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 Three: So It Begins

It was lunch now, and I was waiting for Ami to join me. The meeting place was the roof, which was probably the most peaceful place of the whole school. The words I had chosen selectively for this conversation I would have with Ami ran through my head like a rehearsal for a play. As I ate my lunch, I closed my eyes, imagining how exactly Ami would react, grinning every once and a while.

Suddenly but not surprisingly, my phone began ringing from my bag. I carefully set my lunch down on my lap and easily grabbed my phone since there wasn't much stuff inside the bag this time.

"Talk to me."

"Mako-chan's with me, so she won't eavesdrop on you or anything."

"Keep her occupied then, alright?"

"…Don't worry, Minako-chan, I'll tell her."

I smiled softly at the way Usagi said her statement. If I didn't have to talk to Ami, I would be down on the grounds with Usagi. She had told me this morning that she would talk to her other friends about her relationship with Rei, whom they may or may not have met. Since I didn't want Makoto to interfere with what I needed to do, I asked if Usagi could talk to Makoto during lunch. She said yes, mainly because she didn't want to tell more than one person at the same time. The last thing she needed was a whole bunch of different reactions from other people.

"Don't worry, Usagi-chan, everything will be fine. I promise."

"Okay. I'll tell you how it goes later."

"You'd better."

With an unspoken goodbye having been said by the both of us, I hung up and put my phone away. At the same time, the door opened up. I ate my lunch casually as if I hadn't been talking to anyone earlier. Once I saw Ami, our eyes met instantly. Her blue orbs were unreadable, just like her facial expression. If mischief was glowing on my face, I'm sure she would be able to notice right away.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

I nodded with a warm smile and motioned her to come closer. I told her to sit next to me, which she did a little reluctantly. I wrapped my unfinished lunch and put it beside my bag.

"So, is there anything wrong?"

"Well, I only wanted to know the answer to the question from yesterday…you know, the one about…"

Ami held her hand up, silencing me quickly. "I don't have a problem with homosexuality. If Usagi is happy with another girl, then I'm happy for her." The bored or annoyed expression on Ami's face intrigued me. Was I the reason for her current mood, or was it because she was lying? My smile grew wider but as it did, Ami gained a suspicious look. "Why are you so smiley?"

"Nothing, nothing!" I answered. "It's just good to know Usagi-chan has more friends who'll always be in her corner. She's a little secretive sometimes because she's afraid of what others might think of her." That question threw me off from what I expected before. However, I decided to twist things around to my advantage. "Wait a second," I murmured, a slight frown appearing on my face. Ami looked somewhat interested in whatever she thought I realized, which was what I was hoping for. "You love Usagi-chan, right?"

"Well, of course I do. Who doesn't?"

"Despite her liking girls, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then, how come I heard otherwise?"

Ami became kind of confused and asked where this claim came from. "Well, saying I heard the opposite is inaccurate – I'm sorry. Let me rephrase that." I pretended to think hard about what to say next. A few moments later, I said, "I heard that when you said it, you…didn't sound sincere."

"Who told you that?"

"Well…Makoto-san did."

Ami wore a look of shock and confusion. I mentally grinned, knowing my mission had been accomplished.

"Mako-chan?" she asked. I nodded. "When did she tell you that?"

"Yesterday. She called me on my cell phone."

"How did she get your number? Why didn't she tell me this herself?" Ami muttered, asking questions she probably expected me to answer. Most of those questions, though, all led back to the first. "She didn't want to see you get upset or anything, so she asked if I could talk to you for her…"

"Why would she ask you of all people?" the blue-haired girl said with a little sarcastic laugh. "You don't even talk to anyone but Usagi! Why would Makoto suddenly decide to talk to you when you push all of us away? How would she know your phone number?" I stayed silent, letting Ami vent her frustration. When she got quiet at last, she apologized for the outburst. She decided to leave before things got anymore complicated. I let her go, thinking that Makoto would have Ami before the week was over.

For some reason, though, I didn't think that was a good thing.

"What did you say to Ami-chan the other day?"

"What do you think? I voiced your concerns just like you wanted me to."

"Well, she stopped talking to me. She only glares at me as if I was the one who did the damage."

"Damage? What I said was specifically meant to help you."

Makoto threw her hands up in the air angrily and groaned as she turned her back to me. I rolled my eyes, knowing the brunette didn't understand how this was positive. "Look, Makoto-san, she doesn't hate you in anyway."

"And how do you figure that?"

"She wants to know how you got my number. She wants to know why confided in me when I normally don't talk to anyone other than Usagi." I paused for a minute, letting Makoto digest that information. She turned back to me with a look of surprise. I expected her to try to come to a conclusion by herself, but Makoto only stayed quiet. "She wants to know why me."

I smiled and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "That's a good thing!" I exclaimed. "You'll be able to explain everything to her when the time comes. Then, she'll be yours." Makoto lit up upon hearing that. Her smile reminded me of an excited child ready to go to the candy store. She suddenly picked me up in a hug, making me squeal in surprise. She thanked me and gave me a peck on the cheek. When she put me down, she skipped off to her homeroom.

I touched my cheek lightly with my fingertips. A bubbly feeling rose up from my stomach and made my heart beat faster. I had to take a deep breath to make sure I was okay. When I turned around to walk back to my homeroom, guess who I saw…Makoto's little Ami-chan! She gave what looked like a look of disgust. That fire I saw in her eyes caused my heart to pound harder in my chest. I was so nervous because I hoped she didn't hear too much.

"Who is she?" she inquired, her intimidating blue orbs staring a hole right through me. "What are you…and Makoto planning exactly?" For a moment, I lost my voice. My heart was pounding so hard, it skipped a beat. I felt like I was having a panic attack. I took another deep breath and let it out slowly. I don't know why I felt like that in front of Ami. I suppose it was just the idea of Ami finding out Makoto liked her that made me nervous.

"That's none of your business," I finally answered. The genius didn't say anything else, knowing that what I said was true (to some extent). She walked to her homeroom, probably going to go and wallow in the pools of jealousy. That bubbly feeling I felt went away, but it was immediately replaced with relaxation. At the moment, I was no longer under fire. Until lunch started, no one else would bother me.

"Minako-chan, what are you doing here? The bell is going to ring any second!"

No one but Usagi, that is. When she ran past me, I rolled my eyes and ran after her.

You know the saying 'Two's company, three's a mob'? Well, that's what it was like walking home. As usual, it was just me and Usagi until Makoto decided to tag along. She said she wanted to hang out a little bit, and who was I to say no? She was probably set on hanging out, and she could have gotten upset if I had turned her away. I always try to avoid pouts of disappointment.

I walked in between Makoto and Usagi as I listened to the other blonde's daily reflections. She said that she had told Ami about her relationship with Rei, and the blue-haired genius was apparently happy for her. The only thing Makoto and I said about it was, "Oh, that's good." Weird enough, we said it at the same time. The tone of my voice was flat, but Makoto actually tried to sound like she happy. I guess Ami's vow of silence drained her as the day dragged on. Not only that, she had to act like she didn't care if Ami didn't talk to her (as instructed by me during lunch).

"Ami troubles?"

"Yup," Makoto and I echoed. Out of the corner of my eye, I stared at Usagi curiously. "How do you know about Makoto/Ami situation?" I asked. "Who do you think put Mako-chan up to this?" Usagi said. "Besides, my gaydar is never wrong!" Makoto and I looked at each other for a moment, muttering at the same time, "Since when has she had gaydar?" That earned a giggled from Usagi. "What's so funny?" Makoto asked. "Nothing," Usagi grinned. "It just seems like you two have been friends for a while." I emitted a little laugh. Makoto and I were more like acquaintances since we've only been talking for a couple of days. Makoto must have known what I was thinking because she put me in a playful headlock – if slight pain in my neck can be described as playful. "What's that supposed to mean? Am I not your friend anymore?"

"Get off me!"

We bickered until we got to my house. Rei was standing in front of the door, which I thought was kind of weird. My mother should have been home to let her in. Before I even got the chance to greet her, Usagi ran up to her and kissed her, which took Rei by surprise at first. "That's what Ami-chan and I would look like…?" Makoto whispered in my ear. "To a certain extent I guess," I shrugged. "Hey, Chikane-chan, get your butt over here!"

Rei looked up at me, her eyes telling me she wanted to kill me. "That's Lunar Priestess to you, Otoha." I was taken aback, and it showed. A vein popped up on my forehead, making Rei smirk. "The maid? Devoted to you?"

"Rei, don't pay attention to her!" Usagi ordered as she directed Rei's vision to her. "You know how crazy she is." Rei agreed with a soft smile, one that I knew she only used for Usagi. They looked like they were about to kiss again, so I elbowed Makoto. She let go of me, which gave me the opportunity to run to the two and pull Usagi away. "Rei-chan, plans have changed," I said. "We're all going to the Crown."

"Eh? Why?"

"The butch over there wants to 'hang out' with me today, so I'm taking you and Usagi with us," I explained. Makoto glomped me and put me in another headlock, but there was more pain involved. "Who are you calling a butch, femme?" she grinned. The pain in my neck wasn't enjoyable, but my head was pressed against Makoto's huge chest, which I found somewhat pleasant. I blushed as I went hentai for a second, and I'm sure Rei and Usagi noticed. They both blushed as well, but Makoto didn't seem fazed by the sudden silence or the blushing of all three of us. In the midst of torturing me, she found time to finally greet Rei, who muttered back her reply.

"Makoto-san…can I breath now? Please?" I asked as sweetly as I could. She let go of me with a laugh but stopped when she saw Rei, Usagi, and I blushing. "What? What did I do this time?" Rei suddenly covered Usagi's eyes. "Nothing, Makoto-san. Shall we go now?" Before Makoto could say anything, I pushed her away from my house and down the street. "Rei…why is she so…lucky?" I heard Usagi ask. "Who? Minako or Makoto?" Rei asked.

Makoto managed to turn around and stop me in my tracks. She looked at all three of us with a cross between anger and confusion – I couldn't tell which. "You were looking at my…" Before she could finish that sentence, I pushed her down the street and refused to let her say anything until we got the Crown.

Usagi, Rei, Makoto, and I sat an open booth that I picked out. The others didn't realize why I picked this one in particular, but they would soon find out. We all waited until Furuhata Motoki came up to us, ready to take our order.

"Hey, Motoki-onii-chan, where's your sister?" Usagi asked as she looked up to her 'brother.' "You're supposed to be at the arcade, right?" Motoki crossed his arms and playfully scoffed, offended that Usagi didn't want him around anymore. Makoto and Usagi seemed to enjoy themselves as they joked around with him, but Rei seemed out of character…at least for a place like this. She smiled and pretended to be interested about what was going on but deep down, she didn't really care. All she wanted was for Motoki to be gone. From what I understand, Rei hated guys with a burning white, hot intensity of a thousand suns. Maybe she hated them more than that, but why she does, I don't know.

After ordering our drinks, we talked a little bit. The first thing that came out of Usagi's mouth was, "Rei, why were you standing in front of Minako-chan's house?" Rei looked at me for a second, a sudden flash of fear – does she really fear me now? – in her eyes. Then, Rei told her that I had made an appointment with her, which I did. Usagi then asked me why I had made one for her. At that point, I had taken off my right shoe and stroked Rei's leg with my big toe. Her eyebrow twitched as she stared at me. I wanted to grin so badly, but I had to keep a straight face.

"I just want to know how things are going with you and Rei from her perspective is all," I shrugged, seeming casual enough. In truth, my test for Rei was still in progress. If she was serious about Usagi, she could definitely reject any advance I made. Like yesterday when I called her randomly. She may have gotten a nosebleed from what I said, but the response I got was good…if getting hung up on was a good thing. Usagi seemed happy by that response, noting that Rei probably said everything that she said before, just quicker and more to the point. She was right, of course. Rei wasn't one for long details.

We all had a good time, even though Makoto and I bickered a bit more. Rei and Usagi seemed amused for the most part. When something caught my eye, I grinned, knowing that my ideas were about to become reality. Someone had stood up from their booth and walked away, but my voice quickly stopped them in their tracks.

"Ami-san? What are you doing here?" I asked, faking a smile once Ami turned around. Ami smiled back, but it was obvious (to me at least) that she was trying too hard. She said she was studying and held her books up for emphasis. She greeted the others, though she and Makoto didn't say a word to each other. Usagi definitely noticed the tension between the two, and I'm sure Rei thought something was up. When an awkward silence came up, Ami excused herself and quickly left the area.

A few seconds later, Makoto suddenly gave my leg a tap with her finger. I turned my attention to her as if I really didn't know what she was going to say. "You knew she was there, didn't you?" Makoto spoke. "You picked this booth because you saw her." I shrugged and gave her a sly grin. "Well, you're tall, right? You should have noticed her when we walked in."

"You were talking to me though…"

My grin grew wider when she put the pieces together in her head. She hit my leg as she laughed, probably at herself. "You distracted me." I giggled along with her, finding something about this very funny. I didn't want to say this out loud, but being around her was actually fun.

Before the day ended, I needed to figure out a way to spend more time with her.

To be continued...

Yay, another chapter update! It was WAY faster than last time lol. Leave a review if you'd like. Til next time

Serenity101