Disclaimer: I do not own Azumanga Daioh.

The Muse
By Silver Sailor Ganymede

It was just another average lunchtime at school at Yomi, Tomo, Kagura, Sakaki, Osaka and Chiyo were sitting down outside, lying in the sun. Yomi was in a good yet amazed mood; she couldn't believe that Tomo hadn't said something idiotic yet… yet being the key word in that sentence, as five seconds later Yomi knew she'd thought too soon…

"Yomi, what's a Muse?" Tomo asked.

"What now?" Yomi sighed.

"What's a Muse?" Tomo repeated. "Is it a thing that mews like a cat and eats muesli?"

"Yes Tomo, of course…"

"So if it mews like a cat but eats muesli, is it a cabbit?"

"Rabbits don't eat meusli."

"Oh…"

"Ah don't like bunnies," Osaka piped up.

"Why?"

"Coz they look all cute, so yah go up to pet them, and they bite yah," Osaka explained.

"All animals would bite you if you annoy them," Sakaki said in response.

"Yah, but bunnies are evil. They're plannin to join up with the Chinese maffia and take ovah the world!"

"No, Osaka, that would be the squirrels," Kagura said.

"Really? Ah always thought it was the bunnies…"

"But other than Usagi and Chibi Usa in Sailor Moon, there aren't many bunnies in anime, so I don't think that a Muse would be a rabbit," Tomo stated.

"What about Ryo-Oki?"

"Nope, that's a Cabbit, not a bunny."

"Usagi and Chibi Usa aren't bunnies either," came Yomi's reply. "Their names just mean 'rabbit' and 'little rabbit'."

"Whatever, but I don't think a Muse would be a rabbit. It might be a cat…"

"Chiyo-chan's a kitty!"

"Right Osaka… of course she is," Yomi sweatdropped.

"Mew!"

"Chiyo-chan, you're so cute when you meow like a kitty," Kagura laughed.

"Mew."

"AH-HAH!" Tomo exclaimed as she shot to her feet and pointed at Chiyo. "Chiyo-chan, we know your secret!"

"What secret have you come up with this time?" Yomi asked, rolling her eyes.

"Chiyo-chan is really a cat in the body of an android!"

"How did you figure that one out, baka?" Kagura asked.

"Well, she's a cat who was transported into the body of an android: that's why she's so smart!"

The others sweatdropped and Yomi mumbled, "You've been watching too much anime. As usual."

"I know," Tomo grinned as she sat down again.

Chiyo, meanwhile, had turned to Sakaki, who had gone beet red.

"What's wrong, Sakaki-san?" Chiyo asked Sakaki, who shook her head and returned to her normal colour.

"Still," Tomo whined, "we still dunno what a muse is…"

"Actually I do," Chiyo said. "In Greek mythology the Muses are nine archaic goddesses who embody the right evocation of myth, inspired through remembered and improvised song and traditional music and dances. They were water nymphs, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, or Uranus and Gaia depending on which myth you read. The three original muses were Aoide, Melete and Mneme, though the names Nete, Mesi and Hypate were also used. Later a fourth Muse, Arche, was also considered by the ancinets, but in the end there became nine canonical Muses. The nine Muses were Calliope, Euterpe, Clio, Erato, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Trepsichore, Thalia and Urania."

"I think I prefer my first idea," Tomo sighed, confused.

"Still, why did you want to know what a Muse was, Tomo?"

"Well you know that fanficton authors are always mentioning Muses…"

"Yeah."

"Well I thought the Muses might have been their pets, that's all," Tomo grinned and all the others sweatdropped.