I applaud my editor. I really do. I wrote most of this on the bus at three am while moving to a different city 500 miles (I usually work in metric, though) from my hometown. Sonar de Mercury, here you are. Xena's my grandparent's husky. She loves soccer, even if she does usually end up trying to eat the ball.

oh, and I accidentally dropped my laptop on the floor. No more easy access to a word processor for me till it's fixed. Sorry

The pursuit of knowledge, in all its shapes and forms, had lead Ami directly to where she was in her life. She graduated at the top of her class, and several universities had spent a few years vying for her attendance. Now she had picked one, and her life was settling into the path she'd had planned for it for years.

The problem was, she wasn't settling into her life.

In fact, she was getting more and more unsettled and... Almost itchy, these past few weeks.

That was the only explanation she could come up with that would have her skipping cram school to take a walk in the park. For the first time in her memory, Ami couldn't focus on her schooling. It was a puzzling problem, but she couldn't even muster up the discipline to figure out what was wrong with her and fix it. A grave failing for someone who wanted to be a doctor.

She plonked herself down on a bench, uncaring of her surroundings. She stared out over the inviting summer lake without even seeing it. Even swimming hadn't been able to calm her mind down recently. That was another worrying thing. Swimming had never failed to clear her head, even when her friends couldn't.

She grinned wryly. Her friends. They could well be part of the problem. Her first real friend, Usagi, was getting married soon to her long time boyfriend, and the preparations were taking up all of Usagi's spare time. Her priestess friend Rei was very busy taking over the Shinto temple where she lived from her grandfather, who was quite elderly and beginning to feel his age. Makoto had left town for a summer long retreat with her Dojo. Minako was well on her way to launching her long awaited idol career.

Ami had thought she was reaching her goals too, but was not as satisfied with her life as any of the others. Her carefully paid plans were blurring at the edge, but she couldn't even bring herself to care.

Her reverie was effectively shattered by a tennis ball that bounced into her lap. She picked it up gingerly, not quite registering what it represented. She started to raise her head to look around.

An action that was aborted as a knee high bundle of dark, blue eyed energy bounded onto her lap in an attempt to reach the ball she held just out of reach.

She dropped the ball back into her lap in surprise, where it was proudly captured by the adorable puppy sitting on her lap. The dog joyfully sat in her lap, displaying its prize for all to see. Ami laughed and began to pet the husky, crooning to it as she did so.

"Well done, pup! You did a very good job fetching that ball, yes you did! What a good puppy! And so cute too. But you already knew that, didn't you pup? Of course you did! Oh course..."

"I am SO sorry, miss. I promise you, she is most definitely not allowed to jump on people at any time! Bad Xena! Get down from there! You know better! Oh, she got dirt all over your clothes! I'm so sorry. Really, normally she's better behaved! We were just playing ball, and I'm afraid some kid picked the ball up and threw it on you. I am sorry. I hope she wasn't too much of a bother..."

The young man who had shown up shortly after the appearance of the dog trailed off in confusion when faced with the little blue-haired nymph's peals of laughter. He had expected maybe a friendly smile and an acceptance of the trouble cause by the puppy, but not this full bodied, breathless giggles. She was now hugging her ribs and had tears forming in her eyes from laughter. She was obviously trying to speak, but couldn't get it out past her bubbling laughter.

"Hey, hey, calm down, this can't be good for you! Shush, try deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. That's right, breathe. C'mon, don't start up again!" He said, settling onto the bench next to her and rubbing her back, while using the other one to wipe ineffectually at the tears streaming down her face. Slowly she was able to get herself under control.

"I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me, to laugh like that. I can't even tell you what I found funny. It was just... well, I was sitting here because I didn't have the drive to get up and do something. Then your puppy, Xena, wasn't it? Your puppy comes bounding over and treats me like I'm the most important person in her life. And then you were apologizing for it... I guess it just didn't make sense to me...."

She trailed off, unconsciously resuming her distracted gaze across the lake. The young man watched her with a curiously heavy heart. For some reason he was sure that he never wanted this woman-child to ever have this melancholy on her. He couldn't think of any appropriate way to bring her out of it, however.

Luckily, he wasn't the only one who wanted Ami's attention more focused. To be specific, the husky seemed quite insistent that Ami's attention should be firmly on her. That was easy enough to achieve, requiring only that she drop the ball she still carried on the woman's foot and yap.

The young man glared lightly at the dog. "No bark, Xena! You know that! Behave."

Ami just chuckled. "She just wants to play. Here you go, girl" the lobbed ball sent the pup happily charging across the park. Ami watched her with a smile on her face, quite different from the expression she had been wearing previously. Then she turned back to him. "I'm Ami Mizuno, by the way." She held out her hand.

"Zoicyte Green. You can just call me Zoi, though. Zoicyte is a bit of a mouthful. I just moved here from London. I'll be going to the university here come the new semester. I've always wanted to come to Japan, so I took a year of upgrading and such after high school, then came here."

"I'll be starting university this year too! What program are you going into?"

"I'm in biology, and am considering going into medical research after I graduate. Yourself?"

"I'm taking a physics degree to begin with, and then going into med school after I complete that."

"Wow" Zoi looked impressed. "That's quite ambitious. You must be brilliant."

Ami just blushed and laughed the comment off. She was used to people saying such things about her, usually in very uncomplimentary ways. This was different. He seemed really impressed by her dreams. It gave her a warm feeling inside to realize that this wasn't just another 'oh, of course Ami will become a doctor because she's smart' train of thought His approval was genuine.

"Well, that's what they tell me." She stated wryly. "Usually when they want help with math or English homework."

Zoi laughed. "Yeah, sounds about right. Everyone's your friend when it comes time to solve problems. The rest of the time you're just kind of" he waved his hand in the air "there. Just... there."

"Unfortunately. Like you have nothing better to do with your life that help them with their homework at one am the day it's due."

He laughed good naturedly. "You let them do that? I think the first time someone tried that on me I blistered their ear. I have better things to do at one in the morning. Like sleep. Sleep is a good one. You seem very easygoing, first with Xena, then with the homework help."

She blushed. "Yes, I suppose I can be. I'd do anything for my friends. Even wake up at unearthly times to help them with algebra."

He smiled at her. "Well, since you're so easygoing, I think I'll take you over to that ice cream stall there and get you something. Surely you won't decline, since it is a much better offer than midnight math."

Her blush deepened. He took that as a yes and pulled her to her feet. He paused to let her grab the ball from his puppy and give it another throw before casually looping an arm around her shoulders and leading her off to the stand mentioned.

*****

Her ice cream long finished, Ami sat staring over the lake again. This time, however, she was not sitting alone on a bench. Instead she was leaning back on Zoi, with Xena's sleeping head on her lap. Her shorts were likely getting grass stains on them, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She felt about as worn out as the puppy, and happier than she could remember being in a long time.

After ice cream, Zoi and she had gone on a race across the park, which Ami had won by the meanest hair. Then Zoi had decided to wade in the lake to cool off somewhat, getting Ami in after him by the method of splashing her until she decided to retaliate. Then they had joined in a game of pick-up soccer, which Zoi's team had won. Then he had treated her to a burger for dinner. She had finished off the meal by pushing him in a fountain to make up for him soaking her earlier.

She smiled at the memory. She had taken off right after and he had been mostly dry and calmed down by the time he caught her. It was the most impulsive thing she had done in a long time, but Zoi seemed to bring out that side of her. Ami hadn't been impulsive in so long, she'd forgotten how much fun it was. When he had finally caught up to her, he had surprised her by presenting her with some flowers he had apparently picked from a bush during the chase.

Ami gazed happily down at the puppy using her legs as a pillow. Xena had followed them all day, even playing on Ami's team during the soccer game. She hadn't appreciated the splashing, however. She seemed to have a water phobia.

"Penny for your thoughts, lovely." She blushed, despite having been called similar things all day from the man she was cuddling with.

"Just how special this day has been. I was really at loose ends when I met you. I feel worlds better now. It's hard to imagine how this afternoon is attached to this morning."

"Hmm, that sounds promising. Does that mean I'll be able to convince you to go out with me again?" Her blush returned. "Because I have to tell you, Xena will probably be heartbroken if you refuse. Surely you wouldn't leave me with a broken-hearted dog to care for. Would you?"

"No, I couldn't do that. She just wouldn't understand, now would she?" She teased back. That was another newfound skill. Ami had discovered this day that she actually did know how to flirt. She could see why Minako was so fond of it. There was something exhilarating in the expression on Zoi's face whenever she made a teasing comment. It was obvious he loved the game, and she was quickly coming to agree with him. She glanced back over her shoulder to see his face, looking for that amused expression.

Instead she found a tenderness and vulnerability she hadn't expected. Her breath caught as his expression became quite intense. "Xena wouldn't be the only one, you know."

All teasing had left the conversation. "I know. I wouldn't do that."

He smiled, pure joy lighting up his face. "I'm glad." He gave her a squeeze to emphasise. "Can I get your number then, so I can give you a call?"

"Of course." They traded information, and then slowly got up.

Xena yawned when Ami slid her leg out, and gave the girl a reproachful stare. "C'mon, sleepy. Up! We shall take Miss Ami home, then we can head back and you can sleep. Where's all that young dog energy?"

Ami laughed. "I feel like sleep now too, to tell you the truth. It's been a long day."

He bowed. "My apologies miss. However could I wear you out so much? Please, my lady, accept my humblest apologies!"

She kept laughing. "You silly man! I'm not that worn out that you can get away with that sort of nonsense!" She said, lightly ruffling his hair.

She wasn't sure what to say when they reacher her apartment building. They had already traded numbers, and she had never been good at farewells. Zoi didn't give her a chance to become uncomfortable, however. He caught her hand in his own, pulling it to his mouth for a quick kiss before covering it with his other one. All trace of laughter left his face, and he looked into her eyes earnestly. "I really enjoyed meeting you, Ami. You have no idea how much I enjoyed today. The next time we meet won't be soon enough for me." With that he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, before going red and hurrying off.

Ami gazed after him and lifted her hand to her face, gently cupping where his lips had grazed her face. "If this is what comes of skipping school, I should have tried this ages ago!"