Disclaimers: SM doesn’t belong to me. Rights reserved to Naoko Takeuchi. And…whatever else I need to put here…. =\

The Artist: Janet Jackson

The Song: Every Time

Fantasy

Ami arrived at her front door a little dazed. Mechanically, she opened her door and walked in, already smelling the sweet aroma of her mother’s rarely eaten good cooking. “I’m home!” she sang aloud.

            “Okaerinasai! You’re in a happy mood today, Ami.” Ami grinned goofily before asking if her mother needed any help with the cooking. “No, I’m fine. I wouldn’t want to ruin your good mood. Will you tell about it?” Her mother smiled like a giddy child eager to hear gossip.

            “Dinner. At dinner.” Ami ran up the stairs to her room and plopped herself down onto her bed. What a day! She stared blankly at the ceiling trying to recapture that sharp moment in time when her heart fluttered and stomach flipped. Odd thing such moments are… Ami could now remember every detail: Makoto’s sweet smell, the sound of the water just beginning to boil, the depth in her eyes…everything. Everything. Everything but that exact moment. Ami sighed. She grinned stupidly at the ceiling again until she faintly heard her mother knock on the door and telling her to come down for dinner. Her mother gave her a weird look.

            “What mom? Why are you looking at me like that?”

            Her mother chuckled. “I called you twice from this room and you still could not hear me. My little Ami’s daydreaming. What are you thinking of? Or… who are you thinking of?” her mother asked, a sly grin on her face.

            “So, what’s for dinner?”

            “Come then.”

            “Mom, that was great! You should take more nights off and cook.”

            “I would, but I’m afraid I doctor better than I cook. I would never match Makoto’s cooking. About Makoto…” her mother started but stopped as Ami noticeably flushed a deep scarlet. Mrs. Mizuno tilted her head to one side and stole a smile. “I see… So…is she the reason you are so happy today? Did she propose to you?”

            Ami didn’t believe her face could turn any redder or burn any hotter. “Mother…” she whimpered. She looked down, a bit ashamed of her sexuality and quite embarrassed that her own mother brought up a subject that they have never talked about before and so informally too.

            “Oh don’t be ashamed or embarrassed. Love is love. I’m just bringing up the subject because I have never seen you fall so hard. Makoto is a nice kid.”

            “We’re not kids anymore, mom,” Ami grumbled.

            “So long as I’m older than you, then you are still a kid to me. It’s dinnertime.”

            “Huh?”

            “You said you’d tell my why you are so happy at dinnertime. Well now is the time.” Her became impatiently amused.

            Ami grew red from the roots of her hair, wearing her embarrassment like a banner in front of her mother. She whispered, “Kisu”.

            “I’m sorry, what was that?” Mrs. Mizuno obviously enjoyed this out of character torture she was giving her daughter.

            “Kiss. It was a kiss.” Ami lapsed back into her dream state before realizing the silence from her mother.

            Her mother smiled fondly. “Well, Ami-chan. It seems like you got the girl.” She stood up. “Will you help me clear the dishes?”

            “Ee...” Ami stood and quickly cleared off her place and went to the kitchen to compose herself.

I'm afraid I'm starting to feel,
What I said I would not do.
That last time really hurt me.
I'm scared to fall in love,
Afraid to love so fast.
'cause every time I fall in love
It seems to never last.

            Makoto sighed and got up to start making dinner. She was stunned because Ami had left so quickly. Did she do something wrong? Her stomach grumbled. She frowned and quickly made a quick dinner and afterwards rousing little Makoto to fill her stomach too. Makoto carefully spoon fed her little charge and wiped the mess she the girl still made off her cheeks. Kids… she grumbled thoughtfully. “Can you do it yourself for a while? I have to check something really quick.”

            “Yes.”

            “Okay. Good.” She handle her the spoon and made sure she wouldn’t make too much of a mess. She then ran into the kitchen and turned off the stove. She cursed when the burnt smell hit full in the face and she saw her pot burned. She left the pot where it was and quickly opened the kitchen window. She drenched a towel with water, placed it over the pot and moved it to the sink. Makoto let loose a heavy sigh and went back to Shinosaki’s daughter.

            “You’re done already? Good! You can…go do what you want for an hour.” Just don’t burn my house down. Oh wait, I’ve already done that. Almost. “Call me if you need me. I’ll be in my room, Makoto-chan.”

Fatigued, Makoto decided that cleaning up could wait a little. She left the door to her room open so she could hear the activities outside her room. She let herself settle onto the cushion that sat on the sill of her window that jutted out like a miniature balcony giving her enough room to rest a plant and herself on. She rested her elbows up on her knees and looked out into the Tokyo night. It was lively, a lot livelier than she remembered when she last went out at night with her friends. Becoming bored with the repetitive scene she turned her eyes upwards. The thing about this window is that it is one that is up and off by itself and when she looked up it felt as she was looking up from her own rooftop, clean as the windows were.

            What stars she could see through the blinding glare of the distant city lights twinkled gently on the velvety if not slightly smoggy atmosphere. The moon hung oddly in the sky and some unknown planet winked at her. She stared at it in wonder and started when a small noise surprised her.

            “Oh, Makoto-chan, you surprised me there. Is there something you need?”

            She shook her head and went over to Makoto was, and then found herself trying to climb on to the sill. Makoto lifted her up by the armpits and the girl settled across from her.

            “Can I see mommy now?”

            Makoto hesitated before answering. “Not right now, your mother is busy. Your daddy too.”

            “Can I see her tomorrow?”

            “I don’t…”

            “Why not? I haven’t her for a long time. Daddy never tells me where she go to.”

            “Went to…I’ll ask for you tomorrow.” Makoto felt a thick feeling building inside her. It was anger. Shinosaki… you really did it. How long have you kept her from her mother?

            “Where’s your mommy?” the innocent question shot through her like an arrow, breaking her thoughts and her anger.

            “She’s not here.”

            “Well, I can see that,” she said indignantly. “Where’s your daddy?”

            “He’s not here.”

            “Why not?”

            Annoyance tugged at her throat. She wanted to yell furiously and tell the girl to shut up and not ask any more questions. “They’re just not. And they won’t come back… ever,” Makoto growled flatly and looked back out her window. Little Makoto looked down in guilt thinking she was bad. She did something bad. No. No. No. There was moment of silence before Makoto quietly apologized and then continued to look out her rooftop.

            “Makoto-san,” the girl’s childish voice said. “Who’s Ami?”

            “What do you mean ‘who’s Ami?’ We spent almost the entire day with her! She’s that nice lady, with blue hair and very intelligent… that person.”

            “No. I know who Ami is.”

            “Then why’d you ask?”

            “No. I meant that…to you. Who is she?”

            Makoto stared blankly at the small child trying to piece together the girl’s broken thoughts. Her mouth later formed into an O shape with understand. “Ami is my friend.”

            “No,” the girl shook her head in frustration and then stormed off. “You’re not taking daddy away!”

            “Makoto-chan wait!” Obediently the child came back, an impatient look forming on her face. “What do you mean? I don’t want to take your daddy away from you.” 

             “Not from me! Mommy!”

            Makoto leaned back against the sill, aghast at what the child what implying. “I will never do that. What made you think I would?”

            The girl was silently fuming.

            “Your daddy is my best friend. You are his daughter and your mother is his wife. I would not do anything to destroy that.”

            “Promise?”

            “Promise. Be my friend?” Makoto received a nod of approval.

            “Why scared?” she asked unexpectedly.

            Makoto stared blankly at girl that was named after her in surprise. The choice of question confused her. “What do you mean by scared?” a slight smirk set on her face, “I’m not scared of anything, just to let you know.”

            “Scared of Ami.”

            Makoto frowned deeply and asked, “Were you listening in on us?”

            “Don’t be mad. I just…happened to hear when I went to the toilet. I’m sorry,” she said, not liking the frown one bit.

            Cautiously, Makoto deliberated for a while. “No, I’m not scared of her. Go to sleep now, it’s getting late.”

            “But…”

            “No buts…”

            “Why scared?” The girl gazed at Makoto intensely but when Makoto kept silent she turned around and said goodnight. A moment later, she came back. “But Makoto is brave! You’re not scared of those boys today, why scared of Ami?” When she again did not receive an answer she retreated into the guest bedroom. Moments later, Makoto walked in and tucked the girl in the bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. Shinosaki’s daughter was asleep.

            “Good night…” she whispered and went back to her own room where she changed into her bedclothes and sat once more on the windowsill. She had a lot to think about before the sun would rise. 

But every time your love is near
And every time I'm filled with fear.
'Cause every time I see your face
My heart does begin to race, every time.

One half wants to me to go,
Other half wants me to stay.
I just get so all confused
I'm scared to fall in love,
Afraid to love so fast.
'cause every time I fall in love
It seems to never last.

            Her telephone rang early in the morning. She rolled off her bed and landed on the floor with a heavy thump. After a moment, she realized that she hurt a lot more than if she had rolled off her bed. Sometime late at night Makoto had fallen fast asleep on the windowsill, cramped into a curled up position. She reached the phone that was on her nightstand and answered it. “Hello…?” she muttered groggily. Soon she also realized that only the dial tone was speaking to her and the ringing had not stopped. It was the doorbell. Disgruntled and ready to snap at the person ringing the door, she twisted the knob vehemently and swung the door so hard she pulled herself along with it. 

            She cursed and opened her mouth to curse at her early morning intruder again but stopped when she saw that it was Shinosaki. “Eh…Come in! I’m sorry I took so long. I must look like a mess. Excuse me. Oh and…Makoto’s in the guest room. I’ll just be a moment.”

            Shinosaki smiled and made his way through to the small guest room. He absolutely had a hard time holding in his laughter at his best friend’s appearance. It was hilarious. It was a rare chance sighting to see his old friend so disheveled. He laughed out loud. Makoto, surprised by the noise, turned around and saw her daddy standing there laughing his head off. It has been a while since he had laughed like this.

            “Daddy!” Exuberantly, she jumped into the welcoming arms of her father. Shinosaki laughed harder.

            “Hey! Makoto-chan! Were you good?” She nodded emphatically. “Good, good!”

            Fifteen minutes later, father and daughter were sitting in front of Makoto’s television, flipping through all the channels twice trying to find something interesting to watch. Makoto came out, showered, changed and ready for the day. Damp hair clung adamantly to her shoulders. “Good morning you guys…”

            “Good morning, Mako-chan.”

            “You’re early Shinosaki. You could have given me some warning before so I wouldn’t have to had looked like such a hag when I opened the door.” She grinned. “Going home now?” this she addressed to his daughter. She nodded.

            “Can I see mommy?” she asked her father. Shinosaki looked at her and then at Makoto who stood behind the couch.

            “I’m sorry, kid. Mommy’s busy.”

            Makoto frowned. She glanced at Shinosaki, a question in her brilliant eyes, seemingly alight with the anger that was building. “Hey Makoto, why don’t you go to your room and get your things while I talk to your daddy, okay?” The girl scuttled out of her father’s lap and ran, trying not to trip over her short stubby legs, to the guest room.

            “Yes Mako-chan? You wanted to speak with me,” Shinosaki asked.

            With the frown still present on her face, she spoke, “Why are you keeping her from her mother? Do you know what you are doing to her? It will hurt her.”

            “Makoto. You don’t understand. It won’t do her any good to see her mother die at such a young age.”

            “It won’t do her any good at all to have her father keep her away from her mother leaving her to only wonder why this and why that! Why did mommy leave? Why did daddy keep me away from her?” Makoto returned furiously. “It’s hard…Shinosaki.” At this point, her voice began to tremble.

            “You won’t understand, Mako-chan.”

            “I understand more than you think! I know you’re trying to protect her, but she is a lot smarter than most children and soon she’ll realize something. Don’t hide the truth. She’ll never forgive you…”

            “Daddy? Are we ready now?” a small voice interrupted.

            “Yeah…be there in a moment. Mako-chan…stay out of this please…It’s my decision. Thanks for everything. I’ll talk to you later.” He stood and gave a warning glance at Makoto, telling her never to broach the subject again. Again, Little Makoto dashed into her father’s arms where they started a long chat about what she did yesterday with Makoto “Oneechan”.

            Makoto slowly closed the door in front of her and wearily set her forehead against the wood. She frowned deeply to herself. It was a shame she did not have as much tact with words as Ami. She was worried. This tiny little thing can traumatize the poor girl. To be lied to at such a young age. Oh yes…Makoto understood far better than Shinosaki the consequences…

            From the corner of her eyes, she glanced at the clock and cursed violently. In doing so, she rocked her head against the door and muttered more obscenities before quickly fixing her hair and gathering whatever she needed for both work and school into a backpack and stormed out the door before she would be too late for work.

            First thing that happened when she stepped through the door was receiving a reprimand from Mr. Yukishiro. She just had to be late on the busiest morning of the week. Her boss then told her to take over as the head chef, knowing full well that she could prepare anything in a short amount of time and to a delicate taste too. The chef at the time would be waiting tables.

            With the reprimand still fresh in her mind, Makoto worked furiously in the kitchen starting on the next order as soon as the old one was done. Sometime into her shift, she started screaming for the kitchen help to wash the dishes faster. She rolled up the sleeves of her blouse since it was getting quite hot in the active kitchen. Two hours later the orders began to trickle in small rivulets and Makoto was allowed to switch back with the other chef. She plopped herself down at an empty table. She rested while she waited for customers to come in. As soon as one did, she jumped to her feet and greeted the customer who turned out to be Rei.

            “Rei-san! Irrashaimase!” She quickly led Rei to an empty table and prompted her to sit. “What brings you here, Rei?”

            “My stomach! I came in here hoping to eat some the city’s best food from the hands of one fine chef.” Rei winked and grinned broadly.

            “Sorry to disappoint you, Rei, but I just stopped cooking. I waiter for the slow times.” Rei was indeed disappointed. They rarely get to eat Makoto’s cooking anymore now that she worked and went to school so often. And now when Rei finally had the time to visit her at the restaurant, Makoto wasn’t the one doing the cooking. Rei shrugged and asked for recommendations. After hearing them, she ordered her drink and food and waited patiently. Makoto came back and took the seat across from her. “Hey, Rei, maybe dinner at my apartment tonight then? Get Usagi and the others. I think I can squeeze it in. What do you say?”

            Rei was just about to say ‘sure, what time?’ before she had a tiny reminder that a friend of her grandfather was visiting. So she had to decline with much regret. “Though I am glad you tried to find time in your busy schedule to fit us in,” she commented, sounding far more sarcastic than she really intended.

            Makoto caught it and replied with a cheeky grin, “Well, I do try.” She started to chuckle to let Rei know that she knew what Rei meant to say. Rei mentally sighed in relief. “Well, I’ll leave you now. I need to go back to work, excuse. It’s nice to see and know that we are still alive and kicking in this fair city.” Makoto left with a smile, delighted to have seen her friend. All of them rarely see each other anymore, each busy with their own affairs. Well…with the exception of Ami. Even with both Makoto and Ami’s clashing busy schedules, they had still managed to see each other quite frequently.

              Moments later, Makoto came back with Rei’s order and then rushed to another patron and write down his order. Rei saw Makoto saunter back into the kitchen and bring out another tray of food, carefully balanced on one arm, the other carrying a tray full of drinks. Rei shook her head, glad that not many people visited the shrine on a daily basis. She quietly ate her meal and left, saying a quick goodbye to Makoto.

            Not a minute passed before Rei heard a loud screech of a tired and then saw a car crash wildly out of control into a light pole, scattering pedestrians and forcing other cars to swerve and cause a larger accident. Rei saw someone lying and bleeding on the street but did not run to her. Instead, she did what instinct told her and ran back inside the restaurant. After making sure nothing more would happen, her feet carried her as quickly as possible next to the woman on the ground. The injury wasn’t severe, just painfully as it was clearly shown on the woman’s face. She was bleeding from a deep gash on her thigh, and scrapes on her knees and elbows. Together, Rei and Makoto carried her off the road and into the backroom of the restaurant where employees could change after work. Mr. Yukishiro ran into the room with a first aid kit and told Makoto to tend to the woman and to not go back into the eating area or kitchen without washing up for reasons of sanitation.

            The police and emergency medical crews were on the site already before more screams pierced their ears. It was the familiar cry of fear. Youma. Makoto and Rei looked at each with horror in their eyes.

            “What a nice time of day for one to show up!” Rei grumbled.

            “Rei, you stay here and tell the others. Wait until Ami comes and then go outside,” she instructed still cautious of the injured woman. She was still conscious and Makoto had to be more careful with her words.

            “Wait, why do I have to wait?” Rei growled impatiently with obvious irritation at the thought of letting her friend fight without her.

            Makoto’s feet itched to run outside but instead she stood by the door. “Because, you can take care of injuries better than me.” With that, she ran off to the restroom where she transformed and went through the front door, also noticing that the restaurant was empty. Mr. Yukishiro would be furious if none of his customers come back and pay for their meal.

            This youma had caused another huge mess in Tokyo. However, there was no sign of the monster. She looked frantically around but still no sound. She only heard moans, yells and mechanical sounds. Jupiter also saw a little girl across the street pointing at her in awe before her mother dragged her quickly away. Suddenly, a large shadow loomed over her figure and before she knew it, a heavy weight crashed down into her. 

             She grunted as she hit the ground. They wrestled for a moment before Makoto landed a strong punch on its face. She rolled away from it and returned to an upright position. She rubbed her shoulder and found a painful bruise lay in wait. The youma roared; Jupiter and the monster clashed in a show of strength. The youma tossed Jupiter like a rag doll. Next thing, a flame sniper pierced the youma’s shoulder and disappeared in a ball of fire. The youma began to slash around wildly, its long lanky arms narrowly missing Jupiter’s head. “Rei, where are the others?”

            “Mercury’s-” she grunted and she dove aside to dodge the crazed youma. “Here. Sailor Moon is coming.”

            “Come on, Mars. We can handle this…I hope.”

            “The question is, what do all these recent attacks mean?”

            Jupiter growled and watched as her attack slammed into the monster’s chest. Yes! Makoto silently cheered as her lightning attack bored a hole into its chest. Its flesh grew back to fill the hole. Jupiter cursed aloud. She felt a strong presence beside her. From a glance out of the corner of her eye, she saw it was Sailor Moon and Mercury beside her. Her confidence grew as she attacked it again, physical strength versus brute strength. As the youma tossed her into a bush, Mercury attacked it with one of her offensive moves, simultaneously with Mars. Mercury’s attack held the monstrosity rooted to the ground and allowed Mars’ attacked to slice its arm off. Mercury edged closer to get a better read on it’s weakness when she felt something with what felt like a force similar to that of a bullet train slam into the side of her head.

            “Ami!” Sailor Moon screamed. Rei cursed vehemently and quickly ran to the fallen soldier’s side. Jupiter picked herself out of the bush and squinted at the blue figure of the floor, quickly realizing it was Ami, down for the count. She felt her heart beat fiercely against her ribcage. She was afraid…afraid Ami was…

            Ami looked from the slits of her barely opened eyes. She saw Jupiter get up, her eyes a frightening green and that was it. Darkness.

            Snow. Snow was dotting the lush landscape white. Over the hill beyond a wide river, a wide stone palace sat at its haunches. A large green banner fluttered in the wind, proudly displaying an oak leaf and the symbol of…

            The ground glowed with a gentle, soft light. The Moon. The palace was generously decorated, roses twining large pillars, banners of different colors and houses fluttered as the wind tickled them. Amongst them were of the houses Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn and Pluto. Bright lights of an ethereal substance flooded the palace with a warm glow. 

            Suddenly, as if somebody plugged in the speakers, jumbled laughter with a mixture of polite conversation drifted out. Colorful lights danced inside. There was a ball that night. There were couples that stood outside under the night sky, watching the planet Earth glow with its own life. An awkward pair stood out on one of the balconies. Suddenly the landscape changed again. No, it was more like it zoomed in closer, to the royal gardens. There under a gnarled oak tree that actually overlooked the palace, the princess of Jupiter sat waiting in a simple gown.

            She turned and smiled. “This was always my ideal place for a romantic tryst.” She laughed and then vanished.              

Scared to fall in love,
Afraid to love so fast.
'cause every time I fall in love
It seems to never last.

Warm. That warm, fuzzy feeling. It was as if someone had wrapped a large down blanket around her and it burned with an internal fire that never reached an actual burning temperature. She curled deeper into the warmth and the softness. Wherever she lay at the moment, she felt as if the surface of it was formed to fit and hug around her. She let out a small sigh and suddenly sucked in her breath as an unbearable pain fell upon her. She groaned and found that she did not want to lift her arm up to check why her head hurt so much.

A soft voice beckoned to her. Though low in volume, it rang in her ears. “Ami?” She groaned softly in response. She felt a cool hand on her forehead. After a moment, the hand disappeared. Ami called out softly, wanting it to come back, comforting. It didn’t come back. Ami painfully drifted to sleep.    

             “Well, at least we know what they’re after now,” Rei snorted. “I thought we were done with sadistic, power hungry monsters trying to take control of the ginzuishou!”

            “We can’t worry about that now, I’m sure they won’t be able to get the power of the Moon this time,” Usagi spoke calmly.

            “But we’re down a soldier. I don’t want to call Minako back just as she arrived at Paris.”

            “And another. Ami took a hard one in the head.”

            Makoto walked out of her room. “She’s all right. She woke just then, but went back to sleep.” Between themselves, they had managed to carry Sailor Mercury as Ami safely back to Makoto’s apartment without gathering much interest from the general public. Makoto slumped into an armchair and sighed. She had to call Mrs. Mizuno saying that all the girls had some free time and wanted a sleepover like the old days at Makoto’s house this time, instead of at Rei’s usually. She had to lie; she felt horrible. And ever worse that she couldn’t save Ami from that blow. What was she doing so close to the youma in the first place? Makoto felt that she was going to have a long talk with Ami when she was better about better fighting tactics. “Usagi’s right. We can’t worry about the enemies now. We can’t exactly go between dimensions and hunt these guys down.”

            “Plus we don’t even know who these ‘guys’ are,” Usagi demurred.

            “So we let them come to us,” Rei stated flatly, eager to fight. It had been a while since something major come up and she had forgotten the thrill of sneaking out in the middle of the night and do battle as the hands of Good. Rei had sorely missed it.

            Usagi’s cell phone began to ring. She picked it up; it was Mamoru. When she hung up, she hurriedly gathered what belongings she had and quickly explained that she had forgotten about her and Mamoru’s rendezvous at a restaurant for lunch. He wasn’t all that happy she kept him waiting for an hour. Usagi apologized and rushed out the door, with Rei calling after her telling her to be careful not to trip.

            Makoto chuckled at the last comment. Usagi’s grace greatly matured over the years and she no longer trip over her own two feet anymore. Well, most of the time she doesn’t. Rei stood up and helped Makoto clean the coffee table where they shared a pot of tea over. After that, she announced that she better be going also.

            “Keep me updated about Ami, okay?”

            “Of course. See you later.”

            “Bye.”

            Makoto went in to check on Ami once again and found her asleep. She wrote a brief note to Ami and set it to the side where she would see if she woke up before Makoto returned from work and school. She quietly locked the door behind her. Ami mumbled something in her sleep.

But every time your love is near
And every time I'm filled with fear.
'Cause every time I see your face
My heart does begin to race, every time.

            Ami woke up some time later in the evening to a heavy silence. Nothing at all disturbed the silence. Ami only heard herself breathe. The pain from earlier reduced to a dull ache that she could ignored. The room was dimly light, and Ami barely made out the form of Makoto’s note. With an unfamiliar hand, she turned on the lamp that sat nearby. She squinted at the sudden flood of light. Slowly, she read the note:

            Hey Ami,

                        The youma hit you hard on the head (just in case you don’t remember). I will give you the details later.  Depending on when you read this, I’m either at work or at school. I’m sorry to have to leave you alone like this.  I told your mother that all of us were having a sleep over here, but we’re not really. Oh and don’t worry about missing your classes today, we’ve already called all of your professors and told them you coult not come today. Make use of the kitchen but don’t eat too much, I’m bringing dinner. And don’t do anything stupid while I’m out, or, in your case anything smart (like studying)!

Makoto

            Ami neatly folded the letter and shoved it in her shirt pocket and slipped back under the covers. Her hungry stomach would have to wait. She felt for the bruise on her head and winced as soon as her fingers contacted it. Mild concussion…healed. Not bad for the fact that the youma hits with the force stronger than a train. No post concussion symptoms evident yet.

            She sat dully on the bed trying to recall what happened before and after the youma cracked her on the head. No luck, she would have to wait for Makoto to come back. A click and then the light in the hallway turned on. Ami peered anxiously at the frame of the door. Makoto came as a tall shadow, with the light at her back so that Ami could not make out any features, though she already knew them by heart. She let Makoto walked up near the bed before she spoke. “Mako-chan?”

            “Were you up long?”

            “No, I just…”

            Makoto shushed her and knelt by the bed. “How are you feeling? Just smile if you are.” Ami smiled and quietly lavished in her friend’s concern for her. Makoto grinned. “You get my note?” Ami nodded. “I brought dinner. Don’t move, I’ll bring it here.” Moments later, Makoto had the take out food set in various dishes and a bowl of rice all set out on a tray. She moved the lamp on her nightstand over a little and placed the tray on top. Ami took a sip from the cup of tea that lay in wait for her.

            “Itadakimasu.” When she picked up the bowl of rice, she noticed her fingers were trembling. She put the rice back down and clenched her fist tight. Reaching for it again, she realized that Makoto had already beaten her and was handing the bowl to her. She muttered a word of thanks and picked up the set of chopsticks. “What happened?”

            “After the youma hit you, well, you can say we just got pissed off.” Makoto grinned widely. “We know now that they’re after Usagi and the ginzuishou.” Makoto stood up to sit on the bed. “We just don’t know who they are. The youma tried stupidly to wrench the crystal right from her hands. Rei took care of that one though.” Makoto reached out to grab a piece of chicken from Ami’s oyako-don and plopped it into her mouth.   

            “Do you know why they want Usagi?”

            “Why else,” Makoto retorted acerbically.

“Did you eat yet, Mako-chan?”

            Makoto nodded just as her stomach started to grumble and rather loudly at that too. She gave Ami an embarrassed look. “Okay, maybe not yet.”

Ami frowned at her and gave her the same look her mother would sometimes give her when she didn’t eat. “Kino Makoto, you…”

Makoto stood up quickly walked towards the door, calling out cheerfully “Ah, well. Get some rest after you eat. I’ll just go fix myself something in the kitchen!” A few minutes later Makoto sauntered back into the room, a bowl of ramen and chopsticks in her hands. Ami had stopped eating and put the bowl of half-eaten donburi to the side and was just staring out the door and then at Makoto. Makoto quirked and eyebrow and then sat on her windowsill.

“What, no compliments to the chef?”

“You made this Mako-chan? I thought you were bringing dinner…”

“Well of course! I’m the only evening chef they have today! And I did bring dinner.”

“It’s very good, but I’m not that hungry. Thank you though.”

Makoto set her ramen down and leaned deeper into the sill. “Ami, what’s wrong?” Ami looked down and then deep into Makoto’s eyes, fully conveying her sadness and confusion.

“While I was unconscious, I had a dream.” She paused and looked hesitant to continue. Makoto prodded her on, but Ami just averted her gaze. The dream. About. Them. Us.

“What was it?” Makoto asked again.

“Never mind. It’s not that important.” Ami picked up her rice bowl and chopsticks. She began to eat as if nothing happened. It was Makoto’s turn to frown, albeit for a different reason. She crossed her arms over her chest and studied Ami for a moment. Then her features softened.

“It is if it makes you worried like this.”

Ami glanced at Makoto. “I’m not worried.”

“You’re confused then. I can see it. I know Mizuno Ami pretty well, and for one thing she’s never confused. Only rarely, and those times it’s always about love.” Makoto smiled when Ami blanched and then turned red from the roots.

“You’re so mean, Mako-chan!” Ami lost that petulant air around her and started to pout playfully.

“Look, you don’t have to tell me. I understand.” Makoto picked her feet up onto the windowsill, her bowl of ramen following soon after. Makoto stared out the window while she ate. Ami quietly returned to her meal.

“I’m sure about that, Makoto.” She sat down next to the Princess Makoto, who was leaning against the tree and gazing in the direction of heaven. She sat just as Makoto sat against the windowsill. No matter what planet, there always is a heaven to look at. As for Princess Ami, she found hers here by Makoto’s side.

 Green troubled eyes turned to her. “Rei said she felt a darkness coming. We must keep that pact no matter what Ami.”

“I know.”

Ami dropped her chopsticks. Makoto turned towards her in confusion. “Something wrong?” Ami’s face was ashen; she nodded. Then, “No… I don’t think so. Makoto…about that dream when I was unconscious; it was about the Silver Millennium.”

“What about the Silver Millennium?”

“You were sitting under a tree, and then you turned to look at me. You said that Rei said she sensed a darkness coming. I don’t know if that means anything or not…” her voice faded and became small. That was not the reason she was miffed.

“Is that all? Ami, you don’t have to worry about anything like that. Just stay in this present, here, and now. Don’t worry about the past or the future.”

Ami smiled and nodded her head, though she couldn’t help but wonder if that dream, the whole dream had any implications in the present time. Her smile grew as she recalled Makoto’s words to her in the dream: “This was always my ideal place for a romantic tryst.”

Makoto’s gaze returned to look outside the window.

“What are you looking at, Mako-chan?” Makoto contemplated for a long time while Ami waited patiently, finishing up the rest of the meal. She sipped the tea that Makoto had prepared. It was almost cold. 

“Stars, Ami. Stars. As long as those stars still shine so bright in the sky like that, no darkness will ever dare fall upon us.” Makoto spoke with so much clarity and confidence that Ami could not help but agree with her. Darkness would not dare. Ami stared at Makoto, again taking in each feature to her memory. Quietly, Ami shifted herself out of bed and was glad that Makoto was too absorbed into night sky at the moment to notice. “Ami?” she murmured softly. The answer came so near that Makoto almost jumped in surprise. Makoto turned to look at Ami. “What are you doing out of bed? You need bed rest, especially if you had a concussion.”

“And twenty four hour observation. But I really doubt that I’ve had a concussion. Being a senshi really does have a plus side.”

“Is this all a joking matter to you?” Makoto retorted, throwing Ami’s own words back at her. “It shouldn’t be taken so lightly. You had me worried. And I still am worried about you.” Ami sat opposite Makoto, barely fitting in the tight space. Makoto’s voice grew soft, “I…”

“Mako-chan, I don’t need another mom to worry about me.” Ami laid her hand gently on Makoto’s forearm. Out of reflex, Makoto flinched. Ami frowned and tightened her grip when Makoto tried to pull away. Ami glanced sharply at Makoto as she tugged and rolled up Makoto’s sleeve. Her forearm had been crudely bandaged with a long strip of gauze. “Now this needs to be fixed.” She shook her head disapprovingly at Makoto.

“That can wait. We all got some scratches here and there, nothing really serious.” Ami looked at her skeptically, her face asking Makoto if she had already forgotten her broken ribs. “You might want to check on Rei though. That fight aggravated her previous injury more than I like. But that can wait too…she’s in good hands.”

Ignoring Makoto for the moment, Ami began to unravel the bandage with deft hands. It came off easily due to its previously poor wrapping. Ami grimaced when she saw the wound was deeper than she thought and began to re-bandage the arm properly. Makoto covered Ami’s hand halfway through. “I said that could wait,” she whispered, not daring to speak so sound. Everything felt peaceful and serene; she felt that her voice would destroy that feeling. 

 Their faces now were so close they could sense each other breathing. Ami felt herself slowly move closer to Makoto, as if they had an affinity to each other, drawn like a magnet. Ami thought Makoto smelled like a kitchen but she can also sniff out a gentle rose fragrance. She paused, unsure of herself, but the moment seemed so right. The room around her had taken a dreamy atmosphere. The sky outside seemed to have darkened just so the stars could shine brighter, leaving everything just Ami and Makoto. Just perfect. Or near perfection, so it seemed.  

“Ami,” Makoto stated flatly all of a sudden. Ami pulled back, not showing the slight hurt and embarrassment in her face. Makoto opened her mouth to speak but promptly shut it to settle herself to observing Ami’s face. Ami didn’t flinch under the scrutiny, but returned the observation, trying to probe what Makoto was feeling. “Ami.” Ami tilted her head, indicating that she was listening. Makoto whispered, “don’t hesitate.”

 Ami did not.

But every time your love is near
And every time I'm filled with fear.
'Cause every time I see your face .
Could it be that this will be the one that lasts?
The fear does start to erase every time.
Could it be that this will be the one that lasts?
For all my times, oh yeah, for all my times.  

§~~~§

End Part III

I never really intended for this part to be a song fic. Oh well, the song was just so perfect it would be a crime not to have put it in.

I’m beginning to feel that the plot is going nowhere. But don’t worry, all these prolix chapters is what I call plot development! =Þ

Parts of the song were cut off, so the full lyrics aren’t presented here.

Date Completed: 7 August 2002