Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Best Friends ❯ Chapter 10

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

Chapter 10 Friday morning
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Ami looked up from her pillow. She remembered crawling into bed
late last night, eyes sore from staring at a monitor late into
the night. Fortunately, she didn't have any classes this
morning. Her mother might have come and gone. Or not. Usually,
Ami neither knew nor cared, but today she hoped her mother was
gone. She just couldn't face her yet. Something inside her
shooed that thought away, letting her maintain her brief vacation
from worry. Instead, her mind did something rare and unusual; it
shut down and put on the autopilot.

Ami rose, washed up, showered, dressed and sat staring at the
newspaper, a cup of coffee in one hand. With the other, she
munched a breakfast burrito, fresh from the microwave. As her
consciousness slowly resurfaced, it occurred to her that perhaps
having an 'empty mind' was not such a horrible thing, at least
once in a while. A fervent knock on the door brought her back
fully, if not with some regret.

Sneaking a peek though the peephole, she saw a giant blob of blue
and white which soon resolved itself, as Usagi pulled her eye
away from the other end. "Ami-chan! Are you in there?"

Something about the Moon Princess just made it all too difficult
to avoid a smile. Even as she opened the door, Ami felt her
mood lightening, just a little.

"Good morning, Usagi-chan! Don't you have classes this morning?"
Ami asked, inviting her friend inside. "Will you have some tea,
or maybe coffee?"

"Ewww yuck! I don't know how you can drink that stuff. Cocoa
would be good, though. It's still damp and chilly out!" Usagi
removed her coat and shoes and joined Ami in the kitchen. "I
would have brought Luna, but she hates going out in the rain
lately. Probably because she's old and fat!" Usagi added with a
mischievous giggle.

"She is neither old nor fat," Ami corrected her. "You didn't
answer my question about classes, though."

"No, Mizuno-sensei, I do not have classes this morning. That's
why I'm here!" Usagi announced.

Ami looked at her puzzled, trying to figure it out for herself
before finally giving up. If nothing else, Usagi challenged her
mental faculties in a way that few other things did. "You're
here because you don't have class?"

"Yep," Usagi confirmed, getting out a mug for the cocoa Ami was
preparing. "Rei-chan has to work, of course, and Mina-chan is in
class all day. Poor thing will barely have time to do her hair
for her big date tonight!"

Ami poured the hot chocolate for her friend and sat back down,
folding the newspaper and setting it aside carefully. "With
Shinozaki-san again? They must have really hit it off. I can't
remember the last time she agreed to see a boy more than once."

Usagi leaned forward with a secretive smirk, "She's not willing
to admit it yet, but she has it _bad_. You should have seen the
two of them in the restaurant. I'm surprised her mouth didn't
fall off after the way she kept shoving her lips at him to kiss."

"Did she really kiss him?" Ami asked with some alarm. She knew
that Minako (well, most of her friends really) had a lot more
experience on dates, but she found it hard to conceive of any of
them doing such a thing on a first date, and certainly not in a
public place!

"No, I think she would have, though!" Usagi opined. "It's a good
thing I was there. That's when I let them catch me."

"Usagi-chan! You know better than to spy on your friends like
that!" Ami reprimanded her.

"Oh, you're one to talk. You know, for someone so opposed to a
little information gathering, I seem to recall you going along on
a lot of those 'reconnaissance missions' over the years!" Usagi
teased.

Ami blushed deeply and sipped some coffee. Truly, she did have a
curious nature. She liked to think she just did such things to
make sure Usagi or Rei (the most enthusiastic spies) didn't go
overboard, but she knew that the main reason was that she wanted
to experience, if only in passing, those parts of her life that
she'd shut away for so long. 'I must have learned something
after all,' she realized, blushing again remembering her behavior
with Makoto the other night.

"Oh, you're so cute when you blush!" Usagi commented. "And I'm
not the first one who's noticed that," she added in a knowing,
sing-song tone.

Ami looked up, quite shocked. "Am I?" She blushed again, doubly
self-conscious all of a sudden. "I mean, who else said so?"

"Mako-chan," Usagi replied glibly, eyes riveted to her shy young
friend.

The term 'blushing' didn't even come close any more. Usagi
wondered if Ami could even feel her hands or feet with so much
blood rushing to her face.

"And that's why I'm here!" Usagi stated, setting down her mug.

"I... I don't understand," Ami mumbled. It was as if all of her
effort last night to organize her thoughts, to grab hold of her
feelings, to make some sense of her life had crumbled in an
instant. Her heart started to race as she felt the loose ends of
her own life slipping and sliding in her hands.

Usagi's voice shifted from flippant to serious and earnest. She
reached forward to clasp Ami's trembling hands between her own,
squeezing them reassuringly. "Ami-chan, you have feelings for
Mako-chan, and that's ok."

"How do you...why do you say that?" Ami asked, unable to meet
Usagi's gaze.

Usagi gave her hands another squeeze. "Ami-chan, I've known you
longer than anyone, except Naru-chan I guess. You're one of my
closest, dearest friends. So is Mako-chan. I'm not only your
friend, I'm the Moon Princess. It's my job to know these
things."

"Who else knows?" Ami whispered.

"Rei-chan. Mina-chan. Oh, and Kenjo-kun. He figured it out
first, I think, probably because he knows Mako-chan so well."
Usagi frowned slightly, still a little jealous that someone else
had put all the pieces together before she had. 'I was just too
close to the situation,' she reassured herself.

"Kenjo-kun?" Ami's eyes widened in a look equal parts hope and
fear.

"Oh, don't worry, Ami. He's very supportive. We all are. We
just want you and Mako-chan to be happy. She loves you, too, you
know," Usagi replied. In the back of her head, she felt a bit
guilty, recalling the advice Haruka had given. Still, it wasn't
she who had started interfering. It had been that piece of
trash! That gave them the right to help out, to even the balance!

"I know she does," Ami replied quickly, brushing this off as a
given. "But, maybe he has feelings for her. Maybe that's why he
did it!"

"Did what, Ami-chan?" Usagi asked, quite confused.

"It couldn't have been you or either of the others. It had to be
him!" Ami rambled, an almost manic excitement gripping her.

"Him what?" Usagi demanded.

"Him who.. he who.. It must have been him who told my mother!"
Ami declared fervently.

Understanding dawned in Usagi's eyes and she sighed heavily.
"Told your mother? We figured it might be something like that."

Ami took a breath and refocused on Usagi, that puzzled expression
back on her face.

"Ami-chan, I think I know who told your mother. I don't know
what he told her, but it wasn't Kenjo-kun," Usagi said patiently.

"But it had to be! No one else knows. Even _I_ didn't know
until just the other day!" Ami exclaimed.

"Ami-chan, it was your friend Urawa-san," Usagi informed her.

"What? Ryu-kun? How could that be?"

"Rei-chan saw him. He had been following you, on Wednesday
night. After you went to Mako-chan's, he left and went to Tokyo
General," Usagi reported.

"Tokyo General...where my mom works..." Ami added sadly.

"Yeah. We knew she worked in a hospital, but we weren't exactly
sure which one these days," Usagi explained.

"But why was Rei-chan spying on me?"

"She wasn't, Ami-chan. She was spying on him."

"But why?" Ami asked plaintively.

"She said she just had a feeling. Maybe she had a vision," Usagi
conjectured, "but in any case, she said she just knew he was up
to something, after you described how he'd acted with you earlier
in the week. She decided to keep an eye on him, and found that
he was, well, he was kind of stalking you."

Ami shook her head in disbelief, though in fact she found she
could believe it. "But how did _he_ know? Nothing had happened;
nothing did happen. My mom called...oh my god! She must have
called for me to come home right after talking to him!"

Usagi made a mental note to ask about exactly _what_ hadn't
happened, once Ami got past this. "I know you like him, Ami-chan,
but I think he's... well, I think he's gone off the deep end."

Ami pursed her lips and concentrated. "Usagi-chan, what did you
say just now?"

"Ummm, he's gone off the deep end?"

"No, before that, about Rei-chan," Ami asked.

"Hmmm, she was keeping an eye on him, she had a feeling about
him, maybe she had a vision..." Usagi tried to recall what she'd
said exactly.

"A vision!" Ami declared, looking up. "Ryu-kun is a psychic. He
must have had a vision of some sort." Ami thought back to the
last time she'd seen him. All had been normal, except for his
very presence. He'd gotten a quick headache and then rushed off.
"Either before he came to see me, or while he was with me, he
must have had a vision."

Usagi smiled gently, again grabbing Ami's hand. "A romantic
vision, about you and Mako-chan I'd guess."

All at once, Ami's deductive fervor evaporated, replaced by rosy
cheeks and shy smile. "I think I really love her," she confessed
in a whisper. Her words came slowly, deliberately, as if it was
taking every ounce of her strength to force them through her
lips. "And I think she might love me, too." Tears began to well
up in her eyes. Ami couldn't tell if she was crying because of
what she'd said, or just the fact that she'd said it at all.

Silently, Usagi stood and moved next to Ami's chair. She wrapped
her arms around her friend and drew her close. "I know, Ami-
chan, I know," she murmured.

Ami slid down out of her chair to the floor next to Usagi, laying
her head on her friend's shoulder. All at once, Ami gasped,
sucking in air convulsively. Her breath came in short gulps, as
if she was hyperventilating. Usagi felt the tears flowing across
her skin. Emotions of all sorts flowed out in a torrent, with a
desperate force. Usagi could only imagine how much Ami had boxed
and bottled up over the years. She could not ever recall seeing
her lose control like this, so she remained where she was, rock
solid, allowing Ami to cling to her as much as necessary.

Feelings that had taken twenty years to accumulate forced their
way out of Ami within only a few minutes. Finally, her sobs
subsided and she began to breathe more smoothly. Usagi continued
to whisper in her ear, encouraging her to let it all go,
reassuring her that everything was going to be all right.

More time passed and Usagi's knees got sore, but she persevered.
Eventually, Ami pulled back. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face
a mess. "Ami-chan," Usagi said gently, "you should never cry in
public. You're a total mess."

Despite herself, Ami giggled, snorting and coughing between
laughter and tears for a bit. "I'll try not to, Usagi-chan," she
promised. "I don't have as much practice as you do."

Usagi grinned and tousled Ami's hair. "I'm an expert!" she
declared proudly. "Maybe I can give _you_ lessons in something
for once!"

"I'd rather not," Ami meekly replied. She stood up gingerly and
extended a hand to her friend. "We should at least sit on the
couch."

Usagi grimaced as her sore joints straightened, or tried to
anyway. "Now you say that!" She moved over and sat so that Ami
could lean against her. "Feel better?"

"I think so, yes," Ami answered. "It's been quite a week, Usagi-
chan."

"Yes, but maybe the worst is over," Usagi advised her hopefully.

"I don't think so," Ami replied with a forlorn sigh. "My mom is
making me see a psychiatrist tomorrow."

"Why?!" Usagi shouted. "What did that jerk tell her?!"

"I don't know," Ami admitted, "but she seems to think I'm gay and
need counseling." With a sheepish glance up, she added, "I guess
I am... Maybe I do."

Usagi stroked Ami's hair tenderly. "Well, if you love a woman
then I guess you are gay, by definition. But, that doesn't mean
you need counseling. I'd say it means you need to meet a nice
girl, and you already have."

Ami laughed sadly. "The best. Oh, Usagi-chan, I almost wish you
had been spying on me the other night. It was such a wonderful
evening. I think... well, maybe I shouldn't have been so quick
to criticize Mina-chan for maybe kissing on her first date."

"Ooooo, did you two kiss?" Usagi asked with an excited tone that
made her sound like a high school kid all over again.

"No," Ami shyly divulged, "but we probably would have, if my mom
hadn't called."

'Another thing that Rat-Boy has to atone for!' Usagi calculated.

"Ami-chan, there is nothing wrong with two people loving each
other. You told me that when we first found out about Haruka and
Michiru. Heck, it was you who figured it out first!" Usagi
recalled.

"I suppose that even back then, I was sensitive to such things,"
Ami realized.

"Did you know back then, that you were..." Usagi inquired
carefully.

"No, I don't think I ever thought about it," Ami explained. "You
guys know how upset I used to get on those rare occasions I'd get
love letters or something. I just tried not to think about those
things. I never really felt any attraction to any boys. I
always noticed girls, but never really let myself think about it
much. Even when I went out a couple times with Ryu-kun, I never
felt anything other than friendship, and pity I suppose."

"What are you going to do about him?" Usagi asked.

"I'll have to talk to him, I guess," Ami sighed.

"Aren't you angry?" Usagi was incredulous at her calm reaction.

"No, for some reason I'm not," Ami replied with some amazement.
"I feel sorry for him. I know he's always been a little...
overzealous..."

"Obsessed," Usagi corrected her.

"Ok, obsessed. I've known that, and I've tried to let him down
easy. I guess I just didn't do it well enough," Ami concluded.

Usagi straightened up and lifted Ami up so she could stare into
her eyes. "No, Mizuno Ami! You will not decide that his actions
are in any way your fault! You have done nothing wrong and he
went out of his way to make your life difficult, just for his own
gain. He is a scheming rat and no friend of yours! He'd just
better hope that you catch up with him before Mako-chan does
when she finds out."

"Mako-chan?" Ami tilted her head. "No, Mako-chan won't do
anything."

Again, Usagi was confused. It was Rei's job to inform Makoto,
but in such a way so as to prevent her from going out and frying
the rat, no matter how much he might deserve it. "She won't?
How do you know that?"

Ami smiled possessively, "I just know. She won't."

Usagi remained puzzled, but let it go. "So, what are you going
to do then about him, about your mom?"

Ami laid her head back down. "I'll talk to him." Feeling Usagi
clench up, she hastily added, "I'll be fine. I can handle Ryu-
kun."

"And your mom?"

Ami sighed and remained quiet for awhile, "I'm not sure, Usagi-
chan, I'm not sure. But, I will be."

They remained like that for some time, neither feeling the need
to speak or move too much. Truthfully, Usagi almost dozed off.
Having Ami's head in her lap was as comforting as having Luna sit
there, and a lot more quiet. Finally, Ami sat up.

"Usagi-chan, I need to clean myself up and get ready for class
today," Ami said with disappointment.

"Are you all right?" Usagi asked, standing up slowly.

"No, but I think I will be, now. I'm a lot better." Ami gave
Usagi a big hug before escorting her toward the door. "Thank you,
Princess, for everything."

"Don't be silly, Ami-chan," Usagi chided her. "That's what
friends are for. That's what _best_ friends are for. What are
your plans for the rest of today and tomorrow?"

Ami pondered her schedule, "Well, I have class this afternoon.
Mako-chan works in a restaurant on Friday evenings, so I guess
I'll use the time to track down Ryu-kun. Otherwise, I don't
know."

Usagi grinned, "Wanna help me spy on Mina-chan tonight? He's
taking her to karaoke!"

Ami shook her finger reproachfully at her friend, "No, and you
should leave them alone. If she does like him, she needs time
with him without you snooping around!"

"You're no fun!" Usagi huffed. "Well, if you're not busy
tomorrow morning, come over to my place around 10."

"Why? What's going on?" Ami inquired.

"Well, apparently Mako-chan and Kenjo-kun have this ongoing thing
where they play each other in basketball. Usually she kicks his
butt!" Usagi tittered in a show of sisterly solidarity. "Anyway,
we thought we'd go over and watch."

Ami considered this. On the one hand, she knew that Makoto
cherished her time with her friend and could be quite possessive,
if not secretive, about it. On the other hand, visions of Makoto
in a t-shirt and shorts, sweating as she ran back and forth, her
will focused completely, brought a rush of adrenaline. "I'll
think about it," Ami conceded.

Usagi knew what that meant and chuckled inwardly that it was
still all too easy to get Ami out on a 'recon mission'. "I'll
see you tomorrow then. Bye!" Before Ami could protest that she
hadn't made a decision, Usagi skipped off toward the elevator.