Storyline Name: Mystery At The Big Apple
Creator(s): JupiterThunderCrash
Forum: Free-Form
Advanced or Relaxed: Relaxed
Plot Summary: During the summer, all the Senshi head to the United States after being invited to one of Haruka and Michiru's concerts. Specifically, they get to stay in New York City for an entire week while the concert is in town. All their hotel and transportation costs are covered, allowing them to explore the city at their leisure. But recently, there have been reports of a strange creature emerging from underground to prowl the night... Can the senshi enjoy their vacation and solve the mystery before their week is up, or will they too fall prey to this sewer monster?


Details on any necessary information: This takes place after the Stars Arc of the manga and anime, and Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako are 17. Mamoru is 18. Haruka and Michiru are 18, and Hotaru and Chibiusa are 12.


Restrictions: Canon characters only, restricted to the Sailor Senshi and Mamoru. No otaku are allowed (except for generic tour-guides)
Source: N/A


OOC Thread:http://www.thegalaxycauldronforums.com/t10579-vacation-to-new-york-city-ooc


Member to Character List:
Sailor Mercury-->Usagi Tsukino
mercuryfan--> Ami Mizuno
Princes Moon-->Rei Hino
JupiterThunderCrash-->Makoto Kino
Sailor Pluto-->Minako Aino
Artemis- Mamoru Chiba
Aurae-Chibiusa
Addelyn-Haruka Tenoh

After their long, over 12 hour flight from Japan to the eastern coast of the United States, the airplane descended once again to make its scheduled landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport. It hadn't been nearly as uncomfortable of a journey as it could have been, since everyone had gotten first class seating thanks to Haruka and Michiru. After the plane safely docked with the airport, the passengers were allowed to grab their things and disembark to get the rest of their luggage.

Since Michiru was busy doing last minute rehearsals, Haruka was waiting outside the terminal to pick the group up and drive them to their booked hotel in a van she had rented. As people from both Tokyo and California headed towards the lobby, the senshi followed the rest of the crowd. 

As soon as they entered the airport, they could see the city skyline of New York from the large windows, made up of huge skyscrapers, suspension bridges, stadiums, and railroad tracks.

Chibi Usa adored riding on planes. Most people considered airports a bother--either they hated the waiting and rescheduling and possible delays or they worried about the risks of disaster. Chibi Usa couldn't say that she shared any of their feelings. Air travel existed in Crystal Tokyo, but it wasn't like this. She loved staring out the window as the plane took off. When the clouds were below them or alongside them, it reminded her of being in dreams with Pegasus. She still remembered that sensation of flying--it was different from traveling as sailor soldiers.

That didn't mean she was reluctant to get off the plane, though! Chibi Usa practically skipped off, thrilled to be spending this time in a new city--in the UNITED STATES. She couldn't wait to prove to Usagi that her English was better... although she didn't want to admit that it wasn't as much better as it might have been if she was studying just a bit harder.

"Hurry up, Usagi!" she pleaded. "Does anyone see Haruka yet?"

Usagi had never flown First Class in her life. Well, she’d never been on a plane, period.

And it was amazing. They even served ice cream on board! And there were tons of movies to keep her entertained! And the meals were even served in actual plates like in a restaurant, unlike back in Economy (she peeked—she’d walked the entire plane when she got really bored).

And they were going to America! That was where Mamo-chan was… well, would have been if he’d ever actually made his flight when Galaxia killed him. To be honest, Usagi had always dreamed about going there to visit him. She heard it was a pretty awesome place. So this invitation by Haruka and Michiru was just the thing she needed.

Usagi practically skipped to the arrivals hall, after navigating customs and finding their luggage, and her jaw immediately dropped at the scenery she saw through the windows. “Woooowwww. Look at this amazing city! So many tall buildings!”

She could hear Chibiusa’s whining voice behind her and turned to her begrudgingly. “Chibiusa, slow down a bit and enjoy the view. We should also let poor Mako-chan catch up,” she turned to look at the rest of her friends, rather worried about Mako. Airplane flights were really unpleasant for her; it had been a miracle enough that she’d managed to get on it in the first place.

Makoto hated planes. It was the one thing about going to New York that she had constantly been dreading since the vacation had been planned. Just walking into the Tokyo Airport had been unnerving, knowing she was about to get on a plane that would fly over an ocean of all things. If they hadn't gotten a direct flight deal and had to do a layover in California instead, she couldn't imagine being able to get on the second plane.

In a last ditch effort to find a way to get through it, she'd had the brilliant idea of staying up the whole night before the trip. And as soon as the other girls dragged her onto their flight the next morning (not quite kicking and screaming, she had more dignity than that), she passed out for the entire 14 hours. First class seating was pretty comfortable, she had found out. There was even a good amount of legroom to stretch out in. Mako had no idea what the food tasted like thought, because she slept continuously the entire flight. Any attempt at waking her up was met with a tired glare before she went back to sleep again.

But now that she was awake, and it was technically yesterday because of time zones, the phenomenon called jet-lag was hitting her hard. Makoto dragged her feet as she followed the others off the plane and into the lobby, only half awake as they got their luggage and navigated the crowds. A few people bumped her, and she had to bite her tongue to avoid yelling at them. When were they going to get that hotel so she could sleep some more until time made sense again? Her stomach growled, and she remembered that food would be great too. Maybe Haruka knew a place to eat? At least Usagi and Chibiusa seemed to be having fun...

Mamoru was enjoying the flight to America, he was actually going to make it this time. He watched Usagi and smiled. He knew she was excited the moment they got off the plane, skipping away to luggage. He walked to catch up to her. When he caught up to her, he watched for their luggage. He saw his own bag first and then saw hers. He grabbed both the bags and smiled at Usagi as he spoke. 

"Usako, I hope America will he everything you hope for and that we can all enjoy ourselves." He said as he grabbed Chibiusa's bag and sat down on a nearby bench.

Sharp eyes looked over the crowd as passengers began to come off the plane. Haruka had arrived early at John F. Kennedy International Airport. According to the schedule she could see from her vantage point, the plane had arrived on time, experiencing no delays. Odango's probably being slow, she thought fondly. She raised the arrival sign high enough that Makoto or Mamoru would be able to spot it. 

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Being very studious, Ami knew a lot about the various places here on Earth.  But there had always been the flip side of being so studious - even though she knew a lot about them, she had never actually taken the time to visit most of them.  That's why she was so very much looking forward to this week-long trip to go see Haruka & Michiru in concert - it would be her first chance to visit and experience a place in the well-known United States.

And what better place to start in the U.S. than New York City?  The city that had been the primary gateway to this freedom-loving country for so many years for millions of immigrants; the city that still had over twice as many people residing there as any other city in that country; the city that had so many famous landmarks to visit that they couldn't all be seen in one day.  Ami could go on reciting facts like that about the city nick-named The Big Apple, but that's all they could ever be - just facts, book knowledge.  Now she was going to experience this culture-rich city for the first time, see what makes it so famous, see how big-city life was there compared to the big-city life where she lived, maybe even see why it was different than Tokyo (even though the two cities had so many similarities, as she had learned; but again, that was just book knowledge).  Now she was going to see and experience it all for herself - first-hand!

So even though the flight was so long, Ami managed her time well on the airplane ride.  She had calculated in advance the time zone difference between Tokyo and NYC, so she could spend her time wisely on the plane in an effort to beat that effect of long-distance east-west travel that made it difficult to handle (at first) for so many people - jet-lag.  She was able to follow her plan pretty well, being awake for most of the time she had wanted to be, and sleeping for most of the rest of the time.  Of course, it didn't hurt that they had first-class tickets, and thus their seats were so comfortable.

The result of this planning and ability to follow her plan was that at the end of the flight, as the plane was taxiing to its terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City, Ami was wide awake and eager to start experiencing life - even if only temporarily - in this new place for her.  For once, she was impatient for something - specifically, for the plane to arrive at its gate and be hooked up to the jetway that would be her gateway to this rich, vibrant, varied city, and for the ability to start experiencing said city for herself.  So when the Fasten Seat Belt light was finally turned off, Ami practically jumped up immediately to start gathering the things she had brought on this plane.  And once she was finished doing so, and the rest of the passengers had cleared enough to let her, Ami hurried (as much as the crowds would let her) off the plane and down the jetway to the airport terminal.  Once she reached the terminal, though, Ami slowed down - to savor the sights and sounds of this big city.  When she saw Haruka at their arrival gate with that sign, she smiled - both from seeing that close friend again, and from the amusement of almost thinking Diana had somehow gotten on their flight.  Ami went over to greet and offer to hug Haruka "It's good to see you again.  So how soon can we start exploring New York City?"

She may have grown up a bit since she first arrived in their lives, but she wasn't so old that she felt reserved about spending time with her friends and family. The pink-haired girl wrapped herself around Mamoru's arm with a quick hug, then transitioned her small--and very pink--suitcase from his grip to hers. Luna P, currently worn on a strap over her shoulder like a bizarre purse, blinked its antenna and flashed its eyes softly. It attracted almost no attention in this airport; not in this country, where there were already so many lights and everyone was moving so fast.

Usagi was right about Makoto. It had slipped Chibi Usa's mind--there were aspects of their personal lives that she was not as familiar with as her mother, for understandable reasons. She tried to reign herself in and not stray too far from the group.

Ami was the first to spot Haruka. Chibi Usa rushed over (but not too rushed, checking over her shoulder to make sure the others were still there) and skidded to a halt in front of the tall blonde.

"Hi Haruka! How are you?" she trilled brightly, taking this opportunity to speak English instead of Japanese. The pronunciation had a noticeable accent, but it wasn't too bad!

Haruka raised an eyebrow as she easily returned Ami's hug. The blue haired woman usually wasn't so tactile, especially with any of the outer senshi. Maybe she's just super tired, she thought. 

"I'm good little one, how are you? Were you bored on the flight?" Smiling, she knelt down in front of the young girl. Every time Haruka saw her, she was getting bigger and bigger. It was obvious to the blonde that the young girl was holding back, wanting to appear to be mature and lady like.  I wonder if any of them remind her that's she's still a kid and it's okay to act like one and have fun sometimes. 

"I'm great! No, I wasn't bored!" she replied. It was hard to be bored when she divided her time up between sleeping (one of her favourite things, even if she wasn't as vocal about it as Usagi could be--she definitely took after her mother in this regard) and gleefully staring out the window. She was even looking forward to the flight back--although she wasn't eager to leave. There was so much they were going to do here!

"Are we going to have lunch? Or, um, dinner?"

She realized suddenly that she wasn't really sure what time it was. She should have been paying more attention during the announcement when the plane landed and the stewardess mentioned their destination, the weather, and the local time. Sure, the flight had been catered, but Chibi Usa was looking forward to trying something in New York City! Something different from what she knew in Tokyo!

It took Makoto some time to catch sight of Haruka's sign, and then realize that Koneko was supposed to mean Usagi. Despite how tired she was, she had to smile at that. Leave it to Haruka to go the extra mile. She had to stop and think about what Chibiusa had just said when she switched to English, her translating skills being slower than usual at the moment. Even Japanese was starting to sound like gibberish.

"It's been a while since we've seen you, Haruka. Dinner would be great..." Makoto said, finally catching up with the others in the lobby. "It's....6 PM here, right?" That was what she'd heard from the stewardess when she had woken up, anyway. Mako would just have to trust that information. She covered a yawn with a hand and looked embarrassed at what she had done. "Sorry, still running on Tokyo time..."

“Yes, Mamo-chan! This time we will have that vacation we never got,” Usagi replied brightly, already hanging onto Mamoru’s arm with her usual enthusiasm. She finally spotted Mako and Ami coming along, although Mako still seemed pretty out of it. Usagi hoped now that she was back on land they could find some delicious food to cheer Mako up. And fill her own tummy, of course. She craned her neck all around to see if Haruka was already waiting for them among the throngs of people in the arrivals hall, but being so short, she wasn’t having much luck.

Until Ami seemed to be heading in a specific direction, and then Usagi saw the sign. At first she was confused, but then once she figured out what it said, she giggled. “Haruka-san! Does that mean me?!” she asked with a laugh, walking over to her while still holding Mamoru’s arm. She was surprised to see Ami give Haruka a hug, too—she was normally not much of a hugger, and especially not with Haruka and the others. She must be really excited or something.

She frowned when Chibiusa spoke in English, having to think for way too long to figure out what the words meant. Was the little brat showing off? Honestly!

“I don’t care what meal time it is, let’s just go eat!” Usagi bounced on her feet, having way too much energy for someone who’d just been on a half day flight.

"Dinner it is then. I know a great place close by if you guys are willing to try American food," she said easily, standing up. When Usagi demanded to know Koneko was suppose to be her, Haruka simply winked at her, waiting to see if she would blush like normal. The blonde never tired of the reaction, it was simply too cute! 

"We should probably stick with Japanese neh? We seem to be confusing these old folks over here," She grabbed Chibiusa's suitcase, intent on carrying it to the car for the young girl.

Chibi Usa giggled when Haruka commented on her use of English. She nodded back, not wanting to confuse the other sailor soldiers... except Usagi. She was definitely going to show off in front of Usagi again. There had to be another opportunity.

"Yay, American Food!" she cheered as she skipped along behind Haruka. She was glad she packed a light suitcase, since everyone else kept carrying it!

Mamoru smiled down at Usagi and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he walked with her to greet Ami and the others. He extended a hand out as he greeted Haruka, "Hello Haruka-san, it's nice to see you again." He watched as Chibiusa showed excitement about trying new food, and was impressed with her English, she had been practicing clearly, maybe he could convince her to help Usako, after all his dumpling head needed to practice her English.

He gave her shoulder a squeeze as he asked, "Usako, what do you think, would you like to try the American food place Haruka-san knows of, or do you want Japanese food?"

Traveling on planes was nothing new for Minako, who was always going on vacations with her family. She felt completely carefree the whole time, sleeping throughout most of the flight and stealing Rei's food for the rest of it. When they landed, she couldn't contain her excitement. Her smile was big, bright, and full of energy as she followed her friends off of the plane. They were in New York, the city of, well, everything. Minako could not wait to start shopping and celebrity-watching and eating and taking pictures. But mostly shopping.

She waited impatiently by the luggage belt. "Hopefully soon, if my stupid luggage would hurry up and get out here!" Minako said in response to Ami's question. After what felt like forever, her four suitcases finally made themselves visible. Minako happily pulled them off of the belt and plopped them onto the floor, blinking sweetly at Rei. "Rei-channnnn," she coaxed, "could you help me with these pleaseeee?"

JupiterThunderCrash wrote:

It took Makoto some time to catch sight of Haruka's sign, and then realize that Koneko was supposed to mean Usagi. Despite how tired she was, she had to smile at that. Leave it to Haruka to go the extra mile. She had to stop and think about what Chibiusa had just said when she switched to English, her translating skills being slower than usual at the moment. Even Japanese was starting to sound like gibberish.

"It's been a while since we've seen you, Haruka. Dinner would be great..." Makoto said, finally catching up with the others in the lobby. "It's....6 PM here, right?" That was what she'd heard from the stewardess when she had woken up, anyway. Mako would just have to trust that information. She covered a yawn with a hand and looked embarrassed at what she had done. "Sorry, still running on Tokyo time..."

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When Makoto asked for confirmation about what time it was here in NYC, Ami replied in a friendly manner in Japanese "Hai, Mako-chan, it is dinnertime here."  Ami smiled nicely to Makoto for a split-second upon finishing that sentence, then turned to Haruka.  Because of Chibi-Usa's influence (and her excitement over being here in NYC short-circuiting her thought process a little bit), Ami told Haruka in English "American food sounds good to me," still with the nice smile on her face.  Just after she finished saying that, Ami realized her mistake.  Blushing slightly and looking serious as opposed to happy as she turned to Usagi, Ami explained in Japanese "Sorry, Usagi-chan.  I just told Haruka-san that I would enjoy American food," followed by properly & politely bowing to Usagi.

Ami wasn't surprised when Minako called out from next to the luggage carousel in response to her question - it was so like the blonde idol-chaser to do that.  Still, Ami appreciated the answer to her question, so even though she was still next to Haruka, Ami called back (in Japanese) "Thank you.  I'm looking forward to it."  She was blushing the whole time, however, since she considered calling out in public like this to be impolite.

At Haruka’s wink, Usagi felt her cheeks warming, but she simply snuggled closer to Mamoru. “Hey, who are you calling old?” she pouted at Haruka’s next comment.

To Mamoru, she grinned and replied, “I’d like to try American food for sure! We didn’t come all the way here just to eat what we could eat back home, right? Besides, I want to try all the things!”

She looked around for Minako and Rei, who seemed to be lagging a bit. She finally found Minako still standing with her way too many suitcases around her. Honestly, it was like she was moving her entire wardrobe to America. “Minako-channnnn, come onnnn! I am hungry!”

Mamoru looked lovingly at Usagi as she spoke enthusiastically about the food, that was his Usako alright, so full of life and a willingness to try new things. He smiled as he placed a hand on her head as he said,"alright Usako, we will all get there as soon as we find Minako-san, we can't leave anyone behind."

He thought about American food, he had eaten some in Japan and had been looking forward to it before he was supposed to study abroad, but that dream had been taken from him thanks to Galaxia. He pushed the negative thoughts aside as he turned to face Usagi, chuckling at her impatience for Minako to get to them with all her luggage.

"Usako, Chibiusa, what do you say to trying burgers and fries, I hear they are one of the best American dishes around."

They quickly loaded everyone's belongings into the huge van that Haruka had rented for the girls vacation. They would check into the hotel later. The blonde outer senshi knew that they would need food or things would get ugly quickly. She had thought ahead and stashed a few snacks in the van for Usagi and Minako, knowing that attempting to drive in New York traffic and expect it not to take a while was foolish. Besides, the two younger blondes would still have plenty of room to eat at the place she planned to take them. 

Amazingly enough, she was lucky to get parking a relatively short walk away. Ushering the group into the small space, she grinned. 

"Welcome to Katz Delicatessen," she said in Japanese. "It is one of the best places to eat in New York and also one of the oldest, being in business since 1888."

OOC:

After helping move all the bags into Haruka's van, she got into the back seat with everyone else and tried to stay awake as they drove through the city. She didn't want to miss any landmarks if she could help it. Though she had given in and taken another nap when the van hit traffic entering Manhattan, tuning out the other noise in the car.

Mako jerked awake when then van parked somewhere, and she reluctantly got out of her seat and followed Haruka to the doors of some kind of...diner? The fumes coming out of it woke her up completely. Whatever meat was cooking in there smelt amazing! 

When the group went through the door, they saw a decent sized restaurant with tables and chairs on one side, and a long bar on the other side. the bar area seemed to double as a deli, with all sorts of meats and cheeses being sliced, prepared, and weighed. A small kitchen area was behind the bar, where people in white aprons worked on soups and sandwiches. The walls were covered in old posters and signs, mostly in English. A few portraits of people were hung as well.

The bar was full with people sitting on the stools, but the tables were mostly empty, and there was plenty of room for everyone to sit at one. "So this is an American deli?" Makoto asked, looking around. To her this was just as exciting as seeing the Empire State Building. Eating deli food in New York was its own experience, and Mako had no idea where to start.

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After she had watched all their suitcases & other bags being loaded into the van, Ami climbed into the main right-side door behind the front row of the van, but then sat in the front-most row easily accessible from that door (in other words, the second row of seats in the van overall) so she could get a decent view out the front windshield as well as out of the side window she was closest to.

After they left the airport, Ami noticed they drove mostly, if not completely, on freeways, as Americans called them, for the first part of this drive, thus not affording her and the others much of a view of the sites.  Though before long, the freeway went down into a tunnel (which admittedly had even less of a view of the surroundings).  When they emerged from the tunnel, Ami noticed the surroundings seemed to be completely changed from what they had experienced on the freeway - they were now on busy city streets, and the surrounding buildings were mostly skyscrapers.

After dealing with a lot of traffic (just like in the city of Tokyo), the van parked somewhere.  After getting out of the van, Ami followed Haruka all the way to the deli, then went inside Katz's and started looking around it.  Ami soon noticed the sights & smells of many different types of meats being worked on.  The most common one seemed to be a dark-pinkish-colored meat that she wasn't familiar with and that she saw free samples of on the deli counter (and many of the customers were taking these samples).  So when Haruka had come inside and was available again, Ami asked her in Japanese "What is that meat they're serving on the counter there?"

Rei sighed. For more than ten hours she sat in that airplane, seeing nothing but clouds and sometimes – when the clouds didn’t block her view – greenery and ocean. To be honest, she felt somewhat disappointed since she expected it to be more exciting; the only exciting thing so far was the takeoff of the flight path.
 
But what was that? The sleepy girl virtually jumped out of her seat as she gradually saw the city’s skyline. The skyscrapers, the streets, the sky – everything was so imposing. “Minako, look,” she only said, speechless at the beautiful scenery.

---

This was only a few minutes ago and Rei was impressed how her mood could change that fast. The jet lag gained the upper hand, her head pounded and she only wanted to arrive at the hotel. But it just shouldn’t be like that. For a perceived eternity she stood at the luggage belt, waiting for her small suitcase to arrive. Why did it take so long? It was one, small suitcase.
 
‘Rei-channnnn,’ she suddenly heard a familiar voice next to her. ‘could you help me with these pleaseeee?’
 
“Was it really necessary to take four suitcases with you?,” she asked slightly irritated. “We don't plan to move to here.”
 
Her blinking eyes, however, got her around so that she eventually carried two of her suitcases. “That was really not necessary,” she muttered, recalling the thought that she had four of them.
 
After a while she finally caught up with the others, putting the suitcases in the trunk and eventually sat down in the van. “Hey, Haruka,” she said with a smile, a bit belated. “It’s good to see you again.”
 
While she more or less enjoyed the trip to the restaurant that Haruka suggested, Rei took some medication in hopes the jet lag would disappear.

Bright ruby eyes stared out at the city as they drove from the airport, Chibi Usa's face plastered against the window. She seemed to notice only the differences between this city and Tokyo--not to mention how completely unlike Crystal Tokyo this place was! This was so exciting!

At Katz, she stared at the enormous sandwiches and slices of cheesecake being served to nearby tables. She strained to look at the photos covering the walls, without getting in the way of other diners. It was packed! Finding seating space for the entire group was difficult, but thankfully it happened without too long of a wait.

Most people in the restaurant looked like tourists, and most of them were ordering the same sandwich. Chibi Usa made up her mind that she'd be getting that one, too. It was going to be so exciting to try American things!

Mamoru’s mention of burgers and fries didn’t really help Usagi’s stomach from insistently growling, but thankfully they eventually managed to drag everyone into Haruka’s car, including Minako and her impossible four luggage. Also thankfully, Haruka knew her very well and had provided snacks in the car, which Usagi had quickly pounced on.

She watched the city’s busy streets and towering buildings, amazed at how different everything looked. All the people, too; there were so many colors here and shapes and sizes. As they finally stopped, Usagi got out of the car and eyed the restaurant. Honestly, she was only excited to be eating. She practically drooled as they entered and saw all the meats and breads and god knows what else.

Everyone was asking questions, but Usagi wanted the fastest direct route to getting her food.

“Haruka-san, what’s the best thing in the menu? Or maybe three of the best things. Or five. I’m so hungry I could eat everything!”

Haruka glanced over to the counter to see what Ami was talking about. "Ah, that's pastrami. It's a deli meat made from beef, although it can sometimes be made from pork, mutton or turkey. It's in a process where the meat is brined, seasonings are added and then the mat smoking and steaming it. It creates melt in your mouth meet that is great on a sandwich." It was actually one her favourite things to get on the menu here. Chuckling at Usagi's question, she turned herself to the hyper active blonde. 

"Well, the pastrami sandwhich, made from the meat that Ami-san was asking me about, is really good. They also have a really good burger here, or the cheesesteak is good as well. Oh, or the cornbeef sandwhich. Anything here is good really, you won't go wrong, they are world famous for a reason after all," Haruka said, winking at Usagi.

Mamoru smiled at Usagi. The girl had quite the appetite. When he saw that Haruka was telling Usagi all she wanted to know about American food, Mamoru walked over to Chibiusa.

He bent down to be more on her level, "What about you Chibiusa? What would you like to eat?" He asked as he thought about what he would like to try first on his visit to the big Apple.

Chibi Usa beamed up at this past version of her father--he was still taller than her even when he tried to lower himself to her size. They had only been in this country for a very short while, and every single moment of it had been amazing! The small pink-haired girl positively radiated her enthusiasm. Besides, how could she not bask in attention from Mamo-chan? A daddy's girl in the future 30th century Crystal Tokyo, and a daddy's girl in this timeline, too.

"The sandwich everyone is ordering looks delicious! I think the menu shows it's a 'Paztrami' sandwich," she replied, tripping over the unfamiliar word.

A waitress walked past them carrying countless plates with enormous cheesecake slices, each drenched in decadent sauces and studded with toppings. Chibi Usa's russet eyes lit up like fireworks.

"Oooh, and cheesecake, maybe?"

She grinned at him. "What do you want, Mamo-chan?"

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Ami responded kindly to Haruka after the latter explained to her about pastrami "Thank you.  That does sound like it's worth at least a taste."

Ami then went off to find the bathrooms.  When she found them, she went in the women's one to wash her hands in a sink.

After cleaning up, Ami exited the women's bathroom and went up to the lines leading up to the counter.  After figuring out which line led up to the community pastrami sample plate, she got in at the end of that line.  Then she patiently waited to get to the front of that line.  Once she had reached the front of the line and was next to  that plate of samples, she quietly & politely said "Pardon me," in English to anyone around her that was watching her, and took a slice of the pastrami with her clean hands.

Ami slowly walked back to where Haruka, Mamoru, and the other girls were because she was trying the slice of pastrami while walking.