Prelude

Legal Disclaimers (my lawyer made me:)
Sailor Moon is property of Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, DiC,
Bandai, Mixxine and a lot more probably. Bottom line is: Sailor
Moon and it's characters are not mine so don't sue me. You should be
used to the disclaimers by now.
______________________________________________________________________
Notes: I know this one has taken a long time to post, but it was
written a while ago. Really! My laptop finally decided to cooperate
and let me upload this onto my page. If you haven't read um...what's
that called? If you haven't read Remember When, then I'll fill you
in. Basically, the scouts/senshi are all living "normal" lives w/o
any memory of the Negaverse. Basically, this is how their life
would have been if they weren't scouts. Feel free to mail me regarding
why the title is what it is, or if your confused.

D.C. al Fine
(1) Prelude
Lady Jupiter (LadyJupiter@SailorJupiter.com)

Kino Makoto looked around cautiously at the unfamiliar faces
around her. There were many people her age, but they all were
talking amongst themselves. Everyone had friends these days. It
had been a little more than a year since she graduaded from Juban
middle school and enrolled into Juban high, and still she didn't
have any close friends. She had casual friendships, close enough to
say hi to a few girls while passing them in classes, but that was
it. She wasn't a bit sorry to leave.
"Makoto!" The teacher called more sternly, grabbing her
attention. "This is part of your problem. You have to learn to
focus more!"
"Gomen nasai, Neko-sensei." She apologized. Nope, she wasn't
sorry one bit to be leaving this place and its teachers.
"You really have potential," the teacher shook her head and
sighed, "I'd hate to see it go to waste. But, rules are rules."
The taller girl nodded understandingly. "Yes, I know. I
shouldn't have gotten into that fight." [...although I _did_ do a
good job of kicking Heichi's butt.]
Principal Neko leaned closer into her chair and crossed her
arms above her chests. "If I may ask, what was the reason for the
fight this time?"
Just as Makoto was about to open her mouth, the door flew open
to reveal a petite girl with the most hilarious hair. Makoto
recognized her. This girl had quite a reputation, almost as
notorious as her own. The blond pony-tailed girl was famous for
holding the most tardies in a semester, often breaking her own
records.
"Neko-sensei, do you wish to see me?" the blonde asked, then
saw that she had interupted something. "Gomen, I'll wait outside."
"Thank you, Usagi. I'll call you to come in when I'm through
with her." Principal Neko gave Makoto a stern look.
After the door closed, Makoto turned her attention back to what
was on hand. She didn't like the look she was getting from the
principal and was starting to feel a bit antsy.
"I know you've got the potential to do anything you want,"
Principal Neko said again. "That's why I've personally enrolled you
into TA high. It's not too far from your address and it's a fairly
academically challenging school."
"But-"
"No buts. I'm doing you a favor. There's only one thing you
have to say to me."
Makoto swallowed back the words which she new would only get
her into trouble. She had been taught manners and to respect elders.
She wouldn't want to her parents to loose face. "I'm sorry sensei.
I should be grateful for what you've done for me. Thank you."
Neko sensei only nodded. "You're dismissed. Please
Makoto, try to be good. I know you can do it."
Wordlessly, Makoto walked out of the room, head held high
with dignity. Try to be good? She thought. It wasn't as if she was
purposely trying to get in trouble. She was like a magnet. Trouble
always seemed to catch her. On the way out of the office, she passed
the girl with the hilarious odangos. They exchanged a sympathetic
smile with each other. "Good luck."
"I'll need it," Usagi thanked, took a deep breath and
started into the principal's office.

"Go, go, go!" Makoto chanted silently with her eyes glued to
the arcade machine's screen. She punched at the buttons furiously in
different patterns, triggering a sequence of events to go on in the
game. Finally, she seemed to relax and let the joystick go. "Yes!"
On screen, a triumphant Sailor Jupiter stood tall by a fallen
Sailor Mars. Makoto swept the hair out of her eyes and resumed to
play onto the next level, which gradually increased in difficulty.
She didn't bother to even look at the small crowd gathering around
her.
Way in the front of the Arcade, a tall man walked in and
tucked his sunglasses into the pocket of his shirt. He looked around
the Arcade for any new game machines that had been imported since the
last time he came in.
"Mamoru!" A voice called him fron the other side. He turned
to see a man with a similar hair cut as his, only blond. He waved to
the caller and walked over.
"Hey, what's new?" Mamoru asked the blond, who was obviously
working in the arcade.
"Sorry, no new games." Motoki answered, wiping his hand on
his apron. He offered his friend a soda before taking one himself.
The darker haired man nodded over to the small crowd
surrounding the Sailor Senshi Fighter game. It was hard to tell who
was playing since the crowd was blocking his view. "Who's playing
that?"
Motoki's brows drew together and suddenly relaxed. "Oh,
she's Makoto. She's a regular around here."
"_She_?" Mamoru asked. It was strange that such a crowd
would gather around a _girl_ playing the game.
"Yes, she's one of the best in that game. I heard she almost
beat the whole game once."
Mamoru's brows shot up beneath his bangs. "How far has she
played it?"
Motoki chuckled and warned his friend. "If you're thinking
about challenging her, let me tell you, she's made it farther than
you have. She's better at this than you."
"I've made it up to the outer senshi's." Mamoru reminded
him.
"But she's made it up to Sailor Uranus. Have you gone that
far?"
"No," Mamoru sunk his head defeated. Abruptly, he looked
up, back at the crowd, which was parting. "Look, someone's going to
challenge her."
For the first time, Mamoru saw the girl playing as the crowd
parted. She was extremely tall, with wavy auburn-red hair and pale
skin. He had a strange feeling of deja-vu. "She seems....familiar."
"You probably saw her before. She's been here quite a lot."
Motoki replied. He took more interest at the new challenger. "Looks
like we have a battle."

Hearing the sound of two quarters hitting the surface of the
game machine, Makoto loss her concentration and immediately loss to
Sailor Uranus. She silently uttered a word of warning and looked at
her interupter. She looked wearily at the two quarters touching the
machine, followed the fingers up to the hands, arms, and finally the
person. She found herself drowning in a sea of dark blue. When she
regained her composure, she turned back to the screen at the fallen
Jupiter and triumphant Uranus. "You interupted me."
The young man only shrugged and slid two quarters into the slots
and hit the start button. "I'll challenge you."
Makoto sighed and fished in her pocket for some more change.
It was hard to fetch the coins in the small pockets in her shorts.
Oh great, another one who thinks they can beat me, she thought.
While she was still trying to get the change out, the man ran his
hand through his hair and waited. He didn't understand why girls
had to wear these ridiculous short shorts which made it impossible
for them to get anything out of the pockets. Then again, after a
quick glance at his opponents long slender legs, he thought better
of the shorts.
"Okay, let's get it over with." Ecchi, Makoto thought,
catching the way he had been "waiting" for her to get the quarters
out. She would enjoy beating this guy.
To her surprise, the guy lasted more than the usual ten
seconds it took her to win her opponent. She actually had to block a
few hits. Both of them had chosen to fight as Sailor Jupiter, but as
different colors. It wasn't much of a choice to her, since Makoto
knew that she played the best as Sailor Jupiter.
The first round went smoothly, as Makoto was just warming up
and getting used to her opponent's style of fighting. It was
difficult to keep track of which Jupiter was hers, and that was the
reason she lost the first battle.
During the second battle, both of them were warmed up and
well aware of of the other's fighting tactic. Her opponent faultered
for half a second, but that's all Makoto needed to win the second
battle.
She found that she actually had to try to win this match.
Makoto welcomed the change of pace and started to give the game her
full force. She punched at the buttons with expertise. Out of the
corner of her eye, she saw her opponent hitting a sequence of
buttons which she knew was the "Super Combo" attack and quickly
tapped the "block" button. Although it didn't block the whole
attack, Makoto managed to block enough not to "knock out".
Suddenly, Makoto pounded on all the buttons so quickly it was
like her fingers were flying. She punched in the sequence of buttons
for the "Desperation Attack" and pushed the joystick forward. She
watched as her Sailor Jupiter zoomed forward with an attack and
knocked the other Sailor Jupiter on the ground. The much waited for
victory music came next.
Makoto smiled and turned to her opponent. "Good game."
"Yeah, whatever." He replied. Clearly, it was written all
over his face that losing had made a dent in his ego.
"You want a rematch or something?"
"No, you cheated." He accused.
"What?!" A spark went off in her eyes as she stepped closer
to the man, who although taller didn't intimidate her at all.
"You used the Desperation Attack."
"And since when was that considered cheating?"
"Everyone knows that if you're not supposed to use that while
fighting another player." The man said matter of factly and ran his
hand through his hair again.
Makoto watched as the light brown hair fell into place again
and growled. "Says who?"
"Common sense," the man replied and started to walk out of
the arcade, through the parted crowd.
The tall girl followed him out, not caring about the game
anyone. _No one_ called her a cheater and got away with it.
"Uh oh, if I were him, I'd apologize." Motoki shook his
head.
"Why?" Mamoru asked.
"Mako's gonna cream him." Motoki whispered, "I wouldn't want
to be in his shoes."
"Who is he anyway?"
"I don't know, he's not a regular here."
Mamoru laughed and patted his friend on the back. "And I
thought you knew everyone who came in?"

Makoto reached for the man's shoulder and spun him around as
soon as they were outside. "Look, if you're too embarassed to admit
that you lost to a girl, then you're a no good macho-pig."
The man eyed her warily with those blue eyes of his and
shrugged. "And?"
"And I'm not a cheater!" Makoto shouted.
"Okay, maybe you're not, but still, you used the Desperation
Attack." He said again.
"If it wasn't to be used then why the hell was it in the
game?! Just because you don't know the code for it doesn't mean-"
"Back, back, high punch, low kick, down, forward, high punch,
forward." The man recited off top if his head.
"-you know it then?"
"Naturally."
"Then why didn't you use it?" She demanded.
The man shrugged and started to walk down the street, leaving
her there.
"You were holding back weren't you?" Makoto shouted after
him. "Fine then! Be that way! See if I care! You're the one who
lost anyway!"
Angry, Makoto stomped off in the other direction. Stubborn
idiot, I won fair and square. Makoto thought and started to walk
home. Better get a good night's sleep for _another_ new day in
school, Makoto shuddered.

One thought rang through her head as soon as Makoto stepped onto
school grounds. She looked around again, trying to convince her
that it wasn't true, but the second look only confirmed her first.
"An all girls school?!" Makoto exclaimed to herself. If she
had been within hearing distance of anyone, she would have sounded
peculiar talking to herself, but she was alone. "Neko-sensei
registered me in an all girls school?!"
Makoto hung her had in disgust. In her hand was her program and
she quickly glanced at it. She saw her homeroom number and started
to a classroom when she realized she had no idea where the room
was. The uniform that had been sent to her place for school wasn't
too bad. Although she liked her old tan one better, this one was
suited her okay. The gray skirt could have been a little longer
especially with her height advantage, but Makoto just tugged the
skirt down a little more. Once she saw all the other girls, who's
skirts were about mid-thigh, she knew it was supposed to be like
that.
"Hi, you look lost." Makoto turned the the voice and saw a
girl, her age with long, dark, raven hair. She imagined how much
time and effort went into brushing hair that long each night.
"Do you know where room c310 is?" Makoto asked the girl.
"Sure, follow me. That's where I'm headed." The girl said and
smiled at her. "By the way, my name is Hino Rei."
Makoto extended her hand, "Kino Makoto."
"I'll be glad to show you around school. You're new here right?"
"I transfered yesterday."
"You're going to love it here," Rei replied with pride.
Makoto must have had a doubtful expression because Rei quickly
added, "Don't worry, it's not that bad here, Mako-chan. Can I call
you that?"
"Sure."
"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking how much fun is
it to go to an all girls school right?"
The taller girl nodded and wondered how she knew.
"Well, we also have a brother-school right down that way." Rei
pointed to an area across a field, almost like a park, at another
bunch of buildings which mirrored the ones they were walking to.
"We share the same park with them for lunch, so don't worry. We'll
be getting our share of the guys."
The fanciful expression on Rei's face was enough to make Makoto
ease up enough to laugh. She decided to give this place a try.
After all, there were only so many schools in this district left.
If she got kicked out of this school, there might not be any more
around to accept her.

A reluctant Makoto sat next to Rei, who was trying to assure her
that she was doing the right thing.
"I don't know why I let you talk me into this," Makoto shook
her head. In the past week, she had gotten to know Rei a little
more and made a few other aquaintances. Although the kids were
friendly enough, Makoto felt that Rei was more of a friend than the
others. After the first class, they discovered they had a couple of
other classes together here and there, PE, geometry, science, and
history.
"You'll like this, trust me." Rei looked out of the bus. They
were almost there. It had taken a little convincing, but she
finally talked Makoto into coming with her to volunteer at the
downtown hospital.
"I don't do these things..." Makoto trailed off.
"Don't you like helping people?"
"Yeah, but I never pictured myself volunteering at a hospital.
Isn't this for future doctors or nurses or something?"
Rei chuckled, "No, they intern. We're just here to help out
with simple things like paperwork, day-care, cleaning up Legos."
Deciding to save her energy, Makoto stopped arguing with Rei.
Besides, they were already on the bus downtown, it was too late to
back out.
"So how do you like TA so far?" Rei changed the subject.
"It's alright..." the taller girl started to pull at the loose
thread on her sweater.
"Not as bad as you thought, huh?"
No, it wasn't so bad. The first week went by pretty smoothly
compared to the other times I had to transfer, Makoto thought. She
voiced, "No, not too bad."
"What about the guys?" a rather curious Rei asked.
Makoto looked at her oddly.
"It kind of helps to have all the guys in one place rather than
spread all over campus, doesn't it?" Rei explained. "I don't know
about the co-ed schools, but I like the way TA is seperated."
"It's easier to spot the guys," Makoto nodded, her face turning
a pale pink.
"Being a new girl has its advantages, you know."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, new faces stand out. Not to mention how tall you are."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Makoto deffended.
"That wasn't an insult. You should be happy that you're tall
and that you're new. A lot of guys have been looking at you." Rei
replied, a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"They were probably just curious, that's all." Makoto blushed
even more.
"But that's still and advantage."
"It'll wear out in a week or so after I'm not so new."
Suddenly, Rei jumped up, "That's our stop!"
The two girls rushed to the front of the bus and waited for it
to come to a stop so they could get off. When they reached the
hospital, Makoto could already smell the antibiotics and that
horrible smell of everything being sterialized.
"Stop frowning, you'll get wrinkles." Rei said and dragged her
in by the arm.
"Hello girls. And who may this be?" A nurse, maybe in her
late thirties asked as she swiveled around in her chair behind the
desk. She moved her glasses above her head to rest on her blue hair
and offered a friendly smile.
"This is my friend Makoto who I talked to you about." Rei
brought Makoto in front of her.
"Nice to meet you," the two shook hands.
"This is Mizuno-san. She's in charge of running the volunteer
project as well as being a doctor here." She explained to Makoto.
"Makoto, do you have all your papers with you?" Mizuno-san
asked.
The taller girl handed the papers to the blue haired woman. She
had almost forgotten it because of the rush off the bus. "Hai, I
filled in most of the spaces."
"Very good," the doctor nodded and put the paper into a small
cubby hole. She then looked at Rei. "You can start on the
children's floor. My daughter is there and she'll show you what to
start on."
Rei nodded. "I thought Ami-chan was going to the cram-school
this week?"
Mizuno-san put her glasses back on to examine something on a
clipboard before answering. "No, Ami only goes to the cram-school
on Wednesday afterschool and Thursday. The other days, she has the
computer class and a few other things."
"She's a busy girl. It's a wonder how she finds time to
volunteer here." Rei wiped a large sweat drop that had appeared at
her side.
"Yes, she takes on too much responsibility. But if she can
handle it, who's there to stop her?"
"Mako-chan, I'll meet you here at 7:00 so we can catch the same
bus back, okay?" Rei asked.
"Okay."
Rei walked down the hall into a room. When she came out, she was
in a white dress that came above her knees and was tying on a red
striped apron. She waved to Makoto before entering an elevator.
"That's the uniform you have to wear. That way, we can
recognize the candy-stripers from the nurses, doctors, and patients
around here." Dr. Mizuno explained after noticing Makoto's curious
look.
"Candy-striper?"
"That's what we usually call the volunteer." She turned around
and looked for someone inside before turning back. "Fortunately,
one of our senior candy-stripers are in today. I'll have him show
you around and how to do the basics today."
"Senior candy-stripers?" stranger> Makoto thought.
"Those are the returning volunteers. You and Rei are still
rookie-stripers because you've only been here this year. If you
wish to continue next year, you'd be considered a senior." She
explained. "Don't worry, you'll pick up the jargon around here in a
week."
"I hope so," said under her breath.
"Shinozaki, are you done yet?" Dr Mizuno shouted into the back
room.
"I'll be right out," a masculine voice shouted back in return.
Makoto found the voice to be excitingly sensuous. It was smooth,
rich, and creamy, like white chocolate. She wondered if the owner
of the voice looked as good as he sounded.
Steps came towards the two of them and Makoto heard Dr Mizuno
speak. "Shinozaki, this is Makoto. She's a new one, so I want you
to show her the routes, the elevators, and the dutys."
Makoto noticed how white his shoes were. Almost as white as his
pants. She also noticed that the red striped shirt matched the
apron Rei was wearing. When she looked at the face of the
senior-striper, she gasped. "You!"
"You two know each other?" Dr Mizuno asked.
"We've met," Shinosaki replied dryly.
"That's great. I always like it when the staff is on good terms
with each other." Dr Mizuno beamed. She shooed the two of them
away, "Stop by the changing room so she could change. You can pick
out what's in your size there."
Shinozaki walked beside the girl. "So, isn't it funny meeting
you here?"
Makoto only glared at him.
"Cheated any other guy lately?"
"I did not cheat!" Makoto growled in a low voice. "I don't
know why you insist on using the Desperation Attack as a cheat!"
"Hey, don't go ballistic. This is a hospital after all.
There's enough sick people in here." Shinozaki stopped in front of
a door. "Go in there. The clothes are on the shelves. Just pick
what's in your size. You need a white dress, a striped apron and
the hat is optional."
Makoto walked in without a word. She looked around. It was a
fairly small room with walls lined with shelves. On the shelves
were various stacks of clothing. They were all color coded so she
knew exactly where the items she needed was. She changed and put
her clothes into a small locker above the shelves. Before going
out, she checked herself in the mirror. As usual, the dress was
short on her because of her height, but she was used to that by now.
She just didn't want to go out with that ecchi Shinozaki looking at
her.
After pulling the dress down as far as it could go, she opened
the door and walked out. The expression on his face wasn't the one
she had expected and she even felt a bit disappointed because she
had a snappy response handy. Instead, he just glanced at her, then
led the way.
"We'll start with the elevators. I'll show you which floor is
which, where the lobbies are, the coroner's labs, the blood labs, and
other places restricted only to the staff." He said as they walked
towards the elevator. The look of disappointment on Makoto's face
was probably evident because he noticed it. "What?"
She just shrugged. "I was expecting some ecchi remark from you."
He took a look at her again, from head to toe quickly and said
matter of factly, "The dress is a little short, but so?"
"The way you were looking at me at the arcade, I thought-"
"But this isn't the arcade. This is the hospital and there's a
different attitude in the hospital. We're here to help people, not-"
Makoto suddenly felt angry. "What? Do you have some sort of
multiple personality disorder? You act a seperate way in a seperate
building?"
He frowned. "That's the concept. Everyone does that. Even you
do it, maybe subconsciously."
"Hmph!" Makoto grunted and started walking ahead of him. There
was something about this obnoxious person next to her that
infuriated her.
A couple of yards later, Shinozaki was following behind Makoto.
He caught hold of her elbow and spun her around, "You passed the
faculty elevator. It's over here. Now, if you don't mind, let me
lead so you don't start getting lost. After all, I'm the one who
knows their way around here."
Without a word, but an eye full of contempt, Makoto tagged along
behind him. Although angry at him, she still listened attentively
to what he was saying because it was information that she needed to
know. The sooner she knew and remembered it, the sooner she would
be able to stop following him around.

"Arggggh! He makes me so mad!!" Makoto pounded the back of the
seat before her.
"Mako-chan, you're going to break down the bus like that.
Please, calm down. I take it that your first day didn't go too
well?" The other girl asked.
"It would have gone perfectly if he hadn't been there. I was
actually starting to like the volunteering before he showed up."
"What's so bad about Shinozaki? You two have met before?" Rei
asked, still not knowing about the bad impression at the arcade.
"Yeah, he accused _ME_ of cheating when I beat him fair and
square at the Senshi Fighter!! Can you beleive it?! Accusing ME of
cheating?!" Makoto fumed and punched the seat again. "And he is
the most obnoxious person I've met!"
Rei arched an eyebrow doubtfully. "Really? I've passed him a
couple of times on my rounds in the hospital. He seems fairly nice.
He's a gentleman, he's competent, and he really enjoys helping
people. Are you sure it's not someone else that was leading you
around?"
"Dark hair, blue eyes, tall?" Makoto described.
"Yeah, that's Shinozaki-san alright, but the way you described
his behavior doesn't sound like him."
"You know him?"
"Only enough to say 'hi' when we pass each other. He's one of
the good looking ones on the volunteer staff, you know."
"If only he wasn't so.......infuriating!"
Leaning back into her seat and crossing her arms in a
"no-nonsennse" manner, Rei asked, "What exactly is it that makes you
so mad at him, besides him calling you a cheater?"
"He's just so.....so.....so," Makoto struggled for a word to
describe him, "So....I don't know how to describe it, but he's
just...."
"You know what?" Rei offered to help Makoto's problem. "Try
to forget that you even met him in the arcade in the first place."
Makoto shook her head, "It's going to be a very long week."
And it was a particularily long week. Luckily, Makoto found out
that she was actually ahead in some of her classes because the old
school, Juban, was teaching at a faster pace, while the new school,
TA was going at a more slower pace which was none-the-less extensive
it its studies. Although she wasn't at the head of the class, she
was still better off than she was at Juban. She and Rei became
close friends, not only during school, but also hours after school.
Makoto was beginning to think that her life was finally going to get
better...
...if not for one small thorn at her foot...
"What are you smiling about? You look like a fool." Shinozaki
told her, noticing the idiotic way the tall girl was beaming.
"Surely not as big of a fool as you are!" Makoto huffed back at
him before lifting up a heavy looking box. She started to carry it
down the hall to the other storage room.
When she came back, she saw him leaning against the wall with a
smirk planted across his face. She ignored him and picked up
another box and conveyed it to the next room. He was still standing
there when she returned.
"Is everything too heavy for you?" Makoto asked sarcastically.
Shinozaki stacked a couple of boxes together, one on top of
another and replied, "The time it takes you to move one box after
another is enough time for me to move twice as many." With that, he
picked up the tower of boxes and started walking towards the next
room.
"Show off!" Makoto growled after him. She stacked three boxes
together and followed after him. "I can do it too."
"Kids, I don't want you guys to hurt yourselves now. Please
stick to one box at a time." A passing nurse admonished them.
"It was his idea," Makoto told her, glancing at Shinozaki. She
put the box down and wiped a lock of hair off her forehead.
Suddenly, before she even realized it, Shinozaki's arm shot out and
held one of the top boxes up, keeping it from toppling over Mako.
"You gotta be more careful how you stack these things." He
scolded and brought the box down to set at a more stable surface.
Makoto only muttered a "thanks" and went to fetch some more
boxes.
On this particular Tuesday night, the hospital was unusually
quiet. Unlike Monday mornings, which were full of people from
accidents and illnesses, Tuesday nights were the most calmest. It
was as if the only ones on that floor were the volunteers and the
staffs.
"Hey, I was about to take my break. Mako-chan, you wanna come
join me?" Rei peeked from around the corner.
Makoto set the box she was holding down and agreed. She was
about to take a much needed break anyway. Unfortunately, Rei also
invited Shinozaki. She ignored the jab in the ribs by an angry
Mako and pretended not to see the glare aimed right at her.
Walking down the hall was another girl, about their age. Mako
was amazed at how blue this girl's hair was. Although cut just at
the nape of her neck, the blue hair looked stunningly well cared for.
"Good evening," The girl remarked as the threesome passed by.
Rei recognized this girl. "Mizuno-san, good to see you."
The girl blushed. "Please, call me Ami. Mizuno-san is what
they call my mother."
Mako noticed the girl had a sweet face. Not hidden in layers of
make-up like some of the girls she knew, but a more child-like
natural complexion. She offered Ami a smile.
"We were just going to the cafeteria for a break. Would you
like to join us?" Shinozaki asked politely.
"I'd love to," Ami started, "But I can't. I have to finish
logging these files into the computer and then leave. I have a lot
of study to do tonight."
"I understand," Rei nodded.
"Thanks for asking. Maybe next time." She looked down at the
twenty or so folders clutched in her hands. "I must get these
logged in soon. I'll see you around, Rei-chan. You too,
Shinozaki-san." Ami looked at Mako and then asked, "I'm sorry, I
don't know your name."
"Kino Makoto."
"Nice meeting you, Makoto-san." Ami bowed and started off in
another direction to the nearest free computer.
"Poor Ami-chan, she's always working so hard at studying." Rei
lamented and picked up her pace. "We'd better hurry or the break
will be over by the time we reach the cafeteria."

Makoto sighed.
School was boring no matter where you went. In the background,
she could hear the teacher droning on about the value of x and y to
the nth power. She leaned on her arm and closed her eyes for a few
minutes....only a few minutes to give her eyes a rest...
"Makoto!" A shrill and not too happy voice shouted at her,
making her jump a couple of feet into the air.
"Hai!" She replied promptly after regaining her composure.
The stout teacher tapped a yard stick in her hand. "I'll be
seeing you after school at three o' clock sharp in detention."
Makoto took a swift glance at the clock. Surprisingly, the
class was over. She could have sworn she only closed her eyes for
no more than five minutes. The look on the sensei's face
contradicted that.
"Aw man, that's the second dentention I got this week." Makoto
mumbled after the sensei turned her back to write something on the
board. Mako gathered up her things to hurry to her next class.

Makoto sighed again.
Detention was boring no matter where you went. A strange
feeling of deja vu over came her. Wasn't it only a few hours ago
that she was thinking the same thing, in the same situation during
class?
"Makoto, this is detention, not nap time. I expect you to use
your time wisely here." The sensei warned without looking up from
her book. There were only a few students in there. Two of which
looked much older, and a third one to be maybe a few years younger.
I am using it wisely, Makoto thought. By sleeping during this
time, I'd be getting a few extra hours of sleep so that I could go
catch a movie or maybe go to a club tonight. She smiled at that
thought, wondering what the sensei would say if she heard that.
To make it look like she was reading, Makoto picked up a book
and stood it in front of her so she'd have a small wall to sleep
behind. She lowered her head onto her arms and closed her eyes...
"Dismissed." Those words sounded better than they ever did.
Makoto hastily gathered her books and zoomed out of the door, not
wanting to remain in a classroom longer than she had to. In her
haste, she didn't see the person turning as she cut a corner and ran
smack into something that felt like a brick wall.
"Watch it!" She shouted as she picked up her scattered books.
"I'm terribly sorry," A male voice answered her.
Mako thought dreamily and looked
up, expecting to see the face of her long lost love, only to see a
different face. She wasn't disappointed at what she saw. A definite
lean and muscular face stared back at her. With all the perfect
lineaments to make him look good enough to be on the big screen, the
guy offered her a hand.
Mako graciously accepted it and got up. Surprisingly, he was
one of the few guys who were taller than her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name." He said and flashed her a
smile made for toothpaste commercials.
"I....I.....um...." Makoto stuttered, trying to swim through
the blank that used to be her mind.
"Kino Makoto?" He offered.
"I....yeah How did you know?"
"It's on your book cover," he pointed to her name sprawled
neatly across the front of a note book she was holding.
"Oh, I forgot." She said, trying to hide the sweat that was
practically dripping off her head.
"Well, nice to meet you, Makoto." Then he chuckled, "I'd shake
your hand, but you haven't let go of it yet."
Mako blushed furiously and released his hand. She didn't
realize how long she had been holding it. "Sorry."
"No need to be. By the way, I'm Kyupid Masato."
Her smile widened. "We have the same initials."
"You're right, we do. Since we have so much in common, how
would you like to come with me to the theater to watch a movie?" He
asked casually.
Mako awed. guys at the other school who would stammer and beat around the
bush. The way he asked, sounded so smooth, like he had been doing
it all his life.>
"Is that a yes?" Masato asked as Makoto continued in her mental
discussion.
"Yes, of course." There was no way that Makoto would let
anything stop her from going out with this guy.
"Shall we go?" He asked.
The clock on the wall read five in the afternoon. Makoto
puzzled, "So soon? I just got out of detention."
"The movie starts in half an hour and it's a twenty minute walk
to the theater." He told her. He mad a motion as if to take the
books off her hands.
"No, I can handle it." She assured him and held on firmly to her
stack of homework.
"Why don't we stop off at my house and put the stuff down?" He
suggested.
Mako comptemplated that suggestion, then went against it after
her common sense pitched in. "No, I'm fine. They're not that
heavy, really."
Masato looked truly disappointed, but soon that expression
melted off as they neared the theater. Just as he said, the movie
started five mintues after they got there. Makoto stashed the books
under her theater chair, and only hoped she would not forget them on
the way out.
"I heard this is a pretty good movie," Mako whispered to him
during the opening credits.
Masato nodded, "Yes, it's kind of boring at first, but it gets
better at the end."
Makoto frowned, "You've seen this one?"
"Yeah."
"Why didn't you tell me? We could go watch something you haven't
seen yet."
"It's alright." He shrugged and then flashed her a smile.
"I'd rather be watching you anyway."
Speechless, Makoto turned toward the movie screen, hoping the
darkness would hide her flushed cheeks. Halfway into the movie,
Masato put his arms around her shoulders and brought her close. No
longer paying attention to what was happening on screen, Makoto
sighed softly. She could smell something sweet, Masato's cologne
faintly as she sat in a stupor in her seat.

"You what?!" Rei shouted, attracting a couple of strange
glances down the hall. She lowered her voice, but her face still
wore the disapproving scowl.
"What's wrong with that?" Makoto asked. She had just gotten
through telling Rei about her dreamy date with Masato. So far, Rei
was making an oversized deal about it and Makoto couldn't understand
why.
"You could have told me about it before you went out with
him, you know."
"I couldn't. It was short notice. He just asked me out and
we just went."
"But you accepted another date?!"
"Yes, why not?"
Rei gave a sigh of frustration. "You don't know Masato."
"I know him enough."
"And how much is enough?"
"I know that he's a perfect gentleman and I like him."
Makoto replied stubbornly.
After putting the newly folded sheet up in a shelf, Rei
started on another sheet, carefully creasing its sides. For a while,
she didn't say anything. Then, she spoke solemnly, "Kyupid Masato
has a reputation around school."
"Yes, he told me about that." Makoto paused to put her
folded sheet ontop of Rei's.
"Really?"
"I know that he's captain of the boy's basketball team and
he's also on the track team and debate team..." Mako rattled off
about Masato's accomplishments.
Rei face-vaulted onto the pile of unfolded sheets. "That's
not what I'm talking about."
"Then what are you talking about?"
Rei peered over her shoulder as if ready to unleash a juicy
tidbit of gossip. "He brags about......um....how can I put this?
He's one of the kiss and tell types."
This time, it was Mako's turn to face-vault. She wiped the
large sweat drop off of her brow. "That's all? I thought you were
going to tell me something top secret by the way you were acting."
"No, no," Rei shook her head, "It's worse than that. Let's
say if he shot a basket for every girl he's slept with, he'd be the
world's best basketball player."
"That's just a rumor."
"Mako-chan, you have to believe me."
Makoto crossed her arms. "Sour grapes, huh?"
"Ughhh!!" Rei groaned, disgusted. "I know he's incredibly
kawaii and all, but he's a wolf in sheep's clothing."
"A wolf?"
"Yes, he's a sly one."
"And how do you know so much?"
Rei shook her head sadly and answered, "So many tragic
stories of girls who fell into his trap."
Mako broke out into a fit of laughter. "C'mon, Rei. This is
too much! You're beleiving all the rumors that are out there."
"Fine then," Rei huffed, "Don't beleive me."
"Rei-chan," Makoto put a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Thanks for warning me, but I can take care of myself. Don't worry."
Rei's mouth was still set in a grim line.
A head poked in through the door, disturbing the two girls.
"Do you girls need some help?" Shinozaki asked.
"Actually, I'm about ready to take a break." Rei replied and
threw the sheet she was folding down. "Can you help Mako while I go
grab a snack?"
"Sure," Shinozaki said as Mako inwardly groaned. There was
nothing worse than being stuck in a room folding sheets with that
jerk.
Rei closed the door to the laundry closet, and started for
the cafeteria. She tried to suppress a smile as she thought of how
Mako would kill her later for leaving her alone with Shinozaki. It
serves her right for not believing me, she rationalized.
Just as Rei thought, Makoto was glaring at Shinozaki while
folding the sheets as quickly as she could so that she would finally
be out of the stuffy room and away from _him_. In her haste, Makoto
dropped the sheet she was about to finish folding. She picked up a
corner at the same time Shinozaki did.
"These big ones are a two man job," he told her, holding two
corners up.
"I can handle them myself. You can keep on folding the other
ones." Makoto growled.
"Hey, I'm just trying to help." Shinozaki dropped his
corners purposely.
Much to her discontentment, Makoto found it was indeed hard
for one person to fold such a large sheet.
Shinozaki smirked at her and continued to fold his own share.
Unfortunately, he had the small sheets to fold and finished it in
five minutes. For the rest of the time, he leaned on the wall and
amused himself watching Mako struggle with the large sheets.
"Are you gonna help me or not?" Mako asked.
"You catch more bees with honey than with vinegar." He
advised her.
"Either help me or get out of here!" Makoto barked. She
didn't know why this guy drove her up the wall. He was just so
infuriating.
"Alright," Shinozaki made like he was going out the door,
then stopped short. "I'll help you, since it looks like you'll be
stuck doing this for quite a while."
The two of them took opposite corners of the sheet and
brought them together. Being so close to him, Mako couldn't help but
enjoy the wonderful cologne he was wearing. It wasn't as strong as
Masato's, but it was still enjoyable.
"Who's the guy?" Shinozaki's voice interupted her thoughts
which were slowly meandering towards her date with Masato.
"What guy?" Makoto asked.
"You have the dopiest grin on your face, so I assume it must
be about some guy?"
"Why would you assume that?"
"Because you're a girl aren't you?" Shinozaki replied.
Makoto wrinkled her nose. "My personal life is none of your
business."
"Okay, geeze, I didn't mean to pry." Shinozaki backed off.
He put the sheet away and muttered, "It's not as if I was asking what
size shoes you wear."
"Well it's just as personal!"
"Okay, okay. Don't bite me now." Shinozaki held his hands up
as if to surrender. "Didn't your parents ever teach you not to take
everything as an offense?"
Makoto didn't have an answer to that, but Shinozaki saw the
way her whole body stiffen. He didn't have to be a rocket scientist
to tell that he hit a sensitive spot.
"My parents taught me not to be nosy, unlike someone here."
Mako finally answered. She glared at him and stomped out of the
room. "I'm going on a break, now that we're finished."
Shinozaki only shrugged,
"Ahhh! He makess me so mad!" Mako growled after gulping down
her second can of soda. She angrily pounded it into the table and
crushed it with her bare hands. When the can was mutilated enough,
Makoto put threw it into a nearby trashcan.
Rei tried to soothe her angry friend. "Calm down, will you?
That's the the fourth time you said it. Why don't you tell me what
he did to make you so angry?"
"Everything! I hate him! He's such a damn know-it-all. He's
a snob of the worse kind."
"Thats what you said last week, and the week before that. Why
is it that you're the only one who seems to notice it?" Rei asked,
not really expecting an answer. She was merely wondering out loud.
"Because he acts like a perfect gentleman when you are around,
but once you leave, he reveals his true self." Makoto answered
seriously. She got up to get another soda. As soon as she sat back
down, Mako promptly opened the can and chugged down half the can.
"Hey look, isn't that Ami-chan over there?" Rei pointed to a
very noticable blue-haired girl.
Mako turned her head and nodded. "Let's call her over. She
looks kind of lost."
Rei waved at Ami to come over to join them. Gratefully, Ami
took a seat and released a sigh of releif.
"Nice to see you again, Ami-chan." Rei greeted.
"Same to you." She took a small bite out of an apple she brought.
Makoto mumbled a hello and went back to brooding.
"What's wrong, Makoto-san?" Ami asked.
"You can call me Mako-chan. I told you that before." Mako
reminded her.
"Yes, of course. I'll remember that next time. So tell me, why
the long face?"
Rei shook her head, "She's angry about Shinozaki-san."
Ami nodded and smiled, "Really? He's a nice young man. Mother
said he's very commited to what he does."
That only made Mako more angry. "You see!! You guys are all
caught in his web of lies!! He's not a nice guy!"
With a surprised look, Ami looked at Rei for the reason of the
outburst. Rei just shrugged and took a sip of her iced-tea. "It's
a long story."