~~~~~Cappuccino~~~~~
By Kas
E-mail: [email protected]
F & M SMR: www.geocities.com/shenkosky/mypage.html
Genre: Romance with a touch of comedy. Fluff
Rating: G or PG
Season: SM
Part: A
Characters: Usagi & Mamoru
Disclaimers: I own nothing!
( All original Sailor Moon characters, Kiss the Cook stuffed
teddy bears, and The Natural Miracle Bra, belong to all their
respectful owners.)
Except for the story idea itself. That's mine.
Notes: You all should know by now that I have a new e-mail
address. ( [email protected] ) Use it!
Now, I'd like to send a *big* hello out there to a few people:
Brattyblonde, Gudgrl13, Rmdj1234, and Moon Angel.
(May you all stay friends forever.)
Lady Earth, Lita Hughes, and Kurisutaru.
(PS. L Lady Earth, Moon Angel, and Kurisutaru are wonderful
(upcoming) writers, so keep an eye out for their stories!)
Believe it or not, each and every one of you helped me write
this fanfic. Thanks guys!
Warning:
It's late at night and I'm on my second 20oz mug of
cappuccino.
( Hence the name. )
It's past my curfew and I have nowhere to go.
In short; I'm filled with caffeine and teenage Angst.
Be afraid. Be *very* afraid.
~~~~Cappuccino~~~~
By Kas
[email protected]
*******************
"Oh. My. God…"
"Ah! That's hideous!"
"Yuck! Kill it, kill it, kill it!"
"Egad!"
With a sour look, Rei put the dress back in her shopping bag
and frowned over at her friends.
"Was any of that *really* necessary?" she wanted to know.
Usagi allowed her vision to wander over to the bag concealing
Rei's hideous orange dress and shuddered.
"Darling, you could do *so* much better."
Ignoring Minako's quick, vivacious laughter, Rei
turned back to Usagi and pouted.
With long charcoal black hair, fiery violet eyes and a sharp
temper, Hino Rei could keep you on your toes.
"I think it would have looked nice on me," she commented,
still stinging over the price of what was so obviously a
worthless dress.
Whatever composure had been there was surely lost as Minako
snorted and stepped between the two.
"Rei-chan, even I couldn't have made that, that *thing* look
good. You didn't stand a chance."
Minako, bless her, had a healthy ego.
Mizuno Ami, a small slip of a girl with quiet blue eyes and a
shy disposition leaned over to finger the strapless, bluish,
yellowish, type dress from inside the bag.
"Rei-chan?" She asked in that lovely voice of hers.
"Yeah, Ami-chan?"
"What the hell were you thinking?"
Taken aback, Rei merely dropped down onto her bed and, in a
move not unlike a child ready to tantrum, she pouted.
"I couldn't find ANYTHING!
How am I supposed to go out with Yuuichirou-san tonight
if I have NOTHING to WEAR?!"
"Simple," commented a sleek looking black cat.
Luna, graceful as ever, leaped in from the window to land
smoothly on the edge of Rei's bed.
"You don't go. You stay here with the rest of the girls and
you all have practice."
The idea had such merit to the feline that her crescent moon
glowed slightly.
"We may actually get in one *whole* practice that way."
The abject horror on Rei's face was answer enough.
Taking pity on the fiery priestess, Minako dropped down on the
bed beside her and slung an arm around her shoulder.
"You should have let us help," she informed her in a
chastising tone, and completely overlooking the cats
suggestion.
"But, not to worry!"
Minako, bless her, also had a way of changing topics like the
wind changed direction.
"The whole night won't be a complete disaster because I,
Aino Minako, bought you something that will totally take the
focus off that *ugly* dress!"
"And may God help us if it ever grows up and attacks Tokyo."
This comment was offhandedly thrown into the air by
Kino Makoto.
A tall brunette with flashy green eyes and a cheeky grin.
At only five feet one inch, Aino Minako made a *big* impression.
Lovely with her waist length blond hair and bright blue eyes,
Minako had a disposition as cheery as her smile.
Hopping off the bed she darted to one of the many shopping
bags that littered Rei's bedroom floor.
Minako searched through the mountain of bags for a few minutes
before stopping suddenly.
When her head came up from under the pile of bags she was
laughing hysterically and holding up a stuffed teddy bear that
read; 'Kiss The Cook'
"Hey Mako-chan. I think this is yours."
At Makoto's sheepish shrug, she threw the bear to the other
girl and continued to dig through the bags.
"Ah, ha!" She announced suddenly, and as Minako often did,
she hopped back to Rei.
Gleefully she threw the bag at the priestess and laughed.
"Go ahead!" she urged.
"Open it."
Rei warily looked from Minako to the shopping bag, then back
again.
With Minako, you never knew.
Cautiously, Rei opened the bag and peeked inside.
She frowned down into the bag for a moment before reaching
in to pull out a black piece of fabric.
Suddenly, her purple eyes widened and, as if on fire, she
yelped and threw the bag back to Minako.
"What the heck! That *thing* moved!"
Thoroughly freaked-out, Rei darted from the bed to stand
beside Makoto, least the *thing* decided to attach.
Minako sighed and eyed Rei as if she were a naughty child.
"God girl. Get a grip."
"Minako, it m-o-v-e-d." Rei had decided that, perhaps,
if she stretched the word out to help full understanding dawn,
Minako may just drop it to the floor and set it on fire.
No such luck.
"Of course it m-o-v-e-d.
It cost so much because it m-o-v-e-s."
Usagi lifted one blond brow and considered the bag.
"What's in it?"
"This!" Minako announced proudly before whipping out a black
bra.
The room was suddenly silent.
"It moved?" Asked Makoto curiously.
"Yes! It moved. It's creepy." Then as an after thought Rei
added, "kill it."
"And, why does it move?" Usagi wanted to know.
Minako made a few exasperated sounds.
"It's supposed to look natural."
"And she couldn't use her real ones, because…………?"
"Ugh!"
"You know, that's actually a *really* good question.
Why can't I use my real ones?"
Minako pouted.
"It's called the Natural Miracle Bra by Victoria Secret."
Rei eyed the bra a moment before turning to Minako.
"Burn it."
"Well that was entertaining."
"Yes. Very entertaining. Think she'll actually burn it?"
"Knowing Rei-chan… definitely."
"Hmmm," Makoto agreed. "She does like to burn things."
Usagi grinned.
"And it probably doesn't help that she doesn't need a lighter
to do it."
"Agreed. Hey, you planning on getting detention again Monday?"
Usagi frowned.
"I never actually, p-l-a-n it."
"Yeah, yeah… Whatever.
I just wanted to know what you're planning."
Usagi shrugged, then smiled.
"I *can* take a hint you know."
"Oh, yeah. You're good at that."
The sarcastic reply had Usagi beaming up at the other girl.
"Alright Miss Subtle. What did *you* have planned for Monday?"
"Huh? School?"
Usagi stopped cold, her instincts going on full alert.
"What are you up to?"
"Nothing."
At her friends disapproving frown, Makoto plowed on.
"I just have this *little* thing to take care of…"
"And you want *my* help?" Usagi finished for her.
"Yes please."
Usagi scrunched up her nose. "How little?"
At this Makoto shrugged her shoulders and continued walking.
"Oh, you know. The usual."
"Mako-chan, our usual involves one of two elements.
The normal element, and the girls-in-really-short-skirts and
elastic element.
That last element tends to be dangerous. And it chafes."
"Not the second one, err… At least I don't think so."
"Well, I… Wait a minute! Is this going to be illegal?"
At Makoto's hesitant look Usagi held up both her hands.
"No! Don't tell me! I don't want to know. Yet."
"Well, if it is we couldn't get in *that* much trouble."
Usagi frowned.
"That's not what I meant.
If it is illegal, I'll be wigged when I go to meet you tomorrow,
and my mom always picks up on wigged."
"Oh."
"Are we going to steal a car?" Usagi wanted to know.
"No."
"Rats."
Usagi strolled along the sidewalk at an even pace.
With long, soft hair the colors of honey and pale alabaster
skin, it was the perfect contrast to her vibrant blue eyes and
thick, heavy lidded lashes.
She had a quick, friendly laugh.
And when, if, someone bothered to look a bit deeper,
they found a striking brilliance shimmering in those baby
blues of hers.
With a pointed nose, a stubborn chin, and slashing cheekbones,
she tended to look like a disgruntled fairy when enraged.
A certain Chiba Mamoru found it absolutely adorable.
Letting her feet guide her, Usagi found herself in front of
the Crown Game Center.
Her first thoughts were of Furuhata Motoki, the funny, sexy
arcade guy.
Her second thought, however, held a funky aftertaste.
Chiba Mamoru, darn him.
Idly she rolled her shoulders, a ball of tension had gathered
between them suddenly.
Well Usagi, she told herself.
You have two options; keep on walking, or face your fears.
Usagi nibbled on her bottom lip a moment, then, and without
warning, she flipped around and kept on walking.
It was, after all, such a pretty day.
And why waste it inside of a noisy, arcade anyway?
When that annoying little voice in the back of her head called
her a coward, she didn't deny it.
But it was Sunday!
Day of mall strolling and illegal activity planning.
Not soul crushing.
Why should she subject herself to Chiba Mamoru on Sunday?
Even God had taken a day off.
Usagi glanced behind her and sighed as the arcade disappeared
from her line of vision.
And it wasn't that she couldn't deal with Mamoru, cause she
could.
It was just that she *really* didn't want to have all those
crazy emotions running through her right now.
And Lordy! If ever there was a man who could invoke crazy
emotions, that mans name was Chiba Mamoru.
He was perfect.
From the very tips of that perfect charcoal black hair, to the
tiniest perfect toe on his perfect torso.
( Drool………)
He was smart, so very smart.
And sweet! She'd seen him with other people and the way he
cared.
That sudden love that had shocked and disturbed her the fist
time she'd seen it.
Shocked because she hadn't known he was capable of it.
Disturbed because he'd never shown her any.
Usagi rolled her shoulders and threw a lazy glance skyward.
It was such a pretty day.
The air was warm, the birds were singing, and she couldn't
stop thinking about Mamoru.
Ugh! Was it possible to lose your mind at fifteen?
Maybe it wasn't too late, she reasoned.
Maybe there was still help for her yet.
I mean, there had to be a help line she could call.
Yes, hello.
My name is Tsukino Usagi, and I'm a Mamo-chan-oholic…
Okay, so maybe there wouldn't be a help line or group therapy.
But it got easier… Right?
This pain would cease and her heart would mend and…
Whoa! Back the ice-cream-covered-Mamo-chan-truck up!
Who said anything about her heart?
This was an infatuation at best! A childish fantasy really.
This was no more then a simple crush.
A rather large crush, but a crush non the less.
Usagi made herself take a few deep breaths.
The thought of love had sent her system on haywire.
Imagine, her in love… with Chiba Mamoru? Ha!
The thought was clearly preposterous.
Okay, so he was hot. Even she could admit that.
But one didn't base a lasting relationship on something so
trivial.
A few dates, maybe a fling, not that she was a flinging kind
of girl.
But that was what hot was for.
Not love… Nope. Not her.
Suddenly Usagi was entirely too uncomfortable with the word.
Rolling her stiff shoulders she changed direction again.
It wasn't that the word alone made her uncomfortable,
she assured herself.
It was merely that at her age, why want to be in love?
Why would you want the hassle of having your heart broken by
some tall jerk…
Some tall non Mamoru type jerk.
Usagi felt a headache coming on and didn't bother to fight it.
They always won.
Love! Ha! That couldn't be further from the truth.
Mamoru. The cad!
Why she'd rather strip him naked, dip him in tar, and feather
him!
Usagi did her best to ignore the quick punch of unexpected
lust.
And where had that come from? she wanted to know.
A month ago she could have written a two thousand
word essay on the pros and cons of dipping Mamoru in hot tar.
Nothing naughty would have crossed her mind.
Well, almost nothing.
She did, after all, have a pulse.
Usagi stopped walking long enough to look up and gasp.
Her feet had taken her right back to the arcade.
"Traitors," she muttered at them half heartily.
In truth, she was much too busy being nervous to do much else.
When she spotted him through the glass doors her heart began
to beat painfully in her chest.
He was just sitting there in that ugly green blazer of his.
With a textbook in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other
he looked, for all the world, the devoted collage student.
She wasn't in love, she assured herself.
No one sane could possibly be in love with someone who had
such obviously horrible fashion sense.
And she'd prove it!
Moving with all the grace of a military soldier,
Usagi marched through the sliding doors and right up to the
counter.
Right up to Mamoru-san.
He lifted one elegant eye brow and sneered.
"Well, if it isn't the odango atama. What drug you in?"
When he got no response he set his book down to give her his
full attention.
She looked…angry, he realized.
It was hardly the first time she'd looked at him that way.
With her eyes flashing a bright liquid blue, and her lips
pulled into a strait line.
He was actually quite used to that look, but something,
he couldn't put his finger on what, had changed.
"Err…… Odango?"
"Shut up!"
It wasn't the forceful order that had him going silent,
or the way her eyes blazed a startling blue, it was, however,
the fact that she'd ruthlessly pulled him up out of his chair
and planted her lips on his.
Well I'll be damned……
And that, my friends, was the moment of truth.
She could have died, literally, from the feel of his lips on
hers.
Give her sweet surrender now, because it simply wouldn't,
couldn't, get any better then this!
After this *one* pivotal moment, nothing could ever amount up
to it again.
It should have scared her, this blinding punch of lust driven
love.
Vaguely, she realized that she could hear music.
Not just the violins that most claimed to hear when they
kissed their one and only, but the whole damn orchestra had
shown up!
Her pulse was fluttery, her palms sweaty, and her body was as
lax as the melting wax on a burning candle.
Later, much, much later, she would look back and realize that
she *had* been in *his* arms.
And not by accident, or her own doing.
Nope, this was all on Mamoru.
She'd take full credit for the kiss, but she'd never take
credit for him wrapping her up in those strong arms of his.
Nope, all his fault.
Somewhere through the thick haze that clouded her vision,
she realized that she had completed her mission.
She'd gotten her answers, no matter how distressing they were.
She'd even had some serious fun doing it.
But it was going a *wee* bit past the required time limit.
And Mamoru, much to her ever lasting astonishment, didn't
appear to be letting go of her any time soon.
Usagi sighed and lifted her head a fraction to better savor
the rich dark tastes.
He tasted slightly dangerous, in a highly tangible sort of way.
Usagi fought to keep herself from slipping back into the kiss.
All good things must come to an end, she knew, and this was no
exception.
It was only a matter of time before one of them fully realized
the situation at hand.
She was determined to be the first.
He could always get her for kissing him, but she could always
counter back that she'd been the one to break it off.
That was something.
And right now her heart was battered and in need of something.
Suddenly, it did dawn on her.
She was in love with Chiba Mamoru.
She was lip locked with Chiba Mamoru. In an arcade.
With everyone staring at them…
Rather then the first or third, it was the second that had her
pulling away and struggling out of his arms.
It would appear, however, that Mamoru was anything but
unaffected.
Well, score one for the good old ego.
After all the beatings he'd given it, this was a well deserved
victory.
Unfortunately he was coming around, slowly realizing what was
going on.
She could all but see his brain working behind those placid
blue eyes of his.
She may have been brave enough to face him in front of all
these people.
She may have been brave enough to track him down and kiss him.
But now that his eyes were beginning to focus, and the people
were beginning to murmur, Usagi was realizing exactly what
she'd done.
Slowly, she began to back out of the arcade.
Sparing one last glance at Mamoru, she flipped on her heel
and tore out of there as though the very hounds of hell were
on her feet.
Oh. My. God… What have I done?!
Mamoru was wondering the same thing as he stood watching the
double doors slide shut in her wake.
What *had* she done?
Suddenly his pulse was erratic, his lips were tingling, and
his arms felt strangely empty.
Mamoru continued to stare at the door even as Motoki tapped
him on the back.
"You okay? You look like she just ran you over with a truck."
Mamoru shrugged, not really listening.
Usagi had kissed him. Him!
"You want to sit down or something?
Jeez Mamoru. You're white as a sheet."
"She kissed me Motoki."
Motoki nodded dumbly. He'd seen alright…
And whoa! What a kiss.
For a moment he'd been afraid they'd defy all logic and set
the place on fire.
"You sure you don't want to sit down.
You're probably a little winded…"
Mamoru made a choking sound before breaking into a bout of
hysterical laughter.
"She… She…"
Motoki frowned over his friend a little.
Could it be possible that one kiss could make you flip?
"K… Kissed me………" Mamoru finished on a chuckle.
"Yes, Mamoru-san. Usagi-chan kissed you."
Suddenly Mamoru spun around on Motoki.
"Do you have *any* idea what this means?!"
Motoki bit his bottom lip a moment.
"No. Not really."
"Motoki, she doesn't hate me!"
Motoki rolled his shoulders and sighed.
Mamoru didn't *look* crazy.
"No I don't think she does. Never thought that actually."
Mamoru nodded dumbly for a moment.
"I *am* a moron," he announced suddenly.
And without warning, turned in the direction of the sliding
doors.
"Hey, where you going?" Motoki wanted to know.
Mamoru merely slid him a glance and continued walking.
"I have some serious butt kicking to do.
Namely, my own."
"You did WHAT?!"
Mortified, Usagi threw herself down onto Makoto's sofa.
"Just shoot me now."
"Oh, no." Makoto shook her head vigorously.
"There's no easy way out of this. You're toast, girl."
Usagi threw an arm over her eyes to block out any and all
light.
"What *am* I going to do?"
Makoto shrugged.
"Maybe you could change your name to Sophia and live out the
remainder of your life as a Italian wine maker?"
"No," Usagi disagreed hastily.
"I don't think I could deal with yet, ANOTHER secret identity.
Makoto gave an understanding grunt of agreement.
"You could always own up to it.
Go up to him and tell him how you feel."
This comment gained her nothing but a few choice words she'd
rather not repeat.
"Okay. Guess that's out…"
Usagi rolled over onto her stomach and buried her head under
the lounge pillows.
"I'll never be able to live this down."
Makoto sat on the arm of the couch and debated about whether
or not she should tell Usagi that the pillow she currently
clutched was Trooper's. Her pet pooch.
Probably not a good time.
"Listen honey, this will all go away. Give it some time and…"
"Go away? How will this ever go away?
The only way to make this go away is for me to go away."
As an after thought she added, "and I don't want to go away."
Makoto ruffled Usagi hair in sympathy.
However, the act of friendship lost its effect when Makoto
burst out laughing.
"What?" Usagi wanted to know.
"I just… I… I… can't… You, you kissed Mamoru!"
"Makoto!"
"Sorry…"
For the next few days, Usagi did her best to stay away from
Mamoru-kun.
It had involved babysitting and bribing, but she'd managed it
for three whole days now.
Sluggishly, she trudged into her room at the pace of a sloth.
She smelled of burnt baby food and dribble.
Idly, she wondered if dribble even came out.
Then she realized that it hardly mattered, because she was
never leaving her room again.
Lucky, her young cousin, had proven himself a handful.
Even two year old Janet hadn't stood a chance against the five
year old terror.
Usagi glanced at her bathroom door and considered the funky
smell coming from her sneakers.
Feeling positive that whatever was making the smell, or the
squish, squish noises, was a gift from Lucky.
Usagi decided it best to investigate tomorrow.
Flopping onto her bed with all the grace of a beached whale,
Usagi let her feet hang of the edge as she dozed.
And wouldn't you know it, no sooner had she fallen asleep
then a strange beeping started.
Groggily, she opened one unfocused eye and cursed the air blue.
Why was it that the enemy always attacked when she was half
asleep?
Why couldn't they just suck the energy out of people at a
decent hour like nice, considerate monsters?
At the ungodly hour of one in the morning, Usagi stumbled out
of bed and over to her dresser.
Pulling open her underwear drawer she fumbled around until her
hand landed on a round object.
Shaking the cobwebs from her brain she held up the brooch and
called out, "Moon Prism Power Make Up!"
Within moments she was leaping from building to building as
the powerful Senshi, otherwise known as Sailor Moon.
Mamoru jerked awake in a fresh bout of pain.
There it was again, that calling that stirred the blood and
pulled him out of sleep.
Grunting and cursing he stumbled out of bed and towards the
balcony.
He was fully awake within seconds and jumping from building to
building as the dashing Tuxedo Kamen.
Venus surveyed the worst of it with a clinical eye.
"There's a creepy crawly at the center of the park."
Sailor Venus smiled brightly. "Who goes with who?"
"I'll take the trees, Sailor Jupiter, you get to come with me."
Sailor Moon's order had the girls falling in-line after her.
"Teachers pet." Mars joked with Jupiter in hopes to lighten
the mood.
"Pyromaniac," Jupiter taunted back.
"Has anyone gotten a good look at it?" Moon wanted to know.
"I mean, just how *ugly* is she?"
Sailor Mercury was furiously typing away at her mini computer.
"I'm trying to get a lock on her right now, Sailor Moon."
Flipping blue bangs out of her eyes she continued in a neutral
voice.
"I can't get a real reading on her, however, she appears
Jell-O like in substance."
Jupiter gave a whoop of approval.
"Those are the *best*."
"Yeah," piped in Venus.
"They jiggle……… A lot!"
"Plus they *really* burn." Rei's comment was wisely overlooked.
"O-kay…" Sailor Moon slid easily into her attack stance.
"Sailor Mars, you and Sailor Venus take the right.
Me and Sailor Jupiter will take the left."
Sailor Moon turned to Mercury.
"Do you think you can find out how to kill it?"
Mercury typed a few more things into her mini computer.
"I suspect so, however, it shall take me a short period of
time to do it."
Moon nodded and turned back to the others.
"Sailor Mercury will try and gather what information she can.
In the mean time keep an eye out for her.
Okay, let's get to it."
With Jupiter right behind, Sailor Moon took off in the
direction of the creature.
It didn't take long.
"Oh. My. God……" Moon's head jerked up at Jupiter's sudden
outburst.
When she turned to see what the other warrior was staring at,
her eyes all but fell out.
Mimicking Jupiter's slack jawed look of awe, Moon merely stood
there. Watching.
The scene before her was enough to make even the most level
headed of them stare in wonder.
Moon knew this because Mercury's "Egad!" could be heard from
forty feet away.
Blinking a few times she took a step closer, then retreated
again.
Was she seeing this right?
There, less then ten feet away, stood a girl of 5'2
She looked… Normal…… Err, except that for the fact that she
was made completely out of pink, Jell-0 like goo…
Well, that and the fact that she was stomping all over Zoisite.
The enraged general was cursing and throwing bolts of blue
energy everywhere.
The girl, however, didn't seem to notice.
"And how dare you lead me on!"
continued the pink Jell-O like lady.
"If you think I'll stand for this, this atrocious deception…
Oh, boy! Have you got something else coming!"
"hmmm, Sailor Moon?"
"Yeah?"
"What do we do?"
"I have *no* idea."
Sailor Jupiter nodded dumbly.
"She looks mad at him."
"You think?" The sarcastic remark went unanswered as
Jupiter raised both arms in a fighting stance.
"We should probably fight them."
Moon nodded. "Probably."
Suddenly Jupiter dropped both her arms and stepped back.
"I really want to see what happens though…"
"Yeah. I bet she takes him."
Jupiter beamed.
"I bet you're right. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
"Uh, huh… And pink Jell-O lady looks m-a-d…"
"How dare you use MY feelings in such a disgraceful way!"
Sailor Moon wiggled her eyebrows and stepped a bit closer.
"I bet I know what he did…" She taunted in a superior tone.
The green superhero smiled back. "Me too."
**********
*******
****
Okay everyone. That's it for part A.
No, don't worry about me not sending in part B.
(Only two parts to this short story my friends.
Part A & B )
Part B is already finished, but I wanted to stretch
the story out some.
If all you nice, considerate people e-mail me with you're
praise, and not your criticism, I'll send in next weeks story
for next week.
And if some of you fall to your feet in awe of me, I'll send
you part B.
Oh, you guy's like that idea don't you.
Just remember to e-mail me at my NEW address, ([email protected])
I no longer check the old one.
Kingen,
* Kas *
F & M SMR:
www.geocities.com/shenkosky/mypage.html
AOL Screen Name:
KasMiko or Kas Miko
AOL E-mail:
[email protected] or
Kas [email protected]
* 4/6/01 *
By Kas
E-mail: [email protected]
F & M SMR: www.geocities.com/shenkosky/mypage.html
Genre: Romance with a touch of comedy. Fluff
Rating: G or PG
Season: SM
Part: A
Characters: Usagi & Mamoru
Disclaimers: I own nothing!
( All original Sailor Moon characters, Kiss the Cook stuffed
teddy bears, and The Natural Miracle Bra, belong to all their
respectful owners.)
Except for the story idea itself. That's mine.
Notes: You all should know by now that I have a new e-mail
address. ( [email protected] ) Use it!
Now, I'd like to send a *big* hello out there to a few people:
Brattyblonde, Gudgrl13, Rmdj1234, and Moon Angel.
(May you all stay friends forever.)
Lady Earth, Lita Hughes, and Kurisutaru.
(PS. L Lady Earth, Moon Angel, and Kurisutaru are wonderful
(upcoming) writers, so keep an eye out for their stories!)
Believe it or not, each and every one of you helped me write
this fanfic. Thanks guys!
Warning:
It's late at night and I'm on my second 20oz mug of
cappuccino.
( Hence the name. )
It's past my curfew and I have nowhere to go.
In short; I'm filled with caffeine and teenage Angst.
Be afraid. Be *very* afraid.
~~~~Cappuccino~~~~
By Kas
[email protected]
*******************
"Oh. My. God…"
"Ah! That's hideous!"
"Yuck! Kill it, kill it, kill it!"
"Egad!"
With a sour look, Rei put the dress back in her shopping bag
and frowned over at her friends.
"Was any of that *really* necessary?" she wanted to know.
Usagi allowed her vision to wander over to the bag concealing
Rei's hideous orange dress and shuddered.
"Darling, you could do *so* much better."
Ignoring Minako's quick, vivacious laughter, Rei
turned back to Usagi and pouted.
With long charcoal black hair, fiery violet eyes and a sharp
temper, Hino Rei could keep you on your toes.
"I think it would have looked nice on me," she commented,
still stinging over the price of what was so obviously a
worthless dress.
Whatever composure had been there was surely lost as Minako
snorted and stepped between the two.
"Rei-chan, even I couldn't have made that, that *thing* look
good. You didn't stand a chance."
Minako, bless her, had a healthy ego.
Mizuno Ami, a small slip of a girl with quiet blue eyes and a
shy disposition leaned over to finger the strapless, bluish,
yellowish, type dress from inside the bag.
"Rei-chan?" She asked in that lovely voice of hers.
"Yeah, Ami-chan?"
"What the hell were you thinking?"
Taken aback, Rei merely dropped down onto her bed and, in a
move not unlike a child ready to tantrum, she pouted.
"I couldn't find ANYTHING!
How am I supposed to go out with Yuuichirou-san tonight
if I have NOTHING to WEAR?!"
"Simple," commented a sleek looking black cat.
Luna, graceful as ever, leaped in from the window to land
smoothly on the edge of Rei's bed.
"You don't go. You stay here with the rest of the girls and
you all have practice."
The idea had such merit to the feline that her crescent moon
glowed slightly.
"We may actually get in one *whole* practice that way."
The abject horror on Rei's face was answer enough.
Taking pity on the fiery priestess, Minako dropped down on the
bed beside her and slung an arm around her shoulder.
"You should have let us help," she informed her in a
chastising tone, and completely overlooking the cats
suggestion.
"But, not to worry!"
Minako, bless her, also had a way of changing topics like the
wind changed direction.
"The whole night won't be a complete disaster because I,
Aino Minako, bought you something that will totally take the
focus off that *ugly* dress!"
"And may God help us if it ever grows up and attacks Tokyo."
This comment was offhandedly thrown into the air by
Kino Makoto.
A tall brunette with flashy green eyes and a cheeky grin.
At only five feet one inch, Aino Minako made a *big* impression.
Lovely with her waist length blond hair and bright blue eyes,
Minako had a disposition as cheery as her smile.
Hopping off the bed she darted to one of the many shopping
bags that littered Rei's bedroom floor.
Minako searched through the mountain of bags for a few minutes
before stopping suddenly.
When her head came up from under the pile of bags she was
laughing hysterically and holding up a stuffed teddy bear that
read; 'Kiss The Cook'
"Hey Mako-chan. I think this is yours."
At Makoto's sheepish shrug, she threw the bear to the other
girl and continued to dig through the bags.
"Ah, ha!" She announced suddenly, and as Minako often did,
she hopped back to Rei.
Gleefully she threw the bag at the priestess and laughed.
"Go ahead!" she urged.
"Open it."
Rei warily looked from Minako to the shopping bag, then back
again.
With Minako, you never knew.
Cautiously, Rei opened the bag and peeked inside.
She frowned down into the bag for a moment before reaching
in to pull out a black piece of fabric.
Suddenly, her purple eyes widened and, as if on fire, she
yelped and threw the bag back to Minako.
"What the heck! That *thing* moved!"
Thoroughly freaked-out, Rei darted from the bed to stand
beside Makoto, least the *thing* decided to attach.
Minako sighed and eyed Rei as if she were a naughty child.
"God girl. Get a grip."
"Minako, it m-o-v-e-d." Rei had decided that, perhaps,
if she stretched the word out to help full understanding dawn,
Minako may just drop it to the floor and set it on fire.
No such luck.
"Of course it m-o-v-e-d.
It cost so much because it m-o-v-e-s."
Usagi lifted one blond brow and considered the bag.
"What's in it?"
"This!" Minako announced proudly before whipping out a black
bra.
The room was suddenly silent.
"It moved?" Asked Makoto curiously.
"Yes! It moved. It's creepy." Then as an after thought Rei
added, "kill it."
"And, why does it move?" Usagi wanted to know.
Minako made a few exasperated sounds.
"It's supposed to look natural."
"And she couldn't use her real ones, because…………?"
"Ugh!"
"You know, that's actually a *really* good question.
Why can't I use my real ones?"
Minako pouted.
"It's called the Natural Miracle Bra by Victoria Secret."
Rei eyed the bra a moment before turning to Minako.
"Burn it."
"Well that was entertaining."
"Yes. Very entertaining. Think she'll actually burn it?"
"Knowing Rei-chan… definitely."
"Hmmm," Makoto agreed. "She does like to burn things."
Usagi grinned.
"And it probably doesn't help that she doesn't need a lighter
to do it."
"Agreed. Hey, you planning on getting detention again Monday?"
Usagi frowned.
"I never actually, p-l-a-n it."
"Yeah, yeah… Whatever.
I just wanted to know what you're planning."
Usagi shrugged, then smiled.
"I *can* take a hint you know."
"Oh, yeah. You're good at that."
The sarcastic reply had Usagi beaming up at the other girl.
"Alright Miss Subtle. What did *you* have planned for Monday?"
"Huh? School?"
Usagi stopped cold, her instincts going on full alert.
"What are you up to?"
"Nothing."
At her friends disapproving frown, Makoto plowed on.
"I just have this *little* thing to take care of…"
"And you want *my* help?" Usagi finished for her.
"Yes please."
Usagi scrunched up her nose. "How little?"
At this Makoto shrugged her shoulders and continued walking.
"Oh, you know. The usual."
"Mako-chan, our usual involves one of two elements.
The normal element, and the girls-in-really-short-skirts and
elastic element.
That last element tends to be dangerous. And it chafes."
"Not the second one, err… At least I don't think so."
"Well, I… Wait a minute! Is this going to be illegal?"
At Makoto's hesitant look Usagi held up both her hands.
"No! Don't tell me! I don't want to know. Yet."
"Well, if it is we couldn't get in *that* much trouble."
Usagi frowned.
"That's not what I meant.
If it is illegal, I'll be wigged when I go to meet you tomorrow,
and my mom always picks up on wigged."
"Oh."
"Are we going to steal a car?" Usagi wanted to know.
"No."
"Rats."
Usagi strolled along the sidewalk at an even pace.
With long, soft hair the colors of honey and pale alabaster
skin, it was the perfect contrast to her vibrant blue eyes and
thick, heavy lidded lashes.
She had a quick, friendly laugh.
And when, if, someone bothered to look a bit deeper,
they found a striking brilliance shimmering in those baby
blues of hers.
With a pointed nose, a stubborn chin, and slashing cheekbones,
she tended to look like a disgruntled fairy when enraged.
A certain Chiba Mamoru found it absolutely adorable.
Letting her feet guide her, Usagi found herself in front of
the Crown Game Center.
Her first thoughts were of Furuhata Motoki, the funny, sexy
arcade guy.
Her second thought, however, held a funky aftertaste.
Chiba Mamoru, darn him.
Idly she rolled her shoulders, a ball of tension had gathered
between them suddenly.
Well Usagi, she told herself.
You have two options; keep on walking, or face your fears.
Usagi nibbled on her bottom lip a moment, then, and without
warning, she flipped around and kept on walking.
It was, after all, such a pretty day.
And why waste it inside of a noisy, arcade anyway?
When that annoying little voice in the back of her head called
her a coward, she didn't deny it.
But it was Sunday!
Day of mall strolling and illegal activity planning.
Not soul crushing.
Why should she subject herself to Chiba Mamoru on Sunday?
Even God had taken a day off.
Usagi glanced behind her and sighed as the arcade disappeared
from her line of vision.
And it wasn't that she couldn't deal with Mamoru, cause she
could.
It was just that she *really* didn't want to have all those
crazy emotions running through her right now.
And Lordy! If ever there was a man who could invoke crazy
emotions, that mans name was Chiba Mamoru.
He was perfect.
From the very tips of that perfect charcoal black hair, to the
tiniest perfect toe on his perfect torso.
( Drool………)
He was smart, so very smart.
And sweet! She'd seen him with other people and the way he
cared.
That sudden love that had shocked and disturbed her the fist
time she'd seen it.
Shocked because she hadn't known he was capable of it.
Disturbed because he'd never shown her any.
Usagi rolled her shoulders and threw a lazy glance skyward.
It was such a pretty day.
The air was warm, the birds were singing, and she couldn't
stop thinking about Mamoru.
Ugh! Was it possible to lose your mind at fifteen?
Maybe it wasn't too late, she reasoned.
Maybe there was still help for her yet.
I mean, there had to be a help line she could call.
Yes, hello.
My name is Tsukino Usagi, and I'm a Mamo-chan-oholic…
Okay, so maybe there wouldn't be a help line or group therapy.
But it got easier… Right?
This pain would cease and her heart would mend and…
Whoa! Back the ice-cream-covered-Mamo-chan-truck up!
Who said anything about her heart?
This was an infatuation at best! A childish fantasy really.
This was no more then a simple crush.
A rather large crush, but a crush non the less.
Usagi made herself take a few deep breaths.
The thought of love had sent her system on haywire.
Imagine, her in love… with Chiba Mamoru? Ha!
The thought was clearly preposterous.
Okay, so he was hot. Even she could admit that.
But one didn't base a lasting relationship on something so
trivial.
A few dates, maybe a fling, not that she was a flinging kind
of girl.
But that was what hot was for.
Not love… Nope. Not her.
Suddenly Usagi was entirely too uncomfortable with the word.
Rolling her stiff shoulders she changed direction again.
It wasn't that the word alone made her uncomfortable,
she assured herself.
It was merely that at her age, why want to be in love?
Why would you want the hassle of having your heart broken by
some tall jerk…
Some tall non Mamoru type jerk.
Usagi felt a headache coming on and didn't bother to fight it.
They always won.
Love! Ha! That couldn't be further from the truth.
Mamoru. The cad!
Why she'd rather strip him naked, dip him in tar, and feather
him!
Usagi did her best to ignore the quick punch of unexpected
lust.
And where had that come from? she wanted to know.
A month ago she could have written a two thousand
word essay on the pros and cons of dipping Mamoru in hot tar.
Nothing naughty would have crossed her mind.
Well, almost nothing.
She did, after all, have a pulse.
Usagi stopped walking long enough to look up and gasp.
Her feet had taken her right back to the arcade.
"Traitors," she muttered at them half heartily.
In truth, she was much too busy being nervous to do much else.
When she spotted him through the glass doors her heart began
to beat painfully in her chest.
He was just sitting there in that ugly green blazer of his.
With a textbook in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other
he looked, for all the world, the devoted collage student.
She wasn't in love, she assured herself.
No one sane could possibly be in love with someone who had
such obviously horrible fashion sense.
And she'd prove it!
Moving with all the grace of a military soldier,
Usagi marched through the sliding doors and right up to the
counter.
Right up to Mamoru-san.
He lifted one elegant eye brow and sneered.
"Well, if it isn't the odango atama. What drug you in?"
When he got no response he set his book down to give her his
full attention.
She looked…angry, he realized.
It was hardly the first time she'd looked at him that way.
With her eyes flashing a bright liquid blue, and her lips
pulled into a strait line.
He was actually quite used to that look, but something,
he couldn't put his finger on what, had changed.
"Err…… Odango?"
"Shut up!"
It wasn't the forceful order that had him going silent,
or the way her eyes blazed a startling blue, it was, however,
the fact that she'd ruthlessly pulled him up out of his chair
and planted her lips on his.
Well I'll be damned……
And that, my friends, was the moment of truth.
She could have died, literally, from the feel of his lips on
hers.
Give her sweet surrender now, because it simply wouldn't,
couldn't, get any better then this!
After this *one* pivotal moment, nothing could ever amount up
to it again.
It should have scared her, this blinding punch of lust driven
love.
Vaguely, she realized that she could hear music.
Not just the violins that most claimed to hear when they
kissed their one and only, but the whole damn orchestra had
shown up!
Her pulse was fluttery, her palms sweaty, and her body was as
lax as the melting wax on a burning candle.
Later, much, much later, she would look back and realize that
she *had* been in *his* arms.
And not by accident, or her own doing.
Nope, this was all on Mamoru.
She'd take full credit for the kiss, but she'd never take
credit for him wrapping her up in those strong arms of his.
Nope, all his fault.
Somewhere through the thick haze that clouded her vision,
she realized that she had completed her mission.
She'd gotten her answers, no matter how distressing they were.
She'd even had some serious fun doing it.
But it was going a *wee* bit past the required time limit.
And Mamoru, much to her ever lasting astonishment, didn't
appear to be letting go of her any time soon.
Usagi sighed and lifted her head a fraction to better savor
the rich dark tastes.
He tasted slightly dangerous, in a highly tangible sort of way.
Usagi fought to keep herself from slipping back into the kiss.
All good things must come to an end, she knew, and this was no
exception.
It was only a matter of time before one of them fully realized
the situation at hand.
She was determined to be the first.
He could always get her for kissing him, but she could always
counter back that she'd been the one to break it off.
That was something.
And right now her heart was battered and in need of something.
Suddenly, it did dawn on her.
She was in love with Chiba Mamoru.
She was lip locked with Chiba Mamoru. In an arcade.
With everyone staring at them…
Rather then the first or third, it was the second that had her
pulling away and struggling out of his arms.
It would appear, however, that Mamoru was anything but
unaffected.
Well, score one for the good old ego.
After all the beatings he'd given it, this was a well deserved
victory.
Unfortunately he was coming around, slowly realizing what was
going on.
She could all but see his brain working behind those placid
blue eyes of his.
She may have been brave enough to face him in front of all
these people.
She may have been brave enough to track him down and kiss him.
But now that his eyes were beginning to focus, and the people
were beginning to murmur, Usagi was realizing exactly what
she'd done.
Slowly, she began to back out of the arcade.
Sparing one last glance at Mamoru, she flipped on her heel
and tore out of there as though the very hounds of hell were
on her feet.
Oh. My. God… What have I done?!
Mamoru was wondering the same thing as he stood watching the
double doors slide shut in her wake.
What *had* she done?
Suddenly his pulse was erratic, his lips were tingling, and
his arms felt strangely empty.
Mamoru continued to stare at the door even as Motoki tapped
him on the back.
"You okay? You look like she just ran you over with a truck."
Mamoru shrugged, not really listening.
Usagi had kissed him. Him!
"You want to sit down or something?
Jeez Mamoru. You're white as a sheet."
"She kissed me Motoki."
Motoki nodded dumbly. He'd seen alright…
And whoa! What a kiss.
For a moment he'd been afraid they'd defy all logic and set
the place on fire.
"You sure you don't want to sit down.
You're probably a little winded…"
Mamoru made a choking sound before breaking into a bout of
hysterical laughter.
"She… She…"
Motoki frowned over his friend a little.
Could it be possible that one kiss could make you flip?
"K… Kissed me………" Mamoru finished on a chuckle.
"Yes, Mamoru-san. Usagi-chan kissed you."
Suddenly Mamoru spun around on Motoki.
"Do you have *any* idea what this means?!"
Motoki bit his bottom lip a moment.
"No. Not really."
"Motoki, she doesn't hate me!"
Motoki rolled his shoulders and sighed.
Mamoru didn't *look* crazy.
"No I don't think she does. Never thought that actually."
Mamoru nodded dumbly for a moment.
"I *am* a moron," he announced suddenly.
And without warning, turned in the direction of the sliding
doors.
"Hey, where you going?" Motoki wanted to know.
Mamoru merely slid him a glance and continued walking.
"I have some serious butt kicking to do.
Namely, my own."
"You did WHAT?!"
Mortified, Usagi threw herself down onto Makoto's sofa.
"Just shoot me now."
"Oh, no." Makoto shook her head vigorously.
"There's no easy way out of this. You're toast, girl."
Usagi threw an arm over her eyes to block out any and all
light.
"What *am* I going to do?"
Makoto shrugged.
"Maybe you could change your name to Sophia and live out the
remainder of your life as a Italian wine maker?"
"No," Usagi disagreed hastily.
"I don't think I could deal with yet, ANOTHER secret identity.
Makoto gave an understanding grunt of agreement.
"You could always own up to it.
Go up to him and tell him how you feel."
This comment gained her nothing but a few choice words she'd
rather not repeat.
"Okay. Guess that's out…"
Usagi rolled over onto her stomach and buried her head under
the lounge pillows.
"I'll never be able to live this down."
Makoto sat on the arm of the couch and debated about whether
or not she should tell Usagi that the pillow she currently
clutched was Trooper's. Her pet pooch.
Probably not a good time.
"Listen honey, this will all go away. Give it some time and…"
"Go away? How will this ever go away?
The only way to make this go away is for me to go away."
As an after thought she added, "and I don't want to go away."
Makoto ruffled Usagi hair in sympathy.
However, the act of friendship lost its effect when Makoto
burst out laughing.
"What?" Usagi wanted to know.
"I just… I… I… can't… You, you kissed Mamoru!"
"Makoto!"
"Sorry…"
For the next few days, Usagi did her best to stay away from
Mamoru-kun.
It had involved babysitting and bribing, but she'd managed it
for three whole days now.
Sluggishly, she trudged into her room at the pace of a sloth.
She smelled of burnt baby food and dribble.
Idly, she wondered if dribble even came out.
Then she realized that it hardly mattered, because she was
never leaving her room again.
Lucky, her young cousin, had proven himself a handful.
Even two year old Janet hadn't stood a chance against the five
year old terror.
Usagi glanced at her bathroom door and considered the funky
smell coming from her sneakers.
Feeling positive that whatever was making the smell, or the
squish, squish noises, was a gift from Lucky.
Usagi decided it best to investigate tomorrow.
Flopping onto her bed with all the grace of a beached whale,
Usagi let her feet hang of the edge as she dozed.
And wouldn't you know it, no sooner had she fallen asleep
then a strange beeping started.
Groggily, she opened one unfocused eye and cursed the air blue.
Why was it that the enemy always attacked when she was half
asleep?
Why couldn't they just suck the energy out of people at a
decent hour like nice, considerate monsters?
At the ungodly hour of one in the morning, Usagi stumbled out
of bed and over to her dresser.
Pulling open her underwear drawer she fumbled around until her
hand landed on a round object.
Shaking the cobwebs from her brain she held up the brooch and
called out, "Moon Prism Power Make Up!"
Within moments she was leaping from building to building as
the powerful Senshi, otherwise known as Sailor Moon.
Mamoru jerked awake in a fresh bout of pain.
There it was again, that calling that stirred the blood and
pulled him out of sleep.
Grunting and cursing he stumbled out of bed and towards the
balcony.
He was fully awake within seconds and jumping from building to
building as the dashing Tuxedo Kamen.
Venus surveyed the worst of it with a clinical eye.
"There's a creepy crawly at the center of the park."
Sailor Venus smiled brightly. "Who goes with who?"
"I'll take the trees, Sailor Jupiter, you get to come with me."
Sailor Moon's order had the girls falling in-line after her.
"Teachers pet." Mars joked with Jupiter in hopes to lighten
the mood.
"Pyromaniac," Jupiter taunted back.
"Has anyone gotten a good look at it?" Moon wanted to know.
"I mean, just how *ugly* is she?"
Sailor Mercury was furiously typing away at her mini computer.
"I'm trying to get a lock on her right now, Sailor Moon."
Flipping blue bangs out of her eyes she continued in a neutral
voice.
"I can't get a real reading on her, however, she appears
Jell-O like in substance."
Jupiter gave a whoop of approval.
"Those are the *best*."
"Yeah," piped in Venus.
"They jiggle……… A lot!"
"Plus they *really* burn." Rei's comment was wisely overlooked.
"O-kay…" Sailor Moon slid easily into her attack stance.
"Sailor Mars, you and Sailor Venus take the right.
Me and Sailor Jupiter will take the left."
Sailor Moon turned to Mercury.
"Do you think you can find out how to kill it?"
Mercury typed a few more things into her mini computer.
"I suspect so, however, it shall take me a short period of
time to do it."
Moon nodded and turned back to the others.
"Sailor Mercury will try and gather what information she can.
In the mean time keep an eye out for her.
Okay, let's get to it."
With Jupiter right behind, Sailor Moon took off in the
direction of the creature.
It didn't take long.
"Oh. My. God……" Moon's head jerked up at Jupiter's sudden
outburst.
When she turned to see what the other warrior was staring at,
her eyes all but fell out.
Mimicking Jupiter's slack jawed look of awe, Moon merely stood
there. Watching.
The scene before her was enough to make even the most level
headed of them stare in wonder.
Moon knew this because Mercury's "Egad!" could be heard from
forty feet away.
Blinking a few times she took a step closer, then retreated
again.
Was she seeing this right?
There, less then ten feet away, stood a girl of 5'2
She looked… Normal…… Err, except that for the fact that she
was made completely out of pink, Jell-0 like goo…
Well, that and the fact that she was stomping all over Zoisite.
The enraged general was cursing and throwing bolts of blue
energy everywhere.
The girl, however, didn't seem to notice.
"And how dare you lead me on!"
continued the pink Jell-O like lady.
"If you think I'll stand for this, this atrocious deception…
Oh, boy! Have you got something else coming!"
"hmmm, Sailor Moon?"
"Yeah?"
"What do we do?"
"I have *no* idea."
Sailor Jupiter nodded dumbly.
"She looks mad at him."
"You think?" The sarcastic remark went unanswered as
Jupiter raised both arms in a fighting stance.
"We should probably fight them."
Moon nodded. "Probably."
Suddenly Jupiter dropped both her arms and stepped back.
"I really want to see what happens though…"
"Yeah. I bet she takes him."
Jupiter beamed.
"I bet you're right. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
"Uh, huh… And pink Jell-O lady looks m-a-d…"
"How dare you use MY feelings in such a disgraceful way!"
Sailor Moon wiggled her eyebrows and stepped a bit closer.
"I bet I know what he did…" She taunted in a superior tone.
The green superhero smiled back. "Me too."
**********
*******
****
Okay everyone. That's it for part A.
No, don't worry about me not sending in part B.
(Only two parts to this short story my friends.
Part A & B )
Part B is already finished, but I wanted to stretch
the story out some.
If all you nice, considerate people e-mail me with you're
praise, and not your criticism, I'll send in next weeks story
for next week.
And if some of you fall to your feet in awe of me, I'll send
you part B.
Oh, you guy's like that idea don't you.
Just remember to e-mail me at my NEW address, ([email protected])
I no longer check the old one.
Kingen,
* Kas *
F & M SMR:
www.geocities.com/shenkosky/mypage.html
AOL Screen Name:
KasMiko or Kas Miko
AOL E-mail:
[email protected] or
Kas [email protected]
* 4/6/01 *