There has been some confusion as to what I'm doing with these one-shots. To clarify:

they are not part of a series. They are self contained stories.

should I decide that some are part of the same AU-verse, I'll mention it in the summary

the point is a self made challenge to write one of each sort of really cliche story based aroung this pairing, instead of a more normal one

That is all

Disclamier: the website says it all. FAN-fiction. Me not own.

Long blonde hair trailed fat droplets of water down over a huddled, miserable looking person who had obviously not been expecting this weather.

"Stupid weather's out to get me. If I hadn't been running late this morning, none of this would have happened..." The figure griped, slowly shuffling down the street. The rain was so heavy it was hard to see more than a few feet in front. The steady patter of the rain made a mournful symphony when matched with the heavy tread of shoes that were obviously never meant to be this wet.

A shortcut through the park offered some cover. The blonde stopped under the cover of some trees and shook, trying to get some of the water off. Nervous eyes scanned the trees, yet they never noticed the amused blue orbs trained on the sopping hair.

*****

Ami didn't know what to make of this surprising discovery. Here was Zoicyte, third member of the Shittenou, hiding under a tree in Juuban park trying to escape the rain. It didn't make a lot of sense to her. Still, she couldn't just leave him there, as amusing as watching him being nervous could be.

"Zoicyte! What are you doing out in the rain?" Only after she called to him did Ami realize that Sailor Mercury would have known him, not Ami Mizuno. She clutched her henshin wand nervously. However, the only thing she saw in his green eyes was confusion.

"I'm sorry miss, but do I know you? You seem vaguely familiar, but I'm afraid I have no clue who you are."

*****

Ami brought him his hot chocolate, still amazed with herself. She had invited the young Shittenou back to her home, and was feeding him warm things to ward off hypothermia. She had also given him a navy robe to wear while his clothes dried. Neither had asked any questions of each other, but she was sure that wouldn't last.

Zoicyte proved her right by opening his mouth. He shut it again, obviously looking for the right words. Ami waited, hoping it would be an explanation, or at least an apology.

"I'm sorry, but I still don't remember you. You seem to spark something, but the memory just isn't there. Did I meet you over five years ago?"

Ami was surprised. What happened five years ago? Other than her and the other Senshi being involved in his (unconfirmed) demise, of course....

"Uh, yes. Actually, it was right around five years ago. You had a, um, couple of run-ins with me and my friends. We were... well, we weren't really friends. It was just such a shock to see you today. I thought you were... um... gone." She really hoped she hadn't said to much. Even from the little she had said, if he had knowledge of the Senshi, she was in big trouble.

He shook his head in something that looked like amazement, and no little bit of confusion. "It's really too bad, you know. About five years ago I was in some sort of accident. I have no clue what happened. I was told I was found behind the library, unconscious. I was tagged as Zoicyte due to this." He pulled out a thin cord attached to a deep blue gemstone. "It's Tunzite, a type of Zoicyte. The doctors and the police had no idea who I was, and neither did I, really. They gave me the official name of Zoicyte Lumen, and I was turned over to the government until I took the competency tests and was able to find work." He raised hopeful eyes to her. "So my name really is Zoicyte? I was never really sure, you see. Do you know my last name too?"

It almost broke her heart to see the hope in his eyes, knowing it was unfounded. And that she would soon be snuffing it. "I only ever knew your first name. Or, at least, the name your friends called you." She cursed herself as the hope flared back up, as quickly as it had left.

"My friends?"

"Yes. Um. One was named Masato. He, um, died..." yeah, and you're the one that did it! "Before your accident. Um, you know how sometimes these monster things attack Tokyo? Well, one got him. It wasn't pretty. I, um, don't really know the name of your other friend... I only saw him a few times." Friend nothing. Lover, more like! Sheesh, why am I even keeping this from him?

"One got him? Really? And the Senshi weren't able to fix him?" Mistaking the cause of her astonishment, he coloured. "Hey, guys are allowed to keep tabs on the Senshi too! They're pretty awesome! Mercury's the coolest, literally and figuratively! I would LOVE to get my hands on that computer she has! Tuxedo Kamen is also pretty incredible. He has such a commanding presence. The Senshi are sweet and all, protecting us and everything, but Tuxedo Kamen just seems more appropriate. The Senshi seem a little bigger than life, but he truly belongs on this planet. Sometimes I wonder if the Senshi really are from the planets they call on..."

At this point it was necessary for him to quit talking about the Senshi, as he was required to get up and pound on Ami's back as she choked on her hot chocolate. He was a little too close to the truth for her comfort. Luckily, he again mistook the cause of her reaction.

"C'mon, it's not that bad. At least liking the Senshi isn't as bad as the time I talked a classmate into ripping off his shirt in the middle of a lecture..."

*****

Ami couldn't remember the last time she had laughed that hard for that long. Zoicyte was incredibly funny, and seemed to have been involved in a massive number of practical jokes. He had also inadvertently commented on the fact that the only schoolmate that had ever been completely off-limits, as far as he was concerned, was a young man named Mamoru Chiba.

"Why not him?" She asked, curious, after Zoicyte had explained the pranks pulled on the upperclassmen that had wanted him to target Mamoru.

He hesitated a little before replying. "Well, I'm rather... in awe of him, I guess you could say. He's not someone to pull random pranks on. If I knew him, I might, to try and loosen him up. However, that's not likely to ever happen."

"Why not? Mamoru's really rather friendly."

"You know him?"

"He's dating my best friend."

"Oh. Well, I just can't quite seem to approach him. Um, actually, whenever I see him around, I get this feeling of... almost shame. I think it's how he's running his life. I feel like I should be doing better, since we have a similar past and all. I think." His eyes betrayed him, though. Ami could tell that as hard as he tried, Zoicyte couldn't quite believe his explanation for why he felt shame. She was not going to explain it to him though.

Really, how was she supposed to explain that he was a forsworn general under a mythical earth prince's command without explaining that she was a Senshi? Plus his ex-wife, of course.

He went on. "I hope you won't tell anyone that. None of the guys at university know that Chiba unnerves me, and I'd like to keep it that way. Also none of them know just how big a fan of the Senshi I am. Or that I feel like beating them up when they ogle Mercury." He missed Ami's sudden, hot blush. Really, did the skirts HAVE to be that short? "I don't think they'd understand why I idolize Tuxedo Kamen as well. Please keep it quiet. Please?"

She hated to admit it, but she was putty when faced with those big green eyes. "Don't worry, I'll keep it quiet. You know, you never did tell me what you were doing out in the rain like that. Or why you seemed so nervous."

He looked at her thoughtfully, but apparently decided to go for broke on the honesty thing. After all, he'd already told her so much.... "I don't like the rain. It came on me suddenly. If I'd have known it was coming, I'd have stayed at the library all night. Rain makes me... sad."

"Sad?"

"Yes. I feel like I've lost something important, something I don't really want to live without, when it rains." He got a faraway look in his eyes, staring at the wall. "It's like I can feel her tears, and I want nothing more than to make them stop...." He drifted into silence, still lost in his own mind.

Ami opened her mouth, then shut it before swallowing and trying again. "Her? Her who?"

Zoicyte snapped his gaze back to her. "Her? Did I say her?"

"Yes."

"Odd. I don't have a clue why I said that. Or who I meant." He shook his head. "Maybe it has to do with the night I lost my memory. Maybe it's something from then."

Suddenly he seemed embarrassed at having told a complete stranger as much as he had. He rose, explaining how it was late, and that he needed to be ready for work in the morning. Ami smiled, and shooed him off to change into his (now dry!) clothes. When he was ready to leave he came back out.

"Well, see ya, I guess."

"Yeah. Bye. Um, maybe I'll see you around again... or something."

"I hope so." His eyes betrayed his anxiety, before coming to a decision. He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Then he blushed beet red and scooted out of her apartment and almost ran down the hall.

Ami slowly closed the door behind him. One hand went up to touch her face where his lips had rested recently. Then she wrapped her arms around herself and twirled, a goofy grin on her face.

"Oh, he is so cute when he blushes!"