Chapter 102

The sun was setting. Raye Hino sat on top of her roof starring out at the reddish-orange skyline. She was deep in thought.

Rick's been gone for a day now. Why did I have to yell at him? She asked herself. I know I didn't agree with it. But..now...how must he feel up there? Mike, Steve, and Greg all got good send offs. And what did I do? I thought I had changed. I thought with all that I had gone through that I had a new perspective. Instead this happens. But why did he have to go anyway? As she thought this she clenched her fist.

No..I can't do that. I can't blame him or anyone else. No one's to blame here. There's a crisis on the moon, he has to deal with it, just like I have a crisis to deal with down here. One month..and that's just a guess.

She paused in her thoughts and stood up to stretch.

What am I so afraid of? She asked herself. Am I afraid of not seeing him for a month or..not seeing him....

"Raye!" came a cry from below. She looked to see Chad standing there. She stopped and looked down.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I made dinner," Chad said.

"Oh...right...I'll be down in a sec.." Raye said.

"Okay," Chad said and walked back into the house.

So..am I afraid of not seeing Rick for a month...or is it that I'm afraid he won't come back. Then again..does it matter? I'm still afraid. She thought. Or even .maybe I won't be here when he comes back.

"Well..Mimette, you failed," the Dark One, Hotaru Tomoe said coldly as she sat on her throne starring down at her minion.

"Yes unfortunately, I did not expect such a concentration of scouts in one area. Your highness knows of course that a daimon cannot win a battle if all the scouts converge on one place," Mimette said.

"That is true Mimette, and I know that their destiny is constantly interfering in our secret plans. However, that doesn't mean our task is impossible. For instance, Professor Tomoe gathered some useful intelligence about the scouts. They all apparently attend this High School,"

A projection of Juuban High School appeared in the air.

"Yes Dark One," Mimette said.

"Now....I want you to infiltrate this school and locate all groups that could correspond to the scouts. Find groups of five girls, five boys, and if possible a group of ten."

"Is it assured that the scouts are all friends in their human form?"

"No, but it's worth the effort. Furthermore..I want you to take this with you," The Dark One said. A crystal disk appeared in the air in front of Mimette.

"This will let you track down pure heart holders. You merely need to be near one, and the crystal will let you know," Tomoe said.

"I understand," Mimette said and bowed.

"It was a great date, Darrien found this cute little restaurant down by the Imperial Palace," Serena said leaning back in her chair at school.

"Really what was it?" Mina asked curiously.

"Hmm..I'm not sure I should say, it's Darrien and my own special place..." Serena said.

"So you're just teasing me then.." Mina muttered.

"Well you don't have to know all the details," Serena said.

"Of course I do," Mina said. "For I am Minako Aino!..ahem...I mean Mina Deveraux, goddess of love."

"Minako Aino?" Serena asked.

"Don't ask," Mina moaned. "It's a long story you probably don't want to hear Usagi."

"Usagi?" Serena asked.

"Oh..did I say that?" Mina said and started laughing nervously. "I didn't sleep well last night. But regardless of that I am still the goddess of love and as such I require all the information!"

"No, but I will instead read you the transcript from Darrien's conversation with me," Serena said.

"Oh..well..that'll do," Mina said happily.

"Okay..page one..." Serena began.

Amy, sitting a few feet away grinned slightly. If they didn't spend so much time thinking about love and dating, they might have fewer make up tests to go to. She thought Still, there is something desirable about their lifestyle. Why should love be a lesser priority then anything else? Most people would see those two as being directionless and lazy. I see them as having great dreams, and not necessarily knowing how to make them come true. Still they are doing what they like to do, and they don't let anything get in the way of that. I must be envious..probably even more so following my parents arrest. She paused in her thought and grimaced slightly.

They're so happy. Sure their life has it's ups and downs, but in the end they still have those smiles on their faces. I've found it harder to smile lately. With all that's happened....I shouldn't dwell on it...it's not beneficial.

Amy noticed Raye walk into the room, she had a very blank expression on her face.

Raye must still not have gotten over Rick leaving yet. What a contrast she is to Serena and Mina. All three of them are in love, yet Raye seems to have spent more time crying, scowling, and yelling about it then smiling. No..maybe I'm wrong...she's enjoyed many moments with Rick, it's only when she's around us she's been more depressed then usual. Though I can't blame her...she lost her grandfather less than a month ago. And then almost losing Rick. I wonder how happy she is. How confusing love is...I guess I never gave much thought to it before. Since I've had other responsibilities.

And this is probably why I've tried to avoid thinking about it...it's such a mystery. It's not logical at all. Perhaps that's why I've never understood it. Greg may be my boyfriend, but neither of us really can understand our relationship. We have the same interests, we think the same way, and we like each other..but do we love each other...we've yet to prove that to each other. We're both logical, we need a hypothesis, evidence, and a conclusion. Without experimental data, I have little to go on...and love doesn't work that way. The experiment never has the same exact conditions twice.

"Something wrong Amy?" she heard a voice say. Raye was looking at her.

"Oh..sorry..." Amy said breaking out of her thought. "I just spaced out.."

"Happens to the best of us," Raye said with a slight smile.

"Don't worry Raye," Amy said.

"Worry?" Raye said.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Raye nodded.

"I just wish I knew that for sure," she said. "But thanks for saying so Amy."

Amy politely smiled.

"Say..anyone seen Lita?" Mina said.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen her," Serena said.

"Maybe she's just a little later than usual," Amy said.

"Probably," Raye said.

"I'm sorry I didn't get these finished yesterday Mr. Sakaki," Lita said handing a bag of muffins to the man standing in the front door of a kindergarten class room. "It was a very busy day for me..but I stayed up all night to finish so your class could have them."

"Thank you Lita, but you shouldn't have gone to all the trouble. My class does love your food, but I didn't want it to interfere to much in your life. Aren't you late for school now?"

"Uh..well..yeah," Lita said blushing slightly. "But..Mrs. Haruna is really quite lenient."

"Why is it so hard for people to get here on time! I do it every day!" Miss Haruna shouted back at school.

"Anyway..I'd better be going, but I hope your class likes what I made," Lita said.

"They will..and hopefully you'll make something else for class some time," Sakaki said.

"All you have to do is ask," Lita said becoming increasingly aware of how attracted she was to Sakaki, a twenty seven year old knockout of a teacher.

"Say...maybe..I could make you dinner sometime..." Lita said. "I mean..I...you know..that you could take home and eat...and I mean..that is if you had a family...they could have it to..ahem...stammer...."

"Well..thanks for the offer, and I make take you up on it sometime. Ever since my divorce last year it'd be nice to eat a home cooked meal for once..I'm no cook myself."

Lita grinned slyly.

"You'd better get to class though," Sakaki said.

"Uh..right..." Lita said and spun on her heel and walked away.

Divorced huh...well..on the one hand that means he'll probably be more cautious of a relationship...and for that matter...I have a boyfriend...however..it is also important to consider that Mr. Masamune Sakaki is very cute, and also very available!

As she thought this she did a little hop.

I'm very happy. She thought.

"Hey...why aren't you in school?" a voice snapped. She looked to see a police officer standing beside his car.

"Uh..what?" Lita said.

"That's the uniform of Juuban High School. School's been in session for thirty minutes now. Are you planning on skipping?"

"No..officer...I just had an errand to run," Lita said becoming slightly annoyed.

"Hmm...well...you'd better come with me..I'll take you to school."

"I was going to go..." Lita said.

"Miss..don't argue..." the officer said.

"My father's a cop you know," Lita said.

"Of course he is Miss Nelson. He also wants you to get to school," the cop said with a slight grin.

"Oh...what?"Lita said.

"He told us to keep an eye out for you...in case you ever decided to skip class one day."

"Well I'll have to talk to him about that," Lita muttered.

"Please...get in the car and I'll give you a ride," the cop said. "It's my duty to anyway."

"Fine," Lita said.

"Well..Lita looks like she'll miss first period today," Miss Haruna muttered. "But speaking of missing...I'd just like to say that this class has been a much more enjoyable experience since a certain number of it's students were enrolled in that study abroad program."

"Yeah..once we got that troublemaker Greg out of here things went fine," Mina said with a smile. The class burst out laughing.

"Mina...you are Mike's girlfriend, that does not mean you have to be as annoying as he is in my classroom," Haruna snapped.

"You know you're really right about that," Mina said. "In fact Miss H. I really don't know what came over me," she added with genuine concern. "The last thing I want to turn into is Mike."

"Well it's good that you realize that you have a problem, and I suggest you get help," Haruna said.

"Hey Lita's here," Melvin said glancing out the window.

"Really? Well that's wonderful," Haruna muttered.

"And she's getting out of the back of a police car too," Melvin said.

"What?" Haruna said. "No..never mind..I should just expect that kind of stuff by now."

About a minute later Lita walked into the room. Haruna glanced at her.

"Lita...I don't care where you were, or why you were back in a police car, but..can I just as you one thing?" Haruna said.

"Uh...I guess," Lita said.

"JUST WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH YOU STUDENTS ANYWAY?" Haruna screeched.

"Gee..I don't know," Lita said and shrugged.

"Well find out!" Haruna said.

"Now?"

"No..this afternoon, after school...and get Serena to help you," Haruna said.

"But I was here on time," Serena moaned.

"You know you're right..I shouldn't be unfair like that...Mina..you stay after too...at least I have a reason now."

"But?.." Mina and Serena stammered.

"Silence..." Haruna said.

Everyone went quiet, except for a bird chirping outside.

"And the bird too!" Haruna shouted.

The bird stopped.

At lunch that day.

"Well..Lita, I wish I could put into words how great it is to have been given a detention for no reason...but I can't so..." Serena began..and then paused a few seconds before sticking her tongue out.

"Yeah..." Mina said and did the same.

"Sorry," Lita with a smile. "But it was important what I did today. I delivered some muffins to Mr. Sakaki's kindergarten class. They really like my cooking."

"Wait a minute...Masamune Sakaki!" Mina said. "The 27 seven year old divorcee!"

"Uh..yeah..." Lita said. "How do you know?"

"That is unimportant...but I can see what you're up to! You wish to steal my dear Masamune from me!" Mina said.

"Since when is he yours?" Lita snapped.

"Since months ago. I volunteered to help his kindergarten out for several events, and then one day...he looked at me...and our eyes met..and he said...Mina.." she trailed off for dramatic effect. "He said..Mina..Thank you for volunteering to help."

Her eyes fluttered. The other four glanced at her with varying degrees of sarcastic looks on their faces. Mina came out of her daze and noticed the reaction.

"What? Isn't there no more concrete phrase that could express his love for me," Mina said blushing.

"There are several," Lita, Raye, and Serena all said.

"Oh...well...maybe for you.." Mina said still in her dream like state.

"Mina, snap out of it," Lita said.

"I'm fine...but I have to ask what your intentions are?" Mina said. "For Minako..ahem...Mina..the Love Goddess must know."

"What's this Minako stuff?" Raye asked.

"Yeah..she said she was Minako Aino earlier today," Serena said.

"I corrected myself," Mina said.

"It's your name though! You shouldn't make a mistake about it!" Raye and Serena replied.

Mina growled.

"Well...the truth is my middle name is Ko, and my mother's maiden name is Aino, so my full name is Mina Ko Aino Deveraux.

"Wait a minute? You're middle name is Ko?" Lita said.

"Yeah...but can't you see why I didn't tell you all before?" Mina said.

"Well..that does make sense," Serena said.

"Okay..fine...but you're all off the subject. Lita. What are your intentions towards Mr. Sakaki?"

"I intend to marry him, we just set a date," Lita replied with a grin.

"Liar! You shall be punished for lying to the love goddess," Mina said.

"Mina..do you drink a lot of coffee?" Raye asked.

"And smoke a lot of cot?" Serena asked.

"Cot?" Raye asked in surprised.

"Do you mean Pot Serena?" Lita asked.

"I don't know," Serena said.

"Hmm..maybe you smoke a lot of "cot" yourself Serena," Raye said.

"The chemical reactions that marijuana causes in the brain could explain many of Serena's weaknesses...." Amy said absent mindedly. "Oh..ahem..I didn't mean to imply that..".

"For your information, Mina Ko Aino Deveraux does not ingest foreign chemicals of any kind," Mina said breaking back into the conversation.

"Well..technically eating lunch would count as..." Amy began.

"It doesn't count," Mina said definitively "Now...Lita...if you intend to court Mr. Sakaki, you should know that I have the lead and his heart will soon be mine. I just haven't seen him awhile since I've been dating Mike...oh..ahem...and...um..."

"So..the Love Goddess is planing on two timing then?" Serena asked.

"Absolutely not," Mina said. "The time will come when I shall make a choice. I mean after all..I haven't actually gone out with Mr. Sakaki yet...so..."

The other four girls sighed.

"Excuse me?" came a female voice. The five looked to see a woman standing there in an administrative style suit and heels. Thin rimmed glasses covered her face.

"I am with the school system and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions," the woman said.

"About what?" Serena asked.

"Well..just school...but first could I have your names," the woman said.

"I don't know..we're kinda in the middle of something here," Lita said. "Maybe you should find someone else to ask."

"Yes, I am otherwise engaged," Mina said.

"I see, well thank you for your time anyway," the woman said and moved off to another table consisting of a group of several boys sitting around a table.

"Wonder what that's about?" Raye asked.

"Ehh...it's probably nothing," Serena said.

That afternoon.

"So you were delivering some muffins to a kindergarten class?" Miss Haruna asked.

"Yep," Lita said.

"Hmm...well..if I were you I'd probably be doing it too. Mr. Masamune Sakaki is not a bad catch....ahem....but you should be concerning yourself with other things!" Haruna said.

"Could I just state for the record that I had nothing to do with this...heh heh," Serena said standing up.

"So noted, sit back down," Haruna said.

"Ehh..." Serena said and sat back down. She glanced at Mina.

"She will not have Sakaki either..he will be mine eternally," Mina was growling.

"Mina?" Serena asked.

Mina gave Serena a look which made somehow her image what Mina would look like if her eyes were glowing red. Serena quickly turned back to face front.

"You two can go," Haruna said.

"All right!" Serena said.

"You will not win," Mina muttered.

The two walked out.

"I'm afraid you'll have to stay longer Lita, the punishment must fit the crime..." Haruna said. "But can I ask you something? I mean..seriously now."

"Uh..I guess," Lita said.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Have so much hope for love. I mean...you must honestly at least have some attraction to Sakaki."

"Well..sure...a..little..but I also have my boyfriend Steve..."

"So why did you cook for Mr. Sakaki?"

"Because I like to cook. And whenever someone asks me to cook them a meal, I'm glad to do it."

"Do some meals mean more to you though?"

"I guess." Lita said. "I guess I liked seeing the look of approval on Mr. Sakaki's face today. I knew that I was helping him, and letting his students have something tasty to eat and that made me happy."

"So it's not about love?" Haruna asked.

"Well..maybe..but in a different sort of way. I mean...there's the love you feel for someone you're attracted to like a boyfriend..then there's a different sort of love that you feel for more than one person. The thing I like about that is that I don't have to confine it to one person. And it's a lot easier to deal with."

"I see what you mean," Haruna said. "I could probably tell you one of those "I was once like you" stories, but what's the point? All I can say is that I really envy all of you girls...I might even say I was jealous, you still have so much hope. Here I am thirty two and still without a husband."

"Well..you can keep trying."

"Trust me I have Lita...but...oh never mind...you just keep living your life and I'll live mine, and hopefully we won't annoy each other too much. But I just wish I had your kind of mind set. To work all night to make muffins like that..."

"It's not that hard to do, when you have the right reason," Lita said.

"That's what they told me about teaching," Haruna muttered. "But anyway..why don't you go Lita, but just don't be so late again, okay?"

"Sure," Lita said and walked out into the hall.

"Guess the others are already gone," Lita said to herself and walked down the hallway.

"You know Mina..I think I'll just wait here for Lita," Serena said standing out front.

"If you want...now that my hold on Mr. Sakaki is threatened, I must hurry home to make plans," Mina said.

"Whatever," Serena said. Mina then hurried off.

"Stupid reconnaissance," Mimette muttered still in disguise as she stood on the roof of Juuban High. There are a lot of pure hearts, but nothing definitive on the identity of those scouts.

"Oh..well..while I'm here maybe they'll be a pure heart around I can pick up for the Dark One, or maybe several."

She pulled out her crystal and looked at it.

"A few inside I see...very well..there's one on the floor below me...guess..I'll take that one for starters," Mimette said and pulled a small egg out of her pocket. She threw it onto the ground and it began to sprout into a daimon. She then immersed herself in energy and took on her regular form.

"Come on..we've got work to do," she said.

Lita didn't see the attack coming since the attacker had dropped through the ceiling, but she felt it fast enough as a daimon landed on top of her. She grunted. The creature sat on her and a white beam shot out from it's shoulder and her heart was soon drawn out. She lost consciousness.

"Heh..that was easy," Mimette said grabbing the heart.

Miss Haruna popped her head out of the door to try and find out what was happening.

"Oh..no!" she shouted. The daimon and Mimette turned towards her. She screamed.

"Hmm...her pure heart has already been removed, forget her," Mimette said glancing at her crystal.

"What did you do to her!" Haruna shouted.

"That is not your concern..now shut up or face the consequences," Mimette said.

"And what would those be?" Haruna said stepping to face them.

I am being such a fool. She thought.

"Maybe you creeps don't remember me. You turned me into a monster once..and then you stole my heart or something! I've had it up to here with you!"

"You're in no position to do anything about it," Mimette said.

"Maybe not...but why don't you just try and stop me from talking," Haruna said.

"Very well...daimon. Silence her," Mimette said.

"Uh oh..." Haruna said and dashed down the hall. The daimon followed.

"It is a waste of time, but she annoys me," Mimette said seconds before getting hit with an icy blast in the back. She screeched and stumbled forward. A figure leapt out at her and kicked her in the head. She didn't even see it till the last second. She crashed to the ground and her grip on the heart slipped. It flew into the air. A white glove reached out and caught it several feet away. Mimette looked around hurriedly for her assailants. She stood up as she did so. Standing there was Sailor Mercury and Sailor Moon.

"You're pursuit of beautiful hearts is unforgivable," Sailor Moon said. "I am Sailor Moon, and this is Sailor Mercury, and on behalf of the moon, and mercury.."

"We will punish you!" the two said in unison.

"Never," Mimette said and vanished quickly sending a telepathic command as she did so. Seconds later the daimon burst back up through the floor and landed in front of the two scouts.

"Moon Sword," Sailor Moon said and charged forward. The daimon stepped to one side and right into one of Mercury's Ice Storms. It was knocked down the hallway and smashed into the ground. A mist fell.

"Moon Spiral..." Sailor Moon began. "Hearts....Attack!" she finished in five seconds. She launched her attack. She heard it hit and a scream.

"Did I get it?" she asked and then noticed a shape lumbering at her. She screamed and dived out of the way. The daimon crashed to the ground where she had once stood and the mist cleared. Then the daimon vanished.

"Guess we got it," Mercury said.

"Yeah," Sailor Moon said gasping for air. Mercury put Lita's heart back inside her and slowly their friend opened her eyes.

"You all right Lita?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Don't know, I'm alive aren't I?" Lita asked.

"Yeah," Sailor Moon said.

"Then I'm okay," Lita said.

The other two smiled.

"Lita? You okay?" came another voice. Miss Haruna stood at the edge of the hallway, her clothes were somewhat torn in places.

"Woah..Miss H? What happened to you?" Sailor Moon said.

"Sailor Moon," Mercury said with concern.

"Oh....I mean..Miss Haruna..of course we know everything being Sailor Scouts," Sailor Moon said.

"Is Lita going to be all right?" Miss Haruna asked.

"I'll be fine," Lita said.

"Well that's good..." Miss Haruna said.

"Did the monster attack you Miss Haruna?" Sailor Mercury said.

"Yes...I started yelling at it and then it chased me down to the third floor..and..well..it almost got me..." Miss Haruna said. "I guess protecting my students is sometimes a responsibility a teacher can't accomplish."

"You did your best," Sailor Moon said.

"I appreciate it," Lita said standing up slowly. "I think I've gotta go home and rest."

"That sounds like a good idea," Miss Haruna muttered. "I'm all for that..."

Saying that, she turned and walked out.

"Say..Mercury..what we're you doing here anyway?" Lita asked.

"Oh..I was just waiting for you..." Mercury said.

"Oh..well..thanks..say..Mina isn't here is she?"

"No..she ran off to find Mister Sakaki," Sailor Moon said.

"She did!" Lita said and dashed down the corridor.

"Lita! You're in no condition!" the other two shouted and raced after her.

"She's not going to get him, he's too good for her!" Lita shouted.

The other two sighed.

CHAPTER 66 CHAPTER 67 CHAPTER 68 CHAPTER 69 CHAPTER 70  CHAPTER 71 

CHAPTER 72 CHAPTER 73 CHAPTER 74 CHAPTER 75  CHAPTER 76 CHAPTER 77

 CHAPTER 78 CHAPTER 79 CHAPTER 80  CHAPTER 81  CHAPTER 82 CHAPTER 83

CHAPTER 84 CHAPTER 85  CHAPTER 86 CHAPTER 87 CHAPTER 88 CHAPTER 89

 CHAPTER 90 CHAPTER 91 CHAPTER 92 CHAPTER 93 CHAPTER 94 CHAPTER 95

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