and angry at once. "Until Ami-chan called me, we just, well, he just ran. When the watch began beeping, he stopped and put me down. After that, I told him you two were likely to kill him and I told him I hated him." She blushed embarrassedly before confessing in a small voice, "I called him a pervert."
Rei smothered a smirk, but she decided it was best to leave the subject alone. Mamoru hadn't attacked her, just embarrassed and angered her. She had readily relinquished her previous claim to Mamoru while walking home from the convenience store with Ami. She'd seen and felt the emotions careening around inside Mamoru and she knew similar ones were rioting in Usagi's mind and soul. There was no use in pushing any further. Ami and Luna would follow her lead, she knew. A glance at Ami instigated their plan to change Usagi's mood.
"Well, since he has made it clear he is not on our side, perhaps it is best if we avoid him. At least until he has decided what he stands for." Ami suggested. Luna and Rei nodded in agreement.
Usagi sighed. "This means more practice, doesn't it?" No one answered her. No one needed to. "Alright." Usagi sighed, bidding good-bye to even more sleep.
Ami dug underneath her cushion, deciding it was time to change topics. She pulled out a small bag and spilled out the small, strange candies. Rei and Usagi leaned forward, their hair pooling together as they stared at the odd-looking candies. "Here you go." The blue-haired girl grinned like a demon as she placed one in Usagi's hand.
"What is it?"
Ami lifted the package and read. "It's candy made from small fish and caramelized natto."
Usagi looked at her. Natto was one of her least favorite foods. Point in fact, she had never actually eaten it. The fermented bean curd's strong, unpleasant odor was enough to keep the girl far away from the traditional breakfast food. "They call that candy?"
An evil light appeared in Rei's eyes. "Dare you to eat it."
Usagi dropped the candy and literally moved away from the table. "Ew! No way! I'm not putting that in my mouth!" She wrinkled her nose in distaste, but found Rei and Ami had invaded her space, the candy in Rei's left hand.
"Come on! Just try it." Rei urged, egging her on. She was pleased to see the change in Usagi as they distracted her from the day's events with tried-and-true youthful pranking. Ami even had a camera tucked under the cushion that they might capture Usagi's expression as she ate the weird candy.
"Afraid?" Ami teased gently.
Usagi faced her tormenters and realized she had no choice. They would tease her mercilessly if she wimped out. "Alright." she sighed in defeat. She snatched the small, strange looking candy from Rei's hand and, before she could think twice about it, popped it in her mouth. Her mouth worked valiantly as she crunched through candy.
"Well?" Luna prompted, unable to believe she had eaten the weird food.
"I don't know, it tastes kinda funny." she murmured around it. It took her awhile to manage to swallow it. And, to their shock, she pushed past them to munch on a few more. "Not bad, really." she stated.
Buying it, Ami and Rei also tried one. Their faces soon contorted in disgust and they quickly gulped their tea. Usagi burst out laughing, all the strain and anger and worry temporarily pushed aside by the warmth of good friends and the triumph of fooling them into eating the disgusting things. A moment later, the first cushion came crashing down on her head as they entered into a pillow fight that made Rei's grandpa very glad that the shrine was fairly isolated.
Across town, Mamoru stared out into the night, completely unaware that the object of his thoughts was engaged in a childish game with her friends while he searched for away to make amends to the three girls that had become so important to him.