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When inspiration strikes...
Ajax presents:
AFTER SCHOOL
Prologue : The Decision to Marry
As the door to the small cafe opened and what
the waiter would have
described as a gorgeous creature entered, a girl
sitting towards the back of
the room jumped up, started waving and called out
"Rei-chan, Rei-chan!", un-
intentionally hitting a waitress with her hand.
As she turned and started
apologising with a red face, the newcomer walked
towards the table with an
exasperated expression on her face, taking off
the stylish scarlet jacket she
wore to reveal a sleeveless black top underneath.
"Decidedly, Usagi-chan, you're never going to
change." she said,
sliding into the chair facing the blonde girl.
"How long have you been
waiting?"
"Not long. I haven't been able to order yet.
Waitress!" she called,
scanning the menu. The waitress approached their
table with a tired look.
"Your order?"
"I'll have five scoops of chocolate ice cream,
with nuts and extra
whipped cream and a coke at the side. And you
Rei-chan?" The Big Sweatdrop
appeared on the waitress's head as she looked
over the girl and wondered how
she could keep so thin if she ate like that
everytime she went out. The
other girl's order of a soda (just a soda? she
thought) startled her from her
thoughts, and she hurriedly wrote it down before
gathering the menus and
leaving.
"So why did you want to see me, Rei-chan?" she
asked, wondering why
Rei hadn't wanted any of the others along.
"Usagi, I haven't seen you since school let out.
That's nearly two
months now! And gosh, you have this huge thing
coming up, isn't that enough
reason to talk?"
Usagi's face took on Threatening Look No. 8.
"Rei-chan...." she
growled menacingly, "You ARE over him, aren't
you?"
"Gees Usagi, calm down! Of course I am! Let's
talk about that later,
okay? So what have you been doing these past two
months?" There was a pause
in the conversation as their orders arrived and
Usagi dug in with enthusiasm.
"Well," she spoke, her mouth half-full of
chocolate, nuts and whipped
cream, "Mamoru, Mom and I have been going around
preparing, mostly. It's
been busy. Can you believe this is the first time
I've gotten out since the
end of school?" Her voice took on an accusing
tone. "Not that there was
anyone to get out with, besides Mamo-chan. Mako
is training, Minako, Naru and
all my other school friends are out of town,
Ami-chan's in Germany and you
went to visit your father. How did it go, by the
way?"
"Pfff. As good as can be expected, I suppose.
This is the first time
I've actually seen where he lives. I don't know
why he shows this sudden
interest in me. He finally seemed to want to
learn more about my life. We did
go to Okinawa for one week though, and that was
pretty nice."
"Cool." Suddenly, Usagi's face lit up with a
huge smile. "Oh
Rei-chan, can you believe school is finally over?
Never, never again shall I
set foot in that building, never shall I be
punished by Mom for bad grades
again, and I won't ever not wake up on time and
be late!"
"Yeah, you even managed to graduate," Rei said
sarcastically under
her breath. "It's only over for you, I'm afraid."
she said aloud.
"Oh dear, I totally forgot to ask you about
that! Which universities
did you win, Rei?"
Rei took out some brochures from her bag and
spread them out on the
table. "Well, my points are just enough for the
Economy&Finance Faculty of
the Tokyo University, but I don't think that's
for me. Can you imagine me in
a business suit doing serious work?"
"Hey, why not? You'd look pretty good in a red
jacket and shirt."
"No thanks. Anyway, I also won the Philosophy
section, which they've
informed me has a good course on religions.
That's probably the best choice
for me. But...well, there's also this." She chose
one from the stack of
brochures and pushed it across the table to
Usagi, who read it with a
surprised look.
(Author's note: I have no idea if these
universities and sections actually
exist.)
"Fashion School?"
"Eh. It's not a college, but a very good school
which guarantees a
job. Besides, it's only two years. They accept
students on talent, so I
figured what the heck, took their test, and they
told me I could have pretty
good results."
"So you'll be a designer?"
"I haven't definitely decided yet, but I think
it's an interesting
and fun thing to do. I could always start
university after I graduated from
this school."
"Well, when you become a designer, I will be one
of your major
inspirations, right? Right?"
The Big Sweatdrop made its apparition on Rei's
forehead. "Usagi the
Twit the major inspiration for dazzling fashion
shows? Sure."
"Rei, why are you so mean to meeee?" the whining
started, bringing
tear floods with it and attracting the attention
of the other customers,
provoking yet another Big Sweatdrop from Rei.
"Well, that's enough about me, ne? I came to
talk about you, Usagi.
So how is Mamoru-san?"
The whining immediately stopped at the mention
of his name. " We
celebrated his birthday two weeks ago. He really
liked your present, by the
way. Other than that, he's been busy. I'm helping
him ready his house,
getting new furniture, moving my own stuff and
all. We had work to do at the
shrine as well, and also all the paperwork and
other formalities, but your
grandfather and Chad have been really helpful."
Rei grinned a wicked grin. "Well, I did tell
them they had better
be... But gosh, Usagi, I still can't quite
believe it! I mean, I'm really
happy for you but isn't 18 a bit young to get
married?" She was surprised
when Usagi suddenly called the waitress over and
paid the bill even though
she still had some icecream left.
"Rei-chan, do you mind taking a walk with me? I
feel I need to clear
my head." Dubiously, Rei put on her jacket while
Usagi donned the pink
sweater that had been tied around her waist over
her blue sundress. As they
left the cafe, a cold wind made Rei shiver and
clutch her jacket closer to
her body. The summer of Tokyo was dwindling to an
end as the first days of
September approached.
"Rei-chan?" the blonde girl asked, a thoughtful,
subdued expression
on her face. "Remember that one time when you
asked me what I wanted to
later?"
"Eh. You didn't say anything."
"Because I couldn't think of anything, Rei-chan.
I have never had any
dreams about growing up, deep down I guess I
always wanted to stay a child.
You know, when we were in second grade, Naru and
I, she went through this
phase where she would every other day come up
with something new she wanted
to become when she grew up. Sometimes she would
ask me, and I never could say
anything. I never thought about the future beyond
high school, and now that
it is over, I still don't have anything I might
want to do. Besides, I've
never liked school and I can't imagine having to
go through some more of it.
It's not sure I would have gotten a place in any
college anyway, considering
my notes. You guys, all of my friends, they are
all continuing basically not
changing anything about their lives. The ones who
are not continuing, like
Mako-chan and Naru-chan, already know what they
are going to do.
"And me, I'm going to marry the man I've loved
for over a thousand
years. Something tells me that's my path to take.
I can't see myself doing
anything else." Rei was amazed at the wise words
coming from Usagi's mouth
and the serene, contented look on her face. She
tried to imagine herself,
married and settled in a month's time. It just
didn't click. She had so many
things to do, so many places to see, before she
even considered getting
married. It also required a lot of courage, she
admitted to herself. For the
first time in her life, Rei looked upon her
friend with respect, for here was
a young woman who, unlike her, wanted nothing
from life and was perfectly
happy with what it had already given her.
Deciding she couldn't take any more
of Usagi being serious, Rei changed the subject.
"What about Naru?"
"You'll never believe this, but she is going to
be a nurse at the
children's hospital. She's starting this fall.
Apparently, there is a
shortage of children's nurses, so the education
is given on place."
"Really? That's such a hard job, though."
"I know, but it's just right for Naru-chan. I've
known her for over
twelve years, somehow I can't imagine her doing
anything else. Oh, and you
know what? Mako-chan finally found a place to
open her restaurant!"
"Are you kidding me? Wow, I missed a lot when I
was with my dad, it
seems. Where is it?"
"Come on! I'll show you!" yelled Usagi, breaking
into a run to catch
the bus which was waiting at the stop a few
meters away. As they settled into
their seats, breathless, Usagi started reading
the street names until they
came to a building the groundfloor of which was
being restored. "That's the
place," spoke Usagi, "the rent is also pretty
cheap. It's going to open in
about a week. Mako-chan told me her teacher at
the culinary course said
she was a first-class chef."
"I don't see why she had to drop out of school a
year early to attend
that course, though."
"Money, Rei-chan. Makoto didn't have enough
money to attend high
school and that course at the same time. Besides,
she needed time to find a
place and get permission to open a restaurant."
She paused the time to get
off the bus and started walking towards her
house.
"Usagi, speaking about money...How are you two
going to get by? I
mean, Mamoru still has...what? Two years? Three
years? You won't have a
steady income until he graduates."
"He already has a part-time job between classes.
And," she raised her
chin proudly, "I'm going to work too."
"You? Work? What kind of work could YOU possibly
do? You're too
clumsy!" So much for respect.
"Am not! I'm going to work at Mako-chan's place.
This way, she won't
pay me as much as she would have to pay another
waiter, and the rest of my
salary will be cooking lessons!"
"Cooking lessons. Oh yeah that's right, you're
going to have to cook
for Mamoru-san. Poor guy, I hope he has a strong
stomach. Remind me to say no
when you invite me to your house."
"Rei! As if you can cook yourself! Why don't you
just shut up?" On
cue, they both stuck their tongues out at each
other and continued walking
like that, attracting bizarre looks from the rest
of the people on the side-
walk.
****************************************************************************
Explanations in order:
This story is going to be my attempt at
describing the senshi's life
after high school. For convenience, this story
ignores everything that has
happened after the defeat of Beryl except the
senshi getting their memories
and powers back. So no more enemies, no Outer
senshi (I might introduce
Michiru and Haruka later on, I haven't decided.)
This also means the senshi
never visit the future and don't meet Chibi-Usa.
Please keep that in mind as
you read this story.
For those wondering why I do not use Chad's
Japanese name, I just
can't bother spelling it each time. Some people
wrote to me saying they were
confused about the phrase "which universities did
you win?" Now, this may or
may not be true for the japanese system but I'm
using one where the students
have to sit an exam and enter colleges according
to their score, instead of
signing up for them like in the US.
The inner senshi are now 18 while Mamoru is 22.
He also has his
memories back, so no Moonlight Knight either. He
still has about three and a
half years to go before he finishes college.
(Medicine takes longer than
other brances, though I don't know exactly how
long.) If we take Usagi to be
14 in 1992 (the year the animated series started)
then we are now in 1996.
Thanks to everyone on the FFML who helped me
sort out the problems
about the Japanese school system.
Part 1: The Return of Banana No. 2
13th September, 1996
[A mid-September afternoon. Our first view is of
a restaurant across a busy
street. As we get closer, the view moves up to
include the brown wooden panel
on top of the door. It has "Kino's" painted on it
in white in a stylish
script. The outside is a dark green. As we
contemplate the place, a hand
reaches out and opens the door. The view switches
to the person who has just
entered the restaurant. It is Minako, albeit four
years older than we know
her. She is dressed in a short skirt and a warm
jacket. As she enters, a few
young men gape at her and cheer.]
Minako: (to the waiter) I'm here to see the chef,
please.
[She looks around, smiling at a few men and
taking in the cosy interior of
the place. The waiter, meanwhile, is a bit
surprised at her request and
clearly doesn't know what to do.]
Waiter: Uh, do you mind waiting a bit? I'll just
call her in. [He disappears
through a door at the back of the room. Minako
waits patiently. Pretty soon,
Makoto's voice is heard, scolding the waiter,
then the door at the back is
opened and she walks in with him.]
Makoto: ...give them a seat fir-Minako! [She
rushes forward to hug the girl,
then pulls back to examine her. Minako just
stands there, smiling
enigmatically.]
Makoto: Minako, where have you been! I called but
you were never home! Come
on, have a seat, what do you think about my
restaurant, eh? [They sit at an
empty table. A young man at a table close by
turns around and grins at the
girls.]
Young man: Hey chef, is my pizza coming or what?
I've been waiting for
fifteen minutes...
Makoto [good-naturedly]: Oh be patient, Toshio,
Yuki will have it ready in no
time. Here, why don't you meet my friend. This is
Minako, and Minako this is
Toshio Kenta, one of my regulars. [The two
exchange greetings, then Toshio's
pizza arrives and the two girls turn back to
their own conversation.]
Minako: You have regulars, already? It's only
been two weeks.
Makoto: Well, I'm the only restaurant close
enough to the university nearby
that is relatively cheap. Toshio tells me the
food at their cafeteria is
really bad. The waiter is his friend, he works
here part-time. There is also
another one that comes in a bit later and an
assistant-cook in the kitchen.
All in all I'm doing pretty good. Ken, you know
he's in the Business faculty,
has been helping me with the paperwork, licences
and stuff, and I'm already
making a small profit. Isn't that great?
[At this moment, the waiter passes by their table
on his way to the kitchen
and we get a closer look at him. He is a
handsome, athletic looking guy,
possibly in his early twenties. When Makoto looks
at her friend, she notices
that Minako has hearts in her eyes.]
Minako: [dreamily] He's gorgeous...
Makoto: Ne? He's already got a girlfriend
though... Speaking of guys, did you
meet any in Okinawa? How was it?
Minako: [mysterious smile] Well, I did meet
one... A little older than me. He
is twenty-six.
Makoto: [eager] Well, skip all that, what did he
look like?
Minako: Oh, VERY cute. [beat] We're going out.
I'm in love. For real.
Makoto: Sure. Let's see, how many times have I
heard that this year? Hmm...
There was Ichimoto, Hikaru, Nakashima...
Minako: [interrupts]: Look. [She takes off the
locket she's wearing and shows
the picture to inside to Makoto. It shows Minako,
and a very handsome black
haired guy who has his arm around her shoulder.
Makoto looks at it with
jealousy clearly showing in her eyes, and decides
to change the subject.]
Makoto: Why did you return so late from Okinawa?
You've already missed the
start of university. I thought you were really
eager to get into the acting
school.
Minako: I changed my mind. I am not going to
university.
Makoto: What?
Minako: I'm going to be a pilot.
Makoto: What?!!
Minako: You see, Ohta is a pilot.
Makoto: Who?!
Minako: WILL YOU STOP SAYING THAT! [forces
herself to calm down] Sorry. Like
I said, I am going out with Ohta and we are
pretty serious. He is a pilot.
One day, he took me flying. Oh Makoto, it was
incredible, the flying. I
decided then and there "That's what I want to
do." I've started learning
already.
Makoto: You're crazy. What do your parents say?
First of all, you start going
out with a twenty-six year old then you decide to
completely give up higher
education so that you can fly a plane? I can't
believe they are letting you
do this.
Minako: They met Ohta's parents and became
friends with them. He convinced
my parents that piloting is a great job.
Makoto: How are you going to continue your
relationship though? Long-distance
romances do not always work, you know.
Minako: [quietly] Mako-chan...Are you jealous of
me?
[Makoto mutters something about guys and dumb
blondes under her breath. Just
then, the waiter comes over to them and asks her
to see to something in the
kitchen. Relieved, she leaves, coming back a few
minutes later.]
Makoto: Uh, so... Hey, what do you think about
the wedding? Isn't it awesome
that they are getting married?
Minako: [dreamily] A wedding... Ah, I can just
see me and Ohta getting
married...
Makoto: [cross] Enough about him, already.
Minako: What is with you? Aren't you happy for
me? It's like you're saying
everything you can against him! I would have been
happy for you!
Makoto: [getting louder] Yeah well I wouldn't
have bragged about my new
boyfriend to someone who's just been dumped for
the millionth time!
Minako: [startled look] Oh Mako-chan, I'm so
sorry! I didn't know. [She leans
across the table to give Makoto, who is crying by
now, a hug. Makoto sniffs
and after a moment, returns it.]
Minako: What happened?
Makoto: [sniffing] He was a really nice guy, we
went out a few times, then he
just dumped me because I wasn't spending enough
time with him.
Minako: Poor you. Maybe this past year wasn't the
right time to start a
relationship, we've all been really busy.
Makoto: [Not listening to Minako] I just wanted
someone to care for me. You
are all happy, Usagi's got Mamoru, now you have
got this Ohta guy, and I
haven't really had someone in years. All the guys
I go out with end up
dumping me.
Minako: [joking, trying to cheer her up] Well,
don't worry anymore! The very
goddess of love herself offers her services for
the small price of a few free
meals at this gourmet restaurant! In a month, I
will have found the perfect
guy for you!
Makoto: Oh, what good is it? I'm just going to
get dumped again. Besides,
what with my restaurant, I really don't have the
time.
[They both sit in thought for a few moments.
Makoto stares sadly at the table
while Minako fidgets uncomfortably. Suddenly,
Minako's watch beeps.]
Minako: Oh shoot! I forgot I had to go shopping!
[She rises and starts
walking towards the door while looking and
speaking over her shoulder to
Makoto] I'm sorry I have to leave so abruptl-
ouch! [Since she isn't looking
where she is going, Minako collides with another
girl who was also talking to
someone. Red-faced, they both bow and apologise
about three times while
Makoto looks on and shakes her head
exasperatedly.]
Makoto: Bimbo...
[The last shot is the camera pulling away from
the exterior of the
restaurant.]
*******
Author's notes:
I think this one turned out worse than the
prologue but I only wrote it to
clear up a few things before getting into the
real story.
>From the e-mails I got, people didn't really like
the script format. Well,
I as well found writing in prose easier, so I'm
going to switch back.
Thanks to everyone who wrote to me about the
previous chapters. It'd have been much harder to
write this without your encouragement.
All comments welcome. My email is
breaker@technologist.com or you can also send
them to the FFML.
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