Planet Bound: Mercury
     by Marj

Author's Notes:
      Okay, the fourth chapter came out a lot faster than the third
(who am I kidding?  The third one took an *eternity* to come out, 
compared with the fourth!).  But there's a drawback to speed.  Chapter
Four is not as long as all the other chapters I usually make 
(excluding those found in Planet Bound: Venus - I was still
inexperienced at that time), and the last scene seems a wee bit too 
short.  Kismet-chan said that I haven't delved deeply into Ami and 
Ryo's former relationship, but we'll try doing just that in later
chapters, okay?

      Thank you once more to my editor and to all of those who had 
been writing to me lately.  I've been too busy with school, both in
curricular and extra-curricular activities (all right.  Who made me
an AVP???  I didn't know I was even a *member* of that school org!  
Thanks anyway, Natz!  You're the best!), so I've only got enough
time to read messages and upload stuff (I still have to make two 
book reports this weekend, and work on those screen designs for our
project, and study for that quiz in Linear Algebra, and . . . ).  
But I will try to write back again, especially to those whom I owe
long letters to.

Other Notes:
     domo arigato - thank you
     dou itashimashite - you're welcome
     hai - yes
     konnichiwa - Hello!
     okaa-san - mother
     yoroshiku - nice to meet you

Please e-mail your comments and constructive criticisms at 
.  Thanks!

Disclaimers: The characters of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon were created 
by Naoko Takeuchi-san, its copyright owned by Toei Animation, Kodansha, 
Nakayoshi, Sterling Animation Inc., and many other companies scattered 
throughout the world.  Meaning, I cannot claim the characters as my 
own, and am mearly borrowing them.  All the characters not found in the 
manga are mine.  So please don't sue, as I don't earn anything from 
this other than the satisfaction of making a story.




CHAPTER FOUR:  JUST FRIENDS

A bus filled with passengers rolled to a stop in front of a flight of 
stairs leading to an old shrine on top of Sendai Hill.  Two girls - 
who were still in their school uniforms - got off the bus, and 
started walking towards the general direction of Minato-ku, Tokyo.

"Rei-chan's already there, isn't she?" Usagi asked, holding her brown 
school bag in front of her.

Makoto nodded.  "Last night on the phone she said her class was going 
to be dismissed early today, so she decided to meet us there instead 
of looking for her at the shrine."

Usagi pouted.  "She just wants to get to her first."

Her companion laughed, obviously amused.  "Don't worry - Miko's 
attention is big enough for all of us."

Before they could even reach the gates leading to the Aino's 
property, they could already hear the sounds of laughter emanating 
from the garden.  When Usagi and Makoto peeked inside, they saw Rei, 
in blouse and jeans, crouching on the ground, staring at Miko as the 
child raised a small red ball over her head.  After a few seconds, 
Miko threw the ball, swiping it downwards with the force and 
direction of her hands and arms.  She giggled while watching Rei dive 
for the ball, the older girl missing it by a mere inch.

"You certainly have a weird way of playing catch . . ." Rei said 
breathlessly as she stood up and fetched the ball at the far end of 
the garden.

By this time, Usagi and Makoto had entered the gates and were on 
their way towards them.  They never had to ask permission from the 
Ainos to enter their property.  Not since they became Miko's
playmates.  "Konnichiwa!" Usagi announced as she and Makoto neared 
the two playing girls.

"Hey," Rei acknowledged them.  

Miko, however, did not pay attention to the newcomers except for the 
red ball Rei held in her hands.  "Ball . . ."

"Have you been here long?" Makoto asked as she placed her bag on the 
wicker chair nearby.

Rei shook her head.  "Not really.  Just long enough to entice Miko 
into playing a game of catch.  Only . . . I still can't get her to 
throw it correctly."

"Ball . . ."

"I tried to teach her how to do it once, too, but she kept throwing 
it from the top of her head downwards," Usagi said, grinning.  "She 
seems to enjoy watching us dive and pick it up more than actually 
throwing it!"

"Ball . . ."

Rei smiled as well.  "It sure seems that way.  Hey, where's Ami?"

Miko moved clumsily from left to right as Rei absentmindedly threw 
the ball from one hand to another.  "Ball . . ."

"I'm afraid she won't be able to hang out with us anytime soon," 
Makoto said.  "She got chosen among those competitors for the Otani 
quiz bee.  They've already had study sessions for three days in a 
row!"

"Oh, the quiz bee?  I was one of those nominated in my school, but I 
didn't bother joining," Rei informed them.  Compared to the earlier 
high school grades of the rest of the Inner Senshi, with the 
exception of Ami, Rei had a higher yearly average than those Usagi or 
Makoto ever had.

"I'll bet there were tons of students nominated at your school, Rei-
chan."

Rei shrugged.  "There were.  Most of them are better than me, so I 
removed myself from the list.  Besides, I don't think I can stand 
attending study sessions after school everyday for the next few 
weeks!"

"That's the type of after-school activity Ami really enjoys," Usagi 
said, her eyes twinkling.  "It's only right that she gets to be one 
of the students who in the contest.  Tell your school to hold on to 
its winning streak!  Because this year, Juuban will be taking it 
away!"

Rei stuck her tongue out at Usagi.  "We'll see about that!" she said.  
The three girls then looked at each other and laughed.

"I guess the rumors that Ami-chan was the only student nominated in 
Juuban was true," Rei said, throwing the ball at Usagi.

Usagi nodded, her glowing face showing that she was proud of their 
friend.  "She was.  Wasn't that amazing?  That's *got* to be the 
first time that ever happened!"  She then pushed the ball towards 
Makoto.

"Still, she has to have a partner, so they chose another student in 
our class to participate."  Makoto returned the ball to Rei.

"And who are their teammates from the other school?" Rei asked, 
passing the ball once more to Usagi.

"Are you spying on our team, Rei?" Usagi teased first before 
answering.  "The school we got was Sakamoto High, in the Bokuto 
District.  You won't *believe* who one of the students was!" The
ball flew towards Makoto.

Makoto grinned widely.  "Urawa-kun was there."

Rei's eyes widened.  "You're kidding me, right?  It's been so long 
since we've last heard of him, I've practically forgotten all about 
him!"

Both girls in front of her shook their heads.  "Nope, we're not 
kidding.  In fact, because of these study sessions, they see each 
other almost everyday!!" Usagi said laughingly.

"Usagi and I call the study sessions unintentional "dates", but of 
course Ami would deny that."  Makoto twirled the ball in her hands 
before throwing it to Rei.  "Way back then, they didn't really have 
the time to work on that kindergarten relationship of theirs.  Do you 
think they'd have a chance now?"

"BALL!!!"

Rei had been about to comment on what Makoto said when Miko had 
shouted out loud.  When the three girls looked down, Miko was glaring 
at them, small fist clenched, a little pout on her face.

Rei looked at her for a while.  Then she turned her attention to the 
ball she currently held with her hands and returned it to Miko. 

"Oops."

*****

During the entire study session that day in one of Juuban's 
classrooms, Ami felt extremely uncomfortable.  She knew that a pair 
of brown eyes would occasionally wander to her direction.  Ami, her 
teammates, and their teacher were sitting on chairs arranged in a 
circle, so eye contact was not at all difficult, so when she and Ryo 
would find themselves staring at each other, he would smile at her, 
causing her to blush.

  Ami thought.  

She then proceeded to tap her head gently with her pencil.    She arranged the references their teacher had given 
them and continued to listen, ignoring any outside thoughts that 
would generate in her mind from then on.

"And so we'll end here.   Read about the Meiji Era tonight - we'll 
browse through it tomorrow.  Okay, you're dismissed," their teacher 
said.

Ami had barely begun inserting her notes into her school bag when a 
shadow covered her from the light.  Looking up, she saw Ryo standing 
in front of her.  "Was there anything you didn't understand, Urawa-
kun?" Ami asked.

Ryo shook his head.  "Uh . . . no, no, not at all."

"I see . . ." Ami nodded slowly.  "Do you have any questions?"

"Actually . . ." Ryo blushed.  "Would you . . . would you like to 
stop by some place on the way home?"

Ami blinked.  "Excuse me?"

"I noticed that all we ever did was study these past few days," Ryo 
explained.  Then he gave her a gentle smile.  "We will have to spend 
some time by ourselves too, you know."

 Ami just couldn't resist wondering.

Ryo scratched the back of his head.  "I invited Tomoyo and Kaeru to 
come, but they said that their parents are expecting them to come 
home right after the session."

"Oh . . ." Ami said.    "Well, I told Okaa-san I would probably be home late, 
so sure, why not?"  She turned away and pretended to fix her things 
when she felt a blush creeping up across her face.  

As soon as she felt that she was not flushed anymore, she turned 
around and smiled at Ryo's patient form.  "Shall we go now?"

Her friend nodded.  "Let's."

On their way out, they said good-bye to their teammates, who were 
still asking the teacher a few more questions about the topics they 
had tackled that day.  And when they where deciding on where to go, 
Ami suggested that they drop by Crown Parlor, which was not very far 
from her place and the train station where Ryo would catch his ride 
home.

"If you were not attending the study session today," Ryo started 
after Furuhata Unazuki had taken their orders, "where would you be?"

"At the Aino's with my friends, playing with Miko," Ami answered.  

"Miko is Aino-san's little sister, right?" Ryo asked.  "How is she?"

"Oh, she's doing fine.  She just celebrated her first birthday a few 
days ago, and is growing up to become a healthy girl just like her 
onee-san."

Ryo leaned back comfortably on his chair.  "I wish I had the chance 
to get to know Aino-san better.  If I remember correctly, after that 
second Dark Kingdom incident and the trip to the carnival, I've been 
so busy that I haven't had the time to come back here and visit you."

"It's all right," Ami assured him.  "With all the problems that
appeared even after the defeat of the Dark Kingdom, we probably would 
not have the time to spend with you."

"Somehow I doubt that."

Ami laughed.  "You're right.  We always have time for friends."

Minutes later, Unazuki came back to their table with their orders.  
"A cheeseburger, a tuna sandwich, and two milkshakes, right?" the 
friendly red-haired girl asked.

"Hai, domo arigato," Ami said as Unazuki placed the sandwich in front 
of her.

"Dou itashimashite.  How come Usagi and the others aren't with you?"

"I just got back from school - I had a study session today."

"Study session?" Unazuki made a small face.  "After school?  Oh, 
right, it's time for that quiz bee event, isn't it?"

Ami nodded.  "Hai.   Oh, this is one of my teammates, Urawa Ryo.  
Urawa-kun, this is Unazuki.  Her family owns this store."

"Yoroshiku.  Say, you look familiar," Unazuki said while shaking 
hands with Ryo.  "Were you here before?"

"Sort of," Ryo answered.  "I studied at Juuban Junior some time ago."

"I see.  Well, I have to get going."  Unazuki waved her hand good-
bye.  "I'll see you around!"

"Nice meeting you!" Ryo called out.  He then turned to Ami, who was 
starting to pick up her sandwich with a clean napkin.  "I certainly 
hope you're not planning to have that for dinner," he said.

Ami smiled.  "If I had ordered more of these, it would have been my 
dinner.  But my okaa-san told me that she would have food waiting at 
home, so I'll have to settle with just one."

"Do you really love sandwiches?"

"Yes . . ." Ami blushed.  ". . . because it's easier to study while 
eating them . . ."

Ryo laughed heartily.  "Why am I not surprised?"

They ate silently for a few moments.  Ami, noticing a smile that 
never faded on Ryo's face, tilted her head and asked, "Is there 
anything wrong?"

"No.  Actually . . ." Ryo leaned on the table with his elbows propped 
up.  "I was just wondering.  Does Tsukino-san still have that picture 
of you eating a hamburger?"

Ami paused from taking a bite out of her sandwich.  "You mean you 
remember that?" she asked.

"Yes.  I could also recall that you changed it, too.  Before I left."

"I . . . I couldn't just let you keep *that* picture . . ." Ami said, 
her face turning red again.

"I know."  Ryo's smile faded a bit.  "You know, I looked for that 
picture.  I searched the entire house . . ." He sighed.  "But then, 
you never really gave me that picture, did you?"

Ami shook her head.  "Considering that everything had gone back a 
year . . . no."

"I just couldn't get near you when I was still in Juuban."  Ryo ran 
his hand through his brown locks.  "I couldn't get near because I 
thought I was the only one who remembered."

"To tell you the truth . . . so did I . . ." Ami said quietly.

"How were we back then, Mizuno-san?" Ryo asked hesitatingly.  He 
cleared his throat before continuing.  "I mean . . . we went out a 
few times, but we never really . . . and it's been more than four 
years since . . ."

"Since we last saw each other, or since we even last talked to each 
other," Ami continued for him.  Staring at her sandwich now seemed 
more interesting than eating it.  "Urawa-kun . . . I don't know.  I . 
. . I mean, I really enjoyed your company back then, but I was also 
so preoccupied with my work and studies that I just can't determine . 
. ."

<"You're playing *so* hard to catch, when the truth is you're only 
pretending you don't like him . . ."> Makoto's voice rang through 
Ami's mind.  She had told Ami that when the two of them had been 
looking for Ryo, who was once more being chased after by the Dark 
Kingdom because of this role as one of the Seven Shadows.

She tightly gripped her skirt with her hands.  

Ami looked at Ryo.  He had left his hamburger untouched as well, and 
was staring at the marble floor.



"Maybe we should continue eating.  The food is getting cold . . ." 
Ryo suddenly said softly, interrupting her thoughts.

She smiled weakly.  "Yes.  Lets."

A few minutes later, both of them were walking out of the Crown 
Parlor.  Ami was about to start on her way home when Ryo called out 
to her.  "Mizuno-san . . ."

Ami turned around to face him.  "Hmm?"

"You know . . . even if we were more than . . . you know . . . well, 
distance would really be difficult to overcome."

Her eyes suddenly grew distant.   "Yes . . . it would," she said in a 
voice that sounded so faraway.

"And that was not real.  Because that never happened.  It was all 
just a dream.  That's all it was.  Right?"

"Perhaps."

"I'm really sorry for bringing the topic up."

"It's all right."

Ryo looked away for a while.  He then brought his right hand forward 
and offered it to Ami.  "Friends?"

Ami stared at the offered hand for a while before lifting hers and 
clasping his.  "Just friends."

Ryo nodded.  "Until the next time we meet?"

"Until then."

Ami watched as Ryo walked his way towards the train station.  She 
waited for him to disappear around a corner before finally turning 
around, a feeling of emptiness suddenly shrouding her senses as she 
wandered her way home. 

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/field/4723/stories