Title: Family Honor – Part one
Author: Akane "Bunny" Tendo
E-mail: Akane_Bunny_Tendo@yahoo.com
Rating: PG
~*Family Honor*~
It was just another regular day in Tokyo. The sky was clear, the wind at ease, gently brushing against the soft blooms of the cherry blossoms. All was perfect in town, until.... CRASH!!!
"Ooohhh...! There's another point for the sidewalk!" yelled a tall, masculine figure with stormy, blue eyes and dark hair hanging down loosely over his facial features. "Sidewalk, one; Odango, zero!" he continued with a deep and husky chuckle.
The girl, who was now lying facedown on the hard cement, quickly shot up into the air like a rocket on a mission to Mars. "Cut it out CHIBA!!" she yelled, her mouth set in a full pout, eyebrows scrunched together, steam pouring from her ears. Of course, the young man could only laugh at the scene she made before him.
"Why...why..." she began, sputtering, trying to keep her balance in check.. "Why must you constantly torment me day-in and day-out with these...these..." she stumbled, attempting to get the right words across.
"...insults that only bare the truth?" he finished for her, a slight smile bordering his cheeks.
"Yes...I mean no, NO!" she shouted back in return.
"Well, then," he said, ignoring her second reply. "Maybe if you weren't always kissing the floor with your face..." 'maybe if you were kissing me instead...' The sudden glare from Usagi caught him short in his thoughts, awakening him back to the situation at hand. "...or throwing objects at the innocent..." he continued, with a smirk, a finger held high in a dramatic pose.
"Innocent?!" she yelled, pointing her own finger at his face.
"...or being late to school, amongst other things..." he said, but wasn't able to continue as his audience left, throwing the general wail of being late again over her shoulder as she ran down her usual path, long tresses of golden hair flowing behind her with the wind.
Mamoru stood still there in that very same position his Odango Atama left him in before continuing with his speech. "...or for being breathtakingly beautiful." He ended as he sighed and headed off in the opposite direction.
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By the time Usagi arrived to school, she was already ten minutes late. "Usagi!!" yelled an outraged Miss Haruna.
"Yes, Miss H?" she asked in that all-too-familiar I-know-I'm-going-to-get-another-detention-so-just-give-it-to-me tone of voice. Her head hanging low, staring intently at the ground.
"I don't think so, young lady!" shouted Miss Haruna, knowing exactly what was about to become of this. "You're not getting off that easily!" she yelled, reaching into her desk drawer.
At this, Usagi promplty bought her head up to face Miss Haruna.
"For your excessive tardies this week amongst others, and your poor grades to date, it is quite obvious to me," she began, taking out a sheet of paper. "...some kind of action needs to take place here." She finished.
"A...action?" stammered Usage, her mouth agape.
"Yes, action." Said Miss Haruna as she held up the sheet of paper for her viewing, staring intently at it. "I've decided that it is high time you get a home tutor," in which she stressed the word 'home', "to break you out of those. . ." However, before she could finish her tirade, she was interrupted by a voice reaching decibals unheard of by the human race, wailing as though the gates of death were before her.
"Tutor...tutor...tutor..." The word proceeded to echo through her mind, shaking every sense out of her until she could barely contain the dread filling her. "Noooooooooooooo!" she yelled into the class. "You don't understand Miss H.!" she yelled, arms flailing wildly around her, hair following suite. "Every morning I try to come early, I do!" she yelled, tears cascading down her cheeks. "But...but this jerk Chiba...ooohhh! He's the cause of it! He's always there, right around the corner, I swear! It's like he knows exactly where I'm going to be EVERY morning and stalks me, just to let out his insults and..." She stopped short as she finally realized that Miss Haruna was no longer trying to save herself from the intense sound waves eminating from her mouth, nor was she paying the least bit of attention to what she was saying. "Umm...Mis H...?" she asked, a bit unsure of herself.
"Hmm...Chiba. Why does that name sound so familiar?" asked Miss Haruna to no one in particular. At this, Usagi began to shudder with fear. "Ahh, yes!" she said, fruther ignoring the girl before her. "Chiba, Mamoru." She said, a gleam in her eyes. "Such a bright, young lad. Always stopping by to help the slower kids." She said, then turning to Usagi. "You could learn a lot from him." A thought then struck her...
'Mamoru?! Helping people?! No way!' thought Usagi, until the full meaning of what Miss Haruna was venting forth finally hit her. "No, please, NO!" She wailed internally.
"Yes," she continued, further ignoring Usagi's looks of protest. "I think he'll make a fine tutor for you...maybe even a mentor." She said as she scribbled something on the sheet of paper. "Now, I want you to get this slip signed by your parents and hand it back in tomorrow morning, got it? Not waiting for a reply, she handed it over to Usagi and returned to her desk. 'All this and that idiot Robert STILL can't take me out tonight. A teacher's job just never ends!' she thought with a frown.
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Later that evening, it was a deeply crestfallen Usagi that entered the Tsukino household. Her brother was the first to react...
"Hey, clutzoid! What's wrong? Made another bad trip to the scale today?" he asked, but was left dejected as Usagi passed by him, the bait not taken, and fell in a heap onto the sofa, the sheet of paper crinkled in her hand in a vice-like grip.
Ikoku, noticing her daughter's dejected form on the couch, moved into action. "What's wrong, honey? Are you feeling ill?" Before she knew what hit her, a crumpled Serena ran full-force into her mother's arms, sobbing.
"Oh...mom!! You're not going to believe this!!" she wailed, her voice carrying out towards the neighbors beside them.
"What's wrong, Usagi?" asked her father from the doorway, side leaning onto the doorframe, hand raised to his mouth as he chewed down on his sandwich.
She looked up at him before continuing, tears flowing down her cheeks, nose pink from her sniffles and sobs. "Miss..." she began, choking back another sob. "Miss H...she said...I...have to have a tutor!!!" she yelled sobbing back deeper into her mother's embrace.
Ikoku and Ken both looked up at each other in a sweat-drop moment. "Is that all?!!" they both said after fully recovering. Ken's outburst a bit more with a hint of laughter than Ikoku's as she gently shoved her daughter off her lap, causing her to land in a heap on the floor.
"You don't understand!!" whined Usagi, jumping up to her feet.
"It's about time you get your act together!" yelled her mother.
"What don't we understand, pumpkin?" asked her father with a gentle smile only a father could use in a situation like this.
Usagi took in a breath of air before continuing. "It's not just ANY other tutor, dad!!" she said, arms flying violently. "This guy's the DEVIL!! He hates me, I'm sure of it!" she yelled, giving her father a pleading look.
"Now, now, Usa!" he said, pryi8ng her fingers off the crumpled sheet of paper. "I'm sure he's not THAT bad."
"But d-aaad!!" she wailed before being silenced by her father's finger as he placed it on her lips.
"Now, let's see." He said as he scanned over the various handwritings. Suddenly, his eyes stopped at one word in particular. "Chiba...hmm..." he said, placing his finger to his chin in wonderment. "Honey," he directed towards his wife. "Didn't we once know a family by the name of Chiba?"
At this, Usagi swore to herself that the entire world was against her. Crumbling down in her own little world, she began to sulk and pray, hoping the Gods above would find someway of getting out of her current situation.
"Why, yes," answered Ikoku to her husband. "I'm not quite sure what ever happened to them though. It seems as though it's been ages since we've last heard from them." She finished with a smile.
"Well, it seems we'll finally be reacquainted with their son soon enough." Answered Ken happily.
Usagi chose that moment to leave the area she now thought of as 'the headquarters for the reality-based-challenged' and continued to sulk in her room.
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The sound of jiggling echoed down the hallway as Mamoru fidgeted with his keys. Opening the door to his apartment, he returned to the same lonely place he had always become accustomed to.
His living area was immaculate. Not a trace of dust could be found throughout the rooms. Everything was set in its place as if left there untouched for years, excluding the old-time remnants of dust particles. Though it was clean and spotless, it was also lifeless. Not an ounce of happiness or life existed in this dull apartment, save for the still-blooming roses upheld in a long vase, sitting over the tabletop.
His place was an exact replica of the Mamoru Chiba he knew. Lonely, dull, lifeless, cold... "just like me." He thought as he sank into his futon.
Then a picture of HER came to his mind. Blue eyues, sparkling like the reflection of the sky on a soft, wavy lake shore. Golden tassels of hair flowing behind her like an endless river. Beautiful, pouting lips, crimson face, there only for his eyes to see. "Usagi..." he thought as brought his hand up to his flushed face, running the tips of his fingers down to and gently across his lips. "Why do you do this to me...affect me so... Why must I react to you in this way, my Odango?" He began to thin of all the times he'd wished he could bring a smile to her features, have her look at him with that same shining gleam she always showed all her friends." He thought. "Well, maybe not mere friends,' he thought. "...more than that. So much more," he said as he kissed down on his hand, only half-aware of his actions. But all that he could ever bring out of her was her anger.
Sitting back, he began to look back on the first time he met her. He was walking down the street, minding his own when out of nowhere, a crumpled mass landed on his head, bouncing off to land into his outstretched hand. "What the...?!" he thought looking up. Then he saw her, long golden hair flowing behind her. I was the first time any woman had ever caught his attention so quickly...the first any had caught his attention at all. So when he looked for something to say, his mind instinctively went to the two unusual 'balls' laying atop her head.
"Hey! Watch where you're throwing things, odango atama!" he said as he casually began to open up the thrown missile.
He watched as her back froze in mid-step. Turning around, he had to catch his breath at the site she displayed before him. "Those eyes," he said to himself. Coming back to reality, he saw that she was now looking at him with an expecting look. Knowing he needed to say something, anything, fast, he looked down at the slip of paper before him and chuckled.
Usagi, hearing this deep chuckle coming from a man she'd never met, was not to keen to this action. "What's so funny?" she asked up at him, half aware.
"Hmm..." he said, lifting up his shades to reveal two deep blue eyes to her. "A thirty?!" he continued. "What are you? Lazy or just plain stupid, odango?" he finished with another one of his sly grins.
He could practically see the steam emanating from her ears as she gave out an exasperated breath, turning sharply on her heel, muttering about insensitive jerks as she continued on her stroll...which turned out to be a sulked walk, wailing about her failed test score.
That was what had started it all, he mused as he gazed lovingly out the window at the clear-blue sky. "So beautiful, just like..."
He was interrupted from his thoughts by the ringing of the phone. "Who could this be now?" he thought as he walked dejectedly over to his bedroom. Picking up the receiver, he answered, trying to appear nonchalant. "Moshi moshi... Oh, good evening, Miss Haruna. What can I...home tutoring?" he asked in a monotonous tone. "Okay, what's the person's address?" he asked, taking out a pen. "Okay...yeah, got it. And phone...? Okay."
"...and her name is..." continued Miss Haruna on the other end.
"Tsukino Usagi?" he asked, startled.
"Yes, she'll be expecting you this week. Just be warned, Chiba. She is a very ignorant student!" she said, waving her finger in the air on the other line. "She has a lot of bad edges that need smoothening out, which is why I feel home tutoring would be more appropriate. And one more thing...good luck!" she said as she placed down the receiver.
Mamoru was left stunned. He was in the same position he had been since having the conversation with Usagi's teacher. "Odango...home tutoring..." he thought with a wide, crooked grin. "Being inside odango's house."
Just then, the implication of what would eventually happen hit him like a brick. He quickly raced into his bath, scrubbing himself clean...choosing only his best soap...the scent of roses, before dashing back out again. Scurrying inside his closet for something to wear, it finally hit him. "Wait a minute," he said to the empty room. "I don't have to be there until...ohhh! When DO I have to be there?" He grunted as he slapped a palm over his face. "I swear, odango, you're going to be the end of me."
"All right then, all I have to do is find out when...hmm..." Just then, that all-too-familiar smile crossed his face. "Knowing my odango, she won't mind in the least...!"
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The next day started just like every other day in Tokyo - with a wailing Usagi. "Oh, noooo! I'm going to be laaaaate! Why didn't somebody wake me up?!" she yelled as she quickly fumbled with her school uniform, tugging and fighting to get it on in the middle of her mad dash to the doorway.
Downstairs, Mrs. Tsukino's voice could be heard yelling back softly to her daughter. "I did, Usagi! You said you'd be up in five more minutes..." she said in a merry tone. "...three times." She finished haughtily.
"Well..." answered Usagi as she hefted her bag, ran out her room, down the stairs and...
As the scene moved into slow motion, we zoom in on her foot, wedging into the slight crack in the step, her feet twisting together, body shifting forward, then sideways, arms doing a perfect imitation of a pair of flapping wings, hair moving in sync with her arms.
As the scene flows back in time with reality, we see a tumbled mass of odangos falling like a tumbleweed down the stairs, landing with a HUMP!!
Mrs. Tsukino could only laugh at the figure before her...shcool uniform rumpled, hair pointing out in every direction, face flushed, and lips pouted.
"Why...why didn't you tell me again?!" She finished with a wail.
"Usagi! Usagi!" Yelled her mother, grabbing hold of her ears for protection. "Why don't you go now. You're late as it is!"
Picking her head up in a flash, she turned sharply heading for the door, but stopped when she heard her mother's voice from behind her once again.
"Oh," she started. "Don't forget this from for your teacher...and your lunch." She said as she presented the two objects in front of her daughter.
"What...?" started Usagi. Looking down at the two objects in her mother's hands, she could only shout for glee as she saw her lunch box, but quickly slumped down in defeat s she noticed the school form. "Oh...that." she said in an even tone before quickly grabbing the two from her mother and bolting out the door with a "by mom! Be back before dinner!" all in a single breath.
"Oh, that girl!" said Mrs. Tsukino as she went on to doing her regular duties around the house.
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As Usagi began her daily run to school, she finally took site of her rumpled form. "Oh, great!" she shouted out. "Another day as a rumpled rat!" she said as she ran down the sidewalk. "I just hope I don't see that jerk Mamoru to..." she said but couldn't finish as she ran around the usual corner and right into...air!
"Hey! Hmm...guess he isn't here..." she said as she came to a stop. "I wonder..." she thought, placing a finger to the side of her head, looking like a tea-pot. "Oh, well." Throwing the thought aside, she quickly headed on to class, tripping and stumbling the entire way.
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Stay tuned for part two! :)