Author's note: I had the idea for this Story after attending a Valentine's Day Party with my friends. It was originally planned as a oneshot but while writing it the story developped into something longer. It is a typical Valentine's story I guess including a lot of romance as well as some drama and a lot of fluffy moments.
It was supposed to be up much earlier but problems with my internet connection prevented me from uploading it. But now, here it is, finally, much later than planned but better late than never, right?
Enjoy the read and let me know what you think!
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Chapter 1: A cruel joke
Following his daily routine Mamoru had decided to stop by the crown arcade for a cup of coffee. It had been a quiet day so far in the arcade and only a few customers were around. Savouring the smell and the taste of his coffee Mamoru closed his eyes and sighed contently. But, although he was fairly content and his coffee good as usual he felt that, for some strange reason, something was different that afternoon compared to the other ones.
He had the impression that there was something missing. Trying to figure out what it was the handsome upper-class man took a look around and suddenly it struck him like lightning; Usagi and her friends weren't there and Mamoru couldn't help but feeling a little bit disappointed, especially about the odango haired girl's absence. If he was truly honest with himself, Mamoru had to admit that, besides the fact of getting the probably best coffee in Tokyo, it were his daily encounters with the lively blonde he was really looking forward too.
Mamoru couldn't exactly explain why but for a certain reason he just loved to tease that girl and make fun of her, knowing very well that the despised him for his mean behaviour towards her. However, lately he often caught himself being sad and upset about that and thinking about how nice it would be to be friends with her. From what Mamoru had seen he believed her to be a very open, charming and caring girl with a big and loving heart. More than once during these past few weeks he'd thought about apologizing to Usagi and maybe to start over but something always held him back. 'Maybe it's because of Valentine's Day coming up in three days and the fact that I feel a bit lonely sometimes that I have those gloomy thoughts theses days,' the young man thought taking another sip of his coffee.
The voice of his friend ripped him out of his thoughts. "Hey Mamoru," Motoki said. "I just looked through the post that arrived this morning and this letter is addressed to you." "To me," the ebony haired man asked in surprise staring at the light blue envelope the arcade owner shoved over to him. "It has your name on it and you are the only Mamoru Chiba who's a regular customer here," Motoki explained chuckling. "Ergo this letter must be meant for you. It seems that the one who wrote it didn't know your exact address and put it in the arcade's post box knowing that you often drop by." "Maybe," Mamoru answered thoughtfully. "It doesn't say who's sent it either…strange." "Open it, maybe the writer has signed it," Motoki suggested trying to hide his curiousness.
Being very curious about that himself Mamoru rapidly opened the envelope and pulled out a plain white card, lovingly decorated with little bunnies. With a deep breath he turned it around in order to read the message written on its back. "My dear Mamoru," he read out with a slightly shaking voice. "It has been some time now that we know each other and that I would like to tell you something important. Finally I found the courage to do so. Please meet me tomorrow (the 12th) at 3pm on the bridge of the lake in Jûban Park.
Yours, Bunny."
Mamoru put the card down and stared at it in surprise and disbelief. 'It can't be from her,' he thought his heartbeat speeding up a pace. 'It would be too wonderful to be real,' "That's great," Motoki exclaimed. "I knew Usagi-chan had a thing for you!" "Why do you think the card is from her," Mamoru asked trying to sound casual. "Oh come on pal! Don't play stupid," the young arcade owner answered. "Firstly it's totally Usagi's style, decorating the card with bunnies. Everybody knows how much she loves them… and secondly she signed the message with 'Bunny'. Isn't that the English translation of 'Usagi'? Honestly, it couldn't be more obvious who the writer of this message is."
Mamoru slowly nodded in agreement. "True," he mumbled silently. "True." "So, what are you going to do," Motoki asked smiling slyly. "Will you go the park and meet her?" "I…I don't know," the ebony haired student answered. "At the moment I'm really confused to be honest. I always thought that Usagi hates me because of my behaviour towards her." "But I think you should go anyway and listen to what she wants to tell you," Motoki said with a serious expression on his face. "It might be your chance for a new beginning with Usagi-chan. Don't let it go to waste. However it's entirely your decision and you still have a whole day to think about it." Seeing the troubled face of his friend he softly placed a hand on Mamoru's shoulder. "I can't help you with this pal. I can only advise you to think carefully about what you're going to do. Don't let your worries and uncertainty lead you to a decision you might regret later on.
It was about 5pm in the afternoon when Usagi left the Hikawa temple after the daily scout meeting. Looking up to the grey sky and the heavy clouds she sighed deeply. It had been raining all day and somehow the weather also affected her usual happy mood. 'Great,' she thought as she opened her umbrella. 'Only two days until Valentine's Day and it's raining cats and dogs. How should one ever come into the right mood for such a romantic day with such a bad weather. At least there hasn't been a thunder storm so far for I really hate them,' the girl mumbled grimly clutching her umbrella a little bit tighter as she rushed through the streets of the city.
Anxious to get home as quickly as possible, Usagi decided to take the shortcut through Jûban Park. The paths were empty and no sound could be heard except for the raindrops hitting the ground and the wind rustling in the branches of the trees. With the darkness of the evening falling the leader of the senshi couldn't help but feeling a bit scared and quickened her pace. When she reached the shore of the lake in the centre of the park she suddenly stopped in her tracks. In the fading daylight Usagi could make out the silhouette of a person standing on the bridge with the back turned into her direction. 'What could someone be doing here alone and in this kind of weather,' the blonde asked herself.
Still pondering whether it was a good or a bad idea to go over her curiosity had made her walk closer to the bride. In order to see clearer through the curtain of raindrops Usagi squinted her eyes and gasped in surprise when she recognized the familiar green jacket of a certain ebony haired upper class man.
Motionlessly Mamoru stood on the bride that crossed the beautiful lake of Jûban Park and stared into the distance. After a sleepless night and countless thoughts about the mysterious card and its possible sender, the young man had decided to go to the meeting place at the time indicated in the message. By now he regretted deeply that he had, even for one second, thought about coming. But although it was more than clear now the writing of the card had obviously been a cruel joke played on his account Mamoru couldn't force himself to leave, a small part of his heart still hoping for the impossible.
How long he'd been standing there in the pouring rain he didn't know and he didn't care. Dejected and unable to think straight the young man continued to stare into the dense curtain of raindrops. When he felt a hand softly placed on his shoulder Mamoru slowly turned around and found himself face to face with the girl he'd been waiting for all afternoon. His thoughts and in a turmoil he could only stare at the girl standing in front of him, his eyes throwing daggers at her. "What are you doing here Mamoru-san," Usagi asked carefully as she noticed the cold and angry expression in his eyes.
The ebony haired man took a deep breath trying hard to keep his emotions in check but to no avail. "What am I doing here… shouldn't you know best," he roared in rage and threw a crumpled piece of paper at her feet.Taken aback by his sudden outburst the blonde bent down and picked it up confusion written all over her face. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she mumbled, her voice trembling. She unfolded the crumpled note and let her eyes scan over it. "I…I don't…I don't understand," she stammered in shock and surprise. "Oh come on Usagi, don't play dumb," Mamoru screamed sheer anger blazing in his midnight blue eyes. "Did you have fun imagining my reaction while writing this? What was your motive? Did you write it to revenge yourself on me for my behaviour towards you? Well if this was what you wanted Odango Atama, then congratulations, you succeeded in every possible way…"
His angry tirade was interrupted by Usagi's hand meeting painfully with his cheek. Totally stunned Mamoru stared at the heavily breathing girl who was staring back at him, tears of hurt and anger forming in her eyes. "Who do you think you are," she screamed back. "Who gives you the right to accuse me like that. I have no idea who played such a cruel prank on you but it definitely wasn't me! I admit that I often thought about paying you back for all the mean things you said and for all the times you made me cry but I would never do something so low," she exclaimed huffy and threw the note over the bridge, into the water. "Playing with someone's feelings is the most despicable thing in the world one can do. Did you really think me capable of hurting anyone like this," the leader of the senshi asked quietly her voice laced with sadness.
Mamoru didn't say anything, he just couldn't. Instead he sighed desperately and hung his head in shame and confusion, rain dripping from his ebony hair. Usagi looked at him for a short moment and noticed that he was slightly shivering. Seeing the state the young man was in her heart softened immediately. 'What a baka,' she thought and shook her head. 'Since 3 o'clock he's been waiting here without an umbrella or anything to protect him from the rain. He must feel really cold by now.' "Mamoru-san, come with me," she said softly and carefully took his hand. "Why," he asked still staring at his feet. "Because you're soaked to the bones," the blonde explained. "And if you don't get out of the rain and these wet clothes you'll definitely catch a cold or worse. My house is only a few minutes walk from here and my parents and my brother aren't home until the end of the week so come on." "But Usagi I…" Mamoru was about to protest but one glare of the girl silenced him instantly. "No but, Mister Chiba," Usagi exclaimed with a determination that made it very clear that she would book no opposition in this matter. "You'll do exactly as I say, got it?" The ebony haired student nodded shyly and slowly followed the odango haired girl to the house of her family.
Mamoru hesitantly stood in front of the door of the Tsukino residence. He felt more than uncomfortable, not only because he felt like invading the privacy of a family he'd never met before but also because of what had happened in the park. 'Even after all the things I said to her Usagi-chan is worrying about me,' he thought and blushed in embarrassment. "Are you planning on standing in the doorway for the rest of the evening," the blonde asked with a gentle smile on her face and ushered him inside. "You need to get out of those clothes, Mamoru and you need a hot bath in order to warm you up," she stated. The young man only nodded and followed let her lead him to the bathroom. Usagi handed him a towel and smiled again. "Take your time, ok? I'll look for some clothes of my dad you can change into. I think they should fit. I'll place them in front of the door, alright?" "Thank you very much," Mamoru replied with a shy smile and closed the bathroom door behind him.
About an hour later a refreshed feeling Mamoru was comfortably sitting next to Usagi in front of the fireplace in the living room, a cup of hot chocolate in his hands. "Thanks again Usagi-san, for everything you've done," he said facing her with a grateful smile. "Even though I don't deserve being treated so kindly by you…after all the mean and unjust things I said to you in the park. I'm very sorry, please forgive me," Mamoru finished and lowered his head. "You are forgiven," Usagi answered. "And I'm sorry too, for the slap in the face I gave you. It was just that I was angry and that I didn't know any other way to stop you tirade." "There's nothing to forgive," Mamoru explained and sighed deeply. "I deserved it."
For a few moments they sat quietly, the crackling of the fire the only sound in the room. "You know what's funny," Usagi interrupted the silence. "Although we meet each other every day and talk, if you call throwing insults at each other talking that is, I know nearly nothing about you except for your name, your age and that you are a freshman at college." "Same here," Mamoru answered chuckling. "So why don't you tell me something about you Usagi-san?"
"Let me see," the odango haired girl murmured scratching her head. "My hobbies are listening to music, reading manga and hanging out with friends. Apart from that I like basically everything that is interesting and fun. My favourite colours are pink and blue, my favourite food is ice-cream and I love bunnies. Oh yes, I have a younger brother and a cat named Luna. These are the most important things I'd say. What about you?"
Mamoru smiled at the girl and cleared his throat. "It seems that we have a few things in common Usagi-san," he began. "I also like music and one of my favourite colours is blue. The others are red and black. I love to read and to be out of doors. My favourite flowers are roses and my favourite drink is coffee. I live alone and unlike you I don't have any pets." "What about your family," Usagi asked curiously. "Do you have brothers or sisters?" The ebony haired man remained silent and sighed painfully. "Mamoru," the girl asked gently when she noticed the troubled expression on his face and softly placed a hand on his arm. "I don't know," he finally replied trying to hide the sadness in his voice. "I don't know much about my family except that my parents were really wealthy and that I'm their only child. When I was five or six years old we met a terrible car accident during a holiday trip. My parents died and suffered from total amnesia. I woke up in a hospital room seriously injured and I couldn't even remember my name. Until today I haven't regained any of my memories."
Mamoru fell silent for a moment, turned his had towards the fireplace and took a deep breath before he continued. "After the death of my parents I was sent to an orphanage because no other relatives could be found. So I grew up in that dreadful place where love and warmth were quasi non existent." 'That surely explains his polite but cold and distant behaviour towards others and his extreme reaction regarding the prank that was played on him,' Usagi thought sorrowfully. "Luckily I received the first part of my inheritance when I turned sixteen and I'll receive the remaining part in about three years at the age of twenty-one. Anyway, the amount of money I received back then was big enough to pay for an apartment and for school, so I left the orphanage. I worked after the school day was over, studied hard and got a scholarship for the medical college…Well that's my story."
The young upper class man sighed in pain and slowly turned his head to face Usagi again. What he saw left him surprised and speechless. Genuine tears glistened in the girl's eyes and threatened to fall. 'Instead of pitying me like everyone else did she's crying…for me,' Mamoru thought baffled. "Usagi-chan you…" he stammered in search for the right words when he suddenly felt himself pulled into a tight embrace. For several moments Usagi remained silent and just held him close. After Mamoru had recovered from his shock he relaxed admitting that it felt wonderful to be held that way and that an embrace like this was exactly the kind of comfort he needed and he'd longed for, for a long time.
And then Usagi said something the young man had never expected. "I'm sorry that you had to go through such a painful experience. But look at you now. You never gave up, no matter how hard it was or how much you had to suffer and look what you've achieved so far. You can be so proud of yourself Mamoru and I'm sure that your parents would be very proud of you too." Hearing these comforting and at the same time encouraging words Mamoru couldn't fight his emotions back any longer and tears he'd been suppressing for years began to stream down his cheeks. Usagi tightened the embrace and softly whispered soothing words in the young man's ears until his tears finally subsided.
After Mamoru had calmed down a while later they continued talking about this and that both of them completely oblivious to the time passing. When the clock in the hall announced 11pm Mamoru stood up. "It has gotten pretty late and I think I should go home now," he announced. "There's no way for that," Usagi protested. "Have you taken a look out of the window? The weather hasn't changed for the better. If you go home in that rain you'll definitely catch a cold. It's a miracle that you haven't caught one so far," she explained. "Apart from that your clothes aren't dry yet…so it looks like you are my prisoner, at leased until tomorrow morning. You can stay in our guest room."
Mamoru smiled warmly at the girl. Knowing that arguments in this case would be fruitless he accepted her offer and if he was honest with himself he had to admit that he didn't mind this arrangement at all. Usagi showed him to his room and after she'd provided Mamoru with a pair of pyjamas from her father she bid him goodnight.
Once in her own room she changed into her nightgown and made herself comfortable on her bed. Like every evening before she finally went to sleep Usagi decided to read a few chapters of a manga while listening to a few songs. But for some reason she couldn't concentrate on the story although it was really interesting. Her thoughts drifted again and again to the handsome upper class man who was sleeping in the room opposite to her own. 'He must be pretty lonely if he can't open up to people,' she thought and couldn't help but feeling sad.
Shortly after midnight Usagi finally decided to go downstairs for a little midnight snack and then to bed. She quietly opened the door of her room, stepped out into the hallway and switched on the light trying to prevent any noise that could possibly wake her guest. On tiptoes she walked past Mamoru's room and noticed that the door wasn't even half closed. 'Don't even think about it,' her inner voice of reason screamed immediately. 'You can't just walk in there!'
Mamoru laid in the darkness of the room, his eyes closed. But although he was tired and the bed was more than comfortable he couldn't find any sleep. His mind was too occupied with thoughts about Usagi and the things that had happened. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard her quietly entering his room. 'What could she want in here in the middle of the night,' Mamoru asked himself in confusion. 'Should I let her know that I'm still awake or feign sleep?' After a few seconds of pondering he decided to go for the second option and with closed eyes and a fast beating heart he waited for the things to come trying desperately to stay calm. Only a few moments later he could feel the weight of a body at the edge of the bed.
Usagi slowly walked closer and carefully sat down on the edge of Mamoru's bed. The light that fell from the hall into the room was bright enough outline the young man's handsome features in the darkness of the room. For a few moments she just watched him, smiling to herself. "When he's sleeping he looks like a young boy, with his long eyelashes and his soft facial features," she murmured. With another warm smile Usagi ran her hand over his cheek in a soft caress. Then, following a sudden impulse, she bent down and kissed him lovingly. "Sweet dreams, Mamo-chan," she whispered sweetly and left the room as quietly as she'd entered it.
As soon as he was sure that Usagi was gone, Mamoru opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt as if he was dreaming unable to believe what had happened just a few seconds ago. All he knew was that suddenly he felt light as a feather and warm at the same time. 'She kissed me, she really kissed me,' his mind repeated over and over again while Mamoru carefully touched his lips where the sweetness and the warmth of her kiss were still lingering.