Author Notes: Rayon de Lune 77: okay I will start. I am after all the older one, the wiser one, the smarter one, the cuter one Startear42: ::cough:: writing doesnt mean lying about yourself Rayon de Lune 77: the sweeter one, the nicer one, the cuter one Startear42: exactly my point. You could just say hi…like, blah blah balh, we're TRYING to write a co-fic…but give em a warning cause we're crazy Rayon de Lune 77: Speak for yourself...I already gave a list of *my* attributes! Startear42: LOL the ones that u made up? that's what she tells herself... ANYWAYS MHSEVOMWIU is an alternate reality…like the world Shana puts herself in... Rayon de Lune 77: The one where Mamo-chan is MINE and Tama is MINE and I WONT share Startear42: like I said, Alternate reality. Now, past your ranting about yourself... mention that this takes place while they're on vacation at school and we pretty much stick with the regular (anime/manga) theme geez Rayon de Lune 77: First of all this takes place while they're on vacation at school and we pretty much stick with the regular (anime/manga) theme geez Startear42: and don't forget to mention that it's waff and at LEAST a PG Rayon de Lune 77: R cause April-chan has a dirty mind Startear42: WOW...you grasp simple concepts quickly... HEY! Well, at least I don't have a dirty mind AND i'm a LUSH! Rayon de Lune 77: ::sigh:: enough rambling from April...lets talk about MY fic Startear42: your fic? Rayon de Lune 77: My fic is a first season idea but they *are* 16...or however old you have to be to drive in Japan Startear42: you might want to mention that we use a real setting too… Kagoshima, Japan http://pref.kagoshima.jp/pref/english/index.html I don't think there is anything left to say…other than a personal disclaimer saying that we're crazy Rayon de Lune 77: Except that Mamo-chan belongs to me and that *you* are crazy. I am quite sane Startear42: AHEM if you havent noticed, Mamo-chan belongs to me this week Rayon de Lune 77: Whatever…Is that ALL? Did we tell them everything? Startear42: yes, Shana, i think we did…probally more than they *wanted* to know. Rayon de Lune 77: Woo-Hoo! Lucky them! Disclaimers: Shana owns a headache, April owns nada, Naoko owns Sailor Moon, and Shana owns Mamo-chan. 'Nuff said. ************************************************************************ Mamo-chans and Hot Springs and Errupting Volcanos…Oh My!…Where is Usagi? Prologue Road Trip, Road Sick Rated PG By: Startear42 and Rayon de Lune *********************************************************************** 12 hours, 24 minutes and a lot of seconds to go… ::munch:: ::slurp:: ::pop:: ::snore:: "Will you four shut up!" ::silence:: ::munch:: ::slurp:: ::pop:: ::snore:: "Grrr!" ::pop:: "Hey look minna! A strip bar! A male strip bar! Lets go!" ::sigh:: ::munch:: ::slurp:: ::pop:: ::snore:: Screech! "I can't take it anymore!" Car door opens... Slam! Car door shuts. ::pop:: "What's wrong with Rei-chan?" Aino Minako asks her friends, smacking her strawberry bubblicious bubblegum around her mouth, adding on one last smack, for good measure, before tossing the now-after-1 minute-flavorless gum in the ashtray. ::munch:: "Maybe Pyro needed to go to the bathroom," responded Tsukino Usagi. "Badly," she finished, popping a dorito into her mouth. ::sigh:: She looked at her now empty bag and tossed it on the floor, pulling another one out of her backpack. ::sluuurp:: ::sigh:: "They always put more ice and less coke in these darn things," Makoto Kino remarked sadly to herself. She pulled her straw in and out of the plastic cup cover, mourning the squeaky, empty sound before tossing it on the floor. Minako and Usagi looked on sympathetically. Car door opens. A somewhat more subdued Rei Hino reenters the car, breathing slowly and deeply, and reciting a *very* intelligent mantra under her breath. "Calm, calm, calm, calm," she repeats to herself. She gets comfortable in the driver seat. Three pairs of eyes study her curiously. ::snore:: "Be quiet Ami-chan! You are bothering Rei-chan!" Minako reprimands her sleeping friend. ::blink blink:: "Huh? What's going on?" Mizuno Ami asks, blinking her eyes as she comes out of la-la land. "Are we there already?" "I wish, but Pyro the turtle insists on driving a mile an hour so we may never get there," murmured Usagi under her breath. Ami looks at her, and then at the scowl on Makoto's face as she kicks her cup on the floor, and then at the slightly blank but content face of Minako and the frowning Rei talking to herself. Nothing unusual. She closes her eyes and goes back to la-la land. And that hot doctor. Rei starts the car and then pulls back on the highway. She is still reciting her mantra. ::munch:: ::slurp:: Makoto had found a can of some orange-Y, fizzy stuff that tastes gross but is better than nothing. ::pop:: Minako had three pieces of gum left to go...before she started the next pack. ::snore:: ::sigh:: Calm, calm, calm, calm. ********** "Remind me again why we are going on this darn camping trip," a frustrated Chiba Mamoru asks his friend Furuhata Motoki. Motoki, the driver, turns his head to smile reassuringly at his friend. It is always a bad idea to take your eyes off the road. *Honk!* Motoki quickly swerved the car back into his lane. Mamoru ran a hand nervously through his hair. "Why?" he asks again. "Because you need to relax," Motoki answered, repeating the words he had memorized for Mamoru's benefit. "But why a *camping* trip Motoki-kun?" Mamoru whined. Motoki looked at his friend. Quickly this time. "Why not a nice spa in Tokyo or one night at a nice hotel," Mamoru pleaded. Motoki looked earnestly at his friend. "I was thinking about going to Disneyland," he began, "But I thought you would hate that idea. But if ya really want to go we can." Mamoru thought about this idea. Large mice, dwarves with large plastic heads and scary smiles, hats with ears on them, lots of animated characters (and Mamoru hated these)… "I like sleeping on the hard, wet ground, I like eating flies for dinner, I looove living with wild, dangerous animals," Mamoru gritted out, clenching his teeth. "We will have tons of fun. You'll see. Trust me Mamoru-kun. Honest," Motoki blurted out all smiles and cheer. ::groan:: ********** 9 hours, 32 minutes, 5 seconds and counting, *to go*… "Are we there yet?" whined Usagi. "No," responded a thoroughly harassed Rei. "Why not?" Usagi asked petulantly. "Cause Rei-chan drives like my grandmother," Minako replied blithely. ::glare:: "We have nine more hours to go," Ami remarked to the others blandly. "Be quiet Ami-chan!" Rei reprimanded her friend, "Do you want to hear Usagi-chan whine the rest of the way?" "Reeiiiiii! I do not whine!" ::sigh:: "Of course not odangoed one. That is just your normal voice." "Minna," interrupted an irritated Makoto, "Stop fighting. It isn't going to get us there any faster." "So? At least I will feel better," Usagi muttered, cracking her knuckles threateningly. ::sigh:: "What about a game?" Makoto asks somewhat desperately. "Ohhhhh," Minako exclaims excitedly, "Like checking out all the cute boys we can find?" ::snort:: "What Ami-chan?" asked Minako somewhat dejectedly. "Mina-chan, look outside. Do you see anything? There aren't any cars period, let alone cars with hot boys," Ami informed her friend, intending to sound superior. However, the sudden honking of a car full of hot boys right next to them defeated Ami's intent. A suddenly brighter Minako perked up. Rummaging through her bag she came up with a large pad of paper (AN: I have no clue why she would have a large pad of paper but use your imagination) and a bright pink pen. Quickly writing on the paper she folded it before any of the other girls could see what she had written. Rolling down the window Minako stuck half her body out of it, shocking the girls. "Minako!" "V-chan!" "Ohmygod!" "Grab that psycho!" Ami, who had the lucky misfortune to be squeezed in between Minako and Usagi, grabbed at her flailing friend. By this time the *hot boys* were precariously close to the girl's car. One of the boys opened a window and mirroring Minako he caught the paper. Blowing her a kiss he settled back in his seat. A blushing Minako quickly followed suit with quite a bit of urging and pulling by Ami. Makoto turned around from her position in the front seat. "Are you insane?" she cried. Minako flushed. "Of course not silly Makoto. But did you see how hot that boy was?" Makoto relented. Smiling now she replied, "Yeah, but the driver was way cuter." "What is wrong with you two?" Ami interrupted. Rei nodded her approval at Ami's anger. "That boy in the front passenger seat was obviously the hottest," Ami continued. Rei hung her head in defeat. Makoto, Minako and Ami turned to stare at Usagi. "Usagi-chan?" they demanded. Picking up a magazine that had been tossed on the floor hours before, Usagi flipped through the pages. Finding the page that she sought she showed it to her friends triumphantly. "Shinya from 'Luna Sea' is the hottest boy in the whole world!" (AN: Just a quick note…the members of Luna Sea are all in their 30's which is nice for them, but too old for *our* girls, so we are taking the liberty of changing their ages). "No way! J is the cutest member!" Makoto cried. "You only like J cause he is tall and violent," Minako commented snidely, "Ryuichi is definitely the hottest!" This of course erupted into an argument as each girl proclaimed *her* favorite band member as the hottest. After the urge to champion their boy had died down Rei looked at Minako curiously through her rearview mirror. "Minako, what did you write on that note?" she asked her friend. "Oh. I gave them the number of the lodge at Kagoshima" Makoto, Ami and Usagi nodded at that good idea. "Um, Minako, how do you even know that those boys will even be there?" Rei asked. "Oh!" Minako exclaimed. Rei sighed. Usagi looked up at Rei, grinning wickedly. "Rei-chan," she began. "Yes?" Rei replied cautiously. "Are we there yet?" Usagi continued evilly. ********** "Mamoru-kun?" "Yes Motoki?" "I could have kept driving, you know." "Sure, but I really like my car the way it is. For some odd reason Motoki you were intent on giving it a makeover," Mamoru replied blandly, still shaken over their near death experience. "That car came out of nowhere Mamoru. Honest." Mamoru sighed. How could he stay mad at someone so wonderfully, annoyingly cheerful and optimistic. "That's all right Motoki. We only have nine hours left to go. I don't mind driving." Of course he didn't mind. Driving allowed him to forget their destination. Motoki unbuckled his seatbelt and turned towards the back seats. He found an old magazine lying on the floor and picked it up. 'J-Teen Bop' (AN: Use your imagination). He looked curiously at the pictures of half-dressed famous young men on the cover. He looked curiously at Mamoru. "Uh, Mamoru?" "Yes Motoki?" "Why do you have this girly magazine?" Mamoru glanced casually at the glossy cover. He blushed a bit. "Uh, your sister forgot it when I drove her to work one day." "Oh." Motoki continued to look at the pictures. Even more curious he opened the magazine and began to flip through it. A lot of the *advice* pages were ear-marked and had red pen written all over them. Interested, and believing it to be his sister's handiwork, Motoki read what was highlighted. 'What WE (Girls) Really Want in a Guy' 'Go Signs Stop Signs: How to Tell if He Really Digs You' 'How to Make Him Go Crrraaaazzzy' That article was particularly marked up a TON. Motoki stared at these. He turned to another page and a piece of paper fell out. It was just a plain piece of paper. But Motoki's eyes widened at the handwriting and the words written. Mamoru's neat and precise handwriting stood out against the stark white paper. 'List of how to make *her* know I like her' 1. eye contact 2. smile a lot 3. touch her 4. laugh 5. act interested 'What I have that they want' 1. good looks 2. a sense of humor (Motoki cringed at this one) 3. a nice car 4. um, my own apartment 5. smart 6. ambitious 7. good looks That last line had been crossed out…obviously, Mamoru had remembered that he had already written that one. Motoki looked at his friend. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. He closed the magazine and threw it in the back. He smiled. ********** 3 hours and 23 minutes left to go… "Whats up Minako?" Ami asks. "Check out that red sports car. I wonder if the driver is cute?" "Probably not," Ami said. "How come?" Makoto asked. "Statistically speaking-" "Ugh, no numbers Ames, this our vacation." "Fine. Old, middle-aged men always end up driving hot, fast cars hoping to gain the attention of innocent, young, beautiful and unsuspecting girls," Ami replied, all riled up. Four pairs of eyebrows shot up. "Experience?" asked Rei, all innocence. Minako, once again intrigued by the red sports car, let out a squeal. "V-chan?" Usagi asked. Minako mutely pointed at the red sports car which was now along side them. ::gasp:: ::gasp:: ::gasp:: ::gasp:: "That looks-" "Hey isn't that-" "It cant be-" "I think it is-" Usagi who had been quiet up to this point was quite red in the face. Screaming, she yelled out, "Mamoru-Baka!" ********** "Mamoru-kun? "Yes Motoki?" "I gotta go to the bathroom." "Again?" "I cant help it Mamoru-kun." ::sigh:: "All right. But at this rate we are never going to make it." "Sure we will Mamoru-kun," Motoki replied brightly, ever the optimist, "After all, you have been driving fast the whole time." "That is because I want to get this darn trip over with." "Oh Mamoru-kun, I thought we had settled this argument already." ::sigh:: "No, you settled it Motoki-kun. I only agreed cause the alternative was even *worse*." "Mamoru, you have to stop being so gloomy. Think of those beautiful mountains, beaches, hot springs, girls," Motoki's eyebrows shut up at this, and wiggled suggestively, "Speaking of girls, that car up there looks like it is full of them. Pull up closer." ::groan:: "You have a girlfriend Motoki…remember?" "And I love her very much. But I am not dead. Drive up closer." "Fine." ::grumble rumble grumble:: Driving up closer to the car Mamoru kept his face resolutely staring straight. ::laughter:: "Hey Mamoru, check it out…it's the Fab Five!" Cringing Mamoru muttered, "The Fruity Five you mean. Stop joking Motoki…that isn't funny." ::more laughter:: "No, seriously Mamoru-kun. Look…it is them." Praying, Mamoru turned his head ever so slightly. Peering at him were four surprised faces. In the driver's seat, waving frantically, was Rei. 'I am not blind,' Mamoru thought grumpily. 'Though I wish I was now.' In the front passenger seat, Makoto was straining her neck to catch a glimpse of Motoki, stars in her eyes. In the back, Minako was plastered to the window, eyes wide and mouth hanging open in shock. Ami was sitting next to her. She smiled wanely at Mamoru and Motoki, obviously the sanest of all the girls. Mamoru smiled back at her before looking intently at the girl next to her. Head down, odangos drooping, Usagi was muttering under her breath. She looked up and caught Mamoru's gaze. She opened her mouth and Mamoru cringed. He knew from experience what was coming next. In the girl's car a loud shriek resonated through the interior. Mamoru could practically hear it. Motoki was laughing like a loon. Mamoru punched him in the arm. He felt defeated. Utterly defeated. He should have picked cute, over-sized mice. "Hey look Mamoru…a gas station!" Mamoru sighed in relief. Maybe the girls were going somewhere completely different. Maybe. He put on his blinker and moved over to get off the highway. Motoki waved good-bye to the girls. ********** 20 minutes to go… "Usagi-chan, calm down. You saw them get off the highway. They are probably going somewhere completely different." Usagi mumbled under her breath, "Yeah. With Mamoru-baka probally hell." Ami smiled reassuringly at her friend. She didn't believe that nonsense about Mamoru and Motoki going somewhere different. But no one had to tell Usagi about that. "Hey Rei-chan, where are we staying?" Makoto asked. "Yuichirou has a place out here…he said we could borrow it." "Ohhhh… Yuichirou, huh?" Minako laughed. Rei glared at her friend. Minako continued to laugh, oblivious. Ami was checking her watch every few seconds. Makoto sighed. Usagi sat there glumly. ********** Showtime… Rei pulled the car into the long driveway in front of the impressive lodge. They sat in stunned silence. Four sets of jaws dropped. "AAAAIIIIIIIIEEEE!" And Minako screamed. "Rei-chan! It's sooo kawaii! This is the totally perfect place to make ou… out all the mountains in the distance!" ::collective groan:: "V-chan…" Rei rolled her eyes, and gazed at the three backseat passengers through her rearview mirror. "Look, why don't we just get our stuff out so that we don't have to worry about it later, kay?" "Yes, Corporal Sergeant Hino!" the girls called out, saluting. "Cut that out," she continued, turning the key and cutting off the ignition. "All right, let's go." "Yes, sir!" the girls laughed, scrambling out of the van before they could face Rei's wrath. ********** Mamoru kept his eyes on the road ahead of him, unlike *another* certain driver… They whizzed by another road sign. He blinked. He could have sworn that it just said 'Middle of Nowhere'. "Motoki…" "Yes, Mamoru-kun?" The driver gritted his teeth. "Did you ever actually think of bringing a *map* with you?" The blond grinned sheepishly. "I did." Taking the 'map', Mamoru tossed it at his best friend. ::whack:: "Motoki, we are going *camping*. Since when does camping have anything to do with a map of Disneyland?" Motoki cringed, rubbing his head where the pamphlet had made contact. "Well then, why didn't you ask for directions at the gas station…?" They exchanged glances. And then began laughing. They were men. And it's a universal truth that men don't ask for directions. Stifling a laugh, Mamoru became deathly serious. "One problem." Motoki was afraid. "We need to make another pit stop." ********** There was already a large pile of bags loaded by the lodge door. They were all Minako's. Ami decided that it would be best to wait before entering- After all, they were sharing the lodge with other people. So they were stuck outside. While they waited, they all attempted to get the other bags out of the cramped van. Note the word: attempted… "Heave! Pull! That's it! Just a little more! Breathe in, breathe out!" Minako called out as they all pulled frantically on the last of her bags. "Minako-chan, we're pulling out bags, not going through labor," Makoto corrected her, finally wrenching it out of its cramped spot. Minako insisted that they get her bag first, instead of working from the top down. Taking it greedily from Makoto's hands, she opened the front pouch… And pulled out another pack of gum. ::pop:: "What?" she asked innocently, blinking. ::groan:: "Aren't you going to help, V-chan?" Usagi asked. "There's nothing else for you to do anyway." Minako frowned. Then her eyes lit up. That was *not* a good sign. Bounding up to Rei, she put a friendly arm around her shoulder as Rei moved to get another bag. "Rei-chan! A little exploring around in the forest never hurt anyone, ne?" Sure… Cliffs, bears, wild animals, probably fifty types of plants whose names begin with the word 'poison,'… Nothing *too* dangerous. Rei frowned, grabbing another duffel bag and dragging it across the ground. "V-chan… That really isn't a good idea because there are other people borrowing the lodge too, but-" "Aw, thanks Rei!" the bubbly blond cried, giving her friend a quick hug. "I knew that you wouldn't mind getting the rest of our bags out!" "But-!" Ami and Makoto just looked on, shrugged and gave her apologetic looks. Minako grabbed them by the arms and set off on the trail. Grrrrr… "Oh yeah, I set up everything, drive a clown car and now I'm stuck being the -UGH!- bellhop," Rei grumbled to herself as she lugged a suitcase to the front door. "Why me?" "ACK!" Usagi tossed another bag on Rei's back. The Odangoed one smiled sweetly at Rei, and said, "Just lucky, I guess," before running off in the direction in which the others had left. "Ne! Minna! Wait for me!" ::BIG groan:: ********** 5 minutes later and deep in the midst of the forest… ::pop:: The four girls huddled together. They hadn't seen anything in particular except for one tree after another After another… Minako sighed. "Whatever happened to the adventure part?" she pouted. "I thought that-" ::rustle:: They froze. Minako pointed with a shaky finger towards the bushes behind her. "A lion!" Ami looked at her friend and then back at her pamphlet on the forest grounds. "V-chan, there aren't any lions in this area…" "Oh…" They continued to walk. ::rustle:: Minako jumped. "Tigers!" ::groan:: Usagi shivered. She was getting a *little* scared too. She poked Minako on the back. "Ne, Minako-chan, I don't think this was a very good idea…" ::rustle:: Makoto tried to keep her voice in check. This was getting annoying. "You guys, stop the noises. It isn't funny." Minako was as pale as a sheet. "A… A… A BEAR!" Makoto turned in the direction that Minako and Usagi were pointing, shaking her head in disbelief. "Yeah, yeah, lions and tigers and b-b-b-BEARS! OH MY GOD!" A huge, formless shadow was rampaging through the bushes. It could have been a branch moving in the wind. Except moving branches don't make grumbling sounds and head straight towards you… "AIIEE!" "HELP!" "OHMYGAAWD!" "I'm too *young* to die!" ::rustle:: ::snap:: ::crackle:: ::POP!:: "V-chan, this is *not* the time to be blowing bubbles!" Usagi bawled. "Lemme OUTTA here!" ::WOOSH!:: This was a *fine* time for their fearless leader to practice the fifty yard dash… ::rustle:: And the *ugly* beast reared it's ugly head as it emerged through the bushes, revealing it's big, massive… Duffel bag? "Mmmmphmmmph!" The girls froze as they stared at the 8 foot tall, colorful mass of baggage. That sounded like- "Motoki-oni-san!" "Ah! The monster ate Motoki-oni-chan!" ::sweatdrop:: "Minako-chan…" Makoto helped pull the heavy bags from Motoki's back, and he stood up straight. He blinked. "Thanks for the help… Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked. "We're out here on a camping trip! What about you? And why were you carrying all those bags?" "That's strange. I'm on a trip with Mamoru, and the car broke down. We just ended up here." "That's grea-!" "That's horrible," Ami added, stretching up to cover Makoto's mouth. Motoki looked back and forth between the girls and shrugged. "We were lucky though- the car broke down right around here and it turns out that we're staying on these grounds and a lodge for the rest of the trip," he finished. The girls exchanged a look. 'Surprise, surprise,' Ami thought to herself, not in the *least* bit surprised. "What a coincidence!" Minako smiled. "We're staying there too!" Makoto only blushed, eyes fixated on Motoki. Motoki ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Boy, Mamoru-kun is gonna be really surprised when I find him." Makoto scratched her head. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me… Where did Usagi-chan go?" ********** Mamoru sighed as he stood by the bush. The next pit stop was about 50 miles away. Simply put, he couldn't wait that long. He looked down at his pants, loosely bunched around his ankles. ::sigh:: He *knew* there was a reason he had never gone camping. 'I am going to kill Motoki!' He shifted impatiently. It was completely deserted, quiet, but- "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" A wild thrashing came out from a nearby bush. "A MONSTER! A BEAR! HEEEELPPPP MEEEEEEEEEEE!" screamed the horribly disfigured creature that popped out of the bush, arms flailing and mouth wide open. Mouth wide open? Oh oh. That mouth sure looked familiar. The creature stopped screaming when she saw a human in front of her. She looked him up and down. And went completely still. "Hello Odango Atama," Mamoru said blandly. All dignity had dropped to the same location as his pants. Usagi looked at him quite seriously. "Hello Mamoru-baka." Mamoru was surprised. It seemed as though Usagi had matured since the day before…she wasn't going to make an issu- ::laughter:: A lot of it. ********** Phew! Finally, that is done! That is one long prologue. Too bad April didn't help at all!! Kidding! Please send all flames to Startear42@aol.com and all compliments to RayondeLune77@aol.com Kidding...again. Ohhhhh and visit April-chan's new website at: http://www.geocities.com/april_rayne_42/