Boo-yah! Another chapter on the books! Errr, on the…computer screen? Sigh, whatever.
Only one, or two, more chapters, plus a lil epilogue I think should wrap it up nicely.
I am so excited! And you should be tooo! Love me! And I love YOU my reviewers! You guys make my day all kinds of crazy happy! Even just the lil one liners make me smile a squeal when I see that alert in my inbox. Special props to those who review regularly, like you moonie. And when you write more to me? Like you tuxjim, I'm floating for days! You ALL rock!
Disclaimer: My GOD, the psychotic yuri-licious things I would do with them if the were mine….Sigh….
PS: Can I get a HELL YEAH for Mako-chan's new voice?! As I was telling my PM buddy, Ami-chan won't stand a chance against her seduction ;)
For a moment, she didn't move. Wondering how many bones were broken or if she was even conscious. She thought honestly that she'd gotten a break. She had to have landed on a pile of moss, because as she took stock of her injuries, or lack thereof, she noticed that whatever she'd landed on was soft. And warm. And…..moving? What the hell?! Jupiter forced her eyes open for the first time since beginning her downward spiral and found herself looking down into the startled blue orbs of the ice senshi herself.
For a brief second there was absolute still. Neither girl moved save for a widening of the eyes and rapidly increased heartbeat.
Oh my kami. That's Mercury. That's Mercury right here and she's underneath me and I'm on top of her and oh wow we are completely pressed up against each other and she's so soft and damn her hair smells nice and oh…. my kami. Is that her…?…am I touching her…her? Oh wow…Oh I am…. And she…..she's touching my… and she smells so good and look how blue her eyes are her mouth is right there and she's blushing. Am I blushing? I'm probably blushing too… Right? I'm blushing? I'd have to be cause she's there and I'm here and…. Crap, I should be doing something….?
There was sudden movement between them and it broke her out of her train of thought. Emerald eyes blinked and glanced down at the light pressure on her chest. A delicate gloved hand was firmly grasping her bow.
Jupiter felt her jaw drop in surprise and looked back up at Mercury. The poor Ice Senshi looked as surprised as she was. Blinking down at her hand and then back up again. She opened her mouth to speak and a confused look overcame her. It was so adorable, that Jupiter couldn't help but smile down at her. It seemed to break her genius out of it and with a sheepish shrug and a small grin she spoke.
"Um, tag?" She whispered and Jupiter just huffed.
" I uh, guess you got me." Mercury blushed, frozen in place, and Jupiter was having a hard time finding a reason to move. After all the hell she'd gone through in the last hour or so, only to be defeated LITERALLY within inches of her goal, she figured she'd earned some sort of karmic payback. And laying here, completely flush with her little mermaid, well that was a good of a prize as any. For her part, the bluenette couldn't decide on where to look, her gaze darting all over the place. Finally she took a breath, and Jupiter drug herself away from staring down at her serenely.
"How um, …. How did you find me?" Jupiter chucked and sat back, nervous. No need to tell her how she'd spent the entire training session stalking the Ice Senshi down with the sole intent of asking her out on a date. Nope. No need for that at all. She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.
"On accident actually. I was running away from Venus and Uranus." Mercury winced and a moment of silence was given in honor of what Venus had no doubt gone through. Or would go through very soon. Mercury shifted and smiled.
"I'm very glad you didn't freeze on your way in. And that you managed to get to the bottom of the cliff without harm." Jupiter grinned.
"I did jumping jacks before I ran in. To raise my internal temp." Mercury beamed at her.
"Really? What a logical thing to do Jupiter!" The Thunder Senshi glowed at the compliment.
"Coming down the hill, that was crazy. I meant to commend you on that. It was a great tactical move." She stared down and got lost in deep blue pools. Her peripheral vision catching the light blush on the smaller girls cheeks. Mercury shifted, and looked away, a smile on her lips.
"Yes, well, I tried to think, if you HAD to hide, how would you do it?" Jupiter laughed and looked down at her angel, for a millisecond wondering how she found this so hard. Times like these, everything was just so, easy with them. So right.
"I don't think I could have come up with something this clever. That's all you." She whispered, her heart thudding as Mercury didn't look away this time. How easy it would be to just lean closer. To finally taste the lips she'd been dreaming about for so long… However, life had a delightful way of interrupting such moments and in a few short seconds, distant screams could be heard. They both snapped their heads to the side and watched as the sounds faded. But, alas, the moment had been broken and Jupiter stood, offering a hand to the bluenette, pulling her to her feet.
"I guess we should be heading back then no? Out of harms way?" Mercury blushed and nodded.
"Yes, I definitely don't want to be in the area if that particular scuffle is still going on." Jupiter grinned.
"At least we set rules. Now we're both safe from them I guess." Mercury stopped walking for a moment as the reality hit her.
"I'm safe?" She seemed to deflate and sighed happily. "I'm safe." She was so relieved that she uncharacteristically glomped onto Jupiter so fast the brunette almost yelped.
"Oh Kami, thank you. I'm safe." Jupiter smiled and hugged the smaller girl back.
"Well, you tagged me so you kept yourself safe. But you're welcome all the same." She said with a chuckle and blue eyes pulled back to stare at her.
"I'm safe. From her! From that…." she shuddered, "…place. You have no idea how happy I am right now." With her girl in her arms, and apparently happy to be there, Jupiter felt she probably did. Taking a chance because she'd already worked herself up to a date so the very least she could do was try to further their relationship a little, she gently brushed a strand of blue hair back and gave a soft smile.
"Oh, I think I have an idea." The light pink that dusted the genius's cheeks glowed before she ducked her head, but didn't pull away and Jupiter felt her heart flutter. Score one for the Senshi of Courage! A few more moments in the embrace and Mercury shifted, pulling away with a little embarrassment. But still, it had been progress so the taller girl let it go, a smile still plastered to her face. Figuring that Mercury needed a little un-seriousness before she flushed to death, Jupiter spread her arms wide and motioned to the winter wonderland around them.
"I don't suppose you can will this away? It'd make the walk back that much easier." The Mercurian looked confused for a moment.
"What? Oh! Of course." She closed her eyes and Jupiter felt the blue glow radiate off of her for a few moments. When the power faded, the air was noticeably warmer and the fog had begun to dissipate.
"You've been practicing." She commented as they began the walk back and the genius gave a shy shrug.
"It's just an over-sized Shabon Spray really. I was sort of desperate." Jupiter chuckled recalling having that same thought earlier.
"Must of taken a lot of energy."
"Yes. Honestly, if I hadn't of taken you off guard, I wouldn't of been able to put up much of a fight at all. I was pretty weakened." Jupiter kept the smile on her face but mentally face-palmed. Kami! She had been so close! Now instead of asking Ami out on a date, Ami got to ask her for something…. Hmmm. The thought perked her up and she resolved not to be so gloomy about the whole ordeal. Maybe Ami would ask HER for a date? She couldn't help a chuckle at the thought of the reserved genius going that far out of her comfort zone and said genius glanced up at her.
"What's so funny?" Jupiter shook her head and put her hands up with one last chuckle.
"Nothing. Just a funny thought is all." The bluenette gave her an odd look but didn't push it and the rest of the journey was made in comfortable silence.
Once they were back to the starting area, Jupiter noted that they weren't the first ones finished and she bit back a snicker at the sight of Usagi sitting glumly on a log, and a self-satisfied Michiru leaning against a tree behind her. It didn't take a genius to figure out how that particular sparring session had gone.
The two detransformed as they walked up and Michiru gave them a friendly nod.
"I see you made it." They both nodded and Makoto took a seat next to her Princess.
"She got you huh?" Usagi whimpered and nodded.
"She came out of nowhere." Michiru chuckled lightly and Ami just shook her head.
"I understand. I'm sure you'll be fine." Makoto tried to soothe and Usagi only grumped at her.
"You don't understand. How could you? You're one of the ones who gets to DO a dare." Makoto gave her a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her neck, glancing back at Ami.
"Actually, I'm not." This completely surprised the other girl and Usagi glanced disbelieving between the two.
"You mean SHE got YOU?" She asked incredulously and Makoto nodded.
"Fair and square." Michiru, looking significantly less surprised, arched an eyebrow at her swimming rival.
"Really now? Well, that's certainly a twist hmm?" Ami blushed furiously under Michiru's stare and avoided eye-contact. Makoto cocked her head, certain that she'd just missed some secret communication. Then again, EVERYTHING the violinist said seemed to have a hidden meaning. Damn psychics.
Usagi sighed and went back to moping and Makoto ignored trying to figure Michiru out, because actually trying to understand the language of the Outers was just a guaranteed migraine. Why they just couldn't talk like normal people, she had no clue. Seriously, even after all this time half of their conversations went waaay over her head. Instead, she opted to keep her mind occupied with her plan of attack for next week. First and foremost, how exactly she was going to heal her wounded pride over the severe butt-kicking she'd received. And secondly, Operation Not a Date Date, Part Two.
The group didn't have to wait long before the next pair showed up and they all knew who it was before they could visually confirm it through the trees. The sound started low and hard to understand, but once it became clear, even Ami winced.
Someone was, quite happily, humming the death-march. It was odd to hear such a depressing melody hummed in such a happy tone and the reason became obvious as Minako appeared first, looking like death warmed over.
Her face was gray and glum, her eyes wide and empty, her lips quivering in near tears. Her feet dragged in the dirt, leaving a small cloud of dust behind her. It was…..pathetic. And pity-inducing. That too. And, nearly skipping behind her, contentedly humming, was Haruka. She switched to whistling as they walked across the clearing and Minako sat on the other side of her Princess as the taller blond walked happily over to her girlfriend.
"Victorious I assume?" Michiru asked and received an happy nuzzle in response. At her gleeful noise, the newest blonde only whimpered pathetically and Usagi whimpered with her in support, Minako swiftly turned to her twin, eyes watering.
"We'll survive this together." Usagi declared, grabbing her first in commands hands. Minako nodded, still pouting.
"I'll be there with you too." They held each other dramatically and Makoto rolled her eyes. Haruka wrapped her arms around Michiru and regarded the inners.
"Are you going to join the support fest Ami-san? Or do you have confidence in Makoto-san?" Before either girl could speak Michiru giggled.
"Actually, it should be Makoto-san joining them." Haruka couldn't help her jaw dropping as she stared down at the brunette.
"SHE got YOU?" She asked and Ami huffed lightly.
"Why is that such a surprise to everyone?" She asked, clearly irked. Haruka sputtered for a moment and Michiru smiled, throwing a wink to Ami.
"Yes dear. Do you really underestimate the water senshi so greatly?" Haruka's eyes widened rapidly.
"What? N..No Michi-chan. Of course I don't." Minako came out of her stupor to snicker at the Wind Senshi's expense and Makoto smiled, adding to Ami's defense.
" Yep. She out smarted me for sure." Ami blinked at the compliment and immediately turned red, ducking her eyes.
"It was just luck." Before Makoto could insist otherwise, thereby scoring herself some extra brownie points, Minako finally processed and therefore reacted to the news.
"Seriously? You lost?! After all that you lost?" Makoto clenched her teeth and Ami looked at her curiously.
"After all what?" She questioned and Makoto shot Minako a look that clearly said she intended to help Haruka punish her. Realization sunk in and Minako back-tracked swiftly, throwing her hands up.
"Ah, all that…..nothing. Just, you know, training. Nothing training. For all the…sparring. That we did. Had to do….. In there. " She finished lamely and Ami and Haruka both quirked an eyebrow. A cricket chirped. A cough sounded. Minako chewed on her lip.
"Okay." The wind senshi finally said and settled against the tree. When it came to the Inners, the blonde ones in particular, it was a good rule of thumb to just let things go. Seriously, she had no idea what they were talking about most of the time anyway. Besides that, having gained the prize she wanted, Haruka was happy to ride her high for as long as possible.
There was awkward silence for a few moments before a 'Dead Scream' boomed off to the right. It was answered instantly with a 'Fire Soul' and the twins sprang to their feet.
"Yeah! Go Rei-chan!" Usagi cheered and Minako pumped a fist.
"Bring honor back to the Inners! Take her down!" They broke out pom-poms and started a cheering squad dedicated to Rei and Makoto just sweat-dropped as the two attempted a pyramid.
"You really think Rei has a chance against Setsuna?" She asked and instantly Minako struck a pose, leaving Usagi in the dust. She flared and pointed a finger at her accusingly.
"Don't doubt the power of a Inner." Usagi lept up and struck an identical pose.
"That's right. Support your fellow senshi." Ami blinked.
"Setsuna's a senshi too." She muttered and Michiru gave Ami another secretive wink.
"And you should never underestimate a Scout with a goal, ne?" Ami blushed again and not for the first time Makoto wondered what she'd missed.
"That's right! Rei-chan will come through for us!" Usagi produced a large sign covered in glitter that spelled out G-O R-E-I, and while Ami wondered when she'd had the time to make it, Minako produced one of equal glittery goodness that said A-N-T-I E-V-I-L. Makoto lifted an eyebrow at this.
"Setsuna-san's evil now?" Minako nodded seriously.
"She's an Outer." Haruka sighed.
"And here I thought we were past all this distrust kittens." Minako and Usagi actually stopped at this and looked at each other, lowering their signs slightly.
"So, you aren't evil?" Usagi asked and Michiru just shook her head, a bemused smile on her face.
"So, you aren't going to torture me?" Minako chanced, hope brewing deep. Haruka opened her mouth to respond, closed it, then opened it again.
"On second thought, go ahead and cheer." Minako's face fell and Usagi turned and immediately began to scream for Rei. Her sheer volume snapped Minako out of it.
Haruka watched with great amusement as the twins began their cheer again with even more enthusiasm and Ami shook her head. If only they had put a quarter of this energy into passing their high school exams, the genius wouldn't be quite so worried about her early onset of gray hair.
As the sounds of battle faded, they all waited patiently….well, some of them waited patiently anyway, for the last team to appear. It didn't take long and eventually low chatter could be heard as Rei and Setsuna walked calmly into the clearing. Rei let out a nearly frightened, mostly irritated, partially confused yelp when she was immediately glomped by her cheering squad. That much blonde energy at once….. Ami felt for the Priestess.
"Did you reclaim our honor Rei-chan!?" The Priestess blinked at Minako as she recovered from the attack.
"What?" Usagi grabbed her hands.
"Did you defeat the evil?" Rei looked over at the others for help and Ami only shook her head in response.
"What evil?" She bit and Minako huffed as if this should have been obvious.
"Setsuna of course." That caught the raven off guard and she shot the senshi in question a bemused look.
"Setsuna's evil?" The time senshi only shrugged her shoulders and Usagi sighed, as if also having to put up with Rei was a burden.
"She's not actually evil. She represents evil." She spoke as though the fire-wielder was slow and predictably, the air around the trio began to heat up. Rei narrowed her eyes and sarcasm dripped from her words.
"Really." She stated and Minako nodded.
"Yes. The Outers." Now Rei was really confused and irritated that she was so confused and Makoto held her head in her hands and sighed. She knew they were all Inners, but did they really have to be so…stereotypically Inner?
"The Outers are evil." Rei hissed and Minako rolled her eyes.
"They represent evil because they defeated the Inners. So you have to reclaim our honor." Rei growled low and Ami spoke up before the flames could burst out and Rei could kill either blonde.
"Michiru and Haruka tagged out Usagi and Minako, and they want to know if you were able to tag Setsuna so the Inners would have at least one victory." An 'Oh, that's it' expression crossed the Priestess's face and she gave a shrug, shooing away the embers that had started to grow.
"Nope. She got me." Michiru looked over to her housemate.
"Another twist." Setsuna looked away in a classic 'Don't look at me, I'm innocent' Inner move , but before Makoto could figure out what that could possibly mean, the next world war broke out when Minako huffed and stepped back.
"Well if you can't defeat an Outer and reclaim our honor what good are you?" Rei seethed and stepped forward.
"Who are you to talk about honor? You lost to an Outer too didn't you?" Minako snorted.
"I lost to Haruka. That's different. She wanted to me suffer. YOU should have risen to the challenge." Rei's hands glowed and Ami let out a breath.
"Here we go again."
"I did rise to the challenge! She had to work to tag me!" In the background Setsuna nodded emphatically and rubbed a burn on her shoulder where a well placed Flame Sniper had nearly sent her running back into the forest.
"It doesn't matter! She still got you!" Rei puffed with indignation, because that was what Rei did when confronted with the force that was Minako, and went on the offensive.
" At least I put up a fight! I bet you just ran like a little baby!" Minako colored because it was true and fired back.
"You would have run too if she were after you! You should have defeated the odds!" Usagi nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah. Even Ami was able to beat Mako-chan." At that, Rei actually deflated and looked over at the group.
"Really? SHE got YOU?" Before Makoto even had the chance to think about speaking Ami shot up and surprised the hell out of everyone for the second time that day.
"Yes! Kami yes I got HER! Okay? I know, everyone thought that little Ami was just waiting to be tagged out but no! YOU all lost and I tagged HER out, okay!?" She was huffing a little after her explosion and Makoto just about swooned. Angry Ami was quickly added to her mental list of favorite Ami's. It was by now an incredibly long list and she was often tempted to dork out and actually write them down, if only so she wouldn't forget any.
"You tell 'em." Haruka added helpfully, and, realizing just how shocked everyone was, Ami naturally flushed bright red and sat back down quickly, holding her hands in her lap. A few crickets chirped again and Rei coughed quietly.
"Right. Well, good job then." Minako just giggled. Setsuna smirked and decided to break the awkward and allow Ami the chance to breathe regularly.
"Well, it appears that today was a success then." Minako beamed and flipped her hair.
"Well of course it was. I can't believe you all doubted me." Still irritated, Rei snorted as she walked past.
"Let's see how proud you are when Haruka calls in her favor." Fear struck and a shiver of ice (Ami would later claim innocence) ran down the Love senshi's back as the racer chuckled low in her throat.
"Yes, speaking of that…" Minako whimpered and spun in place, a nervous giggle coming out.
"Um, yes?" Haruka gave an evil grin and Makoto thanked her lucky stars that she'd passed out before the whole 'make-over' incident had taken place.
"I think, you should come over Saturday." Minako blinked.
"Why Saturday?" The racer leaned back happily.
"Because I don't want school to get in the way." Ami raised an eyebrow.
"In the way of what?" Minako asked hesitantly.
"In the way of my day of fun." The blondes gulp was audible then and Rei said a quiet prayer for the condemned girl.
"Day of fun?" She whimpered and Haruka hummed happily.
"Yes. I think if you show up at, oh, say nine am? That should give me pleeeenty of time before midnight." Minako quivered and Usagi cocked her head.
"Time for what?" The Inners all collectively held their breath as Haruka beamed back at the doomed Love Goddess.
"Payback." She said simply and Minako melted into a puddle. The Princess snickered.
"Wow Mina-chan. A whole day of suffering, AND you have to get up by 9 on a Saturday. How bad to be you." She giggled at the look on her twins face until Michiru cleared her throat.
"Actually Usagi-san, I think if you were there at nine as well, it work out wonderfully." The Princess whipped her head around in surprise.
"What?" She squeaked and Rei had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the look on her face. Michiru only shrugged a shoulder.
"It's only fair I suppose." As Usagi melted down with her twin and they proclaimed their loyalty to each other in this time of dire suffering, Rei looked hesitantly over to the third Outer.
"Let me guess. Nine am on Saturday?" Setsuna only shook her head.
"I haven't decided yet." Rei shrugged in response and Minako began to groan about the injustice of it all. Makoto glanced over at Rei with a smile.
"I guess you and I are in the same boat then ne? No idea what's coming up?" Minako snorted from her spot on the ground.
"Exactly what are YOU afraid of Makoto-chan? What's she gonna do? Ask you to do a science experiment with her?" Makoto began to retort as Ami's frustrated, thoughtful expression perked up.
"Actually," she began and Makoto turned slowly to face the bluenette. The smaller girl shuffled her foot on the ground for a moment before clearing her throat and pressing on. "That sounds like a great idea." Makoto felt her heart fall a little bit and sighed.
"It does?" Gaining confidence as she spoke, Ami nodded and made eye-contact.
"I do have an, uh, experiment in mind. You'd be perfect to help me with it. I mean, if you don't mind of course." She finished off with a blush and Makoto sighed again. So much for her fantasy of Ami whisking her away romantically. Still, she supposed this meant she'd at least be spending time with her little genius, even if would be spent looking down a microscope or whatever. She pushed out a smile.
"It's your favor Ami-chan. If that's what you want, of course I'm in." Ami blushed and nodded to herself.
"Yes, that's….what I want." Makoto, still lost in Ami's eyes, didn't notice the knowing smirk on Michiru's face and the soft moment was only broken by another groan from the prostrate blonde.
"Sooo not fair! Kami, at least make her give up her Saturday too!" Makoto bit her cheek and Ami shrugged.
"Saturday would work best." At the beginning of the pout on Makoto's face she added hastily. " But nine am isn't necessary. Maybe more toward afternoon? Around three or four?" The whining on the ground rose in volume but Makoto gave an easy smile.
"Sure Ami-chan. I'm all yours." Oddly, both Setsuna and Michiru let out soft giggles at this statement and Ami flushed a brilliant shade. Makoto was more than confused and even Haruka looked lost, leaning in to whisper in her girlfriend's ear.
"What's all that about?" She asked and Michiru just shook her head, patting her lover on the shoulder.
"Nothing at all to worry about." Rei just rolled her eyes and retrieved her pack.
"Well, I say we should head back. I need to be home in time for final rites at the Shrine." Everyone muttered and with great effort, Usagi and Minako lifted from the dirt to gather their bags. Ami smiled at Makoto before heading over to speak to Rei and Setsuna joined the Outers as the group began the trek out of the woods.
Suddenly aware of a presence, Makoto looked over to see a smirking Minako leaning in close. All traces of her previous misery were gone. Makoto arched an eyebrow as Minako glanced about secretly and withdrew the infamous doujin from her bag.
"Here. Take care of it and enjoy ne?" Makoto sputtered in disbelief and shoved the offending paperwork in her bag, hastily looking around to make sure no one had seen.
"Are you crazy!? Kami, what if Rei saw? What if Ami saw?" Makoto felt her heart stop at the idea of her little innocent Ami catching her with the damned thing. Minako rolled her eyes at the panic attack and adjusted her bag on her shoulder.
"If Rei saw there'd be no saving you. If Ami saw, well, then maaaaybe she'd finally be aware of your feelings and you could move this whole thing along. I mean you do have date Saturday night right? It'd be much more interesting this way don't you think?" Makoto groaned and slapped a hand over her eyes.
"What's going on in that head of yours? That Ami will just be, 'Oh? You want to read a doujin of us doing naughty things to each other? In that case I dare you to do them all to me?'" Minako grinned.
"Great thought isn't it?" Makoto nearly halted in her steps as the idea of Ami asking that of her ran through her mind and it was only a quiet cough that tore her away from the fantastic fantasy.
"Everything okay?" Ami asked as she and Rei walked up to them. Minako immediately struck an innocent pose and clasped her hands behind her back, pulling off the Innocent Inner look much more suspiciously than Setsuna had, even whistling as she looked away from Makoto. Makoto flustered and stuttered.
"Ah, yeah. I mean, no. No,…I,…yeah. Everything's good." She coughed to hide her blush and Rei squinted her eyes at them.
"Really now." Minako glomped onto Rei's arm with a burst of energy.
"We were just wondering what dirty thing Setsuna-san is going to ask of you." The distraction worked and Rei turned a bright shade.
"W..what?" Minako shrugged innocently, steering the Priestess away from Ami and Makoto.
"Well, she does live with Haruka and Michiru. SOME of the ecchi had to infect her, don't you think?" As the sounds of Rei trying in vain to disprove Minako's theory faded out, Makoto chuckled and put a hand behind her head.
"Looks like I'm the only one who doesn't have to worry about having a hentai kinda week huh?" Instead of the bright blush she was expecting, Ami just looked off distantly.
"Hmm." She hummed in response and turned to follow the group, a confused Makoto trailing behind.