Chapter Four – Of Boys and Flowers

No Boys Allowed

"Great save," Ami cheered. "Usagi-chan."

Her voice was lost in the noise as the blonde ponytail in front of her sped towards the net and slammed the volleyball down into the opposing team's side of the court. They have been playing for about a half an hour and most of the girls on Ami's team were starting to wear down. With the exception for Usagi, who seemed to be possessed with the need to win, girls on both teams were clearly surprised by her show of stamina. Usagi seemed to be everywhere on the court and her teammates were all wondering what brought on this sudden change. Aoshi, as soon as he figured out the objective of the sport, felt it was necessary for his side to win the battle. So what if its only a team practice? So what if it was girls volleyball? If nothing else, there was his pride to consider and Aoshi did not like to lose.

Earlier that morning, he had left the house to meditate. Not only did he discover a few disturbing things about his current situation but had given him time to come to terms with a few things. First, he had to accept the fact that, for the moment, he was in a young girl's body. Tsukino Usagi, was the name he surmised from his earlier observations. Usagi, obviously, because of the black cat had addressed him this morning and the surname from the various school books that littered the bedroom floor. The pictures in the room he had passed hinted that Usagi belonged to a family with one brother, a set of parents and a cat.

That cat disturbed him the most. It had spoken to him in lucid tones indicating that it was semi-intelligent. If that is so, then some form of language must have developed for humans and animals able to communicate. The fact that he was able to converse and understand the cat's language left him both puzzled and proud at the same time. His abilities must have been enhanced because of his training as a ninja to make him capable of conversing with animals. If that is the case, then their training must be extraordinary since they were able to bridge the divide between feline and human communications. He must investigate this more thoroughly and led him to his next thought.

Second, he must act with the utmost caution and reserve because it was unclear to the circumstances surrounding his sudden appearance during this time. He must always be on his guard as he is unfamiliar with this place and cannot be sure of the many things that may or may not have changed. He must interact with its residents as little as possible so he will not disrupt whatever it was that was supposed to happen. Doing things differently might adversely affect his situation and he might consequently find himself unable to get back into his own body.

Third, he is obviously not in the Meiji era anymore, this wasa different kind of Japan – full of strange and dangerous things. The last thought came to mind as he recalled a loud, rectangular object with wheels, careening down the street and had it not been for his legendary ninja speed, he would have probably been knocked over. As he stepped away from the object, a door opened behind him and Aoshi was surprised to find a man sitting behind it and proceed to heap insults upon him. It did not take long for Aoshi to figure out that the man was insulting him and a spark of temper flared up. For a moment, his eyes narrowed and instinctively a hand went for the hilt of his blade. Fortunately, for the bus driver, he was without his weapons.

A cheer suddenly broke his air of concentration and he looked around as the rest of the girls jumped up and down on the court. Ami, the short-haired girl who Aoshi surmised as Usagi's friend, put her hand on his shoulder and leaned in. "Usagi-chan, are you feeling alright?" Aoshi gave her a blank look and Ami's face broke into a smile. "It's just that you seem different today, that's all."

Aoshi kept his voice even though he was instantly suspicious of Ami. "How so?" he asked casually as they walked to collect their gym bags.

"Well," Ami hesitated. "You're more focused today. You did pretty well in History and even our teachers were noticing that you were paying more attention. Even in our game, you were determined to win even if it was just a practice." Her voice trailed off and suddenly she looked uncomfortable. Aoshi nodded more to himself and tried to come up with an answer without completely being out of 'Usagi's' character.

"Maybe I'm just realizing how important certain things are." Ami looked at her friend for a minute before smiling and touching Usagi's arm. "I'm glad, Usagi." She then opened the door to the girl's locker room and they both went inside. Aoshi moved to follow but instantly stopped in his tracks as he remembered what was behind those doors.

A serious nosebleed followed and an unconscious Aoshi fell underneath the sign that clearly read: NO BOYS ALLOWED!

You Don't Give Me Flowers!

Sano was stalking up and down the hallway, following behind a tall girl named Makoto. He fidgeted with his uniform for a moment and tried to grip the lower hem to make it longer. Or he could pull the socks higher. He could feel a draft coming and he wondered, not for the first time, how could any girl get used to this thing? It was bad enough that he woke up as a girl, but must this girl's uniform be so revealing. I mean I know I look hot but this kind of skirt was just inviting trouble.

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't see that the Makoto girl had stopped and he bumped right into her. "Mina, are you okay?" Makoto asked as she turned around towards her friend. Pulling the hem of his skirt absently, Sano nodded and muttered. "Man, I'm so hungry I could even eat Kaoru's cooking."

Mako eyed him curiously and smiled. "Who's Kaoru?" they both stepped out into the courtyard for their lunch recess. Sano's head jerked up and stammered. "Kaoru who? I don't know who you're talking about." He shook his head once more and started to pull his shirt top down as it began to ride up. One hand on his shirt and the other on his skirt, Sano was frantically trying to save some modesty and act casually at the same time. This time, Makoto paused and frowned at him. "Are you sure you're okay?" Not trusting himself to speak, he just nodded.

"Mako-chan! Over here!" A short-haired girl was sitting under a cherry blossom tree waved at them and Sano sighed in relief for the distraction. A blonde-haired girl was sitting closeby but she seemed to be watching her surroundings carefully. There was something familiar with the girl but Sano couldn't quite put his finger on it as they approached the pair. Makoto sat down and opened her bag to share her lunch. Sano's stomach rumbled loudly and he rubbed his head and let out an embarassed laugh. "I guess I missed breakfast and forgot my lunch money."

"That's usually Usagi's excuse." Mako quipped and both her and Ami laughed. "Don't worry, Mina-chan. I made enough for everyone, including Usagi's famous appetite." Mako thumbed towards Aoshi's direction and he bristled at the insinuation. Aoshi narrowed his eyes as he realized that they were making fun of him. Wait, not him but this 'Usagi' girl. Well, he'll show them. "I woke up in time for breakfast today. So, I'm not hungry."

Makoto and Ami stopped laughing immediately and looked at Aoshi again. It was getting harder for him to remain patient with these girls, so Aoshi moved to excuse himself from the group. But before he could, he felt a nervous presence around him and his head moved towards a young boy approaching their group with a bouquet of flowers in his arms. Aoshi had a sinking feeling about the approaching situation but realized there was little he could do about it. Instead, he watched as the boy approached the young blonde girl called Mina in trepidation.

"Uh, Mina?"

Sano looked up and glared at the young boy. "Yes?"

"I was hoping you would accept these flowers and consent to go out with me tomorrow afternoon." The boy continued in a rush, hoping to get this over with as soon as possible.

Sano looked at the flowers in the boy's hand and then at the boy. He stood up and he seemed to be sizing the boy up. Everyone in their lunch group watched this exchange with interest. They knew that Mina had been waiting for this boy to ask her out and it seems that today was the day it was going to happen. Sano took the flowers from the boy and sniffed at it.

Taking a deep breath, he smiled what he hoped was a friendly smile. "Ah," Sano hesitated. What was he supposed to say? Sorry, I'm really a man. I don't date young boys. He was silent for awhile, trying to wrack his brain of something that would let the boy down easily. He wasn't about to make fun of him because he certainly knew what its like to be on the other side. Still, he couldn't really lead the boy on because what if this girl didn't really like him at all. What if he agreed and tomorrow he changes back, what would Mina say if she had to go out with someone she didn't really want to? What would the girl do ….

"Mina?" Makoto tugged at her friend's arm when it seemed like she wasn't going to respond at all. They waited for a good five minutes before Mina finally raised her head towards the boy.

"The firefly but burns and makes no comment. Silence sometimes tells of deeper thoughts." Sano recited.

Three faces looked surprised and one was indifferent. At the face of Usagi's indifference and Ami's mild surprise, Sano decided to continue. "I mean, I really appreciate that you think I'm special enough to want to ask out. I can tell you're going to grow up to be a fine young man. There will be plenty of other girls to ask and you shouldn't rush things especially when it comes to falling in love."

Aoshi raised an eyebrow at Mina's impassioned speech while the rest of the group seemed surprised by her words. Ami watched Mina closely as she pulled at the bottom of her shirt and seemed nervous. Her gaze swept towards Usagi as she noticed the silence she seemed to be holding. It was very peculiar that Usagi was not jumping up and questioning Mina's sudden wisdom. Her quote about the fireflies from the Tale of Genji, Ami mused, did not even earn a bewildered expression. No, it appeared as if Usagi knew what Mina was talking about.

Ami tried to remember other things she had noticed about Usagi since this morning. Being in school on time, knowing answers to assignments, being focused during their practice games and now, recognizing poetry from the Tale of Genji – they all add up to one thing. Something must have happened to her during those precious few minutes they were trapped in the portal last night. It remains to be seen if it was a bad thing.

Her head lifted up as Usagi's gaze turned back towards her as if she knew Ami had been studying her for the past few minutes. Aoshi nodded in her direction before focusing on his own lunch pack, still unopened. The boy had left their group and Mina sat back down, setting the flowers on her lap as she smiled back at the group. Ami bit into one of her sandwiches before looking at Mina teasingly.

"I didn't know you were studying the Tale of Genji, Mina."

"The Tale of what?" Makoto asks as she opened her homemade lunch spread. Sano began to rub his fingers gleefully as he eyed the food before him.

Aoshi interjected. "The Tale of Genji is a novel that features the psychological, romantic and political workings of mid-Heian period in Japan." Ami stopped chewing and Makoto eyed Usagi suspiciously. "And since when do you read novels from the mid-Heian period, Usagi?" Ami asked slowly.

Aoshi turned to her quietly and replied. "Let's just say it was necessary." He avoided looking into anyone's eyes and was relieved when Makoto mistook his meaning and raised her arms in protest. "Ho, ho. Whatever you and Mamoru are up to when you guys are alone is strictly your business. I don't really want to hear about it." Then she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and smiled at Usagi, "or do I?" Thankfully, he was once again rescued from having to answer another question when Mina raised her chopsticks and yelled, "Let's eat!" while promptly diving into Makoto's lunch box.

Author's Notes:

So, I'm back. Sort of. Please enjoy this small installment from your friendly neighborhood nukegrrl. I just realized this story has been languishing for almost a year and its about time I resurrected it. So hopefully, you enjoy this piece and have fun. I never claimed to own Sailor Moon nor Rurouni Kenshin. And I am no richer than I was ten seconds ago by writing this fanfiction – so lay off me!