Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Strawberry Panic! Fan Fiction ❯ Strawberry Ice ❯ Chapter 1

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Disclaimer: I own none of the Sailor Moon or Strawberry Panic characters and profit in no way from this fanfiction. Don't try to sue me, I'm broke anyway.

Strawberry Ice: A Sailor Moon/Strawberry Panic crossover

“I'm sorry,” the blond woman admitted, her hair falling around her face as the college professor continued, “you're very charming, Ami. But....”

“I understand,” Ami Mizuno smiled wryly as the twenty year old student apologized to the older woman. With a sigh she sat down, stirring her drink with the toothpick. 'There goes another blind date,' she thought to herself wryly as she watched the other woman walk away.

Ever since Ami could remember she had been a focused, intelligent woman who tackled problems with care and deliberation. When she had come to realize her crushes on other women were both stronger and more persistent than the average, she approached that situation with the same thoroughness. After doing the appropriate research she determined her sexuality and a plan of action and then embarked on it.

First, she came out to her mother, who took it surprisingly well. It helped that she had already developed certain suspicions about her daughter, of course. As she quite reasonably pointed out, wearing boyish vests and pants most of the time was a hint, as well as the near complete absence of boys in her life.

Next, Ami came out to the Sailor Senshi. That was a little more complicated, though thankfully they had Haruka and Michiru as good examples. It took a few tries to explain it all to Usagi, but once she got it Usagi was innocently happy for Ami and hoped she'd find someone to love. The rest of the group took it fairly well, the only odd moment coming when Minako tried to seduce her. Not that Ami found her unattractive, but she also didn't think the flighty Senshi of love was very serious.

Finally, Ami decided to start looking for a partner. In a way that was harder than the rest combined, as she was a younger woman and frankly much smarter than her peers. Dating in high school would be further complicated if she was asking other women out, so Ami decided that was out. After some research she found a few organizations to connect highly intelligent people, and eventually tracked down one that would pair up same gender matches.

'Too bad this hasn't worked out as well as I'd like,' Ami sighed. While she had found several new friends, most of the women in the group had been well older than her, which was in many cases a insurmountable issue in dating. Not on Ami's side, frankly, but several of the ladies seemed uncomfortable dating a woman the same age of their daughters.

The Strawberry was a nightclub in Akihabara, one of those places that didn't advertise. You found out about it via the friend of a friend network, and the staff quickly decided if you fit in or not. If you did fit they'd welcome you like a sister, but if you created problems or hurt someone, you'd be frozen out like a glacier.

Shizuma Hanazono smiled warmly as the manager circled through the crowded club, women talking standing up or sitting at the cozy tables. She smiled a bit more wryly as she reached Ami's table, “I see your companion left?”

Ami smiled up at the silver haired woman, “It seems so. I suppose you wouldn't have any suggestions what to do for the evening?”

Shizuma looked amused, “Don't flirt, Miss Mizuno. You might find this old dog still has some bite left.”

Ami chuckled softly, “I'm sure Nagisa is well aware of your bite.”

Shizuma and Nagisa were partners in the club as well as lovers, having met at a all girls school. They had made the brave decision then to stay together, and with time and effort had built a life they could share in this nightclub and elsewhere. Shizuma and Negisa shared hostessing duties as well as managed the place, serving a high class sort of client who wouldn't be seen in the dingy lesbian clubs in the other parts of town.

Shizuma smirked, “Grrr.” With a somewhat more serious look she added, “I was wondering if you could do me a favor?”

“Oh?” Ami kept her voice as neutral as possible. Nagisa, and occasionally Shizuma, weren't above doing a bit of matchmaking, and had put Ami together once or twice with completely inappropriate women. Nice, but not at all her type.

Shizuma looked amused, “It's not a trap.” She shrugged, “A customer I know off and on is here alone, and her prospective date didn't turn up. I think she could use some company.”

Ami gave her a wry smile, but she did think she owed the older woman a favor. “All right,” she conceded as she got up, “but just to keep her company. Okay?”

“Okay,” Shizuma agreed.

The dark blue haired woman was around Nagisa's age, in her late twenties. She seemed intelligent on first glance, her eyes warmly amused as she watched the women around her. She looked up questioningly as Shizuma approached, “Yes?”

“Tamao,” Shizuma smiled faintly as she continued, “I hope you don't mind, but Nagisa mentioned your situation. Ami here has also been deserted by her date, and I was wondering if you could keep her company?”

“But...,” Tamao Suzumi frowned slightly.

Shizuma gave her a teasing look, “As a favor to me?”

Ami opened her mouth to protest, but Shizuma pinched her side to shush her.

“Oh, all right,” Tamao made a face as Shizuma pulled out the chair, “but just to keep her company.”

“Thank you,” Ami said as she sat down, Shizuma leaving them to get acquainted.

“You have the oddest smile on your face,” Tamao noted after a moment, her own expression amused. “I'm Tamao Suzumi.”

“Ami Mizuno,” Ami offered her hand and the two women shook. “I was smiling,” she admitted, “because Shizuma used the keeping a friend company line on me too.”

Tamao looked more amused, if that was possible. “Do you think she's matchmaking?” she asked Ami seriously.

“Wouldn't surprise me,” Ami admitted. But she didn't get up and leave the table, possibly because of the humor in the other woman's expression.

:This is kind of my fault,” Tamao admitted wryly. “Shizuma and I... kind of competed for the same girl a few years back. She won, but I think she still feels a little guilty about it....”

'Nagisa, probably,' Ami mentally noted. “Well, if it's your fault you can buy the first round of drinks,” Ami offered mildly.

“Oooh, no fair,” Tamao laughed as they flagged down a waitress.

“All's fair in love and war,” Ami quoted as they settled down to talk.

Ami was pleasantly surprised as they talked how intelligent and charming Tamao was. She was well aquainted with current events, was sharp witted and observant and had a lively sense of humor. She also had a series of school stories that were funny enough to make tears come to Ami's eyes.

“You didn't!” Ami blurted at one point.

“Yup,” Tamao laughed merrily, “I had a little black book with the measurements of the girls I had crushes on.” She grinned, “I was lucky most of my crushes have been good sports about it.”

“Sometimes I really wish I had gone to a all girls school,” Ami admitted with a chuckle.

Tamao gave her a thoughtful look, “You'd have been popular, I think. You have this sort of boyish charm about you....”

Ami blushed slightly. “Trust me, it's not intentional,” she confessed.

“That's what makes you so charming,” Tamao admitted, laughing softly. He looked down at the food they had ordered, then up at Ami, “Ami, I....”

“Tamao, I....” Ami started at the same time, then they both laughed. “I really enjoyed meeting you tonight,” she admitted, “could we... do this again?”

Tamao smiled back warmly, “That's what I was going to ask.” She hesitated, “Uhm... how old are you, exactly?”

“Twenty,” Ami admitted sheepishly.

“Twenty eight,” Tamao shrugged, “and that's not too bad. At least I won't be accused of being a cradle robber.”

Ami sighed, “Now I just have to convince my friends I don't have a fetish for older women....”

End?

Notes: Yes, I'm moving Strawberry Panic into the past a bit, relative to Sailor Moon. I don't recall anything in the SP series that would say when it was set, unlike Sailor Moon, and both don't feature much high tech anyway. I was originally planning to set this in Arisugawa's Locket, but it occurred to me it might be interesting to have two anime bars in Tokyo. Beside which, this is a seperate canon than the usual Arisugawa stories.

I've always liked Tamao and felt she got the worst end in SP. Well, okay, she could have died but... it was a pretty bad end, abandoned at the altar so to speak. She also seemed a better match for Nagisa, IMHO, and I don't have much hope for Nagisa and Shizuma lasting. Part of why I had Shizuma matchmaking was to get Tamao out of the way as a temptation for Nagisa... ^_~

Why Ami? IMHO Ami has always come across as a woman who didn't know her sexuality. She's attracted to guys for their brains, in canon, but is closer to her female friends. And she dresses like a baby dyke. Lol. I see her looking into older women because of her own maturity compared to people her own age, as well as her relative intelligence.