Makoto's Entrance!

Morning arrived all too early. Usaka had spent the rest of the day at Rei's house, trying to figure out his dream, but nothing would even come through. All night, he had sat in his room with Luna working to tutor him on his subjects, but once again, his mind was a blank. He managed to get to bed around two or two thirty, and the alarm seemed to ring as soon as he had laid down.

"Man…" He whispered, rolling over and covering his head with his blanket.

"You have to get to school, Usaka," Luna said, staring at him from her spot on the dresser. She felt sorry for him.

"I'm so tired…" He mumbled, rolling out onto the floor and laying there a moment or two. Finally, he rose and stretched.

He heard a knock on the door as he pulled on his jeans.

"Who's there?" He asked in a mumble.

"It's Rei."

He walked to the door and threw it open, rubbing his eye with his fist. "Mornin', Rei…" He muttered.

"I was about to go to the grocery store this morning, and I remembered what you said about your school work," Rei said, shoving a binder into his arms.

"What's this?" He asked, blinking innocently.

"Notes. I took them when I went through high school and college. They're all organized by subject, and I've even got a table of contents for each lesson in there. I think they'll help you a lot."

"Oh, wow! Thank you, Rei-chan! You're the greatest!"

She beamed at him.

Haru stepped out of her room and turned towards Usaka's doorway, then gasped.

"Don't be late!" Rei chimed, heading off down the hall.

"I won't! I promise!" Usaka replied, going back inside.

Oh, no! Who is that girl! She couldn't be… USAKA-KUN'S GIRLFRIEND! She thought, imagining the two of them embracing in a pose suited only for the cover of a romance novel.

'Oh, Usaka, I love you,' Imaginary Rei said.

'Be mine, oh, mysterious, raven-haired goddess,' Imaginary Usaka said.

"NO! NO, NO, NO!" Haru cried. "I've got to be imagining things!"

To some extent, yeah, she was.

"I can't just… ask him, can I?" She wondered. "I just--"

Usaka's door banged open, and he rushed out, fully clothed with his bag over his shoulder.

"USAKA-KUN!" She yelped, but he was already headed down the stairs, staring at his watch.

"Can't be late, can't be late, can't be late, can't be late…" He said quickly to himself until it all mashed into one word (It was amazing how he made it down the stairs in one piece).

He pulled on his shoes in a flash and burst out the glass doors. "Can't… be… GAAAH!"

The bus sped off down the road. "NO! NO, NO! COME BACK!" He fell onto his face (ah, the stair fall was delayed). "Stupid bus… What's a superhero gotta do to get to school on time around here?"

Well, technically, I'm the superhero, Usagi said. I feel your pain though. I could never get to school on time either.

"I guess I'm hoofing it," He mumbled, getting to his feet and taking off down the street.

Haru burst out the door and stared out at the street. "Stupid bus… What's a girl gotta do to get to school on time around here!"

-

"I'm… never… gonna… make it…" Usaka panted. "I feel… weak… tired… fading…" He fell over.

You need to get more sleep, Usagi told him. Poor thing.

"Yeah… you mean poor as in pathetic or poor as in broke?"

A bit of both unfortunately.

"I just need to get my energy back. Maybe some food?" He lifted his head, and, as if the heavens smiled down on him, right across the street was a little bakery. "I love it when stuff like that happens." Regaining strength, he practically leaped across the street and into the shop.

"I hope I have enough money for this," He said to himself, taking in the warmness of the air and the sweet-smelling scents that lingered upon it.

"Hello," A voice said as the one who owned it exited the kitchen.

"Uh… Hi…" Usaka mumbled, raising and lowering his fingers in a waving manner that only a two-year-old would do.

"Welcome!" The woman said proudly.

Immediately Usaka noticed her height. She was older than him, he could tell, but very beautiful. Her brown hair had been lazily tied back at the nape of her neck, and two strands tumbled down in front of her ears. Her green eyes sparkled and brought out her features, slightly flushed from working in the heat. She wore a green dress with a frilly, sugar-pink apron with the word LOVE written on the bottom in red letters.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"I need something to eat…" Usaka moaned, leaning on the counter. "I'm already late for school, and I don't think I can go on…"

That's… Usagi whispered.

Usaka laid what little bit of money he had left onto the counter. "What can I get for this?"

Hey! HEY! I know who that is! Usagi cried. That's… MAKO-CHAN!

"Mako-chan?" Usaka asked aloud. "Who is-"

"Huh?" The woman lifted her head from behind a glass counter, holding a tasty looking muffin in her hand. "Did someone call me?"

"Oh, that's Mako-chan…" Usaka mumbled. "Who's that?"

She's one of us! Makoto! Sailor Jupiter!

"What? Really?"

"Um… sir? I don't know if you realize this… but you're talking to yourself," Makoto said nervously, setting the muffin on the counter.

Usaka jumped, then blushed in embarrassment. I've got to stop doing that! "No! I was-"

The bell on the door rang, catching his attention. He turned around and gasped.

"That's…" He whispered.

"Oh, Mamoru, hi!" Makoto chimed, waving.

Usagi was silent, and Usaka couldn't exactly blame her. There he was, her prince, standing in the doorway, dressed for work at god-knew-where, left hand in his pocket.

He pulled off his sunglasses with his right hand and put them in his coat, then approached. "Everything smells good," He commented.

"Mamo…" Usaka muttered, staring up at him.

Mamoru glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "Have we met before?"

"Ah… on the street!" Usaka yelped. I should have said something about Usagi!

Tell him who we are! Usagi cried.

"Are you going to take the muffin or not?" Makoto asked, waving it in front of Usaka.

Usaka was still staring at Mamoru. "Mamoru… Hey, I need to tell you something! It's important!"

"Usaka-kun! You didn't make the bus!"

He turned toward the door, spotting Haru. "Ah-wait-" He yelled as Makoto placed the muffin in his hand. Haru was dragging him out.

"We're going to be late!"

"NOOOO! I have to talk to Mamo-chan!"

She dragged him toward the door, and he looked back.

"MAMORU, I NEED TO TALK TO YOU! It's… about!"

The door shut.

Haru had dragged him a few more feet, kicking and screaming, and he'd watched Mamoru get into his car and drive off.

"DAMN IT!" Usaka shouted, ripping his wrist away from her. "I WAS TRYING TO TALK TO HIM, HARU!"

"Usaka! We're already late as it is! You can't be tardy again or they'll kick you out!" Haru explained.

"I'm DROPPING OUT!" He shouted.

Silence.

Why did I say that? He asked himself. That came so suddenly… do I really want to drop out?

"D…drop out? B…but why?" Haru asked, sounding almost hurt. Why wouldn't she be? She'd gone to cram school classes with him, not because she needed to, but because he didn't want to go in where he didn't know anyone…

"I…" He sighed. "I have other responsibilities I have to take care of. I… Haru… I have no money. I have no food! If I keep this up, I'll never make it in life!"

"Usaka-kun! If you need money, I can-"

"NO, Haru," He told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Haru… I need to get a job. I can't just live off of other people and expect to get by, okay?" He lowered his eyes and looked away. "Maybe you'd better just… go…"

"But…"

"Leave me alone. You put me in a bad mood," He turned away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

I'm not normally mean like this… What's wrong with me? Am I this stressed out? I… I just need some time to think! I can't think right now! He turned around to find that Haru was gone.

His shoulders slumped a bit, and he bit into his muffin. "Great… Well, I guess those notes Rei gave me are useless now…" He said sardonically.

Now what? She probably won't be happy with you, Usagi stated.

"Forget it," He replied irritably. "She's never satisfied with me anymore…"

Usagi pouted a bit.

"I'm going to talk to Makoto-san," Usaka decided. "Maybe she knows where Mamoru lives, and even if she doesn't, we'll need her help in this battle against evil."

-

"MAKO-CHAN!" Usaka shouted, slamming the door back open.

"E…eh?" Makoto blinked, somewhat disturbed with his appearance. "Mako-chan… sir, we're not that familiar…"

"Yes! YES, WE ARE!" He exclaimed, taking her shoulders by leaning over the counter.

"HANDS OFF!"

Somehow, Usaka found himself on his back with her over him, holding to his arm with her other hand placed firmly on his chest.

"You… you flipped me! You freakin' attacked me!" Usaka yelled, horrified. "You could have killed me!"

Makoto got up, obviously ashamed, but still stern. "W…well, I get a little out of control if you act like that. I'm going to call the cops on you."

"It's not that big a deal… but it's obvious that you kick more butt than the other senshi, Mercury and Mars," He said simply, getting to his feet. "Right, Jupiter?" He smiled and winked at her.

She stumbled back against the counter. "You… You must be one of them! The enemy! I knew I'd be discovered!" She pulled her transformation staff from her apron, ready to transform.

"NO!" Usaka waved his hands in a panic. "Trust me, I'm not!"

"Then who are you?" She shouted, lifting the staff into the air.

She's horrifying when she's mad! I'm afraid, Usagi!

"Mako-chan!…" His voice changed tone if only for a minute, and the remnants of Usagi were translucent over him. "DON'T!"

Makoto froze. "U… Usagi-chan?"

Usaka returned to normal, feeling slightly woozy from the sudden switch back and forth. He'd never been halfway in and out of his mind before… "Yeah…" He nodded. "Sort of… It's a long story, kinda… I need to explain."

And so he did, in enough detail to make the story clear. He of course did his best to skip over the embarrassing experiences, particularly the one where he was in Usagi's body, but still covered the story if only very vaguely.

Makoto and he had sat down at a table for his tale, and when it was over, he laid his head down. "Man… Things just keep getting more and more screwed up because of me… but I need your help, Mako-chan."

"Trust me, I've already been fighting them," She said bitterly, looking away. Usaka looked up at here from his spot on the table.

There's some sadness in her eyes…

She turned back. "Of course I'll help you out. Usagi-chan is and always will be our leader, right?" She smiled.

Even her smile has that sadness… I wonder what could have happened to her? Was she always like this, Usagi-chan?

Not always…I don't think we should ask her right now…

Me neither…

"Well, I'm happy to have you on board," Usaka beamed, shaking her hand. "Maybe now I can get free breakfast?"

"Nope!"

"GAH!" He fell over. "Oh, the pain…"

"I will give you a job though. I can't talk to Mamoru for you, but he comes in here every so often, and you can speak to him then. It's not my job to explain to him that his girlfriend is a boy."

"I'm not Usagi!" Usaka exclaimed, blushing heavily. "Her spirit is inside me! I'm not Mamo-chan's girlfriend!"

"Mamo-chan?" Makoto chuckled.

"NO! I meant Mamoru! Usagi-chan calls him Mamo-chan, so that's why I called him that!"

"Your face is bright red!" Makoto laughed. Usagi was laughing too.

"Shut up! I hate you all!" Usaka sobbed.

(A/N: Yeah, I know. It's been a LONG time. I've been extremely busy, so I'm really sorry, but I'll try to update more often… I feel like I say that every time I update a story now…)