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 Five: Following a Feeling

Another week went by. I hadn't really heard from Makoto, and Usagi hadn't heard from Ami. They were never around during lunch, and Makoto didn't walk home with us anymore. We both assumed they had finally gotten together, meaning my work was done. I was glad to know that Makoto was fine now on her own two feet. However, something inside me felt bitter, disappointed that things turned out okay. Perhaps I had helped Makoto out too much. Oh, who am I kidding? I didn't really do much. All I did was rouse Ami's jealousy a few times. Big deal! All you need for a reaction is a catalyst, and I just happened to be the catalyst.

Still, not seeing Makoto these days took a toll on me. Catching a glimpse of her at school was special now because I knew I wouldn't see her after that. Usagi felt the same way as I did – well, not exactly the same way but close enough. Our curiosity was like a cup overflowing with water; we couldn't help ourselves. We needed to know how things with Ami and Makoto were going.

The search ended up lasting for a few days (yeah, they were sneaky!). I looked everywhere for Makoto before school, and she was nowhere to be found. One day, I checked her homeroom, and she wasn't there. That was odd because Ami was there. We stared at each other for a moment, but there was no sign of annoyance or animosity in her eyes. They were blank, as if there was nothing going on in her mind. When she looked away from me, I decided to go to my homeroom. Sure, she could have gone to the bathroom or something, but from the look on Ami's face, that didn't seem likely.

Giving Usagi a status report during lunch, we decided to look around in places we weren't able to check before. I decided to go to the roof. My gut was telling me that I would find something juicy, like a romantic, yet compromising, situation. I giggled at myself, knowing that only happened in movies. Well, gut feeling or no, I went to the only place anyone could go to for alone time. I opened the door slowly, trying to see if anyone was there.

"Why are you sneaking around, Minako-chan?"

I jumped at the sound of the voice. My gut feeling had been right, but I never expected it be. Maybe watching movies helped with real life situations? I opened the door completely and saw Makoto eating her lunch. A sorrowful look dominated her features, and it made me frown. I wondered if she had been this way all week. If that were true, then what had Ami done to her?

"Hey, who said I was sneaking around?" I laughed, walking closer towards her. Makoto glanced at me for a moment before looking away. "You and Usagi have been looking for me, haven't you?" she asked. I shrugged and put my hands behind my back. "Well, you disappeared all of a sudden, and we couldn't find you anywhere!" Makoto made a soft sound of amusement and she ate some of her lunch. She patted the spot next to her, telling me to sit. I did so immediately, eager to hear what she had to say.

"I guess this means I'm good at hiding," she sighed. "One could say I was raised that way." There was silence between us now, and I didn't know how to end it. I knew that there was something behind that statement, and I wanted to know what Makoto meant. However, I didn't know if it was wise to ask any questions. Her statement sounded very personal, and it didn't seem right to pry.

"So, you and Usagi were trying to find me?" Makoto asked. I nodded. "We thought things with you and Ami went okay because we never saw either of you…but now you're here, and Ami is somewhere else, and you look sad, and I don't understand what's going on, and…" Makoto covered my mouth, preventing me from continuing my explanation. The thought of kissing the palm of her hand went through my mind for a second before I forced myself to stop thinking that way. Why would I want to kiss Makoto's palm? This was Makoto we're talking about! Besides, she was supposed to be with Ami, so I shouldn't be having these thoughts!

"I get it," Makoto said. She removed her hand from my mouth and stared into my eyes. "Well, if you must know, I haven't talked to Ami since last week. When she talks to you, she can talk to me." I raised my eyebrow questioningly at Makoto for a second. What business did Ami have with me? What did I do now? "What's all of this about, Mako-chan?" I asked. Makoto shrugged at me with a teasing smirk. "I don't know. What do you think this is about?"

"I don't know! Why do you think I asked you?" I exclaimed. Makoto laughed just as the bell rang. I pouted as she stood up, ready to leave me with no information. She put her unfinished lunch away and helped me up to my feet. "At the end of the day, I'll be hanging around the main entrance," she said.

"Will I see you then?"

Makoto grinned and shrugged. "Maybe, if you look hard enough. You'll know where to find me the day things return to the way they were." Leaving me to ponder why she had been so cryptic, I stood there and stared at the spot where she once stood.

A few days passed after that meeting. I hadn't seen much of her since then, but I saw more of Ami. It seemed as though she wanted to talk to me, but she never did. Usagi suggested we talk to her and find out if she and Makoto were okay. Of course, I knew things weren't okay after talking to Makoto, but I didn't tell Usagi that. That would only lead to more unnecessary prying. So whenever we attempted to talk to her, she would walk away from us. Usagi wondered why she did that, but I had a hunch. Makoto said Ami needed to talk to me in order to talk to her, so maybe that's what it was about.

At first, I thought that if I didn't talk to Ami, I could try to find Makoto again and spend some time with her. It seemed like a good idea, but I soon realized something that ruined the whole plan.

"I guess this means I'm good at hiding. One could say I was raised that way."

I thought she was joking around even though I knew there had to be a deeper meaning to it. This was probably it! She didn't want anyone to find her, so now she was hiding from us! Yes, that had to be it! When this whole Ami thing was resolved, maybe she would show herself and act like her normal self again! With this newfound knowledge, I devised a plan.

At the end of the day, I told Usagi to find Ami and meet up with me at the main entrance. She didn't question my motives and did it right away. It didn't take long for the two to show up. Apparently, Ami would let Usagi talk to her rather than me. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

When she met my gaze, she stopped. She turned to Usagi – I bet she thought Usagi was a traitor now – and shook her head. Usagi simply pushed Ami up to me and saluted me. I rolled my eyes and gave her a look that told her to leave. Usagi made a face of realization and winked at me. Saying goodbye, she skipped off. Ami obviously didn't want to be left alone with me, but I ignored that fact.

"So, you found her?"

"Yup. What exactly is it that you need to tell me?"

Ami gazed at me with her blue eyes and sighed. "You look like a nice person," she said, "and I'm sure that you are. It's just that…I don't like you. At all." I covered my mouth to hide the smile I had gained. Finally, the truth has come out! It had happened so quickly that it was funny. However, I didn't want to stop Ami from saying whatever she had to say.

"Is that all?" I asked. The blue-haired girl shook her head. "Seeing you with Makoto all the time…it burns me up," she confessed. "I don't like being a jealous person, but when it comes to you…it looks like you're with her just to make me jealous. Why?" I had to admit, Ami was very smart. She had things figured out to some extent. Resisting the urge to clap for her was very hard.

"I don't mean to do these things," I lied. "I just want to make friends with her, that's all?"

"Why so suddenly? Why her?"

"Being alone isn't fun, Ami-san. I would have made friends with you and Mako-chan, but you apparently hate me…"

"I dislike you."

I playfully slapped my forehead to chastise myself. "Right. Excuse me." Taking Ami's hand in mine, I grinned. "Look, I'm sorry for putting you through this – I bet Mako-chan was pretty turned on, though." Ami gave me a look as she blushed. Perhaps it was my choice of words that caused this reaction. "This is the only time I'll let you do this, but…" I took a deep breath to brace myself. "Hit me."

"What?"

"Take out your frustrations on me. I deserve it."

"But you said you didn't mean to. That's good enough…"

I rolled my eyes. Slapping someone was obviously something Ami didn't do a lot, but I know she wanted to. She had just told me that she didn't like me and she didn't like me being with Makoto. If I were her, I wouldn't waste this opportunity.

"Makoto is kissing me. She has me pinned down on her bed, and I'm enjoying it."

"What?"

"Then, one of her hands goes up my shirt, and I'm sticking my tongue down her throat. Hmm…I wonder if she likes it rough…"

Slap!

Oh, crap. I didn't think I'd feel the sting so quickly. Were my ears ringing or was that my imagination? I didn't think such an action would hurt so much. My left cheek burned, and I wanted it to go away. I rubbed it as quickly as I could. The burning sensation gradually left, but the sting lingered. I stared at Ami, who seemed very sorry. She had slapped me so fast, I couldn't even see her expression before that.

"See, didn't that make you feel better?" I asked. I smiled at her, which made her laugh. "No, not really," she replied. I grinned in response, her laughing telling me the exact opposite. "Do you think we can be friends? Enemies? Something in between?" I inquired with sincerity. I tilted my head slightly as I waited for the answer. Ami held out her hand with a smile. "Frenemies," she said. I grasped her hand and nodded. That was the start of a new friendship (and enemy-ship, I guess).

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Makoto hugged Ami from behind and lifted her into the air. She wasn't even given any time to yelp. I jumped back and gasped, surprised Makoto had shown up so fast.

"Makoto! Where the heck did you come from?" I yelled as I glared at her. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she grinned at me. She put Ami down on the ground and released her. "See, Ami, was that so hard?" she asked. When Ami didn't say anything, Makoto turned to me. That smug grin was still there.

"You didn't find me."

"I wasn't looking for you."

"Why not?"

"You're not that special."

I stuck my tongue at her and crossed my arms. Now I was starting to act like Usagi. Figures. "Well, I'm going home," I announced. "Don't have too much fun together." I winked at Ami, who blushed, and walked away. For some reason, though, I didn't like the thought of leaving them alone. I had a feeling that something would happen, and when it did, I wouldn't be happy.

Maybe if I talked to someone who was an expert on gut feelings, I would know what to do in this situation.

I smiled when Rei arrived at the Crown. She didn't seem as enthusiastic as I was, but that was how she always looked. She sat across from me and held her head up with her hand.

"You want advice? From me?"

"Yeah."

"You're sure?"

"Most definitely."

Rei shrugged. I guess she didn't think she could give me advice (or maybe she was warning me that she could steer me in the wrong direction). Either way, I pushed those thoughts aside and got straight to the point. "Let's say you have a feeling that something was going to happen tomorrow," I said. "You know it's inevitable, but you want to stop it some way or another. What do you do?"

"What can you do? If it's inevitable, what's the point of doing anything?"

"So, you'd let it happen even if you ended up unhappy?"

"Yeah."

I frowned at that answer. "If Usagi-chan were dying, you'd try save her even though her death would be inevitable," I pointed out. She nodded. "I know, but we're not talking about love…" She trailed off as a grin slowly made its way across her face. Now I was afraid. What was going through her head now?

"But we are talking about love, aren't we?" the miko asked. I shook my head, trying to make Rei believe in what I had to say. "No, we're not," I said. "Aw, is Minako embarrassed?" Rei asked with a teasing voice. I knew I wasn't blushing. By saying that, Rei was trying to get me to blush and force me to say what she wanted to hear. However, I knew her tricks, and I resisted them without fail. "Someone hit me today – that's it," I corrected her. Then, I rubbed my cheek. The sting had gone away.

"Mmm, a catfight?"

I rolled my eyes at Rei's perverted mind. It was a shame Usagi didn't know what she had gotten herself into. "Getting back to the point, I want to know if I should follow my gut feeling," I explained. "I don't if it's the right thing to do."

"It's only human to follow your instincts," Rei said. "Personally, I think it's always right to follow your feelings. Depending on the situation, of course." I raised my eyebrow. Rei's statement was contradictory. "So if – I don't know – Motoki-kun was my boss and made me mad for some reason, it would be right to follow my feelings and hit him?" I asked.

"Yeah, but you'd lose your job, which wouldn't be a smart move."

I opened my mouth to question Rei again, more confused than before. She held her hand up to silence me, preventing me from speaking. "It's right to follow your feelings," she stated. "If it feels right to you, then it is. Just know that there are consequences when you act on your feelings. Make sense now?" I looked up at the ceiling, playing the words through my mind. Yeah, now it made more sense! My eyes returned to Rei as I nodded.

"Good. So, what inspired you to come to me about this?"

"If I had gone to Usagi, I'd get nowhere."

"True."

Funny how Rei agreed so quickly. If Usagi were here, she'd call the miko a mean person.

Rei leaned back and sighed. Something else was on her mind, but I couldn't tell what. There was the assumption that she wanted to leave if we were done, though I didn't think we were. From the looks of it, it seemed like she wanted to say something.

"Give me some names," she spoke. "Is this about someone I know?" I gave her a confused look as I answered, "Why would this have to do with anyone…"

"Minako, you're a girl," Rei laughed. "Everything a girl does is influenced by someone. Tell me, who is this about?" I shrugged as I put my head on the table. My eyes never left Rei's violet-colored ones – it was as if I were in a trance, and I couldn't look away. "Mako-chan and Ami-san, I guess." I tried to ignore the smirk the raven-haired girl was giving me. When a long silence began, I became irritated. "What?"

"I knew it. We are talking about love."

I scoffed and closed my eyes. "I said we weren't." Rei laughed again, which cause me to hide my face. At this point, Rei wouldn't hear anything other than a confession, and I was not going to give her any satisfaction. Besides, I didn't even like anyone right now. I barely knew Makoto or Ami, so how could I like either of them anyway?

"Then what made you call me today?"

I looked up at Rei for a moment before staring away. Her arms were crossed across her chest as she stared at me skeptically. I gladly told her of the events that had taken place recently up to now. I thought that if she knew this information, she would leave me alone with the whole 'love' thing. However, she was not easily deterred.

"How long have you known Makoto-san and Ami-san?" she asked. "I didn't talk to Ami-san until today," I responded. "Mako-chan…I started talking to her about…two weeks ago." I risked looking back at Rei, but I soon regretted it. Her jaw had dropped as if I had said something bad. I questioned her actions, hoping I wouldn't have to see that shocked face.

"You fall in love fast!" she exclaimed. I sat up straight, ready to challenge that. "I do not!" I opposed. "You really think I'd fall in love with Mako-chan? You try going to school with her!" Rei covered her face with her hands before grabbing mine. "Think about everything you just told me. Remember every feeling you had during those events. Then, ask yourself why you had them," she ordered. I raised my eyebrow at her, wondering what good this would do, but I did what I was told.

Starting with last week, Makoto pretty much disappeared. I felt kind of disappointed that I didn't see her as much as before but when I did see her, I was excited and glad that she was still there. After not being able to find Makoto for days, I went to the roof and there she was. I was happier than words could express, but she didn't look like her usual self. When we talked, she covered my mouth. I wanted to kiss the palm of her hand, but I don't know why. Days passed again, and I didn't see her after that meeting. Just like before, I was feeling disappointed. Today, when Makoto held Ami in her arms, I felt a sting, but I had only assumed that that was my cheek. When I left them alone, I knew something would happen, but I wouldn't like it…

My eyes widened as I covered my mouth. Rei nodded as if she read my mind. I mentally chastised myself as realization reeled through my head.

I had fallen in love with Kino Makoto.

"Rei, how did this happen?"

"How should I know?"

"This can't be true! Falling in love this fast…it's impossible!"

"That's what I thought, too."

"What should I do now?"

"Do you what you feel is right."

I searched my mind for what I needed to do. That's when it hit me. A grin of determination graced my features and I took out my cell phone. I stood up and thanked for her help and left the Crown. Suddenly, I felt like tomorrow would be a good day.

To be continued…

Well, this will be the last chapter of the year! I really wanted to finish this before New Years Eve XD See you in '09 :D Til next year

Serenity101