Chapter 1 – Meet The Neighbours

Makoto flitted around the immaculate kitchen preparing dinner for her friends, one of whom was supposed to be "helping" her out but instead was glued to her laptop finishing another extra credit assignment.

"Ami! You're meant to be helping me!" Makoto whined as she effortlessly picked up a 20 pound turkey on her own. The blue-haired girl turned to look at her best friend and grinned.

"Makoto, the only reason you wanted me to help you in the kitchen was so that Usagi and Minako didn't have to." She gave her friend a knowing smile – Makoto returned the sentiment by sticking her nose out at her.

"Well, last time it took me three hours to clean up the kitchen from a simple pasta meal. Tonight I am going all out and I shudder to think what those girls could have done!" Ami got up from her laptop and walked to the counter, opposite Makoto, and rolled up her sleeves.

"Ok, I'm ready! What do you want me to do?" Makoto glared at her for a few seconds before Ami realised she hadn't washed her hands, and if there was something Makoto wasn't, it was a dirty cook. Ami made a point to rub the liquid-dettol all over her hands, making sure Makoto saw her extra care in washing her hands, before rinsing them off. She returned to her original position.

"All clean." She grinned and held her hands out for Makoto's inspection.

"Ok!" Makoto got down to business after inspecting her friend's hands and made sure that they were spotless, she held the tray with the turkey out to her. "What I want you to do is get a hold of the turkey's legs and spread them so that I can stuff it. Ami grimaced at her assigned task.

"Excuse me?" Makoto sighed – she couldn't hold the bird in place AND stuff it.

"Ami please?" Ami tentatively reached out for the turkey and grabbed both legs with each hand and pulled them apart leaving Makoto the arduous task of cleaning out the inside. As the tall girl reached into the turkey Ami grinned at the look of horror on her face.

"That bastard! I told the butcher to clean the turkey out before selling it me. She scrunched her nose as she pulled her arm back with a fist full of turkey innards.

"This is disgusting!" Ami whined as she turned away to look anywhere else but at Makoto. The other girl sighed as she dumped the foul smelling innards in a separate tray and promptly put her hand back into the turkey.

"Well then, next time don't offer to come and help instead of going with Usagi and Minako to the arcade." Ami turned to look at her with a stern look in her eyes.

"Seriously, I don't get those girls, they are in their first year at one of the most prestigious universities in Tokyo, and they still go to the arcade!" Ami tutted before realising that she was staring at yet another fistful of turkey intestines. She turned away before she threw up.

"Well, they deserve to have a lot of fun, they've both come a long way, especially Usagi. I mean, do you remember how she was when we first found out we were senshi sailors?" Ami nodded and smiled at the memory of a 13 year old Usagi all kultzy and immature. After her break up with Mamoru, Usagi had done a complete 180 and studied really hard for the entrance exams into the most prestigious schools in the country. She had barely passed the exams, but that didn't matter, she was still attending Tokyo University's Department of International Affairs. Her choice in degree was a bit humorous since no one understood exactly why she had chosen it considering the blonde girl didn't even know where most of the countries were in the world. However, her best friends knew that her reasoning for choosing international affairs was so that she could become a better Princess in the future. The mutual break-up between her and Mamoru made them all realise that the only way in the world was to live in the present and not take the future for granted. After all, Chibi Usa coming back from the future was proof that it was forever changing and everyone realised that they needed to make their own way into the world before being tied down to their fate.

Makoto yelled in triumph as she removed the last of whatever was inside the turkey.

"Ok, wait there while I go wash the inside of the turkey with a bit of lemon and some salt and bring it back here. I need you to spread the legs apart again so I can fill it up." Ami giggled as Makoto turned away with the turkey towards the sink. The tall senshi stopped and looked back, a smile on her lips masked by the horrified expression on her face.

"Ami! You dirty girl! Wait until Minako hears about this." Ami laughed this time and begged her friend not to divulge her dirty mind to their friends.

Meanwhile, at the arcade Minako and Usagi were having the time of their lives playing on the dance mat, both their milkshakes forgotten with the ice cream slowly melting into chocolate sludge.

"Minako come on! What is wrong with you?" Usagi was out of breath as she tried to keep up with the fast flowing arrows on the screen in front of her.

"Usagi! I just came from a whole day of lessons!" Usagi turned to grin at her friend.

"Come on Minako, if you want to be an international popstar, you have to be able to keep up with commoners like me. You had to be able to dance and sing." Minako was too busy concentrating on the hard steps to reply to her friend and decided to flip her off. Usagi grinned and turned back to her screen happy to see that she was making most of the arrows.

When the dance was over Minako collapsed to the floor and Usagi walked over to her laughing.

"Aww Minako, what's wrong? Are you ok?" Serious concern for her friend overshadowed her previous bubbly personality – it wasn't like Minako to be so out of breath from just three dances.

"Usagi," Minako took her friend's hand and stood, albeit a bit shakily, on her two feet, "I'm exhausted all the time." Minako headed to their usual table and sat down in her chair relieved that she was finally resting. Usagi sat down opposite her and looked at her concerned about her welfare.

"Minako, I told you to take it easy. You can't be doing a degree, going to auditions and working at the same time, it's impossible. You need some time to relax." Minako looked at the piercing blue eyes that were usually twinkling with excitement, but were now looking at her with obvious distress. The blonde beauty slurped her milkshake, shuddered at the warm sludge it had become and leaned back into her chair making a mental note of all her options before voicing them to her friend.

"Well the way I see it I have three options: one, quit university and focus on work and auditions; two, quit work and focus on my dream and university and the third option is give up on my dream and focus on work and university." Minako scowled at the options before her. Usagi pushed her milkshake aside, after seeing Minako's reaction to her milkshake, she decided it was better to forgo drinking it, and took her friend's warm hand into her own.

"Minako, listen to me, you don't have to eliminate anything from what you're doing. You can't quit your degree, you always said you need a fall back in case you can't catch a break. Ordinarily, I would be the one telling you that you have to follow your dream, no matter the cost, but I know that in five, maybe even ten years, if things aren't exactly where you want them to be, you'll look back on your choice and regret it." Minako nodded at her friend's wisdom. "Also, you can't quit your work because we live in a very expensive apartment and all five of us have really expensive taste so we somehow have to keep up our lifestyle." Minako laughed at her friend – Usagi always knew how to balance serious situations with humorous antics.

"Usagi, thanks, I mean, this advice is really good, but I am exhausted all the time! I can't carry on this way." Usagi's demeanour changed to a more determined one.

"Ok listen, cut back on work hours – you already work 30 hours a week, make it 20. Then limit the auditions you go to for roles that you REALLY want. I've heard you moan about shit roles so many times which always has me thinking, even if you got the role, would you want it? And lastly, you are taking two extra credit courses and have three scheduled for next term. Minako, seriously? Even eliminating any extra credit courses you still get a degree – you're doing really well." Minako smiled at her friend; suddenly her worries had all gone away. Usagi's advice was sound and doable – she couldn't imagine giving up on her dream. Her big break was just around the corner, she knew it. She also couldn't imagine not getting her bachelor's degree in psychology – even though she had only been at university for a month, she had come to love her course and everything else about university life. Her job also paid for her expensive life-style, even though her parents sent her a huge chunk of money each month she preferred to put that money away and make it on her own. She could hear her parent's laughter still ringing in her ears after she told them about her dream of becoming a popstar. Thankfully her friends supported her endeavours whole heartedly and cheered her on at every turn. Usagi was perhaps her most avid supporter since she was a big believer in all the girls living out their dreams and aspiring to become the best that they could before they resumed their duties as Sailor Senshi of the Galaxy. She loved her friend to no end and would gladly die to protect her – they were all fiercely loyal to Usagi and the fact that she looked out for them so much made them love her even more. The blonde endearing girl felt guilty that her friends would one day have to take an oath to protect her at all costs when the time came for them to rebuild their empire on the moon. Immortality was going to be a great bore if she didn't have her friends with her and if she did and they weren't happy, immortality was going to suck.

Minako stared at her friend as the other girl attempted to help out a little kid beat a game on his Nintendo. She had blossomed into a beautiful girl who was kind and generous and always willing to help everyone, even if someone had already been nasty to her. Rei, another friend of theirs, had always seen this as a flaw, but Minako saw it as a part of Usagi a part which made her more lovely and charming, if that was possible. After her break up with Mamoru, Usagi had confessed to Minako that she was scared about the future – with Chibi Usa bringing information of a child sired by Mamoru in the future, Usagi thought the pressure was too much. Minako had observed her friend's relationships with guys since Mamoru and saw that all her friend wanted was something light, and fun – she hadn't been in a serious relationship since Mamoru, and nor did she intend to in the short run. Usagi triumphed in the boy's game and completed the level successfully, so she turned back to her friend.

"Hello!" She shook a hand in front of her friend's face bringing her out of her trance, "Anyone home? You've been like that for five minutes! What are you thinking about?" Usagi dared to take a sip of her milkshake and recoiled in horror. Minako laughed at her expression.

"It's vile isn't it?" She laughed and pushed both milkshakes on the table next to them hoping that the waiters wouldn't reprimand her.

"So… what were you thinking of?" Usagi propped her elbows on the table, and placed her chin into her open palms. She looked at her friend hoping for some juicy details.

"I was actually thinking of my parents and how glad I am of having you guys as a family instead of them right now." Usagi smiled at her friend – she had stopped blushing at her friend's sentiments a long time ago when she realised that Minako needed to say those words often to remind herself that her friends would always be there for her no matter what.

"Well, just think, one of us is at home cooking a beautiful dinner feast just for us!"

"Two, you forgot Ami." Usagi grinned.

"You really think Ami is helping out? She's probably on her laptop working on one of the five extra credit courses she's taking!" Minako looked aghast at that.

"Why would she lie to us?" Usagi shrugged her shoulders.

"Meh, I think she knows we have ways of convincing her to come out with us." Minako narrowed her eyes.

"This is all Rei's fault! She held her Grey's Anatomy Textbook hostage when she refused to go clubbing with us that one night!" Usagi chuckled at that night's events. They had finally convinced Ami, convince was a relative word to use in this case, to go out with them and Minako had taken it upon herself to dress their friend up for a night out on the town. Usagi was so proud of both her friends that night because Minako had made Ami realise that she needed much preparation to be beautiful and Ami found her lost confidence and actually interacted with people. Rei and Usagi admired from afar while Makoto was busy flirting with the bartender for their free drinks.

"What do you think our chances are of getting her to come with us tomorrow night?" Usagi laughed.

"Slight to none." Minako's eyes gleamed as she looked at Usagi with a mischievous look on her face.

"I'll make a bet with you that I can convince her to come out with us tomorrow night." Usagi licked her lips and smiled.

"Convince? Or convince?" She gave a knowing look to Minako and emphasized the last word.

"Not to toot my own horn, but I can be pretty convincing when I need, and want, to be." The girl smirked at her friend.

"If I win, you have to reorganise my closet." Usagi tried not to laugh at her friend's horrified look.

"If I win then you have to clean the bathroom next week. I hate doing that." Usagi just shrugged – cleaning toilets didn't really bother her. She worked nights as a bartender at one of the hottest clubs in Tokyo and, on occasion, she had to clean the bathrooms after the patrons graced the floor and walls with their dinner.

"Deal!" They shook hands to seal the deal.

A few blocks away a beautiful girl with raven hair was running around a prestigious art gallery making sure everything was ok for the opening exhibition on medieval antiquary two days from now. She heard her phone ringing and pressed the headset connected to her ear to answer it.

"Hino Rei here." The customary way she answered the phone angered her friends to no end, but it was always a huge help to explain who was answering the phone – it saved time instead of having the other person ask to speak to her and then her having to explain that it was her. This was her philosophy anyway.

"Rei! Stop answering your phone like that! Of course we know it's you!" Makoto's voice sounded shrill on the other line. Rei sighed.

"Makoto, I have work to do. Is this important?" Before Makoto could reply Rei spied one of the workers the gallery had hired handling a very expensive antique carelessly. Without removing the headset she yelled at the poor man who looked like he was about to pee by the end of it.

"HEY WATCH IT IDIOT! THAT PIECE COSTS MORE THAN WHAT ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM COMBINED WOULD MAKE IN A CENTURY!" She couldn't see the girl on the other side of the line cringing and holding her phone far away from her ear as possible. "Makoto, I have to go, text me if it's important. I have to go deal with people's incompetency." Without waiting for her friend's reply she clicked the headset to end the phone call and went to yell at the worker some more. Makoto, meanwhile, had rung to see if Rei preferred a simple "Spinach with Bosc Pears Salad" or a "Squash and Orso Salad". She turned to her blue haired friend who was nowhere in sight – the missing laptop didn't escape her notice. Frustrated, she punched in Usagi's number on her phone. After a few rings she could hear the bubbly girl's voice on the other line.

"Hello Makoto! Minako and I are nearly home so write down any chores we have to do." Makoto cringed and moved faster to clean the kitchen up before her friends could come and ruin it.

"Well, I'm nearly done with preparing tonight's feast for Rei and I rang her to ask whether she wanted a simple "Spinach with Bosc Pears Salad" or a "Squash and Orso Salad". But she had to go yell at some workers before I could ask her this and told me to text her if it was anything important. If it where me, this would be a very important question for me, but would it be for her?" Makoto was genuinely worried but Usagi stayed silent trying to gauge just how serious her friend was. A few moments later, Makoto guessed that she conferred Minako in on Makoto's dilemma, her voice could be heard again.

"Ok, I think you should go with the pear salad, bosc pears are still pears right?" Makoto made a noise that Usagi took as a yes and continued, "instead of the other one because neither Minako nor I know what squash or orso is and chances are, neither would Rei, and you know how confused she gets when you serve her food she doesn't know of." Makoto slapped her forehead.

"Of course! I forgot about that!" She heard Usagi give a small chuckle on the other line. "Ok thanks guys! On your way home can you bring a spiced cider and a special package I ordered from Mr Yoshimodo? I'm chopping up fruits for a chocolate fondue desert." She heard Usagi smack her lips and relay this information to Minako who yelped with joy.

"You're making chocolate from scratch?"

"Mhm!" The tall girl grinned as she lifted the tray with the turkey and put it in the oven. "The special package is cocoa beans all the way from Chuao Venezuala!" Makoto sounded really excited but this was all Greek to Usagi who didn't know anything about cooking. Makoto stuck her tongue out as she gauged the oven temperature to her special recipe – the oven was quite old and she had concentrate really hard and squint at the faded numbers and pictures on the knobs.

"See you soon Makoto! Minako is practically running to Mr Yoshimodo and hopes to get extra cacao beans so that you can make more which we can lick while you clean up." Makoto heard the phone click before she could tell the girls that she had ordered enough cacao beans to make enough chocolate to last them for a long time. She sighed and placed the phone on the counter before moving at the speed of lightening to clean up the kitchen. She honestly did not want to assign any chores to her friends because it always ended up as a disaster.

Makoto checked on her turkey which was cooking beautifully in the kitchen before turning back to her grilled vegetables.

"I like to cook and have food in my tummy." She hummed as she swayed to imaginary music which only she could hear. This was her mantra when she cooked – a mantra that none of her friends got and, quite frankly, were a little disturbed every time she uttered it.

"Mmm, turkey smells so good!" Usagi popped her head into the kitchen and grinned at her friend.

"Usagi! Have you and Minako set the table?" Usagi nodded. "Ok great! Turkey should be done in 15 minutes, the chocolate is cooking beautifully and I've made a whole stash of chocolate crescent moons," this elicited a giggle from Usagi, "and various other planets!" Usagi grinned at her friend who looked so at home in the kitchen.

"I tried one with Mina, they were amazing!" Indeed they were! The crescent moon shaped chocolates were stuffed with white chocolate; the Venus heart shaped chocolates had a tangy orange taste; the fire shaped chocolates had a hint of red pepper spice which gave the chocolate an exotic taste; the lightning bolt shaped chocolates were made half chocolate half mint; and the circular shaped chocolates bubbled in their mouth.

"Usagi, it's my job. I make food and I get paid for it."

"Yeah, but you work at a seedy burger joint. You don't get to use your talents there at all."

"Yeah but you forget, I go to one of the most elite culinary schools in Tokyo and I learn from the best." She winked at her friend and tapped her temple.

"Stupid seedy burger joint – when can you get a job in one of those really nice restaurants so we can actually go there and be seated with no problem?" Makoto narrowed her eyes at the blonde girl.

"Well you'll be happy to know that I applied for a new job today." Usagi's eyes beamed with happiness. She ran up to her friend bouncing on the spot and talking a mile a minute.

"Ohhh! Are you a sous-chef at Chez Mariano's? Oooo! No! Casa Di Mare? Oh no wait! You got a job at Marcello's? Makoto I'm so proud of you!" Makoto shook her head trying to keep up with her friend's exhuberance.

"Usagi, calm down, those places wouldn't accept me as a cleaner without having a degree." Usagi's eyes fell and she looked to the ground embarrassed. "I applied for the little café, Old Movies, three blocks away from my school. It'll be a much easier commute and it's close to home!" Usagi's eyes brightened once more.

"Oh! They make amazing bun cakes and really good milkshakes! Makoto, you have to get that job! Then we can all hang out there and eat your amazing food!" Makoto laughed and put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Usagi, I haven't got the job yet. If they accept my application I have to go interview with them and I'm thinking of taking some of the chocolates I made." Usagi looked crestfallen.

"What? No… those chocolates are so good you can't give them away." She frowned and sniffed at the thought of being parted with the chocolate.

"Relax Usagi, you and Minako brought so much cacao beans that I have enough to make three whole boxes of them." She pointed to the boxes on the counter which were big enough to fit two shoeboxes in.

"Oh wow!" Usagi rushed over the boxes and eagerly opened them hoping to find them full of chocolate, but instead, she found them empty. She turned to look at Makoto with a sad look on her face. "Where's the chocolate?" She asked sadly.

"I cooked a whole stuffed turkey, made pasta arrabiata from scratch, made lentil soup, grilled vegetables, cleaned the kitchen, made chocolate, from scratch, and cleaned the kitchen again. I made enough chocolate for the fondue tonight and to experiment – I'll fill the boxes up later." Usagi ran to her friend and hugged her.

"What would we do without you? You even make disgusting lentil soup because it's Rei's favourite!" Someone shuffling into the kitchen caught both the girls' attention – Rei had just walked in.

"Mmmm, something smells really good in here Makoto!" She closed her eyes and took a long, hard sniff and sighed with happiness. "Lentil soup! Yummy!" The raven haired beauty opened her eyes and looked at Usagi with a smirk on her face. "You should eat some of that soup Usagi, it's really healthy." While Makoto turned to check on the kitchen, Usagi fleeted over to Rei.

"Rei, my dear, the day I eat lentil soup is the day hell freezes over." Makoto turned from the oven to look at her friends.

"Hey, didn't we already stop that from happening?" She grinned at her two friends. Ami and Minako just happened to walk in at that moment.

"What did we stop from happening?" Minako asked and took a sniff. "Makoto, it smells amazing in here!"

"Makoto was saying that we stopped hell from freezing over." Usagi walked over to Minako and winked at her before leaving the room to bring some of the chocolate Makoto had made.

"Well, we didn't technically stop hell from freezing over, but we did save the world from going all evil." Usagi came back into the kitchen with the bowl of chocolates and offered one to Ami. She took one of the bubbly ones and popped it into her mouth.

"Good God this is amazing!" She exclaimed and leaned forward to take another one.

"Hey!" Makoto yelled. "You're going to spoil your dinner!" Ami put the chocolate back into the bowl guiltily – she was the only one who listened to Makoto however as the other three girls took two extra chocolates and grinned at Makoto's retreating back. Ami laughed and went to help Makoto.

"Need any help?" Makoto nodded. I've served the vegetables, the mashed potatoes, the pasta and the soup if you can take it to the table and I'll bring the turkey. Ami nodded and beckoned to the other girls to help her. They all brought over the food and sat down waiting for Makoto to bring the piece de la resistance of the dinner.

"Here's the turkey!" Makoto brought over the turkey served in a porcelain dish; the turkey looked to be cooked precisely right and the juices running into a pool at the bottom of the turkey made the girls' mouths water.

"Rei, you sit at the head of the table, since this dinner is in your honour. If you want, you can also carve it." Rei nodded silently and took the carving tools from near her plate at the head of the table.

"Before dinner, a toast." Usagi stood up holding a glass of deep, red plum juice.

"Hear Hear." The girls said in once voice and all tapped their knives against their glasses. Usagi cleared her voice and spoke:

"Tonight, we honour Hino Rei, a girl who has proved time and time again that she is capable of any task she is assigned. This summer she interned at one of the most prestigious art galleries in the world, was treated like shit, had absolutely no free time to herself but it all paid off – literally. They gave her a part-time job to go with her Art History degree at Tokyo University. Tonight we honour her hard work and perseverance. Not only did her boss assign her one of the most important event galleries, but she has managed to pull everything off without a hitch. Two days from now will be her ultimate night of showing off her hard work of procuring rare medieval antiquaries to important buyers from all over Japan and Asia!" She raised her glass in Rei's direction. "I would also like to add that tonight could not have happened without Kino Makoto, whose ability to cook an amazing dinner can surpass any Michelin awarded chef in the world. This is a testament to Rei's friendship, a friendship which we all value or else we wouldn't have been here tonight." She raised her glass once more and took a sip before sitting down. Rei smiled and expressed her gratitude for Usagi's kind words and Makoto's feast.

"Did you see all those boxes outside in the hallway, and those boxes downstairs?"

"Yeah, apartment 2B is about to be let."

"I wonder who's moving in." Usagi mused.

"I hope we have at least one good looking guy!" Rei grumbled. The other girls grinned – between Rei's work and her degree, she didn't have any time left to meet new guys and she was getting frustrated.

"The last tenants were all crazy!" Ami nodded at her friend.

"I know right! I mean, I know I'm considered a nerd, but they were… another specimen all together! They got angry at me when I played some jazz music last month and my window was open so they heard and came over to complain."

"They complained at you Ami? Why didn't you tell me? I would have beaten them to a pulp." Ami smiled at her boisterous friend.

"Violence is not the answer, Sailor Jupiter." Ami always used their Senshi titles when she told them off.

"Whatever, Rei's right, I hope we get really cute guys move next to us." Usagi turned to her blonde friend and grinned.

"Ran out of guys to date on campus?" Minako stuck her tongue out at her.

"No… anyway, who's to say they aren't university students?" Minako pointed out.

"I hope they aren't."

"Well if they are, maybe they can be third years."

"Or post graduate students!"

"I just hope they're sensible." All four girls turned to their friend and grumbled at her. She just gave them a pointed look and continued eating.

"Ami, only you can think that the best kind of neighbour is a quiet one. Have you got no other requirements?"

"I hope they aren't serial killers." Makoto scoffed at the girl's response and cut up her turkey with a little more force than necessary.

"Well, it's going to be five people moving in there, that apartment is the mirror of ours, just on the other side." Rei noted.

"I hope it's not five girls… can you imagine if we don't get along? It's going to be drama central." They all laughed and shrugged off the nervous feeling if it turned out that there were going to be all girls.

"We should go meet them after dinner!" Just as Usagi said that a knock was heard on the door. The four girls looked at her and burst out laughing before they all scraped their chairs backwards and ran to the door.

"I should answer, I'm the tallest." Rei looked at Makoto in horror.

"No, this is my night, I should go!" Rei pushed Makoto away but Minako jumped in front of her.

"No, it should be me, I'm the friendliest." As the three girls whispered their reasons over who should answer the door, Ami and Usagi walked to the door and peeped through the whole. A blonde boy stood at the door tapping his foot impatiently. He moved to knock again but Ami opened the door just in time.

"Hello." She smiled as she opened the door to reveal herself. Usagi peered at the boy from behind her friend and gawked at his good looks. The man was seriously hunky. The girls who were fighting behind the door stopped and joined Usagi in staring at the unexpected visitor.

"Hi, I'm from Apartment 2B and I was just wondering whether you have a broom we could borrow." Ami blinked at the boy – Usagi noted a hint of blush appearing in her cheeks. She smiled, even Ami found this boy good looking.

"Sure, hold on a minute." Before she could fetch the broom Makoto ran into the kitchen and came back with their broom.

"Here you go." The boy grinned at her.

"Thanks! We just moved in and my brother managed to break a vase and two lamps already." The girls laughed – the boy seemed to have an easy going personality.

"Have you moved here with your family?" Ami asked. The boy laughed – his laugh mesmerised all the girls into a trance.

"Oh God no! I moved here with my three brothers and our best friend. I'm in my third year, two of my brothers are doing their masters and my eldest brother is starting his PhD with our best friend."

"Oh interesting! What do you study?" The boy was about to answer before a gruff voice yelled at him from inside his house.

"YO ZOISITE! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU WITH THAT BROOM? YOUR IDIOT BROTHER WALKED INTO THE LIVING ROOM BAREFOOT AND DYMI REFUSES TO HEAL HIM IF HE STEPS ON THE SHARDS SINCE IT'S HIS FAULT!" Zoisite grinned at the girls, not at all embarrassed at his brother's outburst.

"I gotta go girls, but we should do this again soon." Rei narrowed her eyes at him.

"What, take another cleaning apparatus of ours? That's our only broom so we'd better get it back." Zoisite smiled at the girl and bowed.

"I will return it as soon as I can my lady." He waved at the girls and ran into their house.

With the door closed they could hear the boy yell back at his roommate.

"OY SHUT IT NEPH, THE CUTE NEIGHBOURS HEARD YOU BEING RUDE!" The girls giggled at being called cute. They fled back into their house and closed the door before hearing the other roommate's response.

"Well that was interesting." Minako looked at her friends and they all burst out laughing again. A few moments later they heard a knock on the door again. Puzzled, Usagi, who was closest to the door opened it to reveal the boy from before and his flatmate – both were grinning.

"Your broom." He smiled at Usagi and presented their broom back as if it were a precious sceptre. Usagi looked back at Rei who relieved the boy of his load. "I am Zoisite, this is my brother Nephrite. As you can tell, my mother was obsessed with jewellery." Makoto clung onto Minako's arm with a little more force than the blonde girl could handle.

"Watch it!" Minako growled and winced as the taller girl used her nails

"Mina, that boy is gorgeous!" Minako turned to get a better look at the new comer.

"He's good looking but not that good looking enough to warrant bodily harm!" Her sarcasm was lot on her friend who was still staring at the new boy.

"Well, we'll talk again soon, Ami." Makoto jerked her head to look at Ami who had introduced herself to the boy. Ami smiled and waved goodbye before she closed the boy. The girls heard a noise on the other side of the door which sounded like a high-five but they couldn't actually be sure.

"Well, one thing's for sure, if their other three flatmates are that good looking, we're all going to have a splendid time." Minako smiled.

"The tall brunette one is mine!" Makoto put her hand up before any of the other girls could react.

"I prefer the blonde one." Minako turned to Ami and grinned, she nudged her shoulder in a teasing manner.

"I just hope they're not loud." Ami sighed and moved toward her room.

"Don't deny it Ami! I SAW YOU CHECKING OUT THE BLONDE ONE!" Minako yelled at her friend's retreating back. A knock was heard again on the door – Ami stopped and turned, her face pale.

"That had better not be…" She whispered. Minako cringed hoping that it wasn't their new blond neighbour.

"How?" She mouthed as Usagi went to open the door. It was indeed their blonde neighbour who had asked for the broom again. Makoto ran into the kitchen again noting her friend's discomfort and came back with the broom.

"Keep it." She said as she shoved the broom into his hands and slammed the door in his face.

"Makoto, that was rude!" Usagi whispered.

"Do you think he heard what Mina said?" Ami's voice was barely audible from shame.

"Ami, I'm so sorry." Mina put an arm around her shoulder.

"It's fine Mina, I don't really care. I just hope he doesn't get the wrong impression." She smiled at her friend who sighed with relief.

"So what if he heard? The worst thing that could happen is nothing." Surprisingly enough Rei's comment made sense. Ami hugged her friend and assured her that she was fine before going into her room to study some more.

Usagi turned to Makoto.

"Makoto, I'll help you clear up." Rei and Makoto cringed at the same time. Last time Usagi had cleared the table, she left the girls with three plates, two spoons, one knife and four forks less. She had thrown the cutlery away in her haste to go read manga and broke the plates by tripping over the carpet.

"Usagi, I'll clear the plates away. You have work in two hours so you should go rest." Usagi nodded and scampered off to her room not guessing the real reason for her dismissal. She got dressed and set her alarm for ten thirty. Tonight the club was catering a party for a spoilt rich 22 year old who thought that her father's money could buy her everything – apparently she didn't know that class was earned and manners were taught. Usagi was the only one who could deal with her since she was the nicest bartender and her manager put her in charge since the girl had managed to anger every single one of his bartenders, including himself. Usagi sighed as she snuggled into her blankets. Tonight was going to be a long night she thought before sleep overtook her.

Author's Notes:

I have recently become obsessed with Sailor Moon and I love anime in general. This is my second story on FF so I probably won't be updating as often as I should – my first fanfiction always takes precedence.

A few things to note:

+ The parings will be just as Takeuchi intended:

Zoisite/Ami – Usagi/Mamoru – Nephrite/Makoto – Kunzite/Minako – Jadeite/Rei

+ Ages:

The girls are all 18 years old. They started university a year later than most people do for reasons which will be explained later on.

Mamoru & Kunzite – 22

Nephrite & Jadeite – 21

Zoisite – 20