The Client

Summary: Makoto is Minako's new client and hopes to be with Mizuno Ami. Will Minako fall in love with her client? Probably.

Disclaimer: I own nothing that is mentioned in this fic.

Chapter Two: Trouble So Soon?

The appointment I made with Makoto didn't really help her, if that's what she was hoping for. Ignoring the meal plan I already made, I ate Pocky while listening to every word Makoto said. She told me how she and Ami met, what she liked about Ami, and those other details. She had a huge smile on her face the whole time. She was definitely in love. She just kept going on and on like the Energizer bunny. I didn't think there was an end but when I thought that, she finished her last sentence. Lucky me.

I closed my eyes and sighed. I had never heard anyone so in love before. Love is such a strong word, but that's how Makoto feels. I never heard anyone describe his or her feelings the way she did. We're actually getting somewhere.

"Do you see Ami outside of school?" I asked. Makoto nodded and told me how Ami tutored her. I couldn't help but giggle. I could already imagine Ami and Makoto alone during tutoring. My mind went hentai for a moment until Makoto snapped me out of it. I continued eating Pocky and opened my eyes as I went back into professional mode. "What do you talk about?"

"Homework, movies…anything that comes to mind really."

I frowned. That was boring. No flirting? No implication of feelings whatsoever? That was just boring! These two definitely had issues. "When do you talk about these things?"

"Before school, during lunch, after school."

I went through all the usual questions like "Are you alone when you talk?" or "Do you think she likes you?" Unsurprisingly, she blushed and scratched the back of her head. She was realizing they were usually alone when they talked. How slow can you get? She began describing the way Ami smiled at her when they talked with the others around and when they were alone. From the sounds of it, Ami probably liked her, too. She blushed into a deeper shade of red. She was obviously thinking the same thing.

I smiled as I shook my head. I caught a glimpse of the time. Our time was running out. I didn't realize she talked for that long. Time flies when you have a new client, huh? "Well, I think she feels the same way about you," I said. "Until you find the courage to confess, just talk to her whenever you can. She might confess first."

"You think so?" Makoto asked. I giggled with a shrug. "If you take forever to say anything." The brunette retaliated by throwing my pillow from my bed. I caught it and stuck out my tongue. Childish, I know. I get that from Usagi.

"Hey, Minako-san?"

I put my tongue back in my mouth. I tilted my head slightly, wondering what Makoto wanted to say. "Why don't you hang out with the rest of us?" she asked. I'm guessing she asked just to kill time. I probably would have done the same thing. "I like alone time," I sighed. "It's quiet and fun." Makoto frowned at me. "You're not a quiet person." I narrowed my eyes. Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult? "You bring people together," she continued. "You have to be an outgoing person to do that. You were brave enough to do something others would never think of, ne?"

I squirmed around in my chair and let out a grunt. She was right. I am an outgoing person. I am brave enough to do something no one would think of. That's what made me Aino Minako, the self-proclaimed Goddess of Love.

Makoto walked over to me and patted my head. "You should talk to all of us – not just Usagi-chan," she spoke. Her hand went into her pocket. Seconds later, it came back out with the money she owed me. I took it and recounted it, just to make sure it was the right amount. I motioned her to turned around so I could put the money in my secret place – the shoebox in the closet. After that was done, we went back downstairs and opened the door. "I'm available everyday after school unless I say otherwise," I reminded her. "Call me whenever you need me." Makoto nodded with a smile and left.

"Hey, Minako-san."

I didn't look up. Seriously, ever since last week, Makoto has been everywhere. I know she's my client and all, but seriously! This is kind of annoying. "Hi, Makoto-san," I murmured. I was trying to do math homework. Talking and doing math at the same time is kind of hard. "Shouldn't you be in your homeroom? The bell's going to ring in a few minutes," I pointed out.

"I should, but I just want to talk with you."

"Can't. Doing math."

Before I knew it, Makoto stole my homework. I tried to grab it, but she was too damn tall. She held it away from my reach. Seconds later, she laughed when she gave it back. "You forgot to carry the one for number three, and you add the number without the variable first when you solve the equation for number seventeen," she said. I looked at my assignment. I made simple mistakes everywhere. I'm usually good at math, too. Maybe it was because most of the problems ranged from simple things I learned in grade school and things I learned last week. That probably messed me up.

Makoto continued to laugh at me. "Even I wouldn't make such mistakes," she grinned. I growled at her. "Says the person who gets tutored." We bickered until the bell rang. She left while she was in the middle of her sentence. The victory went to me. I noticed students staring me, but as usual, I didn't care. I guess they were surprised to see me talking to someone who wasn't Usagi. Speaking of which, where is she?

"Minako-chan, am I on time?!"

"Nope," I sighed. I should have known. Usagi's always late. She's lucky Haruna-sensei wasn't in the room. She sat next to me with a groan. "So, I heard you saw Mako-chan last week," she spoke. I shrugged. I bet she was just trying to make conversation. "She wasn't a pain in the ass, was she?" I knew for a fact there was a grin on Usagi's face. Once again, I shrugged. Makoto wasn't as bad as I thought she would be, but that was only one session.

Watching other people talk is kind of boring. The only thing that kept me entertained during lunch was…well, my lunch. My job was stopping me from leaving my current spot. I had to sit in the grass without any kind of shade to listen to Makoto and Ami have a conversation. Of course, Ami didn't notice me at all because her back was facing me. Makoto glanced at me a few times, but Ami didn't really notice.

Since I couldn't be too close without being caught, I was a certain number of feet away. It was hard to eavesdrop when I wasn't that close. When I think they're talking about one thing, they're actually talking about another. This annoyed me greatly. Then, I heard my name.

"So, where were you before homeroom?"

"I was talking to Minako-san. I think she may need tutoring in math."

I rolled my eyes. I couldn't believe she was still on that.

"You mean Aino Minako? You actually talked to her?"

What was that supposed to mean? Did she have something against me? Did she really listen to the rumors about me? I didn't think she was that kind of person. Makoto probably thought the same thing. She put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrow.

"I did. Is that a problem?"

Ami burst into a fit of giggles. She shook her head and began explaining. Apparently, it was a surprise that I talk to anyone other than Usagi. So what? I like to talk to others and make friends…just not at this school. I continued to eat the rest of my lunch and listen to the rest of their conversation. Then, Usagi ruined my cover.

"Hey, Minako-chan!" she exclaimed. I whipped my head to the left and jumped. Usagi was suddenly sitting next to me, and she had screamed in my ear, causing me to glare at her. When Usagi decided to make her presence known, Ami had turned around. Our eyes had met for a second, but I had directed my attention to Usagi. Hopefully, Ami wouldn't know I was eavesdropping.

"Usagi-chan, I'm working," I growled. Usagi scratched her head and laughed nervously. "You are?" she asked. "Gomen. It's just so hard to tell these days." Excuses, excuses. "So anyway, do you want to hear about my day with Rei after we left your house yesterday?" she asked, seeming to forget what I had just said. Knowing Usagi would only accept one answer, I sighed, "Sure, Usagi." Usagi smiled with excitement and grabbed her skirt to keep herself from jumping up and hurting anyone nearby (namely me).

So, she went on about how she and Rei went to the Crown Fruit Parlor. Despite Usagi's long, detailed description of their time at the crown, it was obvious that they had done nothing special. They had simply hung out, and that was all.

"After that, she walked me home and held my hand the whole time…" Usagi took a moment to squeal as she grabbed my hand and squeezed them tight. Her nails were digging into my skin ever so slowly, making the pain torturous. I gave her a glare, showing her my discomfort. However, she was too caught up in her excitement to notice. "I blushed a little bit, you know? She said I looked cute, and she smiled at me. She smiled at me! I swear I almost fainted! You want to know what happened next?"

"Why not? I've got nothing to lose besides my hands."

"When we got to my house, she…you've got a Mako-chan on your head."

Just as those words escaped Usagi's lips, I felt something heavy on my head. As I attempted to look up, I saw Ami stare at me with a smile, silently greeting me. I groaned once I looked at my hands, which were still in Usagi's grasp. I wanted to pinch the bridge of my nose, feeling like today wasn't my day.

"Oh, don't mind us, guys. Please, continue," Makoto said. Ami looked like she was going to comment on the fact that I was in pain, but Usagi continued talking. "When we got to my house, she kissed me goodbye!" she yelled, attracting attention to herself unintentionally. "Minako-chan, she kissed me! Can you believe that?"

"I can't believe you haven't let me go yet!" I responded, yelling the last part. Usagi quickly released my hands finally, and I elbowed Makoto in the stomach. Makoto let out a grunt as she got off my head. "That hurt, Minako-san," she complained.

"Good."

I looked at my palms, seeing the marks Usagi made with her nails. Damn that blonde and her excitement. "Who exactly are you talking about, Usagi-chan?" Ami asked, tilting her head slightly. "You said a girl kissed you…?" Usagi blushed once she realized something. I looked from her to Ami and frowned. "You didn't tell her?" I asked quietly. "…Or Makoto-san, for that matter?" Usagi scratched her arm nervously and as she looked to the ground. She opened her mouth to say something, but the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

"I'll tell you later. Ja, minna!"

Usagi quickly left the area and entered the school. I stood up and brushed any dirt on my skirt as I stared at the direction Usagi left. Considering how Makoto and Ami were her friends, I thought she would have told them about Rei already. Then again, she told me when she was my client. A look of disappointment and – would it be right to even use this word? – sadness mix together on my face. I felt sorry for Ami and Makoto because they were still in the dark. I felt that it wasn't fair that they didn't know about Usagi's relationship with Rei and that I did. However, I wasn't going to tell them anything because it wasn't my place to.

"Minako-san?"

My eyes traveled to Ami when she said my name. I waited for her to say something. "Usagi-chan said a girl…kissed her, am I right?"

"Hai."

"So, she has a…girlfriend?"

I shrugged, deciding to play dumb. "Depends on the way you look at it. She could be experimenting with someone, or she could have a girlfriend." I paused for a moment. At first, I thought playing dumb would fun, ya know? I just wanted to mess with Ami's head for a little bit – and maybe Makoto's as well if she was even paying attention. Then, I got an idea, which pertained to work and would help Makoto and I out. "Ami-san, does the idea of Usagi being involved with a girl make you uncomfortable?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you against the idea of Usagi being with a girl?"

Ami and I stared into each other's eyes intensely. I waited patiently for an answer, but it almost seemed like she didn't have one. Suddenly I felt a hand grab my shoulder and whirl me around. I glared at the brunette, silently asking why she had done that. However, she didn't look at me as she said, "We need to get to class, guys. You can talk later." Then, she motioned me to follow her as she pushed Ami towards the school entrance. She looked back at me for a moment, and that's when I understood that she didn't want hear Ami's answer.

The walk home was pretty silent. Usagi hadn't said anything to me for the most part, which was her way of saying, "I don't want to talk about what happened." She just walked me home and said she would see me tomorrow. She had left so quickly, she didn't even give me the chance to say goodbye. Personally, I thought she was being too harsh on herself. So she didn't tell her friends about Rei. There's always tomorrow. And if for any reason one of them (Ami) didn't accept her, I would always be there for her.

When I entered the house, my mother greeted me. I responded with a lazy tone. When she asked me if there were any clients today, I said no and headed upstairs to my room. I sat at my desk with a sigh and looked through my school bag, which was full of homework. Since I didn't have any work today, I had to do my homework before I did anything else. It was what my mom, dad, and I agreed on; if I were to have such a job like this, I had to keep up my grades and remain a virgin until I graduate high school – daddy makes sure of the last part. I have to tell him if I have a male client so that he can stay home and make sure nothing happens to his precious little girl.

The homework took me a little over an hour, which I didn't mind entirely. I put everything back into my bag and put it beside my desk. Then, I began undressing. I don't like staying in my uniform for so long, even though I could just take it off after I get home.

We're saying goodbye, lost heaven
How we longed for heaven
We're letting go of something we never had
Time goes so fast
Heaven is lost

I heard my L'Arc en Ciel ringtone somewhere just as I took off my skirt. I almost tried over it as I searched for my phone. After finding it in the deep reaches of my bag, I answered it. "Hello?"

"Minako-san?"

It was Makoto. Her voice didn't sound as sarcastic and playful as it usually did. It wasn't sad either, so it was safe to say she was okay.

"Hai?"

"You know, I asked Ami if she was against the idea of girls being together after school…"

"…What did she say?"

"She said…she wasn't, but there was something about the way she said it that's throwing me off."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Can you talk to her for me? I'll appreciate it if you do."

I stayed silent for a moment, wondering if I should say yes and make Makoto happy. It couldn't hurt I suppose, and maybe Makoto would cheer up a little.

"Sure."

"Thanks, Minako-san."

"No problem. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright, bye."

Makoto hung up, leaving me to figure out what to say to Ami. I took off the rest of my sera fuku when an idea popped up in my head. An evil smirk slowly crept up my face. Makoto would thank me for this one day.

To be continued…

Oh my god, I actually updated something! Well, after personal stuff happened and other crap distracting me, I'm back with something for the readers! I will update How Love Should Be either this week or next week – depending on my schedule and my mood. Well, review if you want. Til next time

Serenity101