Salutations, minna-san! This is just a short first-season fic I did for Valentine's Day last year. I hope you enjoy it.

Zsah

Valentine Madness

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"Umm..."

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"Umm... I'm coming..."

Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!____ ~CRASH!~

"Stupid clock.", muttered a peeved, less-than-half-awake Usagi.

"USAGI! A -- no, not again. That's the fifth alarm clock you broke this week!", Luna stared morosely at the shattered face of the cat-face-shaped alarm clock.
(Hint: It looked just like her.)

"Disappear Luna, I want to sleep..."

"You're going to be late, YOUNG LADY."

No answer. ~Snore~

"Well, I suppose you'd rather sleep through Valentine's Day. But, if that's what you want..."

"Whaaa? Oh, shoot! It's Valentine's Day! Why didn't you say so earlier? Stupid, stupid, stupid...", hurricane Usagi kept on grumbling as with ultra superhuman speed, she zoomed into the bathroom, zoomed again out of the bathroom and rocketed downstairs to grab her lunchbag and speed out of the front door, out of the front gate, and into the busy morning Tokyo street."

"USAGI, WAIT! YOU FORGOT YOUR--- breakfast."


Around the corner, along the street going to Juuban High...

10, 9, 8, 7...

"Waaaaah, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late..."

6, 5, 4, 3...

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late..."

2, 1, BLASTED OFF!

"Owwieee!", as Usagi painfully landed on her rear.

"Great going, Meatball Head. It's Valentine's day and here we go again." muttered an exasperated Mamoru who looked gloriously handsome, as usual, in his hideous-looking green jacket, as usual.

"Shut up, Baka! If anybody's at fault here, it's YOU! You and your stupid-looking green of a jacket! Now. if you'll excuse me, I have to rush four hundred meters more!"

"HEY, MEATBALL HEAD! I take offense for the libel against my jacket!" Mamoru hollered. But Usagi was already gone in a trail of dust and sparks (from friction between the cement and the sole of her shoes,
that is).

Across, the street, two beings had witnessed the spectacle...

"This is turning out to be a daily routine, Honey."

"But aren't they cute? They sound just like you and me
when we first met."

"Oh, yeah? Did we sound like a pair of war freaks?"

"Oh, come on, Sweetheart. Where's your sense of foreplay?"

The other one raised his eyebrows.

"Oops... I mean, look at them. They're perfect for each other. I bet that if you used your "Accerelators" now, you'd have them in love like a pair of lovebirds in a snap."

"You think so, Honey?"

"I know so, Sweetheart."

"Alright, we're on a mission."


At Juuban High...

'Everyone here has some flowers or chocolates sent to them by a secret so-so. Even Umino-kun has his, given by Naru-chan. Aaargh! For what reason was I ever excited about Valentine's Day, in the first place. These, given by friends, as much as I love them, don't count. No, no...' Usagi's gloomy thoughts.

"Good morning, class and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!" Miss Haruna chirped in a cheerful voice.

'Uugh! Even Miss Haruna has a date! What did I expect anyway? That a big box of chocolates and bunch of red roses would materialize out of nowhere, sent by Mamo---Tuxedo Kamen? Dream on, girl.' Gloom, gloom, gloom...

As everyone seemed not to be in the mood to have classes, Usagi slipped out of Juuban High and proceeded to the Crown Arcade.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Usa-chan!" Rei, Makoto, Ami and Minako greeted her in chorus.

"Hello, minna-chan!" Usagi greeted in response.

"Wow! It's so nice to see you guys! I don't feel so gloomy now."

"You mean, you feel consoled because the four of us are just like you -- dateless on a Valentine's day." Rei snapped.

"Oh-oh. Here it goes..." Makoto, Ami and Minako braced themselves for another head-on collision.

"That's not what I meant!" Usagi flared.

"Yes, IT WAS!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

Both girls were already at loggerheads.

"Hey, cool it, Meatball Head." An ultra cool Mamoru chipped in.

"You -- you, Baka! It's y-you again!" sputtered a totally incensed Usagi.

"Oh yes, it's me, you bet, Meatball Head!"

"Guys, stand by for World War III..." Everyone in the arcade whispered to themselves.

At the adjacent table...

"Not if we can help it, Sweetheart..."

1, 2, 3, SHOOT! Two arrows sliced the air with lightning speed.

"Ouch!" Two people shouted out, and clutched the left part of their respective chests in quick pain.

"What was that?" Everyone, who had nothing better to do, asked among themselves.

"Baka! What did you do?"

"I, Meatball Head? I didn't do anything!"

"Oh, yes you did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

At the adjacent table...

"I don't understand, Sweetheart. Why are they still arguing?"

"I don't know, Hon."

"Maybe you used expired arrows. Why not try again?"

1, 2, 3, SHOOT!

"Ouch!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

No effect.

1, 2, 3, SHOOT!

Still no effect.

"I give up, Honey. This is Valentine madness! Either my arrows are at fault -- which I don't think so or those two have hearts surrounded by bricks -- which is most likely!"

"~Sigh~ I guess I was wrong. Maybe, there really is no special chemistry between those two, just plain hydrolics. Let's go home, Sweetheart. Your Grandpa must be already thundering for you."

In an instant, the adjacent table was left vacant.

"You're a jerkwad who takes a great kick out of making little girls' lives miserable!"

"And you're a spitfire with whom no man in his right mind would ever want anything to do with, even on a Valentine's day -- especially ON A VALENTINE'S DAY!"

~Shocked silence.~

Everyone focused on Usagi and was shocked to see a totally alien expression on her usually, normally, cheerful, I-love-the-word-despite-its-faults face. She looked hurt -- downright miserable.

In a quiet voice...

"Is that so, Mamoru-san?" Thick golden lashes went down to hide her pale blue eyes. And before anyone could say another word, she rushed out of the arcade with her head bent and a tormented sound torn out of her throat---

"Usagi--!" Still before the stunned stare of everyone in the silenced arcade, Mamoru, with Tuxedo-Kamen-like speed, flew out of the arcade in pursuit of the golden-haired bunny.

The four friends were the first to recover.

"Okay, minna-san, enough entertainment for one day!" Makoto snapped at everyone.

Meanwhile...
Usagi, ran to the only place that could soothe her hurt feelings.

'I know we don't exactly hit it off -- okay, we don't hit it off, period. But I never thought that he disliked me -- nor that he disliked me that much. Fool, fool, fool... I even thought that our daily verbal sparrings meant something special to him... Fool, fool, fool, indeed...' as she huddled beneath a cherry blossom tree and tears started to flow freely.

The trees in the park were lit with a golden brightness from the late morning sun. Their spring leaves swayed to the lilt of dancing zephyrs which played with their blades in earnest merriment. But Usagi was obliviously to all of these. Not even the unusual smell of roses in the air had the power to make her surface out of her miserable musings. Until...

Usagi stared at her surroundings in bewilderment as a thousand or so full-bloomed roses floated in the wind around her and dropped gently one by one, like snowflakes, at her feet.

She felt his presence before she saw him. He stood about seven feet before her, tall and distinguished, with his midnight black hair tousled by the rose-scented breeze.

"Usako. I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I didn't mean them -- no -- yes, I was - am a man out of his mind, out of my mind... Every time I see you -- your clear blue eyes, your smile -- I feel like I am tumbling headlong into a botomless precipice. I hear your voice -- a beautiful melody that haunts me like a shadow. And I didn't know how to handle this turmoil inside me. All I know is that I have to get those eyes to look at me, that voice to speak to me -- in any way. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tell you but I can't stand to see you in pain." He smiled in self-mockery. "O, yes, I know, I've been mean to you from day 1, but I never thought that you were really hurt from the stupid things I said at the spur of the moment. Rather, I thought that our daily encounters were something special between us -- something to look forward to, something I could look forward to, everyday. Now, I know better, I will stop myself from bothering you. Gomen nasai, Usa-ko

As Mamoru started to leave...

'This is a dream. But could a chimera be this vivid. So much pain...'

"Mamo-chan..." in a small, hesitant voice. Its effect was like a spear through Mamoru's chest.

"What did you say?"

"Mamo-chan. I l-like your green jacket. I m-mean I-I l-love it." Usagi said, rather haltingly, as her pale cerulean eyes met his darker ones. "Wha-at I-I mean is... Aishiteru."

She saw his immobile face. Empty of all expression. His eyes were a flat blue, uncomprehending. And for a moment, she felt as if her heart were being squeezed by a merciless grip that drained the blood from her face... She had made a mistake... This was no dream... And she had misheard him... He'll never feel for her in that way. But a will stronger than her own kept pained blue eyes at his... Eons of time... an eternity... Until the merest flicker crossed his eyes... and he was gazing at her with feelings that ... mirrored hers.

And for a long moment, only the gentle humming of the breeze could be heard throughout the park. Rose petals floated in the air in celebration, while Mamoru and Usagi continued to stare -- transfixed, enchanted -- at each other.

Somewhere above the Valentine air...

"So that's why the arrows didn't work, Honey -- those two have been fathoms deep in love with each other for months now."

"Uh-uh, guess I was right, after all. In a fashion, I mean."

The two beings, one, a male, and the other, a female snuggled close to each other on a great cumulus cloud as they watched the two lovers on earth, embrace underneath the cherry blossom tree with roses lying at their feet and rose petals floating in the air surrounding them, when suddenly, an intruder with wings on his feet interrupted them---

"Cupid, Psyche! Hey, I've been searching every nook and cranny of Olympus for both of you. Zeus wants you two at home, he has a mission for both of you in Sparta."

"Uugh! But Uncle Merc, it's Valentine's day!

"And so it is, Cupid, but what Zeus says is what Zeus says."

"Oh, alright, come on, Hon. By the way, Uncle Merc, the name is Eros. "Cupid" sounds sissy-ish."

"Whatever you say, Eros."

Fin

Like it? Hate it? Please e-mail me on what you think.