Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Best Friends ❯ Chapter 8

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 8 ? Thursday
--------------

The alarm would have gone off at 6:00, but Ami woke up ten
minutes early and simply shut it off. Fortunately, she had no
classes today, and thus all the more time to prepare for the
afternoon. When Ami had arrived home last night, her mother had
been nowhere to be found. Instead, she'd found a note in the
usual place. It said simply "Quality Time, tomorrow, noon."

With a yawn, Ami rose from her bed and began her morning rituals.
While she went through some stretching routines, she began to
prepare herself for the day ahead. There would be more than
enough time to gather her things for 'Quality Time.' Hopefully,
there would be time to call Makoto as well, to apologize for
running off like she had. Ami's eyes closed and she sighed,
recalling those last blissful feelings before her beeper had gone
off and ruined the moment. Though she was disappointed at the
disruption, Ami knew that it was only a matter of time now. She
and Mako knew each other too well; there was no doubt about what
they'd both intended last night, nor about how they both felt.

Idle fantasies about the events of last night would not get her
ready for today, however, so Ami soon left them behind. After a
quick shower and breakfast sandwich, she headed into her
'office.' The small room had been advertised as a third bedroom
by the condo association, but Ami couldn't imagine using it as
such. Between the bookshelves and the computer desk, there was
barely room to turn around in there. The various plaques and
awards that Ami had won over the years were displayed in the
sitting room, of course, so that visitors could admire Dr.
Mizuno's parenting skill.

Ami sat down at her computer and logged onto the university's
registrar system. She ran some requests and soon the printer
hummed with activity as her up-to-the-minute grades and progress
reports spewed out of it. In a file cabinet, Ami found the
portfolio she had prepared for her last session of 'Quality Time'
and she carefully reviewed the various "To-Do" and "Goal" items
in the Post-QT Review there. Gathering up the printouts and
arranging them in the manner her mother preferred, Ami tried to
anticipate what sorts of questions she might expect. The only
area where her performance had been marked less than "Acceptable"
had been "Academic Initiative." That checkbox glared yellow,
signifying "Barely Adequate," mostly because Ami had only taken
on five full courses this past semester. Of course, she could
have handled the sixth that her mother advised, but that would
have meant losing her afternoons with the other sailor soldiers,
and her evenings with Makoto.

Four hours later, Ami printed out the final draft of her essay on
what she had been up to since the last QT session. Placing it
into her portfolio with the other information, she noticed that
she still had a little over an hour to spare. With an
uncharacteristic nervousness, she picked up the phone and dialed
up Makoto. Though she talked to Mako just about every day, for
some reason today she found herself sweating and shaking as she
listened to the ringing. 'Oh please be home, Mako-chan,' she
prayed, anxious to escape into her friend's voice, if only for a
little while. On the sixth ring, however, Ami heard the
characteristic sound of a machine picking up. Unsure of what
exactly to say, especially after last night, Ami just hung up
rather than leave some sort of incoherent message. Sighing
heavily, she headed out into the sitting room to make sure
everything was in order. 'Tonight, Mako-chan,' she promised
herself, 'I will let you make it all better.'

----------------

Makoto did not hear the phone ring as she entered the elevator in
her apartment building. She'd barely had time to change outfits
after classes this morning for her lunch date with Minako. True,
Minako wouldn't care what she wore, but those horrid cooking
school uniforms were best not worn in public. Unfortunately, she
hadn't learned much today, since most of her consciousness still
lingered in the events of last evening. Makoto had been a little
disappointed not to find a message from Ami when she'd gotten
back, but was not too surprised. She wasn't sure she would have
been able to leave a message either, given what had happened, and
especially what had almost happened last night.

'She was going to kiss me,' Makoto exulted for the umpteenth time
that day. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down. Minako
was very perceptive about matters of the heart and Makoto didn't
want to get ahead of herself just yet. While she was certain she
knew what would have happened, the truth was that nothing _had_
happened as of yet. No need to get Mina all excited about events
that hadn't occurred. 'Maybe by tomorrow, there won't be any
doubt whatsoever,' Makoto hoped.

Trying to think of anything other than Ami (difficult!), Makoto
reviewed what little she had gotten out of Kenjo concerning his
date with her friend. Normally, he would have rehashed every
moment with her in an attempt to deconstruct every nuance.
Makoto hadn't expected that he would be very revealing about his
date with Minako, given that Minako was also a close friend.
She felt confident that if things had not gone well, she would
have been able to tell, even if he wasn't willing to admit it.
After their brief phone conversation, though, she was certain
that it had not been a disaster. Hopefully, Minako would be a
bit more forthcoming.

After a pleasant walk, Makoto arrived at the little restaurant
she had chosen. Part of her training as a chef required her to
visit as many different places as she could and this one was new
to her.

"Mako-chan!" Minako called, arriving only a few minutes later.
"Were you waiting long?"

"Just got here," Makoto informed her. Stepping inside, they
found themselves seated at a small, out-of-the-way table. Makoto
made a mental note to include lots of such private booths and
other tucked-away spots in her own restaurant some day. After
perusing the menu and ordering, and the standard pleasantries,
they moved onto the main event.

"Ok, you've resisted long enough, Mako-chan," Minako noted. "I'm
very proud, but I know you're dying to know what I thought of
Kenjo-kun."

Makoto smiled at the informality. "Yeah, just a little. First
though, you ought to know that I'll be getting together with him
on Saturday and he's going to pester me, so if there's anything
you don't want passed along to him, you'd better let me know."

Minako laughed, "How about the things I _do_ want you to pass
along? And, is this a two-way street? Do I get a full report,
too?" She batted her eyelashes at Makoto enticingly.

"Save your wiles for Kenjo," Makoto replied with a skeptical
smirk. "They won't work on me."

"Oh, that's right," Minako recalled, "you don't like blondes. I
could always dye my hair darker, maybe cut it short...."

Makoto coughed suddenly, just barely avoiding spraying her water
all over the table. Noting the reaction, Minako grinned. She
almost felt sorry for her two friends, remembering how much they
all teased each other normally about their respective love lives.
How much worse would it be when two of them were in love with
each other!

"In any case," Minako continued, not wanting to upset Makoto,
"the date went very well. I hope you didn't put Usagi up to
spying on us, though."

Makoto grimaced, "I told her not to do that! I guess that means
she didn't listen?"

Minako giggled, "It's all right, no harm done. I'll get her back,
when 'Mamo-chan' gets back to town. Kenjo is a very good guy; he
was a perfect gentleman."

"Too much so, sometimes," Makoto snorted. "I can't recall how
many times he probably could have won a girl over if he'd just
gotten up the nerve to make the first move. I think he gets
overly worried about coming on too strong sometimes."

Minako recalled how polite Kenjo had been when he'd walked her
home. Though she'd decided in the restaurant to 'punish' him by
withholding any sort of goodnight kiss, she would certainly not
have objected to an embrace of some sort. A handshake had been
it, though.

"So, I guess it'll be up to me to get the ball rolling," Minako
concluded.

"Oh really?" Makoto exclaimed, eyebrows rising in an accusatory
fashion. "So, you've already decided to see him again?"

This time, it was Minako's turn to blush and stammer. "Well,
actually, we spoke last night and, well, we're going out again
tomorrow evening."

Makoto reached over and squeezed Minako's hand. "That's great,
Mina-chan! I'm so happy that you two hit it off!"

Minako nodded happily. Just then their food arrived and
conversation was relegated to a back burner. As they finished
up, Minako decided to see if she couldn't get some dirt herself.
"So, how was dinner with Ami last night?"

A sudden rush of color to Makoto's face made Minako smile.
Apparently, something was in the air.

"It was fine, until Ami had to leave suddenly. Her mom wanted her
home for some reason," Makoto noted with obvious disappointment.

"Is everything all right?" Minako asked. It was very rare that
Ami's mom made any sort of demands on her time.

"I don't know," Makoto lamented, "I haven't heard from her since.
She promised she'd call, but...."

"I'm sure she would have called if anything was wrong," Minako
reminded her. "Ami is very good about things like that, and I
know she wouldn't want you to worry."

"I know," Makoto admitted grudgingly. "It's just that...well, we
were having such a nice evening."

Minako sighed. Maybe the two of them didn't need any help after
all. It was obvious that something had gone on last night,
though Minako was certain, based on Makoto's reactions, that no
admissions or revelations had been made. Usagi had reported via
email that morning that Haruka advised them all to leave things
be. Oddly, that had been Minako's first instinct as well. With
a sudden flash of foreboding, she realized that they hadn't heard
from Rei yet about what she might have accomplished last night.

"Uh oh!" Makoto said, standing quickly. "I'm going to be late for
my next class. I probably shouldn't have changed, but I hate
wearing those outfits out in broad daylight. I need to get home
and change back into school clothes."

"That's fine, Mako-chan," Minako reassured her. "I'll get the
bill and you can pick up the tab next time. You go on, and,
don't worry, I promise to let you know Saturday how things go
tomorrow night."

"If I get anything good out of Kenjo on Saturday morning, I'll
let you know," Makoto promised. "Don't wear him out too much
tomorrow night! I want him to be at his best on Saturday
morning." In response to Minako's arched brow, she added
hastily, "We're supposed to have a game of basketball!" With
that, she dashed off.

Minako leisurely finished up her coffee and took care of the
check. It seemed that things were moving along between Ami and
Makoto without any assistance from her or her friends, but Ami's
departure last night troubled her. She decided a stop by the
Hikawa Shrine might be in order.

----------------

Quality Time proceeded as normal, all the way up to the very end.

Ami's mother had returned home at noon, almost precisely,
bringing with her some Chinese takeout procured from a small
place next to the hospital where she worked. As they ate, Dr.
Mizuno filled Ami in on some of her more interesting cases, along
with the requisite Tokyo General gossip. They'd discussed
various political issues and other general topics. The lunch
portion of Quality Time was always the most pleasant.

After lunch, they had adjourned to the sitting room, where Ami
presented her mother with the folder of information she'd
prepared. As she reviewed the documents, Dr. Mizuno inquired
about the topics Ami was studying, with particular emphasis on
things from the pre-med classes. As always, Ami's grades were
exemplary and there was little for Dr. Mizuno to quibble over.
In the area of "Academic Initiative", Dr. Mizuno informed Ami
that they would be putting off any discussion until the time came
to select classes for the next semester. Ami was quite relieved
to find out that that particular battle had been postponed.

Finally, by 2 or so, Dr. Mizuno set aside the folder. Ami would,
of course, prepare the Post-QT Review and have it for her
signature sometime within the next 48 hours. Removing her
reading glasses, Dr. Mizuno relaxed back into the sofa,
considering her daughter. Truly, she was quite proud of Ami.
She had always set the bar very high for Ami, but mainly because
she knew what her daughter was capable of accomplishing. Aside
from her own solitary bout of youthful indiscretion, (getting
involved with an artist of all things!) Dr. Mizuno had hewn to a
rigid path all of her life. Even that one incident had blessed
her, though it was not one she would ever repeat. Ami had done
so very well for so long, that it was all too easy to forget that
she was a young woman, one approaching the same age that Dr.
Mizuno herself had been when she'd had that fling.

"Ami," she began, "you know that, as your mother, I am your very
best friend and you can tell me anything."

"Yes, mother, of course," Ami replied, as if by rote.

"Is there anything you'd care to share with me?"

"No, mother, nothing that we haven't covered already," Ami
answered, feeling suddenly uncertain. This was not going
according to script.

"I wonder, do you ever see that old boyfriend of yours? Urawa?"
Dr. Mizuno asked, too casually.

Ami's heart almost stopped. It was hard to determine which was
more bizarre: her mother asking about her love life (her too?!);
her mother mentioning Ryu; or her mother's apparent assumption
that Ryu was an 'old boyfriend.'

"I saw him recently, mother, but he and I were never..."

"He seems a fine, upstanding young man," Dr. Mizuno interrupted.
"Of course, you're much too young to get seriously involved with
anyone, but once you are through with medical school, he is just
the sort of boy with whom it would be good for you to associate."

"I'm not sure I understand what you are asking me, mother," Ami
tentatively admitted.

Sitting up straight, Dr. Mizuno took a small card out of her
jacket. Handing it to Ami, she said plainly, "You have an
appointment with Dr. Kaneda on Saturday afternoon. I had to pull
some strings to get you in on such short notice."

"But mother, I just had a physical last month," Ami reminded her.

"Dr. Kaneda is a psychiatrist, Ami. He specializes in the sorts
of disorders that affect young people," Dr. Mizuno explained.

"A psychiatrist?" Ami blurted out in disbelief.

"Yes. I have reason to believe that you've been dabbling with
some things that are clearly not healthy, nor normal. You have a
bright future ahead of you and I will not see it sabotaged by the
frivolities of youth." Dr. Mizuno stood up and moved to the front
door. "Now, I have to get back to work. I think we will have
some more Quality Time on Saturday evening."

Still struggling with this bombshell, Ami meekly pointed out,
"But, I usually have dinner with Makoto on Saturday evenings..."

"Yes, well, not this Saturday. This issue with Kino Makoto will
be cleared up for you by Dr. Kaneda. You should be glad that
your friends cared enough about you to make sure that you got the
help you need, especially before things went too far. I will see
you on Saturday." And with that, Dr. Mizuno departed.

Ami sat, shell-shocked, staring at the appointment card in her
hand. Why did her mother want her to see a psychiatrist? What
did it have to do with Mako-chan? Suddenly, horrifyingly, things
crystalized in her mind. Her mother thought that she... and
Mako-chan... 'But, how did she know?' Ami wondered, before
recalling that, technically, nothing had happened yet. Laying
down on the couch, she remembered what her mother had said before
leaving, and spent the remainder of the day trying to figure out
which 'friend' had spoken with her. Calling Makoto was soon the
furthest thing from her mind.