By Amanda Sage 4-1-03
Disclaimer: This story is partially based on a game that takes place in 30th Century Crystal Tokyo. Shayera Janota has helped with the characterization of all of the Mizuno children. Without her, there would be no story; therefore for all intents and purposes, she is Kami-sama! Mi-chan belongs to Heather, Kimahou belongs to Marianne, and Chibi belongs to David. Urawa Ryo belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation Co., Ltd.
This story takes place less than four weeks before the "Crystal Tokyo Romance" dance. Mi-chan and Jian-wa have just started flirting seriously, and Tenshi and Puroko are still in Hawaii. Happy April Fool's Day!
The twins ran downstairs, unable to stop their giggling. They took their bento from their father, who, without even looking at them, said, "Very funny, girls. Do you really think you'll pull this off?"
"Why Otou-san, whatever are you talking about?" Mizuno Neko asked innocently.
He chuckled. "You might want to reconsider before you guys take that calculus exam today."
As Neko glanced worriedly at Michiru, her identical twin sister pouted playfully. "Well, as long as no other psychics are hanging around, we'll do fine."
Neko grabbed her arm and said, "Ne, ne, Mi-chan should I do it now?" Mi-chan's pout transformed into a huge grin as she nodded. Neko ran to the edge of the stairs and shouted, "Ne, Chibi! If you're not down here in the next ten seconds, I'm leaving without you!"
"Kami-sama! You get more impatient every day!" their 14-year-old brother Gebriel, better known as Chibi, complained as he galloped down the stairs, just narrowly missing how Ryo had just rolled his eyes over the twins' shenanigans.
Neko grabbed his arm and pulled him along as she went to grab her backpack and keys. *Wrong one!* She smoothly moved her hand just enough to grab the correct bag before Chibi noticed anything. Thank goodness for their psychic link, or she and Mi-chan would never get away with this. She concentrated on her sister and thought to her *Well, here goes. Hope I can be as reckless on your dirt bike as you are and not get us killed.*
*Hey! Who are you calling reckless?!* Mi-chan shot back at her.
Neko didn't answer. She merely dragged Chibi out the door, shouting, "See you at school, slowpokes!" over her shoulder.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*How does Neko-chan drive so slowly and not go crazy?!* Mi-chan grumbled to herself, as she drove Kimahou to school on Neko's motorcycle. Sure, the plan to switch places for April Fool's Day seem like a good idea yesterday�. Afterall, she just had to wear her hair down, while Neko wore hers in a braid, and both needed to wear long sleeves to hide which of them bore the tattoo that banded Mi-chan's left arm, but beyond that, nobody would be able to tell the difference. "Well, except that we're so totally different," Mi-chan said under her breath.
Oh, well, the day would still prove to be interesting, no matter what happened.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Mizuno Michiru."
"Hai!" Neko called from her sister's seat in their calculus class.
"Mizuno Neko."
"Hai!" Mi-chan echoed.
Umino-sensei continued with roll call before giving the students their instructions and passing out the pop-test that Ryo had predicted that morning. Neko frowned at the section for her name, wondering which one she should put in. *Do I put you or me?* she asked Mi-chan.
Mi-chan bit her lip. *Ano, we usually have to give it to the person in front of us to correct�. I think you have to put my name.*
Neko nodded and did as she was told, trying her hardest to mimic Mi-chan's scrawl. *Ano, don't make me fail* she thought worriedly to Mi-chan.
*Gee, your confidence in me is overwhelming. Ne, what do you get for the first question?*
Neko looked over at her, shocked. They'd never used their psychic link to cheat before. What was Mi-chan thinking?!
*Come on, your name's on the test! Don't you want your answers there too?*
Neko looked guiltily down at the first question. *Demo�* She considered the validity of Mi-chan's argument, before answering. *Alright, for number one, I get�.*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As lunchtime rolled around, the twins began to feel more confident in their ability to fake this. Though separated in the hallways during lunch, neither girl was feeling particularly apprehensive about their prank. They had pulled it off in three of their classes, surely they could get away with it through two more and their extracurriculars.
But as Mi-chan wandered into the training room after throwing her books in her locker and found only Jian-wa there, she wondered where her twin had gotten to. "Ne, where's N�Mi-chan?" she asked, slurring the name as she almost slipped up.
"Oh� I don't know," Jian-wa answered.
Mi-chan had to work very hard not to laugh as a tint of color appeared at his cheeks at her name. She had no idea that her flirtatious behavior last week would have such lasting effects with Neko's friend. *Must behave* she instructed herself. Neko didn't flirt like that. *Think, Michiru. What does Neko-chan talk about with Jian-kun?* She panicked momentarily as she realized that she didn't have a clue what the two of them talked about when she wasn't around. Soccer? Karate? Homework? *Damn it! Why didn't we prepare for this?*
He interrupted her deliberations. "Hey, about Mi-chan�."
She looked up in surprise. His cheeks were redder than before, even. What was Jian-wa about to say about her?
He hesitated a moment, then finished, "�maybe she decided to have lunch first."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Neko faced the guy who had intercepted her on the way to the training room, questioningly. She had no clue who he was, but he clearly knew Mi-chan.
"Ne, Mizuno-san, you still haven't met my challenge!"
"Challenge?" She paled as she tried to imagine what he had challenged Mi-chan in - the possibilities were endless.
His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You know, juggling! How many times before we drop a ball? We didn't get to it yesterday, but I'll be damned if you get away from me today."
Neko couldn't back out of it. Mi-chan never would. But how could she possibly juggle well enough to beat this guy�? Suddenly, she had an idea. "You're on! But let's take it out to the fields."
"Ok, but when you lose, you still owe me that date."
"When?" Okay, this guy was too arrogant for his own good. "Well, when you lose, you'll have to�." *Come on, Neko, think like Mi-chan!* "You'll have to clean my dirt bike after my race on Saturday!" She smiled. That was a good one. Practical and satisfying. She knew Mi-chan would appreciate it.
