By Sailor Archer/ AJ Archer
I'm not sure where to place this fic- it doesn't mention the Senshi at all. Anyway, from Usagi's POV, here we go.
(Usagi and co are copyright Takeuchi Naoko and a bunch of companies. I don't own them, blah blah blah.)
I don't like bars. Let's get that straight. I've never been a big fan of alcohol, and the reason people go to bars is to drink alcohol. I'm here because my friends said there was dancing. I'm a complete klutz, but I love to dance, so I decided against my better judgement to go.
Man, I am a SUCKER. I don't even count as one of those cute little lollys that last all of one crunch, and definitely not as a Tootsie pop. I'm one of those cheap dentist's office brand suckers, the kind that people throw out of their candy sacks at Halloween.
My name's Tsuki no Usagi. It means 'rabbit of the moon' in English, one of my many worst subjects in school. Cool, huh? I'm fifteen years old, a cute blond with eyes so blue they'll make your head spin. Really. I've seen it happen to some boys at school; they start running into things.
My friends are over at the music player dialing up tonight's tunes. The pretty blue-haired one with glasses is Mizu no Ami. She's a genius. No, really. Her IQ's 300 or something. Like me, she was suckered into coming along, but now she's too tipsy to notice she's not studying. She's nice and a sweet person, though. The tall redhead is Ki no Makoto. She was one of the ones who engineered the suckering. She cooks like a fiend, really good food that'll keep you coming back. Everyone used to think she was a bully, but now they love her.
The last three are Hi no Rei, Ai no Minako, and Ten'ou Haruka. Rei's the drop dead gorgeous one with the creamy skin. She's a Shinto priestess and the last of the suckerees (she prefers tea). Haruka is in her girl mode, lucky for her girlfriend Kaiou Michiru, because if she was dressed in her more boyish clothes my poor Minako would have jumped her. Haruka's a bit of a tomboy, with her white-blond hair cut short and her kind of low voice. She can be mistaken for a guy when she wants to be. We did.
Ah, lastly, my poor Mina-P. Drunk now and giggling. We look like twins with our hair down except for her bangs and slightly more athletic body. She's an angel, really... but she's boy-crazy and the other one who got us in here. She can talk anyone into anything.
We're not the only ones here. There's a bunch of guys watching football and us in one corner, some business people (you can tell by the suits) at a few tables talking and laughing in that relaxation that comes after work on a Friday night, and one absolutely beautiful raven-haired man alone at the far side of the bar. He looks moody, but it only emphasizes how incredible looking he is with that Gothic hero look out of Minako's favorite romance novels. If we were, say, at school or even at the arcade, I might have gone over and struck up a conversation. I tend to do that- go up to complete strangers and end up with great friends. I'm very proud of it. It's my best talent.
"See, Usagi-chan? Dancing music!" Minako giggles. "Come on, have a little saki and dance with us!"
"VERY little saki," Makoto says. "Our Usagi's a little girl!" She pats my head on the way back to our table. She IS a half a foot taller than me, but I hate being called little. Still, it's my Mako-chan, I love her.
"I don't drink, Mako-chan, don't worry. I don't want to end up like Mina-P." I go up and get some normal tea at the bar.
The bartender nods toward Minako. "Hey, I'm gonna give her some straight stuff now, okay? She looks a little far gone."
"Arigato," I say gratefully, bowing. "I don't want to have to carry her home."
He chuckles and goes back to making drinks. Nice guy.
"Mina-P, eat something!" I yell as she crashes into a table. Eating helps, right?
"Food!" Minako cries triumphantly, as if she's just discovered the wheel or something. "Hai, Usagi-chan, your god food! I shall!"
If I were an anime character, I would have had a huge sweatdrop obscuring the side of my head. But my attention is suddenly distracted by some laughing and jeering in the other corner, where the handsome Gothic hero is sitting.
"Where's your Motoki-san, Mamoru?" a man asks nastily and very rudely. "Did you two have a tiff?"
"He probably started liking girls again," the one next to him laughs.
I hate it when people do things like this!
Some of the men say some things in English that I can't understand. They don't look like they're from here... and few people here make fun of homosexuals, or Michiru and Haruka would have gone elsewhere with their love and their talents. Minako is even a little bisexual (although she likes guys far more, she has a longtime crush on Rei).
Well, wherever they're from, they have no right!
I walk over there fast and push through them. "Mamoru-kun, what's going on?" I cry, grabbing hold of his arm like he's my lover. "I was getting a drink, my love, and then I saw all these men!"
At that point, they're backing away, thinking that I'm his girlfriend. Perfect. I'm a pretty good damsel-in-distress type.
I look up pleadingly into his eyes and almost lose the act. Remember what I said about my eyes? Well, his blow mine out of the water and off the beach. My heart nearly stops.
He reaches up and touches one of my hair buns endearingly. "Don't worry, little Usagi-chan. These are my classmates. They were just teasing, but now they've got somewhere to be. Don't you, Michael-san?"
Now I'm mad. That's an English name! They're Americans! I knew that no Japanese person would make fun of someone in love with their own gender!
However, the act is still on. "Mamoru-kun," I say tearfully, for my baby blues are filling up right on cue, "why did they sound so mean? Isn't teasing... just for fun?"
He has to work to hide a smile. I saw his mouth twitch. I'm wondering when my Academy Award will show up! This is my best performance ever! "Just an act, Usa-chan." He looks away for them. They're gone. "Much overshadowed by yours, I might add. Domo arigato."
"I hate seeing people get picked on." I let his arm go and shut off the waterworks. "I can't stand people like that, either. Love is love."
He grimaces. "I'm not in love with Motoki-kun. We're close friends. He even has a girlfriend. But we hang out a lot together. I don't have many close friends."
"Would you like some?" I offer teasingly. "I'm Tsuki no Usagi, Tokyo's most famous barfight-stopping actress."
He chuckles softly. Very nice voice, and too deep for most guys my age. "Chiba Mamoru. Pleased to meet you, Usagi-san."
"I'm way too young for a san. Usagi-chan, please. I'm only fifteen."
Mamoru blinks, then throws his head back and roars with laughter. It's contagious. I begin giggling myself. "Fifteen! Fifteen and you had them running like children! Well, my most incredible actress, you just sold out some very laughably gullible high school seniors! What do you think about that?"
"How old are you?"
"Nineteen. A bit older than you."
"A bit? Four years. Soon I'll have to call you Mamoru-san."
He smiles at the joke. "You look older."
"And you look a lot nicer when you smile. You were so moody before. What's wrong? Why are you here alone?"
I shouldn't have asked. His smile fades. "You don't want to hear me ramble, Usagi-chan. Go back to your friends, you'll have more fun."
"Fun isn't the issue." I glance at them. They're all drinking now, and thankfully eating, too. Minako looks a little more sober than she did. Thank heaven for good bartenders. "Besides, I don't drink. Come, buy me some tea and ramble at me, I don't mind. You have a nice voice."
The smile reappears a little. I realize what I've just done and blush. Usually I'm not this bold. But he signals the bartender to bring me more tea (mine is ice cold) and begins talking.
We talked for hours. Turns out he goes to a super-elite school and has gotten the once-in-a-lifetime to study at America's Harvard. But he doesn't want to leave his best friend and have to start all over. Motoki, however, thinks that this is an incredible opportunity and is pushing him to go. I told him to follow his heart. (Hey, always works with me!) That was only the first subject.
When the bar finally closes, Mamoru goes to stand up and nearly falls. I catch him. "Whoa, I've been here too long..."
"Minna, I'm going to help him home," I tell my friends. Rei looks passably sober and nods. Makoto, who doesn't look like she's been drinking at all even though I know she has, winks at me. It makes take a lot of saki to bring her down.
"I don't live that far away," Mamoru protests as I help him outside.
"And I'm going to make sure you get there! Which way?" He doesn't respond and I sigh. "Besides, if those bakas are after you again they'll see us going home together and will never bother you again. Which way?"
He caves and tells me. We get to a very nice apartment complex without incident and trudge up the stairs. He pulls out his key and opens the door. His apartment's nice, too. I bring him in- half dragging him now, he's having trouble with his feet- and deposit him on the couch, where he immediately lies back and looks a bit green.
"Are you going to be okay? You look ill."
"I'll be fine."
"Did you eat anything at the bar?"
"No."
"You're probably starving! I'll make you something." I head to the kitchen.
"Usagi-chan, you're making me feel like a baby."
"Do you want a bottle?" I call back lightly.
He stumbles in. "I'll make coffee."
"No! Chiba Mamoru, you get your cute butt back on that couch or I swear-"
"What?" He grins at me. "You'll what?"
I grab his arm and prepare to haul him back to the couch, but suddenly he's a LOT heavier. "Mamoru-kun! You are very sick-"
"And you are adorable when you're angry!" He laughs and hugs me. "Usagi-chan, you can't pull me around all by yourself."
I give his arm another jerk. He laughs some more and dips me down like we're dancing. How he found the motor skills to do that after not being able to walk, I don't know, but he managed it without the slightest bump.
"Sweet little rabbit," he says softly. Even clouded by alcohol his eyes are beautiful. "My sweet Usagi-chan, fighting off the wolves for me."
His mouth... I can smell the saki but not taste it. His lips are warm. My first kiss and it's great, the best thing I've felt in a long time.
"M- Mamo- Mamoru-kun, you're drunk..." I don't know where that came from. This is great. Protesting is not what I mean to do.
"Just a bit tipsy." His warm hand touches my cheek. "Not drunk enough not to feel this. Not even close."
Nor is he too drunk to return to the couch, to protest when our clothes fall, or to be gentle with me my first time after I convince him I'm perfectly agreeable.
I wake up the next morning to find him gone from our couch. My hair has long since fallen from its buns and become a tangled mess- no, I remember, I took it down for him last night. I wrap myself in the light blanket he found for us and go in search of him.
He's sitting out on the balcony with his head in his hands. I open the door and he looks up in such misery that my eyes sting.
"No, Mamo-kun, no!" I throw myself at him, hugging, kissing, trying to soothe this away with my hands and mouth. "I made the choice, Mamoru-kun. Please don't."
"I took advantage of you... god, you're only fifteen!"
"It's old enough! I knew what we were doing! Please, Mamo-kun, don't hate yourself. You were- I- last night was so perfect! You're just hung over. Let's go inside. You can get some asprin and some water. I remember Ami-chan telling me that a hangover's just dehydration. She'd be so happy to know that she's rubbing off on me. Come on, don't be like this. It makes my heart hurt."
He smiles a little through his tears and shakes his head. "Sweet Usagi-chan. Saving me again?"
I look at him.
"If I'd met you when I was younger, Usagi-chan, I think I might have fallen in love with you. As it is..." His hand gently runs through my hair. "Whatever boy gets your heart is lucky, and I envy him. I'll go inside."
He does, but I stay out there frozen in the shock of what he just said to me.
Want more? Tell me so. Review or write yasuhikokuwata@yahoo.com .
I'm not sure where to place this fic- it doesn't mention the Senshi at all. Anyway, from Usagi's POV, here we go.
(Usagi and co are copyright Takeuchi Naoko and a bunch of companies. I don't own them, blah blah blah.)
I don't like bars. Let's get that straight. I've never been a big fan of alcohol, and the reason people go to bars is to drink alcohol. I'm here because my friends said there was dancing. I'm a complete klutz, but I love to dance, so I decided against my better judgement to go.
Man, I am a SUCKER. I don't even count as one of those cute little lollys that last all of one crunch, and definitely not as a Tootsie pop. I'm one of those cheap dentist's office brand suckers, the kind that people throw out of their candy sacks at Halloween.
My name's Tsuki no Usagi. It means 'rabbit of the moon' in English, one of my many worst subjects in school. Cool, huh? I'm fifteen years old, a cute blond with eyes so blue they'll make your head spin. Really. I've seen it happen to some boys at school; they start running into things.
My friends are over at the music player dialing up tonight's tunes. The pretty blue-haired one with glasses is Mizu no Ami. She's a genius. No, really. Her IQ's 300 or something. Like me, she was suckered into coming along, but now she's too tipsy to notice she's not studying. She's nice and a sweet person, though. The tall redhead is Ki no Makoto. She was one of the ones who engineered the suckering. She cooks like a fiend, really good food that'll keep you coming back. Everyone used to think she was a bully, but now they love her.
The last three are Hi no Rei, Ai no Minako, and Ten'ou Haruka. Rei's the drop dead gorgeous one with the creamy skin. She's a Shinto priestess and the last of the suckerees (she prefers tea). Haruka is in her girl mode, lucky for her girlfriend Kaiou Michiru, because if she was dressed in her more boyish clothes my poor Minako would have jumped her. Haruka's a bit of a tomboy, with her white-blond hair cut short and her kind of low voice. She can be mistaken for a guy when she wants to be. We did.
Ah, lastly, my poor Mina-P. Drunk now and giggling. We look like twins with our hair down except for her bangs and slightly more athletic body. She's an angel, really... but she's boy-crazy and the other one who got us in here. She can talk anyone into anything.
We're not the only ones here. There's a bunch of guys watching football and us in one corner, some business people (you can tell by the suits) at a few tables talking and laughing in that relaxation that comes after work on a Friday night, and one absolutely beautiful raven-haired man alone at the far side of the bar. He looks moody, but it only emphasizes how incredible looking he is with that Gothic hero look out of Minako's favorite romance novels. If we were, say, at school or even at the arcade, I might have gone over and struck up a conversation. I tend to do that- go up to complete strangers and end up with great friends. I'm very proud of it. It's my best talent.
"See, Usagi-chan? Dancing music!" Minako giggles. "Come on, have a little saki and dance with us!"
"VERY little saki," Makoto says. "Our Usagi's a little girl!" She pats my head on the way back to our table. She IS a half a foot taller than me, but I hate being called little. Still, it's my Mako-chan, I love her.
"I don't drink, Mako-chan, don't worry. I don't want to end up like Mina-P." I go up and get some normal tea at the bar.
The bartender nods toward Minako. "Hey, I'm gonna give her some straight stuff now, okay? She looks a little far gone."
"Arigato," I say gratefully, bowing. "I don't want to have to carry her home."
He chuckles and goes back to making drinks. Nice guy.
"Mina-P, eat something!" I yell as she crashes into a table. Eating helps, right?
"Food!" Minako cries triumphantly, as if she's just discovered the wheel or something. "Hai, Usagi-chan, your god food! I shall!"
If I were an anime character, I would have had a huge sweatdrop obscuring the side of my head. But my attention is suddenly distracted by some laughing and jeering in the other corner, where the handsome Gothic hero is sitting.
"Where's your Motoki-san, Mamoru?" a man asks nastily and very rudely. "Did you two have a tiff?"
"He probably started liking girls again," the one next to him laughs.
I hate it when people do things like this!
Some of the men say some things in English that I can't understand. They don't look like they're from here... and few people here make fun of homosexuals, or Michiru and Haruka would have gone elsewhere with their love and their talents. Minako is even a little bisexual (although she likes guys far more, she has a longtime crush on Rei).
Well, wherever they're from, they have no right!
I walk over there fast and push through them. "Mamoru-kun, what's going on?" I cry, grabbing hold of his arm like he's my lover. "I was getting a drink, my love, and then I saw all these men!"
At that point, they're backing away, thinking that I'm his girlfriend. Perfect. I'm a pretty good damsel-in-distress type.
I look up pleadingly into his eyes and almost lose the act. Remember what I said about my eyes? Well, his blow mine out of the water and off the beach. My heart nearly stops.
He reaches up and touches one of my hair buns endearingly. "Don't worry, little Usagi-chan. These are my classmates. They were just teasing, but now they've got somewhere to be. Don't you, Michael-san?"
Now I'm mad. That's an English name! They're Americans! I knew that no Japanese person would make fun of someone in love with their own gender!
However, the act is still on. "Mamoru-kun," I say tearfully, for my baby blues are filling up right on cue, "why did they sound so mean? Isn't teasing... just for fun?"
He has to work to hide a smile. I saw his mouth twitch. I'm wondering when my Academy Award will show up! This is my best performance ever! "Just an act, Usa-chan." He looks away for them. They're gone. "Much overshadowed by yours, I might add. Domo arigato."
"I hate seeing people get picked on." I let his arm go and shut off the waterworks. "I can't stand people like that, either. Love is love."
He grimaces. "I'm not in love with Motoki-kun. We're close friends. He even has a girlfriend. But we hang out a lot together. I don't have many close friends."
"Would you like some?" I offer teasingly. "I'm Tsuki no Usagi, Tokyo's most famous barfight-stopping actress."
He chuckles softly. Very nice voice, and too deep for most guys my age. "Chiba Mamoru. Pleased to meet you, Usagi-san."
"I'm way too young for a san. Usagi-chan, please. I'm only fifteen."
Mamoru blinks, then throws his head back and roars with laughter. It's contagious. I begin giggling myself. "Fifteen! Fifteen and you had them running like children! Well, my most incredible actress, you just sold out some very laughably gullible high school seniors! What do you think about that?"
"How old are you?"
"Nineteen. A bit older than you."
"A bit? Four years. Soon I'll have to call you Mamoru-san."
He smiles at the joke. "You look older."
"And you look a lot nicer when you smile. You were so moody before. What's wrong? Why are you here alone?"
I shouldn't have asked. His smile fades. "You don't want to hear me ramble, Usagi-chan. Go back to your friends, you'll have more fun."
"Fun isn't the issue." I glance at them. They're all drinking now, and thankfully eating, too. Minako looks a little more sober than she did. Thank heaven for good bartenders. "Besides, I don't drink. Come, buy me some tea and ramble at me, I don't mind. You have a nice voice."
The smile reappears a little. I realize what I've just done and blush. Usually I'm not this bold. But he signals the bartender to bring me more tea (mine is ice cold) and begins talking.
We talked for hours. Turns out he goes to a super-elite school and has gotten the once-in-a-lifetime to study at America's Harvard. But he doesn't want to leave his best friend and have to start all over. Motoki, however, thinks that this is an incredible opportunity and is pushing him to go. I told him to follow his heart. (Hey, always works with me!) That was only the first subject.
When the bar finally closes, Mamoru goes to stand up and nearly falls. I catch him. "Whoa, I've been here too long..."
"Minna, I'm going to help him home," I tell my friends. Rei looks passably sober and nods. Makoto, who doesn't look like she's been drinking at all even though I know she has, winks at me. It makes take a lot of saki to bring her down.
"I don't live that far away," Mamoru protests as I help him outside.
"And I'm going to make sure you get there! Which way?" He doesn't respond and I sigh. "Besides, if those bakas are after you again they'll see us going home together and will never bother you again. Which way?"
He caves and tells me. We get to a very nice apartment complex without incident and trudge up the stairs. He pulls out his key and opens the door. His apartment's nice, too. I bring him in- half dragging him now, he's having trouble with his feet- and deposit him on the couch, where he immediately lies back and looks a bit green.
"Are you going to be okay? You look ill."
"I'll be fine."
"Did you eat anything at the bar?"
"No."
"You're probably starving! I'll make you something." I head to the kitchen.
"Usagi-chan, you're making me feel like a baby."
"Do you want a bottle?" I call back lightly.
He stumbles in. "I'll make coffee."
"No! Chiba Mamoru, you get your cute butt back on that couch or I swear-"
"What?" He grins at me. "You'll what?"
I grab his arm and prepare to haul him back to the couch, but suddenly he's a LOT heavier. "Mamoru-kun! You are very sick-"
"And you are adorable when you're angry!" He laughs and hugs me. "Usagi-chan, you can't pull me around all by yourself."
I give his arm another jerk. He laughs some more and dips me down like we're dancing. How he found the motor skills to do that after not being able to walk, I don't know, but he managed it without the slightest bump.
"Sweet little rabbit," he says softly. Even clouded by alcohol his eyes are beautiful. "My sweet Usagi-chan, fighting off the wolves for me."
His mouth... I can smell the saki but not taste it. His lips are warm. My first kiss and it's great, the best thing I've felt in a long time.
"M- Mamo- Mamoru-kun, you're drunk..." I don't know where that came from. This is great. Protesting is not what I mean to do.
"Just a bit tipsy." His warm hand touches my cheek. "Not drunk enough not to feel this. Not even close."
Nor is he too drunk to return to the couch, to protest when our clothes fall, or to be gentle with me my first time after I convince him I'm perfectly agreeable.
I wake up the next morning to find him gone from our couch. My hair has long since fallen from its buns and become a tangled mess- no, I remember, I took it down for him last night. I wrap myself in the light blanket he found for us and go in search of him.
He's sitting out on the balcony with his head in his hands. I open the door and he looks up in such misery that my eyes sting.
"No, Mamo-kun, no!" I throw myself at him, hugging, kissing, trying to soothe this away with my hands and mouth. "I made the choice, Mamoru-kun. Please don't."
"I took advantage of you... god, you're only fifteen!"
"It's old enough! I knew what we were doing! Please, Mamo-kun, don't hate yourself. You were- I- last night was so perfect! You're just hung over. Let's go inside. You can get some asprin and some water. I remember Ami-chan telling me that a hangover's just dehydration. She'd be so happy to know that she's rubbing off on me. Come on, don't be like this. It makes my heart hurt."
He smiles a little through his tears and shakes his head. "Sweet Usagi-chan. Saving me again?"
I look at him.
"If I'd met you when I was younger, Usagi-chan, I think I might have fallen in love with you. As it is..." His hand gently runs through my hair. "Whatever boy gets your heart is lucky, and I envy him. I'll go inside."
He does, but I stay out there frozen in the shock of what he just said to me.
Want more? Tell me so. Review or write yasuhikokuwata@yahoo.com .