Sighing, Serena entered the classroom.

"Hey, you!"

She smiled when she saw Koro. He was in the middle of a knot of the girls. Very few students weren't surrounding him!

"You know him?"

Serena turned to look at Seiya. He didn't look the happiest, as if brooding over the fact that Koro was in their class. "Well... Yeah... Why?" she replied.

"I don't get what everyone sees in that trap-singer. He doesn't do half the stuff we do!" Seiya sulked.

"Huh? Trap-singer?"

"A fancy term for saying he sings like a girl as well as a boy. It'd be bad enough if he just sang, but he has to sing like both a boy and a girl!" Seiya growled.

"That's interesting. I wish I could hear him sing..." she sighed.

"Hey there, Teddy-girl!" Koro had fought his way clear of the small mob and was standing behind her smiling. "How're you today?"

"Just fine!" she smiled back.

"Back off, Koro!" Seiya snapped, jumping up.

Koro growled, glaring right back at him. Serena got the idea that the two weren't exactly friends from the daggers they were glaring at each other.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault. It was yours." Koro said.

"Don't you dare change the subject!"

Serena was confused. What were they talking about? "What... are you two talking about?" she asked.

"An incident that happened last time we met. It's their fault." Koro said.

"Quit changing the subject! Back off from Serena!" Seiya snapped.

"What happened?" she asked.

"That's... Not really something to discuss here." they both said, a slight red tinge touching their cheeks as they turned away for a moment.

"Well, Seiya, I'm not your doll to control. I'm allowed to have more guy-friends than you; Remember that I have Darion!" she scolded. Then she turned to Koro. "And I don't know what happened, but you really shouldn't try to push his buttons, Koro!"

"'Kay... Sorry." Koro nodded, sitting down.

Seiya stayed standing for a little longer, snarling. He glared at the back of Koro's head.

Sighing, Serena sat down, glad that she'd at least prevented an all-out fight!

School progressed as it normally did. Serena was partly glad, partially bored. She was unsure as to whether or not she should be excited that Koro was seated next to her or nervous. He was a friend... That was all...

Right?

After school, she was preparing to head to Rei's for Study Buddies when she heard two voices calling her names.

"Oi! Serena!"

"Serena!"

Turing, she saw both Seiya and Koro approaching her. Seiya was shooting Koro dirty looks, but Koro was focused solely on her.

"Yes?" she asked, a little nervous.

"Well..." For a moment, they both turned away.

"You first." Seiya said suddenly.

"No way, chicken!" Koro snapped.

"There's... a concert we have to do... Sort of a competition between him and us. We were..." Seiya broke off.

"We get to pick one judge. We were wondering if you'd like the honors?" Koro finished for him. His face was pink, as if he was embarrassed.

"Well... sure, I guess... When is it?" she decided.

"Tomorrow." they both said. "At nine."

"Oh... Okay... Sure..."

Smiling, the two walked away. But she looked on after them. They kept snarling and hissing at each other. She really didn't think they even had a sliver of goodwill to the other!

Suddenly realizing what she'd just done, Serena groaned. Her friends would kill her when they found out! Dejectedly, she walked slowly to Rei's.

"There you are, meat-ball brain! What took you so long?" Lita scolded as she entered.

"I did something stupid..." she moaned.

"What was so stupid even you saw the mistake?" Rei teased.

Serena hesitated. "I... agreed to be a judge for a competition between Koro and the Three Lights tomorrow..."

"Whaaat?!" all of her friends cried.

"You idiot! That's not stupid!" "That's great!" "You get in the concert free and a front-row seat and you get to tell them what you honestly think of their music!"

They seemed to be just assaulting her with praise, how great it was... But it just made her head hurt.

"But... I'm not good at judging things... You guys should know that!" she burst out.

Silence.

"... That's right..." Mina sighed.

"Well, it's too late to withdraw now!" Lita told her.

"Nguhhh..." Serena moaned, flopping over at the table. She was not looking forward to tomorrow night...

But when the time came, she didn't feel too bad... Until she saw the other judges. They were all older, at least in their thirties! She was the only one below twenty!

"Can we help you?" one man asked kindly.

"Uhmm..." A little sheepishly, she showed them the judge's pass she'd been given. "Koro and Seiya told me..." she trailed off, blushing. She didn't know what she was saying! What was she doing here?!

"Oh! Welcome! Here, this chair has been reserved for you!" the man smiled, the other judges nodding and smiling in welcome.

Still blushing, she took her seat. She really didn't feel that she belonged there...! But her blush deepened even further when judges were announced...

And her as 'Special guest judge, hand-picked by Koro Yuii and Seiya Kou.' Half the eyes is the place had to have been on her! But she managed a weak smile when the news-camera turned to her... Everyone in the city had to be watching her! She couldn't screw up now! She polished up her act and gave a big smile and a cute wink. The other judges nodded their approval at her.

But when that was over, she felt the blush returning.

First up was the Three Lights. They sang their usual songs. She liked them all, and gave honest opinions about their singing, and put down good marks.

Then it was Koro's turn.

He stepped up. His first song was announced as 'Kokoro Kara.' Serena decided she liked that name. Carefully, she marked that down.

It was soft, slow, and about how difficult love could be. It sparked something in her, those words... Koro's voice was soft yet high, a little like a girl's... Now she saw what Seiya meant about him singing like both genders.

Next was a song called 'Monster.' Serena frowned, a little worried it'd be a scary song.

But it wasn't. It also sounded sad. And then the story in the song came out...

Serena found herself crying. It was a sad song, and she couldn't help herself. But it was well-written and sounded good despite the sad story. So again, a good mark.

The next one was, again, a love song. Only it had more bounce. It compared lots of things. Koro had introduced it as 'Fukkireta.' Another good mark.

Koro hesitated a little before presenting his next song. "This one is... 'Harder Better Faster Stronger.' I just wrote it." he said carefully. Serena thought of how those words often connected to her job as a Sailor Scout. She smiled.

Another good mark.

The next song was something that made her... remember things that she never recalled doing.

Giving a sobbing little girl a beat-up teddy? Nope.

Hovering above that strange Sailor from her dream and giving instructions? Nuh-uh.

However, it was well-written and fast, just like she liked it! Another good mark. She looked at the sheets she had before her. All of Koro's songs had received excellent marks, but the Three Lights had a bit more critisim. Carefully, she considered him using hypnosis to make all the judges give him good marks, but quickly dismissed it.

The last one was his signature song. She'd taken the time to learn a little bit about Koro before the concert-competition, and she recognized the name of the song. 'Heart Shooter.'

Again, images of the strange Sailor popped into her skull. Sighing, she shook her head, concentrating on the song. It, too, got a good mark.

Needless to say, Koro won the contest. Not by much, but he still won. And she noticed, blushing, that his eyes were riveted on her.

She was just about to head home when she felt a hand on her wrist. Turning, she saw Koro. "Yeah? D'ya need something?" she asked nervously.

"I know who you are. I know you're Neo-Queen Serenity." he said, eyes burning.

"Uhmm, sorry, who?" she asked, feigning stupidity on the matter.

"Go ahead and play dumb, if that's what you want. But you summoned me here, to Earth. Now I'm here to obey your orders."

Scared, she tugged away and ran down the hall.

I DO NOT OWN ANY OF KORO'S SONGS! 'KOKORO KARA,' 'FUKKIRETA,' AND 'HEART SHOOTER' BELONG TO WHOEVER WROTE THEM, 'MONSTER' BELONGS TO MEG AND DIA, 'HARDER BETTER FASTER STRONGER' BELONGS TO DAFT PUNK, AND 'TOKYO TEDDY BEAR' BELONGS TO WHOEVER WROTE IT. NO COPY-RIGHT INTENDED, AND I'M NOT ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A PROFIT OFF OF THIS!